This is “The Power of Influence.” Influence is powerful, and you likely have more of it than you think. Your friends, family, co-workers, and people you go to church with are influenced by the way you live your life. Your family will be impacted by your influence for generations to come. A life well lived leaves a legacy of influence.

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you can’t just do your own thing in

times like these and in days like these

your life better be guided by the word

of the lord you better not do it because

everybody else is doing it

you better not do it because everybody

else says it’s all right

you better get the word of the lord for

your life and

work out your own salvation with fear

with fear and trembling

[Music]

i’ll begin reading with verse 29 of

first

kings chapter 13.

and the prophet took up the corpse of

the man of god

and laid it on the donkey and brought it

back

and so the old prophet came to the city

to mourn

and to bury him and he laid the corpse

in his own tomb

and mourned over him saying alas my

brother

so it was after he had buried him

that he spoke to his son saying when i

am dead

then bury me in the tomb where this man

of god is buried

lay my bones beside

his bones and i’ll stop reading there

but this is uh this is a remarkable

story that

has caught my attention when i’m reading

i usually try to read

like a particular book of the bible as

i’m reading through the bible

and focus on that book and study that

book

and as i read through first kings

i love the old testament this story

really stands out to me

and i want to talk to you if i if i have

a title for this sermon it would be

summed up in one word

influence influence

because this is a story if you want to

sum up what it’s all about

it’s about influence

the bible said that a prophet came to

the city of bethel

where jeroboam was he was the king of

israel

and he was blaspheming god in bethel

which means the house of god

he was backslidden he was worshiping

false idol gods

and he was offering offerings

to these idols in god’s house

and a prophet was sent from the lord

from a foreign place and this

prophet walked in and he rebuked

openly in front of all the people this

powerful king

when he did the king was so angered that

the bible said

that he stretched forth his hand to grab

that man

and kill him with his own bare hands he

wasn’t even going to let his bodyguards

or his

soldiers do it this king was so

humiliated by that prophet

who was prophesying dune to his kingdom

that that king in anger reached for him

and when he did

miraculously the bible said that the

king’s hand

withered it withered up

and in that moment all of israel saw

that the power of god was so

heavy upon that prophet that when the

king

tried to harm him and hurt him no weapon

formed against him could prosper

and the most powerful hand in the nation

could not touch him and it withered in

the presence of the god who was

preserving him

and who had sent him

the king was so humbled by this

that he fell on his knees and he prayed

to the prophet and he said

please don’t leave me like this forgive

me

and the bible said that the prophet

prayed for his hand

and god restored his hand i i i just

want

one sunday like that before i die that’s

all i want

just one one of those occurrences just

one time before i die

especially somebody who doesn’t like me

to come at me in their hand to wither up

i guess that’s why god won’t let it

happen he can’t trust me with that kind

of power

but isn’t that a cool story you know

that’s a cool story

i love stuff like that and then

what really caught my attention as the

king then in an act of gratitude

says to this prophet of god

come to my palace come eat with me

i’m going to throw a massive banquet in

your honor tonight

come and his answer was remarkable

the prophet said to the man of god the

lord has commanded

or the prophet said to the king the lord

has commanded me

to not eat nor drink in this polluted

land

i’m not for sale my gifts are not for

sale i was sent here to tell you

something

and i and i backed it up by the power of

god on my life

and i’m not here to whine and dine with

you i’m here because god gave me a word

for you

and now i’m leaving and he said the lord

commanded me not to eat

a meal in this polluted land

and he said god even if you read the

story he said god even told me don’t go

back the same way you came

you go out a different way and don’t

ever go back unless i tell you to

and so this story should have ended

right there as a miraculous testimony

amazing legacy of a prophet

who obeyed god and influenced the nation

and the king

in a powerful powerful way

but the story doesn’t end there the

bible said in that same land

was an old backslidden prophet

who used to have the word of the lord

and who used to have the touch of god

and who used to have the prophecy and

the prophetic word for the

king and for the people but the king had

paid him off and made him a very wealthy

man

and he began to alter his message

because the king

prayed him to prophesy good things

and when he did that the anointing of

god lifted off of his life

and now he’s just an old prophet an old

shell of

of of a mighty man that he used to be in

the early years of his ministry

this prophet no doubt saw mighty

miracles and had the word confirmed with

signs and wonders when he would speak

but now he’s just he’s just a shadow

