Transcription
Everybody sets the pace for his future in his youth. Everyone's future. You set the pace for it in your youth. You set the pace for it in your youth.
So mind what you engage in in this season is going to define what awaits you tomorrow. A serious-minded young man today will be a disciplined person tomorrow and I will take him to anywhere.
A wasteful youth today will be a wasteful youth, a wasteful elder tomorrow. And when the prod wasted his resources, he began to be in want. So it's all about you taking responsibility early ali early. A long time between now and when you're back for returning students. Long time. Long enough to make a man out of a child. long enough to rewrite the story of anyone who chooses to long enough.
It's long enough for anyone to destroy future. It's alo long for anyone to destroy scripture. So make your choice. One of my early visitations by the grace of God was Lamentation 3:27. It's good for a man, a young man that he bears his yoke in his youth. It's good for a man that he bears his yoke in his youth. I came across that 1970. I was 16 years old. Praise God. Good for a young man to take responsibility, a man to take in his youth. Good for a young man. I've told the story before. I discovered that I was I knew I wasn't good at communication art. I wasn't good. So I decided to train myself on how to communicate by gathering uh what we had then African writer series lei um talu all that stuff by time I was through those stuff I became a wordssmith I could speak at any instance you call me I took time no I'm not good in this and I need this one for living whether you are in science aviation or anything you need communication.
The teachers won't pay me that attention, but I pay myself that attention because I'm only one in the in this class. I will not sit down with him and be telling me this is past, present tense. expect me to know that a long time. That set the pace for my days as a youth. I started buying books by myself at the age of 20.
I wanted them to capture my lovely picture today, but there was no time. So, I wasn't too conscious of the 7:00 uh time. How do you have been informed about you find books out there that is one n 5 ko old book and you find my time of reading and dates on it the direct you are discussing on our program and then I say oh yeah there's a book green color Richard I can't tell the name of the the other name of the author I will get it so I went to my 10 minutes ago. I read it last 95.
Nobody will ever imagine a leader without developing capacity. Nobody will ever imagine a successful impactful leader in any field of endeavor without developing capacity through the process of structured learning. Structured learning. Structured learning. You can't capacity. It cannot be imparted. You can't pray and fast into it. You learn and exercise yourself with your discoveries to develop capacity.
At the time Nigerian rep and security council in the UN happened to be a member of our board here and then we were in a board meeting after we close. He said can I tell you something? You led this many tonight like moon bank will lead the council meeting developing capacity. I had enough time to learn meeting processes, how to provide leadership in the meeting. You can't have it without going for it. You have a lot of time. Sir, I was very very poor in mathematics because I had no interest. I had no interest. I just didn't have interest. I had some of my senior ones said, "Don't mind that thing. It's not necessary. Just be a teacher at So, So when they happen having class I would just walk out and go to toilet. You know you can go to toilet anytime. They can't say why you going to toilet. Depends on what is toileting you. So I told myself wait a minute there's no wasted knowledge. And so one of the young teacher said to me you know David the same brain you need for biology is the same one you need for chemistry the same one you need for history is his interest that makes the difference. That changed my perspective. So I settled down for a midterm break. Sir, I jump from the back to the front straight two days. You have enough time to change your course instead of winding away your time and roaming about the street and say I don't even know what to do. You don't know what to do with all that are waiting you in life. Do you have a vision? How are you investing towards that vision? These are not things my child. They are things you must wake up to. If anybody is thinking of just imagine a leader tomorrow, you are wasting your time. It's like they say here wishes are not horses. The wishes are horses beggars will write.
Now take us through this for a few minutes that we have um nurturing the leadership potential in you. Remember our three-fold mandate as a university is captured in the following statement. Raising and nation of leaders through a qualitative and life applicable training system that focuses on value and skill development. I would suggest we keep retreating this time and again not less than once in a month. People should know what exactly our training model is packaged to achieve. Raising a new genion of leaders through a qualitative and life applicable training system that focuses on value and skill development. I'm sure you get it on the screen sometimes but it's in your books. All the books that you have is seen it. Raising the education of leaders through a broad-based qualitative education. What? Based on sound biblical principles, the source of ultimate wisdom committing the path of pathfinders, pace setters, and trailblazers.
So we have unapologetic reverence for the world. The word forms the basis of our qualitative training system. You have to embrace that alone to understand what we are doing. And thirdly is raising a newation of leaders who shall redeem the battered image of the black race and restore her lost glory as this trained army of reformers begin to build the old ways, repair the wasted cities and raise the desolation of many generations. So you have been trained to emerge a reformer. a reformer by being first transformed. Then you can go forth and become a reformer of others. Only changed people can change their world. You can't think the way they think and want to impact on their lives. You have to think differently based on facts. discovered and transmitted to you while you are here.
Leadership is an art and not a myth that nobody's born a leader. There's nothing like that.
