MAXIMISING THE BLESSINGS OF GODLY INFLUENCE
Study Text: Psalms 1 : 1 - 3
Introduction:
- Influence is the power or capacity of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command. It is the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways to produce a desired result, to impact, or to cause some changes to take place.
- Influence focuses on hearts and changes people from within. It sways their thoughts, their perceptions, and their values. As a result, influence also has the power to change behaviour.
- Where does this kind of power come from? Influence is a spiritual force that can be applied either positively or negatively. Influences that affect our lives are only one side of the coin. The other is all about the influence that we have on others.
- To influence others is both a privilege and a great responsibility. We need to treat this with holy respect, as God will demand an account from us regarding the influence we exercised on others.
- The force that is at work through influence is called exposure. Two things govern the influence, namely time (length of exposure) and the strength of the source. Influence is thus a result of exposure to a source that emits a certain power and effect. This can take place in a direct or indirect way, hidden or openly, positively or negatively.
- What you are mostly exposed to, will influence you the most. Some sources are more powerful than others. At some crucial stages or places in life we are more susceptible to influence, for example early childhood and the teenage years.
- There are times in life when we have little or no control over the things or people that influence us. It does not stay that way forever. There comes a time when we can take charge of what comes in and what goes out of our lives. Take charge over influence as much as you can! Minimise or avoid ungodly, unwholesome influence; maximise godly influence.
- We shall discuss the topic under three sub-headings:
1. The Pattern of Possible Influence
2. The Problem of Ungodly Influence
3. The Power of Godly Influence
1. The Pattern of Possible Influence
i. The Parental Influence
- The parents have a great influence on the children. They are the first contact the child is exposed to, and learn their attitudes, character, habit and dispositions.
- A very good example is the family of Timothy, his mother Eunice was positively influenced by her own mother Lois, and the influence was evident in the life of Timothy, which can be from either his own mother or the grandmother or both of them. 2 Timothy 1: 5.
- The scripture recommend that parents should consciously be a source of positive influence on their children. That is why the Bible instructed them to train up a child. Prov. 22: 6.
- Unfortunately today, some of the parents, including believers have been a source of bad or negative influence to their children, either consciously or unconsciously.
- Parents need to prayerfully monitor their children in school and the environment to see the kind of friends they associate with so as to ensure that they are not being negatively influenced from outside.
- It is not enough for parents to give good food, good clothing and good education to their children, they must be deeply concern and labour towards their spiritual growth.
ii. The Sibling Influence
- In every family, there is a possibility of one child influencing the other either positively or negatively. This is because the siblings are usually together, and at a time, the influence might even be greater than that from the parents.
- One example is the children of Jacob. Despite the fact that Jacob was a man that feared the Lord, all his children are evil workers, except Joseph who stood out among them. Genesis 37: 2.
- We see Joseph bringing the evil report of his brethren to their father. This is a challenge to the children and the youth. It is possible for you to grow up among evil brothers and sisters without following their bad examples, but keeping to the way of the Lord you have learnt.
- We can also see the example of Samuel, who grew up together with the sons of Eli, but refused to be influenced by their evil behaviours. 1 Samuel 2: 12, 22.
iii. The Spouses’ Influence
- There is also a possibility of spouses influencing one another either positively or negatively. Marital harmony is a great blessing, but should not be extend to evil or ungodly practises.
- The popular story of Ananias and Sapphira is an example of this kind of influence. The idea would definitely had come from one of them, and the other person just played along. Acts 5: 1 – 2.
- One of the benefit of a good marriage is for one to bring up the other when he or she is down, to encourage one another in the way of the Lord and to ensure that evil and all ungodly practises is done away in the family.
- We can also see how Jezebel influenced her husband Ahab to kill Naboth and to take over his inheritance. The idea did not come to Ahab’s mind, but he agreed with it when the wife moved the motion. 1 King 21: 5 – 7.
iv. The Peer Influence
- This is the kind of influence among the peer group. It can also be a positive or negative influence.
- Everyone has peer group consisting of people from different background, culture, training and beliefs. This is because no one could be happy alone without relating with others.
- Unfortunately, what is supposed to be a great blessing could be a source of great sorrow if one does not tread with caution. Some people are very bad and injurious and they have the abilities of drawing other people along in their wicked behaviours.
- It is the responsibility of every child to know God personally and to be able to discern good and bad influences among their peer group.
- A very good example was that of King Rehoboam who forsook the good counsel given to him by the elders and choose to follow the bad one given to him by his peer group. 1 King 12: 6-11.
