I welcome you to today's edition of Leaderview. I hope your week has been great? We bless God for that. Last week, we examined the law of inspiration and saw it as a foundation for growth and expansion in your leadership. Today we want to look at something that is very interesting to your leadership. It is along the trip, the Leadership trip to Genesis that we began a while ago. We bless God for the experience thus far.
Today, we are looking at the book of Genesis 32 and I trust that the Lord will share the wisdom that we all need for our effectiveness in leadership with us today in Jesus' name. In the book of Genesis 32 that we will be looking at today, there is something there that the Lord wants us to learn. The question in our hearts today is a leadership question. I am sure we understand that this is a leadership podcast and program that is meant for our growth and effectiveness as leaders. So, the question that is raised is not any other question other than a leadership question that we must all give or provide answers to.
Listen to Podcast: THE QUESTION THAT DEFINES YOUR LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE: WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
The question is: What is your name? Now, I am sure that we understand that there is no man, no woman, no person living on earth today that has no name. Our difficulty or challenges in life is not always because we lack names, but sometimes it is because we do not know the meaning of our names and sometimes because we do not realise or come into the fullness of our names, and also because we have wrong names.
You know sometimes, parents give their children names as a result of their experiences during the pregnancies and delivery stage, so they name. I am sure you remember the stories in the Bible, where somebody was named based on the circumstances surrounding his or her birth. An example is Benjamin. Benjamin was not the name given by the mother, but the father changed it to Benjamin. Why? Because the father was not comfortable with the implication of the name on the life of the son. Understanding fully the essence of name for all of us and for leaders is very key.
So, today, the question we are looking at is what is your name? In the book of Genesis 32, the Bible introduces us to the experiences of Jacob, how he was migrating back to his father's country, his father's house, his family, to Esau his brother and the challenges he faced along the way, the fear, the threats to his life. And he got to a point where he came to a conclusion where he needed to divide his belongings into groups so that if he loses some, he won't lose everything. Now, this might be wisdom that a business owner must understand. Now, some people would say what is the essence of having everything you possess in one basket? For Jacob, he had many resources. He had both human and every other resources a man could think about.
Now, he understood the reason why he needed to divide his resources into companies and he knew that if peradventure he loses one company, that wouldn't result in the loss of the entire assets. So, he understood that one way through which his fortunes could be preserved is by having companies or by having different groups of expressions in his organization. So, there was like a group or different groups in order to safeguard the total assets knowing that if there is a loss to one, the others should be able to escape. That is the wisdom that we must note from there. However, beyond that wisdom of dividing out assets into companies or organizations, or businesses or streams of expressions, there is another thing that we must understand from the life of Jacob and from his story.
Haven divided every resource into companies, he was let alone. He divided everything into groups, and he was the only one that formed a group that was behind, moving from the back. So, he got to a moment that he was left alone and in the night, he had an encounter and that encounter is what we want to learn from today. Let us go to the book of Genesis 32, and we would start the reading from verse 22. The Bible says:
And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. 23 He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. 24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” 27 So He said to him, “What is your name?”
He said, “Jacob.” 28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
The angel asked Jacob, "what is your name?", and I believe this is a question that the Lord is asking us today, and He is asking you and I; what is your name? Are you Festus, are you Joshua, are you Clement; what is your name? Now, our emphasis is on the experience that took place between verses 26 and 29. It says: “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” Now, this appears to me like an expression of a man who was desperate for a change. At this point, he was already afraid of his brother Esau coming to kill him and destroy all that he has. He was afraid of his life, the things ahead of him. He was faced with uncertainty just like many of us today as well.
There are some of us who aren't clear about how today will unfold to us. We are not clear about the weeks, the months or the years, what lies ahead of us; we are not clear about many things. We are not sure of provision, of promotion, of impacts, we are not sure of impacts, of influence or even the effectiveness of our lives and leadership. And so, like Jacob; many of us are not sure. so, haven gotten to that moment in his life, it was a reality moment and a reality check. He knew there was a need for change, and so he said, "except you bless me, I will not let you go." And the man said to him, "what is your name?" He said Jacob. Immediately the name Jacob was mentioned, the solution for his life was defined.