he’s just an empty shell

of the powerful powerful man that he

used to be but listen to what happened

the bible said that his sons were there

when this new young prophet came with

the word of the lord and they watched

the whole miracle

and they ran home to their father and

they said dad you’ll never believe what

happened

in the presence of the king today and

they told him the whole story of the

hand withering and then being healed

and the old prophet felt something in

him moving

something that he used to have that he

used to feel

that he used to experience that that

anointing that

that just a little flicker of of of the

power that he used to know in god

and when he heard it he said i’ve got to

get that prophet

to come to my house i want to meet him i

want to greet him i want to talk to him

and he got on his donkey

and he went and he found the man as he

was leaving the country

and he encountered him and he said to

him come with me

come with me come home i’m a prophet of

god

and he told him some of the miracles

that he had done and how

that they believed the same doctrine and

he believed in one god and

all of that and and and the prophet said

but god has commanded me

not to eat or drink in this polluted

land now watch this this is where

the story gets strange the old prophet

wanted him

so much to come to his house that he

made up a story the bible said he lied

and he said you don’t unders this is the

old prophet talking to the young

prophet he said an angel came to my

house that’s how i

knew you were here an angel came to my

house and told me

to invite you to my house and told me to

tell you that god said for you to come

eat

at my house it was the scripture goes on

to say and it was a lie

it reminds me of the new testament verse

that said if any man comes preaching

any other gospel even if it’s like

he’s like an angel and he looks so holy

and has

miracles and signs and wonders if he’s

preaching any other gospel but

that which i have preached unto you paul

said then you better know that he’s

accursed

and you will be too if you follow him

and tragically tragically this old

prophet

used his influence on a new young

anointed

vessel and the man said well if an

angel told you then it must be god

and he went home to the old prophet’s

house

and he ate the meal and they sat around

the table and they shared stories of the

faithfulness and the miraculous power of

god

i’m sure they exchanged stories of

places they had preached and

meetings they had had and healings that

god had done and miracles

and i’m sure it was a wonderful time i’m

sure the old prophet

he felt better about his own condition

after hanging out with someone so

spiritual and so

freshly anointed and on fire for god

the scripture said that he said just

stay and spend the night but the man

said no

i must make haste god told me to get out

of this polluted land and

i did what you said the angel said but

i’ve got to go

he got on his donkey and he left

the bible said that

while he was going down the road that

there was a lion

there was a lion that saw that prophet

that had disobeyed the word of the lord

and attacked that young man

and killed him

and

when you read this story the thing that

stood out to me

is when he heard it the old prophet

heard it someone came by and said

something has happened down the road he

said what is it

he said that prophet that encountered

the king today

a lion killed him suddenly the old

prophet’s heart sunk and he

runs outside and he goes on a horse to

get to where he is and when he gets

there the lion is standing there

over the dead body of the prophet the

donkey

has not been attacked by the lion the

lion obviously was sent by the lord on

an assignment

you better be careful because we’re

living in lion country

you can’t just do your own thing in

times like these and in days like these

your life better be guided by the word

of the lord you better not do it because

everybody else is

doing it you better get the word of the

lord for your life

and work out your own salvation with

fear

with fear and trembling

and suddenly it hit that old prophet

he got the corpse of the dead prophet

brought him home

buried him in his own tomb that he had

bought

for himself and then one of the

strangest commandments in all the bible

is given when he turns to his sons

as the dead prophet is laying in his

tomb

and he says when i die i don’t want you

to buy another tomb

and put me in it i don’t want you to

bury me beside him

i want you to put my bones where this

prophet’s bones are

and where i am buried he will be buried

when i’m dead you’ll bury me in the same

grave

under the same tombstone in the same

grave site because if it wasn’t for me

he would still be preaching if it wasn’t

for me

he would still be saying thus saith the

lord

he wanted to he wanted to do right

but i used my influence now this isn’t

in your bible i’m i’m

reading this in now but it’s the truth

the only reason that good godly prophet

is in the grave is because an old

shell of a prophet who didn’t have the

fire and the touch of god

used his influence in an evil way

and he said the same tomb that my bones

are in

now his bones are there and it’s my

fault because my

influence destroyed his ministry

i want to preach about the power of your

personal influence

that you can have on someone else

adam was in the garden alone and god

said it’s not good for him

