INFLUENCESample

Your Circle

You have influence, there’s no denying that. People see your life, they hear your words, and the world is a different place because you are in it. Since you have this huge opportunity to use your influence with intention, you will want to answer a couple of clarifying questions.

First, what does God want me to do with the influence He has given me?

And second, who exactly does God want me to influence?

In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus gives us His mission statement, its His stated purpose. If you were to boil it down to a single phrase, Jesus says that His purpose is to bring THE good news to everyone, everywhere. THE good news that Jesus has come, and He has brought truth, life, hope, grace, peace, and healing with Him. He sets captives free and calls outcasts His friends.

God is calling you to continue the mission of Jesus! Bring THE good news to everyone, everywhere!

I really believe that before you can take the good news to everyone, everywhere, that you need to begin with someone, somewhere.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas, a pair of early missionaries, are arrested and beaten for being missionaries. While they’re in prison, they have an opportunity to share THE good news with the prison guard.

The guard asks, “What must I do to be saved?”

Paul answers him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your HOUSEHOLD.”

The Greek word for household is, oikos (like the yogurt). That word refers to everyone in your influence. The people that you live with, go to school with, ride the bus with, everyone that you interact with on a regular basis.

God wants to use your influence to take the good news to everyone in your oikos. Your immediate circle of family, friends, and people that you see every week is your oikos. Start by bringing the good news to your immediate world, and then you can begin to look beyond. Influence starts in your circle, and so does your part of completing the mission of Jesus.

Challenge:

1. THINK ABOUT IT! How does it feel to know that you’re a part of the mission of Jesus?
2. REFLECT! What if you’re the person that God wants to use to transform your oikos/circle? Are you available for Him to work through you?
3. PRAY! Ask God to use you to reach your household! Ask Him to give you a missionary mindset! Pray for the people that you interact with each day!