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Listen To Podcast: HOW TO BECOME A TRANSGENERATIONAL LEADER
I believe the Lord has given us this opportunity to witness today for a reason. And if out tomorrow will be alright, then it is because we have made the best use of today. Today on leaderview, we will be continuing on that trip, the leadership trip to Genesis. Today we are looking at Genesis 25. I am sure you remember that last week, we examined three indispensable qualities of trans-generational leadership. Today, we are continuing along that line of trans-generational leadership. We want to see how you can become a trans-generational leader. I am sure we know that there is a difference between leadership and trans-generational leadership.
When you talk about leadership, you are talking about influence, authority you are talking about taking a people, guiding and influencing them from one point unto another point. It is all about movement, progress and the people. Now, when we put trans-generational before that leadership, it gives it another meaning. And I want you to see it that the discussion we are having today is along the line of kingship, dominion, heritage or inheritance. I am sure you know that a king is expected to be replaced by one of his sons. That is what happens mostly, although it does not happen in England like that, but in many part of Nigeria for instance, a king is replaced at death by his son. It is not by election or by voting, one of the sons automatically becomes the next king.
There is trans-generational leadership in that context that flows from the father to the son. So, it comes from the father to the son, and from that son to his own son and so, it becomes a perpetual leadership and heritage of a family. I am sure you remember the story of David in the Bible, his own father was not a king, but David became the king, and then left his Solomon, to reign after him, and Solomon also left Rehoboam on the throne when he was done. So, that is a trans-generational leadership. Whether that was effective or not, it is another matter. But that was a trans-generational leadership.
Today, we want to look at how you can become a trans-generational leader, and that is assuming that your father is a leader or a king, that is the assumption. I hope you understand that. We are assuming in this episode that you have a father that rules. Then the question is how can you, whose father is in leadership; become a leader after the order of your father? So, the first thing we must establish is the fact that your father is a ruler or a king and he rules. And so, because he rules, he has the capacity and the privilege to leave his rulership in your trust, to handover to you.
Let us consider a trans-generational example from the Bible. Let us see how a father handed over leadership to his son, and how the son handed over leadership to another son. In fact, the chapter of Genesis that we want to consider today should be called a trans-generation chapter of Genesis. So, let us go to trans-generational chapter 25, because in this same chapter, we see three generations: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And each generation successfully transfers influence and authority, blessing, from one generation to a succeeding generations. And so, the succeeding generation became trans-generational after the order of their father. Abraham became a father handed over to Isaac, who became a father after the order of his father and then he handed over to Jacob, who became a leader after the order of his father Isaac.
So, let us quickly go to Genesis 25, from verse 1, and then we will read a few other verses. The Bible says:
Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2 And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. 6 But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.
Now if you note that statement, that shows us that Abraham was dying, and he handed over leadership responsibility to his son, Isaac. Every other sons were given gifts, and as soon as he did that, he sent them away, to connote the point that only Isaac would lead after his kind. Only Isaac would extend his influence beyond him, because it is not enough for you to exact influence alone, that influence must be able to go beyond you. Let us take for instance, maybe you are an Apostle, a pastor or a teacher, and as soon as you exit this earth, the message that the Lord gave you died with you. That is not a good thing. In fact, it is a wastage of resources, of revelation and anointing and wastage of everything.
What God delights in is that a man that receives grace and understanding from Him successfully pass the same to the next generation. Now, Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy was talking to Timothy, that the things he has received from him; the same commit to faithful men who are able to teach others. So, it means, I received it from God, and delivered it to you; you also raise committed men and commit it to them as well, let them be able to teach others as well. So, there is a trans-generational gene in everything that God gives to man. In fact, the resources of God comes from God, to a man or a woman, but it is not expected to die with such a man or a woman. It is expected to be passed on to the next generation. Problem arises when what God gives to a man or a person actually wastes away with the person.
