Today we are looking at something important and I want you to be very attentive so that you do not miss what the Lord has prepared for us. We want to consider Principle-driven Leadership and we want to look very close to it: Unlocking The Keys To Maximum Rest In Your Life Pursuit. Don't forget, our focus is Principle-Driven Leadership. I am sure you understand what leadership is. But beyond the understanding of what leadership means or is, it is important you understand the role or the relevance of principles in driving your leadership and in driving your influence among the people.
Listen To Podcast: PRINCIPLE-DRIVEN LEADERSHIP: UNLOCKING THE KEYS TO MAXIMUM REST IN YOUR LIFE PURSUITS
People require your leadership that they may now what to do, know how to do it. Why they must do it is the reason you have been instituted as a leader at such a time as this. However, if you will succeed in your leadership and in your responsibility of providing guidance to your people, it is important you also understand the place of principles as a driver of your own influence. And I want us to quickly look at the book of Jeremiah chapter 6 verse 16. The Bible says:
"Thus says the Lord:
“Stand in the ways and see,
And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,
And walk in it;
Then you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’"
Now you can see an example of a people refusing leadership. They refused the recommendation of God, the Supreme Leader over their lives. The truth is if they had walked in the path, they would have become more influential on the earth. You see, what drives our leadership, what drives our influence with and among the people is the couple of instructions or a set of instructions we receive ourselves as leaders and then we follow. I have come to understand that life as it is, is governed by words, by instructions. That is why when God talks with His people or relates with them, He emphasizes the place of commandments, even though He loves them. He will say "if you love me, obey my commandments."
The question is: Why is there a commandment between lovers? Now what commandment does is to guide the conduct of the two lovers. It guides the lovers, it determines and it dictates how the lovers conduct their love affair. So when God wants to show His love to you, His commitment to you, He gives you a set of commandments. One thing you must understand is that what God has ask you to do is least that God does Himself. Principled people are not people who put people or others under certain principles, excluding themselves from those principles. No! Whatever principles they subject their people to, they are subject to the same in such a manner.
Now, if you look at God saying "you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not do this and that." Imagine God violating the things He says you should not do. God says "you shall not lie", imagine God lying. Do you understand? The principles and the commandments that God gives to His people are means of coordinating the affairs of Himself and His people, the relationship between them. And so, when a people are raised up by God, they are raised up through instruction, through commandments. They become a set of laws, a set of rules that are given to them to guide their affairs and if only they could follow those rules, follow those laws, they will rise in influence among others.
You see, if there are ten people on earth, ten people in a particular community, and then one person is guided by God, led by God and obedient to the word of God, it means what will happen in a very short time is that while others are complaining, others are falling into ditches, falling into errors and mistakes; such a guided person will be making guided decisions, will be making wiser decisions and others will begin to notice it and then follow in the same pattern and so, such a person becomes a exemplary personality among others. When you become a man or a woman that others want to pattern their lives after, then you have become a leader or you have more influence among the people.
Now the question is: What is the genesis of your influence? Is it because you have two heads? The answer is no of course. It is because there are set of instructions that you pattern your life after. God has given us a picture here in Jeremiah 6:16. It says: "Thus says the Lord, stand in the ways." There is a responsibility and the first of it is that if you will become an effective leader and increase in your influence on the earth; it says "stand in the ways and see. And then ask for the old path." If you can do that, it says that old path is where the good way is. You know we have this impression as a people of the 21st century that whatever is old, is old. Of course, that could be true. But it does not also mean that your old father is a bad father. Being old is not necessarily an indication of being bad.
It says "stand in the ways and see. And then ask for the old path where the good way is and walk in it." So your responsibility first and foremost is for you to stand in the ways, number two is to see and then ask for the old path and then walk in it. If you can do these Bible says then you will find rest for your souls. So, until then, there will be no rest. And you know, when the Bible says "your souls", it carries and connotes a whole lot of things. Of course we know that the soul literally implies the mind, the will and the emotion. So, you are mentally at rest, emotionally at rest. In fact, you are in your will at rest. You are not unstable, you are not uncertain. You don't go about making decisions hastily and end up committing so much mistakes and having many regrets in life. You are a well-guided man. Why? Because you are walking in the old path. Why are you walking in the old path? Because you have stood in the ways and you have seen. It says stand in the ways and see, ask for the old path where the good way is and walk in it, then you will find rest for your souls.
