The establishment of a leader is not given to physical stature; It is not given to oratory prowess or dexterity; what makes for the establishment of a leader is the fear of the Lord, the appearance of His word and the ability to keep, to build or to save men.

 

Please follow me patiently. Perhaps you may be wondering why this article began in such a pattern, it is a pointer to what God is set to do at such a season as this. While the Lord is saying He will establish His own people, in the body of Christ, and also in the political space, we must as a matter of necessity connect to this season. The focus of this article is to help us understand the importance and also recognize and understand what makes for establishment and how to remain established.

 

What does the word ‘establish mean’? To establish or to be established means to institute something permanently by enactment or agreement. Where ever the word establish is used, it refers to make strong or firm, to prove, to set up or make beyond doubt or to introduce and cause to grow and multiply. When God created man, His aim for man was to flourish and be established and how He carried out that intention was to bless the man saying be fruitful and multiply fill the earth and subdue it. [See Gen 1:28]

 

The reason why He made that statement or pronouncement of blessing was because, even though He was the one that planted a garden East of Eden, even though He had put the man in the garden, even though rivers flowed through the garden, man would not have flourished in the garden because of the factors we would treat very shortly in this article.  

 

So, Jesus speaking in Luke 12:32, He said; “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” I want you to note the word “pleased to give you the kingdom”. These were the words of Jesus. If it pleased God to give you the kingdom, then there are certain things you must know concerning your establishment in the kingdom. But I want us to see something similar in 1 Samuel 24 verse 20. It says; “And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.”

 Did you see that? It said ‘shall be established in your hand’ So, it is one thing to be a king, it is one thing to receive a kingdom, it is another thing for it to be established in your hand as a king. The question is; do you desire that the kingdom is established in your hand? If your answer is yes! Then pay attention to these writings.

 

So, the factors responsible for a leader’s establishment and also make him remain established are;

#. Number One:  A heart that fears God. When God gave the commandment or instruction in Genesis chapter 2 verse 16, that commandment was meant to be adhered to. It was a commandment not an opinion or advice that should be subject to deliberation. The blessings not-withstanding, the garden and the location of the man not-withstanding, if the commandment is not obeyed, the man would simply not be established in the garden.

 

1 Samuel 13:14 says; “But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD." Two things I want us to note in this verse; it says the kingdom will not endure simply because you have not kept the command of the Lord. But look at a flip side of it. The kingdom will endure, because you have kept the command of God. So, you are established to the degree of how much you are willing to obey Gods commandments. And it is determined by the kind of heart you have. So, Adam would have been established in the garden, Saul would have been established, if they had kept to the command of the Lord.

 

See what the Lord said; “I have found David a man after My heart”. A man after the heart of God is a man that fears God. A heart that fears God is a heart that revers God, a heart that seeks to please God and do every of His will. Establishment is not for those who disregard God. Jesus said to John the Baptist; for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.  A heart that fears God is a heart that desires to fulfill all righteousness. And to be sure the will of God is done on earth as it is done in heaven.

 

This is the kind of heart that is given to man by a dimension of God’s Spirit called the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. So, how much light you will be given access to and how far you will journey in God is determined by how much you fear and revere God. The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So, wisdom, knowledge and understanding is a dimension granted to a man who delights in the fear of the Lord.

 

#. Number Two: The Appearance of the word. This is as important as the first. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 3:21, “Then the LORD appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.” And because the Lord appeared to Samuel, the Bible says in 1 Samuel 3:20, “And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the LORD.” The question is; who established Him? It is God. One of the things I want you to keep at the back of your mind is that establishment can come only from God. Men do not have the capacity to establish a leader over a people, even the court of law does not possess the power to establish. It is one thing to anoint, to appoint a leader, it is another thing for that leader to be established.

 

The NIV translation puts it this way; “And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD.”  The appearance of the word is an attestation of the establishment of a man in a given sphere. God attested about Jesus saying this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. The word didn’t appear because God loved to speak, it was because He wants His status established in the heart of the people. The Bible says the word does not return void until it performs the very purpose, it prospers in the purpose; in other words, until it establishes the purpose for which it has been sent or for which it appears.

 

#. The ability to keep, to build or save men. This is one of the exceptional leadership attributes of Jesus Christ. It is one thing to have something, it is another thing to keep it. Jesus spoke a parable in Matthew chapter 13 verse 45 to 46; He said “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, ⁴⁶ who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” What will establish you and I is inherent in our ability to keep, to treasure and to value Jesus much more that what we have.

 

Jesus was praying to the Father at some point, He said those you have given me I have kept. I tried to understand why He made this statement and realized that it was rooted in the understanding of His purpose; He said I was not sent to those who are saved but to those who are lost. You are established because you establish the lost and getting them rooted and grounded in the faith. The joy of leadership is not that you have known a thing, or experience a thing; the joy of leadership is that having become, you make or build others to become like you. You must become a builder of men. Having being built, you must begin to build. Four hundred men came to David in the cave of Adullam and they became as great as he is. I pray that as we key-in and align to this season, the Lord will perfect and establish us in Jesus name.

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Apeh Francis Abah!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!