Today we are looking at something that is very important. We are considering Leadership By Life. I am sure the title itself is self explanatory. However we are still going to go into a few things so that we can have a robust understanding, and so that we don't have any ambiguity in our minds. Leadership By Life: How To Lead People Through Who You Are or you could say: How To Lead People From Who You Are. In the book of Psalm 36:9, the Bible says:
Listen To Podcast: Leadership By LIFE: How To LEAD People From WHO YOU ARE”>LEADERSHIP BY LIFE: HOW TO LEAD PEOPLE FROM WHO YOU ARE
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
Another word for fountain is source of life, and in Your light we see light. I am sure you understand the necessity of life, and the necessity of light. Without light, there can never be any vision. You cannot see, you cannot progress. Progress is attributable to light. In fact, that you are able to produce is because there is some light that you have that is guiding you. Light serves as guidance. I am sure you have been in moments in your life when it looks as if there is no light, all the light bulbs were off and then there was no sunlight. Complete darkness. If you have found yourself before in such a circumstance, just like myself; I am sure you would appreciate the importance of light.
You could not figure out where to turn to, whether to the right or to the left, how to behave you did not know because you don't want to endanger your life. And so, light is the guide or the guidance that we have over life. Without light, life cannot be lived effectively. And so, today we are looking at Leadership By Life, and we are learning how to lead people from who we are. We just saw in Psalms chapter 36 verse 9, the Bible says for with God is the fountain of life. He has a lot of it. And in His light we see light. It is important we understand what the Psalmist was trying to imply. In the light of God we see light. In the light that God is or God gives, we see light, we see enough to be guided with or to be guided by. We see enough to learn from, in His light we see light.
So that we understand the relationship between His life and His light, let us go to the book of John chapter 1, from verse 1-5. The Bible says:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."
Of course we understand what we are looking at. You remember the Bible says in Psalm 36:9: For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light. So, you either have light or you are light. And because you have light or because you are light; we see light. And so the Bible now makes us understand that all things were made by Him, nothing was made that was not made by Him, by God. It says In God was life, confirming what we read in Psalms 36:9 that with you is the fountain of life. In God was life, and the life that was in God and that perhaps is in God, is the light of men.
Now, see how John put it: "In Him was life and the life was.." You must understand that God is the same yesterday, today and forevermore. So as He was, so is He and shall he Be. For with Him, our God is life, and the life that was in Him, that is in Him and that shall be in Him, was, is and shall be the light of men. So men shall perpetually depend on the light that was the life, that was in God. So see it. It says "In Him was life." So He had life, and the life He had was the light of men. Every time men are looking for guidance, they come to Him, because the kind of life He has is their guidance. Do you see that? The life that He has or the life that He lives, the life that He possesses or that He is, becomes a guidance for a people.
So, if we must understand what to do, when to do it and how to do it, then we come to His life. Beholding His life therefore becomes a means for us knowing how to live. The light that is in His life is our own example and is our own guidance. So as He is living, He is living in such a bright manner that we have opportunity to see. There is a brightness, what we could call the effect or the impact of His life. You remember several places in the Bible when the prophets want to speak, they will say "as the Lord lives." As the Lord is living, then we are having light. Is life is producing brightness and it is becoming a light for us. And I want you to understand this as a leader. If you must have people to learn from you, if you must have people to be guided by you, it is not because you are persuading or compelling them to learn from you, it must be because there is a life that you are living that is bright enough to lighten their lives.
It is important you understand that true leadership has roots in your life. And that is why the foundation of any leadership is self-leadership. Any man or any woman who cannot lead himself or herself lacks the moral right, the standing, the basis to deserve or to demand others to follow him. If you cannot lead yourself, if you cannot show a pattern of good works for yourself, show good example unto yourself, have initiative yourself, then you cannot become somebody that others can learn from. Nobody goes to a mad man to learn anything. Because there is nothing exemplary about a mad man. The life of a mad man is an example of darkness. There is nothing bright and beautiful about it and so, there is no need for anybody to go there, because, if you go to a mad man or woman, what you will find is darkness, and nobody is attracted to darkness. Bible says "In Him was life and the life was the light of men."
People flock around Him (God) simply because they find light. Nobody struggles to come to a place where there is light except the person is wicked and is doing things that are evil. If you are doing good, you come to the light because the light is attractive. The light is like a magnet that attracts others unto itself. And so, Bible says in the life of God we find light. Bible says:
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
Which means in His light, in His living and functioning, in His nature and attributes, we find light. I hope you understand that. Now let's see again what John said. Verse 5 says "And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." Another version says "darkness cannot overcome it." And so, every time we look at Him, we see life, and every time we behold His life, we see light. And every time we behold that light, we ourselves have light. Don't forget, it is beholding as in a mirror, and then we are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, from one level of brightness to another level of brightness. No wonder the Bible says the path of the just is as of a shining light that shines brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.
