PARENTING : A FORM OF LEADERSHIP

 PARENTING : A FORM OF LEADERSHIP

I welcome everyone of us into this Leadership week. I believe so far we have been blessed by our previous articles on Leadership. Glory to God. 

In our previous articles, we have been made to understand that Leaders can be born and can be made. There are Leadership traits and character that must be either learned or acquired; but we should still not disregard the fact that there are some innate (natural) Leadership abilities and skills. However, one may still have to build more on them; this is why some say Leaders are made and not born. To quote from an article "30% of Leadership is genetics, while the other 70% is learned".

This week we will be talking about one of the most important form of leadership and to some it is a difficult role to fit in; but this should however not be so. As a way of introduction, this form of Leadership is very important because this is where Leaders stem from and where other forms of Leadership can also be cultivated. This place is the "Home".

We must understand that our leadership journey starts from the home and then affects the world. When God made the first man and gave him leadership roles, He put him in the home to exercise this ability. He gave him the animals, the plants, and everything in the garden of Eden, together with the Divine mandate to have Dominion over (Genesis 1:28-30; 2:19). This was the first Leadership and from which every other form of Leadership that man could ever attain came into being. 

We have been taught on how man was born a leader. We can safely say, every man has in him the nature of leadership; but not every man becomes a leader. This is because the process of Leadership is intentional(hence a person cannot just rely on his natural abilities alone for him to become a leader). The same dominion given to the first man was given by God to everyone of us excluding none to take dominion of the earth; and since it is a general knowledge that every human being on Earth came from a home, the home plays an important role in your leadership journey. 

Now let us look at the concept of Leadership in the home. In the home, as a parent, you are the head of the home but it is so unfortunate that most parents do not know their role as the head of the home. Why?  they are ignorant of this subject of Leadership. The father being the head does not know that this means he is responsible for what obtains in the home either as it affects him or affects the other members of the home. He is ignorant of His duties as the first leader of the home, hence we cannot expect from such a person but the display of followership. This is why in some homes today, some men have lost the right to speak as the head; they now follow whatever it is their children say. And even if they do talk, they are quickly reminded of their place. This would not be so, but for the ignorance of the subject of leaderyship.

In some homes likewise, this Leadership has shifted from a responsibility to an entitlement; and these parents abuse their role as leaders. The same way, everything rises and falls under Leadership in other forms of Leadership, in the same vein, this can be said about Parenting too. 

Many have turn their role in the home as an entitlement not a responsibility and this in turn affect their wards. It is no new saying, that every thing a person is in the society today, he has either consciously or subconsciously picked from the home. This is how important Leadership is in the home. Leadership is Influence. As a Father, you do not want to be the reason, your child fails in his duty as a political leader or a spiritual leader, because it goes on to affect every future responsibility of that child.

For an instance, in a home where the father instructs and for one reason or the other, this instruction is not taken by the child; that child sees nothing wrong in him disobeying the Father (either because the Father does not know his Leadership role or he is incapacitated to fulfilling them effectively), you can expect such a child when he is in the position of command to be willing enough to take advice from his followers.

Another place, the role of Parenting leadership is misunderstood is this; as the head of the home, the only way you can influence your family positively is by being an Example. This brings us to Parenting as an Exemplary Leadership.

The Bible commands in Proverbs 22:6 "that parents are to train their children in the way of the Lord". Note the word "train". This word mean different things to different people. Some it means the use of sword, spear and harmful punishment strategies on their wards. But when it comes to training, is that really the essence? Training here means showing example for others to follow. From these two explanations above; which do you think will produce the effect of raising responsible and well behaved children - the way of manipulation through beating him or infleuencing that child by showing him example of what to do.

In the words of MuhatmaGandhi, "there is no school equal to a decent home and there is no teacher equal to a virtuous parents". This statement shows clearly that our Leadership journey starts form the home, not the street nor the school.

TO BE CONTINUED...

                            The Impact Team

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THE CHARACTER OF EXCELLENCE

 THE CHARACTER OF EXCELLENCE

Excellence is a word we all are quite familiar with. Excellence means superior in kind or degree. We have most often associated excellence with results. When we think of excellence,we think of straight As in examinations,we think of quality products of business,we think of quality delivery of service but today, we want to examine the character of excellence.

For those of us that are Christians,when we think of excellence,one Bible character comes to mind,Daniel! The Bible mentioned of Daniel, that an excellent spirit was found in him. The term "excellent spirit" doesn't mean anything too spooky or mysterious,the original Hebrew translation for "excellent spirit" also means "the character of excellence".

