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Kristen Peterson
Welcome to the weekly podcast of Sisterhood at River Valley Church. River Valley is an exciting and thriving church where you will find friendly people, a casual atmosphere and relevant teaching. We believe in a life-giving, positive church culture where people worship God, connect with one another and find purpose in life.
Hello, sisterhood. You know that I like to be participatory, so please join me when I when I speak to you. You've already done a great job. I appreciate that. It's so great to be here and I wanna welcome all of you back for another week.
Speaker 1:You know that sisterhood this semester is a curriculum we've been doing called Clothed with Strength, and it is based on Proverbs thirty one twenty five. If you don't have your hand out in your hand, will you get it in your hand so that we can say this scripture together, out of our mouths? And as we do so, I wanna invite you to just really identify with it, to see yourself as this woman who is being described. Okay? So here we go.
Speaker 1:She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. Our hope here at Sisterhood is that you're beginning to see yourself as this woman of strength. In first week that we studied, all about humility, that you see yourselves as a, as women who are clothed with humility and also clothed with prayer. And this week, lesson three is all about being clothed with influence. For in fact, God has designed you to operate with a great degree of influence.
Speaker 1:Your life has a profound effect on the people around you and on the environments that you go into. Your words and your choices and your attitudes are intended to reflect God's truth and his love. What an awesome thought, really. You don't just carry his presence for your benefit. You carry his presence to pour it out in every situation that you find yourself in.
Speaker 1:Now before you have the thought, Kristen, not me, I I shouldn't be dubbed a woman of influence. I wanna share with you something that the Holy Spirit spoke to me as I was preparing this lesson several months ago. I just simply heard this, oh, the impact of one. And along with that little phrase, he reminded me of what it was to throw a pebble in a pool of water and watch as the pebble broke the surface of the water and then formed a ring and another ring and another ring and another ring and it extended ongoing like this. The influence of one pebble in a body of water.
Speaker 1:Wow. Now consider the effect of one person placed in the life of another person. Think about the one coach who told you that you really could cross the finish line Or the one boss who told you that you had promotion in your future. The one teacher maybe that, you know, taught you how to really study and thus positioned you for success throughout your entire educational career. Think about the aunt who modeled prayer or maybe the friend who said, no, no, no.
Speaker 1:I'm not gonna leave you in your grief. I'm helping you up and through. It's so awesome. We've all been impacted by the one. Yes?
Speaker 1:And not only that, but God intends that we would be the one, that we would influence others and affect them for their good and for his glory. I think it's exciting. We're gonna look at Paul today. We're gonna discuss the fact that he was in very much a man of influence and get a glimpse of how the ripple effect of influence can go to work in our lives the way that it went to work in Paul's. First of all, I would like to just challenge you to think on this, that he had an answer to the question, Why am I here?
Speaker 1:Paul really knew why he was here. First of all, it was to know Jesus. And he wrote this to the, to the church at Philippi in Philippians three ten. He says, my determined purpose is that I may know him and that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of his person more strongly and more clearly. Note that Paul didn't say he wanted to know about Jesus.
Speaker 1:He wanted to know him intimately. He yearned to spend time in his presence, to speak to him and be spoken to by him to keep him close. Paul also lived to make Jesus known. We read that in Romans one fifteen and sixteen. He says, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
Speaker 1:For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. Paul was ready. He was ready to tell the good news of Jesus, what a relationship with Jesus Christ was all about, that he could get us out of religion and into relationship. Today's lesson are gonna we are gonna high highlight six facets, if you will, of the influence that Paul had.
Speaker 1:And I'm finding them in Acts chapter 14. Let me give you a little background, what's going on here in the text. Paul and Barnabas have been sharing the gospel everywhere that they go. They're in Iconium and there are many Jews and many Greeks believed, but there were also a lot of Jews, a whole lot of Jews, who were extremely offended by the message of Jesus as Messiah. And they were threatening Paul and Barnabas and wanting them to stop what they were doing.
