FAITH: THE EYE OF DESTINY PART 2

 FAITH: THE EYE OF DESTINY PART 2

From our previous articles, we were made to understand that the eye of destiny is FAITH and the blind spot of destiny is FEAR. Today, we will look into the concept of Fear as it relates to a man's destiny. To start with FEAR has been described as False Evidences Appearing Real. Fear is the false evidence or simply put the opposite of faith. It is however noteworthy that every man has fear in him. This is what makes him a man. Your ability to know that certain acts are dangerous and fear to do them is infact not the "Fear" we are discussing. There is an entity called the Spirit of Fear which is the opposite of Faith; and this is what is dangerous to the fulfilment of a man's destiny. 2Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of love, power and a sound mind".

According to a journal which I came across some weeks ago regarding the Blind spot. It was stated that we often times show blindspots when we allow our emotions and thoughts (usually unconscious) to influence or result in behavior harmful to us or to others. Blindspot can refer to the way an individual thinks more or focuses more on his weakness rather than his strength. The truth is as man, we all have our weaknesses and also our strengths. When we focus more on our weakness, we become a victim of fear and this results in us being timid just like the story of the girl we looked at in the previous articles. The day you recognize your strength and focus on it is the  day you will stop being timid and start to become bold.

Man is a tripartite being, i.e he is a spirit, has a soul, and lives in a body. The most important part of a man's life is his soul. Anyone that can control your soul can determine your future. Whatever you allow control your soul will control how the events of your life unfold.  If God is the one controlling, then he can determine the happenings of your life and also your future, likewise if it's d devil, the same can also be said. 

The soul of man is the seat of power. It is made up of your will, your mind(heart) and your emotions. Who you are is a function of this part of you.

Faith grows in the mind of man when we continue to feed it with the right words or truth from the Creator's manual(Bible). In the same vein, Fear also grows when we allow our emotions to control our life or when we refuse to feed our mind with the truth. The natural man as have been described was made a fearful being after the fall in the Garden of Eden. No matter how bold a man can get, there will still be an iota of fear in him. But this man can choose to either accept or reject the fear.  Whenever this fear is allowed to dominate him, he becomes timid and fearful.  Whenever it is not allowed, man dominates. 

If the devil want to attack any human being, he first creates  fear in him. One weapon he uses even against the children of God. If as a man, you  allow this fear to dominate your life, then one becomes a victim of his fear.

Every man that wants to get to his predetermined end which God has ordained for him must be aware of fear. Fear kills destiny while faith sees the destiny and secures this destiny. 

Finally,  focus more on what you can do rather than what you cannot do and the goodnews is this - "You can do all things through Christ that strengthens you". Focus more on Christ and see you achieving your glorious destiny in grand style.Amen

Thank you

The Men That Lead

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THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP and THE LEADERSHIP'S SPIRIT - PART 2

 THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP and THE LEADERSHIP'S SPIRIT - PART 2

Earlier this week we started a series on understanding the Spirit of Leadership and the Leadership Spirit. We must understand that every human has the Leadership Spirit in him while the Spirit of Leadership is brought to manifest when we come into the consciousness of us being leaders. We made an analogy of a seed and the tree it bears. To be a tree is inherent in the seed but until it comes out as a tree, does it manifest what has been in it prior. This is the way the Leadership's Spirit which is already dwelling in man and the Spirit of Leadership are.

We must understand that for every living thing created to manifest, certain things must be in place. We saw the planting (the placement); the environment and the fruiting as very important concepts in maximizing the potentials of the seed. In Genesis 1, when God created the living things; he placed each of them in appropriate environment that they could thrive, develop and be what he has ordained that they will be. The birds of the air in the heavens; the fowls on the earth; the birds of the sea in the water and man in the garden of Eden. Each of these places paramount to the survival of each creature. This is to let us know that there is a laid down provision for everything that must manifest. God created a man and knew that His presence in the life of that man was essential for the survival of that man, so he placed him in the garden of Eden which in actual sense is the presence of God. You may wonder why till date Eden has not been found. This is because apart from the fact that it was shut to any man following the sin of Adam and Eve, it is the presence of God and not just a place. Man lost this presence, lost an essential part of building up the Spirit of leadership in him. Why? Because he had lost the environment. Hence Christ had to come, so we could gain back this environment and live the life of Leadership that God has called us to from Genesis 1:28. The Bible makes us to know that we are meant to dominate, subdue, be fruitful- all these are attributes of Leadership. We see when God made man, man was able to give names to the creatures in the garden. Yes, because God had put his breath in man. One other thing the breath did apart from give life to the man was to put the nature of God in man. God is a leader and this nature which is the Leadership spirit was put in man; hence Adam knew what was expedient to be done as concerning those animals and he went for it but we saw that man could not sustain this leadership after he fell from what was the most vital to keeping him in that position - The presence of God. 

But when Christ came, this presence was made manifest through Him and into us and then the Spirit of Leadership given to whomever will wish to walk in that path. Eden no longer is a place but it is the portion of every child of God and if it's in us then the Spirit of Leadership will manifest. Whether it's a conscious effort or non conscious, we just see ourselves manifesting the leadership roles with ease. One, because we have the Leadership's Spirit and secondly at salvation, we have been given back the most vital instrument to sustainance. We are placed in the right soil, fed with the right foods - the word of God. It is no doubt that the good fruits will show. 

When man isn't working in the light of the above; he is heading to chaos as we have it in our world today. We have lost essence of true leadership. False use of power and to control people in the name of leadership. What we have today is slavery and not Leadership. This is what happens when the right course is not taken. An orange seed needs a sandy soil to grow amidst other necessary things but if it is placed in a stony ground or amidst thorns; it can never sow good. When a man is planted in the presence of God, the Spirit of leadership begins to unveil. Our being in God brings the manifestation of our true identity.

Without the discovery of self in God, the spirit of leadership will not manifest. The discovery of self is what gives more clarity to the following questions:

Who am i?

Where am I from?

Why am I here?

What can I do?

Where am I going?

If you can answer these questions genuinely, the spirit of leadership in you has begun to unveil.

TO BE CONTINUED

THANK YOU

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THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP and THE LEADERSHIP'S SPIRIT - PART 1

 THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP and THE LEADERSHIP SPIRIT - PART 1

I will like to start this week's article with the analogy of a seed. When you look at a seed, what do you see? If one can look well, one will be able to see a tree in that seed. You will wonder how possible this is. It's jus figuratively. Every seed has a potential tree in it. In any orange seed, there is an orange tree ready to germinate. A seed does not just grow when you see the tree it produces, but as a seed itself, it will become a tree if right environment is in place. This process of becoming is what exposes the real identity of the seed. 

The concept above is much related to our topic this week. Inherent in every man is the spirit of leadership but we must become leaders for this real identity to be exposed. This means if you have not discovered your real identity, you are not becoming a leader; also if you are not a leader, you cannot discover your real identity. It is paripassu.This identity is what is termed the spirit of Leadership. 

Therefore, there is a difference between the spirit of Leadership and a Leadership spirit. The leadership spirit was planted into man from the beginning. It is dwelling in every man, that was why God gave us the instruction to dominate. To dominate means to rule the earth, not over any human being but over the resources of the Earth. The act of becoming a leader is what is now termed the spirit of Leadership . In this series, we will be dealing with what makes a man a leader.To get this, we must understand that God created every living things differently but the manner of growth is the same if we look closely. Let's take for an instance; every living thing needs food to grow; without us eating, certain nutrients necessary for our development are not gotten hence, malnourishment. The same goes for the seed of leadership. It has to be nourished to make a tree of it. To know how a seed become a tree wil give us a clue on how an ordinary man (NB: with the potentials already put in by God) can become a leader.

How does a seed become a Tree?

