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HOW TO INFLUENCE OTHERS
Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Being a good manager of what God has given you is called “stewardship.” A lot of people think of money when we say stewardship – but stewardship is more than that. One of the primary things that we have the responsibility to manage for God is the influence that he has given us.
Influence: Getting others to follow you.
Everyone has influence. “You are the salt of the earth.”
What is your influence like?
<ILLUS> A mother took her young son shopping. After a day in the stores, a clerk handed the little boy a lollipop. "What do you say?" the mother said to the boy, to which he replied, "Just put it on my credit card!”
Like it or not, that mom had influenced that little boy by her actions through the day.
<ILLUS> Another mother was taking her little boy to school, since the dad had to go to work early. The little boy kept looking around on the way to school. Halfway there, the little boy said, “Mom, where are the idiots?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” said the little boy, “usually Dad and I see at least three or four idiots on the way to school.”
Whether it’s over your kids, or your co-workers, your family or your friends, YOU have influence. The question is, what direction is your influence leading people?
Leadership principles - To influence people in the right direction:
1. Make a decision to lead others the right direction. (v. 13) “You are the salt of the earth...”
One of the remarkable things about salt is that it preserves things. If you salt meat, it will last a lot longer and still be good than if you didn’t salt it.
If you want to influence others, you’ve got to make a decision what kind of influence you’re going to be.
Have you ever noticed that it’s easy to be good when you’re with some people? Have you noticed that it’s easy to be bad with others? You know that there’s some people you wouldn’t think twice about sharing a shady joke with, while others you wouldn’t THINK about it?
Let me ask you: Which one are you? What direction have you chosen to influence?
Are you an influence that prevents decay and rot in others, or do you go right along with it?
2. Get close to those you want to influence. (V. 13) “You are the salt of the earth...”
Salt doesn’t do you any good sitting on your table in your saltshaker. It’s got to get out of the saltshaker, and onto the food to make it taste better.
In the same way, it’s difficult to influence people from a distance. You’ve got to get out of your little world, and into theirs to influence them.
Today, people are saying, “Don’t TELL me. . . SHOW me!”
Here’s what I know about influencing others. . . if you try to TELL people what’s right, they won’t listen. If you get into their lives and SHOW them, they’ll hear you!
3. Be a strong Christian. (V. 13) “...but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”
The starting point for influencing others is not what you DO, but what you ARE!
“Halfway” Christians don’t influence anyone like they could. They end up BEING influenced by everyone else. That’s like salt that lost it’s flavor – it’s not worth anything. Jesus said, “You might as well throw it in the trash can.”
So if you want to influence your family, friends, co-workers, children. . . you’ve got to start by being the right kind of person yourself. You’ve got to stay close to God – talk to Him daily, read and study His Word daily, and obey Him in everything.
<ILLUS> Roger Staubach led the Dallas Cowboys to the World Championship in ’71. He admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn’t call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass, when to run. . . Roger later said, "I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory."
A real relationship with God is the starting point for influencing others!
4. Realize that your life is on display. (V. 14) “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
<ILLUS> My grandparents lived in Cincinnati when I was a kid. I remember going to visit them, and noticing that even at midnight, the sky was still lit up. It was like the sun never went down. . . there was a pink glow in the sky all the time. If you were across the Ohio river, and you couldn’t see the city, you’d still know which direction to go to get there – you’d be able to see the glow from the city’s lights.
What does light do?
- It shows the way. To influence others, you’ve got to show them the way to go!
You know that your life is always on display? If your life is one of a real Christian, you are the glow that lights up the night, and you can’t hide that!
One Christian group sang a song that said this:
“Shine/Make ‘em wonder what you’ve got!”
<ILLUS> A professor was closing his class for the day. . . “Are there any further questions?”
One student spoke up. “Yes, what’s the meaning of life?” Everyone laughed and gathered their books.
The professor sat and thought for a minute. “Are you serious?”
When the student nodded, the professor took a small piece of glass out of his pocket. It was a piece of a mirror that had been shaped by scraping it’s edges into a smooth circle. The professor thought for a minute, letting the light from the mirror play across the ceiling, and on the faces of the students. Then he spoke.
