The Power Of Influence - David Ireland, Ph.D. 08.04.24
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00:00I'm beginning a brand-new four-week teaching series today
00:04that's entitled Making a Difference.
00:07So each week, as we unpack that whole idea,
00:10how do we make a difference with our lives?
00:13You're going to find yourself growing in that area.
00:16Today, I start the series with this topic,
00:19the power of influence.
00:24All of us want to be seen.
00:25All of us want to be heard.
00:28Because we all matter.
00:31And oftentimes, if you're like me,
00:33you stumble on the idea that
00:35you really don't have influence
00:37unless you're a famous movie star
00:40or a high-profile professional athlete
00:43or perhaps you're a head of a country
00:45or maybe you are the CEO of this major corporation.
00:49But then we have to get sober about it
00:51and realize, wait a second,
00:53every one of us has influence.
00:55And when you think deeply,
00:57it's really true.
00:59Meet Ryan Cagey,
01:02a YouTube influencer.
01:05He began by simply providing
01:07toy reviews on YouTube.
01:09He began when he was three years old,
01:11back in 2015.
01:13And as of January 2023,
01:16Ryan's YouTube channel
01:18has over 34 million subscribers.
01:21In fact, one of his videos
01:24has over two billion, with a B,
01:27billion views.
01:29And you may say, well, who cares about that?
01:31Well, wait a moment, wait a moment
01:33before you draw an opinion.
01:35According to Forbes magazine,
01:37Ryan earned $11 million
01:39between 2016 and 2017
01:42as the eighth highest YouTube influencer.
01:47That's back then.
01:48In 2018, he earned $22 million.
01:51And in 2020, he earned $29.5 million
01:56in terms of his video and his product line.
01:58In fact, in August of this year,
02:00Ryan has a movie coming out
02:02that's going to be viewed
02:04in over 2,000 theaters across our country.
02:07And the movie is titled
02:08Ryan's World, the movie,
02:10colon, Titan Universe Adventure.
02:13So don't knock.
02:15Small, don't knock.
02:18Thinking that you need to have this big name
02:20to have influence.
02:22And so what we've learned
02:24is that Ryan, it all began
02:26when he asked his mother this question,
02:28how come I'm not on YouTube
02:30when all the other kids are?
02:33That began his journey.
02:35I love what Scott Adams,
02:37who's the American author and cartoonist,
02:39once said,
02:41you don't have to be a person of influence
02:43to be influential.
02:45In fact, the most influential people
02:47in my life were probably
02:49not even aware of the things
02:51they've taught me.
02:53See, the power of influence
02:55is very real.
02:57We use it in business to attract
02:59and to maintain customers
03:01and clients.
03:03As parents, we use it to shape our children.
03:05And if you're a grandparent,
03:07your grandchildren.
03:09The power of influence is seen
03:11in the courtroom,
03:13in the boardroom, in the classroom,
03:15counseling rooms, in kitchen.
03:17It's seen everywhere,
03:19even here in the sanctuary.
03:21And not necessarily by me or my words
03:23to you. It may be the person sitting
03:25next to you when they say something
03:27or pose a question.
03:29They get a chance to influence you.
03:31What I'm pointing out is that
03:33you don't need a big name, a big title,
03:35a big pocketbook, a big personality
03:37to be influential.
03:39God uses anybody
03:41and everybody
03:43both in terms of
03:45natural and spiritual
03:47to influence.
03:49Over the remaining moments,
03:51I want to bring your attention
03:53to a little girl
03:55unnamed,
03:57untitled,
03:59who became a major influence.
04:012 Kings chapter 5
04:03looking at verse 1.
04:05Now
04:07Naaman was commander
04:09of the army of the king of Aram.
04:11He was a great
04:13man in the sight of his master
04:15and highly regarded.
04:17Because through him the Lord had gained
04:19victory or had given victory
04:21to Aram.
04:23He was a valiant soldier
04:25but he had leprosy.
04:27Now bands of raiders from Aram
04:29had gone out and had taken captive
04:31a young girl from Israel.
04:33And she served Naaman's wife.
04:35She said to her mistress
04:37if only my master
04:39would see the prophet who is in Samaria.
04:41He would cure him
04:43of his leprosy.
04:45Naaman went to his master
04:47and told him what the girl from Israel
04:49had said.
04:51By all means go, the king of Aram replied.
04:53I will send a letter to the king of Israel.
04:55So Naaman left
04:57taking with him ten talents of silver,
04:59six thousand shekels of gold
05:01and ten sets of clothing.
