Bishop

Charles & Rev. Mrs. Vivian Agyinasare

 Copyright © CHARLES AGYINASARE 2015

ISBN 978-9988-8598-6-2

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible except as otherwise indicated.

Request for information should be addressed to:

Dr Charles Agyinasare
Dzorwulu Junction
DTD 50 Cantonments
Accra, Ghana

Email: cagyinasare@aol.com
books@agyinasare.org

Website: www.agyinasare.org | www.perezchapel.org

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 Dedication
I dedicate this book to all who are struggling to develop their leadership
abilities. May this book bring you into your desired destination.

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 Acknowledgements
I am indebted to my team without whose effort I could not have done this
project.
I want to thank Nana Ama Asafo Boakye and Kharis Magazine for helping me
prepare the initial manuscript.
Also thanks to the Between the Lines, LLC staff for their vision to see this
book get into the hands of people around the world; and especially to Jan and
Tim Sherman: may God strengthen your mission among authors like me.
Special thanks to Mr. Obed Gyamfi for making time to proof read this material.
To my kids who, over the years, have had to put up with me for being
distracted sometimes during our family time by reading or writing.
And more especially, to my grand daughter Carly: but for this book, I would be
composing songs for your enjoyment, my dear.
I want to acknowledge Francis Agyinasare for growing to become my Chief
Editor.
And now to my dear wife, confidante, and partner, who, since 1985, has had to
endure my waking up in the middle of the night to write, edit, or study. I would
like to show you my deepest acknowledgement. I love you sweetheart!
 Contents
Introduction
God Sets People Into Positions Of Leadership
The Power of First Things
The Power of Divine Purpose
The Power of a Champion Mentality
The Power of Thinking
The Power of Wisdom
The Power of Study
The Power of Self-Control
Developing The Power of Self-Control
The Power of Perseverance
The Power of Honesty and Integrity
The Power of Courage
The Power of Responsibility
The Power of Wisdom
The Power of Certainty
The Power of Focus: This One Thing I Do
The Power of Prayer
Conclusion
You Must Be Born Again!
About the Author
Other Books By The Author
References
 Introduction
When we think about leaders, what readily comes to mind is their power and
authority. We often put our leaders on pedestals and admire from afar and near
due to the influence they exert. However, the Bible makes it abundantly clear
that leaders are supposed to be servants (Luke 22:26; Matt 20:26; 23:11).
Leadership, therefore, is a call to serve others that makes demands on your gifts,
your discipline and your spiritual walk. Recognizing this truth is one of the first
steps toward being an effective leader with beneficial permanence.
Servant leaders are rare today in the home, community, political and business
arenas, and most importantly in the church. This has been partly due to certain
misconceptions and prejudices about the role leaders should play, and partly to a
departure from the spiritual truths that are indispensable to the office of
leadership. In order to challenge these preconceptions, in the subsequent
chapters I offer simple but key ingredients that will help you stand out amidst
your peers and break through as a leader.
Some people also end up being so caught up in their leadership roles that they
fail to see the call to lead (that is, to serve) as a responsibility that involves every
aspect of their lives. This book will show you how to set your priorities right and
manage your time as a leader so that you will experience a more fulfilling life.
Whether you’re a church leader or a manager grappling with your
responsibilities, you will discover after reading this book that it is possible to
develop the abiding virtues that have characterized great leaders in history.
Regardless of any setbacks that beset you, with godly determination and
discipline, you will be able to emulate Christ, our ultimate Master and Leader,
and positively affect your generation.
These practical insights are rooted in the Word of God and will make you the
leader you’re destined to be. Whatever gifts or talents the Lord has given you, as
a good steward, it is your responsibility to invest in them and make sure they
grow by a thirty, a sixty and a hundred. This book will offer you the opportunity
to sharpen those gifts and boldly confront the challenges on your journey of
leadership. As you embark on this journey, prayerfully reflect on the truths and
steadfastly apply them to your life and ministry or office. It is my hope and
prayer that your leadership capability will soar more than ever and your impact
will be felt in the lives of the people God has given you!
 CHAPTER 1

God Sets People Into Positions Of

Leadership
In the book of Daniel, God taught Daniel about leadership so he in turn could
teach Nebuchadnezzar. God made him understand that all authority and power
emanate from Him, so in Daniel 4:17, 25 He said, “...To the intent that the living
may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to
whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” It is God who sets
people in authority.
Anyone in leadership must recognize this. It is a surprising fact that eleven
presidents of the United States did not have any formal college degree (including
Lincoln and Cleveland). Others received degrees that did not prepare them for
office in any way (i.e. Washington received a Surveyor’s License). i These men
came from diverse backgrounds; some were soldiers, some were economists,
some came from very poor backgrounds, while others were from rich families. A
great thinker once noted, “Coming into the presidency or headship of a nation is
not something you can necessarily learn about, as it is God that sets people
there.” (He was talking about the setting of a particular person into an office; he
did not mean the ability to rule as a leader which is a learned skill.)
King David said in 1 Chronicles 29:12 that, “Both riches and honour come out
of thee (God) and thou reignest over all; and in your hand is power and might
and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all.”
In Daniel 2:20 and 21, the Bible adds, “He removes kings and setteth up kings,
he giveth wisdom to the wise.”
Then Psalms 75:6, 7 also says: “For promotion cometh neither from the east,
nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one,
and setteth up another.”
LEADERSHIP CRISIS
If “everything rises and falls with leadership” ii like John Maxwell says, then
we are saddled with a leadership crises in today’s world. There are too many
people, whether in business, politics, or even the church who are selfish and only
want to satisfy their own personal needs. As Christians we are a reflection of
what is preached in church on Sunday. However, what we want to hear is a new
voice, a voice from beyond…the voice of God.
The need for effective leaders cuts across the presidents of nations, CEOs of
Fortune 500 corporations, those who stand in the pulpits of churches, local
leaders of the community, and the family.
John Haggai said, “Leadership is the discipline of deliberately exerting special
influence within a group to move it toward goals of beneficial permanence that
fulfill the group’s real needs.” iii
In short, I see leadership as the ability to move and inspire people to get things,
which will ultimately be of benefit to them, done.
To some, the word “leadership” signifies power, authority, honor, prestige, or
personal advantage. That is not true Christian leadership. According to Professor
Anthony D’Souza, leadership: iv
1. Seeks to be of service, rather than dominate
2. Encourages and inspires
3. Respects rather than exploits others’ personalities
4. Reflects, prays and acts on the words of Jesus
“And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant” (Matt.
20:27). Jesus did not only teach on leadership, He also demonstrated how to lead
by his selfless example.

ARE LEADERS BORN OR MADE?

There are those who say that leaders are born and not made. Others argue that
leadership skills can be developed in anyone. A question often given on college
history exams is: Did Martin Luther make the events or did the events make
Martin Luther? In other words, was Martin Luther endowed with special traits
(personality, talents, aptitude) that gave him the edge to begin the Reformation;
or could anyone have done what he did, given the environment, the
disillusionment with the Catholic Church, and the German people at that time?
 Some leaders, by their upbringing, temperament, etc. will be better leaders than
others by utilizing and combining their gifts and talents. Others have natural
leadership abilities – they easily work well with others, motivate co-workers and
subordinates, and make demands on people that the people desire to fulfill.
However, most people don’t fall into that category.
Leaders, therefore, are made not born. God may give a person special gifts and
talents, but these gifts will never surface if no effort is made to develop and
exercise them.
“Anyone through training and purposeful guidance,
can become an effective and influential leader.”
Although born leaders can emerge, to keep on keeping on will take developed
skills. Leonard Ravenhill wrote in The Last Days Newsletter that a group of
tourists visited a picturesque village where they saw an old man sitting by a
fence and asked him, “Were any great men born in this village?” The old man
replied, “No, only babies.” v
Leaders get their job done through people. This ability to elicit cooperation can
and must be learned and developed. Leadership roles were designed for Moses,
Jeremiah and Paul, but they had to learn leadership skills.
Many people have been told that they would not excel in their fields simply
because they did not seem to have the gift to do so. However, some trained
themselves and rose on beyond their initial gift. You may not have the aptitude
for leadership; however, if you set your mind to do it, you can develop yourself
into the leader God made you to be.
Your success and that of those around you depends on your leadership skills. A
great man once said, “99% of all employees want to do a good job, but how they
perform is simply a reflection of the one for whom they work.” If a soccer team
isn’t winning, it is the coach that is replaced.

THE COACH AND THE STAR

A team may have the same coach but someone becomes a star and others end
nowhere. In a class with the same teacher, one becomes an A student, another C,
and another an F student. They take the same lessons but yield different results.
It is the responsibility of each individual to become what you want to become -
“And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and
continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him
his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; ”
(Luke 6:12,13)
Jesus prayed and chose 12 apostles and sent them all on practicals: “Then he
called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all
devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and
to heal the sick.” ( Luke 9:1-2)
He later sent out the 70 also, Luke 10:1 “After these things the Lord appointed
other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and
place, whither he himself would come.
After that we really don’t hear of some again. It is not the quality of instruction
but the quality of responses. We can be protégés of the same mentor, yet produce
different results, “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all
things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I
therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means,
when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1 Corinthians
9:25-27)
Don’t give excuses of your lack of success as a leader to explain it away. The
great dedication of an athlete makes him a star. David Beckham used to practice
after training 3 hours on his free kicks at home so he could be the best free kick
taker of his time.
The story is told of two people who graduated from the same college. One after
school read 600 books to prepare for his future. The other was going around
partying and dancing around celebrating his graduation. After 20 years they met:
one was worth $200,000 an hour the other $6.50. Everyone is responsible for the
outcome of his life.

LEARNING LEADERSHIP
Leadership can be developed and learned. It takes a strong desire to obtain it. It
is widely accepted that art is 10% talent and 90% technique. This is said of
artists, musicians, and dancers. You can enjoy a very beautiful gift and not work
at it and have failing work. Or you can learn the proper techniques to create the
art form you desire and even with no talent whatsoever, do great work. Interns,
journeymen and apprentices are becoming rare.
In this age where time has become the currency for much of the world, instant
is usually considered to be the best course of action. Parents afford their children
instant gratification through quick experiences in sports and art, allowing them
to dabble but not pushing them beyond their natural abilities. When the child
shows a disdain for practice or rehearsal, the parent gives up the fight. If we are
going to raise children to become leaders, we will need to teach them
perseverance, discipline, and how to work for long-term gratification.
It takes discipline and perseverance to develop the skills needed for leadership.
We must do something about any lack of leadership skills and success. Leaders
don’t just build experience; they acquire expertise. The effectiveness of your
work will never rise above your ability to lead and influence others. Your
consistent output on the higher level is based on your leadership.

AMBITION
One of the challenges of the Church has been to understand the proper use of
ambition. Christians have linked ambition to the sins of the flesh, particularly
lust and greed. Ambitious people were greedy for power, authority, money, and
influence. Ambition was frowned upon as Satanic and the scripture below was
used out of context to prove their point.
“ How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou
cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in
thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of
God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet
thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” (Isaiah 14:23-15).
Satan’s problem lay mainly with his jealousy of God. He coveted the
Almighty’s worship. He desired greatness beyond what had already been given
to him. His ambition drove him to compete with God. The same spirit of envy
has driven many to do the same in our world. We have watched with disdain as
the greed of world financiers tumbled economies of nations. We may have had
first-hand experience in the marketplace as co-workers envied our promotion
and office politics brought out the worst in people. This type of ambition is not
of God. Its source is from the enemy.
Consequently, the Church may have reacted to such worldliness by suppressing
good ambition. Good ambition is what the great Apostle Paul described in 1
Tim. 3:1: “To aspire to leadership is an honorable ambition” (NEB).
At the time the Apostle Paul wrote this, it was not pleasant to be a bishop.
Bishops were at the frontline of the persecution of the church. They faced
rejection, hardship and probably martyrdom. It therefore does not seem
reasonable to think their ambition to become leaders was in order to seek status,
power or influence.
“Ambition is not wrong if it is to fulfill God’s
kingdom.”
When people come into our churches and seem “ambitious,” we need to be
sure of their motivation. Once we have established the source of their zeal, we
should not allow those driven in the flesh to attain leadership positions until they
have humbled themselves (not be humbled by other men!). In like manner, we
should not suppress people who are driven by God to move up the ranks by old-
fashioned rules and jumping through inappropriate hoops. Sometimes leaders
can fear those who have gifts greater than their own and so limit these people
from what God wants to do with them. Discernment is key to knowing how to
grow healthy ambitious leadership.

SERVANT LEADERSHIP AND AMBITION

In the discussion of the link between ambition and spiritual leadership, it is
very important to define what spiritual leadership is, since many think it refers
just to the pastoral (five fold) ministry.
“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his”
(Romans 8:9).
The scripture says if the Spirit of God lives in you then you are in the Spirit, so
if you are a leader as a Christian, whether in business, politics, medicine, legal
etc then you are a Spiritual Leader. The qualifications for being a Christian
leader are the same.
The demands of spiritual leadership are very sacrificial in nature. In Paul’s day
you had to have a deep love of God and desire to serve the church in order to
aspire to leadership; it did not carry the honour and prestige it does today.
Holy ambition is not wrong. Elisha desired a double portion of his master’s
power so that he might serve the Kingdom of God. Jeremiah warned his protégé,
“Are you looking for great things for yourself? Don’t do it” (Jeremiah 45:5). The
warning was for his servant not to desire great things for himself.
Your motivation for spiritual leadership is what makes ambition right or
wrong. God has never been against rising to the top. In fact, He encourages us to
be the head and not the tail. In life, it is easier to influence people from the top
down. We must develop our God-given talents so that we can occupy till Jesus
returns.
The definition of ambition is, “An ardent desire for rank, fame, or power; the
desire to achieve a particular end.” vi The word ambition also comes from a Latin
word meaning “campaigning for promotion.” Ambition contains in its meaning:
popularity, fame, exercising authority over others, etc. It also denotes enjoying
the power, authority and prestige from money.
Jesus tried to kill this kind of ambition in His disciples when He said:
“... Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise
lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so
shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your
minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all”
(Mark 10:42-44).
The Bible speaks of many leaders but uses the word “leader” only six times. It
instead speaks of Moses as the servant of God, Joshua as the servant of Moses.
The Scripture therefore emphasizes servant leadership and teaches that leaders
should serve the people. Jesus therefore chose to immediately admonish His
apostles to seek to become servant leaders. He was also introducing them to the
cost of leadership, which includes suffering and sacrifice.
“But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup
that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
(Mark 10:38b).
Samuel Brengle, the Salvation Army revivalist said, “The final estimate of men
shows that history cares not an iota for the rank or title a man has borne, or the
office he has held, but only the quality of his deeds and the character of his mind
and heart.”v

GOD IS STILL LOOKING FOR LEADERS

God is always looking for a man or woman to stand up to lead so that He can
use them to accomplish things on Earth.
“But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man
after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his
people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee” (1
Samuel 13:14).
“Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know,
and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that
executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it” (Jeremiah 5:1).
God described the leadership crises when He said in Ezekiel 22:30, “And I
sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the
gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”
“There is a cry for effective leadership in every sphere
of life.”
When God locates a man willing to take on the responsibility of leadership, He
uses him to the full. Such people may have flaws and shortcomings but God still
uses them. Think on the lives and impact of Moses, Gideon, David, Martin
Luther, John Wesley, and many others.
To be an effective leader with beneficial permanence, you need to understand
and have these 15 power factors:
1. The Power of First Things
2. The Power of Divine Purpose
3. The Power of A Champion Mentality
4. The Power Of Effective Thinking
5. The Power of Wisdom
6. The Power of Study
7. The Power of Self Control
8. The Power Of Perseverance
9. The Power of Honesty and Integrity
10. The Power of Courage
11. The Power of Responsibility
12. The Power to Lead without Struggle
13. The Power of Certainty
14. The Power of Focus
15. The Power of Prayer
We will examine each of these keys in the following chapters. I believe that by
understanding these essentials of leadership, you will be able to not only become
the leader you desire to be, but also change the destiny of each person you touch.
All of these will be accomplished to honor the King of kings who is the Servant
of all.
Food For Thought and Discussion
What is the leadership crisis that you see within your church or ministry or
institution? How does the dictionary definition of leadership conflict with God’s
leadership principles? What leaders do you know who exemplify the following
characteristics?
Seeks to be of service, rather than dominate
Encourages and inspires
Respects rather than exploits others personalities
Reflects, prays and acts on the words of Jesus
1. Before reading this chapter, did you think leaders were born or made? Why do
you think coaches get blamed if the team is not winning? What do we need to
understand in order to develop leaders within our churches?
2. What specific educational, experiential, and apprenticeship programs are
needed to bring out the leaders within the congregation? How does one “learn
leadership”?
3. Who are people you know who have the wrong motivation behind their
ambition? Who are some of the people you know who are rightly motivated in
their ambitious tendencies? What suggestions do you have to enable those
who serve with you to have the zeal necessary to pursue their God-given
destiny?
4. If you were to name 5 people that you know who are currently not leaders, but
you believe have the potential to be leaders, who would they be? What
specific skills, training, or experience could you give these people based on
what has been developed thus far in you?
 CHAPTER 2

The Power of First Things

Effective leaders must know how to prioritize. This is the law of first things.
What is prioritizing? It is a status established in order of importance or urgency.
Prioritization arranges the affairs of one’s life. Our values determine those things
that have worth in our lives. They are the standards by which we live. Our values
influence our actions by putting feet to what we believe. These ideals set into
motion how we conduct our daily lives.
Our values determine our priorities. Bill Beckham, a church growth expert,
says, “We do what we value and value what we do.” A father may claim he is
committed to his family but if he does not allocate time, energy, or resources to
his children, then he has a desire, but he does not have a priority. What shows
priorities better than a person’s time and expenditures?
How many of us would be caught short, if we took such an inventory? What
we say we value may not be reflected in what we spend – either time or money!
“If someone who does not know you wanted to
determine your values, they could easily do so, without
you telling them. They would just need to check your
daily schedule and the stubs of your cheque book.”

The Good Book Outlines Our Priorities

1. GOD
As Christians, we would readily agree that God should be our first priority. But
is fostering this relationship as our primary value realistic in today’s world? The
answer: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).
 “All these things” in the verse above includes our education, accommodation,
and every other necessity of life. We get caught up with these things. While it is
true they have their importance, a believer in Jesus Christ who places God first is
both sustained and blessed. We may think that when Jesus spoke these words,
they were given to a simpler society. Life in 33AD may not have had the
complexities our world has, but every basic need of life (food, shelter, clothing)
took more hands-on time and energy than is required today. The words of Jesus
are timeless; they speak to us as much as they did to the Israelites listening to the
Master speak in that day.
If there is any question as to what God feels about our priorities, God reserves
the top spot for Himself in the Decalogue. “And God spake all these words,
saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me”
(Ex. 20:1-3).

HOW DO YOU KNOW GOD IS FIRST IN YOUR LIFE?

Check the time you give to Him in a week. Determine the amount of time you
spend with your family, at leisure, at work, at church, or in prayer. A meager 2
hours a week at church when there are 168 hours available, does not show God
as number one. When we put God’s purposes first, He provides the resources to
accomplish whatever He calls us to do.
Faithfulness in your tithing is also an indicator of who or what is first in your
finances. Being supportive of God’s work is also another indicator. Do you give
for the salvation of souls and for other purposes in the house of God?

2. FAMILY
When you check the qualifications for leadership in the church according to
Scripture, family is very high on the list. If you cannot govern your family well,
you fail the test. 1 Tim. 3:4 says, “One that ruleth well his own house, having his
children in subjection with all gravity.” Simply stated, if one does not give his
family the right priority, it shows a weakness in what the person sees as
important.
Leadership is also a stewardship of the gifts of that leader. Family is a gift and
the leader must begin with the family. In today’s world including Ghana, many
can be accused of neglecting their families.
“We cannot become so absorbed in succeeding that we
 neglect our spouse and children.”
Providing toys, paying for trips and shopping does not take the place of quality
time. Mark De-Vries writes in Family Based Youth Ministry, “With one in four
young people now indicating that they have never had a meaningful
conversation with their father, is it any wonder that 76% of the 1200 teens
surveyed in USA TODAY, actually want their parents to spend more time with
them.” vii
Andee Aheon Brooks, author of Children of Fast-Track Parents , after
interviewing scores of children and parents who seemed to “have it all”
observed, “If there was one thing that constantly emerged from my
conversations with the children, it was a surprising undercurrent of a lonely
feeling of isolation from peers as well as parents despite their busy lives.” viii
Most fathers are disciplined workers trying to earn a living for their families, but
what the children need most is not the paycheck but “him.”

3. MINISTRY
Elton Trueblood distinguished between vocation and the work we do to earn a
living. He called the wage-earning job your “other vocation.” ix A person’s true
vocation he said is his or her ministry. Your true ministry is to advance the
Kingdom of God in a fallen world. No matter where you find yourself in the 7
pillars of society (business, government, media, arts and entertainment,
education, the family, and religion, your ultimate goal must be to influence
people wherever you are at for the Kingdom of God. However, do not place
ministry before family.
Benny Hinn states, “My fault and mistake is that I became so involved in the
ministry that I really was not paying attention to Suzanne and the struggles she
was going through emotionally.” Hinn admitted, “The truth of the matter is that
Suzanne filed for divorce because she was in a deep emotional and physical
crisis that affected her in such a way that caused her to make a decision she now
regrets. And although it was, without question, the most agonizing two and a
half years of my life, the end of our marriage most certainly woke me up, and the
Lord used it to show me -- as a man of God and as a man -- that I cannot
function properly without my wife and family.”
Despite these past hardships, Hinn affirmed that the love he shares with his
wife is now stronger than ever. “What I did not realize was that in the process of
ministering around the world, it was taking a far greater toll on my marriage than
I realized,” Hinn also said, “I once believed that my ministry came before my
family, and I now realize that I was wrong. God comes first, then my family, and
then my ministry.” Earlier this month, Hinn admitted he often put his work
before his wife, and that partially led to their separation. x
John Louis Muratori says, “Many ministry leaders experience divorce and are
allowed to function in ministry as if nothing happened. Statistics from the church
shows, the church is suffering from family dysfunction, experiencing a 58%
divorce rate among its members. However, the church is only as strong as its
families.”
“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the
vocation wherewith ye are called” (Ephesians 4:1). The word for vocation here
in Greek is (eklethete), which means our “calling.” Your vocation is the purpose
for which you were called in this world.
Your mission is what you are doing on Earth. You must know your mission and
thereby your purpose in life. Fulfilling your purpose in life is so important that
Jesus’ mission statement was that He came that we might have life and have it
more abundantly in John 10:10. “I am come that they might have life, and that
they might have it more abundantly.” In just three and a half years, Jesus
reported on where he was in His mission. He said in John 17:4, “I have glorified
thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” You
cannot finish a work you did not start.
Knowing your mission is very important. To a soldier, it could mean life or
death. Laurie Beth Jones states in her book, The Path, that in World War II, if an
unidentified soldier appeared suddenly in the dark and could not state his
mission, he was shot without question. xi
What is your mission in life? Paul indicates in Acts 20:24, “But none of these
things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so THAT I MIGHT
FINISH MY COURSE with joy, and THE MINISTRY, which I have received of
the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” Paul desired that he
might finish his course with joy. While handcuffed awaiting execution, he said
that he had fought a good fight: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my
course, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7).
Leider and Shapiro write in Repacking Your Bags that according to research,
the number one fear of people is living a meaningless life. xii
“Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I
have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain” (Philippians 2:16). Paul said this
in Scripture that he had not run or laboured in vain. He had put his priorities
right.
A mission statement always answers:
1. Why am I here?
2. Why do I exist?
3. What should I be doing?
A mission statement does two things:

1. It defines what I am doing

Anyone who met Jesus had their destiny changed.
“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And
they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence,
he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in
a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And
they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him” (Matthew
4:19-22).
These apostles left everything to follow Jesus because they felt a sense of
purpose and mission. Too much of what we see today in the church and in the
world has not come from a sense of mission but a reflection of the human ego
left unchecked.
“God has a specific purpose and assignment for every
believer.”

2. It helps you get through difficult times to make critical decisions.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
“Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God
is not bound” (2 Timothy 2:9). Victor Frank did pioneering work in Nazi
concentration camps. He discovered that people with the greatest chance for
survival and sanity were those who had:
A sense of life’s meaning.
Purpose and goals.
Strong faith in God and the fact that there was a divine plan for their
lives.
High intellectual content in their minds and a capacity for reflection.
 Those who clung to the bonds with their loved ones.
This means that to be able to endure trials, tests and challenges and be able to
go on, you need a personal life mission.
If you do not put first things first, you may end up like Samson, who fell asleep
in the lap of Delilah and lost his strength. His poor decisions were as a result of
not sticking to God’s purpose and mission in his life.
A personal mission statement guides our decisions. Do not go in a direction
that will not fit your mission. Someone said, “Undefined priorities are at the root
of much of our success or failure frustrations.” When you take care of these 3
top priorities in their proper order, all other priorities fall in right alignment.

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. If someone were to ask you what your top values are, what would you say the
highest three values you hold in your life? Why?
2. What priorities do you see in the Bible that everyone should follow? How
well do you think you follow these priorities? Where do you need the most
work to align your life better?
3. How can you know if God is your first priority? Does time have anything to
do with your priority to love God? Does your money reflect God as your
highest priority?
4. How well are you able to manage your family as a priority? Does your life
show a balance of time, both a healthy quantity of time and a quality of time?
Are you easily available to your family?
5. How does ministry cover your job and your service to God within the church?
How well are you able to balance these with your other priorities? Do you feel
your fishing pool is out in the marketplace or your neighborhood or your
hobby or sports activities? Do you reflect God in these places?
6. What is your mission or calling? Do you have a mission statement? If not,
take time to write one. What three things does your mission need to answer?
Answer these for your own life. What two things does your mission statement
need to do?
7. How can you be sure you are a survivor, completing your mission on Earth?
 CHAPTER 3

The Power of Divine Purpose

In my book, Good Manners and Etiquette , I shared that confidence comes
from knowledge, preparation, and practice. It is therefore pertinent to understand
that what you know will determine how you “flow.” In other words, the
information you have stored in your mind facilitates what you do. Elsewhere, it
is said that what you do not know may be killing you. Therefore, what you know
is crucial to your life as a leader.
There are three “knowings” that a Christian leader must be knowledgeable
about, the absence of which will render your image as a child of God very
insignificant, blurred and of no effect. Basically, a Christian must know who
they are in Christ Jesus, what they have in Him, and what they can do in Him.
In achieving God’s purpose for their lives, every believer (child of God) and
Christian leader must essentially know who they are in Christ Jesus. The lack of
knowledge of one’s true identity in Christ deflates his or her confidence. Parallel
to this is the fact that many people do not really know what they have been
created for. Their behaviour and response system to issues of responsibility give
them away as pseudo people. They lack the guts to face up to responsibility. It is
sad to state that many people kowtow under the weight of life’s pressures
because of their ignorance of whom they really are in God.

BUILDING SELF CONFIDENCE

Josh Hunt, Sunday School teacher and writer says, “We suffer from poor I-
sight. Not eyesight, a matter of distorted vision that lenses can correct, but I-
sight. Poor I-sight blurs your view, not of the world, but of yourself.” xiii Josh
goes on to explain that we can be under-confident or over-confident based on the
view we have of ourselves.
People who have a platform to speak in the media often misrepresent self-
confidence. They often say, “You can be anything you want to be.” They are
trying to encourage people to dream big and believe that no boundaries can hold
them from what they want. This is an unrealistic, plastic promise. It has given
rise to a great deal of frustration, disappointment, and regret.
Confidence, even by the most successful of people, is an illusive thing when
built on worldly paradigms. We watch as successful businessmen, political
leaders, film stars and sports legends fall into domestic violence, drug addiction,
and even suicide. Confidence for anyone, including Christian leaders must be
sourced through a different means – a divine means. Self-ego may help someone
get ahead, but God-ego will go the distance. And a God-ego breeds confidence
to forge a platform for our destiny. The beginning of the next chapter will give
you a strong posture in your self-worth.
Once we know who we are in God’s eyes, our leadership will be an expression
of His Spirit, gracing our obedience to go beyond what we can ask or think!
Let’s look at what is necessary to get the confidence we need to be leaders.

