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In this episode, Pastor Harris will continue his sermon series entitled, “Impediments to Personal Success.” In this series, he is pointed out how the great people of faith guaranteed their successes by their attitudes. Pastor Harris will be addressing what he calls a Lone Ranger mentality, one he considers to be a great impediment to succeeding. So, in this message Pastor Harris will focus on a man who exemplifies a totally different attitude toward life, a man Pastor refers to as being “a team player.” This man is known to us as Nehemiah.

From ancient times, the cities located in the Middle East were surrounded by stone walls with gates erected for the protection of the people. The important men of each city would gather at these gates to conduct the business of the city, share important information, or just pass the time of day. Unfortunately, the walls, gates, and the streets of the city of Jerusalem had been totally destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar the Great in the year 586 BC. There was no place to meet.

When Nehemiah was told of the state of the Holy City he immediately asked permission to rebuild its walls. As he was leaving Babylon, he met some Arab men who mocked him for what he was about to do. Nehemiah 2:20 records his statement, which stands even today as a testament to who has the right to the city known as Jerusalem: Nehemiah rights this:

“I answered them by saying, ‘The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.’”

The key to this statement is the pronouns. Nehemiah always spoke of “we,” not “me.” He was no Lone Ranger; he was a team player, as we shall see in this message.

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