Attitude + Aptitude = Altitude [1]
Influencer: “a person who inspires or guides the actions of others.” – Merriam-Webster
Whether we realize it or not, “We affect those around us by how we live, whether purposefully or passively, for good or for evil…A godly influence is someone who helps people understand the gospel [1 Corinthians 15:3, 4], grow in their knowledge of Scripture [2 Peter 3:18], walk in righteousness [Galatians 5:16, 25], serve and follow Christ [Galatians 5:13], support His work [2 Corinthians 9:7], and spread the message of His salvation [Mark 16:15]…Influence is both a privilege and a responsibility.” – Dr. Charles Stanley [2]
An evil influencer does just the opposite. He stirs up strife and contention which can lead to his and others’ destruction. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful” (Psalm 1:1). “My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent” (Proverbs 1:10). “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’” (1 Corinthians 15:33).
Question. Who or what has influenced us or is influencing us for good and/or for evil? Who’s our friend and who’s our enemy? Can a person be both? Do spirit beings (angels & demons) influence us and others? If so, how?
Let’s Think About Some Good Influencers In The Bible –
“Joseph: He was sold by his jealous brothers and taken down to Egypt where he suffered for many years in prison after being falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife for a crime he didn’t commit. But after interpreting Pharaoh’s dream one day, he was put at his right hand in the court of Egypt. It was through Joseph that food, in a time of famine, was supplied for the [Jewish people] and others to keep them alive. Who but God would have thought of that?
“Esther: God sovereignly put this young Jewish girl in the court of King Ahasuerus. It’s hard to imagine the pressures she must have been under as she thought about the possibility of her fellow Jews being annihilated if she was unwilling to risk her own life to save their lives. But it was through her, that the Jewish people were delivered from a holocaust.
“Daniel: As a young man, he was taken as a captive to Babylon because of the sins of the Jewish people. Several years later, after he interpreted the king’s dream, God put him in a high position in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. Imagine how difficult this may have been as he was surrounded by pagan idol worshippers. Yet it was all in the good purpose of God to reveal to this king and to the rest of us what would happen in the future under the world empires.
“Expect to be troubled and misunderstood. But trust God to keep you.” [3]
Andrew: He introduced his brother Peter to the Lord (John 1:41, 42). But a few years later, when Jesus was being tried unjustly, Peter denied that he knew the Lord (Matthew 26:34; 75). Thankfully, after he got turned around, he was instrumental in influencing thousands of Jews to believe in Christ on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 3:11 ff).
Paul. He once was a persecutor of Christians and consented to Stephen’s death (Acts 7:58; 8:1-3). He (not Peter) became the steward of the “Dispensation of Grace” in which we now live (Ephesians 3:1 ff). He started many churches in Asia Minor and in Europe and influenced many people to become Christians (1 Corinthians 3:5).
Jesus – The greatest influencer of others was the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). “For to this [suffering] you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps…” (1 Peter 2:21). All believers who desire to live godly lives can/should expect to be persecuted for the cause of Christ (2 Timothy 3:12; See Romans 8:18).
God The Holy Spirit – Today He indwells all true Christians (John 14:17). He is the One Who energizes and enables us to do the things God desires for us to do (Philippians 2:13; 4:13). However, we can and often do resist Him to our own detriment (2 Timothy 2:12). No one can resist His determinative will (Romans 9:19; Ephesians 1:11).
Some Bad Influencers
The Devil & Demons – From time to time they are permitted to put evil thoughts in a believer’s mind and in the minds of unbelievers (Acts 5:3; See 1 Kings 22:19-23). When tempted, a Christian must be sober and vigilant (1 Peter 5:8), submit to God (James 4:8), put on the whole armor of God, and then resist the devil/demons to overcome their 14 solicitations to trespass and then sin (Ephesians 2:1; 1 John 3:4; James 1:12-15). This causes him/them to leave us for a season (Ephesians 6:12-17; 2 Corinthians10:3-6). Once we’ve overcome the devil/demons, we must “pray” for other believers in their time of need (Ephesians 6:18). The devil also has mature sons of disobedience who love to do what he wants them to do (Ephesians 2:2; John 8:44; 1 John 3:10).
Religious Leaders. The devil has many religious leaders proclaiming a false gospel (2 Corinthians 11:3, 4, 12-15) and other ways of salvation (Ephesians 2:8, 9). He blinds the minds of unsaved people to keep them from seeing and believing the true Gospel so they can be saved (2 Corinthians 4:4). Only God the Holy Spirit can convict unbelievers of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8-11). The devil lulls most of his children to sleep spiritually so they aren’t aware of the impending danger (1 John 5:19; Revelation 21:8). [4]
Wicked People. Unsaved people and carnal Christians often have a negative influence on others. Their vile language and lifestyle can rub off on us. We need to have contact with them, but we aren’t to be contaminated by them. They might be our relatives, fellow workers, neighbors, or the people we watch and listen to on television or on the radio.
