DIVINE INCUBATION

DIVINE INCUBATION
Texts: 1 Peter 1:3-10; Romans 8:18-23.

Introduction: Anyone to be used by God must be thoroughly prepared by Him through the process of incubation and be certified useful in His kingdom before lunching out into the world.

A. Definition of incubation:
According to English Dictionary: incubation means sitting on eggs for the purpose of hatching young; a brooding on, or keeping warm, to develop the life within, by any process.
To incubate thereby means to brood, raise, or maintain eggs, organisms, or living tissue through the provision of ideal environmental conditions.
To incubate metaphorically, is to ponder on idea slowly and deliberately as if in preparation for hatching it.

B. What Happen To Men During the Incubation?
At the process of incubation, men and their destinies are processed, molded and shaped to meet its purpose in the Master’s plan. It has to undergo breaking down from its natural form (raw material) into remolding into finished good. Incubation is a process whereby the heroes are made.

There are two faces of incubation:
Spiritual incubation
Physical incubation

1. Spiritual Incubation: This is where God hands you over to the examiner (the tempter) to examine your sincerity, growth and maturity – Luke 4:1-4; 13-14. The tempter is Satan, the devil. He uses things such as
Money
Immorality (opposite sex)
Proper or improper handling of power and position
Pride (of race, grace, pace, fame…)
Hatred and mockery – Psalm 69:4.
Hard time and suffering to test you’re your faith and trust in God. David, in the face of battle and oppositions, could still say, The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want… Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Psalm 23.
Desertion – Psalm 40:12.

Questions you need to answer:
How do you see God in your days of adversity? Proverbs 24:10.
When you pray and do not see answer, what did you call God? What was your conclusion? Job 1:20-22.

The limit of the test is found in 1 Cor. 10:13, You shall not be tempted more than you can bear. All you may face in life shall be within your ability, unless you willingly derail and let down your God before His adversaries.

2. Physical Incubation: This is where men are subjected to human tutor to be mentored into the reality of fulfilling the purpose of God for your life. It is called “Discipleship”.

C.  The purpose of Divine Incubation
i. To build the life of Christ in us.
ii. To build faithfulness, integrity and humility in us.
iii. To build maturity for greater exploits.
iv. To build strength to face and overcome the challenges of life.
v. To build total trust in God over our needs and expectations.

D. JESUS CHRIST, OUR HIGH PRIEST
Before Jesus could become our high priest, he also was tempted and won. – Luke 4:1-13; HebHeb. 2:18; Heb. 4:15.

The apostles and the great fathers of faith suffered great persecution and affliction for faith they held unto, yet without compromising – Heb. 11:37. They preserved (incubated) the gospel (faith) with their lives (blood) for it not to perish. That is why we could have it alive till today.

E. Examples of Men Who Failed Their Incubation Test
a. King Saul – 1 Samuel 13.
He was told to wait for seven days, but when Samuel delayed to come, he pushed himself to sacrifice, which was the duty of the priest, Samuel. He launched himself our prematurely and God could not establish his throne. Learn waiting patiently on God as God is incubating you.

b. Gehazi – 2 Kings 5.
Elisha did not collect the gifts brought by Naaman for his healing, but Gehazi will not let this man go unless he collects something from his hand. What he would not let go earned him leprosy. Learn obedience and contentment from Jesus as He takes his time to incubate you.

c. Elimelech and his family – Ruth 1-4.
Because of famine in Bethlehem (the house of bread), he left to Moab and was wasted with all his two sons unto death (Ruth 1:20-21). Naomi came back empty-handed, because they could not understand the time and could not wait for divine incubation. If they had trusted God for their sufficiency and survival, they would not have died. Elimelech got his generation wiped out because of what he was looking for outside of God and could not even get it. Abide in Christ alone for your satisfaction – Jon 15:4-5.

d. Judas Iscariot,
Greed and covetousness destroyed Judas Iscariot as he came out of divine incubation prematurely. What he gave himself to was what killed him. Don’t dissociate yourself from Jesus, its end is destruction – John 15:5.

