Christians of influence

Well, good morning once again to you.

It was interesting this morning as I was driving up to church

and I had Hope 103.2 on.

Simon Manchester today is preaching on Galatians,

which was somewhat intimidating, I have to say.

But it was Galatians chapter 3.

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

And he has done a couple of other sermons in previous weeks.

So if you want to hear some more on Galatians,

I'd commend going to the website of Hope

and listening to Simon's messages also.

Let me pray for us.

Our Father and our Lord, we thank you that you give us your word.

We thank you that you give us the privilege

of being able to meet together today

and to look at your word.

And so, Father, I ask that you would use the words that I say,

that by your spirit you would touch each of our hearts

that we would be changed people,

that we would serve you,

that we would be people of influence

for your gospel's sake, in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, I've titled this message

Being a Person of Influence.

And I'm wondering, is that you?

Or is that me?

Do you want to be a person of influence?

Do you want to influence how other people think?

What their attitudes are?

How they act?

I looked up who the Times magazine

believe the top 100 most influential people are.

Now, you'll be pleased to know that Jesus is number one.

Martin Luther comes in at number 17.

Albert Einstein is 19.

Elvis Presley is down at 69.

And way down the list is John Calvin, who is at 99.

Now, the question for you today is,

do you want to be a person of influence?

With humility, you might answer that question

by saying, no, no, no, my goal is not,

that is not my goal in life.

My goal isn't to be egocentric.

It's not about influence.

It's about God's influence.

I don't want to be influential.

I want to be faithful.

Which all sounds really quite wonderful.

And it's a great sentiment.

But in actual fact, I'm not sure that it's biblical.

If you are a parent,

I am quite certain that you would wish

to be influential towards your children,

towards their behaviours, their attitudes, their values.

If you are a boss or a leader of any kind,

I'm certain you will be wanting to influence

those people under you in a positive way.

If you have siblings,

if you have nieces and nephews,

if you're a godparent,

hopefully you are wanting to influence in the right way.

Jesus is the most influential person.

We know that.

Even the Times Magazine knows that.

And even those who do not even know Jesus

or follow Jesus have been influenced by him.

And Paul, the writer of this letter to the churches in Galatia,

is certainly the second most influential person

in the history of the church.

Although in the Times list,

which of course we're not going to place a lot of credence on it,

but in the Times list,

Paul comes in at number 39.

But we know better if we're looking at church history.

As Christians,

we are called to influence

for the sake of the gospel

and for the grace that is shown in the gospel.

For some time,

I actually thought Paul was extremely arrogant.

In actual fact,

when I first became a Christian,

I didn't like anything Paul said.

And I based it all on the verse that he had in 1 Corinthians,

where he said,

imitate me as I imitate Christ.

I couldn't think of a more arrogant thing

that somebody could say.

But I've learnt over the years, thankfully,

that the emphasis is about imitating Jesus.

Jesus is the one who is doing the influencing here.

Further, in 1 Corinthians,

in chapter 11,

we see Paul say,

follow my example

as I follow the example of Christ.

Christ.

It's all about Jesus.

And the Bible says

that we are to be the light of the world

and the salt of the earth,

which is just another metaphorical way

of speaking about influence.

We are called to be lights

so that others will move away from the darkness

toward the light of Christ.

Now, we're not shining our light

so that people will follow us.

If we're making it all about us,

then we are being ungodly

and we are being sinful.

We're letting our light shine,

we are letting the light shine through us

so that others might know

what a great and glorious God

that we are serving.

And if we want to follow,

if we want to influence others

to follow Christ,

we will be greatly encouraged

and they too will come to a relationship of Jesus.

Influencing others

so that they influence us

is not what we're on about.

But how do we do that?

Well, back to our passage,

Paul founded the churches in Galatia

during his missionary travels in Asia Minor.

Most of the converts were Gentile pagans.

The Galatians had heard

Paul's preaching of Jesus Christ crucified.

They had accepted the message

with glad hearts.

They were baptised

and they had experienced

dramatic manifestations of the Spirit.

The churches were running really well

when Paul had left that area.

But time went by

and then Paul had heard

what was actually happening then, now.

And at the time of Paul writing this letter,

the churches were experiencing trouble.

Paul's work was being undermined

by a group of converted Jews

who were trying to

blend the traditions

of their Jewish heritage

with the Christian gospel.

And to do so,

were preaching

what Paul calls

a different gospel.

They tried to convince

the Galatian churches

that they needed to be circumcised

to be full or true Christians.

Now, when Paul heard about this teaching,

he immediately sent off

this letter to the churches.

And in verse 7,

we see that Paul believed

that the different gospel

that they were hearing

was in actual fact

a perverted gospel.

Pretty strong word.

He's shocked that they are

turning to a different gospel.

And in verse 7 says,

which is no gospel at all.