"An excellent spirit" is different from "the spirit of excellence" but let's not do the theology today, let's stick with understanding excellent spirit. So beyond the results, excellence is a character. Excellence is not "Effizy",Effizy is the great grandchild of excellence. The results are only the fruits of excellence.

Today, we will learn about three characters of Excellence.

1 Time Management: Excellence is typified in time management. Time is a very important key, that is most often trivialised for "deeper" truths. Time is truly synonymous to life,to destiny. That's why on the gravestone,not so much information is imprinted,only the length of time spent on earth is written there. So the summary of the man's life consists of how much time he has to spend here and what was done within that time frame. Our time started counting from the moment of birth to the moment of final breath. A person with an excellent spirit is one who has a quality understanding of time and as a result, guards it jealously and makes quality investment with it. A student that wakes up by 7am,gets to school late by 9am, returns home by 5pm,sleeps at 9pm only to wake up the other day by 7am is, no way under earth, going to have an excellent result. Time management is seen in having priorities and allocating time to every activity based on the hierarchy of importance. A student who plays as much as he reads,gists more than he practises questions,sleeps more than he listens in class is not an excellent student. Sleep is important,play and recreational activities are important,social relations are important but allocating the same time and energy to all these activities is wrong.

2. Discipline : Discipline is a controlled behaviour. I'll define discipline as putting boundaries and self-imposed limitations for the purpose of a higher goal. Daniel,a man with an excellent spirit said I would not defile myself with the king's meat. Daniel,the Bible character,after being a foreigner and slave in a country,was introduced to the palace,and he still chose to stick with his diet and not take the king's meal. That's unimaginable to many of us. That's what most of us would typically call a dunce but discipline is being able to,but not doing it, because of a greater cause. Discipline is seen when you can,but you don't. You intentionally caution yourself. A student that eats what he likes,sleeps when he likes,reads when he likes,attend classes when he likes and just lives his life based on what we call "cruise and vibes" in this generation,is a student who will fail successfully. His failure will be so excellent. A perfect failure. Apostle Joshua Selman said "discomfort is usually the mother of comfort". Jesus said "allow it to be so for now". You have to permit some inconveniences to attain your goals. If you're too comfort driven,you will never see some levels of accomplishment. Greatness is never in the comfort zone,it doesn't stay there. There are times,you must burn the midnight lamp,there are times,you must turn the plate over,there are times you must go the extra mile for certain things to be done.

3. Honour : This is one character of excellence that you might not have considered but honour is a character of excellence. Honour simply means according people the dignity and treatment that is due to them. Honour is celebrating people for their uniqueness. I sit in my lecture rooms and I'm embarrassed by the gross dishonour of students to the lecturers even while lecture is going on and I know in that instant, that these ones can never pass this course. It's not a curse, it's a law. Whatever you dishonour,you can't have. I know that lecturers and teachers might have their excesses,our parents might have their excesses but a Yoruba proverb says "it's not from my mouth,that the death of the old teacher would be heard". Honour is seen in words and behavioural conduct. Honour your teachers for their contribution to your growth. "Are they not paying them for their work?" That's the voice of foolishness. They are being paid but they deserve your honour. They have sailed through the storm you're struggling to get through,be humble,neglect their flaws and honour them. When you choose to honour regardless of their human imperfections,you have set yourself up for series of effortless results. There are people that a "Good morning Sir" with a bow and a smile got them their dream job,while some arrogant people keep going about with their first class certificates without any hope of employment. Add honour to your arsenal today and watch the lifting power of honour. And always remember,to honour, regardless of human imperfections,because the best of a man,is still a man.

My aim for today was to shift our focus from obsession over results when we think of excellence. It's more than reading tirelessly for an exam that guarantees straight As. It is more than buying a new sophisticated machine for your business to make the business expand. Beyond the results,have an excellent spirit. With a character of excellence,the results are reproducible. There's a way to get the results. We have discussed only three but even if these three are all you learn and begin to practise,they can cause remarkable changes in your academics,business and even personal life. Excellence is not spooky,it is attainable. One book that I read and also recommend is "Excellence: How to Purse an Excellent Spirit" by Andrew Wommack. I hope you have learnt something. Drop feedbacks an reviews so we can know how much these truths are changing our lives. Thank you. See you next month.

    

                          Thank you.

                       The Impact Team.

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DEVELOPING YOUR SELF-ESTEEM.

DEVELOPING YOUR SELF-ESTEEM.

