1.
All
of us are influencing others whether we intend to do so or not.
1.
We
can make a difference in the lives of others even before we have sorted out all
of our own issues.
2.
Throughout
the Scriptures we see examples of men and women who did not feel ready to
influence others, but God was able to work through them.
1.
Some
of us may have a formal leadership role.
2.
Others
of us may be able to reach out to encourage a neighbor going through a
difficult time.
3.
Some
of us may have children, ours or others, who are looking up to us, noticing how
we live our lives and how we respond to what life brings.
1.
How
powerful would it be if we lived transformed lives and were known for the good
we do in the world?!
Titus 2:11
"For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.
12 And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We
should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God,
13 while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our
great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. 14 He gave His life to
free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own
people, totally committed to doing good deeds. 15 You must teach these things
and encourage the believers to do them. You have the authority to correct them
when necessary, so don't let anyone disregard what you say."
2.
Live
in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God.
1.
That's
influential.
3.
Things
the average church member may not realize...
1.
When
you are present in church it makes a HUGE difference.
1.
It
expresses your desire to grow in Christ.
2.
It
expresses your love and care for your church family.
3.
It
expresses that you take God's Word seriously about His church, His mission and
His command to gather in His name.
2.
When
you AREN'T in church it makes a HUGE difference.
1.
It
can hinder momentum for the church as a whole.
2.
It
can hinder the atmosphere when there are missing pieces (people).
3.
It's
discouraging for the pastoral staff, volunteer teams, and other members who
have prayed intensely, fasted faithfully, cried out and sacrificed to get a fresh word
from God.
4.
It's
tough when guests show up and the regulars don't.
1.
It
takes us all to minister to the people.
1.
Do
you see others around and about you and have a sincere concern about their life
and soul?
3.
When
we are following Christ closely as a church.
1.
The
anointing and presence of the Holy Spirit becomes thick.
2.
Being
offended becomes nearly impossible.
3.
The
spiritual synergy and vision becomes attainable for we all are serving Christ's
purposes.
4.
The
Pastor is not only here to marry people and minster to the personal needs of a
few but to the needs of many.
1.
Your pastor is the one God sent to preach
salvation to you, your family, your friends and your community.
1.
On
mission, strengthening you and empowering you "to do HIS work"
of the ministry.
Ephesians
4:11-12 NLT [11] "Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the
apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. [12]
Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do His work and build up the
church, the body of Christ."
2.
Talk
about influence, Jesus gave us these people to use to equip us, to do His work,
and build up the church.
1.
To
build it up, never to tear it down.
2.
Never
to tear it down through disunity, disagreement, division and dissension.
1.
To
build up, to influence, to build up, to influence. Need a arrow circle PPT
5.
If
you lift your pastor's hands everyone wins.
Exodus
17:11 NLT "As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites
had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the
advantage."
1.
Moses
became tired in the battle and two men lifted his hands so the Israelites could
prevail.
1.
He
was lifting up the staff of God.
2.
Joshua
was physically fighting the battle and Moses was fighting the spiritual battle
in prayer.
2.
You're
confidence in us, your prayers for us, your concern for us, your love for us,
your trust can all be felt believe it or not.
1.
And
the opposite is true as well.
3.
Your
lack of confidence, your lack of prayer, your lack of concern, your lack of
love, your lack of trust or interest can be felt and encountered.
2.
God’s
word is a filter, which all things in your life need to pass through.
1.
The
Bible is the only standard of truth. *IMAGE OF TRUMP swearing in*
1.
We
need to pass our lives through this filter.
1.
Our
relationships.
2.
Our
families.
3.
Our
finances.
4.
Our
friends.
5.
Our
influences.
6.
Our
futures and our eternities.
1.
The
flow going in directly affects the flow coming out.
Romans 1:25
"They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served
the things God created instead of the Creator Himself, who is worthy of eternal
praise! Amen."
2.
People
tend to believe lies that reinforce their own selfish, personal beliefs.
1.
With
TV, music, movies, and the rest of the media often presenting sinful life
styles and unwholesome values, we find ourselves constantly bombarded by
attitudes and beliefs that are totally opposite to the Bible.
1.
Be
careful about what/who influences you for it will form your opinions and
beliefs.
1.
Evaluate
everything according to the Bible.
Illustrate
here: Use
poster boards to spell the word: I N F L U E N C E
Need 9 volunteers.
3.
Influence-the
capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of
someone or something.
1.
So
the origination Middle English and Medieval Latin influentia ‘inflow,’ influere, from in- ‘into’ + fluere ‘to flow.’
1.
Influence
is an inflow of things into it.
2.
Then
whatever flowed into it will flow right out of it.
1.
Did
you notice that right in the middle of the flow in, is "U?"
