IN-fluential [Pastor Nathan Ward]

[00:00:00] Thank you. I think I've already grown a half inch. I think they added a half inch back to my height. I'm not sure about that. I'm glad for it. As Joel mentioned, this is a special day, a mother's day, and we're just so thankful for it. And we realize, and I I don't typically speak on Mother's Day on that topic. It is, it is a very delicate day there. There's great joy, great sorrow. Some have just lost, uh, a loved one recently, a mother, and there's a huge vacant chair, and we understand that. So just go away and grieve and remember, and, and cry and laugh, whatever it takes. Uh, Dixie and I were reminiscing this morning, how different it is that not having mom in the basement, locked in the basement, as I used to say after all those years. And, uh, you know, when you've had your mom all your life and she's gone. It's a big change, isn't it? But one of the things she did, and, and you know, she transitioned here, uh, when she was in her eighties. They moved here mid eighties, and, uh, Dixie would take her around in recent times [00:01:00] when she couldn't drive anymore. Sh Dixie would drive her around town, especially. She just loved the beauty of it. And she would say something like this to Dixie. She'd say, my am I, I just can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to live in Worcester, Ohio. Don't you love that? Don't you love that? That's kind of the way I feel. And, uh, I may be biased, but I also go, I, I tell Dixie, I just can't understand why anyone wouldn't want to make Worcester Nazarene their church home. That's right. Some of the finest people in the world, on the planet, anywhere. And, uh, thank you again for just the outpouring of love and kindness and prayers that you've poured over us all of these weeks. And I know it'll continue and I'm just so grateful. Means the world. Means the world really does. And I hope you know that the love goes this way too, and not just this way, but I'm so grateful. You, you are precious. Indeed. Well, today, uh, we'll, we'll, Open the word and then we'll, we're gonna end with our celebration and baptism. We're excited about that. We're, I think we're [00:02:00] baptizing 30 some today between both services. Isn't that great? Isn't that exciting? So we make it a, a celebration, and that's by profession of faith, uh, by professional of faith in Jesus Christ. So, so this series, uh, is about, Identity shaping, life giving words. And the guys, all of 'em, have done a phenomenal job of speaking while I'm gone. While I'm out, while I'm here. It doesn't make any difference. I expect that. I just, I, I'm so grateful for them. But I've called these, uh, when I think about these in words, wonderful words of life. And I remember that's the one song my dad played on the piano. I can still see him sitting down on that piano that is now in Nate's office. The old piano. We had pl planking away wonderful words of life. Sing them over again. To me, wonderful words of life. So our wonderful life giving word of the day is you are in influential. Did you know that? Yeah, you have influence. And I want you to know that. Influence with all my heart. All of us have been called to be [00:03:00] influencer and we're gonna have to answer before the Lord for the kind of influence we've given, wherever he's planted us and placed us where whoever we're with, you have influence. People are watching your life. They're taking their cues many time about Jesus by watching your life. This is how God sees you an influencer. And that's what he expects from you as his follower. All for his glory, right? All for his glory. We can't get in much trouble when we live for his glory. Our culture, I think, has somewhat hijacked the meaning of, of, um, of, of influencer. Um, John Maxwell, who made the line famous, he said, leadership is influence. And I, I, I would say he's totally right. But influence comes down to people and relationships and everything rises and falls on them, don't they? Relationships. Yeah. So here's what I mean. Um, [00:04:00] when I grew up, and I'm not that old, but it seemed like there were a lot of in the flesh influencers, you know what I mean? Uh, I could, I could write names galore, just will 'em off the top of my head. But I mean, teachers and principals that I looked up to. Do you remember that? I mean, if you saw a teacher, a principal outside the classroom, I mean, you about passed out. You, you, you see him in the grocery store. You were in awe. Police officers, coaches, professors, pastors, Sunday school teachers, I mean in the flesh, touch, touch each other relationships. Agreed. Yeah. Yeah. Those were, I, and, and all of us have been influenced by those. But it seems now, and, and I think we just have to be aware of this, that so many of our key influencers have to have more of like a celebrity status. Uh, you know, be content creators or thought leaders, and. Most of these are through the lens of social media, and we know that social media is here to