The Influence of My Life Romans 14:7,8 I N T R O D U C T I O N

Transcription

1 Message for Sunday Morning, July 18, 2010 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister The Influence of My Life Romans 14:7,8 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the LORD; and if we die, we die to the LORD. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the LORD. P R A Y E R ************************************************************************** I N T R O D U C T I O N I want to talk to you this morning about THE INFLUENCE OF YOUR LIFE. Did you know you are a very important person? You are! As a CHRISTIAN, you are an Ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ! As an AMBASSADOR you represent Jesus Christ everywhere you go and with everyone you meet. You represent JESUS CHRIST in this COMMUNITY. You represent JESUS CHRIST at WORK.

2 .You guys represent JESUS CHRIST when you are with your fishing buddies, hunting buddies or golfing buddies..you gals represent JESUS CHRIST when you are shopping with your girlfriends or chit-chatting on the telephone. But let me be quick to remind you that along with this wonderful privilege of being an AMBASSADOR..a REPRESENTATIVE of Christ in this world, there comes a tremendous responsibility! The apostle Paul tells us in our scripture: For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. What Paul is telling us in these verses is that as Christians there is an INSEPARABLE LINK between our life and Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ you and I have got to understand that others judge CHRIST by what they see in us. This is why the apostle PAUL warns us in COLOSSIANS 4:5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders. By outsiders Paul is referring to those who are outside of the kingdom of God. Those who are not Christians.

3 You see, because I represent Christ in this world, the way I live my life has an influence on others. My life either cast CHRIST in a POSITIVE light or a NEGATIVE light. My life either POINTS people to CHRIST or TURNS people away from CHRIST. My life is either a STEPPING STONE or a STUMBLING BLOCK. That means the way I talk.the language I use the habits I have.the way I treat people.what I have in my cart when I come out of the grocery store.the places where my vehicle is seen parked.the jokes I tell..the comments I make about the opposite sex.the way I do my job each day the way I conduct my financial affairs..all OF THOSE THINGS HAVE A GREATER BEARING BECAUSE I REPRESENT CHRIST. Now I ve been preaching long enough to know some of you are probably sitting there thinking, Preacher, now you ve gone to meddlin! You don t have any right to tell me how to live my life. You re right, I don t! But Christ does! Because how you and I live our lives has a direct bearing on Him. The scriptures tell us, You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (PAUSE) For the remainder of the message I would like to share with you three things you can do with your Christian influence.

4 First of all.. I. I CAN BUILD MY CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE 1. How can I build my Christian influence you ask? Well nothing will build your Christian influence more than HOLY living. I PETER 1:16 Be HOLY, because I AM HOLY. HEBREWS 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be HOLY without HOLINESS no one will see the LORD. ROMANS 12:1,2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, HOLY and pleasing to God----this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God s will is-- His good, pleasing and perfect will. 2. As Christians, you and I need to understand that nothing will BUILD our influence with non-christians like genuine, authentic, holy living. That word holy means: to be separate or set apart from the world. GOD calls you and me as Christians, to live our lives by a higher and holier standard. He calls us to live our lives in such a way that we don t blend in with the world but rather stand out from the world.

5 ILLUSTRATION I would imagine most of you are familiar with the name Dwight L. Moody. Dwight L. Moody was a great American evangelist back in the 1800 s. In addition to winning thousands of souls to Jesus Christ in America and Great Britain, Dwight L. Moody formed the Moody Bible Church and the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. But a name you probably aren t familiar with was a man by the name of EDWARD KIMBALL. Ed Kimball wasn t a preacher or a missionary, he was a shoe salesman who worked in a Chicago shoe store. Ed Kimball was a very godly man who was not ashamed of Christ. One day, Ed Kimball felt compelled to share Christ with a fellow young shoe salesman. That young shoe salesman was so influenced by the genuine authenticity of Kimball s faith, he made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. That young shoe salesman was Dwight L. Moody. 3. Brothers and sisters, if you want to BUILD YOUR INFLUENCE with your non-christian family members, friends and co-workers if you want your CHRISTIAN TESTIMONY to carry weight with others, then live a genuine, authentic HOLY life. But not only can I build my Christian influence.