Evidently, some people

are throwing you into confusion

and are trying to pervert

the gospel of Christ.

Therefore, he wanted

to influence the Galatians

toward the gospel of grace.

And we too

need to become people of influence

for the sake of the gospel

of Jesus Christ

and the gospel of grace.

You might be thinking

that you don't wish

to be a person

of influence at all.

But let me say very clearly,

as far as the gospel goes,

we have to be

a person of influence.

And whether we like it or not,

we are people of influence.

The difference is,

we will either be

influencing people

toward Jesus

or we will be

influencing people

to ignore him

and to turn their back

on him.

There is no middle road

for a Christian.

Let me repeat it.

It will either be

influencing people

toward Jesus

or we will be

influencing people

to ignore him

or to turn our back

on him.

At the end of chapter 1,

Paul concludes a defence

of his leadership

and message

in the regions

of Syria

and Cilicia

and Jerusalem

by saying,

and they praised God

because of me.

One of those statements

that in years gone by

I would have had trouble with.

Would you like people

to say that of you?

Would you like people

to say

they praised me?

Would you like them

to say that they praised God

because of what you did?

Paul wasn't saying

that they praised me

because of what I did.

He's saying

that they praised God.

This is an enormous

responsibility.

I want to commend

Paul's statement

to us here at St. Paul's.

Chatswood

wouldn't it be

just terrific

if the people

in Willoughby

in Chatswood

were to praise God

because of what

the people

at St. Paul's Chatswood

did and said

and were

and are.

Wouldn't that

be fantastic?

We would be testimony

to the gospel of grace

and all that God

has given us.

What did Paul do

to lead to this

praise of God?

And consequently

what must we do

to have a similar influence?

Because it's all

well and good

to know that Paul's

done this

but we need to

actually learn from it.

So first of all

we need to seek

God's approval

over above

all else.

Listen to Paul's words

again from verse 10.

Am I now trying

to win the approval

of men

or of God?

Or am I striving

to please men?

If I were striving

to please men

I would not be

a servant of Christ.

Right away

we see

the beginning point

in becoming

a person of influence

is grounded

in our seeking

God's approval

rather than

man's approval.

This is the

great irony.

To become a person

of influence

influence

for Jesus Christ

you cannot be

motivated

by pleasing

men and women.

You are being

called

to have people

follow you

who aren't

necessarily

going to be

pleased with you.

Our base

instincts

tell us

that we must

please

people

if we want

to influence

them.

They must

like us.

They must agree

with us.

They must

think like us.

Politicians

preachers

and people

in all walks

of life

make this

mistake.

Every time

you are

disappointed

by another's

reaction

or a lack

of reaction

to what you

have said

or done

I want you

to ask

yourself this

who is

in my

grandstand?

That is

if we

are doing

good deeds

and saying

nice things

so that we

are applauded

by people

or applauded

by a person

then they

are the ones

in our

grandstand.

They're the

ones we

are performing

for.

If we are

serving quietly

knowing we

are serving

the Lord

and it is

only the

Lord who

we are

wanting to

please

then it is

the Lord

who is in

our grandstand.

Now

don't get me

wrong here

it is

right and

proper

that we

give thanks

to people

and that

people

and are

given thanks

for the

things that

we have

done.

The difference

is we

are not

dependent

on the

thanks from

another person

to know

and to

feel

whole and

secure

as a

person.

and the

reason for

that is

because we

are secure

in Christ

and his

love for

us in

all that

we do

and say

and be.

It is

that freedom

in Christ

that you

have heard

me mention

in years

gone by.

Here's the

common mistake

though.

There is a

difference

between

being people

of influence

and being

people

who are

popular.

Someone

can be

very,

very popular

with large

masses of

people and

not exert

any influence.

Someone

like Paris

Hilton

is very

popular.

Maybe not

so with

this group

of people

and certainly

not with

me but

she doesn't

exert

much influence.

The same

goes for

many television

stars,

for sports

heroes.

Yes,

they're all

well known

and yes,

the sporting

stars might

be able to

give some

very good

tips on

how to

kick that

ball or

how to

hit that

bat but

do they

influence for

good in

an eternal

sense?

They may be

very popular

but they

are not

influential.

Paul had

made his

commitment to

Jesus Christ

known in

the churches

of Galatia.

He was a

servant to

Christ and

that was

his baseline

priority.

Naturally,

he wanted to

win the

Galatians to

his point of

view.

The gospel

of grace

that he

preached

didn't need

to be

supplemented

by a

legalistic

commitment

to the

Mosaic

law.

He preached

Christ

crucified

and Christ

as the

only hope

of salvation.

There was

nothing else

necessary for

salvation

other than

a simple

faith in

Christ.

In the

end,

his devotion

to the

revelation

given him

increased his

influence and

today we

require no

one to be

circumcised in

order to be

a Christian.

