The Influence of Christ in a Life (Acts 6:8–15)

We are going to speak about influence. The word “influence” is “the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways.” We are people that are influenced. We get influenced by movies, music, television, books, schools, teachers, bosses. We are constantly people being influenced.

When we face negative influences, its tough. If that boss is negative, if that co-worker is negative, if the news is negative, we can get affected. Yet, there is a way that we can face negative influences. We can face negative influences through the grace and power of Christ in our life.

Negative influences need to be controlled. I was reading a blog article that someone wrote who was trying to get rid of negativity in her life. She made a list of things that she was trying to get rid of.

These things rarely add any value to my life and/or usually depress me:

Political pundits

Complainers

People on Facebook always trying to make you jealous of their lives (you know who they are ;))

The things people/celebrities are doing

The things people/celebrities are buying

General TV News

General economy news

Toxic people in general

And radio commercials. The worst! Always hawking expensive cars and shady loans!

I don’t know if you resonate with any of these things. Sometimes life is too short for the negativity, right? I must confess I may or may not have used the snooze button on Facebook.

How can we get better at this? How can we get better at facing the negative influences in our life, and facing it with the grace and truth of Jesus Christ?

We are back in the book of Acts, continuing our series. We are reading today about Stephen, a man who faced opposition against him, and faced it with grace and power of Christ.

Acts 6:8–15 CSB

8 Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from some members of the Freedmen’s Synagogue, composed of both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, and they began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they were unable to stand up against his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; so they came, seized him, and took him to the Sanhedrin. 13 They also presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the law. 14 For we heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” 15 And all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

This story has two points of contention. We will see in this story Stephen and the members of the Freedmen’s Synagogue, who stirred up this mob. First, we will look the negative influences that Stephen faces against this mob.

Negative influences corrupt people against God’s work.

This part of the story with Stephen tells us about the danger of negative influences. We see a couple of things about negative influences. Acts 6:11-14

Negative influences begin with a few and spreads out to the many.

Negative influences distort and twist the truth about what God is doing.

We are introduced to these members of the Freedmen’s Synagogue. These are probably Jews who had been set free from Roman prisons. These Jewish men were from all over in this synagogue. The people listed here come from the coast of North Africa and parts of Turkey.

Look at the story of the members of the Freemen’s Synagogue.

Acts 6:11–12 CSB

11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; so they came, seized him, and took him to the Sanhedrin.

Negative influences begin with a few and spreads out to the many.

These men are offended by Stephen. They are angry with Stephen. They see him as a threat. But they can’t stand against the wisdom and the Spirit of God through whom Stephen is speaking.

So what do they do? They spread their negative poison to a few people. Listen to what it says, “They secretly persuaded some men.” See, when you are a negative influence, it doesn’t take but a few people to spread that negativity to the many.

What happens when they persuade a few men? It says, “They stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes.” Negativity has a way of spreading like a forest fire.

You need to be careful with what influences you. Jesus warned the disciples:

Luke 12:1 CSB

1 Meanwhile, a crowd of many thousands came together, so that they were trampling on one another. He began to say to his disciples first, “Be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

He warned them about this negative influence of the Pharisees, which was hypocrisy. This was like leaven, or yeast, which starts small and spreads out, enlarging its wickedness throughout. In the same way that the Pharisees corrupted many around them, so much so that Jesus had to warn his disciples against them, being a negative influence can spread out to the many around you.

We also see another thing about being a negative influence in Acts 6:13-14.

Negative influences distort and twist the truth of what God is doing.

These men got some people to spread lies and half-truths, also called lies, before the people that were in charge. In a power play, they got some people to spread misinformation. They took some things that Stephen probably did say, but changed and corrupted it to fit their needs. For instance, Jesus said the temple would be destroyed, but He didn’t say that He specifically was going to do it. Also, Jesus fully explained the law of Moses, and He said that Moses wrote about Him.

See, when you are a negative influence to people around you, what you do is take the truth and twist it around to fit your narrative. You present it in a way to fit your negative spirit. You see the world around you and find excuses to think of it in a negative way, and begin to believe bitter lies.

James spoke about this bitter envy within a person. He says,

James 3:14–15 CSB

14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth. 15 Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

What influences you? Do you relate to Stephen, someone influenced by Christ and living in the power of God? Or are you someone struggling with negativity, living with a bitter heart and twisting the story of your life to fit your bitter narrative?

Being a negative influence has a way of corrupting everyone around you. A negative influence distorts what is happening in order to make it fit a negative, bitter narrative. James 3:14–15

This man once complained about his wife. He would say that she was always complaining about him. He had gotten kind of bitter about it. He says that he remembered so much. He remembered the diaper bag. He remembered the stroller. He remembered the car seat. But all his wife could do was complain because he forgot the baby.

When you have a negative mindset, it has a way of affecting the way that you see the world. You can become a negative influence, and that spreads out from the few to the many. It’s a dangerous thing, and something to be careful. You need to know what is influencing you. We need to be people influenced by the love and power of God, and not the negative influences around us.

The power of Christ in our life is stronger than negative influences.

In Acts 6:8-10, we read the following.

Acts 6:8–10 CSB

8 Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from some members of the Freedmen’s Synagogue, composed of both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, and they began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they were unable to stand up against his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking.

In this story, we are introduced to Stephen. Stephen is one of the group of Hellenist Jews that is spoken of just before this story. The disciples decide that the work is getting too large, and they needed to select seven men to help with the serving. They had to be “men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3).