I am sure we still remember the story of Elijah, Elisha and Gehazi. Now, what God gave to Elijah, he handed it over to Elisha. And so, you will call that a trans-generational leadership. You see, anytime we are talking about trans-generational leadership, we are actually talking about leadership that flows from a parent to a child, that flows from a father to a son. It is about a leadership that flows. And so, instead of Elisha transmitting or transferring the leadership authority on his life to Gehazi, he actually died with it; simply because Gehazi misbehaved and did things that were not expected of him. You see, trans-generational leadership is about order; it is about you leading after the order of a person or God. I am sure you note that. You know, God is the ultimate leader; you are either leading after the order of God, or after the order of a man. And for some people, they are leading after the order of some demons. But in our context, we are looking at a man leading after the order of another man, simply because what God has delivered into the other man, the succeeding man has successfully received it, and he is able to pass it on.
So, we established the fact from what we have read that everything Abraham had, he gave it to Isaac. So, let us see the story as it continues from verse 21 so that we can see the next generations.
21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
23 And the Lord said to her:
“Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body;
One people shall be stronger than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger.”26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called [e]Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Now, if we pause there, we know that Abraham had many sons, but he handed over the chain of command to Isaac. In fact, he transferred his authority, his blessing to Isaac. Now, when it came to the turn of Isaac, Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau, they were twins but Esau was the first and so, he became the leader by birth. So, he had a positional leadership authority by birth. In fact, the Bible says in that verse 28 that we read that Isaac loved Esau, which connotes that even as Esau was the first, he also had an advantage over Jacob in the father. Esau was the favourite of his father, I don't know if you understand that.
Now, by virtue of birth, Esau was the leader. He had a positional leadership authority. Now beyond that, he was also loved by his father. So, he had a double-edged advantage over Jacob. So, by virtue of that order, he was expected to become the trans-generational leader after the order of his father. But that was not the experience he had. In the long run, Jacob actually became the leader in his stead. So, the question is: how did he lose his trans-generational leadership and how did Jacob become a his trans-generational leader, and this is going to be our focus today. We are looking at how you and I can become his trans-generational leaders. We are looking at how can receive from our fathers, and we can hold and handover to the next generation.
You see, in every generation, there is a responsibility to receive authority, and there is a responsibility to pass it on. It is our responsibility to receive authority from our fathers, keep that authority, and then to pass it on successfully. And so, that makes us his trans-generational leaders. So, as it is for our fathers, it is for us. Let us now read from verse 29 and see how Esau and Jacob became different things.
29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” 32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?” 33 Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
You know, Esau said "please feed me" in verse 30, and in verse 31, Jacob said "sell me." So, one had a food, the other one had a birthright. Now, how can you and I become trans-generational leaders? I am sure you know that by virtue of position, the leadership authority and responsibility hanging on Esau. But because of certain things that Esau did, and because of certain things that Jacob did, there was a switch. So, let us see what they did differently that made them to become different things.
Now, the first thing we must note from the Scripture that we saw in verse 27, the Bible says: "So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents." Now please, if I may ask; amongst these two, who do you think would become easily tired by virtue of work? I am sure you would easily conclude eventually that it was Esau. Esau was a man, an hunter. You should remember that hunters don't sit down. They walk around, and sometimes they chase. In fact, sometimes they jog. So, by virtue of their vocations, one has a vocation that is so demanding, the other one had a more relaxed vocation. That did not mean Jacob was not busy, but he was not chasing animals around.
For the other one to have something to show for his labour, he must work very hard. And so, on that fateful day that there was a transaction of trans-generational leadership privilege, Esau had gone out and he returned tired. And so, you should understand that by virtue of his vocation, he was prone to being tired. And so, that is the number one thing that you must not do if you want to become a trans-generational leader. You must never overwork yourself. It is good to work, but don't overwork yourself. Don't work-out your reasoning and your discernment. Don't work to the point that if you don't do something, you will die. You will not actually die, if only you work the normal way. Don't overwork. You know, we live in the world of rat-race. We want to achieve so many things and so, we work so hard to the point that we are almost dying and so, we become preys to those who have things that we lack. So, I will advise, towards becoming a trans-generational leader, don't overwork yourself.
The second thing I want us to note, from what we read earlier is in verse 30. Esau said to Jacob; "Please feed me." That was the burden and hunger at the time. "And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day." Now, Esau was expected to become the leader in his father's stead, Isaac, simply because of the order of his birth. He had a right and influence by birth, but he did not know that the only thing that would guarantee his leadership emergence; was that thing that was give to him by virtue of his birth. He didn't work for it, he didn't have to do anything to become the number one by virtue of birth, that is to show us that there are certain things in life that we don't work for, yet, they have become ours. And if we will ever become leaders, we must never lose them.
