Last week the Lord helped us and today He is going to help us again. We will be looking at the indispensability of correct Vision in Leadership. Now you will note that we use the word 'correct', we are not saying that vision on its own is fantastic, what we are saying is that even though vision is great, it needs to be a correct vision. You see as much as anything can have a good part, there could also be a part that is perhaps, not too good, a part that has been adulterated and not the way that it is originally built. For instance it is one thing for you to buy a car and it is another thing for you to buy a used car. If you buy a used car you are going to be a car owner, and if you buy a brand new car as well, you will also become a car owner. But you know that the two are not the same.
Vision just like the car, it could be correct and it could be incorrect. As much as we appreciate that leadership must be driven by vision, we have come to realise that vision is not enough, it must be a correct vision. So today we want to look at how indispensable a correct vision is to your leadership and my own leadership. And so as we have began from the book of Genesis, we will continue in this series the leadership trip to Genesis as we see from the book of Genesis chapter three how indispensable correct vision is. It is not enough to see, you must see well and see correctly.
3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
Now if we look at that word, we know that this person that the serpent was talking to is a leader. She was a pioneering leader, as a matter of fact, Adam called her Eve, for she is the mother of all (Genesis 3:20). Now being the mother of all living mean she was a leader over all. She was to become a mother, a vessel through which other great people would be released. She was a leader the same way her husband was a leader. They were both leaders under the leadership of God. God who is the sovereign leader over the whole universe delegated a portion of that leadership responsibility to this couple. Now the wife was confronted by the serpent and said 'Has God, who gave you this leadership responsibility, indeed said?'
Now one of the things that we must note is that for this couple, Adam and his wife, the words that they heard from God were not mere opinions from God but they were instructions that predicts their future and shows their end. It was more or less like a vision statement from the Lord to them. So satan said to the woman, has God indeed said…notice how satan was trying to confuse the woman and second-guess God in that conversation. In your leadership, it is important that you watch out for those who second guess the instructions that you give and the instructions that you yourself has been given. Those who second-guess it create in you the tendency to question what has been committed into your hands. You have been commissioned and enlisted to run in a race and so someone comes along the line to make you second-guess the essence of that race and you began to develop a kind of attitude against what you have committed yourself originally to. And so you must watch out for people that make you to second-guess the vision you are running with.
I remember the Scripture in Habakkuk chapter two, the man of God said I would set myself on the watch, I want to see what God would say when I am being questioned by God. And God said write the vision, let it be plain on the tablet that he may run he that reads it. Let us even examine that Scripture as we consider further the indispensability of correct vision in leadership. Habakkuk 2:1-3
I will stand my watch
And set myself on the rampart,
And watch to see what He will say to me,
And what I will answer when I am corrected.2 Then the Lord answered me and said:
“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.
Don't forget he said that I will wait and see what he will say to me. We must understand that the vision that he was expected to write was not to be written from his head. It was to become a product and must to be as he saw. So when he sees a thing, he simply writes it. The man or the woman who comes to you that makes you want to second-guess the vision that has been delivered to you is a man that is trying to stop you from running. Watch these kind of people as a leader.
Let us continue from verse two of the book of Genesis chapter three that we began with.
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
Now if you are familiar with the instruction that God gave Adam in the book of Genesis chapter two, verse sixteen to seventeen, God said of all the trees of the garden you can eat, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat it, you shall surely die. Now the woman when she wanted to respond to the serpent said we are not even expected to touch it. God said don't eat, she said don't touch. Although the two phrases looks so close, but there appears to be a twisting of the information. And so you must also watch out for those who twist the vision. The vision is to be received and not to be twisted. Beware of those who twist it. Don't forget that correct vision is not a matter of I may have and I may not, it is something that is necessary if you must run, move or bless in leadership. You must have vision that is driving you. Let us read further into verse four. It says:
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was[a]pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
One of the things that I have realized among other things is that wrong and twisted vision has a way of creating in you fear. The Bible says that the Lord has not giving unto us the spirit of fear, but that of power and of love and of a sound mind. Now come to think of it, a man who has these spirit of power, love and sound mind, is it not a man who is able to do great things? But a man who has the spirit of fear is hindered and limited and so the only thing he could do is to hide away from responsibility and the purpose of God for his or her life. So you must to know that if you are afraid, then it is a pointed to the fact that you could be a man or a woman with a wrong or warped vision. We are not saying that you do not have any vision, as a matter of fact, you may hardly get anything done without a vision in the first place. The question we are trying to answer today is: what kind of vision are you running with? Is it a correct vision or not?
Listen To Podcast – The Indispensability of Correct Vision In Leadership
Now because Adam had a vision that was twisted, he became fearful and so the only thing left to him was to run away, and not to run with the vision. You see, you are either running with the vision or running away from the vision. The question is: what are you doing now? Are you running with the vision or running away from it? The word of God to you is to question you now and say, young man, young woman, what are you doing? See what God asked Adam in verse nine.
"Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?" Are you running away from the vision or are you running with the vision? It is a question you and I must answer. One of the things that I have also realized is that until you find a correct vision, until you are able to see well, you are not able to do well, speak well and also think well. Let us quickly go to Jeremiah chapter one, there is something for us to see in the life of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 1:11-12, it says:
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.”
Because you have seen well, you have the capacity to do well. A man who has not seen well cannot do well. Sometimes as a nation we are looking for me that would get the job done. There is this one word that has been used so much in Nigeria, but it has lacked so much impact in the lives of men. They call it 'political will'. It is not enough to vote in someone who is tall and handsome into elective offices, the question is does the person have the political will to create the change that you desire? That will is usually sourced in vision, when you see well you will do well. But we usually go for men who tell us things we want to hear not men who tell us things that we must hear.
It is important that we understand that the fuel of effective leadership is not ambition and greed, it is not even hard work. It is simply correct vision. Which tells you that when people see well, they do well. Another question we must answer is also written in Genesis chapter three verse eleven and I want us to read it quickly. Genesis 3:11
11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
It is important that we know that your vision is as original to the degree of the originality of the source of it. So if your source is fake, what you are running with would be fake. And you must not forget that vision is received and not created. Many people use the word created for vision. You don't create vision, you receive it. For instance if you see something , do you create what you have already seen? All you do is simply document and that is why Visions could be caught, it could be captured or even snapped, but it is not to be created.
12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
That verse twelve above could as well be interpreted this way: You gave me an original vision but the woman you gave to me came to alter it. She gave me a new one and I accepted. Vision is not to be replaced, altered or adulterated, vision is to be received and run with. So when you receive vision, capture it, document it, run with it and cherish it.
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
The questions is when God created man did God create man so that he will toil all the days of his life? Now if you think the answer is no, then I am with you. Since God didn't originally intend that man would toil all the days of his life, it therefore means that the vision of man is the basis for the destiny and security of man. And so because the vision was twisted, his destiny therefore was changed. I have come to realize that it is not witches or wizards, neither is it luck or lack of it that changes peoples destinies. It is the vision that people run with. The right vision, when you run with it, it will take you to an end. When you change that vision, it will take you to a different end.
For Adam, he had an end base on the vision that was committed into his hands, and so because the vision was twisted and adjusted, and manipulated, he then had another destiny that was not the original destiny but a twisted one.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”
The destiny of this man was changed because he had a wrong vision and allow others to change that original vision given to him by God. Your God-given vision is not to be adjusted by any man. No man must pity you and then change your vision. If you allow men to adjust your vision, then you have allowed them to adjust your destiny. If you must end well, then you must run well. If you must run well, then you must have the right vision. That is what has been laid in my spirit to share with us today. It is a word for you and also for me. I must always remember that vision must be received and never to be adjusted or manipulated or thrown to public opinion. It is to be received and then ran with.
God has given you a vision so that you can run with and then get to a pre-determined end. When you adjust the vision, then you adjust your end. Don't blame God for who you are becoming suddenly, consider what has been the guiding principle for your life. What do you see? Have you been seen yourself naked or complete in the Lord? Have you been seen yourself as a vessel that the Lord trusts with a mandate for nations or have you been seen yourself as someone who isn't capable? How you would do and think and perform would be premised on how well you see. It is important that you begin to see well from today so that you can think well, speak well and then do well, and God will bless you.
Leadership is critical for every one of us. We need leaders to see well, both at the local, state and at the Federal level. At the global level, we need leaders to also see well. What would become of us as a people is not a matter to be given to chance, it must be as we have seen. God said as you have seen, He would hasten to fulfill it. What I have heard you say in my ears I would do. The things you have seen and heard from God are the things He has committed into doing in your life. When you deviate from the word of God for you, then you are deviating from His original plan and therefore you are not able to enjoy what He has in stock for you.
The Bible says eyes have not seen it, neither has any ears heard it the things that God has in store for them that love Him. So because you love God and you are ready to run with the vision that He has committed into you, what would become of you has never been seen neither has it been heard by anybody. It is completely new, and God is doing a new thing in your life and leadership. Your family is becoming a new people after the order and the counsel of God. It is important that you remain true to that vision and with the Lord. Let your life be has the Lord has planned it, as the Lord has shown you and as you have written it. Don't change it or adjust it, don't let it suit the current change in the environment. Don't review it in a way would blend and mixes with the crowd.
If your vision is mixed with the vision of the crowd, then you end up going where the crowd is going. You become like the crowd. Your destiny isn't where the crowd is going to, it is important you understand that. That is leadership! You are not expected to be afraid to go all alone, as long as you are running with the vision that has been given to you. Don't be afraid. Vision does not produce fear, it is wrong vision and twisted vision that produces fear.
God bless you!