The Present Diabolical World System. It was devised by the devil in the days of Cain in an effort to control certain aspects of man’s sin nature (Luke 11:51, 52; Genesis 4:16-24; Galatians 5:19-21). As Christians, we can/must use the world system (1 Corinthians 7:31), but we are not to misuse it and “agape” love it (1 John 2:15-17). It appeals to the the lust [strong desires] of the flesh [sin nature], the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life [the vainglory of ownership]. It also is passing away and will be destroyed (2 Peter 3:11). [5]
The Coming Man Of Sin (Antichrist) & The False Prophet – After the true Church has been removed from the earth and taken to heaven (John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-10), the debonair, charismatic “Man of Sin / Antichrist” will be elevated to power by the 10 kings from the Revived Roman Empire, and the Apostate Harlot Church. He will deceive the nations by performing the same kind of miracles that Jesus and the Apostles did in the early days of the church (Act 2:22; 2 Thessalonians 2:8-10). After the “Man of Sin – Antichrist” is killed in the middle to the Tribulation, and brought back to life, he will demand that everyone, including the Jews worship him and take his mark (666) in order for them and all others to buy and sell things (Revelation 13:11-18). When the Jews refuse, he will pursue them with a vengeance but he won’t be able to exterminate all of them. Two thirds of the Jews who rebel against the Lord while they are being protected in Sela (Petra) will die during the last half of the Tribulation (Zechariah 13:8, 9; Isaiah 16:1 ff; Jeremiah 30:7). [6]
Back To Some Good Examples
The Hall Of Faith Believers – Some were delivered; others weren’t (Hebrews 11).
Christian Martyrs – They will receive the “Crown of Life” (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10). [7]
Christian Biographies – Dedicated servants of the Lord. [8]
Thank Them. If you have had some good influencers, mentors, motivators, exhorters, comforters, and encouragers who have helped you in life, take time to thank them if you can. If you had bad ones, learn from them what not to do (1 Corinthians 10:1-13).
Think About This. God caused you and me to be alive at this time in human history. He has a purpose and a plan for each believer. Jesus said, “You [disciples] did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you” (John 15:16). “For we [Christians] are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). “As each [Christian] has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10; Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 4:11-16).
The Rapture. Christ won’t return for the true Church / the spiritual “Body of Christ” to make us “His Bride” until all whom the Father has given to the Son have come to Him, through the proclamation of the Gospel, and been saved and done some praiseworthy works (John 6:37; 1 Corinthians 4:5). Every Christian can/should have a part in this by sharing the clear Gospel message with the lost (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4).
To Be A Godly Influencer And To Be A Blessing To Others, We Are Admonished To –
“Walk by means of the Holy Spirit, and be filled by Him so He can produce His “Fruit” (Christ likeness) in our lives (Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 5:18). We then become responsible to direct it properly toward the right objects, at the right time, for God’s glory and the good of others (1 Corinthians 10:31; Galatians 6:10). We are to look for other faithful believers to whom we can pass on what was given to us (2 Timothy 2:2). Are you doing this?
As believers, we are told to “[Put] away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another. ‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:25-32).
Summing It Up
If we, as Christians, want to have a positive and godly influence on others, we need to be humble, sacrificial, strategic, and do what we do for the glory of God and the good of others. [9] As Dr. Stanley pointed out, we need to share the clear Gospel with unbelievers [1 Corinthians 15:3, 4]. Once they’re saved, we need to help them grow in their knowledge of the Scriptures [2 Peter 3:18], show them how to walk in righteousness [Galatians 5:16, 25], serve and follow Christ [Galatians 5:13], support His work [2 Corinthians 9:7], and spread the message of His salvation to the lost [Mark 16:15]? We should consider the fact that being an “influencer” for Christ to be both a privilege and a responsibility. Are you having a positive, godly influence on others? If not, why?
The Gospel Mandate For Unbelievers [10]
Friend, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ alone, Who died for all our sins (once and for all) …and rose again bodily on the third day, and you will be saved from hell to heaven (Acts 16:31; 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4).
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[1] Attitude – https://kelseypeach.wordpress.com/2019/05/17/attitude/
[2] Dr. Charles Stanley, Requirements Of A Godly Influence
https://www.intouch.org/watch/sermons/the-requirements-of-a-godly-influence#:~:text=Godly%20influence%20helps%20people%20understand,the%20message%20of%20His%20salvation.
file:///Users/kelseypietsch/Downloads/The-Requirements-of-a-Godly-Influence.pdf
[3] Colin Smith – https://openthebible.org/article/what-every-christian-influencer-should-know/
[4] The Devil – Facts & Fallacies – https://kelseypeach.wordpress.com/2014/06/20/the-devil-fallacies-facts/
[5] Lusts – Good And Bad – https://kelseypeach.wordpress.com/2021/08/03/lusts-good-bad/
[6] The Order Of Coming Events – And the influence of the “Man of Sin / Antichrist” https://kelseypeach.wordpress.com/2016/02/20/the-order-of-coming-events-2/
[7] Christian Martyrs – https://www.ccel.org/ccel/foxe/martyrs/files/martyrs.html
[8] Christian Biographies – https://wholesomewords.org/biography/index.html
[9] Kelly Needham – https://kellyneedham.com/posts/2015/03/20/women-are-influencers
[10] Gospel Presentations – https://kelseypeach.wordpress.com/2022/02/16/gospel-presentations/
Scripture taken from the New King James Version
Copyright c. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by Permission. All rights reserved
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