stay, but I think there's a danger if it's not in the flesh. Yeah. Are you with me? Right. So my [00:05:00] question is, your pastor is this, because so many times we are now influenced in the most key areas of our life by people we do not truly know and we do not interact with. That's, that's just something to be concerned about. That's why Andrew, I love to hear the testimonies about so many of our people involved in o huddle. They're, they're, they're touching students in schools, spending real one-on-one time, not just sending a text or an email, although those may happen, but one-on-one time. Hey, interview involved in oh, huddle at all. Raise your hand. Wave your hand. Wave your hand. Come on up high. Yeah, I love it when I hear those stories because it's not outta style. Our influence is still huge over time, and so we need to seize the day. I believe of influence. So as followers of Jesus, and we say around here, what does that mean? That means those of us who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, who have said yes to a relationship with Jesus, we need to seize any and every opportunity of influence. [00:06:00] And make the most of it because he's called us to make a difference where we are. In fact, he says in his word, and this is what it means to be an influential, uh, influencer and influential, it means this, that we are to be salt and light among other things. Yeah. And both salt and light change the atmosphere. They change things, don't they? So let's read it in Matthew five verse 13. You. And so when you read it, you need to go. I am. Who? That, that's a wake up call. You are the salt of the earth. But what good salt, if it's lost its flavor. Can you make it salty again? No. It'll be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone in the house in the same way. Verse 16, let your good deeds shine out for all to [00:07:00] see. So that everyone will praise you so that all the attention will go to you, right? No. So that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father. That's all about pointing and praising. We're giving him glory and honor. That's what we did. So many that were around the city serving in the big serve. All so proud of you. I visited the sites and places where you serve this week. I just, I'm so pleased with those of you that served so faithfully. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It's that behind the scenes making a difference for others. You're using your influence, your skills, your giftedness, your Emmanuel labor, I like to call it to reflect Jesus. And you're bringing glory to the father. And so doing, you're serving God by serving people. How do you know? That's what it boils down to. You serve God by serving people, by serving others, and the Bible still says that unto whom much is given, much is required. We call that given back. The Bible invented away before we give back. [00:08:00] God said, I've given you much. I'm expecting much in return. I expect you to plan it and harvest it. Use that influence. So know this, and when it comes to influence and, and it's back to the social media and all the likes and dislikes and all the numbers and algorithms and all these things. I wanna say this, the true and lasting influence always begins with people, not a platform. Yeah. You hear me? That's one person at a time. The person you're with, the person you live in front of, the person you interact with. Not a platform, not just how many of this, but the, the, the, the quality, the quantity of your influence. And when I'm thinking about it being influential, I'm thinking, and I'll remind you that, that it isn't always visible. It's not instant. It isn't always obvious because many times when you plant seeds of influence through the years, you might not ever see the harvest. That's true. And so when it comes to [00:09:00] influence, I want you to chew on this a while. Influence is more like a crockpot than it is a microwave, huh? Right. That's good. You know, kind of marinates and simmers and it makes things tender. Yeah. Microwaving can kind of make things tough sometimes if you don't know what you're doing. Right. And some of you can do it well. But if you really want to get that nasty piece of cheap on the sale meat tender, you just pound the fire out of it and then you stick it in the crock pot for about three days and it just gets tender and falls apart. You know, when we think of the Western Astorian, Dixie and I being here, and first of all, we're not the founding pastor of this church. It was here. Many of you were here when we got here, and we had something to build on. I'm so thankful for you. But this isn't just about our story now since we've been here since 1995, but I just started writing names in the, in the. In the margin of my notes here, of the people that were huge influence [00:10:00] makers for me, a, a volunteer youth pastor named Rob Crawford, that just took time and drove us all over creation and did all kinds of things with us and put up with my orderness