CALLED BY GOD
The foremost trump card you must possess as a leader is the knowledge that
you have been called by God Himself. Being called connotes having received an
invitation; not all are called and not all are invited (see Matthew 22:14).
Therefore, an invitation is made to a select few among many others. You were
called and invited to become His before the foundation of the world was laid
(see Romans 8:29 and Ephesians 1:4). That is the truth about you; God called
you and chose you to be His own for a cause and for a purpose.
Here is a true story to illustrate the issue of invitation: In 2001, former
President J. A. Kufuor of Ghana invited my wife and I to visit the visiting
Ivorian president, President Laurent Gbagbo. When we got there President
Kufuor made us sit between the two presidents. The only reason we were able to
attend such a distinguished event is because the president had invited us.
Interestingly, among the over six billion people on earth, God Almighty included
you in the list of those He had predestined to be called His sons and daughters.
What a privilege!
When God calls you to lead, He does that with a view to making you enjoy the
privileges associated with the call. When God calls you to do His bidding on
earth, the call makes you special because you are now an ambassador
plenipotentiary (that is, a representative invested with full power of independent
action on behalf of God). Therefore, there is no point in you either being
discouraged or having your head lowered in dejection or in despondency. You
should not walk through life feeling intimidated because of your circumstances.
Your invitation to partake in the divine nature should spur you on to greater
heights. Your call is far more important and precious than anything else.
God’s invitation is given to those “whosoever will” come to Him. There are no
barricades to this invitation; just yield all of yourself to Him and He will
embrace you in His divine warmth. The calling and invitation of God comes
with an inheritance of blessing. “…not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for
reviling; but contrariwise blessing; for hereunto were ye called, that ye should
inherit a blessing” (1 Peter 3:9 - ASV).
Again, in Revelations 22:17 it says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.
And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
The only hindrance to the invitation is your own will. Do not allow your will to
stop you from enjoying the blessings of the Lord. We are called to be saints of
God; and not only saints, but also servants of God in this world.
We are also called the “elect of God” to serve Him. Being elected implies
“choice,” “selection,” “hand-picked,” etc. That should be good news to you and
me. God Himself has chosen, selected, and hand-picked us to serve Him in the
world. Hallelujah! In 2008, Ghanaians went to the polls and elected Professor
John Evans Atta Mills as president of Ghana. In the courts of Heaven, the hosts
of Heaven also went to the polls and elected, chose, and hand-picked you to
fulfill God’s divine purpose on Earth.
You were chosen before the foundation of the earth was laid. “According as he
hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy
and without blame before him in love” (Ephesians 1:4).
No matter how you feel or what you look like, the fact – indeed, the truth – is
that you have been chosen by God to partake in the divine nature according to
His express will and sanction. Romans 8:29 declares that: “For whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
God knew you before your feet ever hit the Earth by birth. “Before I formed
thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I
sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).
It is not about who or what you are that qualified you for God’s election; His
grace in Christ Jesus found you and chose you. God chose you when you were
living in sin and cleansed you with the precious blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Then He prepared you for His glorious purpose.
In his book, Seven Great Prayer Warriors , Colin Whittaker writes about
George Müller, one of the greatest prayer warriors of all time:
“… there had been no promise of anything good in Müller’s boyhood years. He
looked more likely to turn out to be a criminal than one of the greatest Christians
of his time… By the time he was fourteen he was regularly drinking to excess
and gambling at cards. The night before his confirmation he indulged in gross
sins and then cunningly defrauded the clergyman out of most of the fees his
father had entrusted to his keeping for the purpose. Throughout his teens, George
went from bad to worse. At sixteen he set off on a tour, staying at expensive
hotels, (often with a woman) and then leaving with bills unpaid.” xiv
However, the grace of God found him and in 1898 when he died, George
Müller was a “faithful giver as well as a faithful prayer warrior.” His personal
giving towards God’s work had reached a staggering total of £81,490 (in those
days). Through his co-founded Scriptural Knowledge Institute, 122,683 pupils
received Christian education. He distributed over a quarter of a million Bibles
and almost over half a million New Testaments. God chose him when the world
had rejected him.
God has chosen you for His purpose despite your “disqualification” according
to the standards of the world. Do not shut yourself out of God’s heritage of
blessings for you by looking back and refocusing on the grievous sins you have
committed. Move forward in the knowledge of your election as God’s chosen
vessel for His purpose on earth. You have a mission to fulfill.
“You are not a “grasshopper” in the eyes of God.”
Rise up and take hold of the bountiful heritage you possess in the divine
nature. You are a “giant-slayer”; you have been chosen to deliver the oppressed
and to walk in total victory in the things of God. You are the righteousness of
God, therefore, be as bold as a lion. Those who are bold don’t give up on what
scares others. You have been chosen by God Himself.
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover
whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he
also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30).
You have been chosen because God has predestinated you for His divine
purpose, no matter what happens to you or what people say about you. What
matters is your realization of this truth about you and your destiny in God, and
your ability to rouse yourself from every disappointment and setback to return to
your Maker for the fulfillment of His agenda for you on Earth. David was
chosen for a purpose, so when he sinned he realized his mistake and went back
to God for forgiveness (see Psalms 51). He repented and carried out his divine
assignment to its conclusion. You have been elected to conform to the image of
Christ Jesus; you can’t give up on yourself because God will never give up on
you. “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked
shall fall into mischief” (Proverbs 24:16).
“Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in
darkness, Jehovah will be a light unto me” (Micah 7:8). You are going to bounce
back again.

HANDLING SETBACKS
I watched my favourite tennis star, Serena Williams, lose in a tournament to
her Belgian opponent. Her reaction to the loss was very emotional; she wept like
a child. The CNN commentator said that Serena could not handle the loss
because she wasn’t used to losing a match. The unhealthy tendency of some
leaders to throw their hands in despair at the least challenge is a defeatist attitude
which indicts one’s faith in the Word of God. Failure, setback, defeat, and
disappointment are all part of the journey toward your predetermined destiny
and God’s purpose for you. They are the “product mix” of your prominence as a
market spectacle. They quantify your spiritual value and express your image as
the elect of God. “For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the
revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19 - ASV).
Your emergence as the called, the elect, and the chosen of God Almighty is
imminent. Arise and shine; your light has come! (See Isaiah 60:1.)
God has fore-ordained you. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and
before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a
prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).
Growing up, I used to watch cowboy or western movies. In these movies I saw
the actors playing varying roles which had been assigned to them. However, in
the case of Jeremiah, God had already played out his role to him even when he
was a clot of blood in the mother’s womb. Interestingly, after watching those
movies, we would act them out. I played the role of the priest and I “buried”
those actors who got “killed” in our mock war games. Unknowingly, I was
practicing what God had predetermined for me to do – having pastoral oversight
of His church and preaching His Word to a hurting world. Before you were born,
God had purposed something for you to do. Who can counter what God has
decided in His own counsel?
 “God hath spoken once, twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto
God” (Psalm 62:11).
“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in
Christ” (Ephesians 1:11-12).
The Bible declares that God predestined us according to His purpose. That is
why Romans 8:28 states that, “And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.”
What you are going through as the chosen of God is how all things are working
together for your eventual success as a leader. All the things that are besetting
you will work together for your good.
“It is only those who are called for God’s purpose who
use the stones that are thrown at them.”

YOUR STEPS ARE ORDERED BY GOD

The event that led me to Christ proves that God indeed has predetermined our
future in Him, and He orders our steps towards that end. I had gone to visit two
sisters with a specific intention. I liked the younger sister. She told me her
“boyfriend” was Jesus Christ and so if I wanted her then I should be intimate
with her Jesus. Even though I was a Buddhist back then, I joined her to church
and gave my life to Christ. Today, when I reflect on that incident I come to grips
with the biblical truth that God has indeed predetermined us to know Him, if
only our hearts will be searching and willing to accept His invitation.
Here is another example of how God has ordered my life. Before I went to
Japan on a preaching assignment, my doctor warned me about the outbreak of
Subvalvular Aortic Stenosis (SAS) in that country. I thanked him for the alert,
but told him that was the main reason why I should go – to break the effects of
the outbreak. Despite a prophecy warning Paul of an impending danger in
Jerusalem if he went there, he still went ahead to the city and his woes began. He
wasn’t scared of the danger, but faced his purpose and destiny in Christ with
stoic determination and faith. The Lord Jesus Christ also faced His destiny with
heroic resolve. He went into Jerusalem to face His killers. He was called for a
divine purpose whose end was beyond the shame of the cross and the torture of
death. You have to be bold and courageous to fulfill your purpose and calling in
this life. Remember that you have been called, elected, and chosen by God to
fulfill your mandate on Earth. You dare not give up.

You are an original, don’t die a carbon copy

Do not live in someone else’s mold or mimic someone else’s purpose. You are
unique in God’s calling, and His agenda for your life is also unique and designed
only for you.

The majority do not always have it right

Remember that the majority are not always correct about everything. When
Moses sent out the twelve spies to the Promised Land, ten of them (the majority)
brought a “bad report.” They came with a report, which was the reality of the
situation on the ground, but was shy of the reality which was situated on the
Word of God. The report of the minority echoed the power of God’s Word in the
face of adversity. It also powered into divine reality the calling and election of
Israel as God’s chosen people and the promise of God to them for that heritage –
the Promised Land.
“And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation
of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought
back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit
of the land. And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou
sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are
walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The
Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and
the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and
by the coast of Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let
us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men
that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they
are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they
had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we
have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all
the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the
giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight
as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:26-33).
 “Our courteous nature as Christians should in no way
undermine our calling to be bold and courageous.”

Deliver your purpose with boldness and courage.

The three Hebrew boys knew who they were and so they courteously declined
to bow to the king’s image, but boldly stood their ground on their conviction.
Here is an in-depth commentary on the stance of the three heroic Hebrew youth
as recorded in Daniel 3:8-18:
“True devotion calms the spirit, quiets and softens it, but superstition and
devotion to false gods inflame men’s passions. The matter is put into a little
compass; Turn, or burn.
“Proud men are still ready to say, as Nebuchadnezzar, “Who is the Lord, that I
should fear his power?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not hesitate
whether they should comply or not. Life or death was not to be considered.
Those that would avoid sin must not parley with temptation when that to
which we are allured or affrighted is manifestly evil. Stand not to pause about
it, but say, as Christ did, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” They did not contrive an
evasive answer, when a direct answer was expected. Those who make their
duty their main care need not be anxious or fearful concerning the event. The
faithful servants of God find Him able to control and overrule all the powers
armed against them. Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst. If He be for us, we need not
fear what man can do unto us. God will deliver us, either from death or in
death. They must obey God rather than man; they must rather suffer than sin;
and must not do evil that good may come. Therefore none of these things
moved them. Thus saving them from sinful compliance was as great a miracle
in the kingdom of grace, as the saving them out of the fiery furnace was in the
kingdom of nature. Fear of man and love of the world, especially want of faith,
make men yield to temptation, while a firm persuasion of the truth will deliver
them from denying Christ, or being ashamed of Him. We are to be meek in our
replies, but we must be decided that we will obey God rather than man.” xv
If you know who you are in Christ Jesus, you will not bow to anyone except
God.

Accept compliments; they reflect your purpose

It is not a sign of humility to reject compliments from people. Compliments
such as “You look pretty,” “You spoke powerfully today,” etc., should be
accepted in good faith because they reflect who you truly are. You have been
made by God’s design.

Shut the devil up and move on up!

When the devil whispers discouragement and fear to you concerning God’s
purpose for your life, just shut him up. You are the only person who can bring
your purpose into manifestation. Therefore, I encourage you to pursue that
purpose with boldness and fearlessness, drawing strength from the Word of God.
When you go after your destiny in this way, no opposition will be able to
dislodge you from your calling and purpose. God is your strength and the anchor
of your destiny.
When most people go to a hotel for their meals, they pay the bills and add a tip.
When you are in God’s will, He pays your bills and adds the extras. Don’t allow
the circumstances of life to derail your destiny in God. He has called you for His
purpose; the crises are all part of the calling. Muster up your confidence and run
the race to higher heights, knowing that He who has called you is well able to do
exceedingly abundantly above what you can ask or think (see Ephesians 3:20).
Lift up your head and see beyond your present circumstances.
May God, who has called you into His prominence, make everything the devil
throws at you bounce back at him (the devil), and may He make every closed
door open to you and make you stand in the power of His calling and purpose
for your life.
Your end shall be greater than your beginning!

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. Would you call yourself self-confident or not? Why? Where should your
confidence lie?
2. How do you know you have been called by God? How has He made you
unique in order to fulfill His purposes?
3. How well do you handle setbacks? Are you able to reflect on setbacks after
they are over and see the lessons that need to be learned? Have you ever been
able to learn while you are experiencing a setback or only after the setback is
over?
4. Do you see examples from your life where you saw God’s hand at work in
order to grow you into the destiny He planned for you before creation was
made? What are they?
5. What does it mean to have God order your steps? How does this work with
your free will?
6. Have you ever settled for being a carbon copy of the original person God has
made you to be? Explain.
7. Have you ever allowed the majority to sway you, even when you were against
what they wanted to do? Have you ever remained firm in a conviction despite
knowing the majority of people around you disagreed with you? Explain.
8. How bold do you think you are? Is it easy for you to deliver your purpose with
boldness and courage or not? Why?
9. How well do you accept compliments and affirmation? Is it easy or difficult
for you? How should you receive positive feedback?
 CHAPTER 4

The Power of a Champion Mentality

The Oxford Dictionary renders the meaning of champion as, “One who fights
or argues for a course.” Stretched further, the meaning of the word champion
connotes one who is a “victor” or a “conqueror.” xvi Mentality means having a
mental character or disposition, or an attitude, or an outlook, or a view. xvii
Therefore, having a champion mentality is exhibiting a positive self-image.
Having a positive self-image underscores your position in God’s plans towards
your divine purpose on earth as a leader. This awareness calls for a certain level
of personal attitude that you should acquire for yourself in the light of God’s
designated purpose for your life.
In the business world, corporate entities go the extra mile to project a positive
image to keep them ahead of the pack. It is therefore necessary for you to keep
your head up with the knowledge of who you really are in Christ Jesus, and what
you have been destined to achieve as a leader, according to the Word of God.
You must display a positive self-image, because perceptions rule the waves in
image-building in this life. The conclusions people draw about you are based on
their perception of who you are in their minds. Your actions and inactions mirror
your personality status.
“And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto
the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it,
is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in
it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak,
which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so
we were in their sight.”
Moses sent twelve spies to spy out the land of their inheritance. Ten of them
came back with a bad report while two dissented. The two, Joshua and Caleb,
gave a positive self-image of who Israel truly was in the sight of the challenge
posed (giants in the land). It is critical to understand that the way you project
yourself is the same way people see you. To a large extent, what people say
about you is what you have mirrored in their minds. Therefore, you must always
make a conscious but informed effort to create a champion mentality of yourself.
You are not an ordinary being; you have been called, ordained and elected by
God to achieve a predetermined purpose on earth as a leader. Let people see you
in the mirror that God Himself has projected you. You are a peculiar being!
I was in the company of some respected men of God in the city of Accra on a
visit to a prominent person. We were to converge at the Novotel Hotel in the
centre of Accra and then proceed from there to meet our guest. I arrived at the
hotel some ten minutes earlier. My colleague pastors called me to say that they
were sure I was already at the hotel, because that was my trademark character.
That was the perception they had about me, because that was how I projected
myself. Your colleagues in the office have a perception about you; your folk at
home have a perception about you; and your church members have a perception
about you, whether you believe it or not. Avert any wrong perception about you
by developing a champion mentality.
There are a few things you must observe in building a champion image or a
positive self-image. Some of these may be obvious, but we need to consciously
be aware of them. You may have to work at some, but the goal is to embed them
in your character so you can exude a champion mentality.

1. Personal Hygiene
It is sad to note that many people carry a sorry image about themselves in the
area of personal hygiene. They neglect or pay very little attention to the
everyday simple things that make a person neat and pleasant. Brushing of teeth,
using deodorant etc. are all very important in building the confidence of a leader.
Otherwise people will not want to get close to you. Our kind of weather calls for
two baths in a day, at least. The ancient Romans, I discovered, had a minimum of
five baths in a day. John Wesley made a profound statement about personal
hygiene, which many of us thought was a biblical quotation: “Cleanliness is next
to godliness”.
You can’t go very far in life if your body odour puts people off. Before Esther
got married to King Ahasuerus, she was put through a stringent six-month
beauty treatment to make her fit for her new office “Now when every maid’s turn
was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months,
according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their
purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months
with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women. Then
thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to
go with her out of the house of the women unto the king’s house. In the evening
she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women,
to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s chamberlain, which kept the concubines:
she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she
were called by name.
“Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai,
who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she
required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the
women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that
looked upon her. So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal
in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign”
(Esther 2:12-16).
Cleanliness and proper grooming will draw people toward you. But the
opposite is also true: dirt and sloppiness will repel many away from you. If you
want an audience with those who work with you or minister with you, be sure to
give them respect by maintaining your personal habits.

2. Personal Appearance
Your appearance should reflect the environment in which you are. There is a
manner or mode of dressing and appearance at home, in public, in the office, at
functions, at meetings, and at church. You will never have a second opportunity
to make a first impression, so make the most out of the opportunities that come
your way to project a leadership image. Your first impression is the trademark
perception you create in the minds of your public or audience. For example, your
chances of qualifying for a bank loan depends to a great extent on your
appearance and the self-image you project when you meet the manager for the
first time. If you appear before him disheveled and loosely dressed, you paint a
doubtful self-image and may be refused the finance you are asking for.
Each day, think of who you may meet and dress and groom accordingly. Think
about when you went for a job interview. You probably fussed to be sure
everything looked perfect in order to impress the recruiter. In the same way, you
are dressing for interviews with people who may not know the Lord. You are
dressing for those who might want to know what Christians are truly like. You
are dressing for the ultimate Recruiter!
Don’t forget that people make a personality judgment based on the way you
present yourself. Years back in Ghana, certain haircuts indicated as to whether a
person was a vagabond or a criminal. Today, the tide seems to have changed in
the style of choice, but the principle still holds; your appearance can easily give
you away. The way you appear at functions, especially at official functions,
should conform to the dress code for the occasion. When I was in Tokyo on a
preaching assignment, my host advised me to wear a gown for the service. That
is the church’s tradition and I had to comply with it. Dress codes also define
one’s vocation in life. It is easy to recognize police personnel from the military;
it is also easy to recognize a nurse from a pilot, and so on. Dress in a manner that
depicts your uniqueness as the elect of God.
Your appearance also defines your mood. In our Ghanaian traditional setting,
wearing black attire indicates the person is in mourning or of a sad disposition;
wearing white connotes celebration or rejoicing. Again, your dress mood tells
much about your regard for those you are meeting. Before Joseph went in to see
Pharaoh, the Bible says that he had to shave and change his clothes. “Then
Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the
dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto
Pharaoh” (Genesis 41:14).
In the Egyptian tradition in those days, it was an abomination to appear before
the Pharaoh wearing a beard. It showed a gross lack of respect and reverence for
the office and person of the king of Egypt.

3. Maintain good eating habits

“When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite” (Proverbs 23:1-
2).
The Bible says you must watch how you eat when you sit before the king. For
some of us, our eating habit knows no boundaries. The way we eat at home is the
same way we eat elsewhere. We exhibit an intense appetite for food, especially
when we attend buffet parties. We dare the consequences of our eating habit and
thereby pile up diseases that emanate from fatty and high cholesterol food
intake. Excessive eating isn’t a sign of blessedness; rather, it is a worrying sign
of hastening your death. We eat to live, we don’t live to eat! You must stamp out
this habit completely from your life by eating less fatty foods and exercising
frequently to give a balance to your health. Walking is good exercise. You need
good health to function as an effective leader.
Health experts have linked what we eat to how we feel. Sugar can make you
feel euphoric for awhile and after the sugar has burned in your system, you can
feel moody, depressed or tired. Stimulants with caffeine are notorious for
revving up the body with a false sense of energy. When the effect wears off,
people can be moody or intolerant of situations or people that normally would
not bother them. Some stimulants can affect you like a heart attack.
Are you aware that some insurance companies will only do business with you
if you are healthy, especially in personal life policies? They will ask for your
health bill, especially in certain diseases.

CONCLUSION
Beloved, manifest your divine purpose by building self-confidence and
developing a champion mentality in the knowledge of your calling, election, and
predestination as God’s chosen ambassador on earth with a divine purpose to
achieve. You are destined for greatness. God bless and keep you for His purpose.

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. Take a moment and rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the lowest and
10 being the hightest) in the following areas:
Mental acuity
Positive person
Eager or excited daily
Cleanliness
Body aroma
Grooming
Clothing choices
Good eating habits
Exercise
2. Answer the following questions to discover how you are affected by the way
you demonstrate your mental state.
Are your tired most of the time?
Do you have trouble sleeping?
Do you have difficulty relaxing?
Do you find yourself getting angry easily?
 Do you feel like you are under pressure most of the time?
Do you have difficulty finding time to maintain a healthy balance of
food and exercise?
Do you lack patience with either other people or with things?
Do you seem tense or upset to people around you?
3. Take the questions in #2 above and ask them of three people who know you in
different areas of your life (i.e. a close friend or spouse, a co-worker, a person
in the same ministry as you are, etc.) When you ask them to answer, be sure to
give them liberty to speak, without your explaining yourself.
4. Take the answers from #1, 2, and 3 above and spend time asking the Lord to
give you the grace to change where you need to. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach
you step by step so that you can be a leader that draws people to God.
 CHAPTER 5

The Power of Thinking

What if Abraham had thought things through before he lied to Pharaoh, telling
him Sarah was his sister? (See Genesis 20:2.) What if David had thought things
through before he committed adultery with Bathsheba? (See 2 Samuel 11.) On
the other hand, what if the wise men hadn’t stopped to think things through after
Herod told them to come back to Jerusalem and report about the baby king? (See
Matthew 2:7, 12.) What if Solomon hadn’t thought things through when he had
to judge which woman was the baby’s mother? (See 1 Kings 3.) The Bible is
replete with people who used their capacity to think and thereby hear and obey
God. But others chose to rashly follow their fleshly desires or fears instead of
using their capacity to reason well. How much does our thinking play a part in
our ability to lead? “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us”
(Ephesians 3:20). A major component for preparing for effective leadership is
thinking. If you ever want to become an effective leader, you have to think! As
believers, some have done a lot of asking in prayer, but have done very little of
thinking, as the scripture implies. God is interested in our asking as much as is in
our thinking.
God expects leaders to stretch their scope of thinking to embrace the reality of
His power and ability to do much more than we expect from Him. There are two
disciplines you can master after which nobody can accuse you of being proud:
praying and thinking . When you pray, you direct your petitions to God and not
to man. After all, God says: “I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of
the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Psalms 81:10).
Jesus also said, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall
receive, that your joy may be made full” (John 16:24 - ASV).
When you ask God, He wants us to think about what we are asking. The ability
to think is a privilege. When you think, God is able to do exceedingly
abundantly beyond what you think. May God grant you the grace to think much
more than you are doing now.
 The import of your thinking is that God is able to go beyond the limits of what
you think. He looks at the magnitude (the quantum) of your expectation
(thinking), and multiplies it to give you a harvest above your expectation. In
short, God does much more beyond what you think (expect). Whatever you think
about, God can do much more than that.
In Isaiah 1:18, God invites us to come and reason together: “Come now, and let
us reason together, saith the LORD.” The word reason (‫ ָיַכח‬- yaw-kahh)
connotes logical thinking, rational thinking, or analytical thinking. God expects
us to think through solving the problems that confront us in our everyday lives,
as rational beings. There is no problem that can overtake you.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as
man can bear: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above
that ye are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that
ye may be able to endure it.”

THINKING RULES
People who excel in this life are great thinkers. Checks on their backgrounds
reveal a common trait: astounding thinking. Henry Ford stands tall as a pioneer
of modern business, yet this founder of the Ford Motor Company failed many
times on his route to success. Walt Disney, the creator of the global Disney
Empire of film studios, theme parks, and consumer merchandise travelled a long
and winding road to success. Highly successful entrepreneur Richard Branson’s
ventures include Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Music, and Virgin Active. At age 16,
however, Branson was a high school dropout. Bill Gates, the famous co-founder
and chairman of Microsoft dropped out of Harvard to set up a business called
Traf-O-Data. If you are going to get the breakthrough you so much desire as a
leader, then you have to pick up the pieces, think, and put the wisdom you have
acquired to profitability.
Those who rule in life are thinkers. It is not power or money or physical
appearance that rules; it is the power of the mind – thinking. In the beauty
pageants today, it is not so much about one’s physical beauty that wins the
crown; it is the quality of thinking one exhibits that steals the show.
“Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.”
(Proverbs 8:14–15,) Here, Solomon is emphasizing the sine quo non of the
power of thinking or reasoning in ruling. Wisdom rules; thinking based on the
Word of God controls everything it encounters. Your ability to go higher or excel
depends on how deep your thinking is. Hard work minus deep thinking will yield
zero returns.
Those who think engage people to do their bidding for their profit. You have to
engage the depths of thinking – wisdom – to disengage yourself from the
fruitlessness of naked hard work.
“Thinking births the rewards of hard work.”
Jesus, the greatest leader who has ever walked the Earth, was a master-thinker.
Even as a boy, he exhibited great depths of thinking. “And it came to pass, that
after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors,
both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were
astonished at his understanding and answers” (Luke 2:46-47).
At 12, Jesus was taken to the Temple by His father to recite portions of the Old
Testament (at least from Genesis to Deuteronomy – the Bar Mitzvah ). His
parents did not realize that Jesus was not part of the party on their return home.
After three days, the search party found Jesus in the Temple, seated among the
doctors (the learned) of the law. He was listening intently and asking questions
of these learned men. These scholars were amazed at the depth of understanding
and answers of Jesus Christ as He spoke on the Word of God.
The Bible says in Luke 2:52: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and
in favour with God and man.” Jesus just didn’t increase in stature; he also
increased in wisdom. He was a deep thinker. If Jesus our Master was a deep
thinker, we then have no choice than to develop the capacity to think deeply,
especially if we are going to be effective as leaders. As parents, allow your
children to ask you questions; this attitude will deepen their capacity to think and
develop the aptitude for deep thinking. Even in old age, if you want to be what
you are destined to be, you need to ask questions.
It is only by engaging the minds of successful people that you can learn the
ways to success. Asking questions deepens the roots of deep thinking. It is the
key that unlocks the fountains of wisdom that lead to success without sorrows.
The power to make rich is the power of deep thinking that comes from divine
wisdom.

GROW IN WISDOM; THINK BIG!

We need to grow in wisdom. As Christian leaders, we have a sanctified mind.
What we have to do is to take advantage of this indwelling wisdom for our
breakthroughs. “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct
him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). We have the mind of
Christ. Therefore, if Jesus was a great thinker then we have the capacity to be
just like Him. To utilize that gift, we have to focus on the source of all wisdom –
the Bible. Therein lies our capacity to think deep and win our battles through
right application of wisdom. The mind of God is an excelling mind.
“And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he
shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his
ears” (Isaiah 11:3). This was a prophetic statement about Jesus. If you are a
child of God, you have already been endowed with quick understanding. Before
I met Jesus, my plans were not right. I only saw things from a myopic
perspective – just around me. But when I met Jesus, my thinking changed; my
perspectives about life assumed a multi – dimensional nature. It doesn’t matter
how young you may be; when you meet Jesus you will start to think big.
I went into full time ministry at age 21. At age 23, I was holding crusades in
villages and towns, filling parks and auditoriums with thousands of people. Also
at age 23 I was married, and at 25 I had my first child – a son. (Hold it! I am not
suggesting you tune your thinking to do the very same things as I did.) God
began to put my bits and pieces together when I got saved. Perez Chapel
International, formerly Word Miracle Church International, was birthed when I
was 25 years old. What I am driving at is that when you become born again,
your thinking capacity is renewed.
You can go far. If you are not excelling, you have no excuse to be where you
are now. Take advantage of your renewed mind in Christ because of your saved
nature, and think big. Think success and prosperity and God will enlarge your
capabilities at ensuring your thorough effectiveness. The Church and the world
need young men and women who can think big to carry the gospel of Jesus
Christ to the next generation in the various nations of the world.

DIVINE UNDERSTANDING MAKES YOU STAND OUT

“And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.
And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them,
he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were
in all his realm” (Daniel 1:19-20).
Daniel and his compatriots refused to be fed on those things that promote
earthly well-being. God wanted a clear distinction to be made between earthly
understanding and wisdom and heavenly understanding and wisdom. In the end,
the King himself was amazed by the exceeding wisdom, knowledge and
understanding of the three Hebrew young men. Their wisdom and understanding
outstripped and outweighed that of the King’s trusted officers.
“The capacity for your effectiveness is already in you.”
I pray that your extraordinary gift of wisdom and understanding make you
stand out in the crowd. If you don’t succeed or breakthrough as a leader, then
you should blame yourself. You have the spirit of Christ indwelling you. Your
generation hasn’t seen anything compared to what you will yet do. As you pray,
meditate on these deep words of thought:
I am thinking big,
I have the mind of Christ,
I am ten times better than all my folks,
I am ten times better than my peers,
I am excelling.
Claim these promises for yourself. You have the mind of Christ; activate that
power in deep thinking on the promises of God for your life. If they were ten
times better in the Old Testament, then we should be far more than the ten times
the maximum. We have a better covenant in the New Testament. We are
therefore supposed to do better.
People with understanding and knowledge walk the corridors of power. “And
the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring
certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes;
children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom,
and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability
in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning
and the tongue of the Chaldeans” (Daniel 1:3-4).

SHARPEN YOUR MIND

Thinking deeply entails sharpening one’s mind. The Bible says that iron
sharpens iron.
“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend”
(Proverbs 27:17).
How do you sharpen your mind? Sharpening iron in this usage means making
diligent efforts at coming under the tutelage of successful people in the area of
endeavour in which you are engaged. There are countless examples of successful
persons in the Bible whose exploits are chronicled for our example and
impartation.
When I got saved, for the first few years, the books I read were about great
men and women of God who had made it in their calling. By the grace of God, I
could recall the names and deeds of these great men and women of God. I could
virtually recite everything about them. The impact? The ministerial lifestyle of
those men and women helped to sharpen and shape my ministry perspectives. It
helped me plan better and apply myself efficiently and effectively to the tasks
and goals I had set for my personal life, family and ministry. The same can be
true for you.
David said in Psalms 90:12: “So teach us to number our days, that we may get
us a heart of wisdom.” From what I had learned from the records of great people
of God, I set age-bound targets for myself. David was king of Judah at 30 years;
at 40, he was the king of the whole of Israel. Jesus at 30 years began His
ministry; the Apostle Paul was making news in his ministry when he was 32
years old. These personalities have played an important role in shaping my
ministry life.
Reading and learning about successful people affects one in diverse ways:
1. It gives one the assurance that if God did it for someone then He could do it
for you also.
2. It builds courage, encouragement and tenacity in you. If successful people
went through dire challenges and difficulties and not only survived, but became
great leaders, then you can become a great leader if you brace yourself to brave
the storms of life.

HOW TO SHARPEN YOUR THINKING CAPACITY

I have a pencil sharpener that is used by the entire family. When a younger
child puts a pencil in part way, it only grinds at the wood above the graphite,
leaving the pencil dull. Sometimes an aggressive child uses it and the pencil that
was once six inches long becomes a small numb in a matter of a moment. When
we sharpen our thinking capacity we want to not just stab at information that
really does the job. Neither do we want to overload ourselves with miscellaneous
information not pertinent to what we need. We need to aim well and use what we
learn. Here are some ways to make your capacity to think grow.
 1. By sharpening your mind
“If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more
strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct” (Ecclesiastes 10:10). Operating with
a blunt mind is just like cutting grass with a blunt cutlass or hoe. You tend to use
a lot of energy to make the cutlass cut when it is blunt, when a sharpened cutlass
would have done a better and cleaner job. There is a popular saying often
attributed to Abraham Lincoln, “If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I would
spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.” The evidence of not using a
sharpened mind is seen in the struggles and the frustrations that often bedevil our
efforts at success. Even when it comes to doing physical work, you still need to
think sharp.
“If you do not sharpen your mind you inevitably use a
lot of physical strength to get things done.”

2. By studying the Word of God

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how
unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans
11:33). The Word of God abounds in wisdom and knowledge that helps us to
know the unsearchable riches of God’s glory. There is a time for reading the
Word to find inspiration for the day; but there also should be times when we
work the Scripture. We need to study a book of the Bible and use solid
theological tools to understand it better and put it in our hearts. Another way to
study is to take a subject and trace it through the Bible, using study tools to
compile understanding.

3. By relating to anointed men and women of God.

When the anointing is there it brings wisdom. Archbishop Benson Idahosa
(late) was one of the greatest thinkers I have ever known. He operated in deep
thinking, even though he didn’t have the advantage of full University education.
Before his death, he was addressed as Professor Benson Idahosa!
“And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had
laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did
as the LORD commanded Moses.” (Deuteronomy 34:9).
The Bible says that Joshua was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses
laid hands on him. When an anointing service is being held, I pray that the hand
that is laid upon you bring a transfer of the spirit of wisdom to you. Joshua’s gift
of divine wisdom was transferred to him by Moses and not by the Holy Spirit.
This is where God acts in ways that mortal man cannot understand. When it
comes to God giving things, He uses people. The Bible is replete with such
examples of God giving wisdom, honour, wealth and riches through people.
“Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which
is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of
fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).