6 II. I CAN BROADEN MY CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE JOHN 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 1. Now if you have read that verse before you have probably thought, how could I possibly ever do greater things than Christ did while He was here on earth. I can t make blind people see or deaf people hear or lame people walk again. I can t raise people from the dead. Jesus did not mean we could do greater works than His in power, but rather in extent. COMMENTARY Jesus had never preached outside Palestine. His influence had not spread beyond the Holy Land where He lived while on earth. Within his lifetime Europe had never received the word of the gospel, but in that little lowly church in the first century it began to spread and it's still spreading today in 2010 by plane and ship and train and radio and TV and shortwave, tapes, books, tracts, satellite, internet, and who knows what else. The gospel is spreading to an extent that Jesus never realized in terms of his own ministry. He saw it in terms of his own knowledge but not his own earthly ministry.

7 ILLUSTRATION Imagine if you will a CHUBBY LADY with THICK GLASSES, dressed in RED wearing a FLAMBOYANT HAT. That was HENRIETTA MEARS. Henrietta Mears never married, but yet she had hundreds of spiritual children. Back in 1928 Miss Mears was asked to teach a Sunday School Class at First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood, California. Miss Mears was such a passionate teacher of the Bible her class grew from 400 to 4,000 in time. Among her students were DICK HALVERSON, who became the Chaplain of the United States Senate and BILL BRIGHT who founded Campus Crusade For Christ. In time Miss Mears influence spread far beyond her Sunday School Class when she founded GOSPEL LIGHT PUBLISHING COMPANY, which is still in existence today. ILLUSTRATION Dr. John Geddie went to the South Pacific Island of Aneityum in 1848 and worked there for God for 24 years. On the tablet erected to his memory these words are inscribed: When he landed, in 1848, there were no Christians. When he left, in 1872, there were no heathen. 2. Now don t get the impression that you have to be a great Bible teacher like Henrietta Mears or a great missionary adventurer like Dr. John Geddie in order to broaden your Christian influence. 3. Perhaps the late John Wesley said it best when he said, "Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can. 4. That s how you can broaden your Christian influence.

8 I can BUILD my Christian influence. I can BROADEN my Christian influence. And thirdly III. I CAN BURY MY CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE 13 "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 by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. 1. How can I bury my Christian influence? - One way, is by HIDING it. Are you ashamed of Jesus? Are you ashamed to let the people who know you and the people who work with you that you are a Christian? Are you ashamed to speak up and stand up for what is right? Are you like that person Jesus is describing in verse 15 who hides your faith under a bushel basket rather than living your faith openly?

9 Well one thing is for sure. If you are HIDING your faith, then don t expect to have much if any influence on your non-christian family members, friends and co-workers. What does Jesus think of us when we HIDE our Christian influence? Listen to what He says in Mark 8:38.. If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." (MARK 8:38 NIV) (B) Another way we can bury our Christian influence is by HURTING it. How do I HURT my Christian influence? By living an unholy life. You see, when our non-christian loved ones, friends, co-workers and neighbors see us.. cussing like the world cusses. lusting like the world lusts. drinking like the world drinks. lying like the world lies. cheating like the world cheats. gambling like the world gambles. thinking like the world thinks. acting like the world acts. loving what the world loves. and living like the world lives.. What is there about us that would ever influence them to become a Christian? If, when they look at our lives, the only difference they see between themselves and us is that we go to Church on Sunday and they don t, why would they ever want to become a Christian?

10 CONCLUSION ILLUSTRATION On a wall near the main entrance to the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, is a portrait with the following inscription: "James Butler Bonham--no picture of him exists. This portrait is of his nephew, Major James Bonham, deceased, who greatly resembled his uncle. It is placed here by the family that people may know the appearance of the man who died for freedom." No literal portrait of Jesus exists either. But the likeness of the Son who makes us free can be and should be seen in the lives of those of us who follow Him Bill Morgan. Someone once said, Your life may be the only Bible some people will ever read. With that thought in mind, my prayer is that all of us will leave here this morning/evening more conscious of just how powerful our Christian witness truly is. May our lives always point people to Christ and never away from Him.

11