05:03The letter that he took
05:05to the king of Israel read
05:07with this letter I'm sending my servant Naaman
05:09to you so that you may cure him
05:11of his leprosy.
05:13As soon as the king of Israel read the letter
05:15he tore his robes and said am I God?
05:17Can I kill and bring back to life?
05:19Why does this fellow send
05:21someone to me to be cured of his leprosy?
05:23See how he's
05:25trying to pick a quarrel with me.
05:27When Elisha the man of God
05:29heard that the king of Israel had torn
05:31his robes he sent him this message.
05:33Why have you torn
05:35your robes?
05:37Let a man come to me
05:39and he will know that there's a prophet
05:41in Israel.
05:43So Naaman went with his horses and chariots
05:45and stopped at the door of Elisha's house.
05:47Elisha sent a messenger
05:49to say to him go
05:51wash yourself seven times in the Jordan
05:53and your flesh
05:55will be restored
05:57and you'll be cleansed.
05:59This is one of the
06:01most fascinating stories
06:03in the Bible that speaks
06:05of how little people
06:07can have big influence.
06:09I encourage you to read
06:11the rest of the story from verse 11
06:13all the way through the end
06:15verse 27. There you'll
06:17learn that indeed
06:19Naaman went and
06:21dipped himself in the Jordan River
06:23seven times and
06:25on the seventh time he came
06:27out of the water and his skin
06:29was as pure
06:31and clean like a newborn
06:33baby. And
06:35what was most important beyond
06:37his natural physical healing
06:39is that he became spiritually
06:41healed. He began to
06:43follow and serve the Lord with all of his
06:45heart, all of his mind, all
06:47of his soul and all of his strength.
06:49I want us to lay the foundation
06:51today by asking a
06:53question. That is
06:55how can our influence
06:57make a difference?
06:59I want to offer you three answers for
07:01consideration. First
07:03influence
07:05inspires movement.
07:07See influence
07:09is the conscious
07:11or the unconscious attempt
07:13to improve someone's
07:15life, their quality of
07:17life. It can happen by adjusting
07:19their perspective. It can happen by
07:21inching them closer to their destiny.
07:23It can happen by bringing them closer
07:25to truth. It can happen by
07:27moving them closer to the Lord.
07:29When influence occurs
07:31it inspires movement.
07:33It moves them towards healing.
07:35It may move them towards deliverance.
07:37It may move them towards breakthrough.
07:39It can even move them towards spiritual
07:41transformation. But I want
07:43you to see that when you deal
07:45with influence it always
07:47inspires
07:49movement.
07:51I want you to meet Naaman so you can get a
07:53picture of what this guy experienced.
07:55Naaman was
07:57the commander of the army
07:59of Aram. That's
08:01modern day Syria.
08:03And so Naaman
08:05the scripture says he was a great man
08:07in the sight of the king.
08:09And he was also a highly regarded
08:11military leader. Now
08:13when you think about it
08:15powerful military guy,
08:17brave, great fame,
08:19great notoriety, well
08:21admired. And then
08:23there's always this little but.
08:25Scripture says but he
08:27had leprosy. Leprosy
08:29is a skin disease.
08:31And ancient leprosy because of different
08:33strains, different forms of it. But
08:35ancient leprosy it starts off
08:37with a little red spot on your skin.
08:39And then the spot
08:41turns white and it begins to
08:43spread. And when it
08:45spreads your hair can fall out
08:47even the hair for your eyebrows.
08:49And when it grows
08:51it becomes shiny and scaly
08:53appearance. And when the disease
08:55worsens, it's an incurable disease,
08:57when the disease worsens it
08:59numbs all of your extremities, your
09:01fingers and your toes. And not only
09:03numbs them, you lose
09:05the sensation of pain.
09:07So this disease is so diabolical
09:09that you can touch things that are hot and don't
09:11even realize you've burnt your hand.
09:13You can, in fact in some of
09:15the developing countries
09:17when people have leprosy and they're lying down
09:19and there are rodents around. Rats eat
09:21off their fingers and eat off their toes
09:23and when they wake up in the morning
09:25they don't even know they're fingerless.
09:27They're without toes.
09:29They're without ears.
09:31Why?
09:33Because we need pain in our body
09:35to understand what to do
09:37and what not to do.
09:39And yet despite this
09:41challenge that Naaman faced,
09:43God had a dream for
09:45Naaman. And in the
09:47wisdom of God, God was going to use
09:49this unnamed girl
09:51that the only title
09:53we hear about her
09:55is that she was a servant.