The path of the just connotes so much that we must actually learn from. The path of the just is as of a shining light and shines brighter. So, there is a level of brightness that you are shinning currently and there is a level of brightness that you could shine. But all depends on how much you are able to get or receive from the source of light, whose life is light. So, the more you behold His life, the more you have light in yourself. And the more you have light in yourself, the more light you are able to emit for others to be attracted to. One thing you must not forget is that light attracts people. I don't want to use the light attracts followership. But that is the word. It is not just followership of followers; it could even attracts followership of leaders.
So, you must understand that as God has given us a pattern of how to lead, He is our leader and He leads us. However, we are meant to lead others. Those we are leading are meant to lead as well. It goes on and on and on. But the genesis of it is looking unto Him the ultimate source of light, the one whose life is bright for others to see and then receives enough strength in light, enough strength for burning and so that we can shine so much on the earth and many can be attracted to our brightness and be drawn into it. You remember that place in Isaiah 60:1 where the Bible says "arise and shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. It says behold, Gentiles shall come to your light and their kings to the brightness of your shinning."
So you see, light is attractive. Bible says in Proverbs that see a man who is diligent in his business, he shall stand before kings and not ordinary men. Light is attractive. It positions you before great people. Great people are drawn to you. Now when Solomon was shinning so bright, the Queen of the South came from afar to him with a lot of goodies because she heard of the brightness of Solomon's wisdom. You must understand that while you live your life, you must live it in such a manner that is bright and is adequate to attract followers, to attract people from left and right unto yourself. And so, God has shown us a pattern, how to lead other people from who we are and it is about the life we live. Is your light shinning bright or is your light so dark?
Now, let us see a place in John 5:35. The Bible says "He was the burning and shining lamp" taking about John the Baptist. Jesus speaking, "He was the burning and shining lamp." At the time Jesus was speaking, John was already dead. However He was saying when John was alive, he was a burning and a shinning lamp and they were willing to rejoice in his light. People rejoice in your light, and people will rejoice in your light. However you must not forget that the foundation of the joy of people is that you become a true burning and a shining light.
Jesus said in John 8:12, He said: "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” So you can see the relationship between your light and your life. It is your life that produces light, and when people see that light, they follow you. Jesus said “I am the light of the world. He who follows." So He knows that people will follow Him, why? He is the light of the World. So the moment He stop becoming or being the light of the world, He will stop attracting people unto Himself. And so, you must understand how God leads us. He leads us via the light that comes from His life.
Are you also shinning light, or you are a thick darkness? If you are dark inside and out, then you will have little or nothing to show for others to see. Now if you have a little nor nothing to show for others to see, then there is a little or no chance for you to attract them into your life. If more people must follow you, then you must make yourself indeed a light that shines. Don't shine just because you want to show, shine because you want to live your life. Don't forget, it has root in your life. The kind of life you are living, is it a bright life or is it a dark life? Are you living a life of impact to others that is bright and shinning, that is emulatable; or is it a life that is very disgusting, dishonorable, a life that is distasteful. What kind of life are you living? It is important you review that so that you will become indeed a man or a woman who has multitudes following you.
Leadership By Life is leading by light; who you are and what you do daily then becomes the pattern or examples for others around you. As light attracts people, so a shining light attracts people. If you burn brightly, then people will come and see and then follow. The fountain of life is to be a shining light. If people can see your light, then they can see how they themselves can shine. You remember that people desire to shine also, and if they can find a life that is shinning, then they can come to learn how to shine. But if you are darkness, then, you have no hope of shinning, and then nobody has any hope of coming to you to learn how to shine.
Don't forget, you cannot give what you don't have. If you have never been a light that shines, then you do not have the ability to help others to shine. And light is attracted to light. Light is not attracted to darkness, light is attracted to light. If you must attract the right people into your life, then you must become the right person, and you must live the right life, and allow that to become the catalyst or the magnet that attracts other light into your life. And I pray, that even as you do this, the Lord be glorified in your organization, in your family and in your nation in Jesus' name.
Thank you for the gift of your time! I have been meditating with you on Leadership By Life: How To Lead Others From Who You Are. It is not from who you are not, it is from who you are. You must not fake your leadership, lest your influence become a pseudo or a fake influence. You must be real, let your life be transparent, let your life be such that people can see ad learn from; let your life be glorious, let your life be a life that is lived to the fullest, and when people see this, they come to learn, they come to see. Bible says "with you is the fountain of life, you are the source of life, and in your light we see light."
Jesus looked at the twelve disciples after multitudes have deserted Him. He said to them: "Are you not going?" And they replied; "to whom shall we go, you are the one that have the word of eternal life." The life you live is such that we love and we have come to gather unto, and we love to live this life too. And so, if you live the right life, people will come and follow you, and people will come to follow you simply because they want to become like you, they want to do what you are doing, and they want to command more results. And as you do this, it multiplies on our society, on our nation, on our economy, and on our society; replicating true and effective leadership across different sectors of the society through your own life.
You see, you can become that seed from which other leaders are sown and other leaders are grown. I pray that God's grace will be multiplied unto you and you will remain an effective servant and an effective leader, effective light that shines through life.
God bless you.