and all those things. The Sunday school teachers, uh, uh, John Garba, Don Booth, Claudia Huff, all those people that week after week poured in, I mean, JK Warwick, my, my pastor that I served with for many years. Those things were just poured into me and I've had a huge influence to make me who I am and who we are. Got that. It's never just about us, but now we're responsible for passing it on. Here's what I know, and I'll come back to this at the end, but I believe this with all my heart when it comes to influence, some of you're thinking about the big things. The people that I list, they were people that maybe took me to a Cleveland Indians game or a Browns game or something like that, or, or got me a softball or a basketball, or just did little things for me. Just spoke kind words to me. But I want you to know that in 2023, you have no idea. What a single conversation. What one word of [00:11:00] encouragement. What one expression of kindness of love, how that could change somebody's life. Did you know that? Correct. It's the little things we get intimidated by the big things that we see others do, but God said, I want you to be influential in the small ways that you touch people's lives. Every day. I'll give you one, just a, a little example that's so simple. You think it's so small, but I'm doing my physical therapy at, uh, Worcester Orthopedic up there, you know where it is on commerce. Does that commerce drive there? Go around and, and they have a number of, of, uh, Therapist there, or whatever their degrees are. Maybe some of them are in church today. A couple were here last week. But, but I've been especially impressed because the, the, uh, girl at the desk, I think her name's Brittany, every single time you go in there, every single time she says hello Nathan. I mean, you don't even think she's seeing you or looking at you. She's a, but she sees you and says cheerfully. And then every time you leave in the pain that you're in, she says even [00:12:00] more warmly. Goodbye, Nathan. Good to see you again. And I, and I went up to her and I said, you know, Brittany, I said, I, I'm sure you're trained to do that and they have that expectation, but I wanna tell you, it means the world that you are so cheerful and so kind. Right, right. Yeah. The same for you and for me. So I just want to, I want to delve into this a little bit and say what's the real root in the last minutes we have together, what's the real root of being an influence? Because it really boils down. To this. If we say yes to Jesus and come into relationship with him, we can't help but yet take it seriously and wanna be a positive influence to reflect Jesus in every situation, right? No matter who we are, if we bear his name, I don't care if we're mature Christians. If we're new Christians, it doesn't make any difference. But what a delight, what a pleasure, what a privilege it is to bear his name, to reflect him, especially in this wonderful small community that everybody wants to live in, where eyes are always on you. They see your attitudes, they see the way you drive, they see the things that you do. They see the way you [00:13:00] treat the cashiers at Walmart or Bueller or wherever you may shop or the, no, I think, I think that we probably better have an attitude checked towards those automatic checkouts now, cuz that's where the real attitudes happen. It's not the people, it's not the humans. It's those things though. Never. Were right. That's where, that's where our, our influence really shows. Well, I, I'm gonna go to a really unlikely story out of the Bible that I think will. About somebody becoming an unlikely influencer, I'll call it, but so powerful. And, uh, I'll just, I'll just get into it and, and go quickly through it. But Jesus was on a journey and with his disciples, and, uh, you know, they were hoofing it, they didn't have a little nifty cart to write on or anything like that, but he was decided to pass through Samaria. And they were surprised. The disciples were, because the Jews really had nothing to do with Samaritans, you know, and you gotta do the history to, to understand it all. But they were considered, they weren't really, they were kind of half breeds, half this, half that. And the Jews literally refused to interact with them. You can read about it. So they were [00:14:00] shocked. The disciples were when they came through that, that AR area, and they came to a well and they sat down to rest there, as was the custom, but it was at that place that Jesus chose to initiate he to interaction with a Samaritan woman. I mean, that was a no-no, and it all began with a simple question. Jesus, just ask her for a drink of water. You can read about it in John, but, but I want you to think about this. He knew all about her. He knew who she was, where she'd been about her history undoubtedly. But he dignified her by initiating conversation with her, right? By treating her as a real person. Yeah, and I don't think he just said was looking all over. He probably had a piercing