Sermon Tone Analysis

Having an Influence

The desire of Christians who refuse to acquiesce to the status quo, who are determined to see things changed in society and long to have some influence for Jesus Christ.

Are we powerless?

Or can Christians exert some influence for Jesus Christ?

There is a great deal of pessimism around today that grips and even paralyzes people.

They wring their hands in a holy kind of dismay.

Society is rotten to the core, they say.

Everything is hopeless; there is no hope but the return of Jesus Christ.

What Is Influence?

Influence sometimes is defined as the “ability to produce an effect without apparent force or direct authority.”

Some people, by virtue of their personalities, have greater influence than others.

A spiritual person longs to exude more influence for good.

How can we develop greater Christian influence?

Here are some principles for meditation.

Display Genuine Interest in Others

Try to cultivate a genuine interest in people.

Get to know the names of those with whom you have frequent contact — the lady at the market, your auto mechanic, your doctor, pharmacist, etc. Get on a first-name basis.

Inquire about their families.

Ask about their children.

In a bustling society, people are surprised and pleased when someone expresses sincere, personal interest in them.

Don’t Criticize Others

In attempting to exert Christian influence upon worldly friends, do not begin by correcting everything you observe that is wrong in their lives.

If you attempt to initiate a relationship by immediately calling attention to their dress, language, recreational activities, political orientation, and even religious aberrations, you likely will get nowhere.

First, influence others by example.

People listen to the way you talk.

They observe how you dress.

They soon become familiar with your patterns of religious activity.

If they have a spark of spiritual interest, eventually they will comment or ask questions.

Watch for open doors.

You don’t have to break them down.

Be Patient with Others

Be patient with people.

Remember how long it took you to learn the fundamentals of the Christian life (read Tit.

3:1-3).

Growth does not come instantly, but slowly and steadily.

If you appoint yourself as the one who sets the timetable for growth in the Christian “babe” or for others who have spiritual problems, you will become frustrated and irritated when your expectations are not met.

Furthermore, your frustrations will show in how you talk and behave — often causing your influence to shrivel up rather than blossom.

Watch for signs of growth.

Encourage and commend these.

Compassion and patience are virtues, not compromises.

Be Gentle, Not Abrasive

Leaders with influence stand out.

When a teacher has influence, students seek a relationship outside of class and ask advice on topics outside of the curriculum.

When a manager has influence, employees pitch in on projects without being asked.

When a pastor has influence, Christians find any excuse to join his Sunday morning coffee hour conversations.

When an older sibling has influence, the closeness lasts well into adulthood.

In each case, we follow influential leaders, not because we have to, but because we want to.

Paul is saying let us have the same characteristics as Christ

Have the same like minded attitude as Christ....

Having an Influence requires:

I. Humility

Humble- freedom from pride or arrogance

Believers are exhorted to have the same attitude—selfless humility—Christ exhibited in His humiliation and condescension.

The word here translated attitude is translated “like-minded” in verse 2.

Jesus influence was because he humbly served!

Though possessing full deity (John 1:14; Col. 2:9), Christ did not consider His equality with God (Phil.

2:6) as something to be grasped or held onto.

In other words Christ did not hesitate to set aside His self-willed use of deity when He became a man.

As God He had all the rights of deity, and yet during His incarnate state He surrendered His right to manifest Himself visibly as the God of all splendor and glory

Embrace Humility as One of Your Core Values

Don’t be a know-it-all.

No one is, but not-a-few think they are.

There is no subject upon which they cannot pontificate for hours on end whether they know anything about it or not.

If you have a medical problem, they can completely diagnose it, recite a number of cases where friends have died of the ailment, and provide you with a healing remedy that may be ordered from Mexico.

If your automobile is running rough, they know exactly what the problem is, though they may be unable to discern a screwdriver from a wrench.

One can hardly influence others when he acts as if he knows everything about everything.

Humble- freedom from pride or arrogance

Letting someone ahead of you in line when you see they are in a hurry is an act of humility.

Cleaning the bathroom of your office, even though you own the company, is an example of humility.

...

An athlete who credits his success to his teammates, even though he has great skill, shows humility.

We know that Jesus died for our sins and our human faults.

This was done to reestablish our relationship with God.

But there’s an important step each of us must still take to access the mercy and grace that His death affords us.

That step is to practice humility.

Scripture says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

But what does it mean to be humble?

To be humble is to realize how weak we are, how helpless we are to change the course of our lives in our own power.

It’s to ask God for His forgiveness and to trust Him for His guidance.

That’s what He wants to see abiding in our hearts.

He wants us to realize and confess our helplessness, our sinfulness, and our complete need for Him in our lives; and we can do exactly that, regardless of the depth of the flaw, since we know God will never reject those who come to Him with a humble spirit:

In our text jesus made himself of no reputation!

he was God but came down to man.

...

When was the last time you lowered yourself to give attention to someone else..

A boos that wipes tables will have an audience

A parent that apologizes to his children will have an influence

A husband that listens to his wife will have an influence....

Having an Influence requires:

II.

Becoming a Servant

Christ’s humiliation included His making Himself nothing, taking the very nature (morphē) of a servant, and being made in human likeness (v. 7).

These statements indicate that Christ became a man, a true human being.

The words “made Himself nothing” are, literally, “He emptied Himself.”

“Emptied,” from the Greek kenoō, points to the divesting of His self-interests, but not of His deity.

“The very nature of a servant” certainly points to His lowly and humble position, His willingness to obey the Father, and serve others.

He became a man, a true human being.

“Likeness” suggests similarity but difference.

Though His humanity was genuine, He was different from all other humans in that He was sinless (Heb.

4:15).

No better example of humiliation and a selfless attitude for believers to follow could possibly be given than that of Christ.

With this example before them, the saints at Philippi should be “like-minded” (v. 2) and live humbly before their God and each other.[1]

Doulos, the word translated “servant” here, usually means “slave.”

Jesus, however, became no man’s slave.