What Are You Using Yours For?
1 Corinthians 12:1-3 (New Living Translation)
1 Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. 2 You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. 3 So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.
Some months back, our Bishop was speaking about influence. Mainly He was speaking about the fact that we need to be in a position to influence the seven mountains, (media, arts and entertainment, business and economics, education, family, government and religion). For many of us God has allowed us to obtain positions, power and has brought us before great men and women. For some of us God has allowed us to rise into positions within the Kingdom. But what is it that we are doing with the influence that we have? Are we using it to exalt our own agenda, or to soothe and pacify our own fears, or need to control? Or are we actually realizing that the place and position in which we find ourselves is God ordained to bring change, not for us, but because it is our Kingdom assignment by God. When I was in the military I had influence by virtue of my job. I worked directly for the commander. Although I had the commander’s ear, it was the masses that I tried to influence to help them improve and excel. I did not use my position for selfish gain, but to help, assist and support others, hopefully for their betterment, not my own.
God has entrusted us all with an area of influence, so the question is what are we doing with it? I have been in church in one form or another most of my life, and I have seen people take their influence and use it for bad, and for good. I have watch people destroy others just because they had the power and the influence to do so. I have watch others who humbly submitted themselves to God, soar to high heights or influence because God was using them, not for any other reason than they were available and sold out to Him. All too often in the church, we get caught up in titles, ordinations, positions and things of that nature, not realizing that God can use anyone He so chooses, and it has absolutely nothing to do with a title. We also do not realize that where I may be assigned, that may be a place that you could never reach, and vice versa. We lack the understanding that the people, or places you may influence, may never be an area I could reach because of who I am, where I come from or the way I present myself. We need to be careful about using our influence to discount or discredit people and the way God is using them, because, the Bible says it is better that we bind a milestone around us and throw ourselves into the sea then to offend one of His little ones. If God can use a donkey to speak, then there is no doubt that He can use us too, or anyone else He decides to even if they don’t fit our bill…God makes that decision not us. There is also a story in the Bible that says there were people healing, and preaching in Jesus name, and the disciples wanted Jesus to make them stop, but He told them, if they are not against us they are for us.
So what are you using your God given influence for? Are you using it to advance the kingdom, change lives, elevate people, encourage people and bring hope to the hopeless, and bring Jesus to the masses? Or are we using our influence to ensure that people are squashed, hurt, made to feel less qualified? Are we dividing the house, or are we using our influence strengthen the house and to lift up the Kingdom? Are we using our influence to become a change agent, not just in the four walls of the church, but in places people do not want to go, or with people that most church folks would not associate with? If we are to model Jesus, He was very rarely seen ministering in the temple, but He was out among the people spreading the gospel and seeing to the natural needs and concerns as well as the spiritual needs of people. God does not give us resources and influence just for us, He gives it to us, for His Glory. So tell me is God being Glorified in the areas of influence in your life, or are you?
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