Friday, January 27, 2017

Your influence matters week 4





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 doesnt 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 youre 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 childs 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 couldnt 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 didnt 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 wasnt 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.




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