1. Planting

2. Environmental condition

3. Fruiting

✓The planting or placement is the soil;  i.e. where every seed is planted. As a man, where are you planted? 

✓The Environmental condition has to do with every other thing that makes living possible or the soil habitable. Factors like the sunlight, rain etc. As a man, what really affects your area of location which is our Environmental condition?

✓The fruit is the beginning of a new life of every tree. The proof of a tree is the fruit it produces. It is the launching phase of the tree to its world.  As a man have you discovered the beginning of your life?

 

The above questions are what I will like us to answer in our comment section box so we can move to the next session.

Thank you

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FAITH: THE EYE OF DESTINY PART 1

 FAITH: THE EYE OF DESTINY PART 1

Please listen to my story.

     For a while now, I  have been studying a certain family in my church. What attracted me to this family was this; I had noticed that whatever pertains to music runs in the family; from playing musical instruments to singing - the father, the mother and the children all love music. 

When I found this out, I began to follow them as a lover of gifts that I am,  to the extent that I became close with this family; they also extended hands of friendship towards me. 

I also noticed that their second child though a very talented young girl, was battling with Anthropophobia i.e. fear of people. She is so timid and shy; and this gave me a serious concern. I decided to call her and ask her some questions.  One of the questions I asked her was when she wanted to give birth. At first, she was shocked thinking I was asking her when she wanted to have a baby. It was not until I explained that she understood.  I was only asking her when she would give birth to her potentials. After explaining further to her, then she confidently said she will try and perform next Sunday. 

The story above is similar to my experiences every time as a Sunday school teacher in my church. One thing I have come to conclude is this: when a child loves to do something, he will want to joyfully express it in the presence of everyone without being afraid but as they grow up towards teenagehood, they begin to shy away or be passionate about what they love depending on the information that they were able to come across with. 

If they are opportuned to have access to the right information, their faith will grow in order for them to start fulfilling their destiny but absence of this right information is what will cause fear; causing the fellow to feel shy or timid to share. This brought me to a conclusion that the Eye of Destiny is Faith while the blind spot of destiny is Fear.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. From our definition; it is obvious that faith is a spiritual component that contains two important words - Hope and Evidence. Hope which can be likened to expectation and evidence which can be likened to proofs or results. When you hope for anything, the eye of the mind is automatically open. This means you have seen what you are hoping for. There is a saying that the "eyes that see" are few while the "eyes that look" are many. The "eyes that see" brings the evidence or proofs  of what is not seen. When faith is put to action, the hope will sooner turn to results; while the evidences will be clear to everyone. 

For instance, you want to travel to Lagos, a City in Nigeria, the picture of your destination is already on your mind but as you journey which is putting your faith to work, the picture of your destination starts to become clearer.

Destiny is the predetermined end of a person. Every manufactured product has been designed to be useful in one certain way or the other. The manufacturer has already prepared the end of the product from the beginning.

Every product that has a beginning will also have an end. We all have to understand that every human on earth was created in Heaven and sent to the earth to come and rule the earth just as his Creator rules in Heaven. Our ultimate goal should be how to discover what the creator put in us to contribute to humanity. 

The life of a human is  likened to a seed; the destiny of a seed is a plant, i.e.  anytime you are holding a seed you are automatically holding a plant. The seed is a plant but it only becomes a plant by being planted in the right soil, watered with the right water and surrounded by a good weather. The same applies to human life, if we want to become what we are destined to be, we have to stay in the right environment, watered with the right words of life and surrounded with destiny partners i.e right friends. These are what will enable our faith to grow and fulfill destiny in a grand style.

TO BE CONTINUED

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GODLINESS AS A LIFESTYLE - PART 3

 GODLINESS AS A LIFESTYLE - PART 3

HALLELUJAH!!! This week, we have been looking at understanding Godliness as a lifestyle. Until Godliness becomes the way of a man, such a life is never pleasing before God. 1Timothy 2:4 "who will have all men saved and come to the knowledge of his truth". God will have all men saved and come to the knowledge of Righteousness. He will have us come to the understanding of how to live holy. As the scripture admonishes us in Romans 12:1 "that we should present ourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable before God which is our true service". We must understand that we are created to serve the Father. One reason He created man is for service(Ephesians 2:10) and this service to God is daily. A man who will therefore not live holy daily will not be a useful servant unto God. 1Timothy 4:8 makes us to also understand that Godliness is profitable unto all things. 1Timothy 6:6 "Godliness with contentment is great gain".There are no curses in righteousness; only blessings abound. 

Psalm 112:1-3 "Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever".

Beginning the week, we see what Righteousness is from God's word. By now, we should understand that if God gives an instruction, there is always a provision for it. If He calls us on an assignment, He has already made the provision for it's fulfilment. Two things we need to do is to then know this truth and ask for the provision. We do not just stop there, we must continue to remain a beneficiary of the source of this provision. If God is the provider of that thing, then to continually be in supply, we have got to stay and remain with Him. Remember a tree cannot abide by itself; it needs the roots to continue growing. The provision for the growth of the tree is in its root but if such a tree is taken away from it's root; though the root may possess all that is needed; the tree however cannot make use of them. We also saw that God's commandments are not grievous. His instructions are gateway to our high places in life. If He has commanded do it, then it means there is a profiting for us in that thing. Isaiah 48:17 "Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit and leadeth thee in the way that thou shouldest go". We must understand that every instruction from God is not for Him to profit withal but for us to. He told Abraham "leave your father and mother's house to a place I would show you". It was because there was profit in it for Him. That you are not seeing the blessings now does not mean they will not come unto you. We just must judge Him faithful who has declared the word; knowing that He will never fail. Isaiah 55:11 "so shall the word be that goeth out of my mouth, it shall not return to me void but accomplish that which I please and prosper in that whereto I sent it". Thus, if God says be ye holy for I am holy, then there is a profit to it.

However,  we must understand that for every instruction from God, there is always a war waged against it by the enemy. If God has spoken a thing, the enemy tries to interfere with it. There was a purpose for which God created man and put him in that beautiful garden but the devil, being who he is, came to interfere. We must understand that God and devil are sworn enemies. And for every one who follows after God; that very day the decision is made, you are declared wanted by the devil. He sends all his weapons and instruments out to you to see that you fall. We must understand that the devil never wants blessings for God's people even for humanity as a whole. If a man prospers in ways that are evil, it is that in moments to come, he suffers for all these things. But we see from God's word, "the blessings of God are the true blessings. They make rich and add no sorrow. This means every blessing not from God will come with sorrow. Therefore, we must understand that the enemy has plans to hinder a man from being blessed of God. We see this in Daniel 10 when he stopped the answers to Daniel's prayers. For every believing child of God, know that the fiercest battle we have to fight is against unrighteousness which is Sin. 

Earlier we mentioned the devil deploys certain mechanisms just to derail a man from God's plans for His life. This instrument is the weapon of sin. When Paul was speaking in  Ephesians 6:13-19 "that we should see that we stand firm, having our loins hurt about with truth, the breast plate of Righteousness...". It was in fact against this instrument of Sin. The devil knows God the Father hates sins though he loveth sinners, hence, he puts these in His people and makes them abominable unto God. 1Peter 3:12 "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil". But God is not cruel neither is He unjust. Hence, he gave man one thing that is the power of choice. You can either choose to sin or choose to live a godly life. This power is given to us after salvation when we are transformed and now by the working of the Holy Spirit in us. We now have the power to subdue the flesh and live according as God instructs. But still we can choose to live in that spirit or in the flesh. Galatians 5 tells us if we walk in the spirit, we will not fulfil the deeds of the flesh. It doesn't mean if we have the Spirit, we will not do the deeds of the flesh but we must see that we live by the Spirit; we also walk in the spirit. And to this, there comes the power He gave us. When we decide to take the stand for righteousness, there is a choice we are making. Yes, the Holy Spirit helps us but also we must be receptive to His helping hands.

