Leader can predict the future in general way
Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world-- John 16:32,33
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A leader is someone who sees ahead. Generally speaking, a good leader is able to predict what will happen in the future.
Jesus said that the disciples would experience persecution.
And they certainly did! You don’t need to be a special prophet to know that the members of a new group will experience some trouble.
A few years ago, I realised that members of my congregation were moving to different parts of the city.
I also realised that the city was becoming very large. I predicted that many of the members who were living far away would stop coming to church because of the distance.
I could predict it because I could predict human behaviour.
As a leader, I notice my people don’t come to church when it rains. I notice how they come one week and they don’t come the next.
It is my duty to see that when it is very inconvenient the sheep will no longer follow. That is why I began metropolitan churches in the city of Accra.
Today, we have several metropolitan churches in the city of Accra alone. We have thousands of members in these citywide churches.
If I had not acted on my observation and predicted, I would have lost thousands of members.
I am not talking about predicting when Jesus will return.
I am talking about predicting the obvious and seeing ahead as a wise leader.
A good manager should be able to predict from the general trend of affairs that certain businesses are going to go out of date in the near future. Certain politicians must see that the course on which they are walking will only end in disaster.
Ministers of the gospel must be able to predict the future in a general way.
Data, common sense and a good analysis can help predict the future in a general way.
Sometimes, however, a person can be negatively affected by how his predictions come to pass – especially if they are not positive.
After predicting the occurrence of unfortunate events for a while and seeing them come to pass, a leader may be prone to bitterness because of the unfortunate outcomes.
It is dangerous to become a bitter leader.
Dangers of bitterness in a leader
• A bitter leader can begin to mistrust God.
There are many unexplained events in the life of a Christian leader. Even in secular politics, the good often do not win.
The bad and ugly may win elections whilst the good lose out.
I remember when two of my young pastors died suddenly within three weeks of each other. One was 27 years old and the other was 38 years old.
What possible explanation was there to such an event?
As I comforted the wives of these two pastors I wondered to myself, “As a messenger of God what explanation could I give to a wife who had been married for only seven months?”
What explanation could the Church give when James, the brother of John, was killed by Herod?
Didn’t the early Church need the contribution of James to build a solid foundation for the church?
Why did God allow James, the brother of John, to be taken away at such a time?
Was soul winning not important? Was church planting not important?
Was there not a need for more labourers?
How could God allow such a thing? In spite of the inexplicable occurrences of this life, a leader must continue to trust and not be bitter.
• A bitter leader can begin to hate the people he leads.
As human beings manifest their nature of betrayal, ungratefulness and forgetfulness, a leader can gradually become bitter towards them.
I have experienced many painful things.
I have learnt that I must forgive and move on. Without a sweet spirit I will not be pleasing to God. Every bitter experience is a test of my ability to walk in love.
I always pray that I will pass these tests.
• A bitter leader can hate his contemporaries and colleagues in ministry.
Unfortunately, it is your contemporaries in leadership who seem to wish you ill more than anyone else.
Even unbelievers do not have some of the hateful attitudes that contemporaries and colleagues seem to have! God has given us all of these so that we may truly walk in love towards all men.
If you fail to walk in love, your ministry will amount to nothing in the presence of God.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2
• A bitter leader will have a distorted message.
Bitterness is described in Hebrews as a root, which defiles many people. It is akin to poison in your drinking water. One of the things that bitterness poisons is your message.
A bitter person has a discoloured and distorted message. Do not let your pain prevent you from ministering God’s love to people!
Using a combination of history, common sense, the Word of God and the Spirit of God, every leader can generally predict the way things will go.
The Bible teaches us that there is nothing new under the sun.
The Bible says explicitly that what is going to happen is only what has happened already.
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9
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