How Nations Become Great: A New Nigeria by Apostle Joshua Selman: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Nations Can Become Great

Nations — just like organizations, families, and individuals — can become great. This is a profound starting point: a nation, like an individual, like a family, like a ministry, can be transformed.

Traveling from nation to nation raises a haunting question: why do certain nations look like the envy of the earth while others remain in a sorry state? This is also true of families. Many families are exactly where they were fifteen years ago — nothing growing, nothing changing. And some individuals do not merely stagnate; they diminish into inferior versions of themselves.

There are scriptural and time-tested principles responsible for the greatness of nations, individuals, and organizations. Greatness is not just an impartation and not just a blind desire.

Genesis 12:1-3 — God told Abraham, "I will make thee a great nation." Deuteronomy 28:1-2 — "It shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God… the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth." Joshua 3:7 — "This day I will begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel."

If these principles are applied to a life, a family, an organization, or a nation, there is no power in existence with the ability to stop that nation or that individual.

The Seven Principles of Greatness

1. Vision

   Vision is the ability to see things as they ought to be — not just as they are — alongside the determination to bring that picture to manifestation.

   Merely having a wish of a better future is not vision. It only becomes vision when the picture is accompanied by the determination to walk it to fruition.

   Proverbs 29:18 — "Where there is no vision, the people perish." The word perish here does not just mean die — it means to veer off course, to decline. One version reads: "Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint."

   There is a threefold dimension to understanding vision:

   • History — It is impossible to be a visionary person without understanding history. History helps connect things past, make sense of what happened, and produce resolutions that lead to a picture of the future. The average Nigerian does not understand the faintest history of Nigeria. Nigeria has 371 ethnic groups, 774 local governments, 36 states including the FCT, and six geopolitical zones. History tells us that from 1900 the British formed the Northern and Southern protectorates, and on January 1, 1914, Lord Lugard brought about the amalgamation — forming the protectorate called Nigeria. In 1960 Nigeria declared independence, and in October 1963 Nigeria officially became a federal republic. That makes Nigeria 63 years as a nation, 60 years as a federal republic, and 109 years from the time of amalgamation — and yet look at the current state. Without knowing history, the negative aspects of history will repeat themselves. You will not know what to change, what to fight, what to retain, what to improve upon.
   • Destiny — You must understand where you are going. There is no nation that becomes great in confusion. The average person cannot give a clear picture of where Nigeria is headed. "We will be great" is not an inspiring statement — it has no measurable indices. Nations become great when they have a clear, graphic picture of their destination. There is something called the American Dream: a concise, clear representation of a nation, graphic enough for anyone to grasp, because human beings think in pictures.
   • Unity — It is impossible to have unity without vision. Before vision arrives, everyone has their individual pursuits and ambitions. A vision must be clear enough to allow people to give up their personal agendas and pursue something big, cohesive, and galvanizing. You cannot unite people around what you yourself do not understand. The difference between a son and a hireling is an understanding of vision and inheritance. A hireling does not care where the ministry or company is headed. A son knows that the vision is also his inheritance — it is his business.

   Vision gives focus. Vision gives you the legitimacy to say no. Our world is full of options, and it is not only bad things that destroy — good things that are not needed in your life can also kill destiny. When Satan tries bad things and they do not work, he will bring good things. His assignment is that you die, even if it is by the truth.

   Every time you see nations, families, corporations, and individuals that are stunted, the diagnosis number one is the absence of vision. Fathers, write a clearly defined vision for your home. Children should know where the family is going. It is comforting to know a destination. Only kidnappers do not tell you where they are taking you.

2. Values

   notifications_active Stay Updated

   Join the Readsermons communities for daily nuggets and new sermon alerts.

   WhatsApp Telegram

   Values define a people's ideas about life and give them a template for living and for conducting their lives.

   A technical word for values is policies. When you walk into a well-run restaurant, the manner of behavior from the door — how the people greet, how they dress, how they speak — is motivated by values. They are not told what to do in every moment; the values govern behavior.

   Some of the greatest nations in the world are strong because of their policies: policies that protect human life, protect health, ensure that children, animals, and the ecosystem are preserved. In Africa, values are seldom clearly defined — and where they exist, the average person is not aware. So citizens become rule-breakers by default.