Leadership is a product of capacity building.
We can develop our leadership leaders, our leadership potentials by engaging the following four platforms.
Or if you like, leadership is a part of engaging the following four platforms. Selfmanagement 1 Corinthians 6:12, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable." All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of he that will make living unprofitable for me. Let's go to town. Okay. For what? Just let's go. No. Life has more meaning than that. You get to town, let's get to Abuja. H I didn't tell my parents your parents couldn't to tell anybody. I mean, just go and come back. Just go. How profitable is that? Your parents say where are you? We rock from childhood. My grandmother will say the one who will not sit down today will not become a master tomorrow. Sit down. When a child faces school, sit up, not run around. Sit up. I have the following humble examples that will help you. Major Franklin, great American, great philosopher, had only two years for my education, two years. The biographer said he literally taught himself how to read. Now, this man will save his lunch money as a printing press apprentice to be able to buy a particular book that he's interested in.
Benjamin by investing on himself became one of the foremost American philosophers. He handily negotiated the French government support for the revolution which was the only way they won the battle. I saw their film sometimes one of those um television programs on the 4th of July when they were celebrating independence. The founding fathers were all there. They were putting their names and all that stuff and showing their pictures. He stuck illiterate by efficient self-management. Efficient self-management.
You're going to school your life. Preish press two four. Somebody had only two years in school and developed such capacity to impact on his world. I read this at one launch in Europe while waiting for my connecting flight. From that time I kept looking for anything of Benjamin Franklin because of the all that that meant to me. And we have aron the roadside mechanic who thought that the weight of earth road construction was you have 100 meals you know 50 will carry earth and 50 will carry straw because they must eat they don't eat they just go sit down so a lot of effort so as a roadside time mechanic he thought there must be a better way of doing this so he began to work under inspiration and then uh he developed what you body digger which was the largest earth moving equipment of their time and he supplied 50% of the atm equipment needed for the second world war today we have gone university in America that has been over the years save money efficient self money efficient self money and then we have the famous Michael Farad was a lab attendant to professor Humphrey Davis and then um uh he also had limited form education 2 three years but he took interest in scientific experiment so in those days all this room that the people are doing around town they were doing experiments in public and people were going there to receive the lecture so my father they would take the note take his note and then get to the press as a printing apprentice and he binded it and then he felt like going to give it to Benjamin Franklin I mean to uh Aubry Davis. So when the Davis lost his lab attendant he remember some one young person wrote him something. So he he rode on his horseback to the printing press where I did it. Hey Mike, would you like to be a lab attendant? I saw you interested in scient. So he was at a point scientists claimed that he was more rational in his business than of the Davis. So when Prof went to heaven naturally inherited the lab and that gave birth to the man of science of the year for the 20th century developing capacity through efficient self management through efficient self management
I'm going to build industries what do you know about what okay what's the meaning of industry which kind of sector are you going to them. What are you doing in setting the pace for it? Self management is all about setting order over one's life. Order you are going again. Setting order over your life. It's about being a law to oneself, setting boundaries around your life to make the most of it. So being able to separate between the lawful and the expedient there's nothing wrong in to greet somebody who just give birth to a child but what is your going to add there can't you go by just merely communicating congratulations instead of 5 hours on the road and you arrive they say I hope there's nothing they are not expecting you you're not adding any value to them in Africa people go to where they don't want them and where they enter the building you arrive at somebody's place and say I just it's not proper for me not to come since you open your house so I had to come from to a bad say oh so where are you staying I'm staying here why go to where you tolerated Why?
It's about making quality decision and standing by it. Quality decision and standing by it.
Efficient self-management is what determines one's ultimate accomplishment.
I've been a student of church growth since 85. Since 85. An added student.
What are we saying? Growth. Why? Learning how to do it.
My other knowledge platforms won't deliver it because it's not in line. It's not one of my sons is in charge of the our small estate and he did computer science. I will come to see you and find out whether they can convert it to civil engineering. He's doing everything to do maintenance. how much can he do on maintenance because he's off his knowledge base and he has not gone ahead to acquire that relevant knowledge. So it's common sense we're going to be using for that and that can destroy many things. Any man you have to pursue to perform may never go far in life. Young people, your parents say, "Where you going? Why you ask me where I'm going?" At this point, may you not slap them tomorrow. If at this point you are under their sponsorship, the clothes you're wearing, they bought it.
The make you took before you became a boy, you got it from there. Next is time management. Efficient time management. Efficient time management. Ephesians 5:1 16. Redeeming the time because the days are evil. To redeem means to buy. Buy up your time.
Let your time hold value to you.
Otherwise, evil will creep in.
If you know the cost of squandering time, you will fear. At the time when K go to what? David was at home and he was walking on the roof of his house and there he saw a woman.
It's not about losing ground in your endeavor. It's about falling to evil.
