I'm Influential

Dustin Alley

I'm In • Sermon • Submitted 9 months ago • Presented 9 months ago

Matthew 5:13–16

John 4:9–41

Influence

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Introduction

Dismiss Children

Introduce Self

Continuing our series, remember the name?

I’m in. If your in say I’m in

You are invited into a relationship with Jesus, You are invaluable becuase of Jesus and for the glory of God, and today I want you to see that you are influential for the work of God.

How many of you consider yourself an influencer?

In todays vernacular the word influencer has been hijacked to deal with only people who have some sort of following on Social Media.

Truth is though, influence isn’t just about going viral and having people listen to you because you have caught their attention.

John Maxwell says “Leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less.”

This is why I tell every follower of Jesus, you are a leader. People are looking to you to know how to live and respond to life as a follower of Jesus.

Character- follower of Jesus that wants to influence the world for Christ

Do you know what the most common response I receive when I tell people that because they are Christians they are leaders?

No. Not me. No one is looking at me like that.

Truth is though, they are. You are. You re iinfluenctial for the cause of Christ.

Your words have power, your actions, your social media posts and videos, where you spend your time, and where you spend your money. They all send a message to the world for you as a follower of Jesus.

You see I believe that anyone who follows Jesus has a desire to have an impact for Him.

And that impact doesn’t always come in the form of big speeches, large tomes of theological content developed for others to know, or by having a platform.

Remmeber what Jesus says about the greatest in the kingdom?

Matthew 18:4 “4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Not the most well known, not the one that preaches the conferences, not the one who has the greatest public platform.

You see thats who the world says is the greatest. The kingdom of God can be called the upside down kingdom because it’s usually completely opposite of whatever the world says.

Problem- A lack of understanding about what it means to influence someone and what it takes to be influential

The problem that I’ve seen in myself and others is that when it comes to being infulential for Jesus, we don’t exactly know how.

Some try to be influential in the same way someone important to them is. For instance, if you grew up and had a pastor or mentor that had a different personality than you or a different set of gifts, talents, and abilities than you and you try to live like them or do what they do for God, you may find yourself failing, you begin to not see the value we talked about you having last week becuase your not living your journey, your living someone else’s.

Truth is, you can have more influence on the people around you for the kingdom than I can from this platform.

However, if you don’t being to live out the influential position that you have as a follower of Jesus then your never really living the life God intended for you. This will result in great tension and turmoil in your heart and life.

Agitated- When a follower of Jesus is not influencing the people around them they are being influenced by something or someone else that could be leading them away from Jesus

Think about this for a minute.

If your an umpire behind homeplate, with the mask, the protective gear, and uniform on standing that ready for the ball to come in.

A batter walks ups and you kneel down. The pitcher throws the ball and now everyone is looking at you to call the strike or ball. But instead of calling the strike or ball…you choose to throw nother ball out and tell them to play on.

Now that would be crazy right? Why?

Becuse the umpire is supposed to call the strikes and balls. The umpire is supposed to be living out the role he has been called to and accepteed.

As a follower of Jesus you have been called into the role of an influencer

Matthew 5:13 “13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”

If an umpire doesn’t call strikes, he is a useless umpire. If a Christian isn’t influencing people for Christ, what would we call them?

Solution- Being properly influenced yourself and influencing others as a result

You see, being an influence for Jesus isn’t about having the biggest audience. It’s not about being creative in marketing, it’s about who you are in Christ being lived out as you interact with those around you.

Brand influencers of our day usually don’t become influencers for the brand unless they have interacted with them somehow.

A charlotan or snake oil salesman can try to influence you for something they don’t believe in however, an honest person with integrity will only influence you for something they believe in.

And the greater they have been influenced by what they are speaking about, the more often they will speak about the topic.

The solution to Christians being an influence on the world is for them to bee influenced by Jesus.

The more your influenced by Jesus in your daily life, the more influential you will be for Jesus in your daily life.

