GROOMED FOR INFLUENCE (Part 2)

GROOMED FOR INFLUENCE (Part 2)

AdesinaAbegunde

Hebrews 11:24-28 (MSG)
²⁴ By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house.
²⁵ He chose a hard life with God's people rather than an opportunistic soft life of sin with the oppressors.
²⁶ He valued suffering in the Messiah's camp far greater than Egyptian wealth because he was looking ahead, anticipating the payoff.
²⁷ By an act of faith, he turned his heel on Egypt, indifferent to the king's blind rage. He had his eye on the One no eye can see, and kept right on going.
²⁸ By an act of faith, he kept the Passover Feast and sprinkled Passover blood on each house so that the destroyer of the firstborn wouldn't touch them.

The summary of the life of Moses in Hebrews 11:24-28 is our text this week, and I will like to say a little about each of the verses. Those who are groomed for influence do the following, they:

1. (vs24) Add Values and Not Titles. They pursue truthful services and not the throne. They grow and not just grown about commonplace. They make things happen and not just murmur. Faith is what is done or said based on what is not seen. Note that Moses ignored the throne after he grew up, so growth makes you to value lasting things above shinning things. Remember not all that glitters are gold. Influencers don’t need titles, they need values.

2. (vs25) Choose Purpose above Pleasures. Don’t live day-to-day looking for a better-life, better job, etc. Look for the-life you were created to live; a life that makes other lives better. Don’t just set out looking for a pleasurable life, look for a purposeful life.

3. (vs26) Ask Questions and Seek Answers. What are you looking ahead to? What are you anticipating? What is your driving force? What cause are you leaving for? David said in 1 Samuel 17:29 “Is there not a cause?” (Am I not just asking a question?). He conquered because he questioned, wise questioning brings conquering. The quality of your life depends on the quality of the questions you ask. Influencers ask God-glorifying, others-centered, potential-tapping questions. Somebody is asking, why are Nigerians jobless? Why can’t I, not the government provide a million jobs to Nigerians in the next ten years? Influencers don’t live for ease, they live for a cause. They bear a burden in their heart in order to be a blessing.

4. (vs27) Live with a Focus. They keep their eyes on a goal and a glory. What are you keeping your eyes on? Many keep their eyes on mundane things. You are to live a life of endurance and undeterred focus on the glory like Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). So seek to know and set your eyes on eternity with Jesus, your eternal purpose here on earth, your dreams and vision.

5. (vs28) Champion a Risk. What a very big risk Moses took both on his life and others. Everyone who has ever influenced their generation took a risk, space won’t permit us to talk about risks of the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, several missionaries to dangerous areas, Early Church Fathers, Bible Character, Inventors etc. You are meant to take divinely ordained risk. Only know that risks taken under God is no is no risk at all.

Conclusion: I will like to wrap it up with a quote by Theodore Roosevelt, a former president of the United States, who said “There has not yet been a person in our history who led a life of ease whose name is worth remembering.” Will you do like Moses and shun the throne for the truth, choose purpose above pleasure, question what is and seek what can be, live a life of purposeful focus and take risk to “live simply so others can simply live”?

Remember, you are groomed for influence!

Have a fruitful week.