“Be ye Followers of them” Series
Lessons from the life of Joseph Continued- Tips to fulfilling your God given dream
1.You need to have a God given dream:
Joseph succeeded because he had a God given dream. Numbers 23:19 tells us that “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” and Habbakuk 2:3 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry”. To live a life of accomplishment, you need to have a God given dream.
2.You need to have a God based relationship
Psalms 146:8 “the LORD loveth the righteous:”, James 4:8 “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you”. Dwelling in the will of God is one way of attracting God’s intervention in every area of your life. Joseph feared God and hence things went well for him. Genesis 39:2-3 “And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man;.. and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand”.
3. You need to know who you are:
Identifying who you are is vital to fulfilling your God given dream/ vision. Joseph identified and realised his natural ability for administration at an early age. He also knew he could by God’s enablement interpret dreams. This became a stepping-stone for him. What makes you different from others? Take time to find it.
4. You need help from God
For any God given dream, you cannot rely on the human flesh to fulfil it. You need help from God. James 4:10 “ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up”.
Genesis 41:16 “And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace ”. When you get help from God, you get astounding results. When Joseph got help through God’s counsel and direction, his promotion was inevitable. Genesis 41:37-38 “And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?”
5. You need to acquire training, skill and experience
You need to build momentum. From feeding the flocks, Joseph gathered the skill, training and experience he needed the climb upwards to higher positions to Potiphar’s house, to the King’s Prison and then the Palace. The earlier you learn to use the sling stone, the easier it is to kill Goliath. The earlier you discover and maximise your God given abilities and skills and make the best of them through training and gathering experience, the closer you are to the Palace!!!
6. You need to have and maintain purposeful relationships
There are certain people that God has placed in your life to be a springboard for your accomplishing your God given dream/ vision. Joseph’s father observed Joseph’s sayings and took note of them. Consciously or unconsciously he gave Joseph instructions that took him into the place of purpose. Genesis 37;13-14 “And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem” It was obedience to this instruction that saw Joseph exported to Egypt. Recognising God based relationships is a platform for fulfilling a God given dream/ vision. Recognise those that are playing a God sent role in your life and hold fast to them.
7. Get help from others
Do not be too proud to ask for help. Joseph asked for help. Genesis 37:15-16 “And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.” For him to get the passport into Egypt, he needed to fulfil his father’s assignment. When he faced challenges in doing this, he asked for help and got back on track. You do not know it all. If Moses, the anointed prophet of God received wise counsel from Jethro, his non-prophet father in law how much more you? (Exodus 18:13-26)
8. Take action and seize initiative
It is one thing to have a God given dream, it’s another thing to work towards it. Joseph took initiative. We were not told that God appeared to Joseph and told him to ask the butler and the baker why they were sad. He took initiative. Pharoah’s selection of Joseph as Prime Minister came because of this trait- He only asked Joseph to interpret his dreams but Joseph took initiative, went a step ahead and also gave him God inspired counsel. You market yourself by taking initiative. Pharoah did not know before then that Joseph was the wisest man in Egypt until Joseph gave him the wise counsel. Don’t wait to be told, do what you know is right! Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven”
9. Be a Problem Solver
The size of your reward depends on the size of the problem you solve. Joseph interpreted the dream of Pharaoh and became his second in command. He gave counsel useful for a whole nation and became a Prime Minister. As Joseph solved more problems the higher he went up in life. Genesis 40:8 “And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you”.
10. Be committed to serve
Most people want to hit it big by starting big. If you want to be a Master, you first have to serve. For one no matter how talented, anointed and skilled you are, your path to success can be cut short if you do not respect God’s ordained and constituted authority. Joseph obeyed his father’s instructions and got a passport to the land of his assignment- Egypt. He served God and God made things in his hand to flourish when he served under Potiphar. Because he served God and God honours those who serve Him, Joseph’s denial of Potiphar’s wife carnal desires gave him a passport into the prison. When Joseph served the Captain of the Guard and attended to the butler and the baker as he was assigned, he drew nearer to his greatness.
The pathway to greatness is first by way of service. Matthew 20: 26-27 “but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:”
11. Don’t ever, ever , ever give up
Galatians 6:9 “ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not”. Joseph faced opposition from his brethren but he did not give up. He faced opposition from his environment but he still did not give up. He faced opposition from challenging circumstances and situations but he still did not give up. Giving up can cut off the joy of harvest. Learn to make the best of every situation. Adverse Circumstances are platforms for you to experience the grace of God. It only began to be mentioned that God was with Joseph when he started to suffer- in Potiphar’s house and in the prison. Falling into sin, submitting to temptation, loosing faith in God are all signs of giving up. People who accomplish are people who overcome. Proverbs 24:10 “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small”. Hold on to your belief. Hold on to your values. Don’t loose faith for even in the darkest night joy cometh in the morning!! John 11:40 “Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?”
