THE RESTORATION OF THE LEADERSHIP SPIRIT

Genesis chapter 1


Today we are walking in: The Restoration of The Leadership Spirit




Today we look to the word-LEADER- H5057 nagiyd-- leader, ruler, captain, prince; excellent thing, (chief) governor, leader, noble, prince, (chief) ruler.



The Torah Testifies.............................

*****






The prophets proclaim...............



Isaiah 55:4 - Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader H5057 and commander to the people.








The writings bear witness.............



2Chronicles 32:21 - And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders H5057 and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword


CHAPTER SEVEN
The Restoration of the Leadership Spirit


The Creator’s purposes for mankind are permanent.
In this work, I have presented my position that every human was created with leadership potential and rulership capacity, yet few will discover this latent power and fewer still will release or manifest it. The question is why. Why is leadership so difficult to develop and manifest in our generation?


The answer, I believe, is not a lack of raw material or potential but the absence of right information, training, and an environment conducive to producing the mentality, mind-set, and attitudes necessary for this leadership potential to be ignited. This is the spirit of leadership. True leadership has more to do with mind-set than with methods and techniques.


In the story that opened this discussion, the young lion who thought he was a sheep, and who lived like and with the sheep, came to a point of decision where he either had to become himself or forever live in a world that was not designed for him. The young lion, as you will recall, made his decision and turned his back on the security and safety of the farm. He followed the great beast into the forest and was restored to his destiny, his reality, and himself. This is the challenge of all humanity—restoration to self.


TRUE LEADERSHIP HAS MORE TO DO WITH MIND-SET THAN WITH METHODS.


Despite humanity’s declaring independence from its Source and manifesting the tragic and harmful results of its rebellion, the Creator hasn’t changed his mind about his original purposes for us. He is passionately committed to our being reconnected to him for two principal reasons: (1) We are made in his image, and he doesn’t want his image to be distorted or disgraced in the world, and (2) his purposes are permanent; he always accomplishes what he originally sets out to do.


THE PERMANENCE OF PURPOSE


As we have read in the original text of the creation narrative, the purpose for man’s creation was to have dominion over the earth as ruler over the environment. Man was created to be a leader and was designed with the ability to manifest his leadership nature. The past and future of mankind is leadership. Leadership is your destiny.


The Creator is committed to fulfilling his purposes for us, which he initiated when he first created us. In order for him to accomplish what he originally purposed for us, he first has to reconnect us to himself. His original intent for mankind is the motivation behind his plan of restoration and all his interactions with us.


THE CORPORATE LEADERSHIP MANDATE


In this series, our philosophy of leadership is based on the precept that every human was created to be a leader. Again, if this proposition is applied to the traditional concept of leadership, which defines leadership as the management, control, or mobilizing of people, then the obvious question is, “Who will be the followers?”
However, our principle is derived from the mandate established by the Creator when he said, “Let them rule [“have dominion”]...over all the earth.” There are a number of important implications of this mandate that must be considered when discussing the purpose and assignment of mankind. Let’s review them now.


1. The word dominion means to rule, control, govern, master, and lead.


2. The dominion command specifically referred to dominion over nature, not human beings.


3. The mandate to dominate, rule, and lead was given to the entire human species (“Let them rule”) and therefore places every human in the position of leadership.


The implications of these truths are tremendous and critical. Each one a leader? How can this be? It becomes clearer when we truly come to understand that the mandate was for mankind to dominate fish, birds, plants, animals, and the entire environment of earth, but not his fellowman.


This amazing mandate was the result of the Creator’s purpose for mankind to be the reflection of a corporate
leadership—in other words, a nation of kings, a company of rulers. The question then arises, “How does this type of leadership work?” The answer is in the concept of the servant leadership principle.


Each human being comes to earth with a specific gift, talent, and strength of ability. Each is to serve that gift to the others through subduing the material resources of creation and thus becoming a servant to everyone else. He or she becomes a leader in that specific area of strength.