But we can

fall into a

similar trap

in the Christian

church today of

adding to the

gospel in a

similar way.

church.

When I first

became a

Christian,

there was a

huge movement

that said to

be truly

Christian you

must speak in

tongues.

That speaking in

tongues was the

confirmation that

you were born

again.

Now this of

course is wrong,

we know that

now.

I personally

believe that

speaking in

tongues is a

gift of God's.

religion.

But those who

speak in tongues

are no more

saved, they are

no more important,

they are no more

spiritual than any

person who

doesn't.

That very strict

movement has

changed over time

and it has

nearly disappeared

but I still know

of one church or

maybe you'd call it

a denomination

Christian that

still believe it

to be true and

so any member of

their church has

to speak in tongues

for them to be

truly Christian.

And I would say

and I think

scripture also

says that it is

a perverted

gospel.

But even today

there are some

more subtle ways

that we might like

to add to the

gospel.

Some might

question what

version of the

Bible you use

will determine

how spiritual

you are.

I remember a

friend of mine

many years ago

being invited to

a church and she

took a good news

Bible.

She was told to

take a Bible to

the church so she

took a good news

Bible, that

version.

She wasn't allowed

to take it into

the church.

She had to leave

it at the door.

So there are some

very odd things

happening in our

world.

But there are

things of what

sort of Bible we

use.

Others might

think that a

true Christian

might say set

prayers or do

church in a

particular way and

that makes you

more spiritual.

Others might

think that the

ministries that

you are involved

in makes you

more spiritual and

confirms that you

are truly saved.

Now these things

in themselves,

there's nothing

wrong with them.

The problem is

that if you

elevate them and

believe that they

are essential to

you being saved

or that you

are better than

others or that

Jesus loves you

because you are

doing these things,

then dare I say

you have perverted

the gospel of

grace.

And if you want to

be a person of

lasting influence in

your life, your

home, your family,

your work, your

school or university,

people will need to

see a similar

unwavering devotion

to Jesus Christ as

we see here with

Paul.

Even if this means

you will be unpopular

for a time, in the

long run your

influence will

expand.

If people see that

you are uncompromising,

see your uncompromising

devotion to our

Lord, that doesn't

mean that everybody

will necessarily

turn and become

a Christian, that

would be wonderful,

but they are more

likely to follow the

one you call Lord

if they see that he

truly is your Lord

seven days a week

and not just at

particular times of

the week like a

Sunday.

Secondly, to be a

person of influence

we need to understand

God's mission for

our lives.

Now verse 11

says,

I want you to

know brothers that

the gospel I

preached is not

something that man

made up.

I did not receive

it from any man

nor was I taught

it, rather I

received it by

revelation from

Jesus Christ.

Skipping down to

verse 15,

but when God who

set me apart from

birth called me by

his grace was

pleased to reveal

his son in me so

that I might preach

him among the

Gentiles, I did not

consult any man.

Now Paul here is

doing a number of

things.

He's giving his

testimony as to how

he came to know

Jesus.

He's also pointing

out that God spoke

to him directly

through his grace

contrary to what

those who were

teaching a perverted

gospel believed.

They wanted to say

that every revelation

had come to,

every revelation had

to come from people

in authority like

themselves who were

saturated in the

teachings from

Jerusalem.

Apparently in their

view the only place

where revelation can

come from is from

Jerusalem.

And Paul's testimony

is unique.

I don't know anyone

who has had the same

type of conversion as

Paul has, although

over the years I've

heard some pretty

amazing transformations

in people's lives but

not the same as

Paul.

But he is also

smashing the idea

that the gospel of

grace is from God

alone and does not

need additional

rituals or behaviours

that might come from

religious legalists.

Now don't

misunderstand what

is being said here.

We cannot go around

declaring whatever we

want and say we have a

revelation from God

alone.

Absolutely everything

needs to align with

scripture and the

gospel of grace.

That is, Jesus is the

son of God, died and

rose from the dead,

conquering death and

opening the way for us

to be forgiven of our

sins and to live

eternally in relationship

with him.

Paul's revelation from

God was from God.

He didn't consult the

apostles in Jerusalem.

He went to Arabia and

you might like to ask

what is in Arabia?

Well, we don't know

really.

But we suspect that he

spent the three years

reading the Hebrew

scriptures through the

lens of his experience

with Jesus Christ and

refining his

understanding of Christ's

revelation to him

through the scriptures.

After three years in the

desert, he finally went up

to Jerusalem to get

acquainted with Peter.

Even then, he only

stayed 15 days.

And during that time, he

met James, the brother of

Jesus, but he didn't

speak to any other

apostles.

Now, why give all of

this tedious detail?

Well, Paul wants to make

a point very clear.

Jesus came to him

directly and called him

to be a missionary to the

Gentiles.