We must understand that the same way, there is the Spirit of God which is the Spirit of Righteousness and Holiness; in the same vein, there is a spirit of UNGODLINESS which is the spirit of the devil and which works in man by causing Him to sin. Ephesians 2:2 "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience". God's Spirit brings a man to profit, the spirit of the devil brings a man into destruction. Proverbs 14:34 "for righteousness exalts a nation, sin brings shame and reproach". Sin leads a man into captivity from God's word but the righteous is liberated. Psalm 112:1-10 shows us this(please let's read). In Psalm 12:7, we see also that the Lord will keep the righteous and preserve them from the wicked forever.

What then are these tools deployed by the enemy against God's people?

Proverbs 6:16-19; Galatians 5: 19-21

✓a lying spirit: 

✓spirit of pride

✓ a wicked heart

✓ a heart that lusts

✓ a seducing tongue

✓ spirit of dishonesty

✓ spirit of incontentment

✓ sin of stealing

✓spirit of idolatry

✓ sin of witchcraft

✓ spirit of adultery

✓ spirit of fornication

✓ spirit of hatred

✓ spirit of envy, wrath and strife

✓ spirit of covetiousness

✓ rebellious mind

✓ a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations

✓ a heart that loves mischief

✓ spirit of falsehood

✓ a heart that soweth discord

✓ hands that shed innocent blood.

The above amidst many others are weapons used by the devil to lure men out from God's plan and purpose for their life.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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GODLINESS AS A LIFESTYLE - PART 2

 GODLINESS AS A LIFESTYLE - PART 2

HALLELUJAH!!! We started the week looking at living the life of Godliness; trying to understand what Righteousness entails. We were made to understand that Godliness is possible as a lifestyle. It is not an impossibility or something that is watched to happen from afar but is actually God's plan for man. We saw from the scriptures man was made in the image and likeness of God. This is the image of Righteousness. God gave man an instruction to walk in Holiness; and only then can His ways be pleasant before Him; only then can he be truly righteous. Understanding also from the scripture, we are made righteous by the Righteousness of Christ. 2Corinthians 5:21 "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him". If not by His death and resurrection, the Salvation power will not have been made known to man and UNGODLINESS would have been man's second nature. So, deep in this, we see the grace of Salvation. And today, we will be looking further at Biblical principles of Righteousness.

According to scripture, we understand that It is salvation that brings righteousness. From our short introduction above, it will be agreed upon that at the center of Righteousness comes salvation. Romans 10:9-10 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation". Ephesians 2:8-10 also makes us see this. Verse 8 "for by grace are ye saved through Faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God". We are first saved, then the good works are done; not the good works before salvation. Ephesians 2:10 "for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them".

Looking at this last scripture; it shows us that right from time, man was created to live a righteous life; to walk holy. Hence, when God told Abraham in Genesis 17:1 to "walk perfectly". It was in fact not a new law or ordinance but had before hand been ordained. God wants us to live right before Him but the devil wants the opposite. Hence, Jesus Christ had to die; and through this, was salvation made known to man (1John 4:19). There was a re-creation in Christ and the good works ordained beforehand revealed. This is why there is no true righteousness or genuine Righteousness without Christ. Righteousness or Godliness stems from first a genuine repentance. We see from scriptures in Ephesians 1:5,7 "Having predestinated us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, In whom we have redemptions through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace". At redemption comes the power to live above sin which is just Righteousness.

In addition, Righteousness stems from a heart filled with love for God. Two people cannot be said to be in love when consistently they hurt each other, whether it is in actions, words or whatever. For two people to be in love, there is some sort of confessions "I will not do anything to hurt you". This is the same way Righteousness is. You can only live a life of godliness if all the way you are a true lover of God. Your love for God will make you live righteously. Psalm 92:15 "our God is upright and there is no unrighteousness in him". It is when you love God that you will love his words and you will be able to follow all that He instructs. It therefore becomes easier to live the life that pleases Him. Jesus did, hence he was able to lay down all requirements for righteousness. When there is love, there is nothing it asks of you, you won't do. John 10:17-18 "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." Love makes it easy to follow through the commandments. This was why when Jesus was asked the greatest of the commandments; He mentioned LOVE. John 15:9-10 "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love". Those that keep the Father's commandments are those who are first genuinely in love with the Father and secondly they stay in love; they remain in that love.

We must also understand that Godliness is ordained to change us into the same image that Christ was. The understanding of this will help so much in knowing that when I walk in godliness; it just means I am living the life of Christ. 2Corinthians 3:18 "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the Glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from Glory to Glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord". Here is what Godliness does to a man. It changes you. You begin to follow God's instructions carefully - Your love for His word, love for His house and even love for others around. Your mentality is being changed. Whom you were before this great unveiling is not whom you after. This is what Righteousness can do. One is transformed, translated according to 1Peter 2:9-10 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which has not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. There is a transfiguration - "old things are passed away and all things are become new" (the whole point of salvation - 2Corinthians 5:17).

Anoher thing note-worthy is that the concept of sin and Righteousness are not End-points. Many a times, we feel that when certain things are done, then sin comes in as a result. Holiness and sin are both practices (1John 3). And as practices, they are done daily. It is not until Christ comes the second time, then he will say you are a sinner or you are righteous. That very little thing you do everyday is counted as sin everyday. That which you do right everyday is counted as you living right everyday. This is just to tell us that Godliness is the life we live as children of God everyday and sin is the life, the children of the devil live day by day. And for each of them, there is a reward that awaits. The fact that the rewards of our sins or righteousness is not derived as immediate doesn't mean we are not sinning or we are not living a godly life.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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GODLINESS AS A LIFESTYLE - PART 1

GODLINESS AS A LIFESTYLE - PART 1

The concept of Godliness, Righteousness and Holiness have been used interchangeably to mean the same thing. Righteousness and Holiness are both attributes of God (Psalm 92:15paraphrased "our God is upright and there is no unrighteousness in him". 1Peter 2:16 "Be ye holy, for I am holy.)

Godliness on the other hand is living a godly life. In every essence, one lives to  please God. Living a life that pleases God. In all definition above, we see at the center of it all, God is the reference point. Whether it's an attribute or a way of life, God is the reference point.

One subject matter that has been preached so often, yet it's understanding is not fully known by men is this concept of Righteousness and Godly living. Understanding of an issue is what makes us outstanding in it. There is a clear distinction between being morally upright and having a life of Godliness. These are two very different things. That a man is morally upright does not mean he is walking in righteousness. But you cannot live a godly life and not be morally upright. 

What then are morals?

Morals can be said to mean behavior or lifestyle that conforms to an acceptable standard in the society. It is just a socially acceptable phenomenon. A principle of right and wrong. When a man is morally upright; there is infact a law that defines this upright nature. Such a person might not even know God talk less of being a believer; but because there have been certain laid down rules and regulations which such a person adheres well to; he is referred to as good.

But Righteousness goes far beyond "good". It's not an acknowledgement by men. Morally upright men are seen as good. But our Righteousness is judged by God. There is a yardstick; a measure upon which this is made. Proverbs 16:2 "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits". The Bible makes us in Psalm 7:9 to understand that the righteous God trieth the heart and reins. In 2Timothy 2:19"The Lord knoweth them that are his. Let every one that nameth the name of Christ flee iniquity". 

Our righteousness is not self acclaimed. It is different from moral uprightness. While there are natural standards for a person who is morally upright. The standard for our righteousness stems from God and His word. It is supernatural (beyond natural laws). This is why, in the event of certain things happening and the laws are interfered with; a morally upright man could lose his stand. Because to begin with, the laws of the society had this defined. For a person morally upright, he is kept in check by the governing laws and the length of this is as those who have made it. We see in our world today so many who are morally upright but are not righteous.