It's about evil thoughts, evil in sinations, evil wishes or healthy commentaries.
Colossians 4:5 in wisdom towards them that are without redeeming the time. They would eat up your time. How are you now? Where's your father, your mother, your brother, that your sister that I spoke to 20 years ago, where is she now? He's not looking forward to see looking for what to say. There are people just are there to help rubbish your time. You don't have value for it, you lose out.
Time is one of our greatest assets in the adventure of life. Shakespeare have said I wasted time and now time do waste me. He looked at all that he would have done with his time but um somehow somehow he saw lot of it wasted with all that he accomplished. a great namaz said give me my youth back and I will pay any price for it just looking back and seeing what and what I would have done if I had better sense
quality time investors usually end up as news makers invest your time don't look for the easy way out you live a crooked life by doing that all smart time investors most often than not end up as stars in their office of endeavors. Do you have some challenges, some courses or programs that you are running? Invest time during this season to revert it. Sit down with your mate who knows better. There's no shame in it. When I was riding my fantastic Volkswagen Beetle, there's one brother very good at it. He has a Volkswagen brain. When you start, you can tell you where the trouble is. Just a start. Wait, one plug is challenged. It doesn't have a scanner. There are no scanners then. But he could tell. They could tell where your trouble the trouble of your car is. So, and we all line up because we have a group, a Volkswagen group. We line up in his workshop to wait for our turn for repair and then the consultant will come out. He knows it and we don't know it. Didn't go to any school but we went to the school. We didn't know it. He has to help us. If we try to repair will get grounded. He can't move again. So get your classmate who understand the language of the teacher when he taught and he can help you interpret what you can't get. Then you come out of it instead of wearing trouser that is below your goto going around town.
Those who make news how they have time to watch them. That time is invested making the news for others to watch. May you end up a newsmaker, not a news watcher. And he says, "Okay, what is he adding to you?" Nothing. Nothing. When you hear a vehicle move like that in America, he's a black American. No, he's a black American. value system upside down. The noise is checking the whole street. Oh, for for what? Are you advertising anything? No. And now today you have all the media, social, antisocial, you have all of them. You can be busy 25 hours a day watching nonsense that's adding no value. But that's not you. That's not where you're coming from sir. Giants give birth to giants. If you end up here as a mediocre, you are not here. You better connect. Those core values are not laws to keep you as a student. They are values to give your life meaning. Interestingly, time is an asset of equality. While some invest it, others simply squander it. He won't squander your time.
It's an asset. Everybody had 24 hours to himself to herself. Everybody. Can I tell you something that may shock you? I've been here since ' 89. There are few places we mention in Los that I know how to get there. Very few. Do I know where is? I don't I know where my is. I don't because that's my that's what I came for.
Time an asset of inestimable value. Don't squander it. Don't squander. It can't be bought back. It cannot be bought back.
There's a story of two uh high school boys. I've told that I've shared that here before. Uh they met 19 years after they parted from school. One of them was joing from one fast food platform to another. The other one spent time reading books that bother with psychology, that bord success, that bother with human something. And according to him, he read 600 books. Come on now. 600 books. This is like becoming a Nobel laurette in the corner of your room.
This child emerge consultant to IBM US Navy. The other one that was jumping from one fast food to another because he likes footballs after he left high school. They grew up together. He was on seven was worth $7.50 an hour. The other young man who has invested his time in developing himself was worth $200,000 an hour. $200,000 an hour. Real life story. Real life story.
Time time an asset of inestable value. Now task management, efficient task management. You have a task, a job, a business. How do you make the most of it? Simple. Invest maximally your time, your energy, your resources. They call it diligence.
Proverbs 12:24, "The hand of the diligent will end up enthroned, but the slotful shall remain under tribute." You can only walk your way up. You can't wish your way up. You can only walk your way up. You can't wish your way up. You can only walk your way up. You can't wish your way up. I saw this truth early in my life. Proverbs 22:29 seeest thou a man that is diligent in his business. He shall stand before kings, he shall not stand before me men.
You can't make the most of any business you won't face. You won't face your business today. You be faced now tomorrow. I've defined a business as an art of exchange of values for the benefit of the parties involved. I spend my time to create this artwork, right? And you like this artwork. You pay your money to pay for my time and my skills. You have nothing to bring on board. You are not a candidate for profit. Business is an art of exchange of values.
A business also implies an activity that one engages in for the purpose of profit making. That's the purpose. A business don't face tomorrow. Today will be faced out tomorrow. Conclusion. Resource management. Efficient resource management. Proverbs 18 and verse 9. He also that is lotful in his work is a brother to him that is a great waster. So they share a common heritage. The slotful and the waster they end up in lack and want. They end up as pissants while others rule.
