Let Your Nets Out for a Catch 3

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

REBRAND – Peter and his colleagues had washed their nets out to dry after a night of fruitless toil. You may need to wash out what is not working to your advantage and take on what should work to your advantage. Perhaps it is your total communication package – from body language to verbal communication as well as your personal grooming and dressence. Beloved, enhance your brand. The newly washed nets were free of debris and whatever else would have chased fishes away from the nets when they were let out into the water.

SPREAD OUT – Peter and his colleagues were instructed to launch out into the deep far beyond the shallow waters where Jesus preached to the people. They obeyed Jesus and actually launched out into the deep. Your deep waters may be spreading out as far as you can get and should get within your industry, and to some extent, even outside of your industry.

Sales platforms are not the same as marketing platforms. You do the marketing; real aggressive marketing of your products and services by always telling customers about the benefits of using your products and services as well as directing them to where they can access the products and services. In essence, SPREAD THE WORD, in essence; SING YOUR OWN SONG. You are the only one who can actually sing your own song the loudest. No one will do it better than you. Therefore take your products and services to the people as Jesus did severally. It is true that the people sometimes came to look for him. But Jesus was always looking for the people and went in search of them to share His great love for humanity. Please read Luke Chapter 8 verse 1. The widow of the indebted prophet also took her vessels of oil to sell to the people as instructed by Prophet Elisha. She did not sit at home to await buyers. She went in search of the buyers. Peter and his colleagues did not just throw the nets into the water. They launched out into deep waters, cast the nets and watched the movement of the water and the moment they knew that the nets had caught fish, they acted. They pulled the nets with the great catch in them into the boat.  

Let Your Nets Out for a Catch 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. Zechariah Chapter 4 verse 6.

A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. This is because the hill gives the city a vantage position by elevating the city high up above other cities on the ground. And because the city is elevated above ground level, it is visible to everyone; on the ground, in the air and from water bodies. Such great visibility is a real plus for any city set on a hill. Significantly, the hill is what announces the presence of the city to everyone. Beloved, you can also be a city set on a hill. Your enterprise can also be a city set on a hill if you know how to sing your own song the loudest. You can start this song singing with a strong online presence to advertise you and what you do.

For instance, you can latch on to the leverage of social media if you are schooled in deploying social media to advantage. Always remember that social media brought with it new power by creating new democracies, new democratic spaces and platforms. In essence, social media brought to your doorstep the democratization of space, power, influence and relevance. The fact that social media gives an individual, a family, an institution or nation to take up space, global space for that matter online; significantly for free and begin to interact with and communicate to and with people from different geographical regions, ethnic groups, religious groups, political ideologies, sexual orientation, socio-economic and academic backgrounds and standing to share ideas, influence them, motivate and challenge them, inspire them and partner with them speaks of the incredible power and leverage at your disposal if you know exactly what to do with social media.

Social media creates and gives opportunities and platforms to interact with people that ordinarily certain socio-economic and political barricades would not have allowed you to interact with. It is the power of the millennials as well as the platform for accessing the millennials. Therefore, expand your circle of influence online by growing your online audience. Also, quite significant and instructive; find millennials to interact with. They are the future.

If you are already online and you are not yet a city set on a hill, then you are probably too quiet online and being too quiet online may make you invisible to a large number of people who require your products and services; who may be wanting to connect to you. Therefore, make some noise by deploying the AIDA principles to get attention, quality rapt attention online. You need it urgently. You should be known online and globally. Right now, I am too small and insignificant. Get into Wikipedia, relevant and celebrated forums, tweets what brings about blessings and transformation in the lives of people, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and as many social media platforms that you can get in.

Let Your Nets Out for a Catch

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

To let out your nets for a catch implies action, that is to move; to do something, to ACT. Beloved, now is the time to do the right thing; the right thing at the right time because NOW, right now is the right time to catch the fish you desire for which you toiled all night without success. What makes right now the right time? Jesus is in your boat and He is the One Who released the prophetic word for you to go fishing now. Any other task and activity you are engaged in now outside of letting out your nets for a catch is a wrong activity at the wrong time. The only right and worthwhile activity to engage in now is to let out your nets for a catch. Significantly, the task of letting the nets out is an action activity which requires you to ACT, ACT immediately as in the case of the bedridden man at the pool of Bethsaida. Additionally, the nets Jesus asked them to let out had been washed and were drying in the sun. So Peter and his colleagues had to go get the nets from the shore back into the boat before pushing the boat out into deep waters and then letting out the nets for a catch.