gaze and locked into her eyes and into her soul and said, ma'am, could I have a drink? You want to talk about shock? She was shocked. She was shocked. So the Bible bears that out, and John four says the, in [00:15:00] verse nine, it says, A woman was surprised for Jews, refused to have anything to do with Samaritans. As I mentioned. She said to Jesus, you are a Jew and I'm a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink? Verse 10. Jesus replied, if you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me and I would give you living water. I'm talking, this was a setup, wasn't it? Jesus knew what he was doing. He was setting it up because he was looking for an influencer. Yes. In that community of the Samaritans where they had little use for the Jew and vice versa. Wow. I wanna give you living water. That's what he is really saying. And. Jesus responded to this woman with kindness and compassion and love, and he looked beyond the moment knowing that this was an, I'll call it an influence opportunity, if you will, but she con was confused and said, how can you give me water for you have no bucket, and the well is [00:16:00] deep. How can I get this water? Paraphrasing? Verse 13. Jesus replied, anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink, this is making me thirsty. Could you bring my cup up here, Joel? And just said it. Thank you. But those who drink the water, thank you. I will give Will never thirst again. Have any of you ever partaken of that water? It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life. That wasn't just a then story. This is the now story because Jesus wants to give you living water. He's the one you're looking for. He's the one that will quench the deepest long in your thirst. Amen. That you've been looking everywhere else to satisfy. He said, the only thing you have to do is to be a receiver. I'm given. I'm still a giver. Will you [00:17:00] receive it? She listened and somewhere along the line, and I've read and reread this story. She listen to somewhere along the lines, she started believing, I'm not sure exactly when. It doesn't really, it's not so clear what it says in scripture, but you could, you could see spots where maybe that happened, but she believed and she asked Jesus to give her some of this living water he'd spoken of. And then of all things, Jesus just rudely changed the subject and he made it personal. Verse 16, listen to this. He's talking about all this life giving water and new life and all this, and then he says, oh, go and get your husband. And she said, she said, verse 17, I don't have a husband. The woman replied, Jesus said, you're right. And I think he was commending her for her honesty and transparency, don't you?[00:18:00] You're right. You don't have a husband for, you have had five husbands. Somebody say, yikes, thank you, thank you, thank you. And you aren't even married to the man you're living with now. I mean, come on. That's almost scandalous in our time in 2023, is it not? You certainly spoke the truth, and I just wanna say that that's a real major thing for us to start where we are, to come to Jesus to receive living water. We just need to speak the truth. Right. We need to tell it like it is not as we wish it was or wish it would be, but we need to say, Jesus, this is who I am and this is where I am and this is why I need living water, because I taste it and I've drunk here and I've drank there and, and I'm come up empty. You've certainly spoke the truth. Now I'll say it again. No Jewish man would've engaged with a woman in, in such a way, but he did. He approached her with that heart of love and compassion as a person who mattered regardless of her [00:19:00] past and present. She wasn't just dealing with her past. I mean, he was dealing with her present because that's who she was right then, right there, right now. But he honored her even though he knew she was a community outcast. That's right. Okay. That's not just a then story. That's a now story. Yep. Because Jesus is honoring you. And he's initiating his influence in moving his love towards you regardless of where you are. You may be running the other direction. You may be running as fast as you can, but he is, his love is pursuing you. The living water is surging after you what? Five husbands now living with a man. Oh, rejected. Shun. Bad news, but Jesus didn't see her that way as an immoral woman. He saw her as a miracle waiting to happen. He sees you as a miracle [00:20:00] waiting to happen. Amen. Because his love, it's inexplicable. I can't explain it, but I've seen it all my life. And we'll celebrate Babsons today. Jesus can take us and turn us inside out and right side up. And his love can totally give us a new direction no matter who we are, no matter where we've been. He can give us living water that'll satisfy that deep craving to be loved, to have significance. Now, I didn't list all the scriptures for you, but I just, I want to tie it together in this way in, in last minutes. What what we'd