F. Examples of Those Who Were Thoroughly Incubated.
Peter, James, and John
They were called and trained by Jesus Christ. Though initially, they could not perform much sign and wonders as they thought, yet they keep staying under Him. Several times, they were on the mountain together with Jesus in the cool of the night. Sometimes, trekking a long distance in hunger and thirsty. But at the end, when they finally matured to face the oppositions that will later face them, they were commissioned with endowment of power and were multiplied greatly from 120 disciples to the current numbers Christians we are today in the world. They were called men who turned the world up-side-down.

Elisha
Elisha waited patiently as the disciple of Elijah. He was mocked by other sons of the prophets, yet he remained unmoved till he became the carrier of double portion of Elijah’s spirit (anointing). Maturity commands power for exploits and greatness.

Joseph
Being subjected to slavery and affliction, being detached from the love and care of his father, yet he remain faithful to God of his father. When no one sees anything, he still resisted sin in the days of his incubation in the house of Portiphar. He then experienced growth in his walk with God, he was an ordinary dreamer in his father’s house, but in the prison, he became the interpreter of dreamer – the potential used by God to lift him to the throne. When no one knows you, or when in your closet, remain faithful to God. Remember, you are under incubation, don’t come out immature.

Apostle Paul
After his encounter with Jesus, he was subjected unto three (3) days marathon in blindness through which God was transforming his heart for the work he has for him. He was tutored by Ananiah, a faithful child of God; before he launched out his ministry. He truly has days of incubation under a disciple (Ananiah) before exploits.

David
It was in the wilderness while tending the sheep that incubate David and tutored him for kingship. He started war skill with wild animal (bear and lion). Later after the victory over Goliath, he was sent by God under Saul to learn submission to higher authority and the royal life. All these were faithfully done by him before he could be enthroned by God.

Jesus Christ
Though God in man, yet he waited for thirty (30) years silence and unheard. When he was to begin, he started with forty (40) days and nights unbroken marathon in communing with God the Father for enabling power to overcome the challenges ahead. Several nights he spent alone communing with God. Have you been incubated? When? How?

Joshua:
He patiently and faithfully served his Master, Moses and would not want his downfall. Even when Moses was denied access to the promised land, he (Joshua) never rejoice over his master’s defeat. God saw faithfulness in him and promoted him and used him like his master, Moses. He was eye-witness of how God walked with his master and was not a novice when it came to his turn to lead the new generation of Israel into their rest. If he had failed his incubation test, God would have raised another vessel for Himself.

The Outcome of Divine Incubation.
Unusual greatness and becoming an icon of excellence. Daniel, David, Samuel, Peter, Paul, Abraham and other great heroes are our examples.

Conclusion:
The whole world (creature) is waiting expectantly for your manifestation. Therefore, don’t launch out immature, rather wait for your time (the time of your maturity) and you shall become an icon of honour and dignity on earth. Romans 8:19-22.

Chorus: Lord prepare me, a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true, with Thanksgiving and be a living sanctuary for you.      JESUS is LORD!!!

THE HEART OF A LEADER!!!

THE HEART OF A LEADER!!!

Brethren, being a leader is not a popularity
contest. There’s no doubt that as a leader,
there’ll be times you have to make tough
decisions. How do you balance motivation and
tough decision making? A leader must always
ask himself “What do I do to move people
forward?” Many come for conferences like this
one year after year but do not put what they’ve
learned to use! Brethren, after you learn
something you must change something within
forty-eight hours or else you’ll be back to
square one!

WHO IS A LEADER?
A leader is a visionary or assigned executer of
the vision of an organization who owns the
responsibility of leading the people towards the
fulfillment of the vision. Brethren, God is
interested in the hearts of men but especially in
the hearts of leaders.

The job of every leader is to ensure everything
being done within an organization is according to
the vision. As a leader, you must ensure the
people you lead do not steer you away from the
vision.

Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life.
The heart is the place where genuine decisions
are made especially as it affects people’s lives.
Concerning David God said “I have found David
– a man after my own heart” Brethren, God is
always searching and looking at the hearts of
man.

1st Chronicles 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son,
know thou the God of thy father, and serve him
with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for
the LORD searcheth all hearts, and
understandeth all the imaginations of the
thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of
thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee
off forever.