See you in the Palace!!!
Kehinde Akintobi
Churchonthenet004@yahoo.co.uk
234 08060631373
Saturday, July 19, 2008
LETTER TO MY FRIEND OVERSEAS
Letter to my friend overseas
Dear friend,
I am happy to hear that you have settled down over there. I just hope yours is not the story of those washing plates or scrubbing toilets filled with foreign excreta. You know, we hear quite a lot of stories about what goes on over there you know. Some people erroneously think it is a land of gold and a bed of roses. It has been said that at times that when you have a firm hand shake with someone who has travelled down to make ends meet and been there for a while that his palms are a bit rougher and harder than when he left. Only God knows what he/ she could have been doing? Collecting stamps or washing plates? I don’t know. As I said only God can tell. There are some sad stories of comfortable folks that have left our shores to end up doing jobs that they wouldn’t be proud of whilst back at home. Some have struck gold however and fitted well into the academic, professional, business or political environment and they are doing quite well too.
Enough of your base, lets talk about mine. I have written this letter in response to your intention to find your way back to Nigeria where you believe your ancestral roots come from. I feel that despite your well-intended desire, I should put you in full glare of the thickness of the bridge before you jump into a trailer and attempt to cross it.
The most populous Black Country in the world, Nigeria is a beehive of economic activities, adventure, contradictions and to some a bumper harvest of investment opportunities. With a population of over 120 million people there are both present and emerging markets to be maximised by industry giants. With the stock market generating stupendous returns for investors, businesses hitting it big in different sectors and some top flight career people living large, things are churning out quite comfortably for some who are favoured to have it so. On other fronts, like tourist attraction, Nigeria indeed is not doing badly. From the beautiful town of Jos, the commercial features of Kano to the peace and quiet of Kaduna a trip around my country could be quite splendid. The enterprising people of Nnewi, Onitsha and Aba, the beauty of Tinapa Resort and Obudu Cattle Ranch in Calabar and the commercial nerve centre called Lagos leave you with fascination, excitement and some elements of drama and amusement respectively. If well planned you will most likely have a swell time.
However the visitor that is happy with his unauthorized entry into a compound should not yet rejoice until he is sure that there is no fierce dog in sight.
My country is quite an interesting one to live in. I just received a disconnection notice for a peanuts, chicken change bill from the water body that in the past few weeks has not reliably and consistently supplied water. Not a letter of apology for pathetic services but a disconnection notice. Their paltry services have created part time employment for some opportunistic young men who now parade the streets selling water to residents in kegs. A gentleman on my street placed a notice on a thick material for a subsidized and forthcoming Seminar in front of his house only to come back home one day to find it removed. It was not stolen. It did not fall off. He was told that some officials from the state advertising agency took it off. In my country we now pay for placing signboards to advertise our growing businesses!
The other day, I left the office quite early but that did not seem to help matters. As a result of a newly introduced transport system, commercial buses are now to keep off the express lane and are restricted to the service lane. I wonder why because the innovative transport system seemed quite orderly without such a requirement. The consequence of this is now uncalled for traffic, a contravention of the intention behind the rapid transport system in the first place. For some it is worse. In fact the cars that flock the roads could have only one or 2 people within. The poor security situation for one and the challenging transport situation make it a better option for people to use their own cars. They are not to blame for a non-functioning system. Stories of people getting robbed in public transport buses on their what to or from work is quite common. I would have thought however that attention be shifted to car users with a holistic approach to provide them better public transport and security options than troubling those of us who through the regular use of public buses decongest the roads.
In my country, the same government that builds roads, could next moment break them again and monies are allotted for this from the public purse of course. In my country everything works. Once it is not in the hands of government and you can afford to pay for it. From schools, to roads, to lighting, education, electricity, policemen and security. Just about every thing. Despite being the 5th largest producer of crude oil, for several days in a year we have queues for fuel in filling stations across the state. That in turn is added to the claim of inadequate gas supply for the generation of electricity. Blackouts are now the order of the day. And not forgetting the heat and sweat there from.