Speaker 1:They did not stop what they were doing. They traveled to Lystra and there many more believed, but also signs and wonders were accompanying their message. So people were getting healed and people were were having miracles on display. So much so that the people there started thinking, gosh, are are these guys gods? Maybe we should start to worship them.
Speaker 1:And, of course, that stirred and provoked even more, hostility from the Jewish people, so much so that they decided, I know, we have to get rid of this guy. We're gonna stone him. We pick up the story in Acts 14. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and he went into the city.
Speaker 1:And the next day, he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith saying, we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God. So when they had appointed elders in every church and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Now when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Italia and gathered the church there together and reported all that God had done. So if I could just put this encapsulated in a nutshell, the six points that we're gonna study tonight come from that passage.
Speaker 1:We know that Paul influenced others by sharing the gospel, tells us that they strengthened the disciples through exhortation, that he promoted divine connections, that he prayed and fasted, that he preached the word, and he gave testimony of all that God was up to. So let's take one by one for a few moments break this down. First of all, we, you and I, just like Paul, we can influence others by sharing the gospel. Amen. Amen.
Speaker 1:Paul did not hesitate to explain why he lived the way he lived. There were no apologies made for why he lived the way he lived. It was quite clear. The Bible tells us that right after his experience on the road to Damascus and he encountered Jesus Christ and stepped into a relationship with him, Immediately, he started preaching. In Acts nine twenty to 21, it says immediately, say immediately.
Speaker 1:Immediately. He preached the Christ in the synagogues that he is the son of God. And then all who heard were amazed. Here is the deal. Paul's life was radically changed by his relationship with Jesus Christ and he was not ashamed to talk about it.
Speaker 1:How many in the room have been experiencing radical life change because of a relationship with Jesus? Can I see a few more hands? Hallelujah. Yes. Yes.
Speaker 1:Yes. Hallelujah. So I'm telling you today that you don't need special permission. You don't need a theology degree. You don't need the title pastor to share your faith.
Speaker 1:Hallelujah. What you need is a revelation of Jesus, of who he is and how much he loves you and how that revelation has radically altered your life, how you see things, how you do things, etcetera. As women who are in relationship with Jesus, we ought to live our lives to make him famous. Now I was thinking about this to be real practical. If you and I were chatting and you shared with me, gosh, Kristen, I'm having some housekeeping issues and and I really, I'm just stuck on a really filthy shower stall.
Speaker 1:And there's just soap scum and whatever and I can't get it out. I would probably be thrilled and happy to just tell you, you know what I do? I take out my old fashioned, a dollar 67 bottle of Ajax here and a little scrub brush and I put my hot water and my Ajax together and I scrub and you know what? It does well for me. I would not have any trouble giving you my remedy.
Speaker 1:But see, in matters that matter, like heartache and dysfunction in relationships and brokenness and disease, I refrain from providing my remedy who is Jesus. It shouldn't be this way. We ought to be like Paul who was not ashamed to tell the reason that he lived how he lived, the good news of Jesus Christ. Amen. Peter wasn't ashamed either.
Speaker 1:In acts four, it says there is there sorry. It says nor is there salvation in any other, this is Peter talking, For there is no other name under heaven given among men with by which we must be saved. And they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and the people perceived that these were uneducated men. They didn't have a theology degree. They didn't need one.
Speaker 1:It goes on to say that they marveled at these men's testimony and realized that these guys just had been with Jesus. Hallelujah. These words that were spoken in both of those passages impacted the listeners. Can I tell you, my friends, that your words about what God has done in your life impact people? They make a difference.
Speaker 1:Another thing I love about Paul is that he sees the moment. He knew that to to waste time was a grave mistake. He says in second Corinthians six two, behold now is the accepted time and now is the day of salvation. Let's just pause and wonder for one second. What are we waiting for?
Speaker 1:As people of faith, as women of God, children of the king, may we boldly speak up about what Jesus has done for us. And may we boldly seize the opportunities that God orchestrates to share salvation with others. Amen? Secondly, we can influence others by strengthening and exhorting. In the Acts passage that we started with fourteen twenty two, we read that Paul strengthened the souls of the disciples.