   Crime, corruption, laziness, and an entitlement mentality are not just evil actions — they are products of a mindset. There is a belief system that produces those behaviors. When someone steals, it is because they have believed that by themselves, through the dignity of labor, they cannot rise.

   Similarly, love, respect, diligence, productivity, and responsibility are also products of a belief system. To cure these societal ills will not come by advising — it requires a re-engineering of orientation. A nation becomes great when it has clearly defined values and builds systems that re-engineer the minds of its citizens with respect to those values.

   Values also place limits and boundaries on a life. Restraint is a revealer of character. The ability to say no in the presence of opportunity is rare and powerful — and when people see it in a leader, they trust.

   • A man without a watch over his spirit is like a city without walls — anything can enter.
   • Train up a child in the way he should go. When children are allowed to grow without structure, they become a pain to society. Every armed robber came from a home. Every national problem was first a community problem, and every community problem was first a family problem.
   • Values of respect, diligence, and productivity have eroded. A generation that cannot be corrected or structured will carry those deficiencies into leadership.

   • Father, in the name of Jesus, I receive grace to put my life in order.

3. Education

   No nation can be great if it does not respect the power of education.

   An educated person is not simply someone who attended school. An educated person has:

   • The ability to read
   • The ability to write
   • The ability to communicate effectively
   • The ability to think constructively
   • The ability to use knowledge as a tool to birth solutions

   person

   Apostle Joshua Selman

   Enjoying this sermon? Browse more messages by Apostle Joshua Selman on Vision at ReadSermons.

   library_books More Sermons

   The essence of secular education is to prime creativity. When someone does a Master's degree or a PhD, it is supposed to develop the ability to be presented with complicated things and construct a clear line of thought — to approach life with a trained mind.

   The knowledge of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biology does not automatically make a person educated. Priming creativity and the ability to communicate — that was the whole idea. Many brilliant people are gifted but are poor communicators. In the presence of opportunities, they fall like a pack of cards because they cannot articulate their thoughts and ideas.

   One of the things developed nations have mastered is the ability to sell themselves — to communicate ideas so compellingly that agreements are signed before the other party fully processes what was said. Africa has remained in a kind of bondage partly because of the inability to communicate ideas effectively in negotiation rooms.

   There are two things needed to become a good communicator:

   • Utterance — a spiritual quality; the ability to speak so that anyone, regardless of intellectual level, can understand.
   • Oratory — the ability to use words as a tool to transfer thoughts. This is a learnable skill.

   People, families, and nations become great on the strength of their ability to think intuitively and to communicate effectively. Knowledge is not an investment until it can be used as a tool to provide solutions.

   Daniel 1:3-4, 17-21 — The king commanded that young men be brought before him who were skillful in all wisdom, cunning in knowledge, and with an ability to stand in the king's palace. God gave these four children knowledge, skill in learning, and wisdom. When examined, the king found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers in his realm — and Daniel continued even into the reign of King Cyrus. There is a level of competence at which certain prejudices — of tribe, gender, background — become of no effect.

   Lay your hand on your head and say: In the name of Jesus, I rebuke illiteracy. I receive grace to educate myself, to think constructively, and to communicate the thoughts God has placed in me.

4. Leadership

   Leadership is the ability to coordinate human and material resources so as to achieve a common and predefined goal.

   This is grossly lacking in Nigeria and across Africa. Nigeria has over 200 million people — the most populous nation in Africa — sitting in the midst of vast resources. Yet there is a profound lack of the ability to coordinate human and material resources to achieve goals.

   Leadership is not a title. Leadership is not a vocation. It is a mentality.

   • It is leadership when you see a piece of paper on the ground and you pick it up — you are leaving that place better than you found it.
   • It is leadership to be thoughtful about your family: have you eaten? What do you need?
   • It is lack of leadership for a man to know his wife is nine months pregnant and not begin planning for the expenses ahead.
   • It is lack of leadership for a man to donate millions at church for recognition while his children cannot return to school.

   A leader is a shepherd who will lay down his life for the sheep. A man of God who manipulates the people God has placed in his care is not a leader.

   Structures must be put in place for leadership development across all age ranges — both formal and informal. Leadership potential may be visible at birth, but every generational leader is ultimately made, not born.