1.
So
whatever you are putting in will flow back out.
1.
I
for in then through U out the E.
Proverbs 4:20-27 NLT [20] "My child, pay attention to what I say.
Listen carefully to my words. [21] Don't lose sight of them. Let them penetrate
deep into your heart, [22] for they bring life to those who find them, and
healing to their whole body. [23] Guard your heart above all else, for it
determines the course of your life. [24] Avoid all perverse talk; stay away
from corrupt speech. [25] Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies
before you. [26] Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.
[27] Don't get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil."
4.
Influence
doesn’t
come to us instantaneously.
1.
Nor
does influence develop by accident.
2.
Influence
grows as we purposefully take action to earn the trust and win the respect of
others.
1.
Some
of us are more ready than we realize to take the next step to invest in others.
2.
Others
of us aren't near as ready as we may think we are.
3.
Your
life is influence in motion.
1.
I
believe Christ Followers have the responsibility to reach out and passionately
search for ways to make others feel welcome and valued.
2.
An
influencer connects with people.
1.
Relationships
demand large amounts of energy and commitment, we all need that.
3.
An
influencer empowers people.
1.
They
speak encouraging, uplifting words in order to make others aware of their
potential for greatness.
4.
An
influencer reproduces other leaders.
1.
Plows
and bulldozers are both useful machines for moving earth, but they operate in
very different ways.
2.
A
plow turns over the earth, stirs it up, and aerates it so that the soil becomes
a good place for seeds to grow.
3.
A
bulldozer scrapes up the earth and shoves it aside.
1.
Are
you a plow or a bulldozer?
1.
Do
you cultivate people in order to maximize their potential for growth, or do you
simply push them wherever you need them to go?
4.
As a Christian, you ought to be aware that your ability
to positively influence another person is the central component of
discipleship.
1.
But
how do you measure your influence?
2.
By
the number of friends you have?
3.
By
the number of people who work for you?
4.
By
the number of followers you have on Twitter or number of likes you get on Facebook
and Instagram?
5.
Chances
are that you’re
missing something incredibly potent if you measure influence only in that way.
1.
Because
there are dozens of people, perhaps even hundreds, that you influence without ever
knowing it.
1.
They
help you bag your groceries.
2.
They
pick up your trash.
3.
They
might deliver your mail, or drive next to you on the road.
4.
They
pass you in the halls at your child’s school, or ride the elevator with you on the way to the
office.
1.
And
these possibly unnoticed individuals are impacted by you in ways you may never
know.
J.R. Miller
said “There have been *meetings of only a moment which have left impressions
for life, for eternity*. No one can understand that mysterious thing we
call influence…yet…every one of us continually exerts influence, either to
heal, to bless, to leave marks of beauty; or to wound, to hurt, to poison, to
stain other lives.”
5.
Have
you ever taken time to think about your life in that way?
1.
You
impact people on a daily basis by how you choose to live.
2.
When
you make it your mission to value people and build them up, you are planting
the seeds for a harvest of positive change.
1.
Imagine
if you practiced courtesy during rush hour or were grateful to everyone who
served you a meal.
2.
Imagine
if you held doors, shared credit, and otherwise added value as often as you
could, to every person you met.
1.
Your
level of influence would be off the charts.
3.
At
a time when some only care about those who are “for” them, we need leaders who
care about everyone.
1.
We
need leaders who make valuing others a priority instead of a promise.
2.
We
need leaders who make others better instead of bitter.
4.
In
fact the global church needs influencers like you.
1.
You
can change the world if you choose to and I believe you will.
Closing
Story:
One winter day
in Biloxi, Mississippi, a twenty-five-year-old lady decided to kill herself.
She couldn’t
take it anymore and she wanted her life to be over. She went to a bridge over
the Mississippi River.
The water was
frigid, and the bridge was high. She climbed over the railing and threw herself
over. She hit the water with a terrible smack and started sinking.
Unbeknownst to
her, a man on the bank of the river saw her jump. When he did not see her
surface, he jumped in to rescue her.
She was
sinking deeper when she heard him dive in. And then she started to hear this poor
man flailing around. When he had jumped in, he had forgotten that he didn’t know how to swim! This heroic
idiot was splashing and screaming, “Help! Help!” so the woman who was trying to
kill herself swam to him and pulled him onto the bank. He was choking, so she
gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Somebody called 911, and both of them
were taken to the hospital. Both of them survived.
The journalist
who wrote the story ended it with these words: “That night, it wasn’t the man who saved her life. It
was purpose that saved her life.”
• She was ready to take her life and
die but suddenly purpose was awakened inside of her.
• Ready to give up but a mission in
life called out to her to get back up and do something powerful with her life.
• Like saving another human being.