Self-esteem is how much confidence you have in yourself. It is your overall opinion of yourself. It is the belief about your worth. For example, if you have a low self-esteem you are constantly afraid of making mistakes or you do something out of fear of what others might say, and therefore do not behave confidently.

Self-esteem is how much confidence you have in yourself.

Low self-esteem is when you lack confidence about who you are and what you can do. You place little or no value on yourself. You have difficulty in accepting positive feedbacks.

Healthy self-esteem is the realistic thought about yourself. You feel confident about yourself. Feeling superior is not a sign of healthy self-esteem, it portrays insecurities. 

WHERE DOES SELF-ESTEEM STEM FROM?

- PEOPLE: People often pass different comments on what they feel about us. Both the positive and negative words said stick to us and we tend to just accept whatever is said about us. It doesn't have to be that way. 

- VOICES IN YOUR HEAD: First, some words come to your head and with your mouth those words are verbalized. The things you say to yourself play a big role in how you feel about yourself. Thoughts like, "I'm not good enough", "I'm such a failure" hurts and damages your self-esteem. Instead, you can think about yourself this way, "I'll do better next time", "I can do it if I put my mind into it".  Learn to think better about yourself.

WITH HEALTHY SELF-ESTEEM YOU BECOME:

- Assertive in your communication.

- Confident.

- More realistic with people.

And you have the ability to withdraw from toxic relationships.

HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR SELF-ESTEEM:

- Use positive affirmations on yourself.

- Build positive relationships.

- Become more assertive about your needs.

- Avoid negative self talks.

- Do not compare yourself with others but rather accept yourself.

Thank you

                       The Impact Team

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TOWARDS A PURPOSEFUL JOURNEY: THE CALL - PART 2

 TOWARDS A PURPOSEFUL JOURNEY: THE CALL - PART 2

In ourr earlier article, we were made to understand that picking up our call simply means taking personal responsibility. Truly you have a call of God upon you but not taking responsibility will make this call useless. A man once gave an illustration saying; when you point an accusing finger at someone, you have the three other fingers facing you. This means you are responsible for whatever has gone forth to the other person, and three times of it to yourself.

God gave us life but we ourselves must decide how we are going to live the life. But God has also given us principles through his word, whether we now obey the principle of the creator, it depends on our choice. Choice cannot be made if there is no information (knowledge). This is to say that the information we believe and conceive is what will determine our choice. Therefore, apart from the call upon us, God has also given us sound information from his word to understand and walk in the step for which he has called us.

What then are the various types of calling?

Types of Calling

1. General Calling

2. Personal calling

1. General Calling: The general calling for every human is to serve their Creator. Though there is a great misunderstanding among human on who their Creator is. We must know that every human believes on something. Deep within everyone human on earth, there is something telling them that they are created by a God. Just that many choose to neglect the voice. But for us as Christians, it is not to serve our heavenly father only but to work with his dear son to reconcile the world too Himself.  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. So as a Christian, your general calling is a call to serve God and walk with with Christ to proclaim His gospel to the world.

2. Personal Calling: This calling involves us making use of our talents, skills and wisdom to actualize the call. When purpose is discovered, God also gives the vision on how to fulfill it and the potentials to actualize it. This type of call involves our work and vocation, something that will pay us and sustain our family. When God shows you your purpose and vision for life, you must take responsibility in sharpening your potential which serve as your tools. This call can be in form of a Pastor, Business men, Consultant etc. 

The call we are talking about here is what is called Purpose. Purpose is the reason for your creation. Vision is the unveiling of God's plan for your life. Purpose is knowing the reason you were created while vision shows you how you will fulfill your purpose; your potential is the tool needed to fulfill your purpose.

Thank you.

The Impact Team

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TOWARDS A PURPOSEFUL JOURNEY - PART 1

TOWARDS A PURPOSEFUL JOURNEY - PART 1

THE CALL

Happy New week Fam!

As a way of introduction, Life is not a game that answers to luck. Life is a call that answers to Responsibility. We are delighted to bring to you another inspiring article on Purpose and hope you are blessed by it. 

In our previous articles on Purpose, we have defined and explained what Purpose is. This article will not be complete without first going through the definition of Purpose. If we do not have a clear grasp of what Purpose is, then we cannot align ourselves with these topic series. 

What then is Purpose?.