He says your name shall no longer be called Jacob but Israel. That is the solution, that is the substance. The Bible says "now faith is the substance of things hoped for…" That was the substance of his change. His change would not have come with the old name that carried the implication of a supplanter. If his experience must change, then he must change his name. And you must understand that your name is a picture or a summary of your life. So, if you change your life as it were, then you must change the outcome of that life. He asked him “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel;…" If that Scripture had stop with that, then you could think a name is just a name.
But it is says “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” You have struggled and you have prevailed, that explains a life. So, his name explains his life, especially, his new life. You see, for that new life or experience that you are looking toward, there is a new life that is required. A change of name might be a means to that end. I am not insinuating that until you change your current name into another name though, but I have come to understand that your name explains your life. It explains both the life that you are living and the one you would ever live.
And so, if you want to have a change of life, it might be important that you have a change of name so that your life is put into perspective and into remembrance on a daily basis. And so, a man who is destined for a leadership is also expected as we could see from that Scripture, to live a life. So, every leadership requires a life. Your leadership is standing on the feet of your life, it is the outflow of your life. So, from the fullness of your life, you lead. And so, if there are faults or defaults, if there are faults with your life, there will be faults in your leadership expression. The Bible even says it that make the tree good, and the fruits will be good.
If the fruits are bad, it is simply because the tree is corrupted. If you can treat the tree, the fruits will become better. Do you understand that? So, if you want to change your leadership expression, simply address your life. If you are the type that is always angry with his people, don't be hard on yourself. First address the state of your heart that produces anger in the first place. Because if anger is not produced in you, it will not be shared with people. If bitterness is not produced in you, it will not be shared with people. If envy is not produced in you, it will not be shared with people. Because leadership is about sharing yourself with the people!
Now, when you are a good person, you share that your goodness with people. If you are an evil person as well, you share that evil with people. If you are patient, you share that patience with people. So, people see you as a patient leader simply because you have been a patient person. And so, we must understand that the leadership that we may desire is tied to a name that we must bear and a life that we must live, because your name is an expression of your life. Now, you could ask today, the current name that I have, how did I come about it? I am sure your father or your mother gave you that name. But the question is: is that the name that the Lord gives you?
If it is the name that the Lord gives you, begin to find meaning for the name and align your life with that name. Align your life with the meaning that you have found and then your leadership will start exuding from your name. Your leadership must come out of your name. The question then is; What is your name? And that is a way of asking what kind of leader would you be. What kind of leader have you been destined to become? My name is Gboyega Adedeji Joshua. If you can understand the implication of all these things I have said to you, then you can understand why I do what I do, and what I must do in the days to come.
What is your name? I believe this question is a simple question, and you have heard answer already. And perhaps you don't even know your name, and maybe you haven't been exposed to your name, both by God or by your parents; it is time for you to go to God and to go to your parent as well, and ask them that simple question; "Mummy, Daddy, What is the name you gave me when I was born? What was the name I was called? And when you have that name, should it be that the expression of it is evil or counterproductive to growth or influence, go to God for a change of that name: For you cannot carry an evil name and do good in any generation. And you must understand that your leadership is what you do which is rooted in the name you are bearing and the life you are living.
Thank you for the gift of your time. It is such a wonderful moment given to me by God to share these words with you. I am so passionate about the name that we are being called, and this Scripture is so critical to us. Meditate on that Scripture, Genesis 32, from verse 22 to 29 and as you do, I see God changing your name from wherever you are and whoever you are, to the next man, the new man that you must be, and I see God shifting your leadership to a greater level and an effective stage, influence and impact to your generation. Thank you and God bless you, I hope to connect with you again next week, same station same channel, Centre for New Dimension Leadership channel.
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