Good afternoon everyone, my name is Gboyega Adedeji. I am so glad to welcome you to this week's edition of Leaderview, I hope your week has been great? I am so grateful to God for that.
I am sure you remember that a few weeks ago, it is running into months now actually; that we began a series titled "The Leadership trip to Genesis" and I am sure it has been a blessing to you. Today, we are going to continue in that series and I believe what God has prepared for us today is going to be something that every leader would grab and hold for generations to come. These are lessons that we must keep in our hearts. They are not just meant for us as leaders, to those of us that are founders, leaders of great organizations; both ministry and circular organizations, it is important to learn certain lessons today that we must handover to generations to come.
Today we want to look at Ancient Sustainable Leadership Discoveries Secrets. We want to consider timeless secrets the 21st century must know from ancient sustainable leadership. I discovered something that the Lord has actually set as a kind of rule, law or precedence for everyone that has began the work of leadership. For as many that desires to become trans-generational leaders, something has been laid down for us and it is important that we consider them. I want you to go very quickly with me to the book of Genesis chapter eleven, I will start my reading from verse one, and then we would stop by verse nine in order to glean a few lessons as we move forward in our leadership experience. Genesis 11:1-9, the Bible says:
"Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth."
I am sure many of us are quite familiar with this Scripture, and we may have read it a number of times in our church meetings and gatherings. Today we want to look at it from a leader's perspective. Remember, that Leaderview is all about leadership perspective to the matters that perhaps, we have been used to and have been familiar with over time. Today, we want to learn certain lessons, an ancient sustainable leadership secret was delayed and it is important for us in the 21st century, if we desire to have a sustainable leadership in our generations, it is important we glean, and take a quick peep into what the Lord has revealed to us into what transpire into lessons that must be learnt so that in our leadership on the earth today, at such a time like this; in our nations, we can avoid certain things that must be avoided and we can actually start certain things that must be started.
Listen to Podcast: Sustainable Leadership Secret 21st Century Business Founders Must Know
Now we must know, it is not just enough to begin great things. It is not enough to start great projects. It is important that we take them to the finishing point or spot. It is important we drive home our agenda and vision, and take them into the point of fulfillment. Now, what is the essence of a dream that never get fulfilled? What is the essence of a burden that never get to the point of materialization? It is important we know that while it is great to have great visions, which most founders do have, it is important that we translate from great visionaries, to men and women who are able to bring to reality the things that has been envisioned, and are able to sustain them over a long period of time.
Now, at such a time in the history of mankind, the Bible says the whole earth had one language and one speech. In verse three they said to one another… “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” These are men that were very diligent. They were hardworking, creative smart people. They were ingenious, and they were able to create new things. They said…."Let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly…" These things were not in existence before, but we are going to make them and bring them into existence.
Haven gotten bricks for stone and asphalt for mortar, they said to themselves, let us do something with what we now have. When you hear the phrase…"let us make for ourselves", it connotes it is a conversation that is taking place between people and among a people. So, they had people, they had vision and a mission as well, they also had resources; bricks, asphalt and mortar. So, haven gotten the resources, see what they said in verse four. They said…."Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” So, they had an agenda and a goal, they had an objective; which is to build for themselves a city and a tower. In other words, their success can only be measured only when the tower and the city had been built. That was their mission.
Their plan was not just to build a city and a tower, but a tower that is quite high. In our own time, we could say that their plan was to build a skyscraper. Many of us believe that it had plans to reach the heavens, I believe very strongly that they knew they could not do that. But what they wanted to do was to build a tower that would be high in the sky, and that is a way of saying into the heavens. To them, this is a big and audacious goal. Now, let us see again. They also said…"let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." So, the purpose of their building a city and a tower was so that they could make a name for themselves over the face of the earth.
Since we have gone through the whole Scripture, we knew that they did not succeed. They failed in their mission. They failed in their organizational activities, they failed in getting to their desired goal and their desired end. But we want to consider what happened and why they failed. Was it because they lack resources? But we know they didn't like resources, they had everything that they needed. They had men, they had materials. And is it because they don't know what they wanted to do; No! They were so clear they wanted to build a city and a tower, and has a top that reaches into the heavens. They also said they want to make names for themselves, lest they are scattered. So, everything was clear, but there was a failure; simply because something was missing, and some things were not right.