Purpose is the reason behind every existence or smply put, Purpose is the reason behind every call. It is the intention for every call. Science makes us to understand that during copulation between a man and a woman, every embryo formed is the only sperm that succeeded in fertilizing the egg of the woman; and this is out of over hundreds of millions of sperm released by the man. For this reason, other than science, every man should know that there is an important call upon his life. You are not just formed an accident but there is a reason you exist. We must understand that there is a call on every human being on Earth. Whether we respond to the call or not, the fact still remains that every individual has a call of God on them. Let's study creation; after God has created the first man Adam, He found a purpose for Him and this He revealed to him through His call. He also had another for his wife Eve, this he also revealed through her call.

What is this call? 

In simple words,  a call simply means "to beckon", "to summon" or "to request". Therefore, everyone on the planet was beckoned, summoned and requested by God for a particular reason. For instance before we dial the number of anyone on our phone, we will first have an intention for calling. This is true right?. There is no call without a purpose for the call; maybe it's just to greet or pass information etc. There is always a reason for putting a call through to someone. Even for those who say there's no reason, just felt like calling you - there is in actual sense a reason. 

Hence, the first thing before a call is a reason. We can simply say there cannot be a call without an intention. The reason behind every call is called Purpose.

 There is a widespread fallacy that only men of God such as Pastors, Apostles, Evangelists etc have the call of God upon them but I'm here to convince you that everyone has a call on them. It's not only those that hold spiritual positions of authority that have a call driving them. Every individual posseses a calling, whether it's a call into leadership, business, health, etc.  However it is important to know that the reason for calling any individual will always be different. That is how God has made it. The call of God on our individual lives is different. As our natural faces are different, so is every man's path different and also in the same vein, our calling.

If the reason for calling every individual is different, this shows that not every individual can walk the same path in achieving their purpose. As an individual called into leadership, there is a different path for you compared to he who is called into health but you must first recognize the calling and then focus on  the things you need to do about the calling; the steps you need to take and the paths you have to follow.

We all have the call of God but different reasons (Purpose) and nevertheless, we have a responsibility to pick or not to. Picking the call here simply means knowing the caller (who is God), responding to the call, discovering the reasons behind the call, and taking personal responsibility on the instructions given. 

TO BE CONTINUED...

THE IMPACT TEAM

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BREAKING FREE FROM SIN

 BREAKING FREE FROM SIN - PART 3

Anchor Texts: John 8:32, Genesis 6:5, Genesis 3, Revelations 2:19-20, Galatians 5:16-26

THE CURSE OF SIN

It's been a pleasant journey with our new series. We have seen what the origin of sin is, how the ADAMIC nature makes man vulnerable. We have seen how by the sins of one man, all men became sinners.

But today, we will be considering THE CURSE OF SIN.

Sin is a curse in itself and it also leads to curses.

Galatians 3:13; we see in this scripture that Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth upon a tree". From this verse above, we see clearly that there is a Curse and this curse is a curse of the law. As any other curse, it is binding on everyone whom the curse is placed upon. How then did this curse come about?

In verse 10 of the same chapter, we see for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of law to do them".

From the verses above, we are made to understand the legitimate power of this curse. In scriptures, we have seen over time, that Covenant is very important (Genesis 17:7, Ezekiel 37:26). We see God made a covenant with Abraham (we are still celebrating this today); He made a covenant with His son Isaac and then He had a covenant with Jacob, and so on. 

What then is a Covenant? Covenant laws are laws of agreement binding on all parties involved, but in the spiritual sense, here we refer to God and man. From scriptures, we understand that God is a covenant keeping God. It is "man" that must be careful enough to keep his own part of the covenant in order to make it of effect.

The same way there are godly covenants, there are also ungodly ones. Looking at God's word in Isaiah 49:24; "shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered". 

This is to say that though man may enter into bondage or an oppression by virtue of the devil's wicked nature but there are also ones we enter into lawfully. This brings us to this part of the curse of the law. From that verse 10, we see anyone who does not work in accordance with the law will pay for it. 

What law are we then talking about?. This is the law of Sin; the law of the flesh and the law of death.

Romans 8:2 "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death".

Romans 5:13b "but sin is not imputed when there is no law".

We understand from these scriptures above, that, there is a law of sin and also of death. And it is for this cause Christ came to die for us. But we must also understand that the law in itself is not sinful.

In the beginning (Genesis 1) when God created man, He gave him laws. These laws were the instructions that man was given. One of which was that he could freely eat of any tree of the garden but not of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Many have argued that if this instruction was not in place, then Adam won't have fallen. But it is note-worthy from our earlier article, that Adam's fall was not due to the instructions but to his ADAMIC nature. If not by the tree, he still would have fallen one way or the other.