No person persuaded him.

Remember those who were

perverting the gospel that I

mentioned earlier on?

They believed that any

revelation had to come

through men like

themselves.

So, Paul is making it very

clear that his conversion,

his revelation, the mission

that he is being given, is

direct from God.

Part of being a person of

influence is determining what

your mission in life is.

Now, in our 2020 booklet

here, we have, this helps us

know our mission.

In it, it tells us, in

Romans 12, 2, 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.

Romans 12, 2 encourages us

to be transformed and in so

doing, we will know God's

will for us.

We will be able to discern

what is good, what is

acceptable and what is

perfect.

This is our mission.

Our mission is to be

transformed into the likeness

of Christ.

Christ.

We can do that in any type

of work, any hobby, any

career.

We can be transformed.

Sometimes God will direct us

very clearly into a particular

mission.

Other times, our mission may

come through trial and error in

trying to serve God where you

are.

But we will never be clear of God

leading us if we are half

hearted about our commitment to

him.

Let me repeat it.

We will never be clear of God

leading us if we are half

hearted about our commitment to

him.

For many people, the Christian

faith is just one of many

options for them.

They are committed to God

unless it gets in the way of

making more money or unless

there is a better social

invitation or a relationship

that is not going to be helpful

to their walk with God but that

is chosen as a priority.

Or there are family engagements

that take priority.

Or there is sport becomes a

priority and when the season is

over, then they are back in

church.

They are happy to please God

as long as God is willing to

take a back seat to their

personal agenda that they have

worked out all on their own.

They want to find their purpose in

life but not if it means if they

have to sacrifice or suffer or take

some kind of risk.

Too often we want the mission of

God that he gives us to fit

comfortably around our chosen

lifestyle.

The truth is we will only see God's

purpose for our lives when we are

prepared to give ourselves wholly to

him.

Do you want to be a person of

influence?

Then get alone with God and allow

him to transform you in every way.

Which leads me to the third point.

And that is to become a person of

influence we must invest the time it

takes to establish credibility.

It's not something that happens

overnight.

It takes time.

In verse 18 we see that Paul spent

three years in Arabia and Damascus

preparing for his life's work and

in the beginning of chapter 2 we see

Paul waited another 14 years before

going to see the leaders of

Jerusalem.

He spent 17 years preparing for the

work that God had called him to do.

He didn't spend the 17 years doing

nothing I might add.

He was preaching the whole time.

But it took that long before he

received the full endorsement from

the church leaders in Jerusalem.

I find that absolutely staggering.

In other words Paul's message and

ministry were not based on a short

term whim.

He stood the test of time and he

proved that he was in it for the

long haul.

Are you in it for the long haul?

Paul.

Now we are not Paul.

We most probably, I'm you know sort

of a prophetic word here, not going

to be asked to go to Arabia for three

years.

I feel that I'm fairly safe on saying

that.

But we can make some plans for the

future under God to set ourself goals

for our devotion time with God.

Maybe have a goal of a specific reading

plan, specific Christian books that are

going to feed our soul so that we grow

spiritually.

Maybe we need to address our attendance

at church and be more regular in 2014,

2015 and so on.

Maybe it's about our community group and

the commitment that we have to our

community group.

We need to grow in confidence in sharing

Jesus with those around us, with our

friends and our family.

That indeed in our conversation we can

share Jesus in such a non-threatening

way that it is normal and it's not

freaky that we are a follower of Jesus.

And right here and without shame I will

just say to help you do that, just walk

across the room starts next week at 3.30.

I would love to see many of you at it.

This is a simple course that will help

you in those conversations that you have

with friends and family about Jesus, how to

start those conversations.

We need to learn and to take opportunity to

learn to be these people of influence.

We can put all opportunities for your

growth in front of you but in the end you

actually have to take them up.

So the Apostle Paul was the last person any

Christian would expect to exercise leadership

in the early church.

Remember he was a zealous persecutor of

Christians before God called him.

The impact that he spent the rest of his

life faithful to Jesus and committed to

carrying out the mission set before him.

He invested time and energy.

You may not have a call to be a missionary

or a preacher but God wants you to be a

person of influence for someone, somewhere.

It might be your children.

It might be your grandchildren.

It might be a neighbour, a co-worker,

another person in this church, a family

member, a fellow student.

It might be a young person needing a role

model.

It might be someone that you have not yet met.

God is preparing you to be a person of

influence.

If you will put him first in your life and

seek only his approval, discover and commit

to the mission of being transformed and

invest yourself daily in growing in your

relationship with Jesus.

Perhaps it might take years, it might take

decades, but you will exert influence for

which you have been called.

It won't happen today.

It won't happen overnight.

But it will happen.

But it takes a long time.

Remember, it is all about Jesus.

That's who we live for.

That's who we influence for.

Amen.