First, we must understand that Righteousness is of God. To live righteously is to live right with God and His word. The Pharisees in the scriptures were lovers of the law and many times their law would clash with Jesus's teachings and why would this be so? It doesn't mean their law was wrong or Jesus was wrong. The law of the word and law of righteousness are founded on different grounds. While one is ephemeral, the other is eternal. The foundation of God's word standeth sure as we see in 2Timothy 2:19. 1Corinthians 3:11 paraphrased "No other foundation is laid than that which is already laid; Jesus Christ who is the word of God". So many scriptures to explain this to us.

Secondly, we must understand that there is a war against Godliness. There is a striving against us living righteously. Not even in the world as we have it today. Many have missed it and so many are still missing it. People are falling daily into the temptation of sin and ungodliness. And this has now become like a norm. No one sees them as wickedness anymore. No one sees lying as a sin or stealing as a sin. There is now a way to lie without sinning and to steal without sinning. We have been blindfolded and have lost our understanding (Isaiah 5:13 "Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge"). 

It is one thing to be faced with a battle; it's another to be faced with a battle and not know. The latter is the worst of it all. A person who knows he is fighting a battle; even though he possesses no spear or arrow. When the insult comes, he is aware enough to dodge them; but for a person who is in fact unaware that there is a war against his life; he is kept in dark of things and he is gone. This is what is happening today. The darkness of sin taking over the world but still God is saying there is light in righteousness. Still, he says Be ye holy, for I am holy. Still he says "Walk before me and be thou blameless". We need no preaching anymore to understand that sin is of the devil and righteousness is from God. Thus, when we commit sin, we are only telling the devil "Father, I have made you proud". The Bible makes us to understand the Father of all sinners is the devil. It was in fact through him, sin came unto mankind. But God is saying; I wish that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of my truth -1Timothy 2:4". What truth is this? The truth of Holiness, the truth of Righteousness; the truth of Godly living.

Thirdly, we must understand that it is possible to live a life to please God always. Note that word "always". It's not that I  please Him when he does so great things for me or I please Him in the mornings and I don't in the evenings. It is possible to live a life of Godliness at ALL TIMES. Whenever God gives an instruction, there is always a provision to make it happen. He will never say a word and not make available what is needed or would have made available what is needed. 1Thessalonians 5:24 "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it". Every instruction is backed up with Grace for accomplishment. God has asked us to live a holy life; live to please Him, then He must have made provisions for us to do this. One of this is the provision of Salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

1Peter 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous".God does not speak to put pressure on a man; His word is as a matter of fact accompanied with pleasures. The word of Righteousness with the pleasures of Righteousness.

Thanks for reading through.

TO BE CONTINUED

THE MEN THAT LEAD

Building manhood...

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TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP PART 3b

 TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP PART 3b

06. Make difficult decisions:

A transformational leader thinks outside the box and makes unique decisions that helps the team or other people he is leading(serving). A transformational leader thinks success all the time. He makes decisions that benefits everyone in the long-run no matter the short-term consequences. For example, when Jesus chose to die for the sins of the world, the disciples did not agree with him, in fact they were willing to kill to avoid the death of  Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:36-55). Even Jesus Christ at his own will did not want to die but he had to make the "difficult" decision which brought and is still birthing salvation to as many souls as are willing to be saved.

07. Self Management:

A transformational leader knows how to manage himself. It is similar to discipline. A self managed person is someone that knows his strengths and weakness with a proper knowledge on how to manage them. A transformational leader knows how to act when he is angry or pissed.

08. Entertain New ideas:

Well, the greatest tragedy for any human being is going through their entire life believing the only perspective that matters is their own. A big tragedy. Transformational leaders are open to new ideas because they recognise the uniqueness and diversity of each human being on earth, therefore they place value on each thought and ideas.  A transformational leader is not rigid in thinking.

09. Develop those around them:

The true strength of a leader is in whom he has developed.  A leader that cannot develop those around him is only leading himself and such leader will never last. Our effect as leaders should have lasting impression on anyone we come across and meet anywhere.

10. Adapt quickly and easily:

At transfomational leader is someone who is open to change. Someone that knows the importance of constant growth. A transformational leader is not rigid rather he is flexible in his ways and in his thinking. 

11. Keep their egos in check:

It has been said that Ego means Edging God out. Anytime we express our ego, we edge God out of the whole process. A transformational leader keeps his ego in check and learns, he also submits and observes the principles of the whole process.

 God bless you

The Men That Lead

Building Manhood

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TRANSACTIONAL AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP - PART 3

TRANSACTIONAL AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP - PART 3A

Characteristics of transformational leadership

Few weeks ago we looked into the concept of Transactional and Transformational styles of leadership but this week we will consider the characteristics of each of these styles.

We learnt that Transformational leadership is that which attempts to influence followers and inspire them to perform beyond imagined capabilities unlike Transactional which is a "quid pro quo" meaning as a leader, you have to earn as much as you have to give.

Here are some characteristics of Transformational leadership?

✓ Discipline:

A transformational leader has intentions of leading aright and must be disciplined in mind. Must be instant in season and must not slack in portraying leadership qualities. Must continually build himself in other to build others too. To be disciplined is to have self control at all times.

 

✓ Humility:

A transformational leader must always portray humility across all spheres of life. A humble person is someone that is not full of himself. Leadership, ideally is service to others as we have established in previous articles. Therefore, a humble spirit is always portrayed by a transformational leader. God resists the proud and giveth grace to the humble. We can say truthfully that grace is sufficient to the humble to lead aright always.

✓ Submission:

A transformational leader is submissive to higher authorities, epecially a submission to the source that creates life, God. He is the ultimate and perfect leader, and to lead transformatively, one must submit to God. Jesus Christ, our greatest example here on earth submitted wholeheartedly to God even unto his death on the cross. What more could we ask or what better template could we follow?.

✓ Passionate:

A transformational leader is always passionate about the things he is doing and especially the people he is leading(service). A passionate leader looks at the best interest of others, does not think conventionally but uniquely.

✓ Diligence:

Proverbs 22:29 _"Seest thou a man that is diligent in all things, he shall stand before kings and not mean men..."_ 

A diligent man stands tall amidst all speculations and doubts and even against fiery darts. Diligence simply means working hard and with conscientiousness, determination, and persevere. A diligent leader also makes a template for other diligent or yet-to-be diligent leaders.

TO BE CONTINUED

The Men That Lead

Building Manhood

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UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF VISION AND AMBITION - PART 2

 UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF VISION AND AMBITION - PART 2

Habakuk 3: 2-3

_"And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it"._

"For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry".

In our previous article, we saw a clear distinction between the concepts of Vision and Ambition. But today, we will look into understanding how Ambition can turn to Vision and vice versa.

From our anchor text,  the word "tarry" is a big word. It means in itself; even though that which is desired is not happening right now, wait for it, it will surely come. Plainly - it will not be delayed. There is an appointed time and it will come to pass in that appointed time. The word tarry means "to wait". Putting the words together; for every vision, the place of waiting is as important as the vision. The instant we cannot wait for the direction of God for the next phase of the vision, this vision is already turning into ambition. 

For an instance, let's take a look at the story of Abraham. God told him that Sarah is going to bear him a son and that they will become Father and mother of nation. But they could not wait till the time appointed. Sarah said unto Abraham "go in and lie with our maid and let him bear s son for you". This, Abraham accepted and they gave birth to Ishmael. Note-worthy, it was not an order from God but human(Sarah) and this was where Abraham's vision turned into ambition. Thank God for the Covenant He had made with Abraham that sarah will give birth to an heir. Any visionary  that starts to follow his own leading and not God's, he should know that his vision has turned into ambition. Vision gave birth to Isaac while ambition gave birth to Ishmael. As a child of God, it is advisable that you pursue God's vision. 