MAYGOD NOT CAST US AWAY! Many are in the
habit of saying “God sees my heart” when what
they are doing is wicked! Brethren, OUR HEARTS
MATTER!

2 Chronicles 1:10-11 Give me now wisdom and
knowledge, that I may go out and come in
before this people: for who can judge this thy
people, that is so great? And God said to
Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and
thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour,
nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast
asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and
knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge
my people, over whom I have made thee king.

OTHER ATTRIBUTES OF A LEADER

COMPASSION & CARING
Ezekiel 34:11 For thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep,
and seek them out.
Matthew 14:14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a
great multitude, and was moved with
compassion toward them, and he healed their
sick.
Matthew 15:32 Then Jesus called his disciples
unto him, and said, I have compassion on the
multitude, because they continue with me now
three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will
not send them away fasting, lest they faint in
the way.

SELFLESSNESS
Romans 15:2-3 Let every one of us please his
neighbour for his good to edification. For even
Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written,
The reproaches of them that reproached thee
fell on me.

PASSIONATE
John 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to
do the will of him that sent me, and to finish
his work.
John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to
do mine own will, but the will of him that sent
me.

LOVING & GIVING
Galatians 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that
he might deliver us from this present evil world,
according to the will of God and our Father.
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

HUMBLE
Numbers 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very
meek, above all the men which were upon the
face of the earth.

SERVICE
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to
give his life a ransom for many.

VISION
Psalm 57:7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is
fixed: I will sing and give praise.

INTEGRITY (HONESTY)
1st Kings 9:4-5 And if thou wilt walk before me,
as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart,
and in uprightness, to do according to all that I
have commanded thee, and wilt keep my
statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish
the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever,
as I promised to David thy father, saying, There
shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of
Israel.

RESOLUTE (FIXED & FOCUSED)
John Maxwell once said that “You must touch
the hearts of people before you ask them to
follow you”. Motivation is defined as an act or
process of giving someone a reason to do
something. It is a force or influence that makes
people do things. Considering the fact that most
church workers are unpaid, they need to be
motivated. A highly motivated workforce will
accomplish great things. Motivated people are
not looking for anyone to give them a certificate.

WAYS TO MOTIVATE PEOPLE
People are motivated by what we do as leaders
as well as by what we say. As a leader there are
things you can say that can mess up ten years
of what you’ve built. THERE IS POWER OF LIFE
AND DEATH IN THE TONGUE! Always keep the
end product in view. Challenge the potentials of
your followers. Share with them examples of
past achievements. If you’re a late-comer, how
can you get your followers to arrive early?
Brethren, the truth of the matter is that people
will get weary and tired. Life happens. YOU
MUST CONSTANTLY KEEP THEM IN VIEW OF THE
END PRODUCT. You must constantly remind
them “This is where we’re going, don’t get tired”.
By so doing they begin to realize that they can
do all things through Christ that strengthens
them.

Everyone has a potential. If we challenge the
potential of the people we are leading, you’ll be
amazed what they can do. Remind them of past
achievements. David told Saul about how he
dealt with the lion and the bear and how he was
confident he could bring down Goliath.

MAKING TOUGH DECISIONS
“Tough” denotes “hard” or “difficult”. The
expression “tough call” is defined as a choice or
judgment which is difficult to make, especially
one involving only two alternatives
(definitions.net ). Tough calls can be made by a
team, a vote, or by the leader alone. It is the
ultimate responsibility of the leader to make the
call. A “tough call” is a call from the heart and
can be painful to both the leader and the
people. It is perhaps one of the most stressful
things a leader has to do. An example is the
account of Abraham and his nephew (Lot).
Abraham peacefully told Lot to go and start his
own ministry “ELSEWHERE” (away from him) so
that there would be peace.

Touch calls are inevitable and unavoidable.
Effective leaders do not neglect making tough
decisions. A lack of decisiveness in a leader can
result in low productivity and eventually collapse
the vision.

BOTTOM LINE: If you don’t make tough calls,
the situation will come back to haunt you.
People are watching what you do and are taking
notes of whether you show favoritism by
chastising one person for one offense and
overlooking it in another.