have to say is, and starting in in verse 19, she said, you must be of prophet. And then it goes into all the scriptures about, she asks questions about worship. It's so strange. It does. It seems outta place. But she had such an interest in worship. In worship, worship. And I wanna tell you that in this process, somewhere along the lines, she became a Jesus lover [00:21:00] and a Jesus worshiper. Yeah, the influence of Jesus, his kindness, his directness, him dignifying her and honoring her where she was. Somewhere along the lines, she became a Jesus lover. And when you become a Jesus lover, you can't help become a worshiper. And that has nothing to do with how you responded to the first song or to the songs we'll do at the end. It's really about our way of life where he becomes your savior and he becomes your Lord. In that order, I give you my sin, but I give you myself. I asked you to do for me and in, in me and through me what I could never do for myself. I asked for you to satisfy that long and that I've been trying to satisfy in so many ways. Jesus, I believe that you're the living water, and so they had this discussion and I'll just outline it quickly. You must be a prophet. Tell me she was a religious first time. They, they knew all of it. No, they, they had Jewish blood in them too. They, they knew all about it. Said, tell me, tell me where, where's the proper place to worship? And this is instructive to [00:22:00] us. What, where's the latest thing? Where can we go to worship? Where can we go? What should we do? Um, and Jesus said, and so now it's true, and I can say now, but he said, then there's time coming, or it won't matter where. It's just matters that you do well, that time is here. It's not here or there. It's, I mean, it's not someplace else. It's right where you are. And he said, not only that, he said, you know, very little, but in that day, you will know the one who you worship. That's the key. You will know him in relationship, not just about him, not just empty some empty liturgy, but you have a relationship transformative relationship that's making you a Jesus lover and a Jesus worshiper. What's gonna happen then? He said two worshipers it, it then comes from the inside out. You can't contain it. It's spirit and truth kinda worship. And she said, I know. I know that I, I know the promise that the Messiah will come and when he does, he'll explain everything to us. And then Jesus said, [00:23:00] and this is must be where the belief really kicked in, he said, I am the Messiah. Wow. That's rare. You, you look in the scripture where Jesus proclaimed, I am the Messiah. That's that's who I am. What happened? Something transformational. This messed up lady. Still being aware of the promise that the Messiah would come, not understanding, not knowing everything, but Jesus met her where she was. And the story to us then says that no matter how messed up we are, we may be that it's never too late to encounter the love of Jesus. His love can reach you right where you are. Just like his love reached out to her. And she was so excited in her belief in becoming a Jesus lover and a Jesus worshiper, that she became a passionate, instant influencer. How do you know that? The people that just fall in love with Jesus, they're the most positive influences in the world. They gotta tell somebody. They gotta [00:24:00] tell their friends. I, I gotta tell you what Jesus has done in my life. This broken woman took off and she began compelling. Everyone come and see, come and see this man. It might be, it must be the Messiah. The takeaway from this is that you don't have to have it all together to influence people towards Jesus because no one does. That's right. I don't have it all together. You don't have it all together. We don't have it all together, but we are still influencers come to Jesus. Chris Rice wrote and live. But to be an influencer, I'm coming from this angle. You need to be a Jesus lover and a Jesus worshiper, and that's when you open your heart to him. You, you need to know who Jesus is and you need to love people. You, you need to commit to being that salt in life, that difference maker to the one in front of you where you are [00:25:00] to be an influence. As we've said over and over, you just say, Lord. My life is yours. I'm gonna do for one no matter where you placed me. Yeah, you don't need a platform. You don't need many. You start with who is in front of you. A broken woman who knows what was on her mind when she was at the whale that day, but in a brief encounter, her whole life changed directions since she became a Jesus lover and a Jesus worshiper. Hey. How about you? That's what we're gonna celebrate in baptism today. These people are being baptized. I don't care how long it's been, it's because of profession of faith in Jesus Christ, right? They become Jesus lovers and Jesus worshipers. And how do you know if you've fallen that category? It's gonna show up in your life. Hey, it's gonna show up in your relationships. It's gonna show up in the way that you influence others. It's gonna show up in the way that you treat other people, especially when they don't treat you like you think they should.