When the Lord gives you a vision, a revelation, or a promise… wait for it, wait for Him to bring it to pass in the appointed time; no matter how long it tarries, it shall come to pass in the right time, and it will not be late or be held back… it will be right on time!

When the Lord gives you a revelation of TRUTH, it is a "NOW" revelation, but when He gives you revelation concerning His plans and His promises for you, it is to give you "HOPE" and "FAITH" for His "FUTURE" plans for your life. He plants the seeds to give us hope and faith, not for us to become ambitious! 

He will bring His promise to pass… we just need to learn to be content, trust in Him and WAIT in FAITH!

The day someone with a selfless ambition turns to God and commits his works into His hands and waits for direction before he takes any step, then his ambition starts to turn into vision. 

What makes a vision a vision is simply "Divine direction" i.e. to totally submit to God for direction. On the other hand, what makes an ambition an ambition is when you are simply following yourself i.e submitting totally to your common sense and this will result into a common result.

Ambition will always produce "Ishmaels". Whenever we get impatient and decide to bring what God has promised to pass in our own strength, we produce "Ishmaels" in our lives. These "Ishmaels" in turn cause more trouble than we can think of.. 

The story of a young medic below will help us to understand more on how ambition can turn to a vision.

My name is Emmanuel Ademuyiwa, a part 2 student at the College of Medicine, Lagos State University.

 Q- Why I decided to study what I'm studying?

When I was still in secondary school, I simply wanted to go into medicine because of the money and prestige involved therein. I wasn't concerned about passion. Money was so important to me, hence, medicine was the goal😂.

But then, I sat myself down on a certain day, thought it deeply that if I gained admission to the college, and the stress comes in a rush, I might not survive and stand strong because firstly, I didn't involve God in my decision. Secondly, my decision was from a selfish and self-centered standpoint.

Hence, I started praying because I had been hearing a lot about Medical school that was really scary. I then got my an answer from God, telling me the course I was gonna study.

_In faith I went ahead took another jamb form, did a lot of research online about the course even up till residency training level to become a consultant after Medical school. I wrote my jamb exam and I did pretty well(had a score of 316), gained admission in merit and transited to the medical school with a CGPA of 5.0._

_Now at the medical school, the stress is always there. But, then the Bible says "I'd never leave nor forsake thee" .That statement alone is a comfort to me during those periods and that keeps me going._

As a parting word; in order to understand our ambition and Vision; it is very important we know Jesus who's always there to lead us and teach us. Trust me; He has good plans for us all.

Sometimes, we feel our decisions are the best, yet they're not God's will. Hence, in every situation, it's important to seek God; such that when challenges comes, we'd be assured that Jesus is in our boat, hence we cannot sink in the sea of academic depression_

I believe we have learnt one or two lessons from the above. 

In our next article we will be dealing with importance and benefits of vision over ambition

Thank you...

*TO BE CONTINUED...*

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UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF VISION AND AMBITION - PART 1

 UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF VISION AND AMBITION - PART 1

God created man and put in him the ability to subdue and dominate the earth. This is what is termed the spirit of leadership i.e. there is a spirit  of leadership in every man. At creation, God placed in man the ability to lead; to impart and also make impacts. There is always this part in us finding a way to be significant on the earth, because this is what we are called into. But the devil came to deceive man and the man obeyed him; and as such, he fell and the fruit of leadership in man was corrupted. The communion between God and man was disrupted. Man could no longer access God's intent for him, hence purpose was defeated.

God never gave us the spirit of leadership to dominate ourselves but the earth. When man fell and the spirit of leadership became; man then resorted into envy covetiousness, strife, pride all seeking ways to dominate other men like themselves. Leadership became a survival of the fittest. It became a do or die affair. This is against the purpose of God from which man derailed. Then, man began to have ambitions; self less and selfish ones just in order to seek ways to ensure this leadership. 

Furthermore, when man fell, he became open to choices; this is what birthed ambition and vision. God’s initial desire was not for us to fulfill our will but his will only. After man fell, he was now given the privilege of choice. God originally was man's sole authority; to decide for man and to also choose an inheritance for man. Man lost this at the fall and  power of choice was bestowed upon him. In all these, God still has power over his life.

What is Vision?

The word "Vision" has been defined in many ways but we will take a few as regards this context. Vision is the discovery of purpose for which one is created.  Vision is going back to your creator in prayer and asking him what he would have you do on earth. It is the unfolding of Divine plan for man's existence.

We must understand that our humanly qualification is the disqualification of our vision while our humanly disqualification is the qualification of our vision. In other words, what you may need to fulfill your vision is what you are yet to discover which is your hidden potential - your certification, eloquence. This is the reason you have to pay 100% attention to God in order for him to draw out the potentials in you.

What is Ambition?

Ambition can be defined as a strong desire to achieve a particular end or a set goal. According to the Oxford dictionary, "Ambition can also be said to mean an inordinate desire for some objects that confer distinction as preferment, honor , superiority and desire to distinguish one’s self from other people". When man fell, the Adamic nature took control of man (the ability to rebel against God will. This gave us the ability to pursue a course by ourselves even without asking from God. 

Ambition can be divided into two - selfish ambition and selfless ambition. Selfless ambition refers to when what you intend to do is help humanity in one way or the other with or without the help of God in your plan (as this is ambition). The latter i.e those who don't want the help of God want to contribute to humanity without believing whether He exists or not.

On the other hand, Selfish Ambition  is the ability to please yourself by displeasing other people in other to be significant in the society. This kind of people do not value human lives; they can kill in other to achieve their goals.

We must also understand that Ambition can turn to vision and vision can turn into Ambition. To understand more on this, follow us as we journey through.

Thank you.

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Men That Lead

Building Manhood

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UNDERSTANDING WHY MEN FAIL - PART 2&3

 UNDERSTANDING WHY MEN FAIL - PART 2&3

3. Cain (Lack of respect for God)

Genesis 4:1-16

Cain was the first descendant of Adam. Being the son of Adam, he had the potential of being the father of the earth if his father Adam had followed through with God; and being that seed that would crush the head of the serpent. He had everything necessary for success yet he failed. He failed because he lacked respect for God. While his brother brought a befitting offer for God, Cain brought whatever he could lay his hands on to God. Abel brought "the first born of the flock and the fat portion" i.e the best he had, Cain brought something of no value accompanied with zero awe and reverence to God. Well we know how it all ended. He ended up being cursed by God himself and he became the father of a cursed race.

How many people nowadays bring the bottom of the barrel to God, while they leave out the precious things? Their valuable time which was supposed to be used in God service, their talent, knowledge, money; serving God only when it is convenient for them, flagrantly disobeying his commandments.  Just like Cain "if you do well, will you not be accepted?" And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; and still expect to be blessed of him. According to God's word in 1Samuel 2:30  "Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed".

4. Balaam: (Disobedience to God's will)

Numbers 22:12

Balaam, was a man who was a custodian of the oracles of God. He knew God's call on his life, and he had dedicated his life pursuing that purpose. Yet disobedience to God's revealed will derailed him and eventually destroyed him. He thought he was wiser than God and decided to make a little fortune on the side in total defiance to God's revealed instructions. He met with death down that path. Do you think you are wiser than God? that you can have your cake and eat it? That you can disobey God and go scot-free? When his revealed will says that "thou shall not steal" yet you still involve yourself in Yahoo Yahoo, theft and say Grace will cover you. Be not deceived so says God's word, whatsoever a man soweth that shall he reap. When you disobey God,you reap the consequence.

Having looked at this, let us look at those who have experienced success in their lives, career, business, health, marriages etc. but still end up as failures. What could have led to that?