And in my understanding, I have come to realise that for everyone that would become leaders, and everyone that would become trans-generational leaders, they must never sell their visions or their dreams. So, the next thing you must never do is to sell your vision. Don't sell it for any price, don't abandon your vision, don't throw it away for anything. There is nothing that you can be promised now that would be enough to secure your future. What God has given to you that can guarantee your future is your vision, don't lose it, do not sell it. The birthright was his vision for leadership. By virtue of his birth, he was a leader and so, each time he remembers and considers that he is the first born, he is acknowledged as the man who will be taking over from his father. But the moment he lost that birthright, he lost his leadership. Don't sell your vision.
The third thing that I want us to note is that, according to the Scripture in verse 23. The Bible says: And the Lord said to her:“Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” I am sure each time we read this, we feel bad for Esau. I am sure you also note that leadership is about service, it is about you helping the people. So, Esau by virtue of his birth, he was a servant. In fact, Jesus said to His disciples, if anyone wants to be the greatest, he should be the servant of all. Now, at the time he was serving, he was leading. But see what he said to his brother when he came back, after being overworked. He said "Feed me now, this same residue." Now, what happens to the man who is supposed to serve, and who is being served?
Jesus said to His disciples, I am one among you as one who serves. And so, His influence was to the degree of his service. But he took up a posture of the one who is to be served and so told his brother to feed him. And because the brother understood that, he negotiated the service. I will serve you, but there is something you have to give up, said Jacob. If you must become a trans-generational leader, you must never stop serving for any reason. Don't get to a point where you tell yourself you have been serving for years, while you don't overwork yourself, you must never stop serving. Because your relevance, your influence is rooted in your service. It is in the things that you serve your generations with that you become authority. We will respect you in the areas of your service, and if you stop serving, you stop leading. So, Esau stopped serving, he became a man that was served and so, lost his birthright.
The last thing I want us to note is what was written in verse 34. The Bible says: "And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright." In life, you may not have everything. I remember Peter and John, they went to the Beautiful gate and they saw a layman. And the man was looking at them with the hope of receiving something from them. They told him, "look at us, silver and gold we don't have, but such as we have we will give to you." Because in leadership, you will always have something. In life, you always have something. You must never despise what you have.
In Zachariah 4:10. the Bible says "Who has despise the days of little beginnings, although your beginning may be small, your latter end shall be greatly increased." So, if you have something, do not despise it. If you must become a leader after the orders of your fathers, then whatever little you have, you must celebrate it. Whatever landmark or milestone you have achieved, celebrate it. Don't despise your achievements, don't sell it off. Don't throw it away, stick to it, stay committed to the process of your emergence, whatever little comes your way, take it, honor it, appreciate it, for whatever is appreciated is the only thing that appreciates. If you want anything to grow, then you must give thanks for it.
Esau despise his birthright, he lost it. And then, when a leader was to be raised up instead of Isaac, Jacob was found by God. I am sure that your desire, is not to waste away in history. You want to become a trans-generational leader. I want to advise you, that you must not overwork yourself and it is important that you don't stop serving, and also, you must never lose your vision and then you must never despise what you have. Do you understand that? The first one, don't stop serving. Don't overwork yourself. Don't sell your vision. And lastly, don't despise what you have. I believe that as you put these things to practice, your trans-generational leadership would be guaranteed, and generations to come would become beneficiaries of the goodness of God in your life, through your life, your ministry, your organization, and your business.
And I pray, that what God has deposited in your fathers is not going to be wasted. It is going to be successfully transferred to you. You will not lose your portion in Jesus' name. I don't know who your fathers are, but whosoever that the Lord has set over you or produced you from, you must not allow what God has put in them to waste away. You must receive your portion. If that must happen, don't overwork yourself, don't stop serving, don't sell your vision and don't despise what you have, and I see God helping you, taking you from this level to the next level.
I hope to see you again next week Wednesday when we connect on another edition of Leaderview™, looking at the Leadership Trip To Genesis™. Stay blessed and focused and stay committed to the process and I see God blessing you in Jesus' name. My name is Gboyega Adedeji and you have been reading an extract from a Leaderview™ episode.
God bless you.