It is also important to note that the laws were not made to put man in bondage or condemn him, but through the law came sin which brought about bondage and condemnation. The instructions (laws) were meant to give life but by them came sin whose wages became death. So from here, we see it is not that the law was in itself harmful but going against it brought the harm. That's why Apostle Paul did not say in Galatians 3:10 "Cursed is everyone that doeth or obeyeth the law but those that will not continue in the law".

Furthermore, from Romans 8, we see there is something called the righteousness of the law. Romans 8:2"that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit".

Thus, we understand that there is a way by which we can by the law live a life of righteousness and be free from the curse. Even when Christ was here with us, he said he had not come to abolish the laws.

Matthew 5:17 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil".

The law had been before time when God spoke his word to man and started giving Him commandments but Christ says He came to fulfil the law. This is to tell us that the law, though it brought curses; though through it many were thrown into bondage, this law was not yet fulfilled. Christ who became the end of the law is the fulfilment of that law for us as believers who have received Him and with Faith believed. Romans 10:4 "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth". Christ ended the law that brought curse and started the righteousness which is of Faith. The righteousness which is of law was according to the works of man but now through Christ's death and resurrection, we have a law that comes by Faith.

This is why Apostle Paul could boldly say in Ephesians 2:8-16

8 - For by grace are ye saved through Faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

9 - Not of works, lest any man should boast.

11- Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

15 - Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

16 - And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

So, Christ through his death and resurrection abolished the righteousness from the law and gave unto every one who believes "the righteousness that is of Faith".

That's why the scripture says in Romans 10:9-10

"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved".

John 3:15 "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life".

TO BE CONTINUED...

TIT... Building men and women of Excellence

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BREAKING FREE FROM SIN

BREAKING FREE FROM SIN - PART 2

Anchor Texts: John 8:32, Genesis 6:5, Genesis 3, Revelations 2:19-20, Galatians 5:16-26

Hallelujah! Beginning the week, we started out on looking at the concept of Sin, how it occurs in our world today, what the origin is and why people sin. We understood that man was created a righteous being and to shine the image of God the Father (hence, being created in his likeness), but also found in man and able enough to distort this plan of God was Sin. And from scriptures, we understand that though God loves sinners, He can barely bear to see sin. He who could turn His back against His son, Jesus, when he bore the sins of the world. That is the same God we are still dealing with. He is still the same; His word is still the same and concerning anything, He bends not His word. The new testament makes us understand He is not a respecter of persons. So, here is what we must understand in this age and time, that God still deals with man the same way He was before. But it's just that we live in a time where Grace has been made available for us in Christ; in a time where we can plead for mercy and not be found guilty: in a time where Jesus is our daily intercessor before God. The scripture says for the wages of sin is death. It also says for all have sinned and come short of the glory of the Lord. These and much more are the outcomes of living a sinful life but yet the mercy of God is everlasting in that when we repent of our evil ways, His Mercy is enough to cover all multitude of our sins.

Earlier this week, we also saw the impact of Knowledge in breaking free from sin. John 8:32paraphrased "and the truth that ye know shall set you free". This means that if we want to gain freedom, then we must have access to truth. It is true, the words that say Knowledge is Life. Knowledge is both Light and Life. If you have light, you need not walk in darkness and if you have life, you need not bother about dying. Darkness and death, both which result from Sin.

Today, we will be looking much more into the nature of Sin or putting it in another way, the ADAMIC NATURE OF MAN.

MAN's ADAMIC NATURE

We understand from scriptures in Genesis 1, that God the Father created the whole world, and then He placed man in it to care for it. He created man for His Glory hence His commandment towards man, "be fruitful, multiply and replenish the Earth". Everything in God's plan was good for man and till today, He has only good plans for His people. Jeremiah 29:11 "for I know the thoughts I think towards you, they are thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope".

The first man was made to be in control of situations. He was made a governor; a ruler. God gave man so much power, even the will "to do" and "not to do" was given to man. (From scriptures in Psalms 8:5 we see that man was made a little lower than the angels). He had the ability to choose whether "life or death". An account in Genesis 3:3 "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die". This wasn't God speaking to the serpent but man (Eve) speaking to it. Here we see that man could either choose what to do or what not to do. But the will that God gave man became the fall of man. The Bible made us to understand that the serpent, the devil was witty at the time, he was so cunning and as such he was able to speak to this so natural nature of man. He was able to speak to his mind which controlled man's will that was freely given to him of God and through this, the first man was made to sin. ADAMIC nature of man may not be described in it's whole essence as sin but also the nature that made man vulnerable to sin (i.e.the propensity to sin)

The ADAMIC nature wasn't just that he ate of the tree he was warned not to. The ADAMIC nature is disobedience; the ADAMIC nature is emotions; the ADAMIC nature is lying; the ADAMIC nature is trying to cover up evil. 

