“O that you would bless me and bless me indeed and increase my territory…” 1 Chronicle 4:10
Do you know that Alexander the Great in his teenage life was already an army commander? At the age of 21 he was made king. At the age of 23 he became the first king from the East to conquer the West. When he died in his late 20’s he already conquered most of the known world, making him the greatest and swiftest army conqueror of all time.
I don’t want us necessarily to be conquerors like Alexander. But the points I want to impress in your mind today are:
Age. Don’t say that I am too young to think big things. Remember it is when we are young when we start to dream or aspire for things in life. You remember our heroes like Jose Rizal? He was still young like you when he started dreaming and conceptualizing a free Philippines from foreign oppressors. He devoted his youth hood for that purpose, started to write books in his 20’s and died young making the dawn for a free Philippines. No wonder he said “the youth are the hope of this country.” Paul said, “Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young but set as an example (lead the way) for the believers in speech, faith, life and purity.” I Timothy 4:12
Dream. Someone has said, “nothing happens without a dream.” Indeed it is true that great things won’t happen if we don’t aspire for them. Another person said “what our mind can conceive our body can achieve.” Think of any successful man today whether it is in the area of science, sports, business, etc. Think in particular the new world records created during the Olympics. Example Micheal Phelps, who won 8 gold medals in swimming at the young age of 23, do you think he did not dream before he won those golds? He did strive for them, putting all his time energy in front of his dreams, and finally at that young age he broke world records both as the fastest swimmer and winning most gold medals in the Olympic.
Remember Joseph in the Bible when he was still very young he got dreams and shared them with his brothers? His brothers made fun of him even to the point ofridiculing him for his dreams. But before they knew it the “dreamer” was made a leader in Egypt and all of them had to bow down making Joseph dreams come true.
Young people: what we need to avoid are the dream stealers. People who will influence us for mediocrity. “Blessed is the man who does not walk in counsel of the ungodly, or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers” Psalm 1:1. Why? Because “bad company corrupts good character”. Visionary people hang around with people who are dreamers, people who talk about excellence, success, plans, solutions, new discoveries, new heights, new breakthroughs, new frontiers… not the opposite.
Dreamers are people with purpose. They know why they are doing what they are doing. They have the initial grasp of what they can become if they put excellence (wisdom personified) in everything they do. They understand that failures are just part of the story of their life but not the whole and certainly not the end of the story. They never stop until they see their dreams come to reality.
Prayer and devotion. Think of Jabez in I Chronicle 4:9-10. He was one of an example of a man born in adversity because he was called Jabez which literally means pain. Probably he was born in hardship or probably he was born with physical handicap, we don’t know. But it says that his mother called him Jabez saying “I give birth to him in pain.” However Jabez was indeed a noble man. He did not dwell in his poverty, difficulty, family background, adversity, etc. He lived with his dreams and he invoked the power of the One who can give him his dreams, “O that you would bless me indeed and give me new frontiers. Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” We don’t know much about Jabez, about what he achieved or the great projects he accomplished. But we know what he prayed and that God honored his prayer. One proverb says, “In everything you do put God first and he will crown your efforts with success.”
Conclusion:
There was once a boy who one time went home crying. When asked by his mother what happened he said that his teacher said “he is too stupid to learn.” His mother believed otherwise. As a result she made every effort to coach this young man to greatness. He became a great man, in fact so great that in his life there were about 1000 patents created under his name. When he died the whole United States of America paid tribute by switching off all the lights for a minute to pay honor to the man who invented not only the phonograph, and telephone but also the electrical bulb that the world is enjoying now. His name is Thomas Edison, the boy who refused to believe that he is too stupid to learn but that in him are wealth of potentials and opportunities that he can uncover and give them back to God who give it to him and the world whom the Lord gave his life.
So I challenge you today, don’t say I’m too young. Start planning for your success now! Rise up and be a dreamer and see you dream come to pass. Don’t settle for what is less but what is best. Increase your territory to new frontiers. Isaiah 54: 2-3“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back, lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes, For you will spread out to the right and to the left…” AMEN .