4. By associating with wise people

The Bible says when you walk with wise people you become wise. “He that
walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be
destroyed” (Proverbs 13:20).
With whom do you associate? There are some “friends” you must cut off. A so-
called friend without vision and focus must be cut off. Any friend who consumes
your time through idle gossip and mundane issues anytime you meet must be
shown the exit immediately. They are your time-killers and destiny-destroyers.
Be wary of them, if you want to go far in life successfully. You can’t waste time,
rather use time for greater effectiveness.
Time, precious time, doesn’t seem to be enough for the serious-minded. In this
time and age it doesn’t pay to lag behind in anything worthy. A popular saying
says: “Time and tide waits for no one.” It is better to relate to people who are
doing much better than you are and are forging ahead in life. What such
relationships do for you is that the greatness on such people affects you and you
begin to do as much or even better than they do. Remember that iron sharpens
iron!
Your effectiveness depends on associating with people who have been effective
and are still breaking through in life. You can’t be effective by walking in the
fast lane! Shallow, purposeless, and unlearned thinking can’t get you very far in
life. Drink deep from the well of life. Think wisely in the knowledge of Christ,
and act knowledgeably for your breakthrough in this fast-thinking life.
“The Bible offers you the eternal gateway to the
entrance of wisdom for your prosperity.”
Wisdom is the principal thing – get it! You must leave the company of friends
whose attitudes lure you into sin like you would pull your finger off a hot iron.
“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians
15:33).
It has been proven scientifically and scripturally that alcohol facilitates inertia
in thinking. It stops you from thinking well. Kings and princes are therefore not
supposed to take alcohol.
“It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes
strong drink: lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any
of the afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto
those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and
remember his misery no more.” (Prov. 31:4-7).

5. By finding seasons of meditation

What I mean by seasons of meditation is making time alone to think over the
issues of life in line with the Word of God. You can be alone in thoughtful,
scriptural mood even in your own house.
“And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up
his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming” (Genesis 24:63). Isaac
sat somewhere and was meditating on the events of his day. He was delving into
the fountain of knowledge for future application. Years later when there was
famine, he sowed and yielded a plenteous harvest.
May you find time to separate yourself and meditate on God’s Word for divine
guidance and the knowledge to excel in difficult times. A dear and successful
man I know has a room in his office called the thinking room where he separates
himself to think. “Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and
intermeddleth with all wisdom” (Proverbs 18:1).
If you desire effectiveness, you must separate yourself, meditate on the Word
of God and buy into the mind of God as towards the thing that you so desire.
Many successful leaders take time off and think through the things they are
doing. May God grant you the capacity to think through your issues and bring to
pass what is not yet here.

6. By being quiet
Those who must say much are often those who are compensating for what they
do not know. “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to
work with your own hands, as we commanded you” (1 Thessalonians 4:11). One
of the things you must learn to do is to be quiet. James said, “Wherefore, my
beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath”
(James 1:19).
Shakespeare put it this way: “Be quick to hear and slow to speech; Take every
man’s censor, but reserve thy judgment.” xviii Shakespeare was quoting from the
Book of James. Be quiet and think; that’s the admonition. Just think.
God told the Israelites that their strength lay in being quiet and confident. This
implies that they should think or meditate on His Word, which is their
confidence. “For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning
and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength:
and ye would not” (Isaiah 30:15).

7. By learning to exercise your mind.

A child will become flabby if they are not taught how to exercise. That is why
it is advisable to leave children to crawl around and climb up furniture under our
watchful eyes. By doing so, they exercise the body, limbs and all. “But strong
meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have
their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14). The Bible
emphasizes the point that by “reason of use” we have our minds exercised in line
with God’s Word so that we may differentiate good from evil.

THINKING IS PRODUCTIVE
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and
counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” (Luke 14:28). Here,
Jesus was saying that anyone who builds a house must think before doing it.
Solomon put it in another way: “Through wisdom is an house builded; and by
understanding it is established: and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled
with all precious and pleasant riches” (Proverbs 24:3-4).
In simpler terms, Solomon was emphasizing that it took wisdom to build a
house, it took understanding to establish it, and knowledge to fill it with
treasures. You must congratulate anyone who has put up a building or bought
one. That person is a wise and thoughtful person. Think and find out whether
you can build a house. You can do it. Stop using your money on extravagant
things and wasting it away.
“You are the product of your thinking.”
I encourage you to buy a plot of land and put up your own building. No matter
how meager your income is, it is the tool (the resource) that God has placed in
your hands to accomplish that feat or breakthrough you are yearning for. Ask
Him for wisdom to see you through your breakthrough, with your little or much
resource. He will and can do that for you.
Think big; think purposefully; think Christ in you, the hope of glory. (See
Colossians 1:27).

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. Do you have rules for your thought life? What principles should guard your
mind and heart?
2. How big do you think? Do you have the mental capacity and the God-courage
to believe for more than you can do in the natural?
3. Do you stand out in a crowd due to your divine understanding of how things
work? Do people readily come to you to seek out your counsel and
understanding?
4. How do you sharpen your thinking capacity? Do you have regular disciplines
to help you do so? Look at the following and think about how you are doing
with each one:
Sharpening your mind
Studying the word of God
Relating to anointed men and women of God
Associating with wise people
Finding seasons of meditation
Being quiet
Learning to exercise your mind
5. Do you plan for thinking time in the course of your week? Do you see
thinking as productive? How can you foster time to think in your schedule?
 CHAPTER 6

The Power of Wisdom

We are living in very trying times in our world. Commodity prices are
skyrocketing making livelihoods cringe under the weight of economic hardship.
Nations are destabilizing due to terrorism, economic woes, and war. Society is
changing daily as sin becomes legalized and deceived leaders travel down
slippery paths, taking their countries with them. Every facet of life on Earth is
being tested. A critical ingredient we need in this time is godly wisdom .
“And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father:
only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. And the king went to Gibeon
to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings
did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in
a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said,
Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he
walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart
with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given
him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O LORD my God, thou
hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little
child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy
people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor
counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to
judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to
judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon
had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing,
and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor
hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to
discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given
thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before
thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee
that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not
be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days” (1 Kings 3:3-15).
God appeared to Solomon in a dream after Solomon had showed his love for
God by offering a massive sacrifice. God was pleased and asked Solomon what
he wanted God to do for him. Solomon’s request, which emanated from the
purity and sincerity of his heart, moved God to honour Solomon’s request and
even do much more. Solomon asked for the principal thing, godly wisdom, so
that he could “... discern between good and bad.” God treasures the offerings
we offer to Him, especially when we offer them with a pure and loving heart. It
is not about the quantity of the offering but the heart with which the sacrifice is
made. God was pleased with Solomon’s sacrifice and it moved Him to do much
more than his request.
Solomon was a wise man, a rich man, and a great man; yet the greatest praise
given to him is that which is the character of all the saints: “He loved the Lord.”
Where God sows plentifully, he expects to reap accordingly; and leaders that
truly love God and His worship will not begrudge the expenses of their religion.
We must never think that anything is wasted when is laid out in the service of
God. xix

What is Wisdom?
In the fourth century B.C. the Greek philosopher Plato coined the term
“virtue.” Virtues were identified as moral points of an ethical compass for
mankind. Plato listed four cardinal virtues [wisdom or prudence, justice,
temperance or restraint, and fortitude]. A virtue is a habit that influences and
provides the basis for moral character. In short, wisdom is a disposition to find
the truth coupled with an optimum judgment as to the right actions. Its synonyms
include prudence, sagacity, discernment, and insight. xx
The above is the world’s view of wisdom. However, the Bible gives a divine
interpretation of what wisdom is. The Bible values wisdom to such an extent that
it tells us that wisdom is the principal thing that mankind should seek. (Proverbs
4:7). Here is a great description of divine wisdom from the Apostle James: “But
the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to
be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without
hypocrisy” (James 3:17).
Charles Spurgeon posits: “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is
not to be wise. Many men know a great deal and are all the greater fools for it.
There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use
knowledge is to have wisdom.” xxi
 There is therefore a sharp distinction between moral wisdom, from the
perspective of the world, and divine wisdom, from the perspective of God. The
wisdom that overrides man’s wisdom is the embodiment of what Jesus Christ
exhibited in deeds and character while on Earth. The Bible gives further
indications of what wisdom is and can do: James 3:17; Proverbs 3:18, 10: 23, 12:
15, 17: 27-28, 18:15, 19:20; Colossians 3:16; Jeremiah 9:24; Job 12:12-13;
Ephesians 1:16-19; and Luke 21:15.
“The wisdom that overcomes the world is a surety for a
lifestyle of true success on Earth.”
The leader needs an outstanding heart to know what to do so that he shall be
able to live above the system. We need the ability to discern and do what we
need to do, nothing more and nothing less. This is what Solomon had asked for.
Therefore, when we ask for wisdom we are actually asking for “discernment,”
the ability to do what is right at the right time. Wisdom therefore involves an
understanding heart – the ability to distinguish between what is right and wrong
and making the right decisions at the right time. In these tumultuous times, godly
wisdom is needed the most by leaders in all walks of life.

HOW TO NOT ACT FOOLISHLY IN LIFE

Solomon asked God to give him an understanding heart to enable him to utilize
discernment. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools
despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).
According to the Bible, when you despise wisdom you are acting foolishly. We
need people who will act wisely in our generation. Today’s world cries for
leaders who will steer the affairs of society to the “other side.”
The fear of the Lord is the foundation for acting wisely. What is “the fear of
the Lord”? One may ask. Many people equate “the fear of the Lord” with the
sight of a grey-bearded, stern-looking aged personality brandishing a long rod
and ready to unleash punishment at the least provocation. Therefore, the first
impression we get of God in this context is a vengeful being, an unforgiving
God. This false impression makes many people shy away from discussing the
subject of wisdom because of this premise. But this false fear is rooted in the
world’s penchant for fear: fear the dark, fear authority, fear the impossible, fear
the unknown.
Actually, “the fear of the Lord” simply means “reverence to God.”“The fear of
the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the
forward mouth, do I hate” (Proverbs 8:13). Fearing God is making a conscious
effort not to displease Him. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; you hate evil by
not doing anything to offend God. For example, pride and arrogance are attitudes
that displease or offend God. Fearing God would involve humbling yourself and
choosing the low road even if you “deserve” better. You project yourself as a
man or woman of wisdom when you hate sin and eschew tendencies of pride and
arrogance.
The beginning of wisdom shows when you control your tongue. You learn not
to talk when appropriate and to speak only what God wills when the occasion
arises. If you do not know what to say in season and out of season, then you are
not walking in the fear of the Lord and in wisdom. Meekness is a foundation of
wisdom; meekness helps you know what to say when and where. Solomon
taught his children to acquire wisdom. “Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it
not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.” (Proverbs 4:5).
Wisdom should be cherished; it must be sought after. You will know how to
make the right investment when you have wisdom. Wisdom will help you to
eliminate certain habits in your life.

PRINCIPLES REGARDING WISDOM

1. Don’t Forsake Wisdom
“Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not” (from Proverbs 4:5 – see
above). Solomon advises us not to forsake wisdom because she will preserve us,
especially in these perilous times. We need the wisdom and the understanding of
God for our survival.

2. Love Wisdom
Solomon again advises us to love wisdom, because she will keep us. “... love
her, and she shall keep thee” (Proverb 4:6). Solomon speaks about wisdom as if
it were a person to be cherished and cared for. And wisdom (as a person)
reciprocates the care and devotion.

3. Choose wisdom as the principal thing

“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting
get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7). It is stated very plainly so there is no
question: wisdom is the principal thing. Anything that is regarded as “principal”
is the head.
We have established the truth that the fear of the Lord is the qualification for
the acquisition of wisdom, the God-kind of wisdom. The beginning of that kind
of wisdom is the fear of God. According to the Bible in all your getting, get
wisdom because it is the principal thing – the Head of everything you will ever
desire to have in this life. Exalt wisdom; promote wisdom in all your dealings;
and she shall promote you and bring you honour. Your promotion is coming, but
it is tied to the amount of godly wisdom you possess.

4. Wisdom drives the mission of the church

In Acts 6, the Bible talks about some young leaders who were chosen to drive
the ministry in the office of a deacon. Their qualifications among others was to
be full of wisdom: “Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of
honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over
this business” (Acts 6:3).
The testimony about Stephen, one of the seven deacons chosen, is awesome:
“And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake”
(Acts 6:10). When Stephen spoke, the people were unable to stand the depth and
power of his wisdom. He mesmerized them with divine wisdom and thinking: he
had the mind of Christ!
As a leader I pray your wisdom be irresistible; that your wisdom break every
barrier of resistance; that your wisdom brings the power that will carry you from
where you are to where God wants you to be.

GET WISDOM AND MOVE FORWARD IN LIFE

Follow the precepts of the Lord and you will only have one option left to you:
to go forward. Your desire will be to seek godly wisdom in all that you do or say.
When you gain honour it will show in people giving you respect much more than
they ever used to do.
As a leader may everything that brings respect to people accrue to you also.
May anything that will ever bring dishonour to you in the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth be cancelled. “But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people for (God’s) own possession, that ye may show forth the
excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1
Peter 2:9 - ASV).
You are a unique species of being. When others are headed downward in life,
you will be the last person standing. God will use you to “show off” His glory to
your enemies and to the world. That was the only reason why Mordecai stood at
the gate of the king, and in perilous times when his end was imminent, the king
caused his worst enemy, Haman, to lift him up in exaltation. “Then the king said
to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said,
and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king’s gate: let nothing
fail of all that thou hast spoken. Then took Haman the apparel and the horse,
and arrayed Mordecai, and caused him to ride through the street of the city, and
proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king
delighteth to honor. And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman
hasted to his house, mourning and having his head covered” (Esther 6:10-12
ASV).
When Mordecai thought his end had come, he was exalted; when Portiphar’s
wife thought she had nailed Joseph, God exalted him to a higher honour of
Prime Minister of Egypt. For your disgrace, you will get double. “For your
shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion:
therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto
them” (Isaiah 61:7 KJV).
“The only way you can fulfill that definition of success
is through wisdom!”
There is a prophetic word in the book of Isaiah where it speaks about God
promising that in place of wood He will give you iron; in place of brass, He will
give you gold. “For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and
for wood brass, and for stones iron. I will also make thy officers peace, and thine
exactors righteousness” (Isaiah 60:17 ASV).
When you receive double, people will say that you have achieved success.
They may judge you for the outward display God has bestowed upon you.
However, true success is achieving your God-given goals.

HOW TO GET WISDOM

1. Ask God for wisdom, if you lack her
God gives wisdom liberally – He provides us with more than enough. “But if
any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5 ASV).
2. Study the Word of God
The next chapter will talk about this in depth.

3. Surround yourself with godly friends

Have fellowship only with friends who are inclined to seek wisdom and walk
in the fear of the Lord. Shun evil conversation and evildoers. Friends who don’t
motivate you in your walk with God should be eliminated from your life with
dispatch.

4. Seek wise counsel

The Apostle Paul asked the elderly women to counsel the younger women in
the church. However, in our present day and time the younger people do not seek
counsel from the elderly. They think they know everything! Take advantage of
the knowledge and wise counsel of the elderly and the aged men and women of
godly standing. They know much more than you do. “For by wise counsel thou
shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Proverbs
24:6 KJV).
The knowledgeable should share their knowledge and wisdom with the youth.
You can only go far when you share what God has endowed within you. God
takes you higher as you give away your knowledge and experience to others.
May He empower you with godly wisdom to keep you up all of the time.

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. From what you have read, what is your working definition of wisdom? What
is the difference between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God?
2. What are some preventatives to keep from acting unwise during your life?
How well are you able to keep from being foolish from one day to the next?
3. Do you love wisdom? Is it the number one thing you seek?
4. How does wisdom drive the mission of the Church? Can you see how wisdom
works within your local church?
5. What is your definition of success? How can you be sure you are moving
forward in life?
6. Look up the following Scriptures and jot down any keys words that speak to
your heart:
James 3:17
Proverbs 3:18
Proverbs 10: 23
Proverbs 12:15
Proverbs 17:27-28
Proverbs 18:15
Proverbs 19:20
Colossians 3:16
Jeremiah 9:24
Job 12: 12-13
Ephesians 1:16-19
Luke 21:15
 CHAPTER 7

The Power of Study

Effective leaders do not spend their time on unproductive and vain lifestyles.
Effective leaders spend quality time studying daily. It is only by so doing that
you can gather knowledge to achieve your life’s goal. Friends who do not
motivate you to study should be avoided. Your friendships should be a synergy
of purpose; one that drives you to achieve success in line with your defined
purpose.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT INDUCES YOUR EFFECTIVENESS

Your effectiveness is directly related to the assignment that God has given you
as a leader. In a general sense, that assignment is to solve problems. Everyone
has been given an assignment. Varying synonyms have been given to our
assignment including purpose and life’s goal . What must first grab your
attention in your pursuit to fulfilling your purpose is preparation. It is the key to
unlocking your leadership potential for accomplishing your assignment. The
Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul admonishes the spiritual leader: “Study to
shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
It is important to subject yourself to study, if you want to achieve your life’s
goal. Our eternal example in our Christian faith, our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, subjected Himself and His life to thirty years of diligent study for His
three-and-half years of ministry. This is why He had an effective and fulfilling
ministry on earth. Whatever effectiveness you need or desire must be hinged on
sound preparation. Here are two important guidelines.

1. Prepare for your effectiveness through books

Daniel prepared himself for his leadership role in Babylon through the library
of books. He had at his disposal. “In the first year of his reign I Daniel
understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD
came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the
desolations of Jerusalem” (Daniel 9:2).
In fact, Daniel was a man of books. He prepared himself well for his
assignment through his study of books. The place of serious and focused study
of the scriptures and other related and relevant materials for achieving purpose
or our assignment is as important as oxygen is to life. The prophet Jeremiah had
written that Israel would go into captivity for seventy years. With that
knowledge, Daniel was able to go before God and pray with an understanding of
what God had said. God doesn’t only listen to prayer, but He listens to prayer
that is made in connection with His promises. God is a God of principles; He
fulfils His promises to us. You cannot know the principles of God without
diligently studying the Word of God.
Remember this principle: when you stop learning, you start dying! If some are
honest with themselves, they will admit that since they left school, some of them
have never read anything worth reading; not even the daily newspapers. We
often spend time watching TV programs on entertainment such as
“Telenovela’s.” There’s nothing wrong watching such programs for your
relaxation. However, over indulgence in those amusements that relax the soul
can immunize you against progress in the purpose that God has called you to
accomplish as a leader.
Daniel said, “I understood by books.” Every great leader of God’s kingdom has
given themselves over to diligent study. All were men and women of books. In 2
Timothy 4:13, the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy and asked him to bring certain
items to him in prison, especially the books and parchments. “The cloke that I
left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but
especially the parchments.”
Remember Paul was the author of thirteen of the epistles in the New
Testament, In Paul’s days, they wrote on leather (parchments). Even in Prison,
Paul saw it fit to exercise his mind by reading and writing. The fact that you
have left school isn’t an excuse to stop learning or training your mind. It is
popularly said that “This world’s leaders are its readers.”

2. Effective reading and studying births effective thinking.

What helps you to think effectively is reading and studying, which is chief
among other means. It is not enough to listen and watch; diligent study sharpens
the mind and drives purpose to the expected end. Reading underpins effective
thinking, facilitating the achievement of your life goal or assignment. Studying
involves a conscious search for facts. I pray that God helps you in finding those
facts of wisdom hidden in His Word for your success and effectiveness.
You need to search to discover what is hidden within the pages of books.
Inventors and successful people in general searched and unearthed what was not
easily seen or understood. In solving life’s problems and meeting the needs of
people, you have to search for the missing link in people’s lives by studying or
researching.
This design explains why an effective pastor goes to church every now and
then to preach God’s specific message of hope and assurance of victory to His
people. He does not do this by just saying anything in general to those in the
church; He does diligent study by searching the Word of God and other related
materials to effectively divide the Word for their unique spiritual nourishment
and victorious walk with God.
“God designed the role of leaders in order to meet the
needs of the people.”
It would be rather boring and a waste of everybody’s time if you went to
church and heard the pastor preach the same message every Sunday. You’d
probably say, “I’m out of here!” by the third week. Even in preaching from the
same text, one still needs to discover fresh insights that will lead to new
knowledge. This can only be discovered through diligent study.

THE NATURAL AND THE SPIRITUAL ARE PARALLEL

All truths are parallel; what happens in the spiritual realm is parallel to what
happens in the natural realm. As the Word of God sheds light on fresh insights as
to the will of God for us, so are fresh scientific and technological discoveries
being made to add to existing knowledge, principles and inventions. There are
deep things in your mind that need to be discovered or unearthed for the profit of
mankind. By studying, you arouse the faculties of your mind into new
discoveries.

THE MIND OF CHRIST: COMMAND POST FOR A LIFE

WITH PURPOSE
The Bible says that we have the mind of Christ: “For who hath known the
mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1
Corinthians 2:16). Our minds are sanctified because we have the mind of Christ.
Therefore as believers, when we study we will excel.
Let us take a cue from Stephen in Acts 6:8-10: “And Stephen, full of faith and
power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose
certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and
Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with
Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he
spake.”
Even though Stephen was a young man, the people couldn’t resist the depth of
wisdom with which he spoke. When you receive the Spirit of God you receive
wisdom that is from above. The Lord Himself emphasized the place of learning
and studying the Word, when he was guest at Martha’s house.
“Now as they went on their way, he entered into a certain village: and a
certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister
called Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet, and heard his word. But Martha was
cumbered about much serving; and she came up to him, and said, Lord, dost
thou not care that my sister did leave me to serve alone? bid her therefore that
she help me. But the Lord answered and said unto her, Martha , Martha, thou art
anxious and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: for Mary hath
chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).
Jesus was talking to Mary and Martha, when Martha was serving Jesus. She
was interested in what Jesus would eat, which was quite important. Then Martha
began to complain about Mary’s seeming indifference to what she (Martha) was
doing. No wonder Mary was the first person to appear at the tomb at Jesus’
resurrection. “Now when he was risen early on the first day of the week, he
appeared first to Mary Magdalene” (Mark 16:9).
“Mary had chosen to do what was essential: learning
at the feet of Christ.”
The following commentary throws further light on the contrasting personalities
of Martha and Mary in the context of the subject of focusing on studying the
Word of God.
“Mary and Martha are representatives of two orders of human character. One
was absorbed, preoccupied, abstracted; the other was concentrated and single-
hearted. Her own world was the all of Martha; Christ was the first thought
with Mary . To Martha life was ‘a succession of particular businesses;’ to Mary
life ‘was rather the flow of one spirit.’ Martha was Petrine, Mary was Johannine.
The one was a well-meaning, bustling busybody; the other was a reverent
disciple, a wistful listener.” xxii Paul had such a picture as that of Martha in his
mind when he spoke of serving the Lord “without distraction” (1 Corinthians
7:35).
It was Mary who anointed Jesus, by revelation, with the expensive oil in the
alabaster box. Jesus made the following remark about her: “When Jesus
understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath
wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye
have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it
for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached
in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a
memorial of her” (Matthew 26:10-13).
I pray God gives you revelation knowledge to know what to do at the most
appropriate time.

YOU DETERMINE YOUR EFFECTIVENESS

We should realize that things don’t happen by accident in our lives; the onus
lies on us to make them happen. After Peter had toiled all day long without a
catch of fish, Jesus told him to launch into the deep. Despite Peter’s long years
of experience in fishing, he obeyed Christ at His Word.
“And when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Put out into the deep, and
let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answered and said, Master, we
toiled all night, and took nothing: but at thy word I will let down the nets. And
when they had done this, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their nets
were breaking” (Luke 5:4-6).
In the deep places are the real answers to life’s issues. Get deeper into the
Word of God and receive revelation knowledge for your desired breakthrough.

GET DEEPER INTO THE WORD OF GOD

“Deep calleth unto deep…” (Psalm 42:7). The deeper you go, the better it gets
in terms of those attributes of the divine nature. The effectiveness you desire is
birthed in the depths of the divine. Your effectiveness is in the Word of God: The
Bible.
 Some people know very little about even the elementary things of the Bible
such as the number of books it contains. If such rudimentary detail is a challenge
to us, how much more the deep things of the Word?
Get serious and study the Bible. It took a period of about 1,600 years to write
the books it contains. There is no book on any subject anywhere in the world that
was written over that span of time. Forty different authors penned the Bible, and
it speaks volumes on every subject known to man. Also, the authors were from
diverse areas of endeavour: philosophers, kings, princes, tax collectors, farmers,
fishermen, physicians etc. The Bible’s words are life itself.
The Bible is unique; it has stood the test of time. The Bible has survived
vitriolic attacks of those who wanted to destroy it. The Bible says that and the
Word was with God in the beginning: “In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
When you study the Bible you are, in fact, studying God; you are getting
deeper into God. Every theme in the Bible is centered and focused on Jesus
Christ. Every book and page of the Bible breathes Jesus.
For example, in Genesis He is seen as the Author of Life; in Exodus, He is
seen as our Lord and Master-Deliverer; in Leviticus, He is seen as our Priest and
Sanctified One; in Numbers, He is seen as our Messiah; in Deuteronomy, He is
seen as the Lord; in Joshua, He is seen as our Leader and Captain into the
Promised Land; in Judges, He is seen as the Just Judge; and so on. When you
catch a revelation of the books of the Bible, it makes all the difference. There are
no contradictions in the Bible. It is coherently compact, eternally life-giving, and
knowledgeably God-revealing.
“The Bible reveals Jesus in diverse ways but pointing
to one end: The Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

THE WORD OF GOD: YOUR SEED FOR DIVINE VICTORY

AND FRUITFULNESS
In Genesis, when man fell, God told the serpent that the seed of the woman
shall bruise its head: “…and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head” (Genesis 3:15). Jesus
was that seed; the Word of God. In the book of Revelation, God took John back
into time and showed him the Lamb of God that was slain for the sins of the
world – Jesus Christ. Every book of the Bible reveals Him. That is why you need
to search the scriptures for wisdom and knowledge that lead to breakthroughs.
Jesus told the Pharisees and the Sadducees to search the scriptures because in
them will they would find truth and life, which point to Him. “Search the
scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which
testify of me” (John 5:39).
The Bible is one of the oldest books in life but remains new each passing day.
It is the only book that remains relevant to every generation. It is always as fresh
as ever. I pray God’s Word will speak to your life, and may it also be alive to
your needs and circumstances.

STUDY PRAYERFULLY: THE LETTER KILLS BUT THE

SPIRIT GIVES LIFE
When studied carnally, the Bible is nothing but a mere textbook to the reader.
But to those open to the Spirit of God, it is recognized easily as a Spirit-breathed
book. Its understanding is made possible and applicable to real life issues in the
realm of the Spirit. Therefore for you to benefit from the deep things of the
Bible, you should develop the capacity to study the Word of God prayerfully.
The Spirit gives illumination. When you read the Bible from a spiritual
perspective, the hidden treasures in it come alive to your mind.
“Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter,
but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (2 Corinthians
3:6). The letter of the law harps on the “Do nots” and the “Thou shall nots,” and
puts us in bondage. However, the Spirit of the Word revives us with “I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me” (See Galatians 3:20a: “I am crucified
with Christ, it is not I that liveth, but Christ that liveth in me….”)

The Letter of the Law:

Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
(Exodus 20:13-16 – ASV)

The Spirit of the Word:

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians
4:13).
I can live without committing murder
I can live without fornicating or committing adultery.
I can live without stealing
I can live without bearing false witness.
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ
living in me: and that (life) which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, (the faith)
which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me”
(Galatians 2:20).

APPROPRIATE THE WORD OF GOD FOR YOUR

EFFECTIVENESS
You can appropriate the scriptures for your benefit when you read the Bible
with the eye of the Spirit. Abraham rested his faith on the Word of God because
He understood the faithfulness of Jehovah God. “Faithful is he that calleth you,
who will also do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
“When you study the Word of God, you are
appropriating and quickening power into your spirit
man.”
The Bible says that the Word of God is “sharper than any two-edged sword.”
The Word of God is quick, sharp and powerful! “For the word of God is living,
and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword , and piercing even to the
dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the
thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

UTILIZE DIVINE KNOWLEDGE TO TRANSFORM LIVES

Some see the Bible as a historical document; that is true. But it is not only a
historical document but a book which must be preached in season and out of
season. The season of the Bible is every season. It is an unending store of rich
knowledge and insights for a glorious life on earth. Many people have tried to
discount the truths inherent in the Bible, but in the end they became converted
by the powerful insights it contains. All the truths in the Bible are provable; the
empty tomb, the flood in the days of Noah, etc.
 It takes the Word of God to bring about transformation in the lives of people: it
turns the prostitute into a saint; it turns a violent man into a meek man; it turns a
fearful man into a vibrant preacher of the gospel of Christ Jesus at the infilling of
the Holy Spirit. It is the same Word that will turn your life around when you
encounter the Spirit of the Word in the pages of the Bible.
The Bible is the same Word that dispels all your fears, anxieties and timidity
when it comes alive in you. It makes you walk boldly and confidently. You can
walk in the Holy Ghost and get excited because you know that the Lord is your
strength and so you are not afraid of anything.

STUDY THE WORD

Answers to life’s ultimate questions are embedded in the depths of the pages
and books of the Bible. The Bible will give you answers to important life
questions. “Where do I come from?” ”Why am I here on earth?” Where is my
final destination?” We are fearfully and wonderfully made to solve the problems
of humanity for the glory of God to be revealed. The Bible will show you why
you are here and where you will go from here. It will give you a hold on your
purpose, vision or life’s goal.
I know where I am going. I pray the Bible becomes your daily guide. David
said, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and light unto my path” (Psalm
119:105). From my study on the phrase “a lamp unto my feet”, I realized that in
those days, the lamp gave only a faint ray of light to guard one’s feet against
snake bites and the sting of scorpions. There are still “scorpions and serpents”
(demons) around you, but the Word of God will light your path and protect you
from any snakebite or sting of scorpions. Jesus, the Word of God, said in Luke
10:18-19: “... I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto
you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
I exhort you as a precious leader to study the Word of God ceaselessly; it is the
surest illuminant that will shed light to your expected end.