- Rather than being negatively influenced by the evil behaviours of your peer, you can trust God to be a positive influence unto them.
v. The Positional or Leadership Influence.
- There are certain position a man occupies that makes him a personality of influence. Therefore people occupying leadership position, both spiritually and secularly, need to be careful of their public actions because they may be a source of influence to their followers either positively or negatively.
- When Joshua told the people that he and his household will serve the Lord, and he asked the people to choose who they will serve, he became a positive influence on them that everyone confessed she or she will serve the Lord also. Joshua 24: 14 – 17.
- When Vashti disobeyed her husband, the King, her offence was seen as a source of negative influence on other women because of her position. Esther 1: 16 – 19.
vi. The Followers’ Influence
- In a similar way, the followers can also have some influence on their leaders. Every leader need to be aware of this, and need to be careful that they are not influenced negatively.
- The followers can influence their leaders both in the spiritual and secular positions by several ways. Some of which include feeding them with negative or false information, comparing them with other leaders elsewhere, and mounting pressure of ungodly desires or request on them.
- For instance, the Israelite mounted pressure on Samuel to give them a king like other nation, until God asked him to grant their request. 1 Samuel 8: 1 – 7.
- Moreover, the same people also influenced Saul through their pressure to disobey the clear instruction of the Lord to destroy the Amalekites. 1 Samuel 15: 24.
vii. The Majority or Worldly Influence.
- In this life, people tend to flow in the direction of the majority. A lot so scriptural portions gave us warning against the majority or worldly influences.
- Such include: follow not the multitude to do evil, Exodus 23:2, Love not the world, 1 John 2: 15 -16, Do not conformed to this world, and so on.
- Micaiah the prophet of God was advised to say similar things to what four hundred prophet has already told the King, but he overcame this ungodly influenced. 1 Kings 22: 13 – 27.
- Demas was in the spiritual level of a pastor, but he backslides and forsook the work of the Lord because of worldly influence. 2 Timothy 4: 10.
- The world today is having a lot of influence in the Church of God today by affecting our message, our singing, and our dressing and so on. We need to accept the word of the Lord that we are only in the world and we are not of the world, so let us reject all forms of worldly influences in our lives and the Church.
2. The Problem of Ungodly Influence
- A lot of people follow bad examples and become negatively influenced more than they follow the good. This is because the Devil works to see that people are negatively influenced against the word of God, and therefore living a life that is not pleasing to God. Some of the problems of negative influence are:
i. It is not easily noticed:
- A negative influence usually come in a friendly manner, and have results that appears pleasurable to the body and profitable to the person.
- When the Sons of Eli were perpetrating their evil, it started as a normal enjoyment and their rites as the sons of the Priest. They grew in this evil acts until it was difficult for them to turn from it.
ii. It spread faster:
- A lot of people has a greater tendency to copy negative things than the positive, this is because the people doing them are always in the majority.
- The example of yeast is often used in Scripture to illustrate both negative and positive influence. Jesus warned the disciples against the yeast of wrong doctrine from the Pharisees (Matthew 16:6) but also encourages us that the message of the Kingdom is like yeast that will spread (Matthew 13:33).
- In essence it means that influence is not always the most powerful when it is the loudest or most visible. What makes influence so powerful is that it often works in an unseen but dynamic way. It spreads without being detected, but is evident in the final outcome of things. It causes a rising to fullness.
iii. It enslaves and entangles stronger:
- Most people that are victims of negative influences are usually entangled by them, and they may come to a level where it becomes very difficult for them to change.
iv. It hinders or corrupt positive influence:
- Its effect can actually overshadow the good and positive behaviours and attitude and bring about a total corruption of a system.
v. It leads to more ungodliness:
- When negative influence comes from the people of God that are expected to be good examples, it discourages the unbelievers from turning to God. Our sin can influence unbelievers to reject God, Rom 2:24; 1 Tim 6:1; Tit 2: 3 - 5.
vi. It brings about shame and reproach:
- Not only to the person involved, but also to his or her parents, family members, the Church of God, and to others in association with the person. Proverb 28: 7.
vii. It brings about moral defilement and denial of Christ:
- With time, a negatively influenced person can be morally defiled and fall away from the way of Christ. Like the example of Demas already considered. 1 Corinthians 15: 33 – 34.
3. The Power of Godly Influence
- From God’s perspective our influence does not depend on our position in life. Our potential for influence depends on our understanding of our position in Christ. Take your place by faith!
- You can be a godly influence in your current situation because the Holy Spirit is in you. He has anointed you, even if you feel you don’t qualify or that your life is not significant.