09:57I want you to know
09:59that you don't need
10:01a big name. You don't
10:03need a big title.
10:05You don't even need a big pocketbook
10:07or stuff in the
10:09pocketbook. I know a lot of ladies have big pocketbooks
10:11and five dollars in it. You don't
10:13need to have a big bank account.
10:15You don't even need to have a big
10:17personality to influence.
10:19All you need to do
10:21is know that you serve a big
10:23God that has big
10:25dreams for everybody.
10:27Let me
10:29hone in now and read to you
10:31again verse 2 through 5 of
10:332 Kings 5.
10:35The Arameans had gone out to
10:37raid the Israelites and had
10:39taken a little girl as a captive.
10:41This little girl
10:43served Naaman's wife.
10:45She said to her mistress,
10:47I wish my master
10:49would meet the prophet who lives
10:51in Samaria. He would
10:53cure him of his disease.
10:57Naaman went to the king and told him what
10:59the girl from Israel had said.
11:01The king of Aram said, go ahead
11:03and I'll send a letter to the king of Israel.
11:05So Naaman left
11:07and took with him about 750
11:09pounds of silver
11:11as well as 150 pounds
11:13of gold and 10
11:15changes of clothes.
11:17Remember the point.
11:19Influence inspires
11:21movement.
11:23This little girl
11:25she influenced
11:27the great military commander
11:29of the Syrian army, Naaman.
11:31The little girl, all she
11:33did was just in passing
11:35to her mistress, I
11:37wish that my
11:39master would meet the
11:41prophet in Samaria.
11:43He would cure him
11:45like that.
11:47Man, all of a sudden, hope filled
11:49Naaman's wife's heart.
11:51She goes to her husband
11:53and said, honey, do you know what happened?
11:55You know the little girl? He said, what little girl?
11:57That little girl that we bought at the market when
11:59the raiders went in Israel
12:01and pulled that little girl
12:03and kidnapped her and we sold her and sold
12:05her to slavery. That little girl. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah,
12:07yeah, I remember. What about her?
12:09She said,
12:11I wish my
12:13master would meet the prophet
12:15in Samaria because he would cure
12:17him of his leprosy.
12:19Man,
12:21Naaman got stuck on those words.
12:23Those words landed
12:25in this fertile part in his soil.
12:27It disrupted his thinking, his
12:29planning, his behavior and all of a sudden
12:31he mustered up the courage to go to the king
12:33and he went to the king and he said, king,
12:35this girl,
12:37this Israelite girl that we have
12:39in our home, she's a
12:41servant for my wife. She
12:43said that there's a prophet in Israel
12:45that would cure me of leprosy.
12:49The king says, man, go for it.
12:51I release you. Go.
12:53And we find
12:55that here's this little person,
12:59no big name,
13:01even unnamed,
13:03having influence.
13:05Let me throw out some stats.
13:0750% of millennials
13:09trust product
13:11recommendations while only
13:1338% of them trust
13:15product recommendations from celebrity
13:17endorsers.
13:19They prefer to trust social
13:21media influencers,
13:23people that are not big names.
13:25In fact, when you travel and
13:27track the statistical data,
13:29these millennials
13:31will trust the influence
13:33of micro-influencers.
13:35So now think about social media
13:37influencers. There are two categories
13:39or two areas of
13:41stratification.
13:43Micro-influencers have
13:451,000 to 100,000
13:47followers.
13:49Macro-influencers have 100,000
13:51to a million followers.
13:53In other words, the more followers
13:55you have, the less
13:57you're trusted
13:59by the millennials to buy the
14:01products that you project or portray.
14:03In other words, the smaller you
14:05are,
14:07the more influence
14:09you can wield and use.
14:11I want you to see
14:13that this little girl
14:15had influence. Watch the power of her influence.
14:17When Naaman got the
14:19letter, went off to the king.
14:21King said, my lord, what do you think
14:23I'm, God? He tore his robe.
14:25In other words, said, God, I need help because these
14:27people are crazy and they're about
14:29to attack me. And so when the prophet found
14:31out, send the man to me.
14:33I'll let him know there's a prophet of God
14:35here in Israel. When
14:37Naaman pulls up with chariot
14:39and pulls up with horses and this whole
14:41entourage with him,
14:43Elisha doesn't even come out of his house.
14:45He sends one of his messengers, hey,
14:47go out there and tell
14:49Naaman, dip seven
14:51times in the Jordan and he'll be healed.
14:55He doesn't even come out.