If you find rest for your soul as a person, others will notice it and follow your influence. I want to read a place Proverbs 24:3-4 so that we will have a well grounded understanding of what we are looking at.
Through wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
4 By knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
I am sure you know that it is not enough to build a house. You want your house to be established. You don't just want an established house; you want to have a house filled with things. Nobody moves into an empty apartment. You need your apartment to be garnished, to be furnished. And Bible says you require knowledge to get that done, however, you cannot furnish an un-established house. So, you require understanding to get that. However, you can't also establish a house that is not even built. The Bible says through wisdom you build and by understanding you establish whatever you have built, and by knowledge you furnish it. And so, that also connects us to where we began with in Jeremiah 6:16 which says "stand in the way and see" and to me, this connotes knowledge. But it is not enough to know.
There are many people who know today who are still suffering and who still have unrest in their soul. it says ask for the old path, and then we see that by understanding it is established. Asking is what leads to understanding. You know, if you read a particular place in the Bible where the Scripture was talking about Jesus when He was very young. At the time He left His parents and He was back at the temple. Bible says He was listening to them and He was asking them questions. You see, the foundation of wisdom is that you know. And you can only know when you listen, that is why the Bible says "stand in the ways and see" so that you can see.
Haven known, you must get to the point where you understand the things you know. A lot of people are building and patterning their lives after things that they are not fully persuaded or fully convinced. They build and follow patterns, principles and precepts that they do not actually understand the basis for their convictions or their claims. Many people will say "do this, don't do this" but will not tell you the basis or the reasons why they tell you to do what they are asking you to do, and why you should not do what they say you shouldn't do. And so, if you also do not ask question, you will just be at the level of knowledge. So it is not enough to know, you must ask questions, so that you can have understanding and Bible says by understanding, and then the house is established. And the Scriptures say haven asked for the old path, it says walk in it.
What does it mean? When you walk in it, you will find rest for your souls, and that shows wisdom. You know it has been said that wisdom is the rightful application of knowledge. That you know something does not necessarily produce results in your life. It is that you have understood what you know and that you have applied what you know. Wisdom is applied knowledge. It say, through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established, and by knowledge the rooms are filled. However the foundation to having something fantastic to show is that you first stand in the ways and see. Haven stood in the ways and seen, you must ask questions. Probe the things that you are carrying about as tradition of elders. The messages you are hearing, be like the Berean Christians, go back to the Bible and confirm. Do a kind of a compared analysis. Meditate on these things. Don't just hear, take heed to ask questions.
When you do this, your understanding will become more deepened and you will become more grounded in the things that you know. And then, haven known and understood, then you must live your life according to your understanding. And that is what wisdom does. Let us see something in the book of Luke chapter 7:35. I want to read an NLT version here. It says: "But wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it.” Another version says "wisdom is justified by her children." Now, how do we know that your knowledge is a correct knowledge? We will look at the things that you understand and then we will check your wisdom. How do we check your wisdom? We will check your wisdom by the produce of your actions. We will ask "what is it that you do daily?" Because your daily actions are pictures or graphical images of your wisdom.
The things you do shows your wisdom. That is why the Bible says "wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it." Following it is like a way, a principle. It is a law. An example of what is not right or what we should avoid is what we have in Proverbs 14:12. In the same NLT version it says:
There is a path before each person that seems right,
but it ends in death.
So it is not enough for us to have a knowledge because for every knowledge, it is a way. Every knowledge is about a way. That is why the Bible says "Stand in the ways and see." There are knowledge, different kinds of knowledge. It says however, when you are standing, ask for the old path. Ask for the right knowledge. Ask for the knowledge that is the truth. Ask for the truth. For every matter that is going on across the world today, there is the truth. Ask for the truth. Don't just feed your minds on falsehood, ask for the truth, so that you will not be following a way that seem right to you, so that you will not be accumulating knowledge that seem right to you, which has an end that is able to destroy your entire being.