5. Nebuchadnezzar (Pride)

Daniel 4:1-37

Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler of the empire of Babylon, the most powerful man on earth then, consequently the richest if you may say. He was a Paragon of success, a great entrepreneur, a fantastic builder and a world-class leader. Yet this little cankerworm called pride brought him down. No matter the level of greatness a man has achieved, if he allows pride in his life, failure is guaranteed. We must realise that, to maintain success and avoid failure we must constantly acknowledge the source of our success-God.

But something remarkable happened in vs 34-37

Daniel 4:34-37

[34]And at the end of the days [seven years], I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding and the right use of my mind returned to me; and I blessed the Most High [God] and I praised and honored and glorified Him Who lives forever, Whose dominion is an everlasting dominion; and His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

[35]And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing. And He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand or say to Him, What are You doing?

[36]Now at the same time my reason and understanding returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me, and my counselors and my lords sought me out; I was reestablished in my kingdom, and still more greatness [than before] was added to me.

[37]Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, Whose works are all faithful and right and Whose ways are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to abase and humble.

When Nebuchadnezzar realised his folly and amended his ways; his wealth, influence and prestige was returned to Him. This shows clearly that if we can learn from these characters and amend our ways by:

-Faithfulness to instructions

-Carefulness in morals

-Having Respect for God

-Obeying God's revealed will and

-Removing Pride from our lives.

Then we are sure to join the league of the exclusive few who enjoy lasting success and then...

Haggai 2:9

_The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts._

Shalom 💕

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UNDERSTANDING WHY MEN FAIL - PART 1

UNDERSTANDING WHY MEN FAIL - PART 1

Not everyone born on Earth will ever be successful. People in all levels of life have been found to fail. Statistics over the years has so far proven this. You will discover that so many people failed when they were in the lower classes of primary school. In the higher classes, there are also those who fail. Failure is at different levels.  Some fail in the weekly test, some fail at the end of the term. Some fail in the weekly test and succeed at the end of term, only to fail the next. Some fail at the weekly asessment; don't stop there but move on to fail at the end of the semester and at the end of the session. Some who have been succeeding at the lower classes also fail at the higher classes. Some succeed in internal examinations but fail at the external examinations. 

When you follow students up to the higher level, you find out that at the college,  polytechnic or universities they fail. Some succeed at the university but when they get to postgraduate school they fail.As we look at this trend of failure, you must then begin to wonder does failure stop at school? The truth of the matter is failure is much more outside school than it is in school. The pattern of failure in various levels of education is an indication that this is what happens to men generally.At lower levels, children fail, but it doesn't just stop there when they get to the age of teenagers, they fail. There are still so many people in their 30s to 40s who are still failing in the important subjects of life. Marriages, businesses, career, purpose and life generally. Unfortunately some people who have succeeded early in life still fail late in life.Because failure has not been properly monitored, it has become pronounced in the lives of more and more people. We therefore ought to ask ourselves the question as to why people fail.

We understand that a problem cannot be solved unless the reason for the problem is known. Therefore to stop this evil trend of failure in the lives of people we have to know the reason behind failure. It's not impossible to succeed all through.We will be identifying Biblical characters who failed in certain areas of their lives or in their life generally and analyse the reason behind these failures.

1. Saul (Unfaithfulness to instruction).1samuel 15

Saul was the first king of Israel and he was chosen by God himself to rule the land and kingdom of Israel following the cry of the Israelites for someone to rule over them. The Bible made us to understand that he (Saul) was a tall man, well-built; a man who had everything he needed at his disposal to rule a nation and to defend his country. But unfortunately he failed to actualize his primary purpose because he was unfaithfull to instruction. Although saul had everything he needed to win the war, he had the instrument, he had the physical stature, he had  the soldiers, he had the resources yet he failed to win just because it was not faithful to instruction. Many people just like saul have all it takes to be successful they've discovered what their purpose in life is. They have the necessary tools they need to fulfill their purpose, the right opportunities needed for their purpose fulfillment has come their way, they have the right people around them. They're in the right environment yet they fail to fulfill their life's purpose because they were unfaithful to instructions. 

Moses told Joshua in Joshua 1: 8 that this book of the law shall not depart out of my mouth but that shall meditate upon it day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein for then thou shall make thy way prosperous and then that shalt have good success. This means that our being successful in life is directly linked to our ability to faithfully observe and do everything we have been commanded to do in God's word.

2. Samson (Carelessness in morals)Judges 14:1; 15:1

Samson was a man who had a singular purpose in life and that was to rule over the children of Israel and deliver them from the servitude of their enemy. Right from when he was young, he had discovered his purpose and he was already working towards fulfilling it. Yes he had some victories leading the Israelites against their enemies but in the latter part of his life, he failed In his Divine calling. This was not because he lacked the necessary tools he needed to succeed, not because his enemies or challenges as we may face today were bigger than him. He failed because he was careless in morals. Lack of morality has been one of the major root cause of failure in the lives of many people.

TO BE CONTINUED

The Men That Lead

Building Manhood

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THE SPIRIT OF JOY - PART 2

THE SPIRIT OF JOY - PART 2

Joy is more than a feeling. It is infact the will of God for every of  his created work. This is why in the scriptures we are admonished to at all times put on this garment of joy (Phil 4:4). Proverbs 17:22 talks about the opposite of joy which is a broken spirit and what it will do to the heart of someone who possesses it. We must understand that a  heavy heart is not the Father's intent for us. When we are sorrowful, it is the devil at work in our lives. He is the one who give man reasons to go moody, reasons not to see the good in situations that may surround us. He causes man to withdraw from the very happy state which is God's plan for him. 

The Bible makes us understand the three fold ministry of the devil in John 10:10 "the thief cometh not but to steal, to kill and to destroy". Nothing in these operations of the devil brings Joy to man. He has come to place man in bondage and in captivity; hence it is he that causes a broken spirit in man. But according to the latter verse, the joy of the Lord overpowers this. We are made to understand in Proverbs 17paraphrased "when we possess this merry heart so given unto us of God, it guarantees us life". 

From KJV translation, we see it doeth good like a medicine. A medicine is meant to restore health when one is sick and in turn life unto our dead flesh. This is what happens when we are joyful. We come alive.

Why then do we need the Spirit of Joy?

✓No vision prospers in the absence of Joy: For every vision a man  has, He gets it from a source which is God himself. He made all purposes in the heart of a man. He is the great revealer of truths and secrets. Hence, to receive from the Father, you have to be in communion with Him. The Father who works in the atmosphere filled with joy can only relate with us at that same level. Joy translates into Joy. If you are burdened in heart, there is no room in you to even bear whatever plans He has for you and as such you are deprived of the blessings attached to that vision(Matthew 11:28-30).

✓Nothing works in the absence of Joy:

You cannot be sorrowful in heart and expect  things around to work for you. Why is this so? A sad person cannot see good in anything and if he cannot, then he can't expect to receive anything good. Because how do you expect to receive when you have not first seen. Until you have been able to visualize these things with the eyes of your mind, it can't come to being. One vital tool that makes for success is to have the Spirit of Joy in you. Joel 1:12 "The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men". 

In the  scripture above, nothing was working for these people; those that previously used to work and those things that were expected to work; they all failed. Why? Joy was withered away from the son of men. Joy is very important. Habakkuk 3:17-18

"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation".

✓Joy is a fruit of the Spirit: This is another very vital essence of Joy. It is a proof of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You see a believer who is not joyful, always moody and sad; such a person is not showing these fruits. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Joy and according to the scriptures, he gives to any man that will ask of Him. (Matthew 7:7). Even in the saddest situations, you still have this Joy in the Holy Ghost, reminding you of His word and helping you to keep on pushing. It is never you alone. It is you together with the Holy Spirit and sure your victory is accomplishable.

