GROWING IN INFLUENCE It’s easy to look at the condition of the world around us and feel helpless. I’ve heard people despairingly say “I feel like the world is falling apart and there’s nothing that I can do about it.” Well, that’s exactly what the enemy of your soul would like for you to think. The truth is some of history’s greatest revivals have come out of some of the most turbulent of times. God is at work and we are His people. There is absolutely nothing too difficult for God! As we move into the fall season we’re turning our attention to the importance of each of us as believers being influencers in our world. That word influence can be a tricky word because influence is often used for very self-centered purposes. The sacred influence our church’s mission statement proposes is about our refusing to acquiesce to the status quo. It’s about walking through the doors that God is opening for good to be done and the Good News to be proclaimed in our neighborhood and in the nations. Jesus says to us in Matthew 5:13-16, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Think about a missionary going to proclaim the gospel in a foreign land that worships false Gods. If that missionary didn’t fully believe in his heart that he or she could be an influence for Christ in that dark place, he would be defeated before he ever stepped foot off of the plane. He has to trust in the Holy Spirit at work in him and in the power of the gospel. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16 You and I can know with confidence that the Holy Spirt is within us and the gospel is powerful to save. But I want to highlight some very practical aspects of influence in your everyday world that sometimes don’t get enough attention.
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