Yah IS DESCRIBED AS KING OF KINGS, NOT KING OF SLAVES.


As we saw earlier, this principle of servant leadership was expressed by the ultimate leader, Yahusha Hamachiach, when he was asked about leadership positioning. Thus, the Creator’s design of a corporate leadership can be summed up in the phrase “Every person a leader.” Every human being, according to the Creator’s mandate, was designed by him to be a leader in an area of gifting.


We must understand this truth if we’re to fulfill the Creator’s purpose: The command to have dominion over the earth was given to all of humanity. It wasn’t given to a few select people, and it wasn’t given to males alone. Both males and females are leaders, according to our Creator. Yah is described as King of kings. He is not the king of slaves but of rulers who reign with him according to his purposes. His plan for humanity is that each one be a king—a ruler over an area of gifting in creation.


Clifford Pinchot, a speaker and consultant on innovation management, is the author of the best-selling book Intrapreneuring: Why You Don’t Have to Leave the Corporation to Become an Entrepreneur. He is also a contributing author in The Leader of the Future, published by the Drucker Foundation. Pinchot addressed the concept of corporate leadership in his work entitled Creating Organizations with Many Leaders: “Effective leaders today use the tools of community building to create an environment in which many leaders can emerge. They contribute inspiring descriptions of a shared vision to align everyone’s energies....The organization of the future will be a community of entrepreneurs.”29


As I read the many ideas being explored and introduced by leadership experts and gurus today, I am amazed that some of their so-called new ideas are simply old ideas that, for thousands of years, have been embedded in the texts of the ancient writings of the Scriptures. The Creator always intended that all men—male and female—become leaders in their specific areas of gifting and serve the world as a nation of rulers. Perhaps this is the notion behind the designation of Yahusha Hamachiach in his consummate relationship with mankind as the “King of kings.” He is the Ruler of rulers, the Leader of leaders. This is the essence of corporate leadership.


THE PROGRAM FOR REPAIR— RECONNECTION TO SOURCE


When humanity lost the spirit of leadership, the result was spiritual, mental, and physical decline. Human beings were disconnected from the Spirit of Yah, who enabled them to know the thoughts of their Creator. They had no other place to get their thoughts from, so they got them from themselves and their environment. This is what man has been living on ever since—his own thoughts, the thoughts of his contemporaries, and the deceitfulness of his adversary. What a combination to build one’s heart out of!


The Creator’s program for repair is to reconnect mankind to himself. We will call this reconnection “redemptive restoration.” In its essence, the entire story of the Bible is about the Manufacturer refitting his product to accomplish his original purpose.


The Creator’s prognosis of our condition is actually very different from what we usually think it is. It was not so much a “religious” problem as it is a thought problem. Therefore, he sent the Word (his thoughts) to earth to correct and redirect our thinking. The first-century writer John wrote,


In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Yah, and the Word was Yah. He was with Yah in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it....The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.


The Greek word that is translated “Word” in this passage is logos, which means “The Divine Expression.”30 Yahusha is Yah expressing himself and his purposes to us. The Creator sent us his thoughts. When someone is sick, and the doctor does a diagnosis, the result of the diagnosis dictates the medication he prescribes. Therefore, Yah’s prescription of sending his expressed thought indicates what he considered to be the source and cause of humanity’s problem: a defective thought problem.


In the final analysis, our thinking creates our lives. Yahusha came to give us back the original thoughts that we lost when we rebelled against our Source. When our thoughts are corrected, our attitudes will be transformed because our original thinking will be restored. This will ignite our leadership spirit and enable us to fulfill our leadership potential.


OUR THINKING CREATES OUR LIVES.


This is why, for three-and-a-half years, Yahusha sat with his student-disciples—which included those businessmen who owned a fishing company, Peter, Andrew, James, and John—and challenged them to change their thinking by showing them the way a true leader thinks.


