Influence in the darkness

Jonah 1:1 "The LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 "Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are." 3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the LORD. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the LORD by sailing to Tarshish. 4 But the LORD hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. 5 Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. 6 So the captain went down after him. "How can you sleep at a time like this?" he shouted. "Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives." 7 Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. 8 "Why has this awful storm come down on us?" they demanded. "Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?" 9 Jonah answered, "I am a Hebrew, and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land."

1.      Don't copy the world to win the world, opposites attract.

1.      When God told Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh to repent, the prophet turned the other direction and fled.

1.      Spot someone who runs from commitment, and you'll find a person who lacks character.

1.      Jonah was dealing with human nature, our inclination to run from responsibility in favor of serving self. 

1.      Jonah saw Nineveh as this evil culture that didn't deserve a warning, that didn't deserve salvation and rescue.

2.      God asks this leader to commit to influencing his generation.

1.      At this point, the leader discovers how much he/she's embraced the cause.

1.      You can measure how much you've embraced the cause by how much you serve it.

2.      You can measure how much you've embraced the cause by how much you invest in it.

1.      Time.

2.      Treasure.

3.      Talent.

3.      You can measure how much you've embraced the cause by how much you've surrendered to it.

1.      If you continually run from opportunities to minister, in the wrong direction, you're not submitted to it.

4.      You can measure how much you've embraced the cause by how much you call others to commit as well.

2.      Jonah teaches us the consequences of avoiding God's call to commitment:

1.      Vs. 1-3 If we run from commitment and influence we miss the privilege of partnership with God.

1.      Partnered with God for purpose and destiny, I can think of nothing greater.

1.      Jesus surrendered fully to the cause of heaven.

2.      Jesus committed sincerely.

3.      Jesus responded with rescue.

4.      Jesus inspired with influence.

2.      Vs. 4 If we run from commitment and influence our choice damages more people than we know.

1.      Great, meant it took 3 days to see all of Nineveh.

2.      Great city meant many things but most important was that it was 120,000 people great.

1.      Who is need of rescue, yet we reject influencing them?

2.      Who is need of encouragement, nevertheless we refuse to make time for them? 

3.      Who is need of direction, still we are unwilling to guide them?

3.      Vs. 5-8 If we run from commitment and influence we become hardened and desensitized to the tragedies we cause.

1.      Jonah, down in the hold of the ship, catering to his personal needs that was his MO. 

3.      God is calling us to "great influence."

1.      He is calling us to have great influence.

1.      This means making friends and ministering to people.

2.      Placing our lives into our communities and embracing opportunities to serve.

2.      He is calling us to impart great influence.

1.      Christ is calling us to disciple and teach discipline into the lives of others.

2.      If you are a committed Christ Follower you should be influencing.

3.      If you are a Christ Follower you should be teaching someone, encouraging them and bringing them up to the next level in God.

1.      There is always another level, God is always waiting on you.

2.      Hunger for God's Word translates to a hunger for Him, to know Him and embrace His cause.

3.      Hunger for worship translates to a passion for Him embracing the changes His presence and influence is having in you and upon you.

2.      The light shines and the darkness can never extinguish it!!

1.      Who among us hasn't heard God telling us to do something we really didn't want to do?

1.      At this time Nineveh was Israel's most dreaded enemy.

1.      Imagine God calling you to minister to ISIS, Islamic Terrorists, serial killers, or sex traffickers.

1.     "God so loved the world..."

2.      Sometimes it's easy to convince ourselves that we know better than God what needs to be done.

1.      This is mistrust in it's simplest form.

2.      This is faithlessness in operation.

1.      This can happen in any and all of our relationships and circumstances.

3.      We are living in dark times.

1.      Opposition to the Gospel is widespread around the world and especially in our own nation.

1.      People are confused, unclear, rebellious, and untaught.

2.      Our mission is clear.

1.      We will "proclaim the hope of Jesus Christ by all means possible, to all we can, in the United States and all across the globe."

4.      As we shine the love of Jesus Christ into places of great darkness, bold Christians rise up and fulfill their purpose so that:

Isaiah 9:2 NLT "The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine."

5.      This is talking about and referencing Jesus Christ, "The Light of the world."

Illustrate here: Have a lighter to light near a white wall or screen. Can use a candle if so desired.

