When I was in year 6 we had a public speaking competition. I wrote a story of myself having a dream where all my friends and I were in a gang and we all had these really cool names and we were the toughest. The funny thing was that when my friends heard the speech they thought it was a good idea and we started a gang at school. We were trying our very best to be as rough as possible and the teachers were getting very worried, so much so that they called me into their office and I sat with the principal, vice principal and my teacher. It was scary, but I was the gang leader, I had no fear. They shared with me their concerns and then they said something that I remember to this day, “Andrew, obviously you have influence over your friends and if you decide that this ‘gang’ thing isn’t a good idea then they will stop too.” Have you ever wanted to have influence? Ever wanted to be someone who made things happen and changed the way people think? Well you are not alone; I think we have all thought that at one point in time or another. Some people are so down on themselves that the thought comes and goes quickly. Others live for the time that they will be high enough in the company or in their circles to have some influence. In the church we have all been called to a life of influence…ALL OF US! It’s not about power, pride and prestige in the church though, it’s about obedience and kingdom growth. So do you want to be a mover and a shaker, it will cost you something!
1. God will move you
Joseph was greatly loved by his father Jacob because he was born to him at such an old age. Joseph would have had a good life, as all babies of the family know. This also meant that he was despised by his older brothers, even more so because of these crazy dreams that he had about all of them bowing down before him. Joseph was about to be moved. He would be an influencer one day, but God had to get him there and it would prove to be a most uncomfortable experience. Instead of killing him, his own brothers sold him into slavery.
All of the people that we look up to in the bible as influencers had one thing in common, before you can be a mover, you have to be moved. Joseph was about to enter into God’s plan for his life, but there were many years of building that he had to endure first. God takes special care in growing, stretching, and building up those He has chosen to be ‘the movers’ in His kingdom. Are you ready to leave the cushy life behind so that you can become an influencer? Are you ready for God to move you?
2. God will shake you
Joseph, now destined to be a foreigner, is bought as a slave in the service of Potiphar. Even though Joseph was in a strange place with strange people the Lord was with him and blessed him and he was soon put in charge of Potiphar’s household. God then shakes Joseph’s world. Potiphar’s wife was quite interested in Joseph and made passes at him, desiring sex. Joseph resisted, but was framed and thrown into prison. It would have been easy for Joseph to sleep with Potiphar’s wife and enjoy his position of power, but he would have shamed the name of the Lord. Joseph could have sinned in secret, but he chose to do what was right.
God will test those who are to have great influence for the Lord. If we are going to be a representative for God then we need to be able to uphold His standards, even under the most difficult tests. God will test your integrity, your character, and your willingness to do what is right in any circumstance. This is the shaking process, which is very challenging because the only one watching is God. If you want to be ‘a shaker’ for the Lord, get ready to be shaken. You ready for that?
3. God will promote you
Then, even though things weren’t the best, God started to place Joseph exactly where he needed to be in order to be promoted. Remember Joseph was a Hebrew living in the land of the Egyptians. If God was going to make him and influencer in a foreign land it would have to happen His way. Joseph interprets 2 dreams in prison and they come true. This leads to Joseph being called upon to minister to the king. Through this Pharaoh, the highest man in the known world, promoted Joseph to the 2nd highest position in the land. This Hebrew farm boy was now elevated, because of his faithfulness through the moving and shaking, to the most powerful position possible.
This seems to be the pattern of every major inspirational character in the bible. Those who were most highly appointed were the one’s whom God tested, stretched, challenged, and refined the most. Now do you still want to be a mover and a shaker? If you can stay straight, not perfect, but true, God will appoint you at the appropriate time and use you to influence family, friends, co-workers, companies, groups, communities, cities, and even nations. You don’t have to struggle to get to the top, fight to be holy and God will lift you up. You don’t have to worry about position, be faithful and God will promote you into places of authority. If you leave it up to God He will shape you, prepare you, and endorse you to be a voice for His glory and for His honour. Does that sound exciting to you or are you happy to sit silently by; comfortable and powerless.
Conclusion
If you want to be a mover and a shaker then get ready to be moved and shaken! God cannot use those He hasn’t tested and proven to be worthy of His name. It’s not about how many years you have put in at church; it’s about how willing you are to be obedient. Joseph had no right to his be second in command of all of Egypt; he was a shepherd boy from Canaan. He was raised to that position because God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called! I am living proof that this truth is true. I’m on a Joseph journey, just like all of you could be if you are willing. Warning though, this is not for the faint of heart. God will ask more than you think you can give, He will stretch further than you think you can go, He will push harder than you think you can bear, but oh to be used for His glory. Oh to be remembered in the history of the church as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Ruth, Samuel, David, Jeremiah, Matthew, Luke, Paul, Timothy, and John. People who were tested beyond what most would say we can endure, but crafted into history changers. How many of you this morning want to be influencers? How many of you are ready to be moved and shaken so that you can be a mover and a shaker for the glory of God? I assure you this morning that what is standing in your way is not race, age, gender, or even how long you have been attending church, it’s all about giving your life over to be used for His purposes. Do it this morning and become what you were created to be, not a seat warmer, but a world changer!