   You may also like

   

   God Will Meet You At The Point Of Your Need

   by Archbishop Benson Idahosa

   arrow_forward

   Nigeria needs to begin transferring knowledge to younger generations. There is a gap in that transfer that destroys nations — a generation arises that does not know what those before them knew. If God has called someone to be a leader in the political, educational, or business sphere, they should stay in that calling and thrive. Be a leader indeed.

   Jesus was looking for leaders when he selected his disciples. He saw Peter managing his fishing business responsibly and knew that someone good in their vision will be good over men. The vision did not die in the hands of the disciples because they were leaders.

5. Economic Empowerment

   No nation can be economically emancipated with a dependency mentality.

   Every great nation is empowered economically through its private sector. The assignment of government is not to make citizens rich — it is to create an enabling environment where healthy activities leading toward national growth can happen.

   A dependency mentality will destroy Africa. Believing that the government of any nation will be responsible for personal economic empowerment is a mistake. No great nation became great through government alone — every great nation is private sector driven.

   There are people today who have built houses frying bean cakes — packaged well, given value, and now meeting world leaders. What God has placed in someone's hand, if taken seriously, has no ceiling.

   Two things every young person must embrace:

   • Productivity — Being gifted is not productivity. Being a graduate is not productivity. Productivity is what you produce with what you have.
   • Investment — Save money. Be intentional. Do not wear tomorrow's clothes today and be naked tomorrow. Do not eat tomorrow's food today.

   It is selfish to make decisions today without considering the consequences for children and grandchildren. Kofi Annan once said: let our children not suffer the consequences of our carelessness.

   Rejecting laziness is not optional. The church is supposed to be a contributor to the strength of nations — not a burden. When grace is released through the word, go back and put it to work. Fail in dignity and diligence rather than sit waiting for someone to give resources. There is honor in starting small and building quietly.

   I receive grace to be productive. I receive grace to be economically empowered — not for myself alone, but for the work of the Kingdom and for the generations that will come after me.

6. A Robust Security Architecture

   There is no nation that becomes great outside of a robust security architecture.

   Protecting lives and properties is the primary assignment of government. Any government that fails at this over time has truly failed.

   • A secure environment stimulates growth and attracts direct investment. No investor will commit billions to a nation where their investment is not safe.
   • Security extends beyond physical safety — it includes the health of financial institutions, the health of the judiciary, and the health of all arms of government responsible for ensuring justice is administered when necessary.
   • The security architecture of a nation includes its airports, its ports, its airspace, its neighborhoods, and the protection of its citizens wherever they are.

   No nation becomes great if its security system is porous. Citizens should be able to lie down and sleep knowing they are safe. When a sound is heard, it should signal the presence of those who protect — not those who destroy.

   God has given this nation the intelligence to build a robust security architecture. It is the prayer that God will raise people equipped to construct systems that protect lives and properties — that airports, ports, and neighborhoods will be places of peace.

7. Spirituality

   All nations become great to the degree to which they honor spirituality. Spirituality is the number one influencer of values, morals, and actions.

   People build values to reflect and honor their spiritual disposition. If the Bible teaches love, forgiveness, and responsibility, a believer who honors scripture will build a value system that reflects those things. This is why those who lead and influence in matters of faith must be careful about what they teach — people will build their lives to reflect and honor whatever deity or belief system is proposed to them.

   Most major faith traditions promote love, peace, giving, tolerance, forgiveness, and responsibility. Spirituality has a role to play in national character that no government policy alone can fill.

   Psalm 33:12 — Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, and the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.

   2 Chronicles 15:12-15 — The people entered into a covenant to seek the God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul. They swore with a loud voice and with shouting. All Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart, sought him with their whole desire, and he was found of them, and the Lord gave them rest.

   Except the Lord builds a house, those who labor build in vain. Except the Lord watches over a city, the watchmen watch in vain. There are things only God can do — turn a murderer into an apostle, transform a generation from the inside out, heal the land from wounds that no government policy can reach.

   2 Chronicles 7:14 — If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. No government can heal the land. Only God can.

   Any nation can choose to reject God, but not this nation. Nigeria is in a delicate season. The solution is not pointing fingers — it is taking corporate responsibility and crying to God for mercy.

A Prayer for Nigeria