14:57Long story short,
14:59Naaman dips, he gets healed.
15:01But I want you to back up.
15:03And Naaman,
15:05when he went to Israel, he took a
15:07boatload of money with him.
15:09Scripture says he took
15:11750 pounds of
15:13silver. That
15:15translates to 12,000
15:17ounces of silver. I
15:19checked the stock market on Friday.
15:21The stock
15:23market was, it was, the silver
15:25was being sold for $29 per
15:27ounce. When you
15:29translate $29 per ounce
15:31times the 12,000 ounces,
15:33it was $348,000
15:35worth of silver.
15:37That's not all he took.
15:39Then the Bible says he took 150 pounds
15:41of gold. That equates
15:43to 2,400 ounces
15:45of gold. When you
15:47look at the market, the market value
15:49for gold, this past Friday,
15:51changes every day,
15:53$245 was
15:55the cost for every ounce of gold.
15:57Just for the price of
15:59the gold that he took,
16:01it turns out to be $5,868,000
16:05worth of gold.
16:07Add the silver, add the gold,
16:09but don't forget, he took
16:1110 changes of clothing.
16:13And in ancient days,
16:15the rate or the range of the value
16:17of clothing, it was a wide range.
16:19Just like it is today.
16:21Let me assume then
16:23$250 for
16:25just a change of outfit.
16:27Top and bottom, blouse,
16:29pants, shirt, bottom,
16:31tunic.
16:33Now I understand the difference.
16:35If you shop at Saks Fifth Avenue,
16:37that's one number.
16:39If you shop at Target,
16:41that's another
16:43number. It's very
16:45different.
16:47I set this $250
16:49for each change of clothing.
16:5110 times 250 is $2,500.
16:53So when I add up the price of silver,
16:55the price of gold,
16:57the value of the clothing, it totals
16:59$6,218,500.
17:01That's what
17:03Naaman took with him in order
17:05to go to Israel in case he has to
17:07pay for his healing.
17:09And notice, Elisha didn't even ask for a dime.
17:11But what I want to point out is this.
17:13One little girl,
17:15unnamed, influenced a man
17:17to take $6.2 million
17:19to travel to an international
17:21place, another country, where he was
17:23persona non grata because the
17:25Arameans or the Syrians against the Israelites
17:27always a dreaded
17:29foe. And here he is going
17:31there with his life in jeopardy.
17:33And he's going there just in search of
17:35healing. Why? Because a little girl
17:37inspired him through influence.
17:39I want you to see that
17:41you don't need a big name. You don't
17:43need a big title. You don't need a
17:45big bank account per se. You don't
17:47need big personality. All you need
17:49to know is that you serve a big God
17:51and that God's called you
17:53to be salt and light. And why
17:55not influence people? And
17:57when you do, it inspires
17:59movement.
18:01Every one of us.
18:03Now if we're going to applaud the Lord, let's do it
18:05right.
18:11Influence
18:13not only inspires movement,
18:15influence
18:17can be leveraged.
18:19Don't hide your influence.
18:21Don't sweep it under the carpet.
18:23Don't tuck it in your pocket. Don't say,
18:25oh, I'm not going to say anything. Nobody wants to listen
18:27to me. Foolish.
18:29Unwise.
18:31Unbiblical.
18:33Not your best side.
18:35Leveraging
18:37something is when you
18:39are trying to maximize
18:41its reach.
18:43Maximize the movement of those
18:45who are the recipient of your influence.
18:47Influence is either
18:49conscious or unconscious. And the goal
18:51of influence is just to move someone
18:53further or closer
18:55to their destiny.
18:57Farther or nearer to the Lord.
18:59Farther meaning farther from where they are
19:01to where God is. Influence
19:03is about inching people closer to the
19:05truth. Inching people closer to their
19:07best life. And there's a principle
19:09called the proximity principle.
19:11You got to be in relationship to
19:13influence people by and large.
19:15This little girl didn't even know
19:17she was influencing. Her attitude
19:19is she dusted. Her attitude
19:21is she did the laundry.
19:23Maybe washed the dishes in the pots.
19:25Maybe cooked a meal.
19:27She didn't know. She was
19:29getting the eye of her mistress.
19:31The eye of her master named and watched
19:33her. Because he watched to see
19:35how she behaved. Even though
19:37she didn't
19:39want to be there in Syria.
19:41She didn't choose to be there.
19:43There's sometimes we're in places
19:45we don't want to be.
19:47We didn't choose
19:49it. We didn't bring it on ourselves.
