Introduction
· Through the Word of God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Jesus has given us the ability to influence others for Christ.
· As a child of God, you have inherited the blessing, which includes the ability to influence people for God and His kingdom.
· A person of influence demonstrates Christ through their lifestyle.
· This morning I want to encourage each one of you that God desires you to be a person of influence in our city, schools, jobs and church.
· Let us examine the scriptures this morning regarding your Godly influence.
1) God has a reason for you having influence.
a)Influence is defined as a release of spiritual or moral force, the act or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command, the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways.
b)An influential person demonstrates Christ through his/ her lifestyle.
c) God has given you the blessing when you were saved.
d)The blessing of God enables you to influence others for Jesus.
(NKJV) Genesis 12 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
e) You must be a bold witness for Jesus in order to influence others. You can’t wait for someone else to do it for you. You must be willing to share the “Good News”.
2) God desires that every Believer be an influence to others for Christ.
a)You and I should strive to bring others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
b) Jesus was a living example of how to be a person of influence. As a Christian we are to be living examples of Jesus.
(NKJV) 2 Corinthians 3 1 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? 2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
c) We are to reflect Jesus in all that we do. We need to represent God well!
d) People will be drawn to or influenced by the Jesus in us.
3) People of influence will make a significant impact on others through the power of God. (Three Biblical examples)
a)The Samaritan woman’s brief encounter with Jesus influenced her to such a point that multitudes of people were drawn to Him as a result of His impact on her life.
(NKJV) John 4 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” 27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?” 28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word. 42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
b) Peter and John used the name of Jesus to release the power of God to heal the lame man’s body. As a result, he began praising God, drawing people to the Lord.
(NKJV) Acts 3 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and anklebones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
c) King Solomon had so much influence and wealth that the Queen of Sheba lost her breathe when she saw all that he possessed and the wisdom that he had.
(NKJV) 1 Kings 10 1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 3 So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her. 6 Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7 However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. 8 Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.”
10 Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
4) Four ways to have eternal influence on other people.
a) Be a doer of the Word of God.
b) Be a person who is loving, compassionate and a giver of his/her finances and talents.
c) Be a person who is stable, reliable, committed and consistent.
d)Be willing to help people and share your testimony.
Conclusion
· God desires you to be a person of influence at work, home, school, church, etc.
· A person can be influential by their lifestyle. People want what you have. Share Jesus with them.
· The blessing of God that is on your life influences those who are lost.
· God has given you influence to change other peoples lives for Jesus.
· There are several Biblical Characters that influenced generations for Christ.
· Remember, you are an example of Jesus, so shine bright for Him.
· Let us pray!
Salvation/Altar Call