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. How does understanding your assignment release you to be effective as a
leader? Have you found this to be true in your own life?
2. What books have you read that have impacted your walk with the Lord? What
 books have helped you become more proficient in your assignment?
3. How has your thinking become more effective through reading and studying
both the Word of God and other Christian books?
4. Have you seen how the natural and the spiritual operate in a parallel in your
life? Explain.
5. How does having the mind of Christ impact your leadership and give your life
purpose?
6. How is your effectiveness dependent upon your determination? How do you
study the deeper things of God? What are your resources?
7. Have you seen the Word of God impact your fruitfulness? In what ways?
8. Has the letter of the law versus the Spirit of the Word ever come into conflict
in your life? How should you perceive the balance for the law and the Spirit?
9. Have you been effective in helping lives transform through utilizing divine
knowledge in the Word of God? If so, explain.
 CHAPTER 8

The Power of Self-Control

As stated earlier, the ability to be an effective leader is dependent on many
factors. One such factor or foundation which facilitates leadership is the power
of self-control.
What is self-control? Simply put, it is the ability to control one’s feelings to
overcome one’s weakness; the ability to pursue what is right despite the
temptation to abandon what is right. Self-control comes from a Greek word
(egkrateia), which means to grip; to take hold of; to be temperate, or to be self-
disciplined, or to have self-restraint.
There are four reasons why you should control yourself:
1. The Bible demands self-control
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue
knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to
patience godliness” (2 Peter 1:5-6 – Amplified). The word temperance in this
verse is self-control. The Bible enjoins us to develop self-control.

2. Self-control is a prerequisite for leadership

“For a bishop must be blameless, … But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good
men, sober, just, holy, temperate” (Titus 1:7–8). In choosing church elders, Titus
was advised to select people who were blameless and had self-control
(temperate) among other qualifications.
In both temporal and spiritual leadership, one needs to be temperate or must
exhibit self-control. Even if you had a head start in leadership qualities –
boldness, oratory, wisdom, knowledge etc. – you wouldn’t amount to much if
you lacked self-control.
Recently a District Chief Executive in Ghana became the subject of national
ridicule in what is called “Tweaaaaa.” He was so intolerant that in public he
flared up and lost control creating an even greater embarrassment.
3. Self-control is a mark of maturity.
“That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in
patience” (Titus 2:2). Old age without a corresponding attitude of marked self-
control is a reflection of immaturity and childishness. Age should and must
reflect maturity. The saying is unfortunately true that “maturity is not in age.”

4. Self-Control should be your practice.

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the
prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is
temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an
incorruptible” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).
In the Pauline days, the Olympic games were a popular athletic calendar in
Corinth. Participants practiced diligently to win laurels as a sign of achievement.
Those “laurels” were effigies of corruptible material – leaves and olive branches.
The athletes represented their communities in these games with the aim of
winning the laurel wreaths for their communities. In practicing for the games,
those athletes exhibited a strong sense of self-control and self-discipline.
I watched a documentary on Lenox Lewis who was defeated by Hashim
Rahman to win the World Heavyweight Boxing title on 21st April 2001. Lewis
regained the title on 17 November by outclassing and then knocking out Hahsim
Rahman in the fourth round of their rematch. Before the return bout, Lenox
exhibited self-control for the impending fight. He secluded himself on a
mountain for six months. Lenox admitted that he didn’t prepare very well
(lacked self-control) for the first fight because he thought he was the champion
and was over confident that he would win.
In the Scripture above, Paul was stressing the point that anyone who wanted to
strive for the mastery of his vocation must necessarily exhibit self-control.
The lack of self-control results in a dangerous situation: you are like a city
without walls. “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is
broken down, and without walls” (Proverbs 25:28).
“For leaders ... who are running a race to lead people,
we are obligated to exhibit self-control.”
When King Solomon was writing this proverb, walls protected cities in those
days. The walls were a form of defense. What Solomon was inferring in the
above Scripture was that if you were unable to control your spirit, then you were
defenseless just like an unwalled city. The attitude of many is reflected in the
inference Solomon was alluding to; they are not in control of their spirit.
One Bible character who typifies a leader who lacked self-control was Samson.
His birth and life’s assignment was given by an angel, but he lacked the maturity
to live in tandem with God’s purpose for his life.
“And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose
name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. And the angel of the
LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art
barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore
beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any
unclean thing: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall
come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb:
and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” (Judges
13:2-5).
As a Nazarite, Samson wasn’t permitted to touch a carcass or any unclean
thing, but he flouted this sacred law with careless abandon.
“Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and
came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he
would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father
or his mother what he had done. And he went down, and talked with the woman;
and she pleased Samson well. And after a time he returned to take her, and he
turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of
bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. And he took thereof in his hands, and
went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they
did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the
lion” (Judges 14:5-9).
He fell head-over-heels in love with an enemy, a Philistine, contrary to the
admonishment of his parents and the constant reminder of his peculiar place in
the things of God. Delilah, the enemy, “killed” Samson’s divine mandate on
earth. (Judges 16:15-30).
Despite Samson’s awesome deeds through divine enablement, he found
himself lying in the bosom of a stranger and lost the index of his divine strength
– his hair. He most certainly lacked self-control. When other judges had ruled
Israel for forty years and more, Samson lasted for only twenty years. The man
whose birth was a celestial announcement, died with his enemies. As a leader
who was to lead his people to fight their enemies, he instead fought the
Philistines for offending him. What a selfish leader - it was all about him. Even
his last prayer was “And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD,
remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God,
that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes” (Judges 16:28).

EXCELLENCE IN CHARACTER IS THE FOUNDATION

What is the foundation of your life? Many today have role models who are
merely successful in one area of their lives but deficient in all other areas (i.e.
Sports personalities, politicians, entertainment stars, TV & media personalities
including television evangelists, high profile lawyers, etc).
“What comes out of you is what is inside you.”
People don’t find out what these so called stars are really made of. The demand
for stars puts them under pressure to “perform”; they don’t care how they do it as
long as they can satisfy their fans. This pressure of the people pushes some of
these “stars” to resort to drugs and to do whatever they like, as long as they can
perform for the fans. Character demands are said to be an infraction of their
“private lives”
Show me your foundation and I will listen to the wonderful things you have to
say. Character is the foundation upon which life is built.
Every conflict or breakdown in life can be traced to a character flaw in a
particular area. That is why we should not exalt people but principles, the only
one to exalt is Jesus, people may fail but principles abide.
We must determine to abide by scriptural principles no matter who may try to
persuade us otherwise. No favouritism, no toleration of double standards in our
lives. What we don’t accept in one person we should not accept in another. Our
standards should be based on what God thinks, not what someone thinks or what
our depraved society thinks.

FOUR TESTS OF PRINCIPLES

1. Which principles should I hold on to?
2. What unseen ideals (standard of perfection) guide my life?
3. What are the principles I will not break or that are not negotiable?
4. Are my ethics or code of conduct (discipline that guides my life) guided by
the Word of God or what is happening and most convenient for me at the
 moment?
Your life is lived among people, not in isolation. You must be willing to grow
on a daily basis into the full stature of Christ. When character issues wane and
you are strengthened in your moral fiber, many other things will fall in place.
In the book, “The Millionaire Mind”, a survey was conducted of middle class
men and millionaire males as to the number 1 attribute they were looking for in a
would-be wife?
Middle class men (most) – Good looks
Millionaire men (most) – Good character xxiii
Long after good looks have vanished or parts of the body sagged, good
character will still be there. True success involves getting along with ourselves,
our families, one’s life partner, children, business, church, community and God.
If you are successful in your business but a failure in family life you are not
totally successful as a leader. It is the same in the gospel ministry.

CHARACTER
Character is defined as the mental and moral (conduct considered as good or
evil) attributes that define an individual. Author Robb Thompson said, “Good
character refers to the virtue, the self discipline, and the honourable constitution
an individual possesses including moral strength.” xxiv
According to the Institute in Basic Life Principles, “Good character is the
inward motivation to do what is right according to the highest standards of
behaviour in every situation. It consists of stable and distinctive qualities built
into an individual’s life that determines his or her responses, regardless of the
circumstances.” Beloved leader, character is what we do when no one is
watching.
Character in the Greek (charakter ) means express image denoting an engraver,
cut in or stamped on, a mark or a sign. Jesus is said to be the express image of
God “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high”
(Hebrews 1:3).
“Character ... is based on universal standards that are
time tested and recognized as being right.”
Values are based on the changing opinions of what people or groups feel is
important.
In this chapter, we will give ourselves to various character qualities.
“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20).
Character transcends all religions, nationality, cultures, languages, groups,
ages, social status, gender- and is a universal standard inscribed in the heart and
conscience of every person because it deals with the daily struggles of human
nature.

What God Allows to Build Our Character

To help us develop character the Holy Spirit will lead us into trials and
temptations. There are 10 tests God allows in our lives to build character.
1. Fiery trials: These trials are irritable, consisting of fire. “Beloved, think it not
strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange
thing happened unto you” (1 Peter 4:12).
2. Diverse temptations: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers
temptations” (James 1:2-3).
3. Trial of faith: “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience”
(James 1:3).
4. Persecution: This is being harassed or hunted down for religious reasons.
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10-11).
5. Revilement: This is to be abused vilely. “Blessed are ye, when men shall
revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you
falsely, for my sake” (Matthew 5:11).
6. Necessities: These are times when people are in dire need. In 1 Corinthians,
we find the church in Judea experiencing a severe famine and had need of
relief from other churches. (See 1 Corinthians 16:1-2).
7. Suffering wrongfully: 1 Peter 2:19-23 “For this is thankworthy, if a man for
conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is
it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when
ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving
us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was
guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when
he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth
 righteously” (1 Peter 2:19-23).
8. Infirmities: “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my
strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory
in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians
12:9).
9. Reproaches: This means to be blamed, to be reproved, to bring into discredit.
“If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of
glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on
your part he is glorified” (1 Peter 4:14).
10. Tribulation: This is severe affliction. “And not only so, but we glory in
tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience,
experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because
the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given
unto us” (Romans 5:3-5).
“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be
that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8:17).

Six Responses to Tests

1. Choose to be grateful
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you” (1 Thess. 5:18).
“Giving thanks al ways for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20).
“All things are designed for our good.”

2. Remember all things are allowed by God . This is true even when those
things are bad.
“For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he
said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect
in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that
the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). Don’t be
passive because Paul prayed about the thorn in the flesh.
3. Remember all things are designed for our good . This includes bad things.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Loss builds contentment, thankfulness, meekness, etc. into our lives. Offense
develops forgiveness, compassion, and understanding. Jesus learned
obedience by the things He suffered. “Though he were a Son, yet learned he
obedience by the things which he suffered” (Rom. 8:28).

4. Remember all things reveal God’s ways to us. “It is good for me that I have
been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes” (Ps. 119:71). There are many
important lessons in life we cannot learn without pain. “For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and
my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

5. Pay the Price to Build Good Character

“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves
likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased
from sin, That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the
lusts of men, but to the will of God” (1 Peter 4:1-2).

6. Don’t lose effectiveness

The effectiveness of former US President Clinton was reduced to plain paleness
in the face of the Monica Lewinsky affair. His lack of self-control left a sour
taste in the mouths of Americans, despite his hard work at fixing the
American economy during his tenure. Lack of self-control can sweep your
historical relevance into oblivion. Watch it, my precious one!
In the 1970s and 1980s, Jim Baker, a man of God, built a “Disney World” of a
church before the inception of today’s Disney World. It was a dream ministry;
all that one dreamed of and desired were found in Jim Baker’s ministry. On
page 21 of his book “I Was Wrong,” Jim Baker said that in a 15-20 minutes
tryst with Jessica Hahn, he opened his ministry and family up to attack. He
lost his ministry and was jailed. Although he is now out of jail, Jim Baker
only gets preaching appointments on the mercy of some church leaders. A
man whose ministry boasted of over US $200 million in revenue per annum in
 the 1980s, lost his honour and integrity due to the lack of self-control. A word
of caution here: take note of the fact that the Jessica Hahn scandal happened
twelve years before it was exposed.
WARNING: Do not compromise on self-control and self-discipline. Exercise
self-control now.
“After you meet Christ sins you commit may expose
you one day, especially when you get to the top so be
on the alert.”

AREAS OF SELF-CONTROL
1. Lust for alcohol, food, and sex
I admonish Christians to refrain from drinking alcohol. Gluttony is also a vice.
“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with
surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon
you unawares” (Luke 21:34). Jesus frowned on gluttony to the extent that He
had to say that in the end (before He comes again) people would be lovers of
food and alcohol as it was in the days of Noah. Many of people cannot stand the
temptation of food, even when they are fasting. Noah the only family head who
was spared with his family in the flood, got drunk after the flood and exposed
himself indecently. “And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a
vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered
within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father,
and told his two brethren without” (Genesis 9:20-22).
Lot, the only man who was spared from the fire of Sodom and Gomorrah also
drank alcohol and slept with his two daughters, fathering children by them. “And
Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with
him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two
daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there
is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may
preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night:
and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she
lay down, nor when she arose” (Genesis 19:30-33).
To many, a luncheon or a dinner is a buffet. This reminds me of a joke about a
lady who attended a luncheon and heaped so much food on her plate that the
food became a mountain. She placed the food on her table, sat behind it, and
prayed: “Oh, mountain, what art thou before me? In the name of my stomach
you will become a plain. Amen!” She devoured the massive content of the plate
and dragged her bloated body out of the dining room amidst loud belching.
When in a fast, many other Christians also save their breakfast, lunch and
dinner for a buffet treat when they break the fast. Please, control your food
appetite. We should be able to say “No” to food, when it comes to disciplining
our appetite to achieve spiritual ends.
The dearth of self-control in matters of sex, especially among men, is such a
frightening amazement. Men of varying description and social standing are
sleeping around with just anyone who tickles their amoral fancies. Such men
cast a very demeaning self-image of their personalities and render themselves
“cheap”. Refrain from such acts which define your person in very disparaging
expletives and which also reflect your immaturity and lack of self-control. Some
women also fall into this practice. Control yourself by numbing your passions in
the fear of God.

2. In the face of provocation.

“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth hi s spirit
than he that taketh a city” (Proverbs 16:32).
Haman comes to mind in this area of self-control. Even though he was not a
rounded character, he stomached Mordechai’s open disrespect for him, despite
his (Haman’s) high standing in the king’s court.
“After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of
Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the
princes that were with him. And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s
gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded
concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence” (Esther 3:1-
2).
Some people cannot contain themselves at the least provocation. They react
almost immediately to anything that doesn’t sit well with them, sometimes
violently and abusively. Some husbands allow instincts to control their emotions
and slap, kick, and insult their wives without any inhibitions, cultural or
religious. Unfortunately, the opposite also holds true. Some women heckle their
husbands without any scruples. Seriously, any man who beats his wife is debased
and cheap.
I recall a day in my life when I was confronted with the reality of provocation
as a pastor. I had worked very hard and late into the night. Quite exhausted and
comfort-drained, I got home expecting an empathic welcome from my
sweetheart. The opposite happened; the “welcome” was “comfort-deflating”; I
felt orphaned in the abundance of motherhood. The reasonable urge to explode
in anger was enticing, but my trained self-restraint numbed that urge. Instead, I
slipped into bed with the lingering hope that my dearest friend and confidant
would at least show me some mercy. My heart ached the more when she joined
me in bed in an I-don’t-care-what posture. I couldn’t match her resolve any
longer and blurted rather appealingly, with a hint of apprehension in my voice:
“So, sweetheart, don’t you see that I’m angry?” The rest of the story is for our
(my wife and I) private consumption!
“Your success or otherwise in the area of self-control
will be judged by your attitude towards your public.”
How do you react to provocation in your dealings with people you interact
with in your office as managers, salesmen and saleswomen, pastors etc.?

3. Talking excessively.
“Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles”
(Proverbs 21:23). It is quite worrying to hear some people talking on end; they
cannot keep their mouths shut. They parrot everything they hear and see,
sometimes embellishing their “news” with hyperboles. They are simply
talebearers or blabbermouths. Proverbs 10:19 puts it this way: “When words are
many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.”
It is not everything that is shared or discussed in private or at board or cabinet
meetings that should be made public. Such persons with the propensity to
divulge confidential reports and leak private conversations have a compulsion
for excessive talking. The cure for this tendency is a conscious effort at self-
control and self-discipline. A minister of state in Ghana lost her position because
she did not show discretion. “A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor,
but a man of understanding holds his tongue.” (Proverbs 11:12)
“The bane of Africa’s woes points overwhelmingly to
ill-prepared leadership; leadership that lacks the
winning principles of self-control and self-discipline.”
4. Monetary greed.
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s
life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke
12:15). Monetary greed leads to embezzlement. There is also what is called
“grand corruption,” the corruption that takes place in high offices. It is one of the
cankers of under-development. Hikes in contract sums are occasioned by the
payment of bribes for the award of contracts. This practice of officialdom is a
clear manifestation of greed and callous insensitivity to the suffering majority
whose poverty is exacerbated by this naked thievery. No wonder the deplorable
state of roads in many third world countries after just a year or two after
construction.
According to Loren Cunningham, Founder of YWAMI (Youth With A Mission
International), “The key to the development of any nation is the breaking down
of corruption”. In sub-Sahara Africa the most visible menace to socio-economic
transformation is corruption. The virus defies taming, political change and
institutional capacity-building notwithstanding. The problem of corruption is
deeply-rooted in attitudinal entrenchment. Isn’t it a paradox that despite its vast
oil wealth and enviable status as a high-ranking member of OPEC (Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries), Nigeria still wallows in economic and social
stagnation with its over 170 million people queuing to buy fuel to power their
vehicles and other machines?
The staggering corruption at the highest level of political leadership in Nigeria
is unbelievable. On October 14, 2013 1:04 PM on Reuters, Tim Cocks revealed
that former Head of State Sani Abacha stashed over US$4 billion in his personal
accounts. Again, it is alleged that about £GB600 million cash was discovered in
his house. If this amount of stolen money was distributed to the 150 million
Nigerians, each Nigerian citizen would have been £GB4 million richer. xxv
A medley of wide-scale top level corruption dots the African continent. In
Ghana, vehicles that were intended to facilitate the PAMSCAD intervention
(Programme of Action to Mitigate the Social Consequences of Adjustment) in
1987 went missing after the expiry of the programme. In the Central African
Republic (CAR), Jean-Bedel Bokassa overthrew a legitimate government headed
by his distant cousin on 1st January, 1966, taking over the reins of government,
proclaiming himself President-for-life. Later he crowned himself “Emperor” at a
state-funded ceremony on 4th December, 1977. The largely boycotted
coronation ran into several millions of dollars of the citizens’ scarce resources.
The “madness” of such leadership examples in Africa defies comprehension.
This is the stark reality of Africa’s state of affairs. If we do nothing about our
condition of corruption and nepotism, we shall keep going in circles.
On a personal note, many times I have received and continue to receive
cheques written in my name but the monies are intended to support church
projects because the people said, “Take this for the church.” No one would ever
be privy to those cheques since they were issued in my name. However, the
integrity of godly leadership demands that those monies are put for what they are
intended. If you have sticky fingers as God’s leader, He will deal with you.
Leaders and aspiring leaders should develop God-fearing attributes and integrity,
then our continent, our nation, the church, and our communities would be the
better for it. Leadership should eschew the negative tendency of monetary greed.
Consider carefully, the following commentary on Proverbs 3:27-35: “Withhold
not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do
it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give;
when thou hast it by thee. Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he
dwelleth securely by thee. Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done
thee no harm. Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. For the
froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous. The
curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of
the just. Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. The
wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.”
To do justice, to love mercy, and to beware of covetousness; to be ready for
every good work, avoiding needless strife, and bearing evils, if possible, rather
than seeking redress by law. It will be found there is little got by striving. Let us
not envy prosperous oppressors; far be it from the disciples of Christ to choose
any of their ways. These truths may be despised by the covetous and luxurious,
but everlasting contempt will be the portion of such scorners, while Divine
favour is shown to the humble believer. xxvi
“Our business is to observe the precepts of Christ, and
to copy his example.”
Self-control is an attitudinal virtue that should be in the church and all areas of
the leadership strata.

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. How well do you think you exercise self-control? What are some pressure
buttons that when pushed can make you say or do something that is not godly?
2. Why is self-control a prerequisite for leadership? How is it a mark of
maturity? Do you believe you reflect mature leadership in this area? Why or
why not?
3. What is the foundation for self-control? Why do you think a leader’s character
is so important?
4. Of the Four Tests of Principles, which is the most difficult for you and why?
5. Of the Four Responses to Tests, which is easiest for you and why?
6. What price have you paid so that you could build character?
7. Why do you think God builds our character with negative situations? Of the
ones mentioned in this chapter, which are the three that seem hardest for you
to face and why?
8. Of the areas of self-control listed in this chapter, which is most difficult for
you and why? How do you think you can build character in this area?
 CHAPTER 9

Developing The Power of Self-Control

In our world today, corruption flies in the face of sound biblical principles for
right living with God and with man. The rate and the depth of culpability are
alarming, especially when those who should be leading the crusade to redress the
festering practice are themselves championing the perpetration of the crime.
Christian leaders are also shamefully caught in the web of corruption. It is an act
of corruption when leaders insulate themselves from accountability. Some
pastors are the sole signatories to church accounts and no one dare question them
about how they spend church funds. These things are happening in our society
because of the lack of self-control and self-discipline.

SIX WAYS TO DEVELOP SELF-CONTROL

Let us examine the ways in which we can develop self-control.
1. Pray and fast regularly
“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing,
but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).
The combined effect of fasting and prayer brings the body under self-control.
Fasting, to a large extent, kills the propensity for food. It helps the body to say
“No” to the tempting inclination for “comfort food,” therefore developing one’s
capacity at self-control.
Prayer, on the other hand, puts the emotions under control and nullifies the
urge to react rashly and unwisely at the least provocation. As you pray, your
conscience becomes tender and the fear of God takes the better part of your
emotions. Hence, the state of sobriety so developed in prayer helps stabilize your
emotional state. The effect is the discipline produced in you in the face of even
extreme odds. Jesus said, “Pray that you enter not into temptation.”

2. Stay in the Word of God

 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm
119:11).
When you immerse yourself in the Word of God, the Spirit of God will speak
to you concerning your issues. The evidence of abortion in our society will be
greatly reduced if we allow God’s word on such issues to speak to our
conscience. “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13).

3. Bring your body under subjection

The body is conditioned to enjoy natural things. Man is spirit, essentially. The
body is the tabernacle in which the spirit – the real you – lives. The Bible says
that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. (See 1 Corinthians 6:19). The
Apostle Paul also said that, “Very soon I shall leave this tabernacle”, meaning
his body. (See 2 Corinthians 5:1.) The real you is therefore the spirit-man.
The body has five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. These senses
will rule your entire life, if you do not make a conscious effort to tame them.
“But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by
hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel
and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be
unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit].” (1 Corinthians 9:27 – AMP).
The Apostle Paul drives home the hard fact about the need to bring the body
under the subjection of the spirit in order not to become a counterfeit – an unfit
Christian. Even though Paul taught and preached God’s principles and ways of
godly living, he didn’t exclude himself from the practice of such principles. To
do so would have denied him the crown of life. Your profession and your
practice should be the same. What you say should match what you do. It is held
that most leaders do the opposite of what they preach. The proof of your
integrity is seen when no one is watching you. Mean what you say and say what
you mean.
Exercise
“For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things,
having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1
Timothy 4:8).
Some of us do not exercise the body. Exercising the physical body helps the
development of self-control and self-discipline. I do about 30 minutes of
physical exercise every morning and pray to keep me in check and in shape.
 Check your thoughts
Examine your thoughts, because what you think about manifests in the physical
(Proverbs 23:7) “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Do not always
blame pitfalls on temptation. God will not allow you to be tempted beyond
what you can handle. The story is told about Satan sitting on a staircase and
weeping. When he was asked why he was crying, he replied to the effect that
Christians were blaming him for everything they did wrong even when he was
not responsible for their woes. Stop blaming the devil for everything negative
and check your own lifestyle. Take responsibility.

“You are the architect of your own fall, if you yield to
temptation.”

4. Don’t think you have arrived

Strive continually to walk in total self-control and self-discipline. Do not at any
time think that you have made it and so become complacent.
“Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” (1
Corinthians 10:12).
If ever you fall into that trap, then know that the devil is after you. His strategy
is to tempt you when you are strongest, when you think nothing can shake your
foundation and stability. Remember that the devil tempted Jesus when He was
spiritually in top gear – after fasting forty days and forty nights. He was
physically exhausted and hungry, but his spirit was at full throttle. Do not think
that you have arrived yet in the area of your strengths. Keep on striving for
excellence each moment of your life.

5. Make a decision ahead of time

If you have to stay in self-control then you need to make a decision before the
temptation comes.
“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the
portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he
requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself” (Daniel
1:8).
Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the king’s food. That is,
he made a decision not to lose control of the principles of his upbringing – living
in the fear of God.
When I became born again, I made a firm decision not to spend my tithe and
also not to defile myself with women. I also decided firmly not to take God’s
money or make use of the church’s funds for my own private comfort. That has
been my lifestyle till now. I pay my tithes in excess of the mandatory 10% of all
my income, including gifts and the sale of my books. You must decide not to do
anything with what doesn’t belong to you. When you chance upon a wallet of
money, find the owner and return the wallet to them. It is not a miracle or an
answer to prayer when you find a missing wallet of money. Pre-determination to
be self-controlled and self-disciplined in the face of temptation will take you far.
If you are disciplined in small things you can be disciplined in big things.

6. Maintain a judicious use of time

You are in control of your life if you are in control of your time.
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the
heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). There is a time to begin an appointment and a time
to end it. A pastor of a church must be time conscious. Keep to the time of
church service and close on time accordingly, even if your church members
attend church service late. Let them know that you are in control of your time.
There is no excuse in keeping your church members behind time because “the
Spirit was moving.” In effect, the Spirit moves all the time and so you must
decide when to stop. It will be a sign of disrespect to your members if you keep
them in church more than 30 minutes beyond the closing time for church service
without apologizing. It is unacceptable for a politician to keep his constituents
waiting if he is coming in late.
Make time to study and also meditate on God’s word. Anytime you give an
excuse, which bothers on you not having time, you are indeed showing signs of
not being in self-control. Your self-discipline has become suspect. In fact a
disorganized person doesn’t have time nor can he make time for anything
worthwhile. You have to prayerfully and consciously make time for your family.
It is a very important consideration. Make time for your spouse and your
children to strengthen the family bond and renew love and affection. Jesus made
time for all who needed His attention, even when they tended to disrupt his
schedule. The woman with issue of blood and Blind Bartimaeus are cases in
point. Jesus Christ was in total control of His time.
When you don’t keep your appointments, it suggests a lack of self-control. If
you keep on giving flimsy and convenient excuses for not keeping your
appointments and time schedules, then check yourself; you are out of self-
control. Fix your behaviour to be punctual because effective leaders are bigger
than time.
I once arrived at a pastors’ conference late on purpose and was rather
astonished by the compliments I received from some of my senior colleague-
ministers who had arrived on time for the conference. They unanimously
expressed surprise at my lateness because they knew I was one of those pastors
noted for keeping time and appointments on schedule. What testimony do people
have about you in this regard?
“Put yourself together to be an effective leader.”
Don’t give excuses for getting to work late. Get off to work way ahead of time
if your lateness is traffic induced. Some people even check in at the airport very
late and miss their flights. That is a serious indictment; you are not in control of
your affairs. You lack self-discipline. Repent by changing your mind and
attitude.
God can only trust you with the big things you yearn for if you can manage the
small things effectively through self-control and self-discipline. When you have
self-control as a pastor it will show in your sermons; they will speak to hearers
passionately. Take hold of your life.

CONCLUSION
Let us pull the curtain on the subject of developing self-control with a quote
from William Barkley: “No one ever reached any eminence, and no one
having reached it ever maintained it without discipline.” xxvii
May you be disciplined, and may all the plans and purposes of God for your
life be accomplished. May you rise to the top and not settle for the status quo.
May you become one of the movers and shakers in your generation. May you
become one of those people who make things happen. May you become someone
God can trust with so many things. May those who know you trust you with so
many things because they know you are in charge. May they do this because they
know that the one who has self-control and is disciplined is a leader. May you be
the leader you ought to be by making discipline and self-control your trade
mark.

Food Thought and Discussion

1. Where in your life do you struggle with self-control? Do you have people who
can hold you accountable in that area(s)?
2. In what parts of your life is it easy to maintain self-control? Are you helping
to mentor anyone in that area(s) so that others can be encouraged in their
disciplines?
3. Examine the six ways given in this chapter for maintaining self control. Rate
yourself on each one from 1-10, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.
What do you think your next steps are to increase your capability in each
area?
Pray and fast regularly
Stay in the Word of God
Bring your body under subjection
Don’t think you have arrived
Make a decision ahead of time
Maintain a judicious use of time
 CHAPTER 10

The Power of Perseverance

Another attitude that drives successful and effective leadership is
perseverance : the steadfast pursuit of an objective. Inherent in the word are the
correlatives “stamina,” “consistency,” “resolve,” “firmness,” and “endurance.”
xxviii
In a marathon race, it is not the fastest athlete who wins the race. It is the
athlete with stamina and endurance. “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the
race is not to the swift” (Ecclesiastes 9:11).
People who have “made it” are those who show inward tenacity even though
they may be tired. The truth is that success doesn’t come to people with talent; it
comes to those who are able to finish what they begin. You need to work long
and hard to survive in the race and win. Perseverance simply means running the
life of success against the tide of challenges and staying in there until you win.
“A great coach never makes a star. A star makes
himself with the counsel of the coach.”

ENEMIES OF PERSEVERANCE
1. Procrastination
The prime enemy of perseverance is procrastination – the tendency to be
indecisive, to dilly-dally or shilly-shally, or postponing action to one’s detriment.
Most people are so indecisive that they keep postponing actions that will change
their situation for the better. They fail to work hard enough and come to nothing
in the end. You should, however, be able to look back after your days are spent
and say with satisfaction that “I have run my course and I have finished the
race.”

2. Lame excuses
Some people also renege on doing what they must do by giving lame excuses.
They are always waiting for the “right time” to act. Nothing is really perfect
until you make it perfect. Being a perfectionist doesn’t sit you on the fence and
wait for chance to smile on you. Start something about your challenge even
when conditions don’t look that great. In writing my books, I have learned that
tackling an assignment in defined phases pays off. It took me about four years to
complete my first 470-page book. It was a huge undertaking, but I did it by
breaking down my writing into manageable units. This kind of discipline works
for everything you purpose to achieve; a little bit of the whole at a time. In this
way you edge out procrastination in your bid to achieve an objective.