1.      Fire casts no shadow.

2.      The reason why the flame does not make a shadow is because "it" itself is the source of light.

John 1:4-9 NLT [4] "The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. [6] God sent a man, John the Baptist, [7] to tell about the Light so that everyone might believe because of His testimony. [8] John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the Light. [9] The One who is the True Light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world."

3.      Jesus Christ is the Word.

4.      The Word is our power.

5.      The Word is our light.

6.      In the Word resides forgiveness, grace, mercy and love.

1.      In Christ. In Him, He is the embodiment and source of all love.

2.      We couldn't visualize, experience, or comprehend love without Him.

7.      The Word is life, Eternal Life.

1.      Jesus Christ's virgin birth, His life, His actions, His attributes, His compassion, His death, His burial, and His resurrection.

1.      God created a perfect world.

2.      Sin came in and destroyed the world.

3.      Jesus came to save it.

4.      You can receive it.

1.      This is Good News, this is the Gospel, this is what we are to tell everyone! 

John 8:12 NLTb "I am the light of the world. If you follow Me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the Light that leads to life."

6.      We have the light, the light lives in us and guides our every step.

1.      No shifting changing shadows, only the source, the reason for the light.

2.      Follow it, it's the light that leads to life.

1.      That's truth, follow it, it will lead you to the right place every time.

John 12:46 NLT "I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in Me will no longer remain in the dark."

1.      "All," sounds like everyone to me.

2.      If you put your trust in Him, you will no longer remain in the dark.

1.      Following light, following truth, you don't want to walk in darkness.

1.      As a matter you refuse to walk in darkness any longer.   

3.      The Word became flesh and made His home among us.

John 1:14a NLT "So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness."

1.      Leaders lose their right to be selfish.

Jonah 2:2 He said, "I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble, and He answered me. I called to You from the land of the dead, and LORD, you heard me!"

9 "But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the LORD alone."

2.      God told Jonah to call the people of Nineveh to repent.

1.      They had lived a life of pride and selfishness, guilty of: evil plots against God, exploitation of the helpless, cruelty in war, idolatry, prostitution, and witchcraft.

2.      These people were ruthless causing heartless acts of cruelty all over the world.

1.      But when Jonah ran from God he was guilty of the same things!

1.      God desires His people to to proclaim His love in words and actions to the whole world, not just those like us.

1.      He wants us to be missionaries wherever we are, wherever He sends us.

3.      God humbled Jonah and gave him perspective in the belly of the fish, where he got his heart right through a profound worship experience.

1.      Don't negate worship.

2.      Don't put it off or make it seem insignificant.

3.      Don't skip or skimp on opportunities to worship Christ!

1.      Forgive me but I don't want to talk to you, when worship is going on.

2.      I'm not trying to ignore you, or disregard you, I'm trying to connect with Him.

1.      His presence is vitally important to me.

2.      And I need the encouragement and sincere worship brings repentance.

4.      Once Jonah repented, he was ready to call others to repent.

1.      People do what people see.

1.      God sent a man to speak deliverance.

2.      God sent a person to minister.

3.      God sent a person to serve.

1.      What might have happened had Jonah failed to go?

2.      What if he had rejected God's call to influence?

1.      History would be tragically different.

4.      When Jonah ran he held up deliverance for 120,000 people.

5.      It's interesting to think that every major character in the story of Jonah obeys God.

1.      The storm, the sailors, the fish, the king, the Ninevites, the vine, the worm, and the east wind all obey God, every character except for Jonah, the leader God chose.

1.      Despite Jonah's disobedience, his lack of perspective, his cultural prejudice, his self-righteousness, his wrong motives, and his bad attitude, God never gave up on him.

Jonah 3:6-10 NLT [6] "When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. [7] Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city: "No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. [8] People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. [9] Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change His mind and hold back His fierce anger from destroying us."

6.      When Jonah's message of judgment reached the king of Nineveh, he immediately repented.

1.      The king then used his influence to bring about citywide revival and salvation.

1.      When God saw his response, He had compassion on the Ninevites and did not destroy them.

7.      No one is beyond salvation, the gospel is for all who will repent and believe.

Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden."

16 "In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."

