Under The Influence

Under the Influence

Romans 15:13

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Influence: the capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of others.

In just a short time this year will come to an end and we will see the beginning of a new year.

There will be a lot of festivities going on around the world including parties and celebrations.

The highlight of most of these celebrations will be drinking alcoholic beverages.

There will be a lot of people who will wake up New Years Day not knowing where they are or how they got there.

The reason being they were under the influence of alcohol.

There will be many who will be stopped and arrested for being DUI, or driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Drunk driving is the nation’s most frequently committed violent crime. (MADD)

In 1990, more than half of the fatal car accidents in this country were related to alcohol, killing 22,083 people. This is the equivalent of a fully loaded 747 crashing. Three times a week. Every week. . .

In 1995, an estimated 17,274 persons died in alcohol-related traffic crashes--an average of one every 32 minutes. (NHTSA, 1996)

In the past decade, four times as many Americans died in drunk driving crashes as were killed in the Vietnam War. (NHTSA, 1995)

Eight young people a day die in alcohol-related crashes. (CSAP, 1996)

Half of all teenage fatalities are alcohol-related.

Drunk driving is the nation’s most frequently committed violent crime. (MADD)

In 1990, more than half of the fatal car accidents in this country were related to alcohol, killing 22,083 people. This is the equivalent of a fully loaded 747 crashing. Three times a week. Every week. . .

In 1995, an estimated 17,274 persons died in alcohol-related traffic crashes--an average of one every 32 minutes. (NHTSA, 1996)

In the past decade, four times as many Americans died in drunk driving crashes as were killed in the Vietnam War. (NHTSA, 1995)

Eight young people a day die in alcohol-related crashes. (CSAP, 1996)

Half of all teenage fatalities are alcohol-related.

So we can see that DUI is a big problem in America.

Now I want to go back to the definition of the word “Influence.”

It means the capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of others.

As we all know when a person has too much to drink they lose control of their actions and behavior.

They will do stupid things, say stupid things, and generally make a complete fool of themselves.

They will do things they would not normally do when they are not affected by, or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Being under the influence takes away all reason and common sense.

In short, being under the influence causes a person to act and say what the alcohol or drugs influences them to do or say.

I want to take these thoughts and turn them around in a positive way.

There is an influence that we all need to be persuaded by;

We as Christians need to be under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

I wouldn’t want to be pulled over and arrested for DUI, but I wouldn’t mind being stopped for a LUI (Living under the influence; of the Holy Spirit).

Now let’s look at our text again;

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Notice the phrase, “That you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

First of all the word abound means, “being in the state of movement or action.”

So, that you may grow in hope, or anticipation, while living the Christian life;

Through the power, (ability) of the Holy Ghost;

But in looking up the word power I found another definition.

This is a word type, and it means influence.

So God wants us to grow and live our Christian lives under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Ps 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.

So how do we become influenced by the Holy Spirit?

Before I answer that question, let’s look at some things that influence us today.