Speaker 1:Do you remember that a soul is mind, will, and emotion? Our minds and our wills, our emotions need to be strengthened. In in first Thessalonians five eleven, Paul says, therefore, encourage and admonish and exhort one another. Edify, strengthen, build up one another just as you are doing. Encourage the timid.
Speaker 1:Encourage the fainthearted. Help and give your support to the weak souls. The deepest wound that a person can have is a soulish wound. And the best remedy really is the word of God, A word in due season of encouragement. James tells us that the word of God has the power to save the soul.
Speaker 1:What a blessing to speak God's word. In Proverbs chapter 10 verse 11, it says that the words of the godly, that's you, the words of the godly are a life giving fountain. Fountains provide water. Water sustains life. Your words sustain life in the hearers.
Speaker 1:Hallelujah. I wanna share a short story to support this with you. I recently met a woman who works in a Minnesota correctional facility of prison. She's worked there for many, many years and she was telling me about an inmate that had been in the prison system many years ago. He was well into his adult years.
Speaker 1:I'll call him Henry. He he went through what needed to be done in order to complete, his or sign up to take the classes to complete a high school diploma. And week after week, he went to the right place and he took took the time that he needed to take to endure the classes and the teachings and completed his homework and she witnessed this week after week after month after month. And after a few years, he completed his goal. And she actually made arrangements to go to the ceremony to watch him receive his diploma and took the time to approach him afterwards.
Speaker 1:And she shook his hand and she said, Henry, I I just want you to know I've been watching you and I know that this has not been easy. And in fact, it's probably one of the greatest accomplishments of your whole life. I want you to know Henry that I am very proud of you. Way to go. He smiled sheepishly and turned and walked away and went back to his cell.
Speaker 1:Many years later, it was the day of his release. And with his items in hand before he left that place, he took it upon himself to approach her. He'd served his time, he's ready to go but he stopped to speak to her. And in his words were the delayed response to her words so many years before. He looked at her and he said, I just wanna tell you, thank you for what you said to me.
Speaker 1:I had never heard anyone tell me that they were proud of me before. It meant so very much. Thank you. Can you see the effect of one? One person taking the time to speak kind words.
Speaker 1:What's interesting is that, we don't necessarily have to quote a scripture to speak God's word. We need to know it in our hearts, of course. But underlying her words were God's principle, God's heart of well done my good and faithful servant. She didn't quote a scripture when she spoke to him. You don't have to be super well versed in order to encourage someone with God's heart and his truth.
Speaker 1:When someone faces a huge challenge and you say to her, it really will work out, undergirding that is Romans eight twenty eight, which tells us that God promises to work amidst difficult situations in order to fulfill his good purpose. We sometimes feel like, oh, I have to do something. You know, I have to take action. I wanna propose to you that speaking these sorts of God filled words is in fact taking action. It's probably the most important action you can take because what you're doing is you're helping her to rise up strong on the inside and to mature and to grow.
Speaker 1:What could be more important than that? In Ephesians four twenty nine, we see this, let no foul or polluting language or evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk ever come out of your mouth, but this is the the key here, only such speech as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others as is fitting to the need and occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace to those who hear it. People need to be strengthened and encouraged. Why? Because life is hard.
Speaker 1:And there are challenges that we every one of us has to endure. In Acts fourteen twenty two, Paul said that we experience the kingdom of God through tribulation. Part of what this means is that there's a part for us to play as believers. We are to believe. If we wanna experience kingdom living, we have to appropriate it by faith.
Speaker 1:That means that we exercise our faith by believing God and laying hold of what he says despite how things look or feel. Putting his word in first place, no matter what. It's for this reason, to strengthen our sisters, that we have to go a little longer, you know, reach a little further, press in a little deeper. Women of influence encourage and strengthen themselves so that then they can also encourage and strengthen others. In first Corinthians thirteen fifty eight, Paul says, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and let nothing move you.