Guide- Jesus will be your influencer (brand) through His Word and His people,

What does it mean to be influenced by Jesus though? It starts with interacting with Him and His Word.

that’s a given. pray, read your bible, and worship through song. Whether you have a study bible, use the bible app, listen to k-love or have your own playlist. Time with Jesus can look different to different people.

One sure way to be influenced by Jesus and His Word is to be around people that are influenced by Jesus and His Word.

One of the saddest statistics that I have heard in recent years, is from Thom Rainer at church answers

2 decades ago a person was considered a frequent church attender if they attening church once or twice a week.

Now, many people consider them faithful to their local church family if they attend twice a month. However, post pandemic, the numbers are becoming even more worrisome as the once a month church goer is becoming more common.

What’s causing this problem? I’m sure each community has various answers for that.

However, I believe that the one solution to any of the problems, can be found by believers choosing to bee influenced by Jesus and being influentual for Jesus. Because you are influental.

Journey- Come to Jesus, be with Jesus, and tell others about Jesus

And it doesn’t matter what your background is, it doesn’t matter what your past is, things like that just don’t matter.

They can shape how you influence, but they will not shape if you will influence others for Jesus.

That’s what happened in our passage today. John 4:9 we find Jesus on a trip through the region of Samaria. Named because of the occupants of the land.

Jews hated samaritans. They were considered worse than dogs. They were not viewed s equals to the Jews.

While on the journey through Samaria, Jesus sat down at a well and then comes a Samaritan woman. So nott only is she from a race the jews hate, she is a woman. Which during this time were basically considered 2nd class citizens. She had two cultural marks against her right off the bat. And soon we are going to find a third cultural mark that would have prevented a typical jewish male from speeaking to her.

John 4:7-10 “7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”

She’s intrigued anda litte confused.

Sir you don’t have bucket, the well is to deep. Where do you get living water.

Then in verses

John 4:13-14 “13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

She responds to this Sir give me the living water so I will never thirst and have to come here to draw water. She still didn’t get it.

So Jesus says to her

John 4:16-19 “16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. 19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.”

There it is. Three strikes and your out. She is a Samaritan, She is a woman, and she has had 5 husbands. This is the woman all the other women whispered about. This is the women that husbands were told to stay away from. Even in todays culture 5 husbands raises eyebrows. Back then, she would have been shunned.

He diginified her just by speaking with her. He treated her more kindly than most men would treat her, especially an influential Jewish man.

The world saw an immoral women. Jesus saw a influental woman.

This is the greates thing about the gospel. This is the most wonderful thing about the love of God. No matter where you come from. No matter what your past is. No matter what it is you have been through or how people have treated you in the past. You are never too far gone for the love of Jesus to impact you life.

She was thirsty. Her life reflects one of craving attention. And we don’t know what situations led her to do what she has done. Her dad could have abused her or been absent. She could have got caught up with the wrong crowd. Whatever happened we see that there had been a cycle of disfunction and she was continuing it with her current lifestyle.

But Jesus didn’t come to her so she could be influenced by everyone around her, and continue that lifestyle. He came to bring living water that works transformation in the heart of all those who choose to consume it.

She recognizes at the end of this conversation that the person she is talking to must be someone special. A prophet maybe.

She says we were told to worship here, jews say in jerusalem, and Jesus explains ot her in the following verses who He is.

Verse 25

John 4:25 “25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.”

And then Jesus says

John 4:26 “26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.”

Then look at this

John 4:28-30 “28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? 30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.”

Here is this hurting broken, immoral woman. An outcast, the shunned of society, who was influenced by Jesus, chose to go influence others for Jesus with a simple invitation, and was used by God to introduce people to Christ.

Did she still have a repuation? Did she still hve 5 husbands? Was she still the woman that men were told to stay away from?

She didn’t have her life togethr when she left that well.

You may not hvee your life totally together or figured out. If that’s you, I’ve got great news for you.

YOu don’t hve to hve your life together to influence someone for Jesus.

The disciples have showed up at this point and they are asking him about food. HE says I’ve ggo you don’t know about. This confused the disciples so Jesus explains to them

John 4:34-38 “34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.”

Now remember, this is omnipotent God. He knows those men are coming from the village. He knows what that woman has went and done.

