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UNDER GOD’S INFLUENCE TO BECOME HIS INFLUENCER
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By Joni Ames
Dear Friends,
If you are a person who has influence, it means that you are able to have an effect on the condition or development of another person in their area of thinking and/or actions.
The term “influencer” has become popular to define those on social media that have some type of influence on others through their internet programs.
It’s important to understand that we are all influencers to some degree. To family, friends, neighbors, and those we encounter every day. The fact that we are able to affect and alter another’s thinking or actions is something to take seriously.
Our words have power. God created the world with His words. We create our “world” and that of others with our words.
Recently there was a story in the news of a girl that influenced a male friend to kill himself through her verbal provocation. How sad. Even tragic.
Proverbs 18:21 tells us that life and death are in the power of the tongue.
When my children were young, we had a pet hamster named Harry. He bit me one day and I angrily pointed my finger at him and said, “You’re dead meat buster!” An hour later, the television tipped over on him and killed him. My children screamed at me, “You did it mom! You cursed him with your words! You said he was dead meat, and now he is!”
I’d taught my kids to be cautious with their words, yet I was not cautious with mine that day. It was a very sobering lesson.
Through how we treat others with our words, we can cause life or death to occur. Sometimes that may not be an actual death, but the death of a dream or of someone’s character.
That occurred to the Israelites when they looked into the Promised Land. They sent Caleb and some others to spy on the land. Caleb came back with a great report about the amazingly huge fruit there. The other spies reported on the giants and terrified the people about going into the Promised Land. Caleb says in Joshua 14:8, “For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God. But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people to melt.”
Many times we have the opportunity to “make or break” another through our words. Someone may ask us what we think of a certain minister or other person. We need to be discerning and cautious with our reply.
We should never refrain from warning another about a danger that may be associated with one they are asking about. However, we also must never be too free to slander someone simply due to our personal opinions and end up killing their reputation. That’s what the accuser of the brethren – the devil – does. (Revelation 12:9-11)
How do you want to influence others?
To encourage means to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope; hearten. We infuse that person with courage.
To discourage means to deprive of courage or confidence; dishearten. We disable or disconnect one’s courage.
I have often taken other women with me on the road to mentor them in ministry. One of the consistent things I’ve encountered with them is self-doubt and self-accusation. They don’t even need anyone else to discourage them; they discourage themselves. There is often that inner voice that tries to tell us that we don’t measure up and will never amount to anything, no matter what we do. Where does that come from?
Sometimes it is due to that person having been raised in a dysfunctional home where they were rejected. Or perhaps through having been in an abusive marriage. Rejection is a powerful influencer.
Because of the rejection I received as a child as well as in my marriage, that is a familiar spirit to me. I battled it most of my life. When we allow it to continue, it festers and grows like an infected wound. It’s an infection in our life that needs the healing balm of the Blood of Jesus.
John 8:32 says that the truth will set us free.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. (John 16:13)
One of the best teachings I’ve discovered which personally helped me to understand how the Lord sees us is Mike Bickle’s teaching on Song of Solomon. I encourage you to check it out on You Tube.
It was a long journey for me to become free of the spirit of rejection. The thing is, when it has hold of your life, it causes rejection from every direction. At work, church, and home.
One day I had gone through another disheartening rejection and I cried out to God for help. I told him I hated rejection and asked Him if I could ever be free of it.
What happened next was astounding. He told me to reject rejection.
That statement hit me like a brick. But I couldn’t figure out how to do that. So I asked Him.
“Oh that’s simple,” He said. “Simply say out loud, ‘Rejection, I reject you!’”
I was like…”Huh?” So He repeated the instruction. I was skeptical, but tried it.
Friends, I’m telling you the truth, I literally felt that thing fearfully jump back from me a few feet.
At first I sat there in shock, and then I said it again. It jumped back a bit further.
I could feel a change in my spirit and body when it happened. It was like ropes were coming off of me. I got excited! I stood up and shouted it all the way out my front door! I jumped up and down and plead the blood of Jesus and cried for joy!
Jesus paid the price for our freedom and He deserves to get what He paid for. I’m sure He jumps up and down excitedly when He sees us finally “get it” and use the authority He bought for us with His shed blood.
So what did I do as a result?
Satan is defeated by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. (Revelation 12:11)
Ever since that happened, I have used my influence with those I meet to spread the word everywhere I go and help to set others free of rejection. And I rejoice and praise God every time I see someone set free as a result.
So don’t let the enemy cause you to hide from what God set you free of and cause you to sit on it in shame. Utilize it to set others set free that you have influence with.
WHAT IS YOUR AREA OF INFLUENCE?
Researchgate.net estimates that the average person had at least 15 personal contacts per day. If you expand that, each of those have 15 contacts, and so on down the line. So at the end of the day, what you say and do can influence a very broad area of the population, in just that one twenty four hour span of time.
When you begin to add into that the span of your influence via Social Media, the numbers of those you influence daily can become staggering.
I personally have 5,000 contacts on my personal Facebook page, 1,357 followers on my Facebook ministry page, 1,541 followers on Instagram, and a host of other various miscellaneous Social Media contacts.
Multiply those by the number that even the first level of my followers have, and that’s a hefty amount of potential daily influence.
Influence can vary. We may simply encourage the first level, without response. But it may cause them to be encouraged to make it through their day. Or even to then encourage others.
We may encourage them to the point that they re-post our item to their area of influence. That next layer of influence may then do likewise, and so on.
So I ask you, is it no wonder that the enemy would try to create strife and division and discourage us against developing that social media interaction? Or try to cause us to use it to develop further divisiveness rather than spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
So I encourage you to keep your Social Media presence. Even if all you do is put out one encouraging scripture or one encouraging quote per day, look at how much good you could be doing. Don’t let the enemy rob you or them of that reward.
You are God’s influencer. Don’t let the enemy influence you to acquiesce the authority God has given to you to be His divine influencer, however that might look.
Satan is defeated by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony.
You are under God’s influence and have become His influencer.
Go influence and infuse many with God’s courage today and defeat the enemy. In Jesus name. Amen.
Love and blessings,
Joni
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Joni Ames
P.O. Box 36667
Rock Hill, SC 29732
Cash App: $joniames
Venmo: @Joni-Ames
joniames@aol.com
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