19:51She was kidnapped.
19:53And I want you to see that that's no
19:55reason to have a sour attitude.
19:57That's no reason to disqualify
19:59yourself for God to use you.
20:01You may be in a job that you don't like
20:03with people that you can't stand.
20:05And they may not
20:07be able to stand you either.
20:09But the idea is that
20:11I have to pause. But I just want you
20:13to understand. You still have to realize
20:15that sometimes we are unwanted
20:17missionaries. Or unplanned
20:19missionaries. God has dropped
20:21us into a place where we don't want to be.
20:23Because he wants to do something
20:25through our influence.
20:27And so she had understood the
20:29proximity principle. And some of us
20:31we must not be
20:33ignorant of this principle.
20:35Sometimes we as Christ's
20:37followers, we do something very
20:39detrimental to the kingdom of God.
20:41When we come to know Christ
20:43as Savior, we divorce
20:45ourselves from every friend that doesn't
20:47know Jesus. Because we think that somehow
20:49they're going to pollute us.
20:51We need to get our praise on. We need to
20:53always be laying in sanctuary.
20:55We always need to be close to
20:57the Lord. We need to be able to
20:59have all the spiritual
21:01T's crossed. Spiritual I's
21:03dotted. That's not what our Lord
21:05did. Our Lord,
21:07you can see him hanging out with the sinners.
21:09With the publicans. Those
21:11who are tax collectors. With the Pharisees.
21:13The religious folks that need to be transformed.
21:15And I want you to see that they don't
21:17influence you. You influence
21:19them. And so if you
21:21divorce yourself from the irreligious.
21:23Those who, oh I don't like their attitude.
21:25I don't like the way they behave.
21:27Well nobody liked your attitude before
21:29you met Jesus. No one liked the way
21:31you behave. But you're serving
21:33God because someone
21:35influenced you for Christ.
21:37I want you to see that this
21:39servant girl, she leveraged her influence.
21:41Now you may say, how do you do that practically?
21:43One of the practical ways you leverage your
21:45influence is by being compassionate
21:47towards people.
21:49She could have dusted with her attitude. You ever see people
21:51do chores with their attitude?
21:53She
21:55didn't do that
21:57even though it was not her house.
21:59Even though she was in a place
22:01where she didn't want to be.
22:03And it's amazing
22:05her compassion towards Naaman.
22:07Her concern for his
22:09physical well being.
22:11And her thought that, you know
22:13God can heal him.
22:15I know someone
22:17that has the faith
22:19level that God can use
22:21to bring healing to my master.
22:23And when it got to a point
22:25where she couldn't overlook the thought
22:27all she did was drop a little
22:29suggestion.
22:31I want you to see how you leverage
22:33influence. Many times
22:35God places us in places
22:37where we're not getting
22:39the maximum level of our influence.
22:41And it's not because we don't have a heart
22:43to do that. It's because we don't
22:45realize that influence
22:47is very different than control.
22:49And so
22:51our methods
22:53are all controlling.
22:55Our actions are very
22:57controlling and forced.
22:59You can't do that when you want
23:01to use the art of influence.
23:03In fact, this is a great time to pull out your
23:05camera phone because I'm going to give you some free information.
23:07Influence, so you can take
23:09a pic. Influence is very different
23:11than control. It's actions,
23:13process, and motives are
23:15different, though the goal is the same.
23:17Influence
23:19inspires the person
23:21to take action when
23:23control demands
23:25that they take action.
23:27Very different.
23:29Influence builds trust,
23:31but control breeds
23:33fear. Forcing
23:35someone, this is
23:37your course of outcome.
23:39This is what you need to do or else you're going to mess up.
23:41Influence
23:43empowers the person.
23:45Control
23:47restricts the person's action.
23:49You got to do it my way.
23:51Do it your way, it'll just
23:53implode.
23:55Influence engages
23:57the person, whereby
23:59control
24:01coerces the person.
24:03This is the desired action and path.
24:05Influence fosters
24:07personal growth.
24:09Control stifles
24:11personal growth.
24:13This little girl,
24:15she just suggested
24:17something. I wish
24:19my master met
24:21the prophet in Samaria.
24:23He would
24:25cure him of his leprosy.
24:27That's just
24:29inspired. It just
24:31drops the information. It just puts
24:33a little point out there.
24:35Control says, Master,
24:37you don't need to be living in leprosy. Look at you.
24:39Your skin looks ugly.
24:41I mean, I can hardly look at you. Why don't you go to
24:43Samaria and watch Elijah just bring
24:45healing to you?