To say, the ADAMIC nature was every essence of what man was minus God. I believe if we understand this, then we may live our lives in full consciousness of what we are now. By what we are now, I mean, the believer after redemption. We now have God in us, through the Holy Spirit and now it's not the ADAMIC nature which is minus God but the Divine nature which is of God. Now I see why Apostle Paul could say I live, yet not I but Christ which lives in me. As the redeemed of the Lord, that verse in the Bible says we have crucified the deeds of the flesh (Galatians 5:24). This is not just sin but anything that stems out of the flesh which is not right before God, they have all been crucified with our Lord Jesus Christ.

We were made to understand in Genesis 6:5-6 that after man began to multiply on the earth, this ADAMIC nature also grew in man. We saw that God repented making man and that it grieved his heart because of the deep wickedness of man. The ADAMIC nature brought man into this point where he was an offence before God. As we have said earlier, He is a righteous God who cannot bear to behold iniquities. The ADAMIC nature of man was responsible for the captivity of the children of Israel, despite the fact that the word had come from God but the word only came because of man's ungodly nature. Cain killed Abel and got a curse, by the ADAMIC nature. Reuben slept with his father's concubine by the ADAMIC nature and he was cursed. 

The ADAMIC nature was a curse on humanity that necessitated the coming of Christ to redeem man. However, this same ADAMIC nature makes man not accepting to the truth.  Remember, Christ came to the earth in form of man, did all the workings of the supernatural, yet people still doubted him as the Messiah. Not until he was dead on the cross, and the things He said started happening, did they start to think the possibility of him being from God. Yes, the ADAMIC nature brings to sin but it is not in itself Sin. That's why we may be showing certain traits of the ADAMIC nature even in our everyday life but still we feel we are not committing sin. The concept of Sin is not just what you commit; it's that trait that makes you sinful before God. We all know that when we kill is a sin, disobedience also is sin but we do not understand that the fight is not just against the act which is committed, but it's also against that nature within. 

This ADAMIC nature is the Law of sin that the Bible describes.

Christ came to destroy the works of sin including it's hold on us. Romans 5:12 "wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"

Verse 14 says "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come"

This is why even though as a person, you do not commit sin but there is every tendency in you to sin..this is why we have to pray daily that that person of the flesh be crucified. Apart from the confession that brings about salvation, we should still pray against this person of the first man. It is because of this ADAMIC nature that you who had known no sin suddenly can fall if all care is not taken. Let's see Apostle Paul's testimony in Romans 7:15 "I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate". If Apostle Paul could testify this way, how much you and I.

Pls, Let's continue following the series to learn more. God bless.

TO BE CONTINUED ...

TIT... Building men and women of Excellence

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BREAKING FREE FROM SIN

BREAKING FREE FROM SIN PART 1

Anchor Texts: John 8:32, Genesis 6:5, Genesis 3, Revelations 2:19-20, Galatians 5:16-26

Praise the Lord! I want to implore us that we take time to study those scriptures outlined above. We will take study references from them as we go on in this series but the most important thing we need to get here is Deep Understanding; and this, we can get if we dutifully study the passages. My prayer is with the series and self-study, light will descend upon us and will shine in all our hearts. Amen

Hallelujah! The topic series we are considering this week is a very crucial one and important that we discuss it even as the world is where it is today. The topic is crucial in the sense that the knowledge is very vital and necessary for us as children of God and heirs according to the promise.

The concept of Sin and Righteousness is so clearly preached; almost everyone will already at one time in their lives have heard of how to not live a sinful life or how sin is unpleasant before God and how that the Righteous God loves us to be righteous. We must have also heard that without Holiness, we cannot please God. And a God we cannot please, we cannot expect him to be pleased with us or even bless us.

Many words like these we have heard and they are all true. Very true. Because the Word of God, the Bible which preaches against Sin is the same everywhere. And the preaching on it has never changed and will never change. It now becomes a bother when though the word is being preached, though everyone hear of this fact, yet sin doesn't decline. We can even say the number of practices are yet increasing; even the church which used to be seen as free from the sins of the world is also not left out as we see what so many great teachers of the word find themselves in today. What then can we say is the problem?