to be alone and in that moment influence

started he made a woman

and suddenly there was the potential to

influence

one another for good or for evil but

influence is very powerful the apostle

paul said no man lives unto himself

and no man will die unto himself it

means

how you live and how you die others will

follow the pattern that you set they

will walk in the footprints that you

leave

they will go by example into the same

tomb

their bones will be buried spiritually

with you because

your influence either for good or for

bad no man lives unto himself

no man dies unto himself

one of the most powerful forms of

influence

is that which is influencing our

children

and our young people we need to strive

to be good

influences in our young people’s lives

parents and fathers can have

evil influence on their children

the bible said of ahaz that

he did evil in the sight of the lord and

walked

in the ways of his father ahab

and his mother jezebel

we influence our children you cannot say

that let them choose because you have

a shadow of influence the power of

influence

is that it lives on after we die

no man lives unto himself no one dies

unto himself but their influence

lives on i’m saying to you today that

abraham is dead but he still speaks his

influence

still speaks to me of faith moses still

speaks to me of meekness

david still speaks to me of worship

joshua still speaks to me of courage

paul still speaks to me of determination

so many who are dead and yet they still

speak

my dad’s influence still speaks

i still see it preaching

with tears i still see him

praying in the sanctuary on saturday and

sometimes i would sneak up there

when he didn’t know that i was in there

and i would get up under the pews

and because he had told us to don’t come

in the church but it was a mysterious

thing to watch him pray

and watch him walk those aisles of that

little country church in

henderson north carolina and pray and

pray

that influence was sinking into my soul

and into my spirit and i’d watch him and

he didn’t know i was watching him but

that

influence was getting on me i’d watch

him on saturdays and on fridays

as his mood would shift and he would

begin to pull

himself away from our family he was a

joyful

happy kind of funny guy loved eating

loved people he was a people person but

but friday would come around and he

would feel

something come on him and you could tell

daddy that he’s going in his study and

we won’t see him until sunday night

pretty much after church

that influence now guess what i’m the

same weirdo

charisse knows she knows she knows

we may be out of the dinner or somewhere

or something wedding or something

another

on a friday but there comes something on

me at some point

to where um sunday sunday and i don’t

wait till then i’m always through four

weeks i got about five

messages in this bible all the time but

you understand there’s more to it than

an outline

there’s more to it and i don’t want to

just preach a bunch of sermons

i want to influence young men and young

women my god

what a responsibility if all we do is

just

have a little a little time here and we

leave i

want somebody to feel god’s presence in

their life so strong

that the influence will never leave

their life

for his glory for his glory

[Applause]

we need to guard our influence

proverbs 22 in verse 1 said a good name

is rather to be had

than riches of silver

and gold

be sincere guard your influence

guard your influence with your family

and with your children

i want it to be said it was easier to

live right to live

godly to live holy when jensen was alive

and when we have the right influence

that will be our testimony

that our children will say it was easier

to live right when they were alive

if you weren’t mad you’re going to get

man now

those bright shiny eyes are watching you

those sons those daughters

that you’re casting an influence

that’s going to live on and when you’re

buried it’s very

possible very even likely

that they’ll be buried in the same

direction

that you are therefore the sobering

question

i propose to you today would your kids

have a better chance

of being saved if you were not their

parent

or you were not their grandparent

if you won’t serve god for yourself do

it

for your children do it for your

children’s children

in the same grave where your bones lie

lies the bones of the ones you lead

astray

or you lead down the path

to heaven

somebody is following you

the story is told in the northeast of a

famous attorney

who had an alcohol problem

and every day he would leave his house

and he would go on his way to his

office buy a bar and he would get a

drink and then he would go to his very

successful practice in chicago

a little bit lit

and one day he left his home on his way

to the bar

and it was lightly snowing just enough

to leave

uh a grazing on the sidewalk

that would leave the imprint of a man’s

footprints

and as he walked all the way to his work

he lived in downtown chicago and he

walked on the sidewalk

he was about to turn into that bar that

he frequented

every day and when he did he noticed

in his peripheral vision his

ten-year-old son

and he was stepping into the footprints

of his daddy he snatched that boy

up he ran home took him down to the

basement

fell on his knees and cried out jesus

saved me

lest my footprints lead this child

to hell just like i’m headed to war

somebody is following you

[Applause]