How great and mighty is God, our God Who never fails. He made Peter and his professional colleagues bring back to life, to action what they had retired for the day; hoping to return to toiling again at night. But unknown to them, God had different plans for them – they would no longer toil all night with no results to show for their toil. Rather, they would engage in fruitful profitable labor while it was yet day and then transact business and then return home to rest at night with members of their families. It was no longer toiling fruitlessly at night, away from the love and company of their family members. It was now harvest time in the day and guaranteed rest at night.

However, you must push out into deep water; and let out your nets for a catch. It is no longer business as usual; the daily grind of just going fishing hoping that there should be some. It was now guaranteed catch, fruitful, profitable labor designed for multiplication, increase and abundance. No more frustration and probably anger and resentment at fruitless toils. It was now happiness, thanksgiving, joy because labor will always be fruitful, profitable and would always bring about multiplication, increase and abundance.

How to Give careful Attention to Your Flock

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Your flock are your divine gifts given to you by God for you to prosper, make an impact in the lives of people and be a blessing. Your flock may appear inconsequential to you because you may not immediately know the true value. You may reason like the widow of the indebted prophet that it is only a jar of oil. But beloved, that jar of oil solved the problem of indebtedness that would have taken her two sons into debt bondage. In like manner, the full potential of your flock may not be apparent until you pay considerable attention to your flock. The Biblical Joseph paid considerable attention to his flock and rose to become Prime Minister in Egypt.

But the young man described in Proverbs Chapter 24 verses 24 to 30 refused to pay attention to his flock and suffered losses. Rather than work his land, he kept giving excuses – his body required more sleep, more rest when other people were working. His refusal to work at a season of working the land cost him his vineyard and he became poor. He gave excuse, procrastinated and suffered poverty. The lame man lived at Bethsaida for thirty eight years because he always had the perfect excuse – he had no one to put him in the water when the angel stirred the water. So even when Jesus asked him if he wanted to be made whole, the lame man gave excuses. Fortunately for him, Jesus had compassion on him and he was made whole.

Beloved, the consequences of not giving careful attention to your flock include losses and destruction as in the case of the young man described as void of understanding in Proverbs Chapter 24 verses 30 to 34, 18 verse 9 and Ecclesiastes Chapter 11 verse 18. Therefore always give careful attention to your flock.

God in His infinite mercy and compassion promises to bless all the labor of His children. Therefore, PAY CONSIDERABLE ATTENTION TO YOUR GOD GIVEN FLOCK. How, you may ask?

Know the exact number of your flock, how many they are, their backgrounds, the state of your flock whether they are in good shape or not. This will inform the kind and quality of care which you will need to provide.

It is also important to know your flock by name. Jesus knows His disciples by name. Please read John Chapter 10 verses 14, 27, Proverbs Chapter 27 verse 23.

Brand your flock by stating their values and benefits. Also brand their total look and appeal to give them the right positioning globally, nationally and locally.

Invest in People 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts.  And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others.  He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers. Exodus Chapter 35 verses 30 to 35.

You can and should invest in people by training them.

Nebuchadnezzar invested in the members of his court by ensuring that quality young men were always sought for and trained for three years before graduating them into the inner realms of the court. That way, Nebuchadnezzar always had a pool of competent leaders who assisted in the day to day affairs of his expansive kingdom. Significantly, the training was designed to prepare them for leadership roles as well as advisory roles to King Nebuchadnezzar in the day to day running of affairs in the kingdom of Babylon. Quite significant and instructive is the fact that graduation from the training did not automatically place the newly trained leaders in the inner realms of the court. They were further subjected to rigorous interviews by the King. Their performance at the interviews determined whether they were brought into the direct service of the King or not.  Daniel and his friends passed the interview and were instantly recruited into the direct service of the King. Please see Daniel Chapter 1. Those who did not pass were probably subjected to further training in the outer court so that they would be given greater responsibilities upon graduating.

It is pertinent to note that King Nebuchadnezzar, like many other Kings of his days and even contemporary leaders in diverse fields today did not and do not spend great sums of money for the sake of spending money on training just so they could be seen to be training people. It was for the purpose of raising and growing leaders who would in turn raise and grow other leaders. Investing in people through training was and is for the purpose of developing human capital, a key resource for sustainable economic growth and general development.