The Power of Influence

Intro: Who is the greatest influence in your life?

Study

  1. Mt 22:37, 1 Pet 5:8 God wants us to serve him with all of our heart, satan, however wants to stop us, and he will try to do this through influencing us away from God.
    1. Prov 16:18 No matter how strong we thing we are, we are all influenced, and affected by our surroundings, pride will deceive us into thinking we wont fall.
      1. 2 Cor 6:14 This is why the Bible warns us about our influences, and tells us to guard against letting negative influences into our lives.
      2. Ex 32:1-4 When we allow negative influences into our lives, we can be pushed into doing things we normally would never do.
    2. Ezekiel 37:23 There are some Christians who sincerely try to serve God, but continue to backslide because they don’t deal with negative influences.
  2. S.S. 2:15, 1 Cor 15:33 Being influenced away from God doesn’t happen all at once, many times it comes slowly through one compromise, and bad influence at a time.
    1. Prov 4:23 We can avoid negative influences by guarding who and what we allow to get close to us, and surrounding ourselves with Godly influences.
      1. 2 Cor 11:14 Influence is one of the most powerful forces in the world, God wants to use it for his Glory, but satan also will use it to pull people away.
      2. Rom 10:14 God doesn’t want us to simply avoid negative influences, he wants us to influence others towards Christ.
    2. In this new series on influences, we will discuss negative influences to avoid, how to surround yourself with Godly influences, and how to become one who influences others towards Christ.

Discussion

  1. Share an example of a time when you were influenced to do something wrong you normally wouldn’t have done?
  2. What are some of the things we can do to avoid letting negative influences into our lives?
  3. Can someone share an example of a time you were influenced towards Christ? Share a time when you influenced someone else towards Christ?
  4. Is there someone here tonight who needs to deal with some negative influences in your life? If so who and what are they?

End: Pray for any who struggle with wrong influences in their lives, take prayer requests, and invite people to your church Sunday