INFLUENCE

If I asked you who the greatest influencer of all time is, what would your answer be? Before you answer, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is a checklist—a checklist shaped by the standards of the world around us. How many social media followers do they have? How many views do their YouTube videos receive? How many likes do they get on Instagram? How much do they charge per event? What brands do they wear? What car do they drive? These are just a few of the standards our world has created to determine whether someone is worthy of being called an “influencer.”

When Jesus is the greatest Influencer in your life, your desire will not be to draw people to yourself, but to point them toward our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Sadly, we can sometimes carry these same criteria into the Christian world as well. When was the last time you watched the sermon of a pastor whose YouTube video had only ten views? When was the last time you saw an unknown pastor from a small village preaching at a major Christian conference? He preaches a great sermon and is anointed as well, but he doesn’t have a social media account or many followers.

This is the sad reality we live in today. God has called each and every one of us to be an influence wherever He has placed us in life. But before we can become influencers of the Gospel, we must make sure that we ourselves are being influenced by the right Person. As Christians living in this modern world, one of the most important questions we should ask ourselves every day is, ‘Who is influencing me the most?’ Many people may influence us, but our greatest and ultimate influence should always be Jesus Christ. Jesus should be the first and greatest influence in our lives, every single day. Notice, I didn’t say your pastor, your favorite preacher, worship leader, or podcaster—I said Jesus Christ.

Why Should Jesus Be Your Influencer?

As Christians, our aim should be to become more like Jesus every day, and we can do that only when Jesus is the greatest influence in our lives. Everyone else is human, with limitations, weaknesses, and the capacity to fall into sin. I have seen Christians become devastated or even begin questioning their faith when a Christian leader they deeply admired fell or failed in their walk with God. Why can the failure of a leader shake someone’s faith so deeply? Sometimes, it is because their confidence had gradually become rooted more in the leader than in Jesus Christ.

We are living in a dangerous time when some people who started as Christian leaders, pastors, or worship leaders have gradually turned into something very different. A person may begin with the mission of pointing people to Christ and making disciples of Jesus, but somewhere along the way, the focus can shift. Instead of making disciples of Jesus, they begin making disciples of themselves—and that can ultimately end in disaster.

When this problem began to appear in the church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul strongly warned believers against elevating Christian leaders into rival camps and allowing loyalty to human personalities to bring division into the church. Their ultimate allegiance belonged to Jesus Christ. Paul could have easily built a kingdom for himself because of the influence he had among the people he ministered to, but he never did that. Do you know why? Because he had the right Influencer in his life, and that was Jesus Christ alone.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:4-9 ESV For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.

Here we can see a key principle Paul teaches us—one that helps us place our ultimate trust in Jesus Christ rather than in any human leader. Anyone and everyone you see in this world as a Christian influencer is ultimately a fellow worker of God. They are not God; they are servants of God. Their primary mission should be to point people to Christ. If anyone consistently directs people toward themselves instead of Christ, we should recognize it as a serious warning sign and carefully examine their teaching in light of the Word of God.

When Jesus is the greatest Influencer in your life, your desire will not be to draw people to yourself, but to point them toward our Savior, Jesus Christ. Paul himself said, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1, ESV).In other words, follow me only as I follow Christ.

Jesus Christ should be your greatest Influencer because He will never fail you. He is God. You do not need another human being to serve as a spiritual mediator between you and God. Jesus Christ Himself is our mediator, and through Him we have direct access to God. “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5, ESV). Never allow anyone to deceive you into believing that they must become your spiritual mediator. Christian leaders are called to lead people to Christ, not to themselves. In today’s Christian world, we see a growing emphasis on having a “spiritual father” or what some call a mentor. Having a mentor is not a bad thing. In fact, godly mentorship can provide wisdom, encouragement, and accountability. But the moment your mentor begins to take the place that belongs to Jesus in your life, the relationship becomes dangerous.

Sadly, some Christians can become more committed to their spiritual father than they are to Jesus. If you have a spiritual father or mentor, that relationship should keep you accountable and lead you to become more committed to Jesus Christ, not more dependent on another person. Paul demonstrated this kind of relationship when he said, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1, ESV). A true spiritual mentor does not lead people to himself; he continually points them to Christ.

Your mentor can offer wisdom and godly counsel, and Scripture teaches us that there is value in receiving wise counsel (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22). However, your mentor should never control your decisions or become the final authority in your life. Jesus Christ and the Word of God must remain your ultimate authority.

In the same way, your mentor should not dictate what you should preach or teach. You should seek the leading of the Holy Spirit while remaining firmly grounded in Scripture. The Holy Spirit will never lead us contrary to the Word of God. 

In this world of countless voices and influences competing for our attention, as Christians, we must take intentional steps to make sure that Jesus remains our greatest influence. We can learn from mature believers, receive godly counsel, and value spiritual mentors, but no human voice should ever become greater than the voice of Christ and His Word in our lives.

One of the key strategies the devil uses in the Christian world to deceive Christians is convincing them that their spiritual duty is complete if they listen to their favorite preacher or worship leader, attend a Christian conference, or participate in church activities. This can lead Christians away from spending personal time in prayer and meditating on the Word of God, ultimately making them shallow in their spiritual lives.

Never substitute spiritual activities for your personal time with God and His Word. Don’t let the devil influence your thinking into believing that spiritual activities or resources should be the ultimate influence in your life. Jesus Christ is the greatest Influencer of humanity. During His time on earth, there was no social media, internet, or any of the modern technology we have today. Yet more than two thousand years later, His words continue to transform lives across nations and generations. Bible is the best-selling book in the world. Jesus Christ remains the greatest Influencer of all time. Even today, He stands above everyone else, and the amazing truth is that, as children of God, we have direct access to Him. Substituting Jesus with anything else as the greatest influence in your life is simply not worth it.

As a Christian, do you have a desire to influence this world? Then let Jesus Christ be the ultimate Influencer of your life.

Before You Influence Others: 5 Ways to Be Influenced by Jesus· 

1. Start Your Day With Prayer : When you wake up, take a few minutes to pray. It doesn’t have to be long or systematic; simply take a moment to seek God’s face and ask Him to remain your primary influence throughout the day.
2. Start Your Day With God’s Word : Take a portion of Scripture and meditate on it. This will give you strength and help you remain rooted in God’s Word as you face the many other influences of this world throughout the day.
3. Filter Your Influences : When you face countless influences throughout the day, filter them through the light of God’s Word. Intentionally guard yourself against being influenced by the ways of this world.
4. Don’t Be Distracted by What Looks Attractive : Discern the goodies the devil brings your way to influence your mind and heart. Don’t be distracted by how attractive they may appear; instead, recognize them and resist the goodies of the devil.
5. Stay Consistent : Don’t practice the above four steps only occasionally; make them a consistent part of your daily life. Consistency is the key.