Although the whole world is spinning so fast, I have realized that while the world is spinning so fast in advancement and in new knowledge; the laws that truly govern us are the same, old laws. So, I have found out that the secret of rest is returning to the laid down principles for effective living. It could look as if the whole world is spinning very fast; new discoveries, new researches carried out; advancement in technology, advancement in knowledge. However, I have realized that the laws that govern us, the true laws that govern us as a people, they are the same. They don't change. They don't seem to grow old the way we grow, they are the old laws. So, if you want to experience rest as a person, as a leader; you must follow and return to the laid down principles for effective living.
Now, I found out something today and I find it very amazing or amusing. I realized, listening to the news. They were claiming that because of the pandemic across the nations, because of the Coronavirus lockdown, there seems to be a gradual reversal of the decline of the earth. So, because more people have resorted into staying indoors, there are lesser activities carried out on the earth to destroy the earth itself. They claim the earth is resting or healing itself simply because many people are indoor. We seem to limit our activities as a people. Now, I have also realized that there are rules that govern what God has put in place, by God who created us. I called them the default factory rules. They are also called the divine rules, or you call them Godly principles. They are meant to guide our engagement as a people on the earth.
So, if we follow them, we will experience rest. We will have good health. We will not be having mental issues. You know, something has been said already that many players across the world today are having depression. So what is happening? Some of us look at the athletes, the footballers as wealthy people, successful people, celebrities, entertainers, et cetera. But we are realizing that many of them are having mental issues. So they are now experiencing rest. It is not enough to have money. There are rules that God has put in place that is able to give you rest: Mental Rest, in your mind, you are able to experience Emotional Rest; and in your will you are not unstable, you are able to experience rest as well. And the only way you can experience rest is you returning back to the rules.
It says "Stand in the ways and see, ask for the old path where the good way is." This one is not a way that seems good but has a promise of death at the end of the day, No! The good way, original way, the original rules of engagement that God has set in place. I believe it is time for us as leaders to review the principles that govern our lives. Knowing fully well that our lives and the lives of people around us are offshoot of our lives. You see, your principles are the basis for your influence. The things you do repeatedly are the reasons why people trust you and follow you. Now, if the things you have built your life on hitherto or up till now are producing unrest in you, unrest in your organizational activities, unrest in your family growth and family stability, it is important that you review those rules. Review those laws, return to the ideal, return to the things that God has declared for you.
Don't forget in Jeremiah 6:16, the Bible says the people refuse and said they will not walk in it. You could also refuse. But remember what the Bible says in Luke 7:35 which says "wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it." if you choose to follow these things that we are sharing today, that the Lord has laid in my heart to let you know as a leader, if you choose to follow it, your leadership will display it. If you choose not to follow it, even your leadership will display it. What and who you will become will be determined by the principles you follow. Don't forget, our focus is Principle-driven leadership. And then we have seen that in all your pursuit, if you must maximize your rest, you must have these keys. What are they?
You must stand in the ways, acquire the right knowledge and see. Ask for the old path. Deepen your understanding of the truth and then walk in it. Pattern your life after what you have discovered. What is it that you have read in the Bible that the Lord have opened your eyes to see? Build your life around it. Build your business around it. Build your leadership around it. Walk in it, and then you will find rest for your soul. One thing I must say as we conclude is that, there is a need for you to find rest. It is not enough for you to walk in that path, there is a rest that you must find. And do you know the meaning of finding?
Finding means you are searching for it. Don't just accidentally stumble on rest, search for rest and when you find it, people will follow you. If you find rest in life, people will follow your influence. And I pray that God will continue to help you, that even in the midst of this lockdown, you will be driven, not to the fables, you will not be driven to junks, you will be driven to the old path, you will be drive to the ways and you will see. You will ask the right questions and you will walk in the ways that the Lord has shown you, and then your life will show a rest that is able to attract followership of others across the nations, and the glory of the Lord shall be manifested in your life, in your leadership and in your experience, as a family man, and as a family woman. May God bless you.
My name is Gboyega Adedeji, it has been a great joy to connect with you on this week edition of Leaderview™. I hope to do this again next week and together we will experience rest. God bless you.
Amen!