THE AUTHORIZED DEALER—Yahusha


A few years ago, I purchased a new laptop computer and was intrigued when I read through the operator’s manual. All the usual information was there, but what caught my eye were the last few pages at the back of the booklet. These pages dealt with the warranty and guarantee issues and the stipulation concerning using only an authorized dealer. The principle was clear: The company honored only the work of an authorized dealer in regard to repairs, and any violation of this agreement would cancel the warranty.


When a manufacturer addresses the issue of repairing a problem with its product, it has its authorized dealers take care of the situation because they represent the
manufacturer and are familiar with the product. The same principle holds true in the case of the fall of man from his relationship with his Creator. The Creator sent his one-and-only Authorized Dealer to give us the original information about ourselves and to repair our damaged relationship with the Manufacturer.


The coming of Yahusha to the earth was not so much a religious activity as it was a “business” transaction. His “assignment” was to do everything necessary to reconnect mankind back to his Source. Following our earlier analogy, Yahusha came to restore power to the “computer”—he restored the Spirit of the Creator to our lives and gave us a new awareness of our purpose. Now we have the power to become what we were created to be. He restored our “hard drives.”


Yahusha’S COMING TO EARTH WAS MORE A BUSINESS TRANSACTION THAN A RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.


We read earlier that “the Word is Yah.” Yah sent himself to give us the true information about ourselves. Yahusha said, “You will know the truth [through the Word], and the truth will set you free.” Through the Word, we are set free from all the misconceptions and mental illnesses that resulted from our disconnection.


One of the statements Yahusha made numerous times before he explained something was, “I tell you the truth.” If you want to know the truth about yourself and the attitude you should have about yourself, you have to listen to the words Yahusha spoke about you. We need truth, and he is the source of it. He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” I read this as, “I am the way to the truth that gives you life.” Put another way, he is the source of the information that makes us come alive.


John went on to say, “In him was life, and that life was the light [knowledge] of men.” Yahusha came to bring life. You never really live until you get true information about yourself. “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” Darkness refers to ignorance, while light denotes knowledge. Yahusha knows the truth about us—who we really are—and he is saying, “The more you know what I know about you, the more alive you will become.”


“The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” Yahusha knows the truth about every human being who is alive. That’s why we go to him for restoration. It is not to “get religion,” but to rediscover our Source and our true selves.


THE PROGRAM FOR REPROGRAMMING— THE RETURN OF THE SPIRIT OF THE CREATOR


The human spirit lost its connection with the Creator, which is the presence of his Spirit in our lives. Every act of the Authorized Dealer was a very intricate program that required certain things in order for the connection to be restored. First, humanity’s rebellion had to be resolved because, remember, the rebellion resulted in a penalty: spiritual death. You can’t cancel a penalty—someone has to pay it. Therefore, the Authorized Dealer took that penalty on himself. The substitutionary death of the Authorized Dealer was to satisfy the demands of the penalty for the rebellion of man.


This was the purpose of Hamachiach’s suffering and death. They were not ends in themselves but means for us to be fully reconnected and restored to the Creator. So now, this Spirit is available to every human being of every generation. The Authorized Dealer paid the penalty, provided complete forgiveness, and repaired the internal damage. We had been responsible for paying it, but we had no ability to do so. We never could have been restored without his intervention. After the repair, the Authorized Dealer’s goal was to restore the Spirit to vessels who were now ready to receive him.


THE LAST THING YAHUSHA PROMISED MANKIND WAS NOT HEAVEN BUT POWER.


The last thing that Yahusha Hamachiach promised mankind was not heaven but power: “You will receive power when the Ruach HaQadesh comes on you.” He told his disciples, in effect, “I’m leaving to return to the Father Yah. My purpose on earth is completed, but I’m sending One who is just like me who will help you. I’m outside of you, and I’m demonstrating power, but he will be in you, and he’s going to enact power through you and give power to you.” Yahusha knew that this power was what they were missing. It was what Adam lost. So the ultimate purpose of Hamachiach’s death and resurrection at Calvary was to return the power of the Creator to man so that he could fulfill Yah’s intent for him.