Your friend’s daughter eventually fell ill as a result of the heat during her last visit.
Well you can still come over once you can at least afford to fuel my family generator through out your stay. In case you do not know what a generator is, it is a machine used to generate alternative power supply. And please do not bother about the fumes and even the noise. Just let the damn machine do its damn job of giving light to homes some power, power holding or powerless authority has failed to give for a year uninterrupted since I was born! Please do not daily complain in my ears about the state of corruption in the nation. Policemen demanding bribes from motorists and motorists persuading enforcing officials with bribes, after being caught in an offence like not using their seat belts. On dailies, over the news, on the roads we have come to be used to it. Millions of dollars stolen and stashed away. Corrupt public officials moving from one court trial to the other and at times it seems nothing capital or serious at the end is being done about it. Some of them seem to have turned to movie stars and celebrities months afterwards.
That reminds me. I nearly forgot. You know you look like an Oyinbo. Never mind that. That is what we call white foreigners. Oh no you are a hybrid but it is still in you. One can hardly hear you when you speak over the phone and your sentences are heavily laden with men, yeah, that’s cool”. They will easily know that you are from there. Please I do not want robbers in my house. Only God knows how they know when someone has travelled down from out of the country. Some say they at times trail people from the airport. I still remember when they made away with my bag, my cell phone and a week’s worth f transport money when on my way to work early this year. I wouldn’t like to see them again please. I wouldn’t mind however to see them in the pirated films some cunning men make from films shot in your country and sell over here. But not in my house. I even heard that such piracy has even caused waves in Big time Microsoft. Who knows whether they are part of the reason why Bill Gates is no longer the richest man in the world?
Well,if you are still persuaded on coming please do. You could stay in an hotel or you could chill at my place. Oh sorry my family’s place. These days it takes the grace of our Maker to help pay 2 years rent in advance just because you want to move out from our family home. What is even worse is the kind of dungeons that are offered for rent at ridiculous amounts. Since I have not been domestically red carded, there is no place like home (at lest financially speaking for now). So, Steve, if you think the love of your claimed and newly discovered roots is enough barricade against all these, please come back to your roots. If not, please not that in a public place cars are usually parked at owner’s risk.
Wishing you a lovely time and please send me some dollars for all my effort. And please if you want to send it let me know before you do. Rumours have it that some have perfected the art of robbing others of their money sent to them from overseas by getting to the payment centres before them and giving false identities. I am doing quite well with God on my side. Things are quite interesting but they can only just as we pray and work at every blessed day, get better.
Much love from your international buddy.
Kehinde Akintobi
Dear friend,
I am happy to hear that you have settled down over there. I just hope yours is not the story of those washing plates or scrubbing toilets filled with foreign excreta. You know, we hear quite a lot of stories about what goes on over there you know. Some people erroneously think it is a land of gold and a bed of roses. It has been said that at times that when you have a firm hand shake with someone who has travelled down to make ends meet and been there for a while that his palms are a bit rougher and harder than when he left. Only God knows what he/ she could have been doing? Collecting stamps or washing plates? I don’t know. As I said only God can tell. There are some sad stories of comfortable folks that have left our shores to end up doing jobs that they wouldn’t be proud of whilst back at home. Some have struck gold however and fitted well into the academic, professional, business or political environment and they are doing quite well too.
Enough of your base, lets talk about mine. I have written this letter in response to your intention to find your way back to Nigeria where you believe your ancestral roots come from. I feel that despite your well-intended desire, I should put you in full glare of the thickness of the bridge before you jump into a trailer and attempt to cross it.
The most populous Black Country in the world, Nigeria is a beehive of economic activities, adventure, contradictions and to some a bumper harvest of investment opportunities. With a population of over 120 million people there are both present and emerging markets to be maximised by industry giants. With the stock market generating stupendous returns for investors, businesses hitting it big in different sectors and some top flight career people living large, things are churning out quite comfortably for some who are favoured to have it so. On other fronts, like tourist attraction, Nigeria indeed is not doing badly. From the beautiful town of Jos, the commercial features of Kano to the peace and quiet of Kaduna a trip around my country could be quite splendid. The enterprising people of Nnewi, Onitsha and Aba, the beauty of Tinapa Resort and Obudu Cattle Ranch in Calabar and the commercial nerve centre called Lagos leave you with fascination, excitement and some elements of drama and amusement respectively. If well planned you will most likely have a swell time.