Influence week 1

When we begin to talk about how to influence a culture. How to influence a city. Influence a nation. Influence a home. Influence a family member or influence an enemy we must understand and comprehend that it's only through the Word of God that we're able to do that. Only the Word of God will leave that kind of influential legacy and purpose.

Influence-the capacity to have an affect on the character, development, or behavior on someone or something. 

1.      God's Word can never be shaken.

1.      With great influence comes great responsibility.

2 Kings 15:8-9 NLT [8] "Zechariah son of Jeroboam II began to rule over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Uzziah's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria six months. [9] Zechariah did what was evil in the LORD's sight, as his ancestors had done. He refused to turn from the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to commit."

2.      Zechariah was an evil king because he encouraged Israel to sin by worshipping idols.

3.      Sin in our lives is serious.

4.      But it is even more serious to encourage others to disobey God.

1.      We are responsible for the way we influence others.

5.      Your influence in the lives of others is paramount.

1.      Subsequently the influence you allow into your life is just as important.

1.      Influences can make or break you.

2.      They can make or break a marriage, a business venture, a relationship or a ministry.

3.      They can destroy a culture or build one up.

1.      What influences are you pouring out?

6.      Zechariah was warned by the prophet of God, Amos, of his impending death and the subsequent end of his fathers dynasty.

1.      Instead of repenting, instead of honoring God he chooses to stay misaligned, misguided, worshipping false gods, and influencing others to do they very same.

1.      Idols-an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship.

7.      Idols are all around us.

1.      From our personal image to the personal image of those around and about us.

1.      We are intrigued, infatuated, and engrossed with our self images.

1.      No one made the New Year Resolution I'll take less #selfies because I'm sick of me.

2.      Secondly, we are flagrantly and excessively overwhelmed with the image of others.

1.      From their social media statuses to their ownership of things, to their experiences.

1.      We live in jealously, envy and the extreme temptation to be something we're not.

2.      We worship it, adore it and many times continue to invite it in even after overwhelming and continued abuse.

2.      God's Word will never fail us.

Genesis 6:9 NLT "This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God."

1.      Now to say that Noah was righteous and blameless does not mean that he never sinned or that he was perfect.

2.      Oh, he sinned and as a matter of fact it's recorded in scripture.

1.      How would you like that?

1.      I'm not sure I would appreciate my sins being part of God's word of instruction, word of hope, and word of correction with me as a main character and one of the great accounts of me are what not to do.

3.      What this does mean is that Noah wholeheartedly loved and obeyed God.

1.      For a lifetime he walked step by step in faith as a living example to his generation.

1.      We like to only remember his failures and not his successes because that's what humans do sometimes.

2.      Like Noah we live in a world filled with evil.

1.      Are we influencing others or being influenced by them?

4.      We have a grave responsibility to influence correctly.

1.      If others all around us, if our entire generation refuses God, rejects His salvation we still have a great opportunity to engage righteousness and walk blameless before a holy and perfect God.

5.      Noah's decisions and influence saved the human race from complete and utter extinction.

1.      Great churches and great leaders don’t try to balance reaching people and keeping people.

1.      They’re willing to live in the tension that the call of the church is to reach outsiders and impact insiders.

1.      It’s not one or the other…it’s both and.

6.      The church is a Hospital, not a Country Club, always has been, always will be.

1.      Some try to make it about them but the church will always be about Jesus.

1.      And the church that is about Jesus will always be about people, all people.

7.      It is a natural thing for Christians to want to be around other Christians.

1.      Something special happens in the company and fellowship of other believers.

2.      We can worship freely, study deeply and communicate clearly.

1.      But how well are we engaging those who aren’t Christ Followers?

8.      It’s fascinating that a lot of Christians don’t seem to like non-Christians, often referred to as the lost or the unchurched.

1.      Many times we want to keep away from messy people, completely missing the obvious that we are messy as well.

2.      Christ's influence required His presence.

1.      Jesus being present in the lives of others made the ultimate and drastic difference.

9.      Who’s on your friends list?

1.      It’s interesting that after coming to Christ and growing in knowledge, we often distance ourselves from former friends.

2.      We seem to have less time for the hurting and struggling.

3.      We’ve found the thing that meets the need in our lives, but keep our distance from those who need the very thing we’ve found.

