MOVING OUT OF INSECURITY BY RAISING LEADERS.

Another good illustration to buttress this point is found in the ministry of the sons of the Prophet who were with Elisha. Look at it,

Sons of the Prophets.

2Kings 6:
1 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
4 So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.
5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. 
6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.

This is what it means not only to be a son or staff of an establishment, but the very fact that these people gets to own the vision. And they are more concerned for the expansion and progress of the work than even you. Elisha seems not to have noticed or have the burden to move on beyond where they were. 

The sons pointed out this problem of the smallness of the environment they were in, to Elisha and demanded for the need to expand it. Not just that, but also proffer a solution to the problem by asking that they build a bigger place.

Vesre.3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
Elisha approved their thoughts of moving to a bigger space, but they were not content to go without their boss. This is ministry and corporate synergy to birth a bigger sphere of the establishment or ministry.

They knew they needed him with them even though Elisha permitted them to go without him. Here we see again, that Elisha had trust in his sons and would give them free hand to run the system if they so choose. He wasn’t afraid they might leave him to start something else on their own outside of him or join themselves to another Prophet. He wasn’t suspicion of their move or even thinking that one of them could rise and take over leadership once they leave him. He was a secure leader.

And to you the disciple, staff or children, how do you feel seeing your establishment or ministry not growing.? How comfortable are you in the midst of the stagnations that your ministry is facing and your thought is just, well it’s not my own! etc. It shows you have not bought into the vision.

You have not owned the vision with the leader. You are still serving for the purpose of what you can get at the end of the day and perhaps setting your eyes on the goal of leaving one day, soonest to establish your own. Hear what they lord will say to a people like this ..

Luke 16:12 “And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own”?

Meaning one of the reasons for the delays you are having in life and even why the work is not progressing in your hand, is because you have not shown commitment and faithfulness to the ministry or establishment that you are seeing in, or the office that you are occupying.

The lord judges you based on your commitment to the place you are in per time. You must begin to see the position or job you are doing to be your present allotment from the lord and be serious with it to bring the required expansion and changes. See the confessions of Laban after what happened to his business as a result of the visitation of Jacob.

Gen.30: 27 And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.28 And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.

Can you see that? Laban will not allow Jacob to leave because, his business prospered in the hands of Jacob. Now, God have to provide for Jacob by giving him a vision that turned his fortunes around as he leaves. That is the point I am raising. As one who is serving in any capacity in another man’s ministry or company. Your reward is always with the Father because of your faithfulness. It comes in, in the way your least can expect.

Verse 5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.

They went out of their way to borrow what to use in getting the proffered solution to the problem. They never came to him or to ask how it must be achieved, they already know what to do outside of Elisha. They borrowed? Meaning, they put their lives on the line to get the required result for what they needed, not just for themselves but for Elisha to have a bigger place and ministry if need be. Have you come to the place in your ministry or establishment where your staffs can take initiatives and do so at their own cost?

And to the staff or disciples, have you come to the place where you can do things without bothering the CEO or always asking for things to be done without your total commitment? You haven’t yet bought into the vision or ministry.

Verse .6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.

The axe swam out because there was a reason it was borrowed, and the person of Elisha was there. Meaning, no matter what you expended in trying to cause the vision to move forward, there will always be a reward and restoration at the end.

The story of Gehazi is in 2 kings 4: 8 -17.is another interesting picture of a trained servant who can recognize what the master cannot see even though he was a prophet.

Do you realised that Gehazi the servant of Elisha was the one that saw that the women who hosted them was barren?

Despite the fact that he was working with a prophet, it was not the prophet that saw the problem that was in that home, but the servant. A trained servant with the commission in his heart could see issues, just like the disciples of Jesus saw the lad with the five loaves and two fishes.

Fully trained sons could see what the CEO, s and family heads can’t see. When sons or workers rises to take responsibility, it frees the leadership from insecurity.

Another beauty illustration of this fact is found in the book of second king about the healing of Naaman the captain of Syrian army …

The girl from Israel.

2 Kings 5 :1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. 
2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. 
3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. 
4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. 
6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy”.

Again, we see here that it took a slave girl from Israel, not anybody else to proffer solution to the master’s problem. What is really impressing about this girl’s story is the fact that, she understood her culture where she came from. Here is a girl in a foreign land, but the environment and the fact that she was a slave did not intimidate her or shut her out from trusting and still believing in her identity as an Israelite. She is so immersed in that culture that external or foreign influence could not rob her of her cultural belief. She still beliefs that the solution to here master was tied to her home-grown culture. No fears no embarrassment or doubt in her mind, about what could happen if only the master can get there.

Here is the question for the would-be leader, how solidly strong a conviction about the culture of the house are your disciples and workers.? Can they be able to represent you when you are not there? Can they be bold enough to speak of the culture of the house, ministry outside of the locality. What do they know about the house that you are raising them in? Do they speak of their ministry to others out of deep conviction? 

A true leader should be able to raise men and woman of substances that would be a reflection of the culture they are developed in, outside of their environment. Raise leaders and well-developed men with the culture in their veins and be free from insecurity.

An excerpt from my Book, “Insecure Leadership”.
To be continued…