KINDS OF TOUGH CALLS
To cancel or not to cancel a failing program.
Raising funds for the vision of the house.
Letting go of a church office staff.
Reprimanding a worker or minister or your
spouse.

Handling difficult members.
Some leaders will rather die than accept that
they are wrong. Some people are more loyal to
the system than to God and will fight you if you
change anything. Many pastors use guest
ministers to raise funds.

HOW DO YOU BALANCE MOTIVATION AND
TOUCH CALLS?
As a leader you must strike a balance. People
have left churches because of the pastor’s wife!
It is a fact that there are “members from hell”
for whom as a leader you’ll have a thanksgiving
the day they say they are leaving! A very
important thing to consider is that most difficult
members have great influence in your
organization kind of like Peter who said “I go a
fishing” and everyone follows. These members
are on “whatsapp” and other social media and
have the email addressed to every member of
your organization!

SOME CHALLENGES INVOLVED IN MAKING
TOUGH CALLS?
Keeping some or all the members of your team
motivated and focused on the vision, especially
when your decision has a propensity to impact
them.

“Counting the cost” and preparing yourself for
the possible backlash.

Timing. Lack of certainty about the right time to
make the call. John Maxwell once said, “Procrastination kills leadership effectiveness
today and leadership potential tomorrow”
In making touch calls you must realize that YOU
CAN’T PLEASE EVERYONE AT ALL TIMES or you’ll
become a politician in your organization.

QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO ASK BEFORE MAKING
A TOUGH CALL
Why am I making this decision?
What is the desired outcome on the ministry?
The envisaged outcome should boost your
confidence in making the decision.
When? Is this the right time to make this
decision? If I don’t do it “NOW”, will I regret it?
Do not delay if you are convinced.

How do I execute this decision to ensure
minimal impact on morale? You must have a
strategy and an action plan.

Am I ready to handle the ramification of this
decision? CONFRONT YOUR FEARS. Your decision
may not be popular at first or easily accepted.
Who will this decision impact the most? You
must preempt their reaction and begin to deal
with them ahead of time. If you do not get your
story out there rumors will carry it for you.

BOTTOM LINE: You shouldn’t have a minister
you can’t rebuke. If they want to start their own
church, LET THEM GO! I once grounded my lead
instrumentalist and the following Sunday the
others did not show up. Then I went on to fire
every single one of them! Needless to say, they
all came back begging.

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR TEAM MOTIVATED
AFTER A TOUGH CALL?
Keep your passion. Remain on course. Don’t
mourn your decision. Be ready to start again.
Acknowledge the changes in the organization as
a result of your decision. Recast the vision and
reset priorities. Make sure everyone understands
the big picture and how they can fit in. Be open
and willing to listen and answer questions
concerning this change. Be accessible to offer
clarity when necessary. This removes barriers
that may create a volatile atmosphere. Be ready
to retrain replacement to give maximum output.
Celebrate the progress of the team and
appreciate their support. Recognize and reward
results.

GOOD LEADERSHIP IS NOT A POPULARITY
CONTEST. Good leaders take responsibility.
NOTHING CHANGES IF NOTHING CHANGES. As
you lead, you must know when to be a lion and
when to be a lamb. When next I see you, I hope
to see you at the top!

Psalm 68:11, "The Lord gave the word; great is
the company of those that published it."

