Introduction
Some of the greatest leaders in history are marked by their ability to persevere and believe in an idea; despite the adversity they received as recompense for their passion, and despite the backlash of the whip of persecution because of the controversy of their vision.
Among those great epistles of bravery is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was targeted numerous times and eventually killed for his vision of equality. There is also Jesus Christ who hung-bleed-and died, that we can have a citizenship that transcends the forces, realities, and capacities of this universe in order to gain the ability to restore the order and harmony that Heaven sought from the beginning. There was also President Abraham Lincoln whom also gave his life and countless years of his career running for several public offices just to fail at achieving just about every election. However, he is not remembered by history because of his failures, but as a man whose vision of success drowned deafening sound of failure and rejection.
Learning How To Navigate Your Mountain of Influence
We all want to build a better tomorrow. We all believe that there is a need to be someone greater, the need to do something bigger, the need for someone to take drastic action which would cause an inevitable cycle of change and restoration in our country and the world.
Yet the question remains, what are you willing to do to be a part of the class of titans with the ability to cause this change?
It is going to take more than hopes, dreams, and prayers. It is going to take those who are willing to invest the time, blood, sweat, and tears in getting close to not just those in the mountain of influence they are assigned to, but also close to the mountain itself.
It will take working to learn the language of that mountain, working to earn the credentials necessary to give you access to that mountain.
It will also take those who are snipers in intercession, thought, and action-not simply because of the articles they have read, or what they have heard in the media. But those who have earned their skill with the sweat of their brow and whom possess unwavering commitment to that mountain.
The type of leader we are referring to have invested in learning that mountain of influence’s patterns, moods, and tendencies. Don’t misread this statement. Prayer is the driving force of the Kingdom (Acts 2). Prayer is the most powerful weapon in the Kingdom arsenal, but it must be coupled with one’s ability to tap into the revelation of an arena or mountain and that only comes through proximity over time.
If we are going to see change it is going to take us getting our hands dirty and pledging our lives to the cause. We must become educated, join organizations, and construct cultures that engage in influencing global events. These formidable individuals must be cultivated within our Churches. The Church is God’s Governing body in the earth, which means it must also be the launching pad for Global Ambassadors who possess Apostolic skill to cause transformation in high level places. But If we are going to change our world as a great statesman I known once said, “it is going to take us getting close”.
You can’t change a system standing on the outside. You have to get involved. That vision must drive you. It must make you invincible. Pressures will come. Pain will come. Disappointment will come. Fatigue will come. However, if you-like the world changers of the past-have the ability to outlast it all; then you too can be memorized by history as one whose voice mattered.
Long suffering-The Weapon of Champions
We live in an instant society, where technologies possess the ability to instantaneously publish something, immediately complete a task, or suddenly create an idea. This instantaneous function has cultivated a culture of impatience which has convince humanity into believing that everything in life happens overnight.
I believe, God is releasing an anointing for acceleration, singular events that took those of yesteryear forever to do, will occur in this generation in matter of smaller increments which will cause this generation to be able to complete more over smaller period of time. Yet we must understand that change, transformation, and metamorphosis are all things that will require the lost art of “long suffering” to achieve.
If you aren’t willing to commit your entire life to the vision God has entrusted you with, then you have not earned the right to be a part of the manifestation of that promise. If you are not willing to give your life to earning your degrees, sitting in the meetings, and speaking the language of your sphere of influence then you haven’t earned the right to demand that leaders in that field respect your ideas, suggestions, and strategies. Show you care, by learning the culture, and getting the credentials. Put in the leg work, this is the foundational principle of relevance.
For example, you don’t deserve to be a titian in the business arena if you aren’t willing to learn the arts of business etiquette, the law of best practice, and the rudiments of money management. The more you show the mountain you care the more it will accept you.
You cannot trick your way into the heart of the mountain, you have to love the mountain, love that world, love that culture, and then it will accept you. For some of us, our prayers for our spheres of influence have been rejected, because our work ethic doesn’t match the anointing we claim to have.
If you are going to be significant then you can’t be outworked. You have to have the best grades. You have to have the best character. You have to display the most heart for your sphere of influence. You have to be the most involved person in the affairs of your sphere of influence. That comes through getting close to that mountain.
Importation for The Assignment
You can’t change a system that you aren’t willing to be a part of and work for. God gives grace, gifts, and the anointing for the sake of winning an arena. All three of these technologies imparted by God, can only be made effective through dedication, consistent work ethic, and faith.
The scriptures say that we must “study to show ourselves approved” (2nd Timothy 2:15).
The Greek word there is the word “spoudazo”, it’s the same word used for labor, to be diligent, or to endeavor. In essence the scripture is saying to diligently work or labor with great effort to express or prove yourself, or to prove that what is in is relevant.
If you are going to be relevant, and if you are going to change the world it is going to require work.
Conclusion
How hard are you willing to work? How much does your sweat weigh when it hits the scales of that mountain to determine if you are granted access? How hard have you worked to speak its language? How many degrees have you sought to speak its language? How close are you to the mountain? This will determine if the mountain rejects you or accepts you.