"Excellence in Influence"

Excellence In Influence

A wealthy man went up to his pastor and said, “I want you and your wife to take a three-month trip to the Holy Land at my expense. When you come back, I’ll have a surprise for you.” Three months later they returned home and discovered that this man had built a beautiful new sanctuary for the church. It was magnificent and no expense was spared.

But the pastor noticed that there was just one pew, and it was at the very back of the church. When he asked the purpose of having only one pew in the spacious sanctuary, the wealthy man told him to wait until Sunday. When Sunday came, the early arrivals entered the church and sat in the one pew. When it was full, it automatically began to move forward. When it reached the front of the church, it came to a stop. At the same time a new pew came up from below at the back of the church and more people sat down. And so it continued, pews filling and moving forward until the church was full, from front to back.

The pastor couldn’t believe it and exclaimed, “Marvelous! Wonderful!” The service began, and the preacher began his sermon. He launched into his text and after an hour had passed, he was still going strong, with no end in sight. Suddenly a bell rang, and a trap door in the floor behind the pulpit dropped open, swallowing the pastor in the middle of one of his points. The congregation responded in unison, “Marvelous! Wonderful!”

We, here at Transformation Community Church, are not about perfectionism. Neither are we about a snooty sophistication, and elitism. Rather, we believe that excellence in Christian living and work, when expressed with love, humility and authenticity, glorifies God and inspires people. When we do all we can within our God-given resources to pursue our tasks at hand with excellence in mind, that moves people toward the majesty and beauty, and order of God. It makes TCC an inviting place to be. People like to hang around excellence.

Today, we are talking about-Excellence In Influence

The influence that you have in your family and in your community can be a wonderful thing. I want Transformation Community Church people to be excellent in their influence.

Jesus taught us that a believer should be like salt. We should act, as agents of influence in society, not isolate ourselves from it. Paul moves beyond the analogy to provide some practical ways that Christians can be salt. Paul tells us how we are to live in order to have a positive, lasting influence on those around us.

In 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4, we come to the main section of Paul’s letter in which Paul teaches on some very practical matters. We know this because in v1 it says,

Finally then, brothers and sisters, we request and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us as to how you ought to [a]walk and please God (just as you actually do [b]walk), that you excel even more Today, we are going to talk about it momentarily. (NASB)

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NASB)

“And to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we instructed you; so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.”

In these verses, Paul sees our influence coming in the typical, moving about affairs of our day-to-day lives. If you want to have a lifestyle that is conducive to a positive influence, then do these three THINGS. Let your neighbors see you doing these three THINGS faithfully. Model them at school. Demonstrate them at work. But always remember, that even if no one else is looking, you do them out of personal commitment to “Excellence in Influence.”

I want to run these by you quickly, and then make some connections and tie it all together at the end.

Steven Covey states: “In order to have influence, you have to be influenced.” Paul influences us today, when he stated…

#1 – Lead A Quiet Life

“And to make it your ambition (life goal) to lead a quiet (restful, peaceful – Paul isn’t opposed to those who are talkative by nature) life… (v.11a).”

Not long ago, I began writing out a plan and goals for my life. Where I’m at, where I’m headed, and what I’d like to see happen in the next several years here at TCC. As I recall, it was not one of my ambitions or goals for us to “lead a quiet life.” But it should have been. Let me explain.

Some in the church had misunderstood the promise of Christ’s return and had become “parasites” who lived off the other Christians. They had quit their jobs, stopped paying their bills, and had lost credibility with the local merchants of Thessalonica. In a word, a spirit of chaos had come over some of them. They had lost their peace. Every time they read the newspaper, they were stricken with panic and waves of uproar rippled through the ranks.

Paul is saying that we cannot maintain a positive testimony toward those in the faith, much less those outside of the faith, if a spirit of restlessness and panic dominates our lives. Let those outside the faith see you leading a peaceful life.

Do you know who has a quiet center to life? Praying mothers. She has her bad days, like anybody. But there’s a quiet center to a praying mother. She never questions the love of God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. Whenever one of her children comes to pick her up and take her out to dinner, you’ll never see a broader smile. She may not let you know that she’s been praying for you, but you can feel her love when she smiles. She’s at peace and it is well with her soul.

The second thing to having an excellent influence…

#2 – Attend To Your Own Business

“And to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business… (v.11a,b).”

You cannot faithfully accomplish all of your responsibilities in life if you’re into everybody else’s life.

You’ve been given a job to do. You have a race to run. You will be held accountable for what you did with the abilities that you have. Focus.