ENDURING HARDSHIP
Perseverance entails enduring hardship. God promised Abraham a son through
whom all the nations of the world would be blessed. For twenty-five years Isaac
hadn’t surfaced, but Abraham didn’t give up on hope. The Bible says Abraham
“endured” the pain of waiting and later obtained the promise.
“And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” ( Hebrews
6:15)
If you can endure the pain of waiting, your promise will come. In 1990 when
my son Francis was born he was so big that at delivery the midwife dislocated
his shoulder. After six months we noticed his right hand was hurting him. We
took him for physiotherapy but as he grew we saw that one hand was becoming
shorter than the other. When he was two years he saw a little boy become a
pageboy and he said Daddy I want to be a page boy. I said without thinking “son
when you are five you will be a page boy”. He will go to school and some of his
teachers will mock him, “Your father prays for the sick and one of your hands is
shorter than the other and you cannot even lift nor use it.” I had to change
schools, for my wife had to go confront some of the teachers. I will go to my
crusades and return with many healed: short hands and legs growing out,
withered limbs healed etc. whilst he still remained incapacitated. I kept thanking
God and celebrating him. Two months to his fifth birthday, someone was having
a wedding and it was agreed he will be the page boy. His right hand was still
shorter than the left and he would not be able to hold a pillow with both hands.
Two weeks to the time, he went to my sister’s and whilst playing they heard a
cracking sound and suddenly his shoulder was set in place. The short of it is that
when was five years old he was a page and has done a number since then and
can use both hands. Despite the notable miracles recorded at my crusades, I had
to endure the emotional torture that confronted me in the face of the sarcastic
comments that obviously came from certain quarters. I endured the pain to gain
the reward of perseverance. I encourage you to wait patiently for things to
happen.

KEYS TO GROWING THE FRUIT OF PERSEVERANCE

1. Good soldiers don’t quit
“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2
Timothy 2:3). You must develop the capacity to endure hardship as a soldier in
the army of the Lord. Endurance is the mark of a good soldier. I have had to
endure telling pain when preparing for crusades. On the verge of giving up
fasting when the odds were heavily against me, my body would protest and I
would endure the pain to the end. The interest of the masses that would throng
the crusade grounds was paramount. You don’t win if you can’t endure hardship.
“Enduring hardship … is what prepares you for your
remarkable victory.”
It is sad to observe that people easily cave in at the least “pain.” They lean on
alibis to explain away their inaction. A brief drizzle or rainfall can turn many
away from the office or even from opening their shops for business all day. One
of the essential qualifications to enlist in the army of God is endurance. An old
proverb says, “A good soldier should be able to beat the rain to eat his cake.” In
other words, you should be able to endure the pain to achieve your end. God
wants people who are poised to reach the top. The winning mantra of every
serious athlete is endurance.
Watch the Olympic Games and the competitive Football Leagues and you will
understand what I mean. A player may have a head cut and ask the medical staff
to bandage his head for him to keep playing because his team must win.
Debilitating pain isn’t a deterrent to these stars; their eagerness to perform even
in pain is astonishing. These are real good professionals.
The fact that you have some challenges in your marriage, education, career,
etc. isn’t an excuse for giving up. Endure the pain in hope; your victory is at the
end of the tunnel. God will use your pain as a test of your endurance and create a
testimony out of it for His own glory. The amount of pain you can endure
without crumbling determines the height to which you can attain in life.
Endurance through perseverance is the key that opens the door to the top. In its
bid to soar above ordinary heights, the eagle flies against the storm. Let the
strength of endurance lift you above the storm of your hardship to extraordinary
heights, in the name of Jesus Christ.

2. Jesus Christ, our example of endurance

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that
was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the
right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).
The pain and shame of the Cross was nowhere near the promise that awaited
the obedience of Christ Jesus through endurance. He went through unimaginable
pain that none of us could have dared to encounter, even if the reward of it was
dangled before us. If the Author and Finisher of our Faith bore the ultimate pain
through the ultimate endurance test, how much more can we also (His redeemed)
be able to endure our minor pains? We should bear them through the measure of
His endurance capacity with which He has so graciously endowed us. Look up to
Jesus; He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.
The Apostle Paul encourages us by his own example in Philippians 4:13-14: “I
can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Your faith in Jesus
will take you through your endurance test. Your crown is within reach of your
grasp. Don’t give up.

3. The wicked reign when the just do nothing.

One Yales indicated that bad people seem to have more energy than good
people. Put succinctly, Yales was inferring that bad people seem to invest a lot of
energy and poise in perpetrating evil on good people. The good people, on the
other hand, look on with slack interest in arresting the evil and bringing the
perpetrators to their knees.
When you are indifferent to wrong-doing, it shows that you lack the stamina to
confront challenges. Fighting injustice demands endurance in effort and
perseverance in getting justice. The just shall live by faith (see Hebrews 10:38);
you were elected and chosen to reign on earth and bring justice to bear on
humanity. You have an end to achieve for your family, your community, the
church and your good self. Endure the test and persevere to the end.

4. The implications of giving up

If ever you think about giving up on life, think on these six things first:
 Consider your goals.
Consider your purpose in life.
What are your life expectations?
What are the tangibles you want in life?
Where do you want to go in life?
With whom do you want to share your victory in life?
In moments when you are confronted with the urge to quit, look for reasons
outside of yourself to get more information for your decision. Look beyond your
personal reasons for wanting to quit and think about the larger picture that your
decision would paint to you. You are most likely going to give up when you
personalize your decision. However, when you consider the interest of others in
the context of your decision to quit, chances are that you may reverse your
decision to quit.
Just imagine for a moment what life on earth would have been if Jesus Christ
had quit before going to the Cross in the light of the life-sapping torture He was
to endure at the hands of His people. Imagine what Christianity would have been
today if the apostles had given up and deserted their calling and ministries in the
face of the torture, death, shipwreck, hunger, deprivation, imprisonment and
banishment. Imagine how travelling across land borders and oceans would have
been like today if the Wright brothers had given up on their attempts at
producing the airplane. Don’t ever give up on life.
“Your denial of self through perseverance will bring a
lot of good to many people.”

5. Get up and walk!

Don’t stay rooted to your “mono-static” spot in life. Most people are constantly
rooted to the same spot and in the same form. Their environment and personality
has remained the same continually and consistently. The dynamics of life seem
moribund in their case.
Watch out, precious one; even in your wounded state, please make a move.
Crawl to the finishing line if that is all that you can do, but don’t stay rooted to
that spot. God has prospects for you because many destinies are tied up to your
emergence into prominence. Perseverance in faith will make you will win.

6. The outcomes of your decisions must build, not scatter

 God gave me a personal word in 1983 concerning my ministry. He told me that
many people have their faith tied up to mine. From that day, I began to believe in
myself and in the knowledge that many pastors and congregations were going to
stand because of me. That word of prophecy has been a constant check on my
conduct and behaviour in my public and private life. It has been a restraining
voice to me any time temptation comes knocking at my door. I am not here for
myself. Others may fail, but I dare not fail God and the people He has me to
serve.
Take pains to analyse the outcomes of any decision or action you take,
especially the effects that decision or action will have beyond your person. Let
your actions attract people to the Lord and to your purpose on earth.

7. Institutionalize your gift; don’t personalize it

Many people, Africans especially, have done much of disservice by the
decisions they made in their lifetime. The gift our forebears had in the
knowledge of herbal medicine and herbal nutrition is almost lost to us. Instead of
handing down this life-enhancing knowledge to generations, most of our
forefathers selfishly hoarded this gift, and the knowledge died with them. Today,
life expectancy in Africa is a horrifying statistic; bad eating habits and the
unchecked appetite for life-threatening foods and lifestyles have numbed our
African nature and made us partakers of the “king’s dainties.”
“And the king appointed for them a daily portion of the king’s dainties, and of
the wine which he drank, and that they should be nourished three years; that at
the end thereof they should stand before the king… But Daniel purposed in his
heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s dainties, nor with the wine
which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might
not defile himself” (Daniel 1:5,8 – ASV).
We have “defiled” ourselves with “strange food” and indulgences partly
because our forebears failed to instil the discipline of eating what we grow.
Today, the West is craving for organic food sources, something our ancestors
lived on for longevity. We must make lasting imprints of our valued cultures and
skills on our children and our generation by sharing knowledge and training
them in our skills and gifts.
It is common knowledge that once thriving companies have folded because of
weak succession. Children, who succeeded their parents in family businesses,
ran such businesses aground because they were ill-prepared for the position. The
outlook is different in places where fathers groom their children in the expertise
of building thriving businesses. They transfer their gifts to their children by the
“laying on of hands” – in practical training.
“For which cause I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God,
which is in thee through the laying on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6).
The gifts of God are given to the family. We should therefore impart our gifts,
anointing and skills to our children and heirs-apparent for the continuity of the
corporate vision and mission. In chieftaincy, ascension to the stool or skin is
family inherited. It is a sacred preserve of particular families and this is
incontestable. In the same vein, you must commit to your care what has been
entrusted to you. What you have should not die with you. You must pass it on to
your children and the next generation. That is why you shouldn’t give up on your
life, even in the face of daunting challenges.
“If we endure, we shall also reign with him: if we shall deny him, he also will d
eny us” (2 Timothy 2:12). Endure the pain to the end; honour awaits your
purposeful gallantry as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. Can you identify the enemy (or enemies) of perseverance in your life? Do
procrastination or lame excuse affect you?
2. How difficult is it for you to endure hardship? Is there any particular area that
affects your ability to persevere more than another?
3. Is there any area in your life where you feel like quitting? What should you do
to combat this?
4. Do you allow Jesus’ example of endurance penetrate your spirit when you feel
like giving up?
5. Are there any areas of evil where you feel quite strongly and are motivated to
action? Are there any areas of life that you shrug off, show signs of
complacency? How can you become motivated to make a stand against every
area of evil?
6. When you are tired and emotional weary, how difficult is it for you to get up
and make a step forward? Memorize a scripture verse that can speak to you
during times like this. Write your verse here.
7. Have you ever found yourself making a decision that became detrimental to
either your family or a ministry team? How did you handle the process after
the error? What can you do to avoid poor decisions in the future?
8. When you feel like quitting, do you ever think of the aftermath of such a
choice upon those around you?
9. Meditate on the following in light of persevering in your family, your goals,
your ministry and your career:
Consider your goals.
Consider your purpose in life.
What are your life expectations?
What are the tangibles you want in life?
Where do you want to go in life?
With whom do you want to share your victory in life?
 CHAPTER 11

The Power of Honesty and Integrity

Honesty and integrity are elusive to those who base their character on the
world system. The plethora of political scandals, power intrigues, and drama of
reality TV is painful for anyone with scruples. Believing someone at their word
is no longer an assumption. We must raise the bar for the Church to reflect a
godly demeanor without excuse. This is especially true for leaders as their lives
will impact those around them. Bishop Harry Jackson affirms this when he
writes, “Whoever you are, wherever you live, whatever you do, God can use you
to transform the atmosphere around you.” xxix So let’s get busy and transform
ourselves first in order to be a model for others!

WHAT IS HONESTY AND INTEGRITY?

Honesty is “truthfulness,” “trustworthiness,” or “openness.” Therefore to be
honest means to be fair and just in character or behaviour. Honesty also means
“not prone to cheating or stealing.” It paints a picture of one being sincere and
not given to deceitful tendencies. An honest person parades all the characteristics
mentioned in their everyday dealings with people.
Integrity is synonymous to honesty. It means “an undivided or unbroken
completeness or totality with nothing wanting.” It also means “moral
soundness.” Stretched further, integrity means “honour” or “consistency.” When
someone is described as “full of integrity,” then that person is full of moral
uprightness, decency and honour. It mirrors someone who means what they say
and says what they mean. A person with integrity meets schedules, keeps
appointments, and gives prior notice of their inability to attend scheduled
functions or appointments.

THE TEST AND EXCELLENCY OF HONESTY

Decades ago in Europe a person was dealt a fatal blow when one was accused
of dishonesty. The person so accused of dishonesty would engage the accuser in
a duel of death to settle the score. It was believed that if the accusation was
unfounded then the accuser would be killed in the duel and vice versa. The
drastic reactions to dishonesty show just how serious a matter it was to be
accused of dishonesty in that era in Europe.
In Acts 6, one of the demands for the office of deacon was honesty. “Then the
twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason
that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren,
look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and
wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business” (Acts 6:2-3).
To have “an honest report” means to have a good reputation or a good name.
The Bible further emphasizes that a good name is to be desired much more than
riches. “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour
rather than silver and gold” (Proverbs 22:1). To have a good name attracts
respect, while riches without moral integrity count for nothing.
“A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the
day of one’s birth” (Ecclesiastes 7:1). Having a good reputation is very crucial in
one’s life. J. C. Penny, the owner of J. C. Penny stores all over the United States
of America was reported to be drinking Ginger Ale, when someone mistook the
soda for whiskey and went to town with the story that J. C. Penny was a whiskey
drinker. When Penney got wind of the smear campaign, he said, “A reputation I
value has been smeared by Ginger Ale. Henceforth, it will be plain water or
tomato juice for me.” xxx
J. C. Penny gave up drinking Ginger Ale to protect his reputation. That is how
serious integrity is to one’s reputation. Most people gloss over those pertinent
things which impinge on their integrity. We do this to our own disadvantage and
to the injury of our reputation in the long term.
The Malaysians have a proverb that says that a good reputation grows up while
a bad one shoots up! Put succinctly, the proverb means that one cannot confine a
bad reputation for long; it will rouse itself up and announce its presence
involuntarily. A good reputation is cultured and refined, and it creates its own
space for nurturing and growth; it invites rather than dispels. Live with a good
reputation rather than a bad one.

Traits of honesty: blamelessness and harmlessness

The Bible spells out our dignity in the area of integrity and admonishes us not
to open up ourselves for the rebuke of the world.“That ye may be blameless and
harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and
perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians
2:15). We are called upon to live above board as children of God. “Recompense
to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men” (Romans
12:17).
We are expected to exhibit honesty to everyone in this life. Your life in this
world is not predicated on “a matter between you and God”; it is “a matter of
duty to you and to everyone you relate to in your life.” If you find favour with
God alone then there is a question mark hanging around your neck, what kind of
favour do you have with God?
The Bible states in Luke 2:52 that Jesus Christ Himself – the Son of the Living
God – grew in favour with God and with men . The issue about your character
shouldn’t be left between you and your God; your neighbour should have a
positive perception about your worth. It is what people see you do that matters to
them. Let your born-again image show.
“What people are interested in is seeing your sermon
... rather than in hearing it.”
I recollect a story about a manager who got to his office one day and asked his
subordinates, “How many of you know that I’m a Christian?” There was an
embarrassing long silence then one person quipped, “Well, we didn’t know
because your Christianity was real secret.” It was quite obvious from the
response that the manager’s subordinates knew well that their boss’s real
character was a false definition of Christianity.
“Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is
administered by us. Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord,
but also in the sight of men” (2 Cor. 8:20–21).
To be effective leaders, our moral uprightness should fully reflect in the sight
of God as well as in the sight of men. You should hold a trustworthy place in the
minds of your family, friends, colleagues and church members. It is normally
said, “Keep your integrity in the black”! Show your honesty – it must be
something that can be read by all.
It is said several years ago, a preacher from a distant town accepted a call from
a church in Leeds. Some weeks after his arrival, he had an appointment that
made him board a bus to another part of the town. When he sat down, he
discovered that the driver had mistakenly given him his balance in excess of 50
pence. As he considered what to do, he thought within him, ‘You’d better give
this money back. It would be wrong to keep it’. Then another thought came,
“Oh, forget it, it’s only 50p; who would worry about this little amount, after all
the bus company makes so much money on fares; they will never miss it. Accept
it as ‘a gift from God’ and keep quiet. “When he was getting down from the bus,
he paused momentarily at the door, and then handed the 50p to the driver and
said, ‘Take; the balance you gave me was over’. The driver, with a smile,
replied, ‘Aren’t you the new preacher in town?’ ‘Yes I am’ he replied. ‘Well, I
have been thinking a lot lately about where to go to worship. I just wanted to see
what you would do if I give you balance in excess. I’ll worship with you at the
church this Sunday.’ When the preacher stepped off the bus, he grabbed a nearby
electric pole, looked up and said, ‘Oh God, I almost sold your Son for 50 pence.’
Our lifestyles are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is just a subtle
example of how much people watch us as Christians, and will put us to test!
Always be on guard -- and remember -- You carry the name of Christ on your
forehead and shoulders once you call yourself a Christian.

Areas to show honesty

1. Debt payment
Paying your debts is one area in which you must show honesty. Return what you
borrowed from individuals and corporate organizations. Refusing to return
borrowed items and pay your debt smacks of dishonesty. The scathing
remarks made against leaders who intentionally default in debt payment and
in returning what they borrowed when due, are damaging to the integrity of
their faith. Our moral standards should be higher and much more visible than
what the masses portray. Remember that we are expected to be the light of the
world.

2. Trust
It is said in the 1980s, trust was a rare moral commodity in Nigeria. Banks
would do excessive due diligence before releasing loan facilities to applicants.
However, one conspicuous entity that captured the confidence and trust of
Nigerian banks in that era was the Deeper Life Church. The church had built
such a strong “trust bank” with the financial institutions that anyone who
approached a bank with a Deeper Life introduction was granted a loan without
qualms. Such is the level of trust that the world should repose in the church,
given our background as the Light and Salt of the world. In doing this, we can
 then attract the world to the saving grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.

3. Avoid lying and deceit

Lying deflates any semblance of honesty in a person’s character. I have
personally found out that lying comes in strata (levels): outright lie, planned
lie, foolish lie, bragging, and negative boasting. Outright or pathological liars
do not rehearse lying; the habit is ingrained in them. Planned lies are carefully
crafted and are executed with precision. However, those who indulge in
planned lying risk being exposed. Fact is, when you cultivate that habit you
must constantly maintain that lie, and for how long can you maintain it?
Foolish lies reflect the lack of common sensical wisdom of their bearers. Such
lies show how daft the liar is.
To all intents and purposes, bragging is lying. I have always counselled my
children against being taken in by their friends who come to them bragging
about the achievements of their parents. In most cases you draw a blank when
you embark on a verification exercise to ascertain their assertions. Uncouth
men champion much of this bragging, especially. Sadly, such bragging men
ensnare many of our young women. They fall prey to their wicked intentions.
This attitude is a mark of dishonesty.
Boasting – conscious humility in most cases – is a form of lying. Some people
flaunt their humility about just to play for favour. They hide their true nature
in conscious humility. These are dishonest pretenders. You must be wary of
such people.
The habit of lying can get extremely complicated when you get into a serious
situation. For example, for whatever reasons, some people would rather trace
their education to some particular institutions or schools and deny affiliation
with their true alma mater. That is pure pretence and a most dishonest thing to
do. Well, if you are in that habit of denying your own alma mater in the midst
of people just keep on doing that. You will be exposed one day!
“Pretence is a habit that makes lying have a strong
grip on people.”

You’ll be exposed for your own good

A striking observation I have made about Christians who indulge in lying is the
fact that they are always exposed. The devil ensnares them for exposure in order
to ridicule them. However, it is God’s plan for His children to come to
repentance so that they don’t forfeit going to Heaven. The devil meant it for your
shame, but God intended it for your salvation. That explains why some people
tell palpable lies but escape detection and arrest, but when a child of God does
the same thing they are ultimately exposed and shamed.
“The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar”
(Proverbs 19:22).
If you are a boss and you tell lies, beware of your subordinates. They know
everything about you. It is imperative that you maintain a trustworthy outlook
with them. In the same way, a parent who lies has no respect at home. The
children develop doubts about such parents. Parents have to develop a sincere
and trustworthy relationship with their children for proper child training in
character formation. It is absolutely important for us to keep our promises to our
children.
I can say without a shadow of doubt that, by the grace of God, I have lived an
open and transparent leadership style with my staff, including my associate
pastors. There is therefore no hidden part of me that they do not know.
“Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have
us for an ensample” (Philippians 3:17).

MORAL AUTHORITY IS EARNED

You must earn moral authority at home and at the workplace by portraying an
honest and trustworthy personality through your deeds. Titles do not make a
person who they really are; character does. You cannot teach your children
integrity if you lack it. You can only teach what you have. You must also realize
that trust is gained through integrity, while dishonesty is also often couched in
living a lie. More often than not some carry themselves about in borrowed glory.
They tend to dress expensively in credited designer attire to public functions and
to other social gatherings to announce to the whole world that they have also
“arrived” or are as good as the “Joneses.” We also cloud our true identity with
such airs and deceitfully warm our way into the leadership at church and in the
society to execute our nefarious objectives. What burdensome dishonesty this is!
You drag yourself into unnecessary pain and discomfort by such an attitude. Just
be who you are; in it’s time God does everything beautifully.

Avoid unnecessary peer competition

 Don’t be caught up with peer competition. The circumstances of your friends
are different from yours. Many young people get drifted away with this menace
from school. The Bible frowns on comparing your lot with another person’s.
“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with
some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves,
and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise” (2 Corinthians
10:12).

Character is a victory; not a gift

Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, was said to have produced a
talking doll at a time when his company had sold the rights to produce that brand
of doll to another company. When his attention was drawn to the obvious breach
of contract, he quickly destroyed his entire product except for two dolls, which
he kept for himself. He took that step on the principle of integrity. Character is a
victory and not a gift; even when it falls into the mire, it glitters. It is a precious
stone. Character shows up triumphantly even when one falls, because it proves
itself by bouncing back.

Diplomacy versus lies

There is a marked difference between diplomacy and a lie. Lying is a conscious
attempt at presenting an untruth to get away with an intention. Diplomacy on the
other hand is applying common sensical wisdom to let sleeping dogs lie. For
example, when you meet a friend who greets you and enquires about your
health, you answer in the affirmative even though you may be feeling unwell.
Diplomacy in essence is concealing reality in order to keep a tranquil
atmosphere. It also entails minding one’s own business by not exposing one’s
privacy in public. It also pops up at the workplace when the boss uses motivation
to propel staff to work much more efficiently. It is an act of diplomacy when you
criticize your staff once and praise them thrice. Be diplomatic about your
children’s school reports (examination results) by not harping on their
weaknesses but by lifting their moral for hard work through encouraging praise.
When you do these things you are not lying but appreciating people.

The measure of real character

“What you do when you know that no one will find you out is the measure of
your real character.” xxxi What does this statement mean? I chanced on this
statement that says that in 1921, $100 bills were intentionally sent to the wrong
persons in the US with accompanying letters asking them to re-channel the
monies to the right addresses in the letters. Only 39% of the wrong recipients
obliged the request; the rest wouldn’t bother. Again in 1978, the exercise was
conducted. This time around a dismal 13% of the wrong recipients bothered to
send the monies back to their rightful owners. This startling revelation
underscores the depth to which the sterling attribute of honesty is sinking
moment after moment.
Honesty in our generation must increase. Macaulay’s statement simply
emphasizes the point that a man’s character shows up when he does what he will
do when no is watching him.

CONCLUSION
What will you do when no one is watching you? Will you still maintain your
integrity? Well, people may doubt what you say, but they will always believe
what you do. Precious leader, endeavour to be a man or woman of integrity and
moral uprightness. Be a shining example to our nation and to the world at large.

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. How well do you fit the definition of honesty? What are some areas that could
be improved?
2. How well do you fit the definition of integrity? Are there areas that could be
improved?
3. How do honesty and excellence work together? What does truth show to
others about who you are?
4. How do being blameless and harmless fit into your honesty?
5. Have you or someone you know been exposed in a situation of dishonesty?
What did people think of them? Did your opinion of that person change (even
if it was yourself!)?
6. How does moral become earned? Who are the people who have earned moral
authority in your life? Who are some people in whose eyes you have earned
moral authority?
7. How does competition weaken integrity and lead to dishonesty?
8. What battles are you waging currently with honesty and integrity in your life?
9. What is the difference between diplomacy and lying? Where do you draw the
 line between these two?
10. Ask some people near you to rate your honesty and integrity. Look for some
at home, at work, at the church, in the neighbourhood, etc. Interview them
casually and be sure to include non-Christians as well as Christians.
 CHAPTER 12

The Power of Courage

Success as a leader comes with a price and nothing comes easy. Attitude means
more in being successful than knowledge. Dr. Mike Murdoch said, “You don’t
decide your destiny, but you decide your habits and your habits decide your
destiny.” The habits you form will decide where you will ultimately be. Your
attitude is what will determine your altitude in life. These attitudes and habits are
called character. Character is what will take you to the top.

CHARISMA OR CHARACTER?
Character is often confused with charisma. In ministry, charisma can gather the
crowd, but character is what keeps them. Charisma generates favour from others.
Character is a derivative from the Greek word “chisel,” a tool that shapes things.
It connotes chiseling out or removing something. So, character is the raw
material of your life. It is not inherited; it is a product of the habits that have
trained your life. Character is developed and built; it is a chiseling process or
developing your personality. Here are four simple differences between character
and charisma:
1. Charisma has the ability to sway people to your side for what you
make a stand. Often, most people who are swayed by charisma do not
really have a basis for why they believe in what their hero believes.
They are often carried away by the aura of whomever they follow. In
contrast to faith, charisma sparks off excitement while faith is founded
on the Word of God.
2. Charisma inspires fanatical loyalty. It is important to note when the real
test of character surfaces, loyalty fizzles out and the followership
desert the charismatic leader. The lack of character often finds
expression in the display of indispensability by the one with charisma.
When the people detect this trait they go their separate ways. It will be
 a fatal mistake on my part as leader of a thriving church, Perez Chapel
International, to ever think that the church will buckle on its knees
without me. When God uses you to initiate something like a church,
after a time that thing ceases to be founded on your person. It becomes
an institution, not a personality cult.
3. When you have charisma you are always burdened to perform, even
when you are “dried up.” Anytime you are not doing what the people
know you for, you are afraid of losing their loyalty. That feeling gives
you what I call “people-pressure.” You are compelled by your own
aura to please the people, no matter what. Examples abound in the
Bible about people with charisma who yielded to the pressure of the
people and paid dearly for that. A classical example was King Saul.
When he was billed to go to battle, he had to wait for Prophet Samuel
to offer a mandatory sacrifice before the king could go to battle.
However, King Saul lost patience when Samuel was late in arriving for
the sacrifice. At the instance of people-pressure Saul acted foolishly by
offering the sacrifice himself against the sacred tradition of Israel.
“And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the
people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days
appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;
Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I
have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and
offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly:
thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he
commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom
upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath
sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to
be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD
commanded thee” (1 Samuel 13:11-14).
The danger of performing under people-pressure is that you will not have time
for yourself, your family, and other things that matter to you. You become
obsessed with pleasing the people because you fear you might lose their
loyalty. Character makes the difference here; it makes you tough and puts you
in charge of your issues.
4. When you have charisma minus character, people cannot tell you when
you are wrong. People with charisma tend to abhor criticism even from
their close associates. In contrast, the person with character accepts
 criticism and listens to people with differing opinions.
Some married couples are prone to this tendency, when husbands and wives find
it difficult to accommodate dissent and take entrenched positions in domestic
issues. Caught in this same trap are business executives and bosses. Some
bosses blatantly disregard counter suggestions and opinions from subordinates
when such suggestions have the potential of bettering the fortunes of the
business entity. Also, political leaders with charisma often breed sycophantic
loyalists because the followers have no say in the decision-making process on
governance issues.
“The person with character accepts criticism and
listens to people with differing opinions.”
I submit that the most unfortunate thing that can happen to an individual,
especially a leader, is for that leader to be blind to his or her faults and
shortcomings by spurning sound advice. When you do that it shows that you
have not yet built the capacity for character formation. Let us examine two
personalities who both lived in the context of our discussion.
a. Alexander the Great
At 33 years old, Alexander the Great had conquered the whole of Greece.
Among his other conquests were Egypt, Persia and India, and he thought he
had conquered the whole world. However, he lacked character. Exactly a
year after his death, everything he had achieved crumbled like a house of
cards. Then two years after his death his achievements (built on charisma) hit
ground zero. His generals fought among themselves for leadership and tore
apart the unity of all the conquered states.
b. Jesus Christ
In contrast to Alexander the Great, Jesus Christ did not travel beyond the
borders of Israel for any conquest. He simply chose twelve apostles and
established the foundation of character in them. He also died at 33 years of
age. The overwhelming evidence of the impact of those twelve apostles is too
glaring to escape the notice of the worst cynic. There is a clear difference
between the personalities of Jesus Christ and Alexander the Great; the
dividing line is the strength of character personified in Christ Jesus against
the weakness of charisma portrayed in Alexander the Great.

COURAGE – A PRINCIPAL ATTITUDE FOR EFFECTIVE

LEADERSHIP
One of the cardinal attitudinal indicators of character is courage. It is at the
heart of God. God demanded that Joshua the new leader to take Israel into the
promised land cultivate courage as a leadership tool for success.
“Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an
inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou
strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the
law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand
or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of
the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day
and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein:
for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good
success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not
afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:6-9).
God mentions the word “courage” three times in this passage to underscore its
importance in leadership. For God to instruct Joshua to be courageous shows the
depth to which He attaches courage in character formation for a leader.
“And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that
Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of
war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these
kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. And Joshua
said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for
thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight” (Joshua
10:24-25).
Before his death, Joshua fought five kings and their nations, conquering them
all. He then presented the captured kings to his captains, asked them to place
their feet on the necks of the kings and then admonished them to be courageous.
He made this same demand of courage on his captains just as God made that
demand on him.
Courage is a vital character virtue. David encouraged his young son, Solomon,
to be courageous if he should reign long on the throne. “Then shalt thou prosper,
if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged
Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be
dismayed” (1 Chronicles 22:13).
The biblical emphasis on courage makes it mandatory for us to pursue that
vital character trait with undivided attention, if we are to succeed in life and
Christian ministry. David asked Solomon to build the house of God on the
strength of courage.
“And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do
it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with
thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work
for the service of the house of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 28:20).
I challenge you to have courage to build your enterprise and bring your vision
into reality. Those without courage stop midway toward their goal and flounder
midstream at the least challenge.
The Bible records a period in the history of the Israelites when Joab, one of
David’s military officers, went to war against a combined force of the
Ammonites, Moabites and Assyrians. Seeing that Israel was completely
outnumbered by the enemy force, Joab encouraged his brother, Abishai, to be
courageous in the face of the daunting opposition. Joab then divided the Israeli
forces into two, took command of one section and Abishai the other. He then
told Abishai that they should do their best and leave the rest to God. “Now when
Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose of all
the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians: And the rest
of the people he committed into the hand of Abishai his brother; and he put them
in array against the children of Ammon. And he said, If the Syrians be too strong
for me, then thou shalt help me; but if the children of Ammon be too strong for
thee, then I will come and help thee. Be of good courage, and let us play the man
for our people, and for the cities of our God: and Jehovah do that which seemeth
him good” (2 Samuel 10:9-12).
“Courage gives a person the ability to forge ahead to
do almost the impossible.”
Courage means “the quality of mind that enables one to face up to danger or
hardship resolutely.” Therefore the essence of building courage is to enhance
your capacity to handle or undertake assignments that have inherent difficulties
and challenges, and still overcome in the end. In this life you need to take risks;
the way to the top is not for the feeble-minded or the person with cold feet.
Among other risk taking ventures is marriage. Men who are not getting any
younger by the day keep on postponing marriage with the excuse that they have
not found the right partner yet. Their excuse is founded on fear of taking a risk.
They fear to marry because they lack courage and character.
There are inherent risks in every decision or choice of career one makes. God
called me when I was 18 years old and I went into full time pastoral ministry at
21 years of age, all the dreams I incubated in my spirit and mind about world
evangelism were risks. You must develop the capacity to be resolute in
maintaining a stoic fixation of the end you have charted for yourself. Confidence
is the mustard seed for the evolution of your visible fruitfulness.
Courage also connotes bravery, gallantry, and fearlessness. However, these
elements do not depict their essence in character in many ways. Doing heroic
acts in themselves does not suggest that one has character. For example, driving
at top speed and negotiating a sharp bend may be touted as a courageous act, but
the act in itself lacks character. It is a negative outlay of courage; it is risk taking
for an unworthy cause. Such “heroic” acts often emanate from “Dutch courage;”
exhibiting courage which is alcohol induced.

