The Power Of Influence Series

The word “influencer” has become popular especially as it relates to social media. You can do searches for the top Instagram influencers (or any other media). Mostly this relates to how many followers someone has. One article I read had the top five Instagram influencers (for the moment) - they may be names you’ve heard.

-Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo has 533m

-Argentine Soccer player Lionel Messi with 419m

-Celebrity Kylie Jenner is next with 378 followers.

-Actress Selena Gomez has 370 m

-Actor Dwayne Johnson, the Rock has 358m.

Companies sometimes hire big names like this to promote their products because they believe that their influence will lead to greater sales. Though this is not a new concept, the rise of social media has given some people a voice they wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Social media didn’t exist in the first century, but influencers did! The Greatest Influencer of all time is Jesus Christ. Matthew 5-7 is the Sermon on the Mount, and much of it relates to being an influence for the Kingdom. It begins with the familiar beatitudes - the Blessed life. The Blessed life is characterized by being poor in spirit, merciful, meek, hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Following those distinctive teachings of Jesus, he calls us to be people of influence in the world around us.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. - Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus teaches that each one of us is in possession of the power of influence that can be used to bring light and joy to the world. We are familiar with this because we know that there are those who have had a significant influence on our own lives.

“The humblest individual exerts some influence, either for good or evil, upon others.” ~Henry Ward Beecher

The world needs the influence of Christ. The world, left to itself, will veer toward self-destruction. We are called to be influencers - people who bring the influence of the Kingdom into our world.

1. What Hinders Our Influence? (Matthew 5:13)

When we are Indifferent - A lack of concern for the world around us or a focus on our own lives without concern for others takes away our saltiness.

When we are Ineffective - When we fail to live up to our potential. Negative attitudes, focused on the material things of life, focused on self.

When we are Indistinguishable - Oswald Chambers says that many Christians want to be the sugar of the world. Our lives, attitudes, and actions ought to be visibly distinct from the world around us.

Unsalty Salt really isn’t salt at all. Swindoll wrote, “If we allow ourselves to be watered-down, tasteless, bland, just-like-the-world-around-us Christians, we will lose our testimony and thus our ability to add meaning to people’s lives.” This is a warning Jesus offers so that we recognize that if we ignore our influence, we lose it.

2. Four Powerful Ways We Influence the World (Matthew 5:14-16)

We Enlighten (You are the light…)

The Christian life is not just about us - it’s about those within our sphere of influence. Christianity is others-centered. Matthew 22:37-39 LSB says, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” God called us out of darkness into light - so that we can call others into the light. 1 Peter 2:9b says, “…Proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

We Defeat Darkness (cannot be hidden)

The Jesus life is so different that it is hard to hide. Our attitudes, speech, way of life, and devotion to God. If we blend in too much with the world, we lose the opportunity to defeat the darkness around us. William Barclay wrote, “A man’s Christianity should be perfectly visible to all men.”

We Do Good (they may see your good works…)

“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.” - John Wesley