Poor management is the reason for the misfortune of many. Cuz whatever is not well managed is sure to be damaged. You are going into a world of never enough, a world of self overestimation. Where the husband want to live in is more than your income parano.
Somebody help you to pay for it. But when the year ends, how do you pay? And you have already settled as a young man that is not married in a three-bedroom house doing what?
Now it's time to pay. You start going around. May you not find drug that you want to go and sell. The office of this ministry at the beginning was two rooms 100 naira a month 100 naira a month I was there and five coppers we walk until work can't be walked again 100 a month
but that's not where we are
be a way of eating up your tomorrow by trying to be somebody else.
Poor resource management is in most cases our number one problem as individuals, families, etc., including churches. Poor resource management. You don't have to grow big to manage well. You manage well to grow big. I was on 300 NRA a month as president and founder of our mission. My wife was on 140 NRA a month as executive secretary to the president. We're having a nice time. We never borrowed. We ate at our level. We slept at our level of sleep. But that's not what it is today.
The time came I tried to check how many people work in our place that we pay it's quite some number we didn't have that number 3 years in ministry
if one is not a good manager he will end up a great wester he's sure to end up a beggar because one can't be a wester and not end up We beggar tomorrow. Chapter 15 of Luke and verse 14 and 15. And when he had spent all, there arose a great famine in that land and he began to be in want. Now go back to verse 13. Verse 14, please. And not many days and when he had spent and not many days after the young son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country and they wasted his substance with rioters living was on a riot against himself. Riot leader big guy. He wasted his and began to be inward.
There was nothing I earn at any time. There was not enough because I know what I have nor my taste. What we had was to define our taste. Not our taste they find what we have.
1986 we could not rent a house 5,500. No, the budget ceiling is 5,000. Take it away. You don't want go and get one that is below 5,000. Let's have you back.
But building a house cannot be a testimony for us anymore. That state is take it easy. Someone has said you are not a field until you look for who to blame for it. So stop looking for who to blame. What your parents have done or your guardians that they have not done by sending you here and keeping you here. They all waiting outside to carry you now. What a privilege you have. We have blamed everyone enough. I believe it's time we are weak to take responsibility. Destiny is a nontransferable responsibility. You either face it or you are faced out. Your parents can't attend classes for you. They can't do projects for you.
Those who will not take responsibility today will end as liabilities tomorrow. Conclusion, make the most of this vacation time for our returning students. For those going on NYC, prepare yourself against any definement as you step up. One of you came back here sometimes. There's no sign that he went through here. Even was attempting to push a professor down. Bigheaded fool. Big-headed. What? What? What does he have? Big-headed fool.
Nothing from here went to him. Nothing. Nothing. He had to communicate to him. He had to communate. They had talk to police from here after four or five years. You better watch it. Some fellows left here. They're in the prison now. They're in the prison now. So it's not, oh, we are kings and queens. If you do what kings don't do, you go to where kings don't go. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. May your parents and guardians rejoice over you forever. May no one here be a concern to any of their parents. I pray that you be an example worthy for other siblings to follow. And I pray you will give your parents rest. Because if you want rest tomorrow, give rest today. Nobody likes what he gives. People only lack what they won't give. So give them rest. Give them joy. And you are investing to your future. I've come here this morning to you as a father. And my prayer is that you made the most of this. I don't want to hear any story of mishap that we just went somewhere and something happened. Now the question is what were you doing there? What did you do go somewhere somewhere for that has no purpose you don't have anything to do the largest room in the world is room for improvement so improve on your lot spend time with God get along on time get God along your path on time get God along with you on time get God along with you on time get God along with you on time of attended a meeting because God has blessed him in his business and he just came out of the meeting and went biz attack. Attack if you built up adequately and it's building up continually. No, you know how many attack the Lord told on me night and day. I've eaten up the word to a point that his presence is so real to me. You better get We live in a very wicked world. Wicked world. Wicked world. Somewhere your parents will have you come here send you somewhere. Uh no no no no what happened. The only guaranteed cover is Jesus. The only guaranteed cover is Jesus. So we have youth events going on at this time. Plug in my friend. If you want to volunteer to serve Jesus, I will take you. Get you on the field. Get you fortified. Return spiritually matured. So instead of wasting your life not knowing what to do, life is so fulfilling. Life is so enriching. My old man asked me one time, he said, "What are you doing on this vacation?" I'm going preaching. They preaching. I said, "That's what we eat." And we all eat till before he dies. No down time. No down time to find me teaching primary school. No down time. Teaching secondary school for 2 months. No down time. Down time is a risk. Doing nothing is a risk. You decay. So over to you. My prayer is that your story will be sweeter than ours. Uh and may all the faculty and staff are eminent professors who are investing in your lives. May you never lack those who will invest in the life of your children. And may you reap the fruit of your labor. Amen. And I pray for you if anybody's family is challenged before you get home there'll be a miracle.