✓In the absence of Joy, God cannot speak to us: The Bible makes us understand that God is omnipotent meaning he has power to do all things. But you ever wonder why in certain situations, it may seem like He is not there. Do you ever wonder why it looks like you have been able to hear God speak to you but recently it's been difficult to approach Him. Then, have you stopped to also check is there something you were doing before or possessed but isn't there any more. Isaiah 12:3 tells us that "with joy shall we draw water out of the well of salvation". One of the benefits we enjoy when we are saved, is this constant communication with the Father and we see in that book of Isaiah that this is breached. He can never speak to us without joy. Let us take a look at the story of Job in the Bible. It wasn't that God didn't know that he was challenged but sorrow in him made God far from him. Not until he realized and then his understanding changed; he began to bless God and also prayed for his friends, then God restored back unto him all He had lost (Job 42).

A happy countenance invites God but a sorrowful one chases away His presence. Instead of seeing the things that are not working, why not see those that have worked and just see how God has helped you thus far, it will help you be full of appreciation unto Him and also foster Joy in Him.

TO BE CONTINUED

THE MEN THAT LEAD

Building manhood...

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THE SPIRIT OF JOY - PART 1

 THE SPIRIT OF JOY - PART 1

Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith".

Proverbs 17:22 "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones".

Praise God! We @TMTL will like to use this opportunity to appreciate everyone who has stayed all through the journey thus far and we will like to say a very big thank you; also wishing you all a Happy Happy New month. Our prayer is that this month be most fulfilling and inspiring for you; a month filled with all round prosperity in Jesus mighty name. Amen

Hallelujah once again! This week we shall be looking at a very vital biblical concept which is Joy. Joy is more than what it literarily means i.e. "to be happy". Here, we will see what more there is to this and even why it is necessary for us as believers. 

In a world of so many crisis today; a world of confusion when men are thrown into strife and hatred for one another, where sorrow and languish have become the daily meal of certain ones, where those that oppress continue to seek to oppress and so many have even lost their source of happiness. God is saying to you "BE JOYFUL". It doesn't matter how the circumstances may look currently; it doesn't matter whether your finances are a mess or you can't even provide for your family. It doesn't matter that there is that someone who is always at all times frustrating your endeavors whether it be a colleague or a superior. God is saying to you "BE JOYFUL". 

Why do I need to be joyful when all around me is not working, some may ask? 

One of the things I have come to understand is that Joy is the only proven antidote for sadness. The way it is said that if you nurse hatred for a person, just in your heart begin to find reasons to love that person, soon your hatred for that person will be long forgotten; in the same vein this is applicable with Joy. For every heart that sorrows, you can only find solace in Joy. 

One thing we must understand is that Joy or being joyful is the heritage of every believing child of God. Being joyful is our birthright. So whether you choose to or not, this Spirit is a must have and it's available for you and I. God is not happy seeing his own hurt daily, He is not happy seeing you go through pain. The Bible makes us to understand in Jeremiah 8:21paraphrased "for the hurt of my people, am I hurt, dismay hath taken ahold of me". This is God talking to us here.

Our Father in heaven is a joyful God. The scripture makes us see this in Psalm 16:11; "in his presence, there is fullness of Joy and at his right hand, there are pleasures forever more". You can take a few lines back and see the light from that word. Have we ever heard that in heaven, there is agony or there is pain. Never. It is impossible to have heard that sometime in heaven; things were so hard and God cried or the host of heaven all wore sack clothes and had ashes upon them-At all! 

This is infact God's divine plan for us. Right from creation, we see God's original intent for us from verse 26 of Genesis 1. "Now, let us make man in our own image and after our likeness..." 

You are made in the image and after the  likeness of God; thus, if his image is Joy, then you have every right to own joy and not just that "to stay joyful". The second part of that verse says "...and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth". In all of these words aforementioned; I don't think sorrow was ever part of divine arrangement for us. Subsequent verses "be fruitful, multiply, inherit, govern". No place for sorrow or sadness in God's dictionary for us. This tells us that He is concerned about what makes us happy. This means if things are not working, and we are therefore sad, it is never his work. Going back to the verse in Psalm 16:11 "in his presence there is fullness of Joy..."

 Now, if I may ask, where is the presence of God? Heaven -no. God lives in Heaven, yeah; but he is present in you and I through his Holy Spirit. Therefore, Joy is in us. Hallelujah! 

Please let us make these confessions "I have joy that the devil cannot take from me" "I have joy so great that the devil cannot withhold from me" "I am joyful because I have a joyful Father". 

This is our birthright even as we become genuine born again children of God. You are not supposed to be heavy at heart. The spirit of heaviness is of the devil; and as long as you are not his, it is not yours! Concluding this pilot series; from that verse in Psalms "...at his right hand there are pleasures for ever more". This is the reason we are Joyful because life is pleasurable in God. It brings happiness unto us. Communion and constant fellowship with Him makes us liable to this. Whether it is pleasures in your health, finances, academics, career, marital life, fruitfulness - He has them all in His possession and it is ours for the taking. Why should we then be sad?

TO BE CONTINUED

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TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP PART 2

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP PART 2

What is Transformation?

According to the dictionary, transformation means the act of transforming or the state of being transformed. It is also defined as a marked change in appearance or character, especially for the better.

What is Transaction?

According to the dictionary, transaction is an act of conducting or carrying out business, negotiation and plans; an exchange or trade as of ideas, money, goods etc.

Differences between Transactional leadership and Transformational leadership.

We understand that transformational leadership is when the behaviours of leaders influence followers and inspire them to perform beyond their perceived capabilities. This form of leadership doesn't give based on merit or on the fact that one deserves it but on the basis of service and love. In this form of leadership, leaders employ enthusiasm and charisma to influence their followers. As from definition we have been stating, transformational leadership is based on leaders ability and personality traits to make changes through examples. They earn trust, admiration and respect from their surbodinate. They focus on values, ideas, needs and morals of the followers and are change-oriented.

Transactional leadership on the other hand, in one word is quid pro quo ( meaning "this for that") one has to earn in this type of leadership. Every follower must deserve every type of mentorship and idea dispensation. In transactional leadership, leaders employ punishments and rewards and motivation for its followers. This type of leaders are action oriented, rigid and self directive. They also focus on maintaining favourable relationship with the followers. Unlike how transformational leaders are proactive, transactional leaders are reactive

In transformational leadership, every follower is considered as potential leaders while in transactional leadership only one person is seen as the leader.

Characteristics of transformational and transactional leadership

Some Characteristics of a transactional Leadership.

✓ Extrinsic motivation

✓ Opposed to change

✓ Conventional decision making

✓ Performance oriented

✓ Structured

✓ Directives

Some Characteristics of transformational Leadership

✓ Curiosity

✓ Communication

✓ Visionary

✓ Team first Attitude

✓ Simplicity

✓ Charismatic

✓ Tolerance for risk

In the next article on this series we shall be explaining these highlighted characteristics. 

Thank you. 

The Men That Lead

Building Manhood

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TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

 TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

In this week article, we will be making a study into another style of leadership - TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP. 

Leadership is the ability to rally men and women towards a common goal and interest in the spirit of Capacity and Character building. Our case study this week is Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of United States of America.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th US president was born on February 12th, 1809. He was an American Lawyer and a statesman and was sworn-in to 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He was an educated man who had passion for public education. He became a lawyer and U.S Congress man in 1849. He returned to his law practice but became vexed by the opening of additional lands to slavery as a result of the Kansas Nebraska Acts.. Lincoln led the nation through the America civil war, the country's greatest moral, cultural, constitutional and political crisis. He succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery boistering the federal government and modernizing the U.S economy.

His Legacy as a

Republican: Lincoln's redefinition of Republican values has been stressed by historians and was called declaration of Independence-which emphasizes freedom and equality for all.