However the visitor that is happy with his unauthorized entry into a compound should not yet rejoice until he is sure that there is no fierce dog in sight.
My country is quite an interesting one to live in. I just received a disconnection notice for a peanuts, chicken change bill from the water body that in the past few weeks has not reliably and consistently supplied water. Not a letter of apology for pathetic services but a disconnection notice. Their paltry services have created part time employment for some opportunistic young men who now parade the streets selling water to residents in kegs. A gentleman on my street placed a notice on a thick material for a subsidized and forthcoming Seminar in front of his house only to come back home one day to find it removed. It was not stolen. It did not fall off. He was told that some officials from the state advertising agency took it off. In my country we now pay for placing signboards to advertise our growing businesses!
The other day, I left the office quite early but that did not seem to help matters. As a result of a newly introduced transport system, commercial buses are now to keep off the express lane and are restricted to the service lane. I wonder why because the innovative transport system seemed quite orderly without such a requirement. The consequence of this is now uncalled for traffic, a contravention of the intention behind the rapid transport system in the first place. For some it is worse. In fact the cars that flock the roads could have only one or 2 people within. The poor security situation for one and the challenging transport situation make it a better option for people to use their own cars. They are not to blame for a non-functioning system. Stories of people getting robbed in public transport buses on their what to or from work is quite common. I would have thought however that attention be shifted to car users with a holistic approach to provide them better public transport and security options than troubling those of us who through the regular use of public buses decongest the roads.
In my country, the same government that builds roads, could next moment break them again and monies are allotted for this from the public purse of course. In my country everything works. Once it is not in the hands of government and you can afford to pay for it. From schools, to roads, to lighting, education, electricity, policemen and security. Just about every thing. Despite being the 5th largest producer of crude oil, for several days in a year we have queues for fuel in filling stations across the state. That in turn is added to the claim of inadequate gas supply for the generation of electricity. Blackouts are now the order of the day. And not forgetting the heat and sweat there from.
Your friend’s daughter eventually fell ill as a result of the heat during her last visit.
Well you can still come over once you can at least afford to fuel my family generator through out your stay. In case you do not know what a generator is, it is a machine used to generate alternative power supply. And please do not bother about the fumes and even the noise. Just let the damn machine do its damn job of giving light to homes some power, power holding or powerless authority has failed to give for a year uninterrupted since I was born! Please do not daily complain in my ears about the state of corruption in the nation. Policemen demanding bribes from motorists and motorists persuading enforcing officials with bribes, after being caught in an offence like not using their seat belts. On dailies, over the news, on the roads we have come to be used to it. Millions of dollars stolen and stashed away. Corrupt public officials moving from one court trial to the other and at times it seems nothing capital or serious at the end is being done about it. Some of them seem to have turned to movie stars and celebrities months afterwards.
That reminds me. I nearly forgot. You know you look like an Oyinbo. Never mind that. That is what we call white foreigners. Oh no you are a hybrid but it is still in you. One can hardly hear you when you speak over the phone and your sentences are heavily laden with men, yeah, that’s cool”. They will easily know that you are from there. Please I do not want robbers in my house. Only God knows how they know when someone has travelled down from out of the country. Some say they at times trail people from the airport. I still remember when they made away with my bag, my cell phone and a week’s worth f transport money when on my way to work early this year. I wouldn’t like to see them again please. I wouldn’t mind however to see them in the pirated films some cunning men make from films shot in your country and sell over here. But not in my house. I even heard that such piracy has even caused waves in Big time Microsoft. Who knows whether they are part of the reason why Bill Gates is no longer the richest man in the world?
Well,if you are still persuaded on coming please do. You could stay in an hotel or you could chill at my place. Oh sorry my family’s place. These days it takes the grace of our Maker to help pay 2 years rent in advance just because you want to move out from our family home. What is even worse is the kind of dungeons that are offered for rent at ridiculous amounts. Since I have not been domestically red carded, there is no place like home (at lest financially speaking for now). So, Steve, if you think the love of your claimed and newly discovered roots is enough barricade against all these, please come back to your roots. If not, please not that in a public place cars are usually parked at owner’s risk.
Wishing you a lovely time and please send me some dollars for all my effort. And please if you want to send it let me know before you do. Rumours have it that some have perfected the art of robbing others of their money sent to them from overseas by getting to the payment centres before them and giving false identities. I am doing quite well with God on my side. Things are quite interesting but they can only just as we pray and work at every blessed day, get better.
Much love from your international buddy.
Kehinde Akintobi
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