WHAT COURAGE BRINGS INTO YOUR LIFE

Responsibility
It takes courage to take responsibility for your life outcomes. Courage is a non-
negotiable quality the pursuit of character that births firm success. In place of
blaming what you have become on your parents or circumstances or anything
else, responsibility declares your hand in who you are now. It does not shirk
the negative things that have happened. Neither does it cover up wrong
choices. Leaders who take responsibility are admired by their minions, even
when they have made a mistake.
Gentleness
David said, “…Thy gentleness has made me great” (Psalm 18:35). David was a
warrior and fought many battles, which helped him become great. You must
also take your territory by force. “And from the days of John the Baptist until
now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force”
(Matthew 11:12).
“You must possess and exhibit an inner fortitude to get
what is to be yours in life.”
Take risks that emanate from courage. You must possess and exhibit an inner
fortitude to get what is to be yours in life. Laziness is no substitute for
meekness or gentleness. We should not be prone to doing nothing about our
circumstances, and merely sit in the “comfort” of expectancy that help will
come anyway. What we really receive from such “helpers” is their garbage;
 those things that they have no value for. It is not gentleness or meekness when
you sit aloof and lack the courage to go for what rightly belongs to you
according to the will of God for your life. You will not get anything
worthwhile on a silver platter. You must “fight” for it! That fight is a fight of
faith; muster courage and dare to win! That is your lot in Christ Jesus.
“And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us,
and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are
walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there”
(Numbers 13:27-28).
There might be obstacles in your way to effectiveness like “higher walls” and the
“children of Anak,” but just as Moses encouraged his people, I say to you,
“Contend in battle for your possessions.” The Bible calls certain periods “days
of evil”; we are in a period of unfairness. Therefore, there is only one option
left to you if you are going to make the needed impact in your life. That option
is “contending in battle for your possessions.”
“Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have
given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin
to possess it, and contend with him in battle. This day will I begin to put the
dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole
heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish
because of thee” (Deuteronomy 2:24-25).

HOW TO GET COURAGE

From the Spirit of God
“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be
strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16).
God will strengthen you in your inner man with His Spirit. That means that the
Holy Spirit can give you strength in your inner being to take bold and
courageous decisions that will move you forward towards your greater purpose
in this life. Ask Him now.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus Christ told His disciples, “But ye shall receive power, after
that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both
in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part
of the earth.”
Peter is a glowing example of what the inner well of courage and strength from
 the Holy Spirit can do. After denying Jesus Christ before a young girl and
others, Peter stood before a multitude. Being filled with the strength and
boldness of the Spirit, he preached with uncharacteristic boldness about the
Christ he had denied thrice. His hearers were cut to the heart and gave their
lives to Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. Peter wasn’t bothered any
longer about his personal safety; his life and greater purpose were tied to the
gospel of Christ Jesus.

From the Knowledge of God

“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but
the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits” (Daniel
11:32).
You are always filled with strength if you know God. Remember that greater is
He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Again, remember
that the righteous are as bold as a lion. “The wicked flee when no man
pursueth; But the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).
The lion does not run away from danger or adversity. “A wise man is strong;
Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth might” (Proverbs 24:5). You increase in
strength (courage) when you have the knowledge of God.
When you do not have knowledge about your environment or an environment
you have been introduced to, you can become intimidated and jittery. I was
once invited to dinner at the residence of the British High Commissioner
(Ambassador) in Accra. I was unfamiliar with the custom of such occasions
and so I sat quiet and lonely at my table. When dinner was served, I found the
diversity of cutlery quite confusing. Which fork was for what? I sat bewildered
as my knees and hands quaked.
From that day, I resolved to learn about everything that mattered in life,
especially those things that were important to my relating to people. I left the
dinner determined to learn how to relate to the “big” and “small.” The result is
my bestselling book “Good Manners and Etiquette for Everyday Use,” a book
which has been accepted as a supplementary reader for Basic Shools,
Secondary Schools, Training Colleges and libraries in Ghana. Knowledge
gives one confidence and the boldness to sit shoulder to shoulder with the
great, and it also enhances the fulfillment of one’s destiny on earth. “Be of
good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the
LORD” (Psalm 31:24).
God doesn’t put courage in your heart; you must go for it.
Don’t cast away your confidence
“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of
reward” (Hebrews 10:35).
It is said that dressing is an extension of your personality. Further, I submit that
the way you dress enhances your confidence. The way you treat yourself is
how others will treat you. I have a friend who “dresses by faith.” If she is
feeling tired or emotionally distressed, she wears a bright color that day. She
does this so that when she looks at her clothes during the day, she is reminded
that she does not live by her emotions or state of being; she lives by faith in
God. That is her confidence.

Pray in the Holy Spirit

“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the
Holy Ghost” (Hebrews 10:35).
You build inner confidence and courage when you pray in the Holy Spirit. This
is because you are not relying on words that are dependent upon your mind or
emotions. You are praying according to God’s mindset.
When Protestant Reformer John Knox was invited by the Queen of Scotland to
the palace, the Queen wanted to know if he had any fear by coming to see a
monarch of such great power and influence in the world. John Knox answered
the Queen by saying, “How can I be afraid? If I’ve been in audience with the
King of Kings for four hours, how can I be afraid of the queen on Earth?”
After Moses had died, God said to Joshua the new leader of Israel to be of good
courage and that he would have good success. I say to you also with all
confidence, “Have good courage and you would have good success.”

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. Charisma among leaders has benefits. What are they? How much
charisma do you think you have as a leader?
2. Character goes much farther than charisma. Why is this true? Compare
your charisma and your character. What distinctives do you have in your
personality that can draw people to you? What do you possess that can
keep them on your team for the long haul?
3. How does courage enter into your ministry? Where do you have the most
 courage? Where is courage weakest in your life?
4. How well do you take responsibility for your actions with those around
you. Are you open with them as to your mistakes as well as your
victories?
5. How effective are you leading with gentleness? Do others ever see you as
a bully?
6. What is the main source of your courage? Are you able to receive
strength from the Spirit of God? From your knowledge of God’s Word?
From continuing in confidence despite circumstances around you? From
praying in the Holy Spirit? How should you mentor those in your care
through these ways of receiving courage?
 CHAPTER 13

The Power of Responsibility

Responsibility is accountability . It means one is morally accountable for one’s
actions. It also means culpability ; deserving blame or censure as being wrong,
evil, or injurious. Further, responsibility means “a form of trustworthiness; the
trait of being answerable to someone for something or being responsible for
one’s conduct.”
Often, we run away from responsibility. However, responsibility is an
important attitude we must possess if we are going to be effective leaders in life.
It is said that a baby’s actions say a lot about its stance on responsibility. It
cannot be held accountable for its actions such as pooh-poohing and bed-
wetting. Again, it is said that teenagers show by their actions that they are
thinking about themselves and want to be independent. On the other hand,
mature people show by their actions that “you can depend on me.” Therefore to
be a great leader, you must show maturity.
During World War II, Winston Churchill of Great Britain said “The prize of
greatness is responsibility.” xxxii Responsibility is the highest form of maturity.
You must show proof of your maturity in how responsible you are in what you
do. You put yourself on the line for your actions, accepting the consequences for
those actions.

DEFECTS OF RESPONSIBILITY
Buck-Passing/Excuses
In the Scriptures, we see man’s reluctance to accept responsibility for his
actions: “And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art
thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I
was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked?
Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not
eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave
me of the tree, and I did eat” (Genesis 3: 9-12).
Adam passed the buck when God confronted him with the sin he had
committed. This blame-shifting gimmick undermines one’s credibility as a
mature person. Winning life’s battles is not predicated on irresponsible
behaviour.
Aaron also passed the buck when he blamed the people for the sin Israel
committed in making and worshipping the golden calf in the wilderness when
Moses went up the mountains to receive the Ten Commandments from God.
“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount,
the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up,
make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that
brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And
Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of
your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And
all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and
brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it
with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be
thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when
Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and
said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. And they rose up early on the morrow,
and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat
down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play” (Exodus 32:1-6).
Aaron went further to escalate his irresponsible behaviour by suggesting that
the golden calf created itself when he put the golden earrings into the fire.
“And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast
brought so great a sin upon them? And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord
wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. For they said
unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man
that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they
gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf” (Exodus
32:21-24).
When God ordered Saul to attack the Amalekites and utterly destroy them for
their sin against Israel, Saul shirked that responsibility.
“Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over
his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words
of the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did
to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now
go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not;
but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and
ass” (1 Samuel 15:1-3).
He attacked the Amalekites but spared the king, the livestock, and some of the
beautiful women.
“But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the
oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not
utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed
utterly” (1 Samuel 15:9).
When he was quizzed about his actions, he replied that “the people made him
do it”. He passed the buck. “And Saul said, They have brought them from the
Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to
sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; ... because I feared the people, and obeyed
their voice” (1 Samuel 15:15, 24).
Quite irritatingly, most of us tend to give excuses for our mistakes, which
shouldn’t be the case. This is true even among the staff of local churches.
History is replete with names of people who became successful and rose out of
very painful and abysmally disadvantaged backgrounds to very effective levels
of leadership. They roused themselves from their debilitating circumstances,
took responsibility for their future and drove the vehicle of their life to
prominence. They did something with their lives. Do something about your life
now.
“Most of us tend to give excuses for our mistakes.”
In one of the parables the greatest Teacher who ever lived told was about the
man who received the one talent from his master and did nothing with it. He
threw responsibility to the wind, while his colleagues with two or more talents
did something responsible with their talents.
“Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee
that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering
where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the
earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine” (Matthew 25:24-25).
It is better to do something and fail than do nothing at all about the situation. It
is a disservice to humanity and self if you should have the ability to do
something but sit on the fence and eventually die with all your wisdom,
knowledge and expertise. And if you fail, take the responsibility for it. Don’t act
like the fearful servant and try to blame those in charge of you!
The late Arch-Bishop Idahosa said that one was not qualified to criticize
somebody if one has not done more than the one you are criticizing. You have to
be up and doing, shake off the laxity, and put the axe to the tree.
Out of a family trait, many people give excuses for doing nothing. They use
hereditary factors such as diseases to keep a safe distance from taking actions to
change their situations. The fact that one’s parents ever had diabetes or some
other ailment is no guarantee that one will also contract the disease. One has to
live a healthy life to avert contracting the disease. Control the things that you can
control.
What motivates us to shift blame when we should take responsibility? Let us
develop the right motives to galvanize us to take responsibility towards a
fulfilled life in Christ Jesus.

Lacking Maturity
The dividing line between Saul and David was that David accepted
responsibility. In my estimation, David committed much more grievous sins
(sleeping with someone’s wife and sending the person to be slaughtered) than
Saul, but that wasn’t the view of God. David acknowledged his sins but Saul
didn’t. It takes a mature person to own up to responsibility.
Even when the prophet Samuel had rebuked Saul for his wrongdoing, instead
of showing remorse and repentance, the king still asked the prophet to honour
him.
“Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders
of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the
LORD thy God” (1 Samuel 15:30).
Relying on excuses instead of owning up to responsibility makes us look like
children – immature and lacking character. Accepting responsibility is a cardinal
requirement for making it to the top.
“And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him,
because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his
daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. And David said
to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod.
And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. And David inquired at the
LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he
answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail
recover all” (1 Samuel 30:6-8).
At the peril of his life, David displayed maturity and wept with the people,
accepted responsibility for the outcome of his decision to go to war, and then
restored what was lost back to the people. Getting to the top is not a demand for
the faint-hearted; it demands strong maturity in accepting the outcomes of your
decision and circumstances, and acting positively to remedy the situation.
In committing adultery with Bathsheba and murder by plotting the death of
Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, David didn’t shift the blame on Bathsheba but on
himself when the prophet Nathan confronted him with his bizarre atrocity and
penned one of the most repentant psalms.
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness: according
unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me
throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my
transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I
sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou
speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and
in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward
parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me
with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may
rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me
a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from
thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit” (Psalms 51:1-12).
“Accepting responsibility for your actions and
inactions shows maturity, a key element in the
attributes of effective leaders.”
Many men have blamed their sexual escapades and immoral behaviours on
their women accomplices or the devil. What could be a classic example of
irresponsible behaviour than this?
In accepting responsibility for his misbehaviour, David showed readiness to
repent and move on in life. In failing to accept responsibility for his deed of
disobedience to God, Adam was driven out of the Garden of Eden and out of the
presence of God.
 God has declared that He is faithful and just to forgive all our sins if we
confess to Him. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Our forgiveness
which translates into God giving us a second chance is wholly dependent on
confessing our sins to Him.

Blaming the devil for your inactions

Don’t always put the blame of your circumstance on the devil. The story is told
of the devil sitting somewhere and crying. When a passer-by asked him why he
was crying he said, “Is it not the believers; they accuse me of everything that
happens to them when I have done nothing at all to them.” Don’t dump all your
woes on the devil – the devil didn’t make you do anything! Instead, take
responsibility for your actions. Act now, and change your circumstances for the
better.
Even if you perceive it is the devil who is tempting you, don’t give him the
honour by trumpeting the cause of your problem to him. The Bible says that all
things work together for our good to those who love God. “And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
There are times we don’t see the “big picture”. Observe a professional painter
painting his sketch. Without a trained eye, you may think the painting is out of
order and shape. However, with patient observation you will see the grand
beauty of the painting when he is finished with his work. That is how God works
for our victories. God says He has good thoughts towards us to bring us to His
expected end for our lives. If you will change your mind set and believe that God
is not against you but He is for your good, you will begin seeing your
“adversities” as glorious opportunities for your success. Take responsibility and
move on.

Wallowing in your disadvantages

Take a cue from the travels of Joseph. He went through worst “disadvantages”
than you probably are going through now, but he didn’t give up. The vision of
the bigger picture kept him going. In the end, the sketches of his travails
blossomed in a breath taking painting that attracted rapturous applause. Joseph
held out an “olive branch” of peace to his brothers:
 “And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they
came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. And
now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God
did send me before you to preserve life” (Genesis 45:4-5).
Your enemies will never rejoice over you. In the end God will set a table
before you in their presence. “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence
of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in
the house of the LORD for ever” (Psalms 23:5-6).
Take charge of your life and don’t allow excuses for your disadvantages to
derail your ultimate good. Accept responsibility for your disadvantages and do
something about them. If your parents suffered from diabetes, then now that you
are growing up, you should exercise a lot more and watch your diet, no sweets,
less carbohydrate etc... That is taking responsibility. Don’t punish your health
during your childhood by eating health-endangering dishes. God’s cherished
desire is for you to live in good health and that your soul should prosper. Live
wisely to enhance your prosperity and longevity.
“Your pain today will produce your gain tomorrow.”

Cutting your life short

It is proven that those who exercise last longer than those who do not because
they prevent many terminal diseases from ravaging their bodies. Walking each
day is a good form of exercise. Further, you should cultivate the habit of resting
from work. Some of us leaders are workaholics; not knowing when to stop
working. That is a sure recipe for a chaotic health regime.
Sometimes when God wants your attention and He doesn’t get it because of
your busy work schedule He allows your break down. Dr. David Yonggi Cho
comes readily to mind here. He oversees the largest single church in the world.
Dr. David Yonggi Cho worked himself to exhaustion; he would do interpretation
anytime he had a guest preacher in his church. He preached, baptized church
members and virtually ran the affairs of the church on 24/7 basis. He was
preaching when he collapsed. However, this tragic event did not make him stop;
he continued in his old workaholic nature. Again he collapsed when preaching
and this time he was hospitalized for six long months. For two years, he was out
of his usual preaching schedule.
 Then God visited him and showed him the way out of managing the church.
He gave Dr. David Yonggi Cho the panacea for his disadvantages; the cell
ministry which was used in the Acts of the Apostles. Dr. David Yonggi Cho was
working for God, but he wasn’t working with God until God got his attention.
Another good way to take care of yourself is to join the choir! Researchers
have found that singing in choirs may help your mental and emotional health.
Besides this, they have also determined that singing improves heart health as the
heart rates of singers slowly synchronize to become one tempo. The act of
singing also works the diaphragm and lungs, pumping greater amounts of
oxygen to the brain and other vital organs. xxxiii
You need to rest to buy into God’s attention. Stress and tension are
hypertension-friendly. They are baits to get you hypertensive. Please watch it,
and take responsibility over worry.

Being anxious
“In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6).
Don’t worry yourself because you cannot do anything about your problem when
you worry. Sleep on about things of which you cannot do anything. You will be
inviting death unwittingly if you go to bed worrying instead of sleeping.
“Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink?
or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles
seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But
seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be
added unto you” (Matthew 6:31-33).
Some have come to Jesus Christ but are still carrying their loads. A story is
told of a young man who was boarding a flight at the Schipol Airport in
Amsterdam. His carry-on luggage which should be the usual 10kg weight was
over-weight. When he was told about the issue, he replied that what he had was
not a “carry-on” luggage but a “head luggage.” He would carry it on his head
into the aircraft! Don’t carry your luggage on your head when you come to Jesus
Christ!

Harbouring hurts
Don’t carry hurts and offences to bed and allow them to destabilize your
emotions. Take responsibility by making people know what they did wrong and
get over it immediately. Be open and deal decisively with those things that hurt
and destabilize you. Don’t allow bitterness to be entrenched in your life. It will
destroy you and defile the people around you. They will become infested with
that foul spirit in no time.
“Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of
bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled” (Hebrews
12:15). Carry a sweet spirit about you.
Think about this quote: “I slept and I dreamt that life was full of beauty. I woke
up and found life was full of duty.” xxxiv Take responsibility and win!
Be responsible for your possibilities; let God handle your impossibilities.
Wake up from your dreamland; wake up from your wonderland; wake up from
your utopian perspectives; come into the real world and take responsibility for
the problems you encounter. Stop the blame game and take action to win and
lead in life. Take responsibility for the success in your marriage, business and
relationships. Do what you can and leave what you can’t to the care of your
Maker. When you take care of the possibilities, God will take care of the
impossibilities. Take charge of your life; take responsibility and encounter your
harvest. Occupy till Jesus Christ comes.

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. Have you experienced people passing the buck when faced with certain
responsibility for their actions? How well do you face responsibility?
What excuses do you typically maintain in order to not take
responsibility?
2. How well do you demonstrate maturity among those who work with you
at home, in the marketplace, or in ministry? Do people tend to see you as
mature by looking to your guidance? Or do people tend to want to tell
you their opinion instead of hearing yours?
3. Do you feel like a victim at any time? When you feel this way, what
circumstances are governing you?
4. Have you ever been able to turn your disadvantages into victories? What
are current disadvantages that need to be turned?
5. Evaluate your exercise program and health. How well do you take
responsibility for these?
6. Do you worry about issues at home, work, or at church? Do you have a
way to hand over your anxieties to God so that He handles the
impossibilities?
7. Do you ever dwell over hurts? Do you have a strategy for getting rid of
these leftover injuries to your soul so that you can take responsibility and
move forward?
8. Do you relegate to the impossible anything that really could be handled
by you? How can you sort out issues that are impossible from the ones
that you need to take responsibility to remedy?
 CHAPTER 14

The Power of Wisdom

Respected gospel artiste, Don Moen, once asked Bishop Agyinasare, “What do
you do because leading your mega church, undertaking many building projects
and related assignments, doesn’t seem to tell on your physique after all these
years of ministering the Word of God globally. You always look refreshed,
young, and relaxed.” He asked this question in apparent reference to the toll that
long years of ministering the Word of God has had on other men of God and
ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I understood his point in the context of
ministering the gospel of Christ without struggle. This message is therefore
geared towards helping you to know what makes one effective in leading and
working for God without the enervating strain and stress that usually kill many
leaders and retire many ministers prematurely.

WHAT MAKES LEADING A STRUGGLE?

Complacency
Many churches/businesses stop growing when their pastors/leaders reach the age
fifty (50) and above. Their pastors become complacent because they believe
they have achieved so much and so they do little or nothing to advance the
ministry/business. When you are tempted to take a rest, take a stock of what
you think you have achieved and do a little introspection. Ask yourself if there
is nothing more left for you to achieve in life and ministry.

Burn-Out
Let us take a critical look at the ministry of one of God’s notable servants, Elijah
the Tishbite, and draw conclusive lessons from his experiences to steer us clear
from the traps of ministry that cause far-reaching consequences for us
ministers of the gospel of Christ Jesus. (1 Kings 19:8-17).
From the biblical account, you would deduce that Elijah was going through a
 challenge. He felt he had been jealous for the Lord but the Lord hadn’t dealt
fairly with him. Elijah began to criticize the Lord.
In the world over, many leaders experience burn-outs, especially pastors. It was
revealing to know that over 4,000 pastors in the USA quit the work of the
ministry of the Gospel of Christ Jesus every year. They quit ministry
completely and do not want anything to do with it. In Ghana, it is difficult to
determine the statistics on pastors who leave the job, so it is not easy to say
how many quit, for a fact. With their technological advancement, the USA and
the other advanced countries have a better way of getting such vital
information. But the point must be stressed that many pastors burn-out after
spending some time in ministry. Some even quit wholly after they get started.
They even go to the extent of saying that they regretted the choice of going
into ministry.

Symptoms of Burnout:
Dejection
Any moment in your leadership or ministerial life when you begin to compare
what you left behind with what you have achieved in ministry and feel
dejected then you are having a burn-out. The backlash of this serious
debilitating situation is sometimes devastating. Many pastors quit the ministry
and lapse into unimaginable moral turpitude.
Let’s look at what Elijah said in verse 10 of 1 Kings 19: “And he said, I have
been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have
forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with
the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

“Your burning out moment emerges when you begin to
feel that you are tired with the ministry work.”
Elijah was trying to blame God for not showing up to deliver him from wicked
Queen Jezebel. When you get to that point in ministry when you begin to
harbour thoughts of God having rejected you in your dire moments, you must
beware that in reality you have hit your burn-out moment. When you
experience that moment it means you are struggling in ministry and in life. It
is an indication that you are either doing what God hasn’t called you to do, or
you are doing things your own way. Any time you start complaining about
 “I’ve prayed, I’ve fasted, and I’ve done everything possible and nothing is
working,” know that you are burning-out.
Anxiety
Another sign of burn-out is when you get anxious about God’s work. Remember
Jesus said in Matthew 16:18: “...I will build my church; and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it.”
He didn’t place the burden of building His church on you, and so why are you
anxious about His church? In verses 15-16 (1 Kings 19), God tells Elijah:
“And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of
Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And
Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the
son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room”
(1 Kings 19:15-16).
Take note of this truth: once you get tired of God’s work and begin to complain
instead of being grateful for what God has done in your life by placing you in
His Majesty’s Service, God will replace you! Many leaders are not aware that
God has already replaced them in ministry! This must be an awakening
revelation for us.
In Elijah’s case, he was replaced by Elisha, whom God asked Elijah to anoint in
his place after about 18 years from the day he was tapped by Elijah. In the
sight of God, the prophetic assignment departed from Elijah to Elisha from the
moment Elijah selected Elisha; the latter only needed to be trained.
Elisha could also have missed the anointing when Elijah provoked him to quit,
just as the sons of the prophets did. God will deliberately test you in such ways
to prepare you adequately for the office to which He is calling you. The
provocation (the test) could come from diverse areas: church members,
pastors, and your presiding bishop if you are a gospel minister. You have to
pass the test anyway anyhow. Even though Elijah was alive, in the scheme of
God there had been a shift. The mantle had fallen on Elisha.
Do you recall that when David was anointed by the prophet Samuel, the Bible
says that the spirit departed from Saul and settled on David.
“Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren:
and the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon David from that day forward. So
Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of Jehovah departed from
Saul, and an evil spirit from Jehovah troubled him.” (1 Samuel 16:13-14).
Although he was anointed as a youth, it took David many years before he fully
 walked in the anointing. Saul was still ruling, but in the sight of God the
anointing was gone. We must therefore be extremely careful in what we say
and think in the course of our work as leaders. What we say, especially when
we feel hurt, is very important. On 8th November 2014, Jose Mourinho, the
coach of English Premier League strong side Chelsea was asked by the press,
as reported by the Guardian, whether the team’s winning streak for the season
will continue till Christmas. Mourinho replied that he does not expect Chelsea
to remain unbeaten this season. When he said that I knew they would lose
soon. Sadly on December 6th they were beaten 2 -1 by New Castle United.
Until then in the season they had played 13 games, won 10 and drawn in 3
games.
Taking God’s Glory
Another aspect of showing burn-out is when we take God’s glory. We are prone
to think that we built the church and so it belongs to us. We seem to bask in
the glory for all that we have achieved as leaders or ministers of the Gospel.
We should give glory and honour to whom it belongs, God Almighty.
“When we rob God of His glory He takes His
anointing from us.”
Elijah took the problem that confronted Israel personally and started
complaining to God. Complaining amounts to murmuring as the children of
Israel did when God took them away from the clutches of prolonged slavery in
Egypt.
The New Testament also admonishes us to cease from murmuring, so it is
amazing how pastors keep on complaining and murmuring in the church. Do
not be worked up about happenings in the church. God, who builds His
church, has His own way of fixing the church’s problems. “Jesus therefore
answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves” (John 6:43).
“Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the
destroyer” (1 Cor. 10:10).
I purposed to stop taking my salary from the church when I hit 50 years of age
but to donate it to charities of my choice. Well, I was in prayer and enquired of
God why He asked me to stop taking a salary from the church at a time when the
church had grown in membership and was well positioned to take “very good
care” of me and my family. Further, l enquired from Him why He also added that
apart from my salary, I should disinvest all my private investments then and put
the proceeds in the building of the Dome in 2010. By the grace of God, I was a
disciplined investor from a young age. I invested 20% of all that I earned so I
had quite substantial earnings from my investment portfolio. What I gave toward
the building of the Perez Dome put me in the portion of amongst the five
topmost contributors. Then I sensed the Lord indicating to me why He impressed
me to do that because of two reasons:
It was He who called me and He was capable of taking care of me; a
decision I have never regretted but have experienced His faithfulness
in an unusual way
He wanted me to know that the church did not belong to me.
That is surely a big lesson. Think on this revelation: Herod died because he
took God’s glory as his own: It is said in ancient Rome a slave stood behind the
Emperor and whilst people adulated the emperor, the slave kept saying
“Remember, thou art but a man” so the emperor will not accept the worship.
“And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and
made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice
of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him,
because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the
ghost. But the word of God grew and multiplied” (Acts 12:21-24).
You can’t stop people from praising you, but you can give the compliments
back to God. Remember, you are only a man, and when Nebuchadnezzar became
absorbed with himself, God gave him a home among the animals:
“All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he
walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not
this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of
my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king’s
mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it
is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from
men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee
to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that
the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven
from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of
heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’
claws. And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto
heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High,
and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an
everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation” (Dan.
4:28-34).
God alone is God. Ever since the Garden of Eden, we have tried to push Him
aside and assume His status. That is pride, and, as we have seen in these past two
chapters, it can assume many forms. The warning to all of us is that pride never
yields a positive result; it always leads to destruction.

FOUR MISTAKES ELIJAH MADE

He was Jealous for God
“And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of
the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And
he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of
Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy
prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take
it away” (1 Kings 19: 9-10).
Elijah’s jealousy for God drove him into doing things his own way. Note that
as much as Elijah called fire from Heaven, God did not tell him to kill the
prophets of Baal! The Bible doesn’t in anyway state that God asked Elijah to
kill. However, he went ahead and slew them because he was “jealous for God.”
Our jealousy for God should not make us do things without specifics from the
One who assigns us.

He exhibited excessive protection of the “sheep”

Elijah told God that the children of Israel had forsaken His covenant and so he
was concerned. Pastors are often trapped in this net as shepherds and overseers
of our congregation. We tend to love the “flock” much more than the Owner of
the sheep Himself.
“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas,
lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that
I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs” (John 21:15).
In Jesus’ discourse with Peter, He told Peter to “feed my lambs” and not “love
my sheep.” Jesus categorically asked Peter if the disciple loved Him. What I am
driving at is that we should love the Lord individually; that should be our focus.
A lot of the time we tend to love the ministry or our assignment as leaders more
than loving the Lord. The Lord doesn’t want us to substitute Him with anything
else. For some leaders our churches, ministries, and businesses have become our
idols. We wake up from bed and the first thing we do is call church members and
or our clients and minister to them without seeking the face of God in quality
time, waiting for Him to direct us. We neglect God by not praying and having
fellowship with Him. When we do that we make Him feel jilted and deserted. In
effect, our amateurish treatment of God makes Him regard us as mere hirelings.
Let us look further at verse 16: “He saith to him again the second time, Simon,
son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I
love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”
In all that transpired between the Lord and Peter, the theme that is evident was
“love for the Lord.” How much time do we spend in prayer with the Lord and
not making requests, but just fellowshipping with Him? There is a scripture in
the Songs of Solomon that gives an indication that God wants to hear our voice
as Christian leaders.
“Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice:
cause me to hear it” (Songs of Solomon 8:13).
Some don’t even spend quality time studying God’s Word for themselves.
Some church leaders mostly study the Bible to look for sermons to preach.
Perhaps spend a whole day once a while in the word. Our motivation in ministry
should be the Lord Himself.
“God will speak to us if we spend enough time in His
presence through Word study.”
Most of us become agitated, especially at the foundational stages of our
church–building effort, for fear of losing the hold on our ministry to others. It
shouldn’t be so; the church doesn’t belong to you. Let the Owner deal with your
fears. Anything can happen to you in the course of your ministry and someone
must keep the work going. Isn’t it a sad observation that many leaders and
pastors do not go on leave? Set up your church structures and delegate authority
for a smooth transition at every point in time.
Don’t destroy what God has used you to build by your sudden incapacitation,
when you have not built any structures in place.
One striking thing that the Lord does when pastors behave as if the church
belongs to them is that He makes some of the members leave the church to other
churches. That is your wake-up call for you to know that the church does not
belong to you. You must handle the church the way God wants it to be handled,
not on your terms of reference. It is however not an excuse to deliberately go
hunting for members in other churches. For other leaders when they begin to
take the glory, God allows crisis. A friend of mine who became a President of a
nation by trusting in God and during his inauguration was always pointing to
heaven when the people hailed him, suddenly began to forget who put him there
when things began to work out really well. I was in prayer one morning when
God ministered to me saying “My glory has left …”. I thought God wanted me
to caution him; the following day there was an attempted overthrow of his
government.