“I found this when I was a kid, and scraped it against a rock until I shaped it. I was fascinated with it, because I could hold it and reflect light into the darkest corner of a room with it. One day I realized that this was like my life. I decided to spend my life just reflecting the light into as many dark places as I could.”
Is your life making the darkness deeper, or spreading the light?
5. Have strong beliefs, and state them boldly. (V. 15) "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
What Jesus is saying here is very simple: Light was meant to be seen! How silly to turn on a lamp, and then put it under something that blocks out it’s light.
In the same way, how silly for you to live a Christian life, but never make those beliefs known. Jesus did not say “You are the light of the church.” He said, “You are the light of the world.” That means it’s not just important when you walk through those doors into this church that your life spread light. . . it’s most important when you walk back OUT those doors!
This part is not very pleasant at times. When you go back with your friends, and they are planning something, do you have the strong beliefs and the guts to stand up and say, “I won’t be a part of that?”
I’m not saying it will make you popular. Remember, they killed Jesus. I’m saying that if you want to influence people the right direction, it’s the price that you pay.
When you do that, chances are someone else will stand up and say, “I won’t be a part of it either.” But what if you hadn’t started it with your influence?
What are you doing with the light of your life? Are you hiding it, or is a part of what you are everywhere you go?
6. Make everything you do for God’s glory. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
The end result is not so they’ll think you’re good. The end result is that they’ll look at you and say, “Wow! God has really made a difference in their life!”
<ILLUS> Years ago the communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of Hudson Taylor with the purpose of distorting the facts and presenting him in a bad light. They wanted to discredit the name of this consecrated missionary of the gospel. As the author was doing his research, he was increasingly impressed by Taylor’s saintly character and godly life, and he found it extremely difficult to carry out his assigned task with a clear conscience. Eventually, at the risk of losing his life, he laid aside his pen, renounced his atheism, and received Jesus as his personal Savior.
Let me sum it all up: Here’s a simple formula for what I’m talking about.
High Potency + Close Proximity = High Impact
High Potency
- “strong salt”
- A life that really is surrendered to God
- Strong beliefs, willing to state them
- A life that is always doing the right thing on display
Close Proximity
- a willingness to get close to people, into their lives.
- an attitude that says “watch, and I”ll show you.”
High Impact
- people who will follow you in the right direction
- people who will want what you’ve got
- you’ll have an impact for God.
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How To Influence Others
“You are the salt of the earth... the light of the world...”Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Influence: Getting others to __________________ you.
_________________ has influence. “You are the salt of the earth.”
The question is, what direction is your influence leading people?
To influence people in the right direction:
1. Make a _______________ to lead others the right direction. (v. 13) “You are the salt of the earth...”
Salt prevents _______________ and __________.
Have you ever noticed that it’s easy to be good when you’re with some people? Have you noticed that it’s easy to be bad with others?
Let me ask you: Which one are you? What ___________________ have you chosen to influence? Are you an influence that prevents decay and rot in others, or do you go right along with it?
2. Get ___________ to those you want to influence. (V. 13) “You are the salt of the earth...”
Salt doesn’t do you any good sitting on your table in your saltshaker. It’s got to get out of the saltshaker, and onto the food.
Most people say: “Don’t _________ me. . . __________ me!”
3. Be a ____________ Christian. (V. 13) “...but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”
The starting point for influencing others is not what you __________, but what you __________!
Are you a real Christian – have you become the person who can influence others?
4. Realize that your life is on _______________. (V. 14) “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
What does light do? It ____________ the ________.
Is your life showing the way? Is your life making the darkness deeper, or spreading the light?
5. Have strong ____________, and state them __________. (V. 15) "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Light was meant to be ___________!
This isn’t always pleasant. Sometimes it means having the guts to say, “I won’t ________ _____ ____________ of that!”
What are you doing with the light of your life? Are you hiding it, or is a part of what you are everywhere you go?
6. Make everything you do for __________ _________. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
The end result is not so they’ll think ___________ good. The end result is that they’ll look at you and say, “Wow! God has really made a _________________ in their life!”
The Formula:
___________ Potency + _________ Proximity = High ____________
