The first thing that happens in a leader’s life is that he is moved by something.
In Nehemiah 1, we see Nehemiah accomplish something in 53 days that couldn’t be accomplished in the 50 years prior. It wasn’t that he came onto the scene with the experience and expertise to accomplish the task, but that he was moved. And because he was moved, he got people mobilized.
Nehemiah 1:4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Nehemiah was moved by God. He was filled with emotion, with passion, with compassion. We don’t need emotional leaders; we leaders filled with emotion. When God touches their heart with passion or compassion for something, they are willing to be moved.
The enemy knows that God wants to move you, and he has a 1-2 punch tactic to get you to be unaffected by the move of God.
The enemy’s tactic is to get you distracted by the cares of life. Take a look at Matthew 6. Jesus didn’t say that the cares of life are terrible. He just said not to get distracted by them. Paul talked about this in Timothy, as well. Paul didn’t say not to deal with the cares of life; he just said not to get entangled by them.
The enemy’s tactic is to harden your heart in the midst of your serving. If the enemy can get you to go through the motions and lose the passion, that emotional drive, then he dulls your impact in the Kingdom of God. A leader with a hardened heart can gather people, but he can’t move people.
Jesus said “Those who are born of the Spirit are like those who are born of the wind.” (John 3) He is saying that we see the effects of the wind. We know it will move things, though we might not know just where it is moving. Jesus is telling us: If you put your sail up, God WILL move you.
Are you a person whom God’s Spirit can move?
We restrict God when we don’t take on His nature, for His nature is full of passion and compassion. God LOVED the world. “Loved” is not a noun. God’s heart moves us. God moved Nehemiah. Nehemiah, in turn, was able to move others and accomplish something incredible. God wants to move you with the things that are on His heart so you can move others for the glory of God and the building of His Kingdom.
In the Master's Service,
Keith Tucci
NRP Apostolic Team Leader