He had an obsession with the shortcomings of others

“...For the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine
altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and
they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kings 19:10).
Elijah was worried about the shortcomings of the children of Israel. In the
same vein, pastors (and sometimes their wives) get excessively worried about
everything in the church; from the choir to their drivers. They worry to the
extent that it affects their health.
At times the shortcomings of your church can be over-magnified or blown-out
of proportion if you don’t handle them well. We must know that we ourselves
didn’t begin on a perfect note, but as we grow it is important we set in motion
the structures that work towards excellence.
The Church has come a long way in structure and function. From the 1950s to
this day the Church has gone through structural dynamics. In those days if you
were a Presbyterian or a Methodist or a Catholic, you remained as such
everywhere you went. Dr. Morris Cerullo said that, “All truths are parallel, as
goes the natural so goes the spiritual.”
In today’s world we have supermarkets dotting every community. In the same
way people shop in the supermarkets, they go to church. Everyone looks for a
shop that meets their needs and satisfaction. We should therefore not delude
ourselves into thinking that if we do not aim at excellence in ministry delivery
our members will stay in our church or keep coming for our businesses.
I was reading an article from a website to which I subscribe,
churchleaders.com, and the writer revealed that people decide within the first
minute in the church whether to come back again to the same church or not. It is
a phenomenon in the church the world over. There’s a lot we have to do to keep
our members and also keep visitors coming again. Having parking lots, a
visitors’ section in the church auditorium, and other structures that make first-
timers feel really welcome are some of the things we can do to enhance church
growth. The world has changed in the way things used to be done. The church
needs to change in parallel.
Effective leaders must be abreast with the changing world and adapt ourselves
to effect changes in the way we treat church members and visitors to our
churches. Get a copy of my book From Small to Medium to Mega and read; it
will give you a deeper appreciation of what I am driving at. It contains strategic
measures you can take to promote church growth. It is said at a time Wal-Mart
decided that the customer is first and so coined the phrase “The customer is
always right.” No wonder they are a sensation today.
He displayed selfishness
Elijah felt sorry for himself. He was so much eaten up by the misdeeds of the
people that he said: “...For the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant,
thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I
only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kings 19:10 – Emphasis
mine).
“Cultivate your members by using appropriate
mechanisms and strategies to help them flow with your
vision and purpose.”
Elijah was engrossed in self. When you come to that point in ministry, then
you are burning-out. Joyce Meyer calls it “me, myself and I.” One of the excuses
pastors give for burning-out is that their members do not understand them. The
point is if they do not understand you, make them understand you. Elijah lost his
place as a result of these complaints. The key lesson for us to learn from Elijah’s
mistakes is that we shouldn’t come to a place in ministry where we think we can
carry God’s burden for Him. It is downright selfish to come to that point in your
ministry life. It is important to know that no one should ever think that they are
supporting God’s work. The stark truth is that no one can support God’s work!
Remember that when Uzzah tried to “support” God’s work he died. “And when
they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of
God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the LORD was
kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died
by the ark of God ” (2 Samuel 6:6-7).
Elijah thought he was the only one that God had commissioned to do His work.
Unknown to him, God had prepared seven thousand others. Some leaders get so
jittery when they see gifted young men and women rising and making exploits.
Get excited to see young people bubbling with spiritual gifts and exhibiting
ministerial qualities in your church. Don’t be intimidated by young men and
women who are flexing their muscles in your company or work place.
Encourage them and be their mentor. To begin with, I began ministry when I was
21 years old; a young man bubbling with life.
Even when we allow the young people to occupy offices, we expect them to
perform like us. In so doing, we get frustrated with them, killing their
enthusiasm and gifts. It is important we allow the young people or whoever we
entrust some position to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. Our own
experiences should instruct us in how to deal with starters in leadership roles.
You must be gentle with them in their tottering moments and shepherd them into
the fullness of the demand of their office in your organization. Don’t kill their
spirit. Such positive attitudes in leadership are the mark to which we should all
aspire to in dealing with our church members or protégés, especially those we
put into leadership positions. Correct them in love, but do nothing to suggest that
you hate them or that they are failures.

JONAH’S ISSUE
Another example of a selfish person was Jonah. He was beside himself with
grief because God decided to show mercy to the people of Nineveh. “And God
saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the
evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not” (Jonah
3:10).
“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed
unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I
was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that
thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and
repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life
from me; for it is better for me to die than to live…” (Jonah 4:1-11).
Jonah’s issue with God was borne out of selfishness. He thought the people of
Nineveh would take him for a fake prophet if his prophecy didn’t come to pass.
He was concerned about what the people would think about him. Jonah’s lot is
the lot of many of us Christian leaders. We are too concerned about what people
will say about us, so much so that we pander to their whim and caprice. The
Lord used the media to kill that attitude in me as they wrote unsavoury stories
about me. Initially I found those stories in the press so hurting that I was really
bothered about what they were saying about me. I had to learn that for a full
page press story there could be probably only one line that is a fact. The fact
may also not be true: for example, the fact that a yellow drink is in my glass does
not mean it is beer; it could be ginger ale. When I learned this principle, I began
to laugh off most of the stories about me. One of those writers called me to say
that he had to use my photograph in a story in order to “catch the eye” of the
public. “Man must eat,” he confessed.
“We are too concerned about what people will say
about us,”
If you are going to be the effective leader God wants you to be, then you have
to ensure that you die to self. I am not in any way suggesting that you should
deliberately go out of your way to do bad stuff for the press to get at you. No!
However, if you are doing the right thing, ignore the stories the press carry about
you and move on. One time I asked a journalist why they don’t write about the
good things pastors do but only the bad deeds, and he gave the definition of
news, “If a dog bites a man it is not news, but if a man bites a dog it is news.”
Simply stated, pastors are to do good and if they do, it is no news; they are not
expected to falter and when they do, it is news. As a Christian leader you cannot
falter, you are like Caesar’s wife: you cannot make a mistake in public.

TEST OF UNSELFISHNESS
Are you grateful to God for what He has done in your life? Are you faithful
with what God has given you? Can God trust you with the leadership He has
given to you now? Can He trust you with additional responsibilities? These
questions are tests of unselfishness. Sometimes we bother ourselves like Jonah
with things that God hasn’t called us to do. “Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn
of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
We are struggling in our leadership because we are carrying another “yoke”
other than the yoke that we have been given to carry. We are doing other stuff
than what we were not mandated to do. Our assignments are different and
varied; we should earnestly find out our greater purpose and keep to that until
the Lord decides otherwise.
Remember that it is God’s burden in the ministry of building His Church and
not yours. “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it:
except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for
you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth
his beloved sleep” (Psalms 127:1-2).
You shouldn’t have sleepless nights over ministerial work or any other
assignment. Put the right things in place and God will do the rest; He is the
Builder. Paul said he planted, Apollo’s watered, but the increase came from God:
“For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not
carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye
believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered;
but God gave the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:4-6).
The increase for our labour in Jesus Christ comes from God, Himself. Let us
therefore allow Him to take His place, to His praise and glory.

PRAY AND GO BACK TO GOD

Finally, pray that wherever you left off God in your ministry and carrier, you
should go back for Him. When Jesus’ parents realized that they had left Jesus in
the temple in Jerusalem when he was twelve years old they went back for Him.
Go back for God who called you into His service. He knows how to handle
every situation in your church and ministry. Concentrate on what He has called
you to do and let Him build and bring the increase to the church.
Watch out for any trace of burn-out and repel it before it buries your ministry.

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. Have you ever had a struggle ministering the Word of God? What did it
feel like? From what was stated in this chapter, what could have been the
reason?
2. Do you know when you become complacent? Is it hard to tell when this
is happening? Who would be someone you could give permission to in
order to warn you that you are becoming complacent about an area of
ministry?
3. Have you ever felt burned out? What are some of the signs that you may
have experienced that related to burn out? Of the three mentioned in this
chapter – dejection, anxiety, and taking God’s glory; which seems to be
the greatest difficulty for you?
4. Looking at Elijah’s life, can you identify with his burnout issues? Think
through the four mentioned here and speak to each one in terms of your
own life and experience.
5. Have you ever felt like Jonah did? How can you keep from following the
same path as Jonah did?
6. Do you think you pass the test of unselfishness? In what ways?
7. Take your schedule out and block out times to spend with God in order to
get back to your first love and His exhilarating will and the grace to
support it.
 CHAPTER 15

The Power of Certainty

“For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the
battle?” (1 Corinthians 14:8).
In the Pauline days the trumpet was the means of assembling the people for
war, or for any communal activity. However, the sound of the trumpet differed
for each occasion. Trumpet sounds for marriages and war were different. Each
sound represented a specific call.
I grew up in a military barracks and so was used to the sound of the bugle, a
form of trumpet. Each sound of the bugle differed for each occasion. However,
the Bible says that if the sound were uncertain you wouldn’t know what to do.
Unfortunately, this is what we in today’s world are witnessing. There is an
uncertain sound in the Church and in the secular world. What sound is the
church trumpeting when 70% of the national population here in Ghana are
“Christian,” yet the crime wave is ascending and sin abounds in frightening
dimensions? This is a worrying signal; it means that we are giving an uncertain
sound as Christians. The repercussion is the disparaging diatribes the world is
heaping on the Church and Christianity. As leaders we need to give a certain
sound.

THE FORMER AND THE LATTER RAIN

The Bible talks about the “former” and the “latter” rain. The former rain comes
after harvest; it helps the farmer prepare for the next planting period. The latter
rain comes to prepare the farmer for the harvest. If the latter rain is too much it
will destroy the harvest; but this is your season of your right amount of the latter
rain to expedite your harvest.
In the context of the Spirit, rain signifies a refreshing of the Holy Spirit. It
represents a restoration; a supply of abundance. We are in the season of the
supply of the Holy Spirit. He will show us His glory.
 In 1 Kings 18:41, Elijah told King Ahab to get ready for an abundance of rain.
Before Elijah told him this, Israel had been going through several crises. To
many of the people, God the Almighty had become distant and irrelevant,
especially in the midst of their long and seemingly unending lack and despair.
They were torn between Baal and Jehovah.
To get God back on their side, Israel had to repent of their disbelief and sin. In
the same vein, the Church has to repent of her sinful disposition to experience
God’s abundance. There is no way the Church can experience God’s abundance
without purging herself of those acts which displease God.
“Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he
hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for
you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month” (Joel 2:23).
Joel was prophesying a period of abundance for the children of Israel. God had
promised them through the prophet Joel their “floors” (storehouses) would be
full and He would take away the “great army” (God’s judgment) that He sent to
cause the crises. At times God allows His judgment because of our sinful ways.
In the days and times in which we live, if the Church doesn’t repent of her bad
ways, she will be in trouble. There is the need for effective leaders to sound the
alarm. “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and
if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of
God?” (1 Peter 4:17).
The Bible minces no words in declaring that judgment will begin in the House
of God. We hold an erroneous conclusion that once we are saved it is forever.
The truth is that we must know that the Bible says “judgment will begin from the
House of God”. If we allow the world to begin to judge us, I can assure you that
they will show us no mercy. That is why we should begin purging the church of
her wrong doings ourselves. “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and
whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh
a lie” (Revelations 22:15).
A hoard of evildoers parade themselves outside the gates of heaven; murderers,
warmongers, harlots, fornicators, etc. When you become a Christian these are
things you learn not to do. When you go back to your old ways after becoming a
Christian, the Bible describes you as a “dog.” However, the Bible further
declares that as Christians, we are not like that. This means that the Church
cannot live in sin; you and I cannot live in sin. If we do, then we are likened to a
pig that was washed but went into the mud to soil itself again. That is an
unsavoury description of us, isn’t it? “But it is happened unto them according to
the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was
washed to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Peter 2:22).

POSITIONAL HOLINESS
God says He is holy and so we also must be holy. He gives us a measure of His
Holiness in our position in Him as His sons and daughters. “Ye are witnesses, and
God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among
you that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:10).
“When we become born again, God gives us positional
holiness.”
Paul was telling the church in Thessalonians that the apostles and he lived a
holy life when they were with their church. They were without blame in all that
they did in Thessalonica. The prophet Samuel also had cause to face the people
of Israel and asked anyone with evidence of anything he had done wrong to
come forward and accuse him. He led a holy and righteous life.
“And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in
all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. And now, behold, the
king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are
with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. Behold,
here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose
ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom
have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes
therewith? and I will restore it you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us,
nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand. And he said
unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this
day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness”
(1 Samuel 12:1-5).
In our day, it will be hard for some of our spiritual leaders to speak as boldly as
Paul and Samuel did in terms of holiness and righteousness. It is a difficult task
because the Church is wallowing in mud. The wanton disregard for ministerial
decency is openly displayed on radio and TV as so-called “pastors” announce
how much they charge for consultation. We, as a Church, are sinking fast into
the abyss of sin.
 Church leaders, pastors, choir leaders, deacons, etc. who are bosses in various
fields of endeavour in the marketplace, and yet are having unspeakable sexual
affairs with their staff and church members. Many women, married and
unmarried, have fallen prey to the mischief of pastors and other Christian
leaders. It is a sad commentary on the integrity of the Church as a holy and
righteous assembly of redeemed people.
The judgment of the Church has begun in many places. A well-known man of
God was found to be a homosexual. We can’t live in sin in God’s House and go
scot free. He will expose and punish us. The Bible says that our sin will expose
us. (See Numbers 32:23.) God will cleanse His Church so that she can be a
spotless Bride.
It is amazing how the young women in the church allow themselves to be
taken advantage of by the younger men in the church. I admonish you to desist
from allowing any man to come to you at close quarters when he hasn’t taken
you to the altar in marriage. Anytime we live like the devil, we crucify Jesus
Christ again. That is what the Bible says. “If they shall fall away, to renew them
again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh,
and put him to an open shame” (Hebrews 6:6).

SORCERERS PARADING AS PASTORS

In Ghana, the media is replete with unimaginable stories of “pastors” who seek
other powers to function effectively. To the extent that a fetish priest could go
into a church (in Berekum, Brong Ahafo Region) that was meeting and demand
his juju (occult power) from a “pastor,” gives credence to these stories. The
Church is riddled with too many unrighteous acts which set her up for contempt
and dishonour by the heathen. Indeed, judgment has begun in the Church to rid it
of sin and ungodliness.
In Acts 8, a sorcerer attempted to bribe Peter and the apostles for the power of
the Holy Spirit. Peter turned the anger of God on him and rebuked him. It shows
that charlatans have sought to bring the name of the church into disrepute and
public ridicule, but their exposure and judgment has already begun.
“And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy
Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that
on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto
him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God
may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for
thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness,
and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I
perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Then
answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things
which ye have spoken come upon me” (Acts 8:18-24).
Jesus is coming for a Church without spot or wrinkle and so He will purge her
of all sin and unrighteousness: “That he might present it to himself a glorious
church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy
and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27).
“God will not allow His Church to be taken for
granted.”
Church members also seek solutions to their challenges outside the church.
They sit in the counsel of the ungodly in shrines, receiving concoctions and
directives from the pit of hell. As a result, they make the power of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ of no effect by their deeds of unbelief and disloyalty to their
Christian God, the God of all creation in whose hands all power is vested.
The three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (see Daniel
3:8-18), refused to yield to other gods and kept the integrity of their God, even at
the peril of their lives. (See note below. xxxv ) The Church needs men and women
of stoic faith who will stand on the Word of God for answers to their prayers but
it will depend on its leaders. As goes the pulpit so goes the pew .

WHO IS A CHRISTIAN?
True Christians (“Galileans” see note below xxxvi ) exhibit the qualities of Jesus
Christ. If you are a believer and will allow a palmist to read your palm and tell
you your future and stuff like that then you are as guilty as the palmist. You are
also as guilty as the pastor who seeks occultist power from the fetish priest.
Many Christians have lost their testimonies because they have plunged
themselves into a sea of evil. This means that we are to expose sin and live out
righteous consecration.

Expose Sin
Someone said, “If good men be wanting in their duty and by their carelessness
and remissness they contribute anything to the sins of sinners, they must expect
both to hear of it and to pay for the sin.” xxxvii To paraphrase this quote: if you are
a Christian and assist a sinner in any way to sin, then you are as guilty as the one
who actually committed the sin. Also, if you are a Christian and you look on
unconcerned while a sinful act is being perpetuated, you are also guilty of that
sin. It means that as Christians we should not countenance sin either overtly or
covertly.
A church was desperate for volunteers for their children’s ministry. They put
out a call for helpers and several dozens responded. In their excitement to meet
the need, they did not screen and supervise the new recruits well. Months later, it
was discovered that a practicing witch was now in charge of the 2 and 3 year old
Sunday School class! Imagine the horror of the parents whose children were in
the class. The embarrassed leaders had to acknowledge their error and remove
the witch from the ministry. After trying to minister to her, she spoke evil against
them and ran from the building, never to be seen again.
We should be concerned about what our children do at home and curtail any
excesses that lead to sin. King David was touted as a man after God’s own heart,
a leader of leaders, but he failed to sternly discipline his sons for sinful acts in
his home, and in the end suffered the consequence of his inaction as a father. His
children tried to murder him, steal the crown from him, and decimate his good
name.

Live Out Righteousness

Righteousness is a gift, but it must be lived for all to see it. There seems to be
no clear distinction between the world and many Christians today, but we should
create that distinction with the help of God Almighty. How does your
community perceive you? Do they see you as just a church-goer or someone
who lives an actionable Christian life? Does your outward adorning on Sundays
show little or no proof of your Christian definition? It is your actions – your
deeds of love in righteousness and in the fear of God – that stand you out as a
true Christian worth the name (see note below xxxviii ).

Christians must typify Christ Jesus in Character

Pray for the church and for yourself, asking God to make us a true reflection of
who He intended us to be. Let every obstacle that stands in our way to that end
be removed, in the name of Jesus Christ. We must be a testimony to the glory of
God (Joel 2:12-21).
 Rent your heart and not your garment; repent of your sins and return to God,
your Maker and Sure Defense in times of trouble. Let the Church return to God!

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. Have you seen the principle of the former and latter rain evident in
your ministry or that of someone else? How do you perceive this
working for the Church?
2. How does positional holiness reflect itself in your life at home? At
your workplace? In your ministry?
3. Have you experienced sorcerers parading as pastors? How can you
help others know how to distinguish the godly pastor from the
ungodly?
4. In your own words, define what a Christian is. What are some of the
tests to see if those you work with in ministry are truly Christians or
not?
5. How easy is it for you to expose sin when you see it taking place in
your family, at your place of business, or in the church? How do you
handle such activity?
6. Where is it difficult for you to live out a life in righteous consecration?
Take time to repent of anything you see blocking your purity and
consecrate yourself to move forward to exhibit a life of holiness.
7. Do other leaders see Jesus’ character within you? Ask several people to
tell you how well you typify Christ’s character.
 CHAPTER 16

The Power of Focus: This One Thing I

Do
Bishop Eugene Reeves wrote about how people define themselves by their
career or their marital status when they are asked who they are. But he says these
things really aren’t who a person is. As a Christian, “To answer with a biblical
definition of who you are will cut to the chase.” xxxix When you really know who
God made you to be, what you do – this one thing – matches perfectly.
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things
which are before” (Philippians 3:13).
“But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and
Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and
said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? Then answered
I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we
his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor
memorial, in Jerusalem” (Nehemiah 2:19-20).
As Christians our lives should be focused on what is ahead and not on what is
behind. In the first Scripture quoted above (Phili ppians 3:13 KJV), the Apostle
Paul was reiterating this central theme of our journey as leaders towards
perfection in Jesus Christ, our example.
“This one thing I do,” Paul said, “forgetting those things that are behind and
reaching forward towards those things that are before.” Paul said that nothing
would shift his focus on what he has set himself to achieve. Neither his past nor
his present would hinder his focus on his future objectives. In the same way, you
have to be focused on the assignment set before you as a leader, if you must
realize your greater purpose in this life.
Jesus Christ Himself said that He had to be focused “…How is it that ye sought
me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49). Jesus
knew His focus and he worked toward that end. Your life must be focused on
your greater purpose in this life, no matter the opposition or the resistance that
accosts you. Through this chapter I want to encourage you to walk through the
opposition that confronts your destiny. You must set your face as a flint xl (see
note below) against all the forces of evil that are massed up against your purpose
and say like Paul said, “This one thing I do.”

THE NEHEMIAH EXPERIENCE

Now let us zero in on the second Scripture we read at the top of this chapter:
Nehemiah 2:19-20. During this period of history, Israel had fallen into captivity.
Note that the period of Israel’s captivity and the period of bondage were two
parallel happenings. The period of bondage was during Joseph’s sojourn in
Egypt when Israel and all his sons came to live in that land of their slavery. It
was the period after a certain Pharaoh, who didn’t know Joseph, enslaved the
Israelites. For four hundred years, Israel was in severe bondage, but God
delivered them with a mighty hand.
After the delivery from Egypt Israel was instructed by God to let the land of
their new beginnings lie fallow for one year after each seventh year. In defiance
of God’s Word, Israel subjected the land – the Promised Land – to all-year
cultivation after each seventh year for 1,490 years.
The Lord had warned Israel of the consequences of their disobedience to His
edict; they would be in captivity in a foreign land. True to His Word, God
allowed His obstinate children to go into captivity in Babylon. Babylon was also
then known as the Medo-Persian Empire.
King Artaxerxes, also called by a secular Greek historian as “Longimanus” xli
(because allegedly his right hand was longer than his left), became the King of
the Medo-Persian Empire. During that period, the king’s cup-bearer, or in
today’s parlance – his official in charge of nutrition and family affairs – was
Nehemiah. Nehemiah’s brother, Hanani, visited him in the king’s palace and
lamented the broken walls of Jerusalem which had not been rebuilt. Twelve
years earlier, Ezra, who was a scribe to the king, had been given some ransom
money for that purpose but he faced opposition in his attempt to rebuild the
broken walls of Jerusalem.
It was at this point that Nehemiah came in to make a second attempt at
rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. One day Nehemiah stood before the King in
the performance of his job, but the burden of the rebuilding of the ruined walls
of Jerusalem weighed heavily on his countenance. Nehemiah’s sullen
countenance courted danger, especially for being at close quarters to the king. It
was against the law of the East in those days to attend to the King with a sad
countenance. One look at Nehemiah and the King noticed that all was not right
with his cup bearer. The Bible records the conversation that emerged from that
episode:
“And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes
the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the
king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. Wherefore the king said
unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing
else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, And said unto the king, Let
the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the
place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed
with fire? Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I
prayed to the God of heaven. And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if
thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto
Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it. And the king
said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be?
and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a
time. Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me
to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into
Judah; And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give
me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the
house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And
the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me”
(Nehemiah 2:1-8).
In the end, Nehemiah was privileged to have had the permission of the king
and other protocol perks to execute his mission in Jerusalem with a full
complement of resources to meet his needs. In a record 52 weeks, Nehemiah was
able to complete his assignment with divine speed and excellence. However, in
spite of the notable achievement of Nehemiah in rebuilding the walls of
Jerusalem, the underlying opposition to his goal was so fierce that any other man
would have given up on the task. This threat to achieving the ultimate in life is
the focus of my discourse.

God has a Definite Purpose for You

Beloved, God has an intention and a purpose for landing you on this Earth.
There is a supreme end for which you were called by God Himself to become
one of His beloved children and leaders. Overcoming the fiery array of the
opposition’s arsenal depends on your attitude toward the assignment for your
life. My assignment in this book, for example, is to help you muster the courage
and fortitude necessary to be an effective leader.
“The achievement of your ultimate purpose is
ensconced in the midst of devilish opposition to your
God-given mandate.”
In Nehemiah chapter 2:10 when Sanballat (which means “the god of sin has
given life”), the Horonite (a tribe of the Moabites), who were cousins of the
Israelites, and Tobias (the servant, an Ammonite – also cousin of the Israelites
but were very wicked and wild) heard that Nehemiah had come to rebuild the
broken walls of Jerusalem, they were not happy at all. “But when Sanballat the
Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian,
heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing
that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?” (Nehemiah 2:19).

You Will Face Opposition

You must be made aware that there are people who will not be happy with your
strides at success and achievement. They will do everything to sabotage and
derail your efforts at meeting your God-given end. I can’t come to terms with
people who once-upon-a-time were your benefactors but have suddenly
developed some hatred and dislike for you because you have become self-
dependent and out of their mercy control. Your schoolmates who had gone ahead
of you in life but found your sudden elevations in society suddenly resent you
and keep their distance. This disquieting attitude of people is just unthinkable
and unimaginable. To them they rather would have you submit to them always
and be at their mercy. However, that is not God’s plan and purpose for your life.
You were born to be a winner. Understanding the dynamics of life in this context
keeps you focused on the one thing you have to do – keeping a fix on the
purpose for which God has called you.
In verse 19 of Nehemiah chapter 2, the Bible records that the duo of Sanballat
and Tobias had an ally in Geshem, the Arabian, and together they unleashed a
venom of name-calling and threats on those who had been recruited by
Nehemiah to do the job of rebuilding the broken walls of Jerusalem.
You have enemies all around you; enemies in the sense that they do not believe
in all that you do to fulfill your assignment. They will discourage you from
paying tithes, praying, fasting, and even showing love to other people with
whom they are not on good terms. Here is the clue for their obsession in keeping
you spiritually down: your day is about to break forth; indeed your light has
come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Don’t give heed to their
discouraging invectives; it is a ploy to deny you your imminent achievement.
My classmate in Bible School once confronted me with a startling question. He
wondered how I was getting the results I was getting when he, a “better”
preacher, a “more frequent” praying Christian and a “more knowledgeable”
person in the Word of God – was lagging behind in the blessings of the Lord. I
looked at him with sympathy; he didn’t understand the things of God.
“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the
battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of
understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to
them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11).
Beloved, your adversaries will not understand the secret behind your
achievement and promotion. You will rise and shine for the glory of the Lord is
risen upon you.

Your Season of Divine Approval

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith
the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher
than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9.
I believe that this is your moment of divine approval. A few years back in New
York, I was praying when the Lord showed me Accra and said I should hold
monthly miracle services there. When we relocated from Tamale to Accra and
began the monthly miracle services, a pastor friend of mine called me and tried
to dissuade me from holding the monthly miracle meetings. His reason?
Churches are not grown on miracle services. To make me feel awkward at what I
was doing, I was laughed at, mocked and derided, but I stuck to what God had
instructed me to do.
Here we are today, blossoming in the grace of God through firm obedience to
His Word. It is not by what you do, but it is by what God has said that brings the
increase. Nehemiah was laughed at by Sanballat and company; they looked
down on him and thought he was a “nobody” with nothing. Yet here he was
claiming he had what it took to rebuild the age-long broken walls of Jerusalem.
God will rebuild your broken life
Listen to me beloved, your distracters can make all the fun in the world about
you, but what God has decreed about you will stand. Wait for it by staying
focused on the Word of God for your life. That is the one thing that should
occupy your focus. Those things that are impossible in their sight are possible
with God. You are a possibility in the sight of God.
“If nobody in your family has ever done anything
worth catching the eye of the world, you are in line for
that end.”
Nehemiah rebutted the expectations of his enemies by declaring that because
of their negative stance in what God had laid upon his heart to do, the God of
Israel would prosper him. “Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God
of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build.”
God uses the despised things of this world to confound the wisdom of the wise.

HOW TO FOCUS ON YOUR GREATER PURPOSE

1. Cut off ill relationships
There are some relationships that you should cut off completely. People who
deliberately walk you off God’s path for your life must be taken off your life. I
have personally broken off certain relationships that harbour disaster for my
ministry and personal life in Christ Jesus.
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor
standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his
delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his
fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper” (Psalm 1:1-6).
On many occasions I have had to embark on fasting and intense prayers to
offload the discouragement that I had carried in my spirit after visiting some of
my friends and colleagues in ministry. You don’t need people who will tolerate
you. You need people who will celebrate you as qualified to be one of their own
in love and in mutual respect for one another. Anyone who doesn’t accept you is
not worth your time of fellowship. You need people who celebrate you. These
are your encouragers; they stick close to you in your moments of need. These are
people worthy of the name “friend” just as Jesus called His early disciples. The
saying that “a friend sticks closer than a brother” finds relevance in this context.
The true definition of the operative word “friend” has been watered down
loosely in this day and age to mean an “acquaintance.” Your best friend is the
Holy Ghost. Trust in Him; rely on Him.