[00:26:00] When I was in college, I remember a book and I couldn't think of the name of it, of the author, but it was called Worship Evangelism. So this was a good while ago and I never heard anything about it. But there was a gal named Sally Morganthal, Morgentaler by name. I looked it up, but she just was teaching in her book and this, so this was in the, uh, seventies, late seventies when I read it. She said that basically this means. Our worship of God being a powerful witness to a watching world. We could think about what happens in this room, and this may be true, but this is the culmination of that love relationship. It's an expression of it. This doesn't mean we're doing what he wants us to do out there. What we're doing out there means that we can't help but express our love for him in here. You follow me? That's spirit and truth. I mean, what's inside? It's just gotta come up and out. And that's what she said, the world is watching you. If you're truly a worshiper and a Jesus lover, it's gonna, it's gonna [00:27:00] draw people to Jesus. I came across this story of a young pastor's daughter and her friends who attended a worship gathering and af Alfred. They posted something like this. Worship is just like breathing. We sing songs about that. They, she, they, it's, it's, it's, it's like you're created to do it all the time. It's an actual, it's a lifestyle. That's it. You got that lifestyle. Worship in the song. It's not a moment, it's not a service. It's a way of life. This comes out of that. Well, there was a young man who attended the similar, I guess it was a Hillsong's worship conference, and unbeknownst to him, this young gal, there was a young gal seated really near him, maybe next to him, and he was so touched by her sincere worship. It was really, his heart was touched by it. There was just something about it that, that drew him. And she, he was in awe of how she was worshiping God. Her, her worship was just contagious. And he said, I, [00:28:00] I, I just, I wanted what she obviously had, and I was convicted just by the power of her freedom and worship, that I was convicted, that I needed to get closer to God too, where others could see God reflected through my life. That was a life changing experience for him. He later wrote later that week, he attended a night of worship at one of his churches, and it's a multi-campus, a satellite, and because of an illustration used, he realized that he was sitting next to one of the pastor's daughters that was that little worshiper that was so on fire that so impacted his life. The story continues that very night, the pastor's daughter noticed another young girl seated close beside her, and she just seemed to be squirming and kind of uncomfortable, almost disinterested. And so this gal slipped over beside her and said, Hey, you okay? Can I, can I just pray with you? And the girl responded, fine, fine. But I don't want to be here. My friends made me come. I'm [00:29:00] not sure what that looks like, but that's what she said. Well, She allowed her to pray and they prayed together and something began to happen in the spirit realm, and they quickly took her outside to talk and found out she wasn't anywhere close to following Jesus. But that evening, she became a Jesus lover and a Jesus worshiper. And it all happened because somebody was sensitive in their worship and just said, I'm gonna use my influence. And they felt prompted by the spirit and they said, yes, this young little girl. This young girl that was so consumed with love for Jesus and was such a worshiper what was inside just had to come out that spirit and truth, worship, and it just had a remarkable influence and it drew that bitter young woman to Jesus. I wanna say it again. You have no idea how your life can impact others when you live for God's glory as a full-time Jesus lover and Jesus worshiper, look. Look at me. [00:30:00] Is there any such thing as a part-time Jesus lover and off and on again? Jesus worshiper. Listen to me. Come on. Lock in. Lock in. Is there such a thing? I think it's impossible. When you fall in love with Jesus, you're no longer part-time. You're all in because he is all in you and you never want to misrepresent him by treating others less than he would treat. Them. You want to dignify others, you wanna lift them up. You want to use any influence, opportunity God gives you to make a difference. Well, the end of the story is this. In John 4 28, the woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the villages, telling everyone I gotta tell somebody. I gotta tell somebody what Jesus did. I gotta tell somebody, come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. It, could he possibly be the Messiah?