FOR JESUS’ LOVE 10
Leadership Traits
By
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (August 13, 2017)
“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” (St. John 21:15-17, King James Version [Christ’s charge to Peter]}
Greetings in the Holy Name of Jesus,
My sisters and brothers, leadership traits, thank you LORD, resonate out of the presence of Jesus, spiritually reaching out to us all---from birth to death, we hear folks say he was a great man of power, whose forefather was a man of greatness, blessedness and a nation-builder. Yes, we speak of Jacob and we speak of Abraham, of which without Abraham’s greatness, blessedness and nation-building leadership traits, indeed within himself what could Jacob’s power have accomplished in itself albeit for the glory of God. I do not want to paint a story of blissful intentions without struggle for the struggle was just as much in them as their traits of greatness, blessedness, nation-building and power for we are flesh, understandably so and woefully so, captive in ourselves fighting within ourselves the battles of our lives, the battles of all our lives for the battles of the world where the waters that Jesus spoke of within us that should be, I say it again, should be, at peace but we struggle still to deny the presence of Christ Jesus on this earth, the saving grace of Christ Jesus given to us by God---His only begotten son “…that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” ( [John 3:16, KJV [The witness of John]). Do we deny the witness of John?
We stand before our aggressors and we stand before our challenge---to strike first or defend best, we hope and pray for the victory---we believe that the victory is ours and we reflect when the victory indeed was ours in some distant past we were superior in strategy, in support, in the strength of Jesus to fight the good fight but yet we hesitate, we wait,--so that we do not stumble and fall but there is no guarantee how matters will progress without the leadership of God, known for being a God of wrath, a God of war, a living God who man could not possibly win anything against unless he permits it---allows for a much longer-termed lesson that he gives us over to Satan to test. What did Jacob do when he faced Esau since he left---had to run away from his parents’ estate, for he took his brother Esau’s blessing from their father Isaac with the help of his mother Rebekah [Genesis 22:23, KJV]and did as his
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mother said—ran to her brother, his Uncle Laban? Now, the time has come for him to face his challenge for the blessing is won but the relationship is shattered. What do you say? What can you say to a brother who you wronged?
Who wronged you in life that you did not forgive---could not forgive, have problems with forgiving the act and the person that wronged you? Yet, hate stands between you, to take both of you---take you down to the pit of death---for it is death of a relationship, death of a love, death of your presence before the one who you wronged and death of the presence of who you wronged for in every wrong there once was a right, for we stand on the goodness of God and His creation of the earth for without God.”…the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” [Genesis 1:2, KJV [the creation of earth]). In fellowship, is that where you are denying God, denying earth, denying Christ Jesus, probably not even standing on the face of earth but somewhere in the deepness of the darkness trying to master your own life---having convinced yourself that you are your own God—you do not need the God of Abraham---you did not need Jesus the son of God, true to your rebellious nature and true to your sinful nature. Well, sirs, I am here to tell you that you are living a lie.
Jacob could not continue to hide with his Uncle Laban for their relationship was strained for Laban kept taking which was the culture of his family. Is it not the pot calling the kettle black that Jacob’s relationship strained with Uncle Laban—for Uncle Laban kept taking his blessings, every time God blessed him with his livestock and possessions but is that not what Jacob did to his brother Esau, took his blessing---his life blessing from his father, Isaac? Now, Jacob having learned the lesson of understanding what he did even with the help of his mother for his mother was led to encourage him to betray his brother. Jacob still had to face his brother since he left his Uncle Laban who chased him down for taking his statute of his god for his Uncle Laban, his mother’s family did not worship the living God, ---the God of Abraham. So, history repeated itself, each time he left he took—this time his wife, Rachel, Uncle Laban’s daughter who he married took the statute of her family’s god unbeknownst to her father, Laban or to her husband, Jacob—probably afraid of leaving her father’s estate---Jacob’s Uncle Laban’s estate and in fear took the god that she worshipped to protect her---not understanding in all the years that her husband was with her family working—the living God he served—the God of Abraham, for Jacob had to work so many years just to marry Rachel because he had to marry her sister Leah first, the older sister as was the custom of their family before he could take Rachel for his wife. What a hard lesson to learn yet the world still practices taking one from another instead of love one for another---and they are committed to the practice, without fail and feel hurt when someone takes from them.
The world feels injustice and pray constantly asking God, Where is Justice? In reflection, we ponder our thoughts about how injustice raised its head in our past, between our forefathers, to see that the hurt of the past is still the hurt of today, binding us in captivity of the sin of theft and the sin of a lie. There is a price to pay for anger against your brother and you are liable, so says the scripture and how do you reconcile, “I am my brother’s keeper,” when you are not your brother’s keeper. How come brothers are so important in their relationship before God? --- for you are a brother of Christ Jesus, the
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son of God. Are you ready to become a true brother of Christ Jesus? What kind of brother were you with your flesh brother.