2. Don’t allow negative tags to derail your purpose

“But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he
was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. And he spake
before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble
Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a
day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are
burned? Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which
they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall” (Nehemiah
4:1-3 KJV).
To add to all that Sanballat and company did to thwart Nehemiah’s efforts at
rebuilding the broken down walls of Jerusalem, they plotted once again to attack
him. Do not live under the shadow of someone’s tag on you. Jesus was tagged
with many names: a wine bibber, a glutton, a rabble-rouser, etc. Yet he wasn’t
any of such tags. His accusers’ difficulty was that they couldn’t place the origin
of this “strange man.” His identity was a baffle to them. He was an extraordinary
human being whose emergence threatened the status quo.
Your distracters and accusers can’t place a finger on your true identity. If they
knew you were of a royal priesthood; if they knew you were of a holy nation; if
they knew you were predestined by God, chosen, and elected to be called a child
of the Most High God; if they knew you were seated together with Christ Jesus
in heavenly places above principalities and powers of this dark world; they
would have drawn closer to you for you to show them the way to true salvation –
Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world.
“You are an extraordinary human being in the sight of
your distracters and accusers.’’
A pastor once confessed that the sharing of my personal testimonies on
platforms and in church impacted his life greatly. This was at a time when many
of my colleague pastors made disparaging remarks about my ministry to the
effect that I could not preach, others also said I could not teach but just preach.
Yet most of my afternoon meetings were channeled to teaching and the evening
to preaching, when I began my ministry.
“And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave
him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.” (1 Samuel 10:9).
When the Spirit of God is upon you, Beloved, do what God says you should
do. It will be unwise for you to listen to the tags that people are giving you, and
allow your life and purpose to be driven by what people say or suggest about
what God alone has called you to do. You may be a mechanic today, but God can
re-order your orientation and rebuild you into another profession. Only be
attentive and sensitive to the will of God for your life at all times. The tag that
people make you wear only tends to limit you in your greater purpose in life.
Years back, a good friend and colleague made me feel good. He said that one
thing that amazed him about me was that I would be doing different things on
TV; preaching, teaching on things like etiquette or finances, and ministering
healing miracles at crusade grounds. Do what you are led to do by the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit. Don’t allow any man or circumstance to bottle up your
purpose in life.
3. Break through every resistance
In your pursuit towards the mark that God has set for you, you must break
through the resistance of the opposition. Resist their resistance and reject their
opposition. You can only move forward. That is the one thing you must do;
forgetting what is behind and pressing on towards what is before you.
Nehemiah could not be stopped
Nehemiah didn’t give up on what he was focused on. He couldn’t be stopped.
Why then have you allowed yourself to be hindered by the negative tags people
put on you? Bishop T.D. Jakes was once asked why he hadn’t given up on prison
ministry. His reply was that if he had survived all the pastors and the church
members then he could survive prison ministry. He explained that the Church
presented the biggest challenge and resistance to ministry work. The most
scandalous gossips emanate from the Church. Jesus Christ Himself was
persecuted by His own kith and kin – the Pharisees, Scribes, and the Sadducees.
Many in the Church are robed in wolf skins. There is a proverb in the Akan
language of Ghana that says, “If you will be bitten by an insect it must be in your
cloth”; to wit, your real enemies are those from within. Judas Iscariot makes a
classic example of what the proverb portrays.
It is not everyone that will like you, anyway. But whatever it is, go forward and
possess your possessions. Let nothing stop your forward march towards the
fulfillment of your greater purpose in your divine calling.

4. Don’t Be Distracted
“Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian,
and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was
no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the
gates;) That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let thought to do
me mischief. And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work,
so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and
come down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:1-3).
When did your enemies become your dining mates? God said He would set a
table before you in the presence of your enemies, but He didn’t say your enemies
will eat with you at the same table. Don’t be distracted by the wicked ploys of
those who have tagged you and are having a field day making a mockery of your
calling. Wise up and move up; shun the jeers of the enemy’s agents.
Nehemiah proved to be a wise man. He didn’t fall for the trick of his enemies,
but remained focused on his one obsession: completing the work of rebuilding
the walls of Jerusalem. Hallelujah! Don’t waste time on your opposition and
detractors. Let me caution you here, my precious one; do not share your vision
with just anyone. Vision killers are roaring like lions seeking vision leaders to
devour with discouragement and frustration. Be careful and be on the lookout for
such people. Dispatch them back with every force at your disposal the very day
they show up in your life. They will distract you if they can’t beat you.

5. Be Cautious of your Advisers

You must be careful about the kind of people you gather around you as your
advisers. Some people give advice with a genuine intention for your good.
Others do it out of malice; their pieces of advice will land you in trouble or make
you lose your ministry, marriage, or business venture. Therefore, you need to be
sensitive to the kind of people who advise you as to who are the wrong advisers.
Nehemiah went forward
Nehemiah moved forward in spite of the stiff opposition that confronted him.
Like Nehemiah, Paul said: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).
 “Maintain those people who help you to remain
focused on your greater purpose in life.”
Press forward; be focused; concentrate on the one thing that is set before you,
your greater purpose in life. Take hold of your circumstances with the singleness
of mind and forge ahead in the power of God’s Word. Like Paul, you haven’t
“apprehended” yet; press on for the higher calling which is the mark that Jesus
Christ has set ahead for you. As you press on cast aside every besetting weight –
gossips, fornication, criticisms, lies, etc – and run the race for the crown that
awaits you.
Your moment of tangible greatness is now; your duty is for its realization.
Press on toward that one thing.

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. How sure are you in knowing God’s purpose for your life? Have you ever
had to fight to maintain that purpose against distractions and naysayers?
2. Have you felt divine approval about what God has made you to be on
Earth? Have you felt His favour rest on you with support grace and
strength to do what you are to do?
3. How does God build broken lives to attain their rightful destiny? Has He
done this for you or anyone you know?
4. As a leader, how can you help others find the “one thing I do” in their
lives?
5. Take time to go through the steps shared in this chapter to make sure you
are focused on your divine purpose. Pray through each one and listen to
Holy Spirit:
Cut off ill relationships.
Don’t allow negative tags to derail you.
Break through every resistance.
Don’t be distracted.
Be cautious of your advisors.
 CHAPTER 17

The Power of Prayer

No leader can succeed without effective prayer. Jesus, the greatest of all
leaders, showed us the key to his unparalleled leadership.
When Jesus came to the Earth, He was perfectly God and perfectly man. Yet,
He did not use His divinity in such a way so that He could be an example for us.
He is our model in the Bible; and we all want to be like Jesus. He spent quality
time with God. He understood how to fellowship with God and through these
times had tremendous results. In Mark 1:35, the Bible shows that: “In the
morning, a great while before day, Jesus would look for a solitary place to
pray.” The Bible indicates a solitary place; that means Jesus did His prayer
undisturbed by his friends. He knew the value of spending time alone with God.
One of the greatest things the devil fights is your fellowship with God. The
only reason the devil will lead a leader to sin is because he knows that if there is
sin in your life, you cannot fellowship with God thereby no answers to prayer.
The Psalmist said, “If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me” .
Ps. 66:18. The devil knows the necessity of prayer and will do everything to
fight your prayer time. That is why even when you are not feeling sleepy, you
start dozing or feel uncomfortable immediately you start praying.
It is also the reason you can lie awake and be thinking of other things when the
Holy Spirit wakes you at night to pray. You may not have any problem, but
immediately you start praying, the devil will make your eyelids very heavy. The
more time you spend with God, the better it gets.

OPEN HEAVENS
“Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being
baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in
a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said,
Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21).
 This is Luke’s account of the baptism of Jesus. Jesus, on the day of His
baptism, was preparing himself for something special. While He was praying,
the Heavens opened. May you experience an open heaven for your leadership.
An open heaven causes angels to ascend with your prayer requests and descend
with your answers. Things blossom for you under an open heaven and you
experience the help of God with your leadership duties.
There is a manifestation of God’s power in your life and things work well for
you. You experience a down pouring of showers of God’s favour. Heaven speaks
under an open heaven; you sow little and reap much. Instead of demonic
manifestation you experience angelic manifestations. Health and physical
vitality is your portion under an open heaven. Remember, Jesus never began
ministry until He experienced an open heaven. If He needed heaven’s rain for
His fruitfulness you need nothing less.

CHOOSING YOUR TEAM

No leader can ever succeed without a team. Before Jesus chose His first team
of 12 Apostles, the Bible tells us in Luke 6:12: “And it came to pass in those
days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer
to God.” Luke 6:13 “And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and
of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles.”
Jesus did not choose them because they looked handsome or were hard
working. To choose people to work with, you naturally would look out for
physical qualifications, abilities and capabilities. However, Jesus first looked for
the mind of God. We need the mind of God for the things we do. Jesus spent
time in prayer before He chose His disciples. He spent time in prayer the night
before he met His disciples. When He woke up the following day, He was settled
in His Spirit who would follow Him. He chose them because He had spent time
in prayer in the presence of God.
If after praying all night long (the Jewish night started at 6 p. m and ended at 6
a. m so probably Jesus spent about 12 hours in prayer), Jesus chose 12 apostles
and one of them became an instrument of the devil, then imagine how many
thieves and devils you will bring to your team if you do not spend time to pray
when choosing people to work with you. We have to pray before we make
decisions. Jesus did not allow things to just take their own course. Jesus spent
time in prayer before He made decisions. Jesus did not only pray to select His
staff but continued to pray for his disciples in John 17. He also prayed for Peter
that Satan would not sift him: “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan
hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for
thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy
brethren” (Luke 22:31-32).
“Jesus never took anything for granted.”

IN TRIAL
Every leader goes through trials some of which can make or unmake you;
however, Jesus showed us that at such times the best thing to do is to pray.
Before He was arrested in Luke 22:39-43: “And he came out, and went, as he
was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when
he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and
prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless
not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from
heaven, strengthening him”
Jesus prayed; in His greatest trial, He spent time in prayer. He asked His
disciples to support Him in prayer but came back to find them sleeping. It would
have been very natural for Jesus to say, “Even you my friends, have deserted me.
Let me forget the whole thing.” Instead of also giving up he went a step further.
The Bible says three times He came back to his disciples who were sleeping in
His time of greatest need.
Jesus prayed when He was going through His greatest agony. When He prayed,
God sent an angel to strengthen Him. “And he was withdrawn from them about a
stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing,
remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there
appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an
agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of
blood falling down to the ground ” (Luke 22:41-44).
In your time of greatest trial, may the spirit of prayer hit you. In your time of
greatest trial may your ministering angels be there for you. When you are going
through challenges, may God strengthen you. After the angels had finished
ministering unto Him, He was ready to face the cross. May God dispatch His
angels to help you and take you out; may He send angels to set you free and
bring results to your life. Whatever cross you face, when angels minister to you,
the strength and the ability would be there, to face it. May it be so in your time of
trial or Satanic attack.
There is a story about a man who had a dream. In his dream, he was walking
with the Lord and behind them were two sets of footprints. But he realized at the
time of his greatest trials, there was only one set of footprints. So he asked the
Lord why He deserted him in his time of trouble. The Lord answered, “Why you
saw only one set of footprints was that in your time of trouble, I carried you.”

SPIRITUAL ATTACKS
One of the things the devil does is to make us fed up when we go through a
spiritual attack. It is important to recognize an attack because the devil attacks
us. There are so many who do not recognize when the devil is attacking them.
When you are under a spiritual attack, he makes you weary, frustrated, and so
mad that if you are not careful you would not pray. You get so fed up you do not
even want to talk or fellowship with any one. If you are not careful you would
not even want to go to church, or read your Bible.
The devil makes sure you do not have any stirring to do anything spiritual at
all. All you feel like doing is to sit in front of your television - you watch
television for a long time after which you read your newspapers. You do not
want to have anything to do with God. You may go to church but it is a drag. The
devil knows if he can frustrate you and get you so mad as not to study your
Bible, pray, or refuse to talk with people, he can isolate you into a corner and
then cut you off. There are times he will make everybody appear wrong to you.
Innocent things people say to you will look so wrong. Even when someone steps
on your toe a little, the devil magnifies it and makes it look like it is a mighty
offense. When he succeeds in isolating you then he starts dealing with you. Jesus
got to the point where even his disciples who were to support him in prayer were
sleeping.
When the devil brings you under an attack, the people you think should
support you most seem not to care. At that time, you would not find them
because the devil wants to isolate you in a corner and make you feel that you are
nothing. He wants to make you feel that you are useless and finished. The devil
releases the spirit of rejection and manipulation against you. Finally, when he
gets you into the corner, he will cut you off.
“When you come under an attack, never lose your
stirring to pray.”
 The devil gets you into the corner making everyone look bad. In fact it is when
you come under attack that you need to pray most. When the devil brings you
under an attack, he uses two major things: temptations and wiles. Temptations
are very easy to identify because if you are a lady and someone is kissing you,
you will see it. If a brother has been looking into your eyes with an evil intent,
you will know it. It is at times very easy to recognize temptation. When it comes
to the wiles, the tricks of the devil, most of the time he covers them so they are
not so easily recognized. However, the Bible says we are not ignorant of his
devices, (schemes), the wiles he uses, and the temptations he dangles before us.
When Paul was on the sea for fourteen days and they were not eating, God sent
an angel to tell him he will come out. It was dark and stormy at the time (even
though it was summer) and the wind was against them but when Paul prayed an
angel strengthened him: “And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there
shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by
me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve” (Acts 27:22-23.)

POWER
The Bible says about Stephen in Acts 6:8 “And Stephen, full of faith and
power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.” Stephen was full of
faith. To be full of faith means that you are filled with the Word of God. But
Stephen was also filled with power. To be filled with faith and power means you
are filled with the Word and you are a person of prayer. Stephen was a leader
who experienced the power of God. The same assertion is made about Barnabas.
It is said that after the church of Antioch was began, there was a man called
Barnabas who was sent to help strengthen the church. The Bible says in Acts
11:24: “For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith.” To be
full of the Holy Spirit is to be full of power. If you will be continually filled with
the Holy Spirit, then prayer is the key.
Nobody is more powerful than his prayer life. The Apostle Paul said in 2
Thessalonians 1:11: “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God
would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his
goodness, and the work of faith with power.” I have said that power comes from
prayer. You can have a lot of faith but if you do not have prayer power to back it,
you will speak and the things would not come to pass. Spend some time in
prayer daily and ask God to touch your life and make your prayer life more like
Jesus.
The Apostle Paul said in 1 Cor. 14:14-15: “For if I pray in an unknown tongue,
my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray
with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also.” The Bible also says
in Jude 20: “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith,
praying in the Holy Ghost.” When we talk about praying in the Holy Ghost it
means you are praying in tongues. Paul said also: “I speak in tongues more than
you” (1 Cor. 14:18).
Most of my prayer is done in tongues, because when I begin to speak in a
language of my understanding, after a short while I do not know what else to say
and so I just speak in tongues. The Bible says: “He who prays in an unknown
tongue does not understand and no one understands him but howbeit in the spirit
he speaketh mysteries. ” (1 Corinthians 14:2). Yet there is a difference between
devotional tongues and diverse tongues. A diverse tongue is one of the gifts of
the spirit and when it comes, it comes congregationally and there should always
be nterpretation, but devotional tongues belong to every believer.
Jesus in Mark 16:17: “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my
name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. ” Every
Christian capeak in new tongues. When you speak in tongues, you speak to God
in mysteries and things that would not have happened begin to happen. Some
speak in tongues nd they bring out the interpretation in their prayer.
One thing I have realized is that as I pray in tongues, God gives me the
interpretation inmy spirit, and I begin to write that interpretation down. Most of
the time while I am praying, I have a pen and a notebook by my side and I write
the things that come to my spirit becase I know that they are the interpretation
God gives to me. When I implement the things I wrote down, they always come
to pass. Don’t frget an inspired thought is the word of God. When it comes to
Impressions from God, the more you pray about them the deeper they get; but
those from your mind easily go away after a while.
If you want a deeper knowledge of the principles I have shared here, read my
book, Power in Prayer: Taking Your Blessings By Force , Your prayer life will
show as you move in your leadership role as divine grace, power, and strength
comes to bear on your behalf.

Food For Thought and Discussion

1. Looking back over your prayer life, when have you been able to sense an
open heaven as you communed with God. What were the results of this
time of prayer?
2. How much have you prayed over choosing your team? It is not too late.
Pray over each one and be sure each is suited to partner with you in
ministry.
3. When you experience trials, do you immediately begin to pray, or are you
pushed away from prayer through the circumstances and encumbrances
of the situation? What can you do to make prayer your “go to” remedy
for difficult times?
4. Think back to a spiritual attack you have experienced. How much did
prayer play a part in your recovery? How does prayer prelude the victory
that can be yours?
5. How much do you associate prayer with power? Have you experienced a
time when you didn’t pray and power was elusive to you as you
ministered?
 Conclusion
Leadership is a call that makes demands on your gifts, your discipline, and
your spiritual walk. As I have spoken to all three of these in these pages, I am
amazed at how many leaders in the Church do not have a handle on any of these
factors in terms of their leadership. So many pastors, teachers, and evangelists
have allowed people or the devil to dictate what they should and should not do.
Some have succumbed to fleshly yearnings and avoided spiritual truth because it
would condemn them.
Your leadership has a past. Some of it may be good, some of it great, and some
of it may be embarrassing to you. But the future can be the best that you will
ever experience, if you bridle the present and flow with God’s purpose. It is your
choice to make.
I pray that the promises God has for you will surround you, so that you cannot
choose to go to the right or the left but maintain your destiny as you set your
face like flint on your prize. I pray that you are sure footed as you navigate the
tough terrain that exists in leadership. I pray your legacy will be one that
continues through many generations as you deposit your gift and calling on those
who want to grab the Christ in you. If you do, Jesus will speak those words that
we all want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Therefore go and do
the work of God’s kingdom!

For Thought and Discussion

Look over the questions and your answers throughout this book. Allow the
Holy Spirit to breathe on those things you need to do to become even more
effective. Ask Him to lay out a priority order for you to follow so that step by
step your effectiveness will continue to grow.

Charles Agyinasare
 You Must Be Born Again!
Are you born again? Have your sins been forgiven? Do you have eternal life?
Are you saved? Will you spend eternity with God when you die?
If your answer to any of these questions is “No”, then you can experience very
little or nothing of what this book talks about.
But if you want to be saved, take note of the following:
1. That you are a sinner – God’s word tells us that “All have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God”Romans 3:23, and that “There is none
righteous, no, not one”Romans 3:10. That means that, no matter how
good you and I think we are “All our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags”Isaiah 64:6. In the eyes of God you are a sinner!
2. That the consequence of sin is death – because God is so pure, holy, and
just, He must punish our sinfulness, because “The wages of sin is
death”Romans 6:23. All sinful men have to die – not just a physical
death, but also a spiritual one, because “Your iniquities have separated
between you and your God”Isaiah 59:2
3. That God loves you so much that He sent Jesus Christ to die for your sins
– in spite of our sinfulness, even “while we were still sinners, Christ died
for us”Romans 5:8. In fact, Jesus was “wounded for our transgressions,
bruised for our iniquities” and the LORD “laid on him the iniquity of us
all”Isaiah 53:5-6. Jesus took your place and took the punishment of sin
on your behalf.
4. That God raised Jesus from the dead – when Jesus died for you, He was
buried. But because God accepted His sacrifice of sin on your behalf, He
“raised Him from the dead”Romans 10:9. Because He lives, you can also
have life!
5. That you must believe in Jesus Christ and confess Him to be saved – now
you must believe in your heart that Christ died and was raised for you,
and you must confess Him with your mouthRomans 10:9. That is the
only way you can be saved.
Do you believe? Will you accept Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour of
your life? If so, pray this prayer after me:
Dear God, I know I am a sinner. I know I cannot save myself. I
believe Jesus died and was raised for me. Forgive me all my sins. Wash
me with the blood of Jesus. Make my life a testimony to those who
know me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
If you prayed this prayer, then you just got born again. All your sins are
forgiven, and you can now have a relationship with God! God has
promised, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”. That is
His word, so you are saved!
But that is just the first step. Now that you are born again, you must grow
spiritually and in the things of God; so I would encourage you to find a
Bible-believing church or join any of our Perez Chapel International
churches.
I would like to stay in touch with you and know how you are doing in
your walk with God. I would also like to hear your testimony of how my
ministry through this medium might have blessed you. You can reach me at:
Bishop Charles Agyinasare
105 Olusegun Obasanjo Way
Dzorwulu Junction
Accra-Ghana

Or email me at:
cagyinasare@aol.com
books@agyinasare.org
Or call me on: +233 302776002
5. About the Author
Bishop Charles Agyinasare is the presiding bishop of Perez Chapel
International and several associate independent churches. He is the senior
pastor at the Perez Dome, Accra, Ghana, reputed to be the largest
auditorium in Ghana. Regarded as one of the national Christian leaders in
Ghana, Dr Agyinasare has been honoured by the nation as a Member of the
Order of the Volta, for Championing African Excellence.
Charles is also a frontier evangelist and an apostle to the nations.
He had a divine encounter in 1983 when he heard the audible voice of
God twice in four days commission him saying, “My boy Charles, I send
you out as I sent Moses; go, and I will put My words on your lips, and
reach the world for Me,” and “I give unto you power over demons and
principalities; heal the sick, raise the dead, preach the kingdom.”
Since then, he has shared the whole counsel of God in over eighty-three
(83) nations of the world, including the United States, Canada, the United
Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Ukraine, Israel, Japan, India, the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan, the Islamic Kingdom of Bahrain, Burkina Faso, and
many other countries in Africa. His gospel campaigns have recorded over
300,000 people in a single meeting.
Bishop Agyinasare has a mandate to lead God’s people into their
breakthrough by fully preaching the kingdom of God. His message
encompasses Holiness, Prayer, Faith, Prosperity, Leadership & Excellence,
Family life, Last days, and a very prominent demonstration of the Holy
Spirit and His gifts. Through his teaching and preaching many people who
once were sick, alcoholics, and drug addicts have been set free in his
meetings. Many have also been raised from nobodies to somebodies.
Dr Morris Cerullo has this to say about him: “It is very rare in the calling
of God to see the Apostolic, Evangelistic, Prophetical, Pastoral and
Teaching call all manifest through one ministry. But here in Bishop
Agyinasare’s calling we see the 5-fold ministry.”
Dr Agyinasare is also a Christian scholar, holding a PhD in the
Philosophy of Theology from the Vision International University in the
USA; and has even pursued an LLB at the Ghana Institute of Management
and Public Administration. He is also the Founder and President of the
Perez Ministerial College as well as the several Miracle Academy Schools.
He is also the Chairman of the board of FirsTrust Savings and Loans (a
recognised Financial Institution, Ghana).
Bishop also reaches the world through his over 40 life-changing books;
and his impact and presence are felt across the globe through Precious TV,
the television channel he founded in 2013.
He is married to Rev. Mrs Vivian Sena Agyinasare, the co-founder of
Perez Chapel International, and they have three adult children and one
adopted daughter: Pastor Dr Selaise Esar Agyinasare, Pastor Francis
Nyamekye Agyinasare, Charlene Sena Agyinasare, and Clementina
Quarshie.
5. Other Books By The Author
FROM SMALL TO MEDIUM TO MEGA
How to grow your Church.
MIRACLES, HEALING, SIGNS, AND WONDERS
Here is a valuable source that will help you receive healing, and initiate and release you into
the supernatural ministry.
ROOTED AND BUILT UP IN HIM
This 487-page teaching manual will help equip you to stand as a Christian and to effectively
work for God.
IT’S MIRACLE TIME, VOLUME 1
This book teaches you how to receive your miracle, why some do not receive their miracle,
and what divine healing is all about.
IT’S MIRACLE TIME, VOLUME 2
This book teaches you how to maintain your healing and provides keys to help you bring
healing to others who are sick.
NOW THAT YOU ARE BORN AGAIN
Discover how to lead someone to Christ and help new Christians understand what and why
they believe.
NEW TESTAMENT MINISTERS MANUAL
Use this book to learn how to perform pastoral duties, such as officiating weddings,
dedicating buildings, and many other functions made easy.
POWER IN PRAYER
This book contains keys regarding how to pray and how to apply pressure to get answers to
prayer.
CELEBRATING THE PILGRIMAGE OF LIFE
Takes an intimate look at the life of Bishop Charles Agyinasare. It is filled with never-
before-told stories of his first forty years.
THE IMPACT OF PRAYER
Learn how to pray with more fervency and consistency in order to receive answers to prayer.
This book is your source to help you win the invisible war.
GOOD MANNERS AND ETIQUETTE
This book assembles and clarifies the importance of a wide range of good manners and
unwritten rules of etiquette that assure a smooth and a well-ordered society.
PASTORAL PROTOCOL
This book will help the minister escape spiritual disaster and ministerial suicide by
equipping him or her with ethics for success.
BREAKING THE POWER OF ALCOHOL, DRUGS, AND TOBACCO
This book will enable you and your loved ones to break the power of alcohol, drugs, and
tobacco, and find deliverance from these evil habits.
HEAVENLY HELPERS
Dr Agyinasare in this book gives a very Biblical perspective on angels, teaching about their
nature, origin, ranks, functions, and how to invoke their help, among other things. Get ready
to be helped by angels!
RELEASE ME! FROM CURSES TO BLESSINGS
Is an eye- opening book that delves deep into the subject of curses and blessings, exploring
areas like: the types and causes of curses; signs that one is under a curse; and how to break
them, and pass from curses to blessings. Prepare to be released.
TERRORISTS OF LEADERSHIP: RESISTING THE TRAPS OF MONEY, SEX,
AND POWER
This is such an essential read. This timely piece carefully exposes each of these three
opponents, and gives practical and scriptural ways to address them. This book will help you
not only to avoid but also to overcome the dangers of money, sex and power.
TROUBLE IN HELL: DEFEATING SATAN AND HIS DEMONS
We can have victory over the Devil and his demons. This book gives a very deep insight on
the forces of darkness, teaching how they operate, and how every Christian can engage them
in serious warfare. This book is rich with many testimonies that make this teaching very
applicable in today’s world. You will begin to take authority over demons and stir up trouble
in hell!
SPIRITUAL FATHERS AND SONS AND THE WISDOM TO WORK THE
RELATIONSHIP
Indeed, you may have many instructors, but who is your father? If a spiritual father covers,
gives blessings, and provides identity, how must you relate to him? And how should you
conduct yourself as a spiritual son? You will find in this book who a spiritual father is, his
essential functions in your life, and how you must relate to him.
TRANSFERENCE OF SPIRITS
This is a rare but all-important teaching that looks at how and where spirits are transferred,
who can transfer spirits, and how to guard against evil transfers, among other critical
questions.
 References
Endnotes
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Titus; http://www.rasmussen.edu/student-life/blogs/main/us-presidents-with-college-educations-
from-learners-to-leaders ; access 11/29/14
ii. The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Want to Follow; ©
1999 John C. Maxwell; Thomas Nelson, Inc; Nashville, TN; page xi
iii. Haggai, J. (1986) Lead On. Word Publishing: Dallas.
iv. D’Souza, A (2001-2006) Empowering Leadership. Haggai Institute: Singapore, United States.
v. The Gospel of Prayer; The Last Days Newsletter; Leonard Ravenhill; Issue June, 1982;
http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=8518&forum=34&0 ;
access 11/29/14
vi. www.Merriam-Webster.com) copyright © 2014 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Included
within Merriam-Webster Online; access 11/30/14
vii. Family Based Youth Ministry; © 1997, 2994 Mark DeVries; Intervarsity Press; Downer’s
Gove, Illinois; page 41.
viii. Children of Fast-Track Parents; © 1989 Andee Aheon Brooks; Penguin Books; New York; page
67.
ix. Elton Trueblood; Your Other Vocation; © 1952 Harper & Brothers; New York.
x. http://www.christianpost.com/news/benny-hinn-says-wifes-drug-problems-led-to-divorce-
praises-gods-reconciling-power-76585/#j2PgXzUpQ6cmCeJy.99; access 12/1/14
xi. The Path;© 1996 Laurie Beth Jones; Hyperion; New York; page ix
xii. Repacking Your Bag; © 2012 Richard J. Leider and David A, Shapiro; Berrett-Koehler
Publishers, Inc.; San Francisco;
xiii. http://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/sermon-illustration-josh-hunt-quotes-self-82758.asp
; access 12/2/14
xiv. Seven Great Prayer Warriors; © 1987 Colin C. Whittaker; Marshall Pickering; London;
xv. from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database.
Copyright © 2000, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved
xvi. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/champion?
searchDictCode=all ; access 12/2/14
xvii. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/mentality ; access 13/2/14
xviii. Hamlet: Act 1, Scene 3, Page 3
xix. (from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database.
Copyright © 2000, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
xx. http://www3.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/foursq02.htm , access 12/5/14;
http://classroom.synonym.com/virtues-were-important-ancient-greeks-8057.html , access
12/5/14; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_virtues , access 12/5/14
 xxi. Miller, James, L., Measures of Wisdom: The Cosmic Dance in Classical and Christian
Antiquity, University of Toronto Press, as quoted in http://wikipedia.or.ke/index.php/Wisdom;
access 12/5/14
xxii. from Easton's Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright ©
2003 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved
xxiii. The Millionaire Mind, © 2001 Thomas J. Stanley, Andrews McMeel Publishing, Kansas City,
MO, Page 169
xxiv. The Elephant in the Room, © 2012 Robb Thompson, Harrison House, Incorporated, Tulsa, OK,
xxv. http://news.yahoo.com/nigeria-says-liechtenstein-making-excuses-keep-abacha-loot-
170441312--sector.html?soc_src=mediacontentsharebuttons ; access 12/4/14
xxvi. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database.
Copyright © 2000, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved
xxvii. William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster, 1958), vol. 1, 284.
xxviii. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grit_%28personality_trait%29 ; access 12/7/14
xxix. You Were Born For More: Six Steps to Breaking Through to Your Destiny, © 2013 Harry R.
Jackson, Jr., Chosen, a dvision of Bake Book Group, Minneapolis, MN, page 99.
xxx. P.L. Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations (Garland TX: Bible Communications, 1996,
c1979).
xxxi. Thomas B. Mccaulay, British writer and politician, 1800-1859.
xxxii. Published in Finest Hour 80, Third Quarter, 1993 Fifty years ago at Harvard
xxxiii. http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/can-singing-help-you-live-
longer#ixzz3LPyFJpfz
xxxiv. Anonymous
xxxv. “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not hesitate whether they should comply or not. Life or
death were not to be considered. Those that would avoid sin, must not parley with temptation
when that to which we are allured or affrighted is manifestly evil. Stand not to pause about it,
but say, as Christ did, ’Get thee behind me, Satan.’”(Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary, PC
Study Bible formatted electronic database. Copyright © 2000, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights
reserved.)
xxxvi. Galilean— an inhabitant or native of Galilee. This word was used as a name of contempt as
applied to our Lord's disciples (Luke 22:59; Acts 2:7). All the apostles, with the exception of
Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:11), were Galileans. Peter was detected by his Galilean accent (Matt
26:69; Mark 14:70). This was also one of the names of reproach given to the early Christians.
Julian the Apostate, as he is called, not only used the epithet himself when referring to Christ
and his apostles, but he made it a law that no one should ever call the Christians by any other
name. (from Easton's Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright
© 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
xxxvii. Unknown
xxxviii. “CONSECRATION; In the New Testament, Christians are regarded as consecrated to the Lord
1 Pet. 2:9 “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.” (from Easton's Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic
database Copyright © 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
xxxix. Lord, Deliver Me From People: Navigating the Relationships that Disrupt Your Life, © 2013
 Eugene V. Reeves; Eugene V. Reeves Ministries, Woodbridge, VA, pg. 85
xl. A hard kind of stone (noun); Showing unfeeling resistance to tender feelings (adjective). Ref.
WordWeb.
xli. Plutarch, Artaxerxes, I. 1.c.1.11:129-cited by Ussher, Annals, para 1179