You are welcome to Leaderview and we are continuing today the Leadership Trip to Genesis. I am sure you are excited about the Leadership Trip to Genesis. We have finally gotten to chapter 48 of Genesis and I am sure you have been blessed. I have been blessed myself and I don't want us to just take things for granted. Over the last 47 weeks, we have had God explain to us simple and basic principles of leadership. Today is another day and I believe there is something that He wants to share with us. Today we are looking at Genesis chapter 48 as we continue the series: The Leadership Trip to Genesis. Our focus today is on purpose, and so, what we will be examining is: Purpose, Not Position Sets a Man Up for Influence and Authority.
Listen To MP3 Podcast: PURPOSE, NOT POSITION SETS A MAN UP FOR INFLUENCE & AUTHORITY
One thing that I believe an average man is looking for is some form of authority and some form of influence. You want to have influence and you believe for you to have that, you need authority. And in search for authority and influence, men have actually attempted to use different things to get influence and authority. Some have bribed their ways, some have told some lies, some have prayed some prayers, some have read some books, and some have attended some conferences, all in an attempt to gain influence and some authority. Today I have come to discover, reading the book of Genesis chapter 48, that leadership influence or leadership authority does not rest on a man or a woman simply because such a person has a position of leadership.
Leadership authority or leadership influence actually rests upon a man or a woman, a boy or a girl simply because of his or her purpose. Now, as I am talking right now, I am making use of microphone and some audio gadgets so that you can understand and hear me very clearly. Now, come to think of it, could I be in need of these things and then come for you or for your bag or for your shoes, or even come for your car? There is nothing that I can substitute these audio gadgets with. So, in their areas of specialty, in their areas of competence and focus, they are authorities. So, my microphone for instance is an authority and it has some influence on me while I am using it.
You must notice that because microphone is built for the purpose of audio recording, it become influential in studios. And because all other things I am using are necessities for a good audio recording, I am in need of them and I go for them. They become authorities and they become influential. So, your authority is not rooted in your position, your position don't actually carry with them enough authority or influence that you can build your destiny around. You see, true authority does not come by position. You can give yourself position, people can also give you positions. But true influence cannot be taken from you, likewise is true authority. Until you kill a fish, you cannot stop the fish from swimming. You cannot tell the fish it does not have authority to swim simply because you don't want it to swim, no!
As long as the fish is alive, it has all the authority to swim. Now the same thing goes for a Lion. As long as a Lion is alive, he rules in the jungle. Whatever you are built for, you are expected to rule in that thing and at that time. You see, that is why Dr. John C. Maxwell wrote the book called The 3600 Leader. In the book, he explained how a man has the capacity to influence upward or influence downward or influence along the line or vertically or horizontally or along your line. So, the point is, it is possible for you to influence people who are older and have positions than you. It is a matter of your purpose.
Those who have found their purpose have come to exact influence, not to lord it over people but to help people with their purpose. You see, ultimately your purpose gives you responsibility. Your purpose makes you responsible which people call leadership. You see, you cannot continually show responsibility and you would be disregarded in a place or by a people. They consider you to be a woman or a man of authority simply because they have seen you take responsibility for a number of time.
Now today, we want to read the story of Jacob and Joseph including his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. We want to see how purpose, not positions determined their arrangement and authority in destiny. Because of time I may not be able to read the entire Genesis chapter 48, but I will read a few verses, maybe from verse 14 to verse 16. The Bible says:
"Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn."
I am sure you note that from that, by virtue of positioning, Manasseh was supposed to have more influence or more authority. But Jacob, inspired by God, knowing what God has destined for each of them, knowing the purpose of God for each of them, said later on because the father got angry. Now Let us see it in verse 15-17.
15 And he blessed Joseph, and said:
“God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
16 The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
Let my name be named upon them,
And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."17 Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
When Jacob said "I know, my son," to Joseph, he was not trying to shut him up. He was simply telling him that he knows their purpose and who they are supposed to turn out to be. He said Manasseh too shall become a people, talking about his destiny now. So, when we said purpose and not position set people up for influence or authority, we are not just cooking it up. Jacob emphasized that he know who Manasseh would become, for he shall become a people and he also shall be great. Note the next point. It says:
"but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations."