1.      Our needs get met and we move on, oblivious to a world that is falling apart all around us.

2.      I don’t think this separation is intentional, but it happens, and in the end, intentions don’t matter.

1.      Jesus lived differently.

3.      God's Word is a fire in my soul.

Genesis 8:20-22 NLT [20] "Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose. [21] And the LORD was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, "I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things. [22] As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night."

1.      Never stop building an altar unto God.

1.      It'll be unstoppable strength to you.

2.      And you'll be an ever flowing power to those around you.

2.      Stop paying so much attention to what others do, you do right, you live right, you honor God, you serve Him well.

1.      He is our salvation and deliverer.

3.      One of the common criticisms Jesus faced was that He spent too much time with sinners.

1.      How many of us could be accused of spending too much time with the unwelcomed and unappreciated?

2.      Accused of spending too much time with the "riff raff."

Jesus knows “bad company corrupts good character.” 1 Corinthians 15:33

1.      No one better understood the importance of spiritual maturity, scriptural knowledge, a robust prayer life and positive influences than Jesus.

2.      But He also knew these things were not for His personal benefit, but need to be shared with the lost.

4.      The Christian life is not about safety and comfort, but rather about finding yourself in a dangerous place of vulnerable compassion.

1.      Personally, I came from a dysfunctional family.

2.      One day, I was talking with one of my kids about the dysfunction I experienced growing up. That kind of life is hard for them to imagine though we have our own issues our family doesn’t experience those kinds of dysfunction.

1.      They asked why some families go this way and others go the way of dysfunction. I said there are several factors that determine personal and family stability, but in our case, we were changed by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

5.      I know what it looks like to be in the mess of day-to-day dysfunction.

1.      I praise God my kids don’t deal with the problems that come from such brokenness, but I think they may, in a sense, be representative of what many Christians experience—they don’t know what it’s like.

1.      Many Christians that have grown up in a Christian home forget there’s a hurting world out there.

1.      We drive through it on the way to school, work and church, but we don’t come to terms with the vast brokenness surrounding us.

1.      Hurting people are all around us.

2.      Opportunity overwhelms us.

3.      Responsibility surrounds us.

4.      God's Word is revelation.

1.      The true test of our Christian maturity is not measured in how much we leave behind, but in how much we love.

1.      That’s why, “We’re going to be a church that cares about the hurting and serves those in need, showing the love of Christ to those lost, confused and broken.”

2.      The Way of Christ and His Church is about serving and saving.

1.      I’m awestruck by the fact that Jesus talks about His ministry in two very different but imperative ways.

Luke 4:18-19 NLT [18] "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, for He has anointed Me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, [19] and that the time of the LORD's favor has come."

1.      Jesus came to serve.

1.      In fact, this type of ministry was a sign that He was the Messiah.

2.      Prophecy was being fulfilled as He showed kindness to those who were hurting.

1.      Throughout Scripture, we see the work of Christ among the widows, the blind, the broken—whoever had a need.

2.      Jesus served with compassion.

1.      Some people need a title, a badge, a pat on the back or a gift of appreciation to serve.

2.      Jesus only desired a need. 

2.      Jesus came to save.

In Luke 19:10, Jesus declares, "I came to seek and save the lost."

3.      And the same Jesus who came to serve and to save then says to us:

John 20:21b NLT "As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you."

3.      We have been sent by Jesus to join Him in His mission.

1.      Connect to His influence.

2.      He came to serve and to save, then so must we.

4.      We are to serve others in His name, and we are to share the good news of salvation so that people might trust in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross—His death in our place, for our sin.

1.      Serving and saving were marks of Christ's life on earth.

2.      They should be marks of His people as well.

1.      But to do that, we must engage the broken and hurting people around us.

5.      How do you engage the hurting?

1.      What have you done to insulate yourself from the brokenness around you?

2.      Are we so concerned about how people view us that we’ll never be accused of spending too much time with sinners? 

1.      Jesus saved the hurting, the broken, the lost and confused.

2.      That's the way of the Gospel.

1.      That’s hard, that's a tough and challenging mission for the Christ Follower.

1.      Listen, a church without the broken is a broken church.

2.      Lemme say it again, a church without broken people who need healing, guidance, strength, deliverance and restoration is a broken church.

1.      The church without Christ followers who are engaged in that mission and embroiled in that cause is a broken church.