24:47Nothing like that.
24:49It was very different.
24:51The power of influence is
24:53when you realize
24:55that you
24:57leverage it
24:59by knowing
25:01be soft with your touch.
25:03Don't be forceful.
25:05Don't try to control.
25:07Just lead
25:09with suggestion and lead
25:11with empathy and compassion.
25:13Lead with trust.
25:15When you do that, it is amazing.
25:17Just like this little girl,
25:19she moved this powerful
25:21general to bring 6.2
25:23million dollars and go into
25:25enemy territory in search of
25:27healing. Why?
25:29Because she just said,
25:31Man, I wish you'd meet Elijah.
25:33He would bring healing to you
25:35like that.
25:37Influence
25:39can be developed.
25:41And this is what
25:43we must recognize.
25:45The Lord calls each of us
25:47to influence people.
25:49This means that your
25:51influence must be developed over time.
25:53Just like your knowledge
25:55grows, your influence
25:57must grow. I want to bring
25:59Jesus into the conversation right here.
26:01In Matthew 5
26:03verse 16, Jesus
26:05says,
26:07In the same way, you should be a light
26:09for other people. Live
26:11so that they will see the good
26:13things you do and
26:15will praise your Father in heaven.
26:17So Jesus is saying
26:19here, look, when you are a light
26:21to other people, they're watching you.
26:23They're studying you. They're
26:25observing you. They're checking you out.
26:27And he says, when you're allowing
26:29that light to shine
26:31in you and through you,
26:33you're motivating people.
26:35You're inspiring people.
26:37So what Jesus is saying tangentially
26:39is this, let your light grow.
26:41Let the wattage
26:43of your influence get brighter
26:45and brighter. See, you're a
26:47light to other people.
26:49And this happens very real. Let me show
26:51you yet another passage.
26:53In Matthew 13 verse 31,
26:55Jesus told them
26:57another story.
26:59The kingdom of heaven is like
27:01what happens when a farmer
27:03plants a mustard seed in a field.
27:05Although it is the smallest
27:07of all seeds,
27:09it grows larger than any
27:11garden plant and becomes
27:13a tree. Birds even
27:15come and nest on
27:17its branches.
27:19Now he's using these poetic
27:21language and metaphors to say
27:23to us, if you're in the
27:25kingdom of God,
27:27you should expect to
27:29have influence that grows.
27:31You should expect your influence
27:33to grow more and more,
27:35to burgeon over time,
27:37to expand in its breadth, in its
27:39height, in its reach.
27:41And that's part of being in the kingdom.
27:43Now, if you're not in the
27:45kingdom of God, if you've never
27:47invited Jesus Christ
27:49into your life, into your heart
27:51to wash away your sins and
27:53to be king and lord of your life,
27:55I'm going to give you an opportunity
27:57at my teaching time to have that
27:59wonderful experience. Because
28:01your influence can be more
28:03than just natural. What would
28:05happen if you had influence that
28:07affected someone's eternal
28:09destiny? That's
28:11what happens when you serve
28:13God. You help them to
28:15move towards their natural destiny
28:17and expand and fulfill
28:19their God-given earthly
28:21purpose, but you also can get a chance
28:23to help people expand and fulfill
28:25their heavenly goal and be
28:27a part of the kingdom of God.
28:29Jesus calls all of us to
28:31have influence that grows and mushrooms
28:33over time. Now you may say, well, how do
28:35you do that in a practical sense? Several
28:37ways. One, carry yourself in a
28:39trustworthy manner.
28:41The little girl was trusted by Naaman
28:43and Naaman's
28:45wife. And just that trust
28:47it made Naaman, it moved
28:49him. And so I want
28:51you to see, you can
28:53do it by how you communicate. Let's say you have
28:55a new person on your job.
28:57They're on your team. Don't
28:59go up to them and say, look, I don't
29:01know you, so you have to earn my trust.
29:03That already
29:05connotes negativity. They have
29:07one foot in the hole already.
29:09Take a different approach.
29:11I'm so glad you're part of our
29:13team. I can't wait to get to
29:15know you and enjoy the benefit
29:17you'll add and the value you'll bring to our
29:19team. Thank you for being a part of our
29:21team. All of a sudden,
29:23man, you just sowed
29:25trust. You're going to reap
29:27trust. See, the way
29:29you carry yourself makes a difference
29:31in how people respond
29:33to your influence.