Speaker 1:Nothing. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. We can say this, that the God words that you speak, they're not spoken in vain. Mm-mm. Hallelujah.
Speaker 1:Third point, we can also influence others by promoting divine connections. In Titus one five, Paul explains to Titus, for this reason I left you in Crete, Titus, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and you should appoint elders in every city as I commanded you. I'm hearing here that Paul's trusting the Lord to accomplish his work by bringing the right people and placing them before Titus so that he can then place everybody in their right spots. You and I can bless people by connecting them with others. Our richest resources are in our relationships.
Speaker 1:You stop and think about that. Hallelujah. Part of being clothed and influenced means being one who connects God's people to God's resources. We get to be the conduit. Let's say you hear a mom say, gosh, I really could use some childcare support.
Speaker 1:And then you get to thinking. The Lord brings back to your remembrance that just yesterday, your sister explained, I need some extra money and, gee, I love children. Voila. There is a divine connection. To be privy to that though, to be thinking about that, let God use you in that capacity.
Speaker 1:Let's observe where there's a gap and then fill fill that gap for the one in need. You know, whether it is a practical need or a spiritual need, God is all about filling a need. Maybe you have someone in your life who's just troubled with really difficult relationships. You could be the conduit that says, Betsy, it's time. Come to Freedom Ministry.
Speaker 1:Come to the Freedom Encounter. Or a couple who's struggling in their marriage, you might be the conduit, the connection to say, please, would you look into marriage ministry at River Valley Church? Anything like that at all, God wants to use us. Hallelujah. He's also gonna stir your heart to pray.
Speaker 1:We can influence others by praying. Now Paul prayed for the people. He fasted for them. But then I wanna just really emphasize this for just a moment. He commended them to the Lord.
Speaker 1:And I know we talked and had a wonderful lesson about prayer last week. Revisit those truths. I think sometimes we in praying, we say amen, and then we forget that our role now after we've said amen, so be it, if that's what amen means. We say so be it. I've prayed according to the word, but then we try to micromanage and manipulate and do God's job for him.
Speaker 1:We don't need to do that, ladies. He's well able. Amen? David knew he understood this truth. And in Psalm nine ten, he says, they who know your name and who have experience and acquaintance with your mercy will lean on and confidently put their trust in you.
Speaker 1:We trust you, God, to fulfill our prayers. Hallelujah. Laura told us that prayers are powerful. Say powerful. Powerful.
Speaker 1:And our prayers are effective. Say effective. Effective. They bring change like a pebble that impacts the water in which it is tossed. Your prayers are making an impact.
Speaker 1:I wanna just I know that I've shared this before, but I think it bears repeating. My big brother John prayed for me for twenty two years to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. And now after loving the Lord for twenty four years, you better believe that I am very thankful that when John prayed, he believed that his prayers were being heard by a daddy who would not relent in his pursuit of me. I'm telling you, this is how it is. Ladies, whether you see the evidence right away or not, you've got to be reminded that your prayers influence others.
Speaker 1:Number five, we can influence others by preaching the word. We know Paul traveled from city to city and he preached the word. Why did he preach the word? Because the word is alive. Say alive.
Speaker 1:Alive. The Bible tells us in Hebrews four twelve that it's living and powerful. And that word powerful is powerful. Alright. It denotes something at work, something that's active and effective.
Speaker 1:That word powerful is comparable in meaning to the English word energetic. Now get a mindset of somebody that you consider to be energetic. The most energetic person you know. You'd probably describe him or her as being really busy all the time. Active.
Speaker 1:Active. Go. Go. Go. Yes?
Speaker 1:Now attach that to the word of God. Busy. Busy. All the time. Active.
Speaker 1:Active. Go. Go. Go. That's God's word.
Speaker 1:It's energetic. It is at work. It is doing its thing. Praise the Lord. Now we can't shrink back and go, well, I'm not a preacher.
