HANDLING OF CONFLICTS AND THE SACRIFICES TO MAKE

[Leadership style of Nehemiah 5]

"ABOUT this time some of the MEN AND THEIR WIVES RAISED A CRY OF PROTEST AGAINST THEIR FELLOW JEWS."
Nehemiah 5:1 (NLT)

• The Apostles in the early church were able to quell the similar problem when it started, likewise Nehemiah in his leadership assignment.

• Note: in most cases, the purpose of such confusion in your camp is to distract you and the people, that the work at hand might be truncated or stopped.
• This strategy of stirring disagreements and confusions in your camp is one of the major instruments of distraction which the devil usually use in scattering a ministry work.
• If such a problem were not properly handled and managed, it could break the spirit of unity and oneness, team spirit, with which the people had been working.
• The problem should be handled with prayer and wisdom:
  (a) Ask God for wisdom on how to do it (James 1:5).
  (b) Do not be partial or take sides with any faction, let there be Justice, fair treatment of the aggrieved party (Nehemiah 5:9-13).
  (c) Do things According to the principles of the Word of God—the Bible (Acts 6:2-4).
  (d) Whatever step you wanted to take, pray on it and submit to the leadership of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:24; 1 Thessalonians 5:17).
  (e) If there is any correction to be made, to straighten things, right the wrong, and settle the problem or dispute; let that starts from you:
  "I MYSELF, AS WELL AS MY BROTHERS AND MY WORKERS, have been lending the people money and grain, BUT NOW LET US STOP THIS BUSINESS OF CHARGING INTEREST" (Nehemiah 5:10 NLT).
• If any change would happen in an organization, the change has to start from the leadership.
• Nehemiah himself was guilty of what the people were complaining of, he did acknowledge it and decided to change. HE said the change would start from him and those who are in the leadership.
  THIS is the leadership pattern taught by Jesus Christ and such is the one God expected in the church (Mark 10:42-45).
  (f) Make sure the aggrieved party received fair justice and then follow the matter up till you have completely resolved it. Do not sweep it under the carpet, doing that could make it a Time bomb (Nehemiah 5:13).

• About Leadership
(i) At the onset of your Ministry or assignment, If you were the one who pioneered the work, you need to Sacrifice your comforts and some of the benefits you ought to get—for the growth of the work.
(ii) Ministry would take everything from you, when you started, and later give the things you had sacrificed and things you may be desiring.
YOU Sacrifice whatever you had as a seed to take off in the Ministry work.
(iii) Ministry work would cost you something that is precious and important to you, which the pain would be felt by you.
NOTE: If the ministry or assignment you wanted to start, the vision you are pursuing, would not cost you anything tangible or precious; it means, it does not worth pursuing.

• Ministry may cost you; your Business, career, position of authority, attainments in life and royalty—a royal status (Philippians 3:18).

• About the self
WHEN God instructed me to pioneer a church, I had no money, I was a bachelor, yet to marry then, and the only valuable thing I had was a shop which I let out to someone. I told God, If He provided a place to start the church, I would sell the shop. God did answer the prayer and I sold the shop, used the money to buy chairs, pulpit, and other basic things needed to commence the work.
WHEN the work started, I did not collect any salary from the church money. I asked them to be giving me transport fare only, that I would trust God for my feedings, house rent, and other utility Bills, because I was on full time.

• In Nehemiah's account, he said:
  14 FOR the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah—from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes—NEITHER I NOR MY OFFICIALS DREW ON OUR OFFICIAL FOOD ALLOWANCE.
  15 THE FORMER GOVERNORS, in contrast, HAD LAID HEAVY BURDENS ON THE PEOPLE, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides forty pieces of silver. EVEN THEIR ASSISTANTS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE PEOPLE. But BECAUSE I FEARED GOD, I DID NOT ACT THAT WAY. 16 I also devoted myself to working on the wall AND REFUSED TO ACQUIRE ANY LAND. And I required all my servants to spend time working on the wall. 17 I ASKED FOR NOTHING, even though I regularly fed Jewish officials at my table, besides all the visitors from other lands! 18 The provisions I paid for each day included one ox, six choice sheep or goats, and a large number of poultry. And every ten days we needed a large supply of all kinds of wine. YET I REFUSED TO CLAIM THE GOVERNOR'S FOOD ALLOWANCE BECAUSE THE PEOPLE ALREADY CARRIED A HEAVY BURDEN. 19 Remember, my God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for it" (Nehemiah 5:14-19 NLT).

• At the onset of the Ministry work

• You may need to sacrifice your COMFORTS and defer your gratifications—satisfactions and wishes.
• The reason being that, the work, the Ministry, is still Young and the income is meagre, the burden of your personal expenses should not be put on the little income.
• Give precedence to the Ministry needs before your personal needs. If your personal need and the Ministry need clashed, give consideration and precedence to the Ministry need first.

• About the self
When I newly married, we had accommodation problem. My wife [who was pregnant then] and I did put up with another family, a minister of God. We were trusting God to raise the money needed for the accommodation. Coincidentally, we had some money in the church purse which we wanted to use for a mini project. Somehow, the pastor we were staying with got to know about it. He said what am I doing, I should go ahead and use the money to rent a house for my family. I said the money belongs to the church, it is God's money, and not my personal money.
I did not take to his counsel although he has been in the ministry several years ahead of me. In fact, he was one of the people I received counsel from when I wanted to start the ministry work.

• The truth is, God will test your motives and faithfulness. What happened to me was a test, God eventually provided the accomodation needed for my family.

• Admonishments

• Know your size in the Ministry. Someone said: "life is in phases and men are in sizes."
  YOU must know your level, there is a time for one pair of shoes, a time for only one suit or no suit, a time to live in one room apartment, and a time to live in a flat. THERE is a time for everything under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
  EAT your size, do not eat more than what you can afford.
  PUT or enroll your children in the school you can afford.
  LIVE in a house you can afford. Live a size per time.
• Some have eaten their future in the ministry, because they do not know their sizes. They wanted to arrive overnight. They could not control their appetites. They have wrong appetites.
• You must know your size, your level, and the phase you are.
• If you bite more than what you can chew, you may be choked in the process.
  REMEMBER, it gets better in the Ministry work, but it may be rough at the onset—the beginning. Especially if you are pioneering a new work—new ministry.

• You will not fail in Jesus' name.

• Should there be any ailment in your body, I declare your healing now in Jesus' name.
• Every oppression of the devil is cursed in Jesus' name.
  Peace!
  TO BE CONTINUED