[00:31:00] So the people came streaming from the village to see him, and the story continues that because of her influence, passionate influence, and people coming to Jesus, that many in Samaria became believers. I gonna tell you, when you become a Jesus lover and a Jesus worshiper, your influence goes to a whole new level. You're aware of his presence, his eye is always on you, his presence in you. You wanna represent him. And that doesn't mean we do it perfectly. That's why we have a good reverse gear, just like that little scooter over there. Does we back up and make things right when we don't represent Jesus well? Right. We own it. Yeah. Because Jesus wants to say to us, like he said, the woman, you speak the truth. You spoke the truth. You'd messed up there. You didn't represent me well. I'm not mad, but, but make it right. Will you correct it? She became this unlikely woman in a, in a snap, became a passionate, instant [00:32:00] influencer for the kingdom of God because of his touch on her life. Can we do any less? Is his touch on us less because we haven't had five husbands or wives or whatever the question may be. No, there's nothing impossible with God. There's nothing that stops him from using us. If we say, here I am, I think you can be moved by good worship music and an atmosphere. And I think it's powerful because there's a practical sense that if we're truly worshiping God in this place and people come in, they will be drawn toward him and we need to be aware of that. We're not doing it, we're doing it for him. But it's a powerful influence. But you can't worship a God you don't know and haven't met. Amen. You can't worship a Jesus. You're not serving. You can't worship Jesus when you're part-time off and on again, when people are confused because they look at your life, they hear what comes out of your mouth and they see and well, nobody's perfect. I know that, but [00:33:00] that's our goal, to be like Jesus, isn't it? Right? And to own it when we don't. So if this woman became an instant influencer, how much more having light understanding of this time and dispensation how much more ought we represent Jesus very well. And turn on the light. And pour on the salt in this very dark and broken generation. Amen. Yeah, it's a full-time job. I'm gonna wrap it up and land it. We'll go into baptism, but I believe when we stand before the Lord on that final day, He will hold us all accountable for the influence of our lives. Yeah, we're gonna have to answer for what we've done, how we've poured it out. How have you spilled or invested your influence? For me, he'll ask You are an influencer for Jesus. If you know him, your life is to worship him and to draw others to him. And you have no [00:34:00] idea just in the small daily interactions how someone's life can be impacted for eternity. Some of you have stories and testimonies, just a kind word. Genuine worshipers of God are powerful influence of people our daily lives of worship. Point them to him, to God be the glory, great things he has done. Man, it could be like that little gal just reaching out and loving kindness to one who seems uncomfortable or nervous just being their friend. It could be by listening and giving a compassionate ear to and understanding to someone who's hurting at work or constantly looking for opportunities to pray now with people just to love them where they are and as they are. Yes. Did you hear me? Loving them just where they are as [00:35:00] they are. Not if you do this or that, but how about just meeting a simple need? Is there anybody that can't do that? How about texting that Bible verse to that word of encouragement? It's just the right moment because the spirit's prompted you to do so. That's what I call in the small things, just being salt and light. Is that a joy? Tomorrow morning when the alarm goes off on Monday morning, we get to be ambassadors for Jesus. We get to be representatives of him. We get to influence people in his name. Isn't that exciting? No matter where you are or what you're doing, he said, I want you to touch other people in my name. So if you know Jesus, you are an influencer, you are influential, will you use it for his glory? Prayer. My prayer is, as I conclude, father, may all the influence of my [00:36:00] life bring glory to your name. Amen. Amen. Amen. All that surrender, all the influence of my life. Bring glory to your name. Where does it begin? If you've never began? It started. It begins with a yes to Jesus. I receive you as my savior. I surrender to you as Lord, I give you everything. It just begins with a simple profession of faith, and that's what we're gonna celebrate as we move into baptism today. But could I just make that challenge to you and ask, are you a Jesus lover? Are you a Jesus worshiper? How do you know if you are? It's contagious. You can't contain it just spills over. If you've never taken that step, you can. Maybe some of you as we close you, you, you've never prayed and said, Jesus, yes to you. I, [00:37:00] I receive your grace and forgiveness and love, and you need to come into the family of God. By invitation. You're invited, but you've gotta choose.