20 So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
Now, by virtue of their position, by virtue of their ranking within the family, by virtue of their title, one was the first born, the other was the second. One was the older, the other was the younger. Now, in spite of that, you see when we are talking about authority in leadership and we are talking about influence, it has nothing to do with your gender or your age. It is as God has purposed it. Those who struggle with purpose are the ones struggling with influence or authority. If you know your purpose, you don't struggle for influence or authority. You are an authority in the area of your purpose.
Your destiny confers on you authority and influence. If you move outside the order or the scope of your destiny, you actually move outside the scope of your influence and then the scope of your authority. So a man who understands his purpose and then he embraces it, such a person commands result, is influential and such a person has authority. I remember in the Bible, talking about Mary, the mother of Jesus; when the angel came to her and explained the purpose of God to her, and then, the Bible says "blessed is she that believes for there shall be a performance of those things that has been said to her by her Lord." Now, the truth is, till date, Mary continues to exert influence on millions of people across the World. And all she needed to do was to believe her purpose. As she was told, she believed it.
The question is: as you are being told your purpose by God, do you take it, just like Esau took his birthright unseriously or do you take it seriously and you are willing to give it all that will require? You see, your purpose is what holds your influence and your authority. Don't beg people to become an authority. Don't bribe people, don't force people, don't beg anybody to follow you. Influence shouldn't be bought with money. Your purpose will create it, your purpose will enforce it, and your purpose will make it happen. I also remember in Proverbs where the Bible says "do you see a man who excels in his work, he shall stand before kings and not ordinary men."
Now, in his work shows in his purpose. You see, when Jacob was blessing Ephraim and Manasseh, he was describing their future. If you can excel in your purpose, you will stand before kings, you don't need to beg. People will seek for your attention, they will seek your opinion simply because they want to celebrate you, but nobody celebrate mediocre. So, if you want to become an authority, a man who has influence over cities, companies, and over nations, then you must begin to settle down with your purpose and wok it out. Make it happen, make it fruitful, make it productive. Become a master in your purpose!
It is inside that purpose that your glory is. It is inside that purpose that people will seek and search for you. Nations who will seek you out won't just seek you for anything, they will only seek you for that thing that you know how to do well. There is something that you can do that even if I want to learn for many years, I may never be able to do it the way you will do it. Why? Because you have been created, wired and given the heart to do that thing. So, why do you struggle looking for opportunities in areas outside of your purpose? Why are you trying to be like other people when in reality, you are supposed to be a model that people look up to?
I am sure you know when we talk about model, do you know the implication for the manufacturers? You see, every manufacturer that creates things, they always start with modes. Those who create cars, they start with models. You must have a model. Something is built after something else. You have been created as an authority. Another word for that is you are an original. Your originality is what secures your authority. Don't sell it off. Don't discard and disregard it. Don't take it lightly. Embrace it as a matter of life and principle. Let God be true and every man a liar. What God has created you to do that is what will sell you to the world. Don't sell it off. Believe in it, pursue it. Don't worry whether you are the last born, second to the last born; or the first born. All those things don't really matter in destiny.
There have been first born who didn't become much, so also are last born who didn't amount to anything. It is not about whether you were born first or born last, it is about your purpose and it is about your positioning. With or against your purpose, if you position yourself for your purpose, you will have influence and you will have authority. And if you do otherwise, you are like what Jesus said to Paul, you are kicking against the goads. You would break your leg and destroy your life in the process, and I am sure that is not your own desire.
As you walk towards your purpose, embracing it, fulfilling it, I pray that the Lord will continue to show Himself strong in your affair and continue to prosper the work of your hand that He has given to you. Don't forget, your purpose is the work that God has given to you. Don't struggle for works, seek for the work and you will become an authority, a man, a woman of influence, an entity that can never be disregarded by anyone on earth.
Thank you for the gift of your time, you have been listening to Leaderview and my name is Gboyega Adedeji. Our focus today is Purpose. We are dealing with the issue of purpose saying that it is Purpose, Not Position That Sets anyone Up for Influence and Authority in any generation.
God bless you!