The return of the Spirit of Yah to the spirit of man is the most important moment in human history since the Creator first breathed into man the breath of life and caused him to be a living being. We have the initial reception at creation, and then the re-reception at the end of the program of restoration. In this way, Yahusha restored humanity’s connection with its Source. At the same time, man’s leadership spirit was reconnected to the Source of true leadership. The hard drive was restored, but now comes the more difficult part: the installation of the software of a renewed mind—in other words, the thinking of a leader.


THE NEED FOR A RENEWED MIND


Being a leader is a natural part of our makeup, but thinking like a leader is difficult. Although becoming reconnected is essential, it is just the start of developing into a true leader. We have to transform our thoughts and align them with those that our Creator is thinking. Paul wrote to the church at Rome, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what Yah’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”


The only way to have a mind change is to rediscover the revelation of the truth about yourself—the reality that you were created and designed to be a leader. You must internalize the truth that leadership is your nature, your destiny, and your purpose for existence. You must capture the essence of the understanding that the purpose for your existence is to have dominion over the earth. You were born to rule—to lead. Once you capture this truth, then the work begins.


The mental transformation—in our computer analogy, this would be the downloading of new software—is different from the repair and restoration. It is a process that takes
time because it involves the changing of ingrained thoughts and habits. The vital difference is that now you have the power and the access to the Spirit of the Creator that will enable you to be able to do this.


The return of the Spirit restores to us the consciousness of our leadership spirit and dominion assignment. Now comes the challenge, which is what the rest of this series deals with: the transformation of our minds as we discover and live out the attitudes of the spirit of leadership. The essence of this series is about the downloading of the leadership software.

PRINCIPLES


1. True leadership has more to do with mind-set than with methods and techniques.


2. The challenge of all humanity is restoration to self.


3. Despite humanity’s declaring independence from its Source, the Creator hasn’t changed his mind about his original purposes for us.


4. The Creator is passionately committed to our being reconnected to him because (1) we are made in his image, and he doesn’t want his image to be distorted or disgraced in the world, and (2) his purposes are permanent; he always accomplishes what he originally sets out to do.


5. The Creator’s ultimate purpose for humanity is to create a corporate leadership, summed up in the phrase, “Every person a leader.” The command to have dominion over the earth was given to all of humanity, males and females.


6. Corporate leadership works through the servant leadership principle.


7. Every human being, according to the Creator’s mandate, was designed by him to be a leader in an area of gifting.


8. The Creator’s program for reconnecting humanity with himself can be called “redemptive restoration.”


9. Humanity’s dilemma is not so much a “religious” problem as it is a thought problem.


10. Yah sent “the Word,” Yahusha Hamachiach, to earth to correct and redirect our thinking. He came to give us back the original thoughts that we lost when we disconnected from our Source.


11. When our thoughts are corrected, our attitudes can be transformed, and we will be able to fulfill our leadership potential.


12. The Authorized Dealer, Yahusha, is “the way to the truth that gives us life.”


13. You never really live until you get true information about yourself.


14. The substitutionary death of the Authorized Dealer was to satisfy the demands of the penalty for the rebellion of man. Through his death, humanity could be fully reconnected and restored to Yah, and the Spirit of the Creator was made available to people of every generation.


15. The ultimate purpose of the suffering and death of Yahusha Hamachiach was to return the power of the Creator to human beings so that we could fulfill Yah’s original intent for us.


16. The return of the Spirit restores to us the consciousness of our leadership spirit and dominion assignment.


17. Full restoration of the spirit of leadership is a process of transforming our thoughts and aligning them with those of our Creator.


18. Mental transformation is different from repair and restoration. It is a process that takes time because it involves the changing of ingrained thoughts and habits.


19. Through the Spirit, we have the power and the access to the Creator that will enable us to effect a transformation of our attitudes.