To say, one might argue that ignorance of the nature of sin is a reason for people committing sin but yet even those that have heard and seen the truth which is supposed to be the antidote for ignorance are also guilty of the truth. But both ways are possible. Ignorance is one reason many lavish in sinful practices. Whether it is ignorance of what sin entails, not knowing how it is practised or what we are doing that is sinful; ignorance of how to live a life without committing sin. Many people fall especially in the last category. They see sin as the second nature of man, something that man can never do without. But this is not true, man was created in the beginning as the Bible recorded, just in the image and likeness of God. That is to say, that man had the nature of God; we can thus infer that since God is righteous, then that same righteousness He put in man. 

For man then, it wasn't a choice of let me commit sin today or not commit sin as we see in our world today. Living a righteous life was not a choice. It was not something you can decide to turn on and off like a light switch. It was meant to be man's true nature not even second nature, because man was god. But then man lost this when the first Adam sinned, I used the word "first" here because that generation line perished for a new line to start which came to be through the Lord Jesus Christ. For as the first Adam, came also the second Adam to be the mouth piece of everyone who would descend from this line that is me and you. It was at the point of the first man falling that it became difficult for man to live as He was before hand designed to live. Sin became the order of the day... beginning from Genesis 4 when Cain killed Abel; this was when the devil began to perpetrate his works of sin. I believe by now we know the devil is the one that causeth man to sin. Genesis 3:1. He was that serpent that appeared to Eve and formed the Genesis of man's problem with sin.

But we must also understand that after the first Adam sinned and through his sin, sin became the nature of man; then the concept of Choice also came to being. It was then that man could either decide to live right or to live the other way. We see this in Genesis 6-8. In the same time when people were doing wickedly, the Bible makes us understand that there were still some people heeding to the voice of God. And from a few paragraphs above, we have seen that God cannot speak to you if He finds you unpleasant. And this is what sin does to us. But then He still spoke to the likes of Noah, Abraham, Enoch, Samuel, Moses. He walked with these people and we see the scriptures say again and again of how righteously these men walked and worked with God. Romans 4:22 "(Abraham) and therefore it was imputed unto him for righteousness". Enoch did not know death, the Bible recorded he was translated. Can a sinful man be translated? The answer is No. The New testament talks about the death of the sinner after which He enters into judgement. This part of the scripture scares me enough. The fact that there will be no redemption for man once He is beneath the earth, once He is down six feets. 

This is why I say we can still say some people are ignorant of these words. Because until you read and see for yourself these things in scriptures; the fact that you have heard doesn't take care of anything or may only take care of it a little. This brings us to the part of those who we can say have heard about these words, the so called Christians who still go about frolicking with sin.

One thing I have realized is this, it is one thing to "hear", it is another to "know" and another thing entirely to "do". We can safely assume that just hearing does not amount to having knowledge; having knowledge does not amount to having understanding. It is however much difficult to have understanding, then somehow still not do the works i.e. act it out. Having an understanding gives us the upper hand grasp of the concept and all things being equal, this is supposed to foster us acting upon those things we have understood. We must also understand that not everyone that really hears a word will the hearing translate to understanding for them. The book of Matthew makes us see this clearly in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-9).

Here, we were made to understand that a certain sower went into his field to sow and while at it, we saw some seeds fall by the way side; some upon stony places where they had not much earth; some fell among thorns; while some fell upon good grounds. And from the scriptures, we saw what became of each of these seeds. Only those upon good grounds yielded good fruits. Bringing this to our topic series, it is very possible that these set of people who hear the word only hear but do not do well in having knowledge or understanding.

Matthew 13:14-15 "And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."

And just hearing without full knowledge and understanding will not give us the results we desire. Ask the citizens of Jesus' home town; they heard the words He preached but it couldn't profit them because they were just hearing. John 8:32 says "ye shall know the truth and the truth that ye know shall set you free". Hence, it is not hearing the truth that shall set us free but the knowledge of the truth.

Pls stay tuned for the next on the series. The Holy Spirit is ready to open our eyes on so many things. The question is are you ready???

TO BE CONTINUED...

TIT... Building men and women of Excellence

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EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY IN LEADERSHIP - PART 3

 EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY IN LEADERSHIP - PART 3

TRAITS OF EFFICIENT LEADERSHIP

Today, we will be looking at traits of Efficient Leadership.

The traits of Efficiency in leadership are the characters we must possess to be efficient as leaders.