29:35And when you honor your word,
29:37that develops trust, which
29:39causes your trust to grow. If you
29:41tell someone you'll be there at one o'clock,
29:43be there at one o'clock. And if you can't,
29:45call ahead and say, I'm sorry, I'm
29:47not able to make it in, or I'm running a
29:49few minutes late. It is amazing. They start
29:51to respect and trust your words.
29:53Let me tell you how
29:55this little girl developed and
29:57expanded her influence to the
29:59Syrian commander of the army.
30:01She developed
30:03empathy towards him.
30:05All of us can do that.
30:07It didn't start from her
30:09saying to her mistress,
30:11ma'am, I wish
30:13that my master would meet the
30:15prophet in Samaria, because he would
30:17heal him of his leprosy. It didn't start there.
30:19Empathy starts with self-talk.
30:21She didn't look at him
30:23and said, man, look how disgusting that guy looks.
30:25My God, I can hardly look at him.
30:27It's not easy on the eyes.
30:29She may have said,
30:31if I had leprosy, I'm sure
30:33it would hurt. Just every
30:35day I see him, it seems like his
30:37situation is getting worse.
30:39I wonder what God can do
30:41for him. See,
30:43when you start changing your self-talk
30:45and you start feeding
30:47your heart with that self-talk
30:49and then you start modeling
30:51empathy and compassion and care
30:53for someone.
30:55Don't become prejudiced
30:57and just show empathy for people that
30:59believe what you believe.
31:01This Israelite girl,
31:03she knew that Naaman was a
31:05polytheistic person.
31:07He served and followed all these gods
31:09come in G. He served
31:11and believed everything and anything.
31:13He is like having gumbo.
31:15He threw in God of the sun,
31:17God of the moon, God of people,
31:19God of rain. He mixed it all up
31:21and that was his world view
31:23theologically. But she didn't let that
31:25stop her. She still said
31:27to herself, what would happen if God
31:29got a hold of my master?
31:31And she dropped a word
31:33when it was time and she didn't
31:35say it in some autocratic
31:37powerful way. In fact, it was
31:39in her weakness that she conveyed
31:41this suggestion, this inspirational
31:43influential statement.
31:45I wish that my master
31:47would meet the prophet in
31:49Samaria. God would heal him.
31:51But you know why her empathy was
31:53so meaningful? Because it came from a place
31:55of purity.
31:57He didn't have to interpret. Is she
31:59trying to get a better life? Is she
32:01trying to get me to take her back to Israel?
32:03It wasn't jaded.
32:05Another way
32:07that we must develop our
32:09empathy is by asking questions
32:13in a respectful way.
32:15I didn't tell you earlier, but I'll tell you
32:17now. When Elisha
32:19by way of a messenger or one of his
32:21servants went out of the house and told
32:23Naaman, Elisha said, go and
32:25dip in the Jordan seven times.
32:27Naaman was furious.
32:29Scripture says he was angry.
32:31He couldn't control it. You ever see when people are angry
32:33they can't even hold it back in. They just start
32:35talking out loud. And I've seen people like that.
32:37They just let it rip.
32:39I mean I call it they're bleeding. They're just bleeding all over
32:41the place. And so Naaman said
32:43why does this guy call me to go
32:45and dip in the Jordan river seven
32:47times? We got rivers back home in
32:49Syria that's much cleaner than this.
32:51And he turned his chariot around
32:53and headed for Syria. And all of a
32:55sudden a couple of his servants that were with him
32:57they inched up to him. Watch.
32:59Watch questions now
33:01and watch how you do it.
33:03And verse 13 says
33:05the servants went to him and said
33:07my father
33:09if the prophet had told you to do something
33:11great would you not have
33:13done it?
33:15How much more then
33:17when he tells you wash
33:19and be cleansed.
33:21Notice they never tried
33:23to control. Influence
33:25is very different.
33:27You pose questions.
33:29You suggest.
33:31You don't draw conclusions.
33:33You let the question go to work.
33:35Questions are tools.
33:37And when you ask right questions, good questions
33:39it's like when a
33:41carpenter is using his hammer and his
33:43chisel. And so when you use a question
33:45it chisels away all of the anger.
33:47And Naaman turned his chariot back
33:49around and went towards the Jordan river.
33:51And there he was. One. Two.
33:53Nothing. Three. Four.
33:55And he said why? Why am I not clean?
33:57Naaman!
33:59The prophet said seven times.
34:01Five. Six.
34:03Seven. He comes up.
34:05Oh my lord.
34:07His skin was
34:09just as clean
34:11as a brand new baby.