We know a few things about Stephen. According to Acts 6:5, he is “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.” In verse 8, he is described as “a man full of grace and power.” He is also described as a miracle worker, being a man who “was performing great wonders and signs among the people.” Stephen was a man full of the Holy Spirit. He was a man influenced by Christ.

Stephen was a man of good reputation, full of God’s grace and power. He performed great wonders and signs through the power of the Spirit. He was a man influenced by Christ. Acts 6:8–10

The negative influences were people who were offended by what Stephen stood for. It says an “opposition arose.” They were fiercely offended by Stephen’s message, and they argued with him. But I love what it says here, “They were unable to stand up against his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking.”

Here is the power of the influence of Christ in his life. These men were trying to oppose him, argue with him, but they couldn’t fight or resist against the power of God in Stephen. See, you’ve got to know who influences you. It makes all the difference. The influence of Christ in a life is stronger than our opposition.

The Bible says that as Christians we are going to face opposition. The Christian is in a spiritual battle, and needs to know who influences them. In Ephesians 6:11, Paul tells Christians to:

Ephesians 6:11–12 CSB

11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.

We are in a battle, and we need the full power of God in our life. We need to constantly be influenced by the power of Christ. John tells us:

1 John 4:4 CSB

4 You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Did you catch what John says there? He says that if you are in Christ, you are God’s child, you are already a conqueror. As Stephen faced the opposition in Acts 6, he was already a conqueror. There was a greatness in his life that was from the Lord Jesus Christ. He was influenced by Christ, and living by the power of the Spirit. Who influences you? We’ve got to know who influences us.

The power of God in a life influenced by Christ will give you the victory. We need to be ready for opposition by living in the power of God. When you are in Christ, you are a conqueror. Ephesians 6:11-12; 1 John 4:4

Was it like to rise above the negative influences around you? When I became a Christian, I was excited. I was working as a Police Officer in New York at the time. I started telling the other police officers in the precinct about Christ. I quickly learned that other people weren’t as excited about Christ as I was. I put up a flyer for a Bible study in the precinct, only to find some interesting graffiti on it a few days later. But I couldn’t help but tell people about Jesus, because He was doing this big work in my life. Soon people in the precinct didn’t want to work with me. See, they wanted to drive around in the police car talking about girls, and here was this religious guy talking to them about Jesus. I started to become known as Bible Boy. Yet, later on I started to find out that there were other people in the precinct who were Christian. I had a detective come up to me and say, “You know, I’m a Christian too.” People started talking to me about God. It was the power of God and other believers who helped me face the opposition in my precinct.

What influences you? The Bible says that as we grow in Christ, as we learn about Christ, as pray to God and grow in Him, as we are influenced by Christ we will grow in His power. We are going to face opposition. There are going to be negative influences in our life. But we combat negative influences by being people who are living in the grace and power of God, and people who are influenced by Christ.

This story in Acts 6 tells us about Stephen living in the power of God, being a man influenced by Christ. We see something from Stephen when you are influenced by Christ.

The world will see the influence of Christ’s power in your life.

There is an amazing thing that we see here about the power of Christ on a life. Look at Acts 6:15.

Acts 6:15 CSB

15 And all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Here were the people that sat in their seats of power, and they were staring at Stephen. The sense of this word for “looked intently” is to gaze, to look at with fixed eyes. They are sitting, waiting to hear from Stephen.

Yet, it tells us about what they saw about Stephen. It says, “His face was like the face of an angel.” A commentator on this verse says

The description is of a person who is close to God and reflects some of his glory as a result of being in his presence.

See, when you spend time with a person, the influence of that person starts to show in your life. Stephen had spent time with Christ, growing in Him, and the influence and power of Christ was showing on His face. The influence of Christ was written on his life.

Moses had a similar thing happen to him in his ministry. In Exodus 34:29, it says

Exodus 34:29 CSB

29 As Moses descended from Mount Sinai—with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain—he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord.

Moses spent time with God, and it caused a literal glow to happen to his face. But in the same way, the influence of our time with Christ should cause our lives to glow. That’s why Jesus talks about our life in Him as a light. He says,

Matthew 5:16 CSB

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

What influences you? As you grow in His influence, the world will see the influence of Christ’s power in your life as you.

When you spend time with a person, that begins to show in your life. A life influenced by Christ shines before others. Acts 8:15; Ex. 34:29; Matt. 5:16

My wife was speaking to me about Saint Patrick, so I decided to look into him. All I knew about him was that there was a holiday named after him, but he was quite a man of God. He was sold as a slave to a cruel warrior chief in Ireland. During this time he turned to Christ. He prayed often to God. After receiving a dream, he escaped his slave and went to Britain. Then he got a dream to go back, and he went back to Ireland to be an evangelist for Christ. He wrote this.

“Daily I expect murder, fraud or captivity,” Patrick wrote, “but I fear none of these things because of the promises of heaven. I have cast myself into the hands of God almighty who rules everywhere.”

See, when you are influenced by Christ, it comes out in your life. It comes out in the way you speak, the way you treat your loved ones, the way you live your life. The influence of Christ shines bright in your life. What influences you?

Conclusion

Negative influences corrupt people against God’s work.

The power of Christ in our life is stronger than negative influences.

The world will see the influence of Christ’s power in your life.

We can face negative influences through the grace and power of Christ in our life.