01. Submission: The first trait is Submission. A submissive person is one who surrenders himself or herself to growth constantly. The second verse in that same John chapter 15 says "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth, that it may bring forth more fruits".If we observe each word very well, we will observe that it is only the one (the tree) that is in him that he purgeth and He taketh away the part that doesn't bear fruit. Also grace is made available for only the submissive ones. As leaders, we must be submissive one, to higher authorities and also be humble enough to hear from our followers. Let not pride in. For Efficiency in Leadership, it doesn't matter how higher up and low your followers may be, let us make it a duty to be humble. Humility is not foolishness. You cannot submit if you are not humble. Humility is also not Stupidity. We should be open to learning if we are going to be efficient as leaders.

*Philippians 4:8-9(MSG) says "Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst, the beautiful, not the ugly, things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard, saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies".*

Learning is also a form of Humility and it therefore should be expressed *ALWAYS*.(Being aware that grace is made available to the humble)

02. Wisdom: The second is wisdom. As the Bible states in Ecclesiastes 10:10b "...wisdom is profitable to direct". Wisdom can be defined as the ability to discern. To know when to take certain actions  and when not to. The major difference  between an inefficient leader and an efficient one is the timing of their actions. Every leader reacts to certain circumstances but right reactions is what makes such leadership  efficient. Efficient leaders do not behave irrationally, they have an understanding of times and seasons (1Chronicles 12:32). The wisdom that is eternal is the wisdom that lasts, that is why it is important we ask and seek for it. James 1:5(TPT) says " And if anyone longs to be wise, ask God for wisdom and he will give it. He won't see your lack of wisdom as an opportunity to scold you over your failures, but he will overwhelm your failure with his generous Grace".

When we come before Him and ask with sincerity and genuinely, He will give it unto us.

Thank you.

The Impact Team

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EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY IN LEADERSHIP - PART 2

EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY IN LEADERSHIP - PART 2

HAPPY NEW MONTH! Family.

From our last article we were made us to understand what Efficiency and Effectiveness is all about and how important they are to every good leadership. We also saw that we cannot be effective and then not ne efficient when it comes to good leadership, that is to say, both traits must go hand in hand. We saw Effectiveness as the potential to produce a desired goal (results) and Efficiency as the adequate use of resources to achieve this desired goal (results). We also considered the resource of time in our definiton of Efficiency as Time is very crucial to a good Leadership.

Today, we will further look into these two concepts:

For one to be effective in a particular task or assignments, that means first you must possess some attributes or qualities that will enhance your productivity (that will enhance you to achieve your desired goal). These qualities are your potentials and in other words can be said to be your gifts. Lying in every gift is a Potential waiting to be tapped. Your gifts will remain as gifts, not doing you any good except you further develop them. Apart from now having the gifts, there is an aspect where you must consider  also the "Time" factor. That means, you are not only effectively driving towards results but also efficiently doing so. To generate proofs as a leader, you need these two.  

Myles Munroe of blessed memory said Leadership is the ability to discover a gift and sharing or serving it to the world. Every human carries a gift and we have been given a responsibility by God to discover it, nurture it and  also grow it. God also gave us a factor called Time to help determine the fruits we get when we use those gifts. Therefore, your quality of leadership is determined by how well you use your potential and the factor called Time. The proof of our leadership is in the RESULTS. And doing this will help bring out the results.

One very vital information we must hold on to is this; for us to achieve our desired results, we have to be connected to the source, God himself. He is the first Leader and also good; therefore if we desire the same, then we must be the same. 

Our ultimate model, Jesus Christ, himself had to also teach us this using himself. John 14:11 'Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me".

Jesus could do miracles even though He was the son of God by being close to the Father; because of the Father.

In the end of verse 10, the scripture says "it is the Father that doeth the works".

Having results can be likened to bearing fruits. Therefore, as kingdom leaders, our proof of Effectiveness in the servant leadership wherewith God has called us, is by our FRUITS. One major way by which we can bear fruits can be seen in John 15:1-8.

In  verse 1, Jesus likened himself to be the true vine, and God as the husbandman. Here He was giving us a template on how we can bear fruits that lasts especially in relation with our topic today.

Verse 3 states "we are clean through the word that he has spoken to us". Verse 4 says "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abides in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me"

What this then means is our fruitfulness is tied to our connection  with the word of God. Leading outside a connection to the word of God is potential failure and a set up for lots of disappointments. As earlier explained, the kind of leadership  we are called into is one of servanthood (service and not to be served), and it is different from the way the world views it. So it takes a lot more than our human wisdom to navigate through. We need to be connected to the word and follow the steps of our ultimate model, "Jesus Christ".

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Impact Team

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