The third thing to an excellent influence…

#3 – Work With Your Hands

“…and work (he makes it unmistakable that manual labor is meant with this next phrase) with your hands, just as also we commanded you (when they were with them)…(v.11c).”

Just because we’re believers expecting Christ’s return at any moment, does not exempt us from working. Give an honest day’s work whatever it is that you do. We’re far more effective giving a hard 8 hours’ worth of work and speaking about Jesus when appropriate than we are working only 2 hours and talking about Jesus for 6 hours while on the clock!

I have a couple of quotations to clarify the point.

1. A friend’s mother has many little wall sayings in her home. I noticed this one hanging near the dining room table when I was visiting several years ago. “God gives every bird its food but does not always drop it into the nest.”

2. I read an article where a man sat down at the kitchen table in 1990 and wrote out a few pages of instructions and personal observations for his son, Adam.

Adam was beginning his freshmen year at college, and Mr. Brown felt that a collection of the insights and discoveries which had positively influenced his own life might be an appropriate gift to commemorate this important event. It turned out to be several books entitled The Complete Life’s Little Instruction Book. The book is interesting. He says things like: “Compliment three people every day.” “Never forget your anniversary.” “Smile a lot.” “Every person that you meet knows something you don’t; learn from them.” “Call your mother.” “Overpay good babysitters.” “Carry Handi-Wipes in your glove compartment.” “When you go to borrow money, dress as if you have plenty of it.” “Buy a used car with the same caution a naked man uses to climb a barbed-wire fence.” “Send your mother-in-law flowers on your wife’s birthday.” “Say something positive as early as possible every day.” “When loved ones drive away, watch until you can no longer see the car.” “Carry a small Swiss Army knife on your key chain.” One of the ones that caught my eye was this: “When there’s a piano to be moved, don’t reach for the stool.” He’s telling his son that there are far too many people ready to carry the stool when there’s a piano to be moved! Son, you carry the piano.

There’s one thing that my mother taught me that I shall never forget. She did it without speaking a word. She taught me a great work-ethic. She worked for over 30 years as a librarian assistant. Every morning, my mother would get up at 5:30am, drink some Folgers coffee, and leave for work by 7:00am. Many times, she would work a second job at night at a liquor store, go home and sleep for a few hours, and then be back at it again by early morning.

One of the most important components in developing an excellent influence is to be a hard worker at what you do.

Conclusion

By leading a peaceful life, minding our own business, and working hard to provide for our needs, we will put ourselves in a position to be an incredible influence for Jesus Christ to those inside and outside the community of believers. I want to key in on those two categories for a moment.

In light of this, I want to address both insiders and outsiders.

First, I want to say something to those who are inside the faith.

Outsiders are watching and wondering, so conduct yourself with wisdom. I think Colossians 4:5-6 (NASB) is particularly appropriate: “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity (see every contact with nonbelievers as a God-planned opportunity). Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person (don’t preach at people or argue with them; instead be creative, sensing where a conversation needs to go and taking it there non-offensively).”

Outsiders are listening and learning, so speak your words with grace. Many unbelievers refuse to attend a church service. All of the gospel that they’ll ever hear or receive in many cases will be the way that we behave. Your life and your words are a sermon. Make sure your words are appropriate, gracious, and edifying.

Outsiders are individuals, so respond with dignity and sensitivity. They should see the love of Christ flowing through you. Don’t cave in to pressure. You focus on being a positive influence, don’t make changing people or someone your personal project. Treat them as people.

Second, I want to say something to those who are outside the faith.

Don’t be scared away from the Christian faith by the poor examples of influence that some believers set. Explore the faith for yourself and don’t take someone else’s word for it. If you’ll take the Bible and read it, meditate on its words, test its statements with an open mind and heart, you’ll find God revealed through Jesus Christ and this revelation will be sealed to your heart by the Spirit.

Ken Stabler was the QB for the Oakland Raiders, a reporter met with him in the locker room. Stabler was known more for his physical competence than for a great intellect. This reporter decided to read Stabler some English prose to get a reaction from Stabler. He read: “I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than that it should be stifled by dry rot! The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.” After he was through reading this prose, he asked Stabler what it meant to him. Stabler replied, “Throw deep!” Go for the TD.

Go for the TD. Throw your influence behind Christ and His cause. God has given you the position that you have, the friends that you have, the finances that you have, the talents that you have. Now, he expects you to use them and influence those around you with God-glorifying excellence.