Jesus tells them, my food, my meat, is to do the will of God. You are talking about four months and then a harvest of food. I’m telling you the fields are ready. They are just waiting on people to go to work. And the hard part of working in the heart is not done by you. You have the easy work. Just tell people.

And right afteer He says those words we read

John 4:39-41 “39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. 40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his own word;”

Jesus didn’t go find the mos tinfluentual person in the town to sprea the word that the Messia had come. it wasn’t aan instagram star or tiktok viral sensation.

He used a woman whose name we do not know, a woman that had been seeking love and fulfillment in all of the wrong places, and who did not have her life together at all…to influence many.

YOu don’t have to have your life together to be an influenver for Jesus.

You don’t have to have big crusades for Christ and be the one behind the microphone.

Influence doesn’t start with platform it starts with a person.

Many of you know I was an only child. Which can explain a lot of problems I had in my early 20’s and probably still deal with today.

Not all only children whose parents get divorced have what I had though. While my life was no where near a white pickt fence story, I was blessed with people around me that never really spoke down to me.

There were drugs and alcohol around while I grew up but no one ever really insulted me. O sure, yelling happened. But it was never derogatory towards who I was as a person.

Now, i love my family. I’m thankful for them. However, and they will admit this, they can be little backwoods. Both sets of grandparents were from the backwoods of Virginia. They had moved to Tn for various reasons. One of my grandparents didn’t finish 8th grade. The others were not academics to say the least.

They were not up to date on the most modern methods of parenting. They weren’t following social media influencers to learn more about grandparenting or readong books on it.

However, they had a major impact on me through some small actions taken often.

They told me how great I was. They told me I could be anything. They spoke often of how smart I was. They would compliment and lift me up always.

Now, I understand more than most what this can lead to as a young man. As a 35 year old man with a little age and wisdom, I can look back and know that when some people wouild loook at me and think I was cocky or arrogant…I know where it came from. I always said I was confident not cocky. Becuasee confidence meant I ccould back it up.

My grandparents, my parents, will never be on a platform somewhere speaking. They were not perfect people eitheer. And obviouslyy I’m not.

However, they influenced me.

You can influence people for Jesus no matter what your background is and no matter how put together your life is.

Resolution- Choosing to be influenced by Jesus so that you can influence others

In order to do that though, you have to choose to be influence by Jesus so that you can influence others.

When you are influenced by Jesus you will give them the value you Jesus gives them. he values those who no one else does. He values you.

When you value people the way Jesus values them, you see them not as an immoral person but as a miraacle waiting to happen.

You may not have influence with people as quickly as Jesus did in His day. Being able to feed 5k gives you some credibility.

It can take time.

But there are some things you can do

-Listen to someone who is hurting. Offer to pray with them.

Tim has a great story he shared the other day where God put it on his heart and made it possible and obvious that He needed to pray with a man.

-Invite someone to church.

-Text someone a bible verse

The BIble app makes some gret graphics you can share and just tell them you prayed for them. Whethere they are a Christian or not.

-Post a sermon clip or reel on your FB or IG.

-Give something to someone in need

-take part in mum fest to help this family

You have no idea, how much one conversation, one word of encouragement, one expreession of love might change someone’s life.

Impact- More people trusting in Jesus as their Savior and more people living for Jesus to influence others.

When you choose to be influenced by Jesus to influence people for Jesus, you can be influential the way Jesus wants you to be. You are influental. But are you influental for Jesus?

It doesn’t take much but it does take a choice.

The first choicce you have to mke is to be a follower of Jesus. until that woman believed in Him as the Messaih she couldn’t teell anyone about Him as the Messiah.

Time of Response

The Bible says that your salvation is based on your faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Do you believe Jesus is who he says He is and did what he says He did?

Christians, you have Chosen to follow Jesus. Will you choose to be an influence for Him?

Will you choose one thing to do this week to influence someone for Christ? maybe it’s a social post. Prayer for someone. Kind words. Invitation to church.

If you mde that choice to be influeential in someones life this week for Jesus, woudl you lift your hand up?