And if we look at verse four very clearly, we will note some things that I want to mention now, which were questionable and which obviously became a reason for the downfall of their project and their plans. Don't forget they were speaking one language and they had one speech, but yet they did not succeed, why? The Bible says…"they said come, let us build ourselves a city…", that is it. The problem is…"ourselves.., let us build for ourselves; let us start a church, for ourselves…..; let us start a ministry for ourselves…."
Now it looks as if they have ambition, they were driven people. Among other things, when organizations are started with enough resources and enough visions, enough mission statements and the right will, what normally bring great organizations to their knees are matters that has to do with the motives, glory and ownership. In the long run, the moment the motives of the founders are not right, the moment there is issue with who takes glory for this work, the moment the matters of ownership and who owns what is discussed; usually then end of such organizations usually come. Before you start that new business or that new ministry, there is something I want you to keep very closely to your heart. You cannot start the organization telling yourself you want to build for yourself and organization; it is not for yourself and for you.
By the way, ministry is about needs, it is not your needs. The ministry is not meant to meet your own personal needs. The ministry is meant to meet the needs of other people and then to satisfy the heartbeat of God, to please God and then to reach out to the people. It is not about you. And so, when you start that Jesus is Lord Ministry Worldwide, and you tell yourself, let us build ourselves this ministry; and let us have a tower in this ministry whose top would reach the heavens; now the point is this: you are trying to build a ministry, and you are doing it for yourself. And so, you begin the ministry with the mindset that everything that runs within it must be to meet your needs. It must not be so.
Ministry, organizations and businesses is ultimately for the larger good. And so, when you tell yourself; let us do this thing for ours elf, then there is selfishness. Where there is selfishness, you will also see greed, and when there is greed, you will see competition and rivalry. Before you know it, people are filled with bitterness and envy. People are bringing down people and so, the organization falls. so, if you do not want your new organization to fall, you must get it right on the matter of motive. As the founder or the founders, you must get your motives rights. You must also get the area of glory right. The glory of that work must always be to God. God must always be the one taking all the glory. And then; you must settle the matter of ownership.
It is not your business, it is not your church, it is not your organization. You must settle the area of who owns what, lest; the things that you think you are starting and you are owning, becomes the reason for your own downfall in life. Many men gave started great works, and they are no more, simply because they become consumed in the work, in the aftermath effect of their wrong motive and wrong ownership understanding. If you finish well, and your effectiveness must be sustained; over generations, then the motive for creating what you are creating, for starting what you are starting and building what you are building; must be right.
See what God said in verse five, and this is how we must understand this. "But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built." This is something I want us to note. Sometimes we think the tower of Babel was never started, No. It was started. They had gone very far. In fact, the city had been build. So, God came down to see what they have been doing over the years. I only hope that after you have labored, for fifteen or twenty five years as the founder of that organization and business, you will not have to experience the downfall, the division and the scattering of that organization, that is my prayer.
And the reason why that will not happen is because now, the motive is corrected and fixed. Fixed the matter of your motives now so that what you will be doing will not be built on wrong foundation. Remember the Bible says, if the Lord does not watch the city, the watchmen watch in vain. If the Lord does not build the city, those who labor, they labor but in vain. My prayer for you is that you will go back to God and settle the matters of "Who is this organization built for?" Is it for me, or for God? Is about me or about the purpose of God for my life? Who is the owner of this business? Who is the owner of this ministry and organization; am I the owner? Is being a founder being equal to being the owner?
You must settle it very well, so that you do not have God visiting you; not for blessing, but for scattering. Jesus got to the temple one day, and He saw people selling, buying in the temple. The whole temple was messed up, and then He made a whip, and then chased away everyone there; overturning their tables. So, the things they have been building for years, since they were doing it with a wrong motive in a wrong place; Jesus upturn and scattered them. That is what God does when you have a wrong motive, and you do not have a clear perspective of who owns what; God visits to scatter. And I pray that won't be your experience in Jesus' Name.
Thank you for the gift of your time, my name is Gboyega Adedeji. I have been given this privilege to bring these words to you, it has been a joy in my heart and I am sure that you have been blessed. I pray very sincerely in my heart, that your leadership would remain, your influence would be sustained over time and over generations, and you would never take the glory from God.
God bless you.