Speaker 1:Paul preached the word and I get about the word being energetic. But here's the thing, the word preach, let's just it's not about a person in a robe standing behind a lectern, nor is it about fire and brimstone and pacing back and forth on a platform somewhere. The word preach in the American dictionary means to expound upon. It means to urge acceptance of, means to deliver or to put forth, preach the word, put the word forth, put the word forth, put the word forth. When we put the word forth, we're setting the word to work.
Speaker 1:We're releasing the word to take action. That's what we're doing. Consider how God spoke the world into existence. He said and it was. He said and it was.
Speaker 1:That occurs 10 times in Genesis chapter one. And at the end of Genesis chapter one verse 26, it talks about the fact that we were created in his image. What that says to me is that God has the capacity to speak and I, in his image, have also the capacity to speak. He didn't give the capacity to speak to trees or to turtles. He gave the capacity to speak to men and women who would dare to say what he says.
Speaker 1:Jesus told us that the power of our words is something magnificent in Mark eleven twenty three. I say to you assuredly, hear this, get this, whoever says to this mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea without doubting in the heart, believing that those things that he says will be done, he will have whatever he says, the impact of one spoken word. The impact of one spoken word. Not long ago, I was, subbing in a second grade class room. Okay.
Speaker 1:It was great. But there were two boys in that room who struggled to fit in, to be motivated, to want to succeed. Their attitudes were negative. They were very difficult to manage. And in watching one obstinately throw his paper on the floor, refuse to do the assignment, I watched the other take out a pencil and start doing it so messily.
Speaker 1:And I whispered a prayer to the Lord and I said, Lord, help me know how to direct these children. And what I heard very quickly was, Kristen, speak what I say to and over these children. And so I pulled up my chair and I sat right between them as they were seated next to one another. I opened my mouth and what came out was this, I just want you to know that I see excellence in you. And this little boy's eyes got really big and he looked at me and he said, you do?
Speaker 1:And I said, yes, I do. I said, way down inside of you there is excellence and I know that you can do this. And what's more, I know that you can do it well. Oh. I said, it's important that your work reflects the real you.
Speaker 1:It's important that when I see your paper, I see your excellence. And then I told him he had a choice to make. I said, you can either start over. I'll give you a brand new worksheet, or if you'd rather, you can take your eraser out, erase your mistakes or your bad sloppiness, and start again. And within just about five seconds, he opened his desk and took out his eraser and removed the messy and replaced it with the neat the neat answers.
Speaker 1:I just found that to be something. And what I believe is true is that he just needed somebody to tell him what God says. Mhmm. He just needed to know that he's a masterpiece of excellence and that really nothing is impossible. You know?
Speaker 1:You probably noted I didn't preach to him in the sense of the word like we've all had in our head. I didn't quote a verse, but what I did do was put forth God's truth. Mhmm. I spoke in line with God's truth over him. And what's interesting, what's more, is that the other boy that had thrown his paper on the floor, he was witness to all of this and it even impacted him.
Speaker 1:Because in just a moment, he heard me affirming this little junior, you know, and he's thinking, well, that sounds kinda good. And he bent over and picked his paper off the floor and pulled out a pencil and began to finish the assignment for himself. Let's be women who fully believe God's word and preach it, put it forth, whether with a verse or without a verse, we put it forth for his glory. The power released in doing so has lasting, lasting life changing effects. Finally, we can influence others by giving testimony of God's works.
Speaker 1:We read in Acts fourteen twenty seven that Paul gathered the believers together and reported all that God had done in them. Think on that. What is it that God had done in them? There were miracles. There were healings.
Speaker 1:There was life change, dramatic salvations. Right? Can you imagine how encouraging that would have been to be in that group and listening to people's giving testimony of what God had been up to. I think about how awestruck the people of Samaria must have been when the woman who had been at the well shows up to the village and says, you guys, you guys, you guys, I just met Jesus. And oh my, my, my, he told me everything that I've ever done.
Speaker 1:Imagine how flabbergasted the people in Babylon would have been really, truly to know that Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego had been accompanied by a fourth person in that fiery furnace. Did it encourage you to