From: Pastor Tola Odutola

UNLESS YOU COME OUT …

UNLESS YOU COME OUT …

How can you be born again when you have not been washed away from your sins and guilt?
Like a man who falls inside a soak-away full of excretal, how can he be washed if he remains deep-sinking in the soak-away? He must first come out before cleansing can be made possible. The provision for forgiveness and total cleansing has been perfectly provided in the blood of Jesus Christ according to 1 John 1:7. But as powerful and readily this cleansing is, unless you willingly and genuinely come out from the soak-away of sin and worldliness, you can never access the cleansing. And an unclean thing shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Isaiah 35:8 says, “A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray.”
The word of God for us in 1 John 2:15-17 is “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
A sinner shall not see God unless he/she repent of his sins and turn to Him. God who is ready to accept you back is calling you to come out of your evil and wicked lifestyle and embrace His new life of holiness. He says, “Therefore Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty." 2 Cor. 6:17-18.
If you can heed His invitation, His warm embrace is waiting for you to receive you as you are, then cleanse you  and make you whole to be come glittering saint. He will forgive you all your sins, erase them off and remember them no more. He said, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” -- Heb 8:12; 10:17.
Jesus loves you, but not the sins in your heart. Do away with sins, cry unto Jesus Christ for mercy and ask Him to come and live in you, you will then become His temple where He will be living. For He says, “for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 2 Cor. 6:16.
Do you desire to be a temple of God, an abode of God Almighty? You must be washed clean by the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Without cleansing, you will be irritating to Him. Of a truth, before cleansing, you have to come out of your sins like the man in the soak-away. Confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour and you will be saved – Romans 10:9-10.
It is a personal decision. Don’t allow anyone to stop you from confessing His Lordship over your soul. On the judgment day, only you will stand to give account of what you do with the salvation of your soul. No friend or parent will stand with you. Come out today from your secret sins and stand out for God in holiness and righteousness, tomorrow may be too late. No sin is too wicked that God cannot forgive, if you confess it and repent from it. And no sin is too small that He will ignore, if you refuse to confess it and repent from it. Every sin is capable of ending us in hell fire. Repent today and be saved. Jesus is Lord!!!

TRANSLATING MOTIVATING VISION INTO MEASURABLE GOAL

TRANSLATING MOTIVATING VISION INTO MEASURABLE GOAL

Tips:
Organizing and Leadership.
Public Narrative: The Mission of the Ministry.
Building Relationships in organizing.
Mapping Actors: Identifying and Recruiting Leaders.
Creating Effective Leadership Teams.
Developing Motivating Vision.
Developing a Campaign Timeline and Tactics.
Call to Action: Story of Self (Mission), Us and Now.
Translating Vision to Goals.
(Give room for panel discussion, Question and Response.)

LEARNING GOALS - Purpose, Power and Path.
Motivating Vision - Purpose
Theory of Change (transformation) - Power
Measurable Goal - Path.

WHAT IS ORGANIZING?
Organizing is identifying, recruiting and developing leaders, building community around that leadership, and building power out of that community.
Organizing Theory of Change (transformation): Change = People + Power.
Relationship as Interest
Relationship as Resources
Commitment based on shared interests and shared resources.

ORGANIZING AS A THEORY OF CHANGE
Grounded in collective Action.
What is the vision that will motivate people to take action?
How do we move vision to goal?
STRATEGY is turning the RESOURCES you have into the POWER you need to get CHANGE you want.
STRATEGY is interactive; not a five year plan. What does it take?
Decision to change an intolerable condition that exists within your people.
Developing a vision of a different kind of future.
Shared commitment to a goal.
Deep knowledge of your people and their resources.
Creativity in how to use them.

THE DECISION: Stepping into leadership - Leadership is accepting responsibility for enabling others to achieve purpose in the face of uncertainty. It is a decision, not a position. Authority is not bestowed.
What causes someone to lead in this fashion? – Decision.
Articulating the intolerable condition – What is the urgent challenge?
What is the intolerable condition that you want to end or to avoid?
Why is the action urgent now?
What is at stake?
What will happen if you don’t act now?
Who are the people who affected by this challenge?

DEVELOPING A MOTIVATING VISION
What is the motivating vision?
What could happen if you and your people take action?
What is the choice you are asking your people to make together.

MOVING FROM VISION TO GOAL
What kind of change needs to happen?
Spiritual?
Physical or structural?
Technological?
Behavioural?
Shift in the balance of power?
Does this change require collective action?
What are the resources needed to effect this change?

WHAT ARE THE KINDS OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE & NEEDED.

MEASURABLE OUTCOMES
What is a plausible path the offer hope?
What would achieving success look like?
What are our measurable outcomes? Change in the world; Building capacity; Individual development and growth…

FOLLOW-UP THROUGH QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Do you know that implementing this intervention will positively impact your beneficiaries?
How or Why?
What is your near-team goal for implementing the intervention(s)?
Do you currently have data to show your intervention is reducing the increase of worldliness and sinfulness in the world?