How can you transcend the hate that you used to deal with your brother in the flesh with how you will love Christ Jesus in the spirit? Now, Jacob met the angels of God on his way to meet his brother, Esau. Jacob told the angels, “This is God’s host…” sometimes; you have to identify yourself, especially since all that carrying on about Laban’s god---Laban chasing Jacob’s host down to find his god, the god he served, no wonder why the angels of God met Jacob for him to identify to whom he belonged. Jacob confirmed that he was God’s host, still with the God of Abraham in spite of the women he married who were his kin---his first cousins, his mother’s nieces, his mother’s brother’s daughters yet God chose Abraham to serve him and required that he leave his family and the gods they served. Jacob did not take Laban’s god. He remained with the God of Abraham. Jacob told his messengers to go to Seir, the country of Edom and speak to his brother, to say, “Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: and I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and women servants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.” [Genesis 32:1-5]. Jacob prayed to God for Esau was not without might, even though he took his blessing, for Esau came to meet him with 400 men.
What is important is Jacob appealed to God for grace. Is this how we see our challenge—in need of grace? Jacob made his peace with his brother only because God answered his prayer. We need to pray to meet our adversaries and those to whom we are adversaries of. We need God’s presence in the battle. We need to give the battle to God, for truly there are some battles He will fight for us and we do not have to lift a finger and there are battles that we must lift our fingers, our minds, and our hearts, for the saving of our souls for the flesh is weak as we fight the good fight on the battlefield of life hoping to live—to survive to stand to fight another day to tell the story of how we overcame how we conquered with the power of God the God of war on our side.
In modern society, America lives in the fantasy of a black America and a white America yet the truth is a wronged America for the fruits of all our labors did not tell the truth of our efforts just as Jacob struggled but did not perish under his Uncle Laban. Jacob was still blessed no matter how much his Uncle Laban took away from him. Jacob found out that his brother Esau still was blessed no matter that he took his blessing from his father, Isaac. The fantasy of white America found out that black America was still blessed no matter that white America did not divide the fruits of labor equally between them and treated them as if they were not even entitled to a fair share in the fruits of labor and the rewards of labor and/or the blessings of God. Did not this happen with Abraham’s sons Isaac and Ishmael?
Interestingly enough, God blessed Hagar’s son---Abraham’s son, Ishmael even though Ishmael could not remain on the estate of his father, Abraham. Amazingly, it is just that, amazing that man tries to control who God will bless and even if God could bless. It is not the first time that man behaved as if man was the living God and the living God was the man---that man created God not that God created man. I am sure you have folks in your lives that take control over your lives to own you to make you
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their slave and control what you do for others and tell you even if you can do anything for others—they try to take your power even your presence--- become you with your wealth and distribute your wealth as they see fit pretending you do not exist. Well, of course it is a mental problem but you must not let the mental problem takes you. God blesses whoever he wants to bless and we pray for God’s blessing---his decision to favor us.
Recently, I heard someone say in what was supposed to be a peaceful assembly of protestors over nationalism, “We had everything. It is our America.” Always talking to black America even when the battle is not with black America, for the battle is the LORD’s. We are a nation of many nations in a land of immigrants with the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant taking charge to lead since our colonization with England ended. However, other nations of whites---called minorities in America where White Anglo-Saxon Protestants are in the majority of an independent nation still maintained the same protocol in leadership. Now the ones who were out there protesting were whites probably who were immigrants from many nations called minorities in America, who would be majority whites in their countries that they left. Now, our leader is from one of those minority nations and some folks deny the truth of their origin---in need of a DNA test so they can feel alright with their status quo in America who lived a lie hidden behind their whiteness to get the bounty of the distribution of wealth in America. Today, in Sunday worship a Southern Baptist pastor told his congregation that Jesus was not white and they need to get used to that—not demanding the wealth of our nation because of the color of skin a criterion established to take the bounty of wealth from the other nations---the minorities that immigrated here and of course the only unwilling immigrants—the black Americans, descendants of slaves who were victims of the high crime on the seas going back to the 1400s that many nations participated in for the good of their nations to gain wealth---taking people out of West Africa to work as slaves for their nations. God took charge and continuously will take charge, commanding who he wants to lead, giving power to who he wants to make a difference, showering down blessings to who he wants, for we share with his son, Jesus, for a Holy nation to prevail.
In closing, I heard, “white people in America are in poverty.” I leave you with that thought. I remember hearing a black American respond to the problem when a white American wanted to know what happened when their family member faced injustice and died out on the streets that, “black Americans wanted to know what happened, too.” Yes, each time a black American was shot down in the streets---their families wanted to know what happened. Now, a white American family that permitted the world to see into their families lives demanded to know what happened.
With so many black Americans going in and out of poverty, in feasts and in famines, for white Americans---many minorities to pretend that they have never been in poverty in America, is a lie, for it is not reality. All families reach the cross roads of facing total loss of wealth or receiving God’s saving grace through Jesus—that saves them to keep their wealth but it does not mean they did not reach the point of scare or fear of it happening---even Jacob had to go down to Egypt in time of famine but God placed Joseph there to take care of them but they paid for what they did to Joseph when Joseph died and they had no one in power to take care of them until Moses was born and raised in Pharaoh’s house under
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Pharaoh’s sister’s care. Are they protesting to convince those in power to take care of them and continue the practice of oppressing black Americans? Was that the true purpose of the protest? ---To beg the establishment to oppress black Americans? I say, God bless America---both black America and white America---the one America we do not want to accept but exists as one nation, bless us all, LORD. In the Name of Jesus---the God man. Amen.