34:13And he still
34:15kept his 6.2 million.
34:19I want you to see
34:21this God that we serve.
34:23And so you grow in your love
34:25and it develops your
34:27influence when people know you love them
34:29they'll listen to you
34:31when they know you have empathy towards them
34:33they'll listen to you
34:35when you behave in a trustworthy way
34:37they'll listen to you
34:39finish the sermon you can preach
34:41when they know that you have compassion
34:43for them they'll listen
34:45to you.
34:47Ralph Waldo Emerson said
34:49what I need
34:51is someone who will
34:53make me do what I can.
34:55And that's
34:57what influence does.
34:59It makes you do
35:01what you can.
35:03I want to fast forward now and go back
35:05to Syria.
35:07And I want to
35:09see Naaman
35:11and I'm using my sanctified imagination
35:13because the scripture doesn't tell us. I want to see what
35:15Naaman does when he opens the door to his home.
35:19Honey I'm here, I'm home.
35:21He's looking
35:23different, his wife.
35:25My Lord.
35:27She throws her arms around him.
35:29She kisses him profusely.
35:31And here comes that little Israelite girl.
35:33I don't know if tears rolled down her face.
35:35Because Naaman
35:37he couldn't even speak clearly.
35:39He's just stammering.
35:41I was healed.
35:43I dipped
35:45seven times in the Jordan
35:47and look, look, look.
35:49I'm healed.
35:51And Naaman says you know
35:53I don't serve any other gods.
35:55I'm serving the one and true
35:57God. I've been healed.
35:59Not just of leprosy.
36:01My soul has been healed.
36:03My soul has been transformed.
36:05I am going to
36:07serve the one and true God.
36:09I don't know what that little
36:11girl did. I don't know if she
36:13because she had to disciple Naaman.
36:15He now needs to grow in the
36:17things of God.
36:19What do I do? How do I think?
36:21And I don't know
36:23when she was dusting from now on.
36:25She's singing. She's whistling.
36:27When she's washing pots and pans.
36:29She's dancing. When she's
36:31setting out her mistress clothing.
36:33She's smiling because her mistress
36:35no longer has to forego
36:37going to certain socials
36:39because of how her husband looks.
36:41She's dressing to the nines.
36:43I want you to see you don't need
36:45a big name. You don't need a big title.
36:47You don't even need a big bank account.
36:49You don't need a big personality.
36:51All you need to know is that
36:53you serve a big God who has big
36:55love, who wants to make big changes,
36:57who wants to help individuals.
36:59Your influence is big.
37:03This little girl had
37:05power and her weakness,
37:07her strength spoke volumes.
37:09Ladies
37:11and gentlemen, I
37:13want you to go on a journey with me
37:15to grow our influence.
37:17Very quickly.
37:19I need all the educators.
37:21Raise your hand if you're an educator.
37:23Raise your hand whether you're a professor
37:25in university, a teacher in
37:27elementary school. Raise your hand, all educators.
37:29I know educators, you always give out homework.
37:31And you hate homework.
37:33But every one of us, we're educators today.
37:35Raise your hand, everybody. Raise your hand
37:37because I'm giving you homework.
37:39Two things I'm going to ask you to do. Ready?
37:41Two things.
37:43This week.
37:45First,
37:47I want you to make a list of
37:49the spheres of
37:51your influence.
37:53I'll give you a couple of answers.
37:55Family, job.
37:59I'm not going to give you everything, those are just two.
38:01Don't get greedy.
38:03Here's the other homework assignment.
38:05Plan, put a
38:07plan of action together
38:09where you choose one person
38:11in at least
38:13in at least two
38:15or three of those spheres
38:17that you're going to influence this week.
38:19You can do it
38:21in easy ways.
38:23A kind word,
38:25a helpful action,
38:27a sharing of
38:29piece of advice,
38:31in a suggestive tone,
38:33or encouragement.
38:35All the husbands, wave your hand at me, husbands.
38:37You can even start it today, you can get it right now.
38:39When you go to the parking lot,
38:41go on, open the door
38:43for your wife and say, sweetheart,
38:45please have a seat.
38:47And wait until she gets in
38:49before you slam the door. Don't slam it on her foot.
38:51I just want you to get
38:53just a couple of points right now.
38:55You would have solved one of the points
38:57of the homework.
38:59But I want you to see that.
39:01I want you to stand with me for a moment.
39:03I promised you earlier in my sermon
39:05I was going to give you an opportunity
39:07to meet this Jesus
39:09that is so in love with you.