Impacting Your World

Is it possible that you can be used of God to impact your world? I want to look at a woman who impacted two countries. Her name was Jochebed. She was the mother of Moses. Through Jochebed God impacted Egypt as well as Israel. Her son, Moses, left a spiritual influence on both of these countries. “And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.” Exo. 2:1-3

1. If you want to impact your world invest in others for God. Moses mother invested in her son. Let me share her story. At the time of Moses birth the Israelite people were living in slavery in Egypt. The people were looking for evidence that God had not forgotten them. They were looking for a ray of hope. Moses was born into that environment. Jochebed may not have envisioned that her son could bring hope. However, within every parent there is a vision for their children. Every parent would like to see their child be the president. Every parent thinks their child is the most intelligent child in the school. Jochebed was no different.

A. This woman of faith, like all parents, recognized the potential in her child. In Hebrews 11:23 the Bible instructs us that Moses’ parents hid him when they saw he was a special child. The KJV says “proper”; the Amplified says he was a “comely” child; the NASV says “beautiful”, and the NIV says “no ordinary”. This principle is repeated in Acts 7:20. The focus seems to be on the fact that Moses was a beautiful child. Obviously, Moses parents thought he was a beautiful child. I have never seen parents who thought otherwise. All parents consider their children to be beautiful. I have never heard a parent say “that is an ugly baby.” Whether this phrase refers to Moses looks or his overall person is irrelevant. Point is, Moses parents saw something special in him. They saw his potential and risked their lives to help him reach his potential. One of the first jobs of a mother is to recognize the unique potential that God has placed in their child and magnify that potential.

“Someone has said anyone can count the number of apples on a tree; however, it is a rare and wonderful person who can count the number of trees inside an apple.”

Many of you know the name John Croyle. John was an All American who played football for Bear Bryant at Alabama. John was selected to play professional football. However, he turned down the opportunity because he had a larger dream. John’s dream was to start a ranch for troubled teens. He started “The Big Oak Ranch” for troubled teens, near Gadsen, Al. Over the past 20 or so years John has rescued the lives of hundreds of troubled teens. He has written a book “Bringing Out The Winner” in your child. That is a marvelous life goal. It is a wonderful goal to help bring out the winner in other people.

Jesus was this kind of person. He went about bringing out the winner in other people.

Illustration: One of His more famous female disciples was a lady named Mary Magdalene. Mary had the distinct honor of having receive the expulsion of seven demons from her life. Jesus saw more than a demon possessed women.

Illustration: Another of Jesus’ disciples was a man named Simon the Zealot. Simon was basically the equivalent of an Arab terrorist. Jesus saw more than a radical terrorist. He saw potential. He called Simon to follow Him. Simon became more than a zealot. He became a zealot for Jesus.

I believe if you had asked Jochebed what she considered to be her job, she would have said, “My job is to bring out the winner in my child Moses.” (or) She might have said, “It I my job to raise this child for God.” Someone has said “Our children are like library books on loan with a due date that remains unknown.”

B. Investing in other people has its demands but it also has its rewards. Let me mention an example. (Show picture of my oldest son and his wife on the screen.)

This is a picture of my son and his wife being appointed as missionaries. The date was July 12, 2004. That was a tremendously rewarding night for Judy and me. We swelled with pride to see them walk across the stage. We invested our lives in David. It was rewarding seeing our investment reaping dividends. However, the investment also had its demands. I mention a couple. When David was 11 or 12 he tried to run away from home. He and a friend, who has been in prison several times, plotted a scheme to run away from home. David was mad at us at the time. That was demanding. When David turned 16 he bought his first car. Within a matter of weeks after buying that car David was given two reckless driving tickets for exceeding 80 miles per hour. That was demanding. Investing in other people has its demands but it also has its rewards.