Reunification of the State: in Lincoln's inaugural address, he explored the nature of democracy. He denounced succession as anarchy and explained that majority rules had to be balanced by constitutional restrains.

What then is transformation?

Transformation can be defined according to Mariam Webster dictionary as an act, process or instance of transforming or being transformed. To transform means to change the form of, nature of or the appearance of something, someone or an entity.

What is Transformational Leadership?

Transformational Leadership is a theory of leadership where a leader works with teams beyond their immediate self interest to identify needed change, creating a vision to guide the change through influence, inspiration and executing the change in tandem with committed members of a group. Transformational leadership is when the behaviors of leaders influence followers and inspire them to perform beyond their perceived capabilities.

Transformational leadership inspires people to achieve unexpected or remarkable results. Transformational Leadership also serves to enhance the motivation, morale and job performance of followers.Transformational leaders typically perform four distinct behaviors, also known as the four I's. These behaviors are as follows: Inspirational motivation, Idealized influence, Intellectual stimulation, Individualized consideration.

✓Inspirational motivation is when the leader inspires their followers to achieve. This leader sets high and reasonable goals for their followers and their organization. They inspire commitment and they create a shared vision for their organization.

✓Idealized influence is when the leader acts as a strong role model for their organization and leads by example. This leader consider the needs of their followers and prioritize their needs.

 

✓Intellectual stimulation is when the leader encourages their followers to think for themselves. These leaders are creative, innovative, and are very open to new ideas. They tend to be tolerant of their followers' mistakes, and even encourage them as they believe they promote growth and improvement within the organization.

✓Individualized consideration is when the leader establishes a strong relationship with their followers. These leaders act as a caring supportive resource for their followers and their organization. They mentor their followers and allocate their time to developing their followers potential.

These four behaviors were what Abraham Lincoln exercised and he is still regarded today as one of the best presidents United States of America ever had. Lincoln is remembered as a martyr and hero of the United States and is consistently ranked as one of the greatest presidents in American history. In the 21st century, President Barack Obama named Lincoln his favorite president and insisted on using the Lincoln Bible for his inaugural ceremonies.

TO BE CONTINUED

The Men That Lead

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GENERATION OF ACHIEVERS - PART 2

 GENERATION OF ACHIEVERS - PART 2

One of the tools used to sharpen or shape the mind is Words. Words are important drivers of anything man desires to become. Knowing the right words, speaking the right words even doing those right words are key to a man fulfilling his ultimate goal on Earth. Even God used the word when He called forth things that previously didn't exist into existence. Hence, we must understand that whatever importance we give to the word we must also give to studying the word. Reading has a major role to play when it comes to us accessing information or truth. The words you don't read, you simply cannot access and once you don't have access to it, the words can't profit you. The place of Reading is however thus important. 

"To read" according to Webster Dictionary is to receive or take in the sense of letters, words etc, especially by sight or touch. When we read, we feed our minds with the correct tools to shapen the mind in order to achieve our dreams.

What then is Dream? 

☑️Dream is a long distance journey that requires right information to reach it. Words are used as blocks to shape our dreams to the form we want. Dreams without right words are called illusions. Your mind can only be strong and powerful when it is fed with the right words, to the extent that it can help you to overcome incredible obstacles and position you to become what you dream of. 

☑️A dream is a picture of the future and this picture appears in the mind. One of the way you can feature in the picture of the future is by educating your mind, reading books or learning a skill in accordance to the future you want to feature.

How then can you achieve your dreams?

1.Be a committed learner: 

We must understand firstly that there is nothing new under the sun. It is either someone else has acheived your dreams or laid a foundation for the fulfilment of your dreams. The place of learning is thus very paramount and this can be done either through learning a skill that is in accordance to the dream, or reading books that is related to the dream.

For instance, Richard Branson who was a case study in our previous article, is someone who loves reading cosmic books. This among many others brought light to his dream. Anything the physical eyes cannot see; this means it is dark to us. When we can't see our dreams, this is what it literarily means. They are dark to us; and no man achieves anything in the absence of light. 

We cannot see the future with our physical eyes and this is the reason we need light to educate our mind. Education is light needed for the eyes to see and not just see, but see efficiently and effectively.

2. The Triple D's (Discipline, Diligence and Determination): 

For you to acheive your dreams; you need these triple D's. Discipline guides you towards your dreams; Determination focuses your attention towards your dreams; and Diligence energizes you to work hard toward your dreams.

3. Put it on paper: 

A dream is a picture of the future that the eye of the mind can see. Therefore, it is imperative that you write it down, paste it where your physical eyes can see and run with it regularly in order to believe and acheive it.   

Thank you and Remain blessed.

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GENERATION OF ACHIEVERS - PART 1

 GENERATION OF ACHIEVERS - PART 1

There are wise popular sayings that go thus; "those who achieve greatness in life have most of the time dreamt greatness". "You cannot become what you have not first imagined". "A man's station is only limited by his imaginations". 

Also, looking into the scriptures (Genesis 13:14-15); God told Abraham, _"for as far as thou can see I have given unto you"_. Thus, for every great thing we aspire to be, there must always be a great dream preceding it. This week we will be looking at the story of a man who had great dreams and was able to acheive his dreams. In our dreams coming into fulfillment, there are certain things that must be put in place, some of which we will be looking at.

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson, our case study for this article is a British English magnate, born on 18th July 1950. He is a big time investor, author and a commercial astronaut. Also, He co-founded the Virgin group, a conglomerate which dates back as far as the 1970s. At the time he did this, he was a young adult with the vision of a great future. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneur at a young age. He didn't have it all rosy for him, didn't go to a prestigious university and in fact, he didn't even complete his secondary  education, but yet He was still able to achieve greatness in life. He ranks one of the top UK billionaires  according to Forbes. How was he able to do this? History makes us know that growing up, Richard Branson suffered from a condition called "Dyslexia" which is the inability or difficulty to read". Thus, he couldn't keep up with his studies as a teenager. He didn't fit in at all. Despite these odds on his journey, he never allowed his inefficiencies to prevent him from attaining great heights or stopping him from fulfilling his great dreams. Rather than allowing his challenges to make him feel inferior, He had to set out to find the key to success which according to him was to focus on the things he was passionate about and this we see he was able to fulfil.

In that time of his life when he fullfiled his dream of going to space; He said, _“I was once a child with a dream looking up to the stars. Now I am an adult in a spaceship looking down to our beautiful Earth. To the next generation of dreamers; if we can do this, just imagine what you can do"._ This he said while sharing a clip of himself and his team floating in the ship. From his story, we can see that a tender age, he was sold out to his dreams, determined not to back out at the presence of obstacles. He had so many great dreams and was able to fulfil them. Even at an old age, he fulfilled his dream of flying in space. This shows us that there is never an age you get to that all your dreams and hopes can't be realized. So many men like this also in our world today. It is never too late to fulfill your dreams. 

What is a dream?

A dream is an inspiring picture of the future that energizes your mind, will and emotions, empowering you to do everything you can to achieve it. Imagination is one of the greatest power God gave humanity. It is as powerful to the extent that you can travel to your future and yet you are still in your present. The seat of imagination is in the mind and that is where our sight is located. We see "through" our eyes but we see "with" our mind. The mind is what we use to see the future while the eyes just see what is now. The power of imagination can enable our roaming without opening our physical eyes. The mind is as important to the future as the eye is important to the present. Without the mind, one cannot see the future and automatically a future you don't see you are not permitted to become. A future you cannot visualize, you cannot realize. A future lost is a life lost. 

Dreams generate from the mind but if the mind is not taken care of by constantly feeding it positively and taking positive actions, then the dream may not be achieved. Looking at the story above, Bramson had a dream but he did not just stop there, he did a lot of things which we will unveil even as we journey in our articles...

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Men That Lead

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