- If God has granted you a position of influence in this world, it is time to start using it for His purpose! Ask Him to show you why He has placed you where you are, and what He wants you to do.
- As a Spirit-filled believer you have the inherent ability to exercise unstoppable influence for godly change in the same way as yeast works on a batch of dough. You can make a difference. Accept the call – be the yeast; be the light!
- Influence can be the force and power of godly deeds and the examples they set, 1 Tim 4:12; Titus 2:7.
a. Of young people upon believers, 1 Tim 4:12.
b. Of young men upon opponents, Titus 2:6-8.
c. Of a godly spouse upon her/his partner, 1 Pet 3:1-7.
d. Of a Christian upon the ungodly, 1 Pet 2:11-12.
- The power of godly or positive influence include:
i. The Preserving Power
- Positive influence can have a preserving power, preserving godliness in a world of sin. That is why the Bible calls us the Light of the world and Salt of the earth. Jesus likened this influence to salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16).
- Salt speaks of the flavour of Christ’s character and the truth we bring to those around us. Light speaks of the hope and truth we bring to people. Both of these should take place through our deeds and words.
ii. The Saving Power
- You can turn the attention of the unbelievers to God so that their souls can be saved. For instance, when Paul met Onesimus in the prison, he succeeded in turning him to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Philemon 1: 10 – 17.
- Jesus commissioned believers to share the good news about His love and forgiveness with all people (Matthew 28:19-20). This is a call to influence people towards godly change.
iii. The Encouraging Power:
- Your zeal for the house of God, and your determination for righteous living can serve as encouragement to others to do similar thing. For instance, the determination of Daniel to stand for the Lord in Babylon was a source of encouragement and positive influence to the three Hebrew boys. Daniel 1: 8
iv. The Evangelizing Power
- The information of your positive influence may be a means of reaching out to others. For instance, the news of the Thessalonians’ conversion spread, influencing many others to greater faith. 1 Thessalonians 1: 8 – 10.
- We need to set a godly standard by our testimonies, witness and godly example. Philippians 2:15-16 – this means being a force for godly change
v. The Reproductive Power:
- The power of godly or positive influence can produce many more faithful people like yourself. The life of Apostle Paul produced many more faithful fellow workers in the kingdom of God.
- Similarly, the exemplary life of Philip in living a live full of the Holy Spirit produces four daughters that are Spirit filled and are on fire for the Lord. Not just because, he was their biological father, but because he was a godly influence in their lives.
vi. The Everlasting Power:
- Your positive influence will live on, even after you have died and translated to glory. That is why it is possible for us to read the account of some godly men and women in the Bible and our lives are being transformed even up till today.
- Long after the death of Moses, his positive influence was still evident in the life of Joshua and many of the Israelites.
- In order to be able to influence others in a positive ways, there are areas of your life you need to develop:
i. Competence:
- It doesn’t mean that you have to be better than everyone else. It does mean, however, that you are diligent about doing your best. Colossians 3:23 says to work “with all your heart.” Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.”
ii. Character:
- It’s not enough to be good at what you do. Great character must govern great giftedness if we want to maintain a positive influence on others. Lack of integrity and character has aborted the influence of many leaders.
- Authentic Christ-like character consistently impresses people. It engages attention and influences people because God designed men and women to admire the character traits God possesses.
iii. Consideration:
- Nothing reveals more about your character than how you treat people. People don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care.
- Character is not just something we are internally; it expresses itself outwardly in the thoughtfulness we display to others, our tenderness and compassion, our mercy and kindness, our attentiveness and gentleness. Philippians 2:1-4.
iv. Communication:
- Apart from living a godly lifestyle as a positive example to others, we must also communicate to them the mind of God, and the reasons behind our godly actions and attitude.
- Philip shared the gospel with the Ethiopian Eunuch, and the man believed the Gospel. Paul and Silas, after demonstrating a godly example to the Jailor, still shared the Gospel with him.
v. Courage
- In your effort to produce a positive influence in others, you will meet opportunities and face obstacles that will challenge you to the edge of your faith.
- A close walk with God is the only antidote to fear. The Lord commanded Joshua, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). Be courageous in using every opportunity to influence people for the sake of the Kingdom.
Conclusion
- No one dare say, “I have no influence”! Whether you are aware or not, your life influences many people in unseen ways.
- No one dare say, “I am not influenced by others”! Whether you are aware or not, you are influenced by the people around you and the values they hold.
- Pursue the influence of godliness and flee the influence of the world, 1 Tim 6:11. Overcome evil with good, Rom 12:21.