the terrible epitaph of bethel was

here lies the bones

of a backslidden prophet of god

but the tragedy is in the same ground

under the same tombstone

here lies the bones of a man of god

who was anointed but he was led astray

by

evil influence don’t let the epitaph

over your grave be here lies the bones

of a husband

who would not serve the lord here lies

the bones of a wife here lies

the bones of a teenager who would not

serve the lord

but the tragedy is under that same grave

and then that same tombstone

here lies the bones of others who would

have served

god who wanted to go to church who

wanted to do right

but your influence was so strong

that you pulled them in the wrong

direction

i never want to close this broadcast

without giving you the

opportunity to know jesus christ as your

lord and savior

that’s why we’re on television god

wanted you to hear this message

inside of you as a hunger for god as you

sit there and watch this

we’ve been praying and fasting for you

we’re believing god for healing

and miracles in your life in 2020.

father in the mighty name of jesus i

pray today for every person watching

this program

heal the sick release your power deliver

those who are addicted

and bound and hopeless and discouraged

depressed

and feel like giving up may the mercy

and grace and love of god

reach them and raise them and bless them

in a new year and those of you who want

to be saved pray this prayer

say jesus receive me today

i want you to be lord and savior

of my life i ask you

to forgive me and cleanse me in your

beautiful wonderful name i ask

in the name of jesus amen

there’s power in that name there’s

victory in that name

and i believe as you become a part and

give yourself

to what god is doing in the nation in

the world

and in our hearts it’s going to change

your life and your family even the

atmosphere of your life will change

just last november i went to israel to

the groundbreaking ceremony

in escola israel for the trauma center

that we’re building there that also has

a play school

kingdom where we are raising

up a bomb shelter that will also be a

feeding center

for the whole community there and when i

looked into the eyes

of the children and i saw them i knew

that there were acres of diamonds thanks

to your generous support

we have already reached the halfway

point we just sent

another check that totals our commitment

to 500 thousand dollars that we’ve

already paid we’ve just got another half

a million dollars to go

and this amazing project will be

finished and completely paid for

will you help me today will you pray

about helping us finish

this project in israel where could you

sow greater seed than in the nation and

the children

of israel literally you are raising up

acres of diamonds in the holy land in an

area where terrorists

are constantly digging tunnels and

coming to kill steal and destroy and

sending rockets

right into the village where we are

building this

amazing center that will minister to the

whole community

be a part of this miracle one day i know

you’ll hear the lord say

well done here’s my announcer to tell

you more

as tensions in the middle east reach a

boiling point the people of israel brace

for increased violence

and rocket fire and in eschkal children

and elderly alike

have just 15 seconds to take cover in

bomb shelters

the trauma of terror stealing the

innocence of children and crippling the

dreams for all generations

because of the generosity of friends and

kingdom connection partners just like

you

we’ve been able to send five hundred

thousand dollars to build the eshkol

region trauma center

here children who live in this combat

zone will have a safe place to

strengthen their sense of community

and receive much needed counseling

services they

are a generation of strong resilient

jewish children

there are acres of diamonds in them as a

thank you for your generous gift of 1

000

or more to this critical project you may

request

the diamonds gift collection including

jensen franklin’s just released book

acres of diamonds with accompanying

resources a limited edition art piece

as well as your name inscribed on the

comfort my people wall of recognition in

eshkol

with your gift of 300 or more you’ll

receive

the diamonds gift set or for your gift

of 50

or more we will send you the diamonds

package

with your gift of any amount we want to

thank you by sending you a custom magnet

displaying the priestly blessing found

in number six

join us in restoring hope for thousands

of jewish children and families

by building the eschkul region trauma

center

visit us online today

well cherise and i are so excited about

the 2020 trip to israel the holy land

tour

this is going to be the most special

trip that we’ve ever had when you go on

trips like this

it’s a form of blessing israel it’s a

form of saying i’m blessing

you god and i’m blessing your land and

i’m blessing the people

and when you do that there’s a blessing

that comes back spiritually

and in every other way can’t wait to see

you get on the bus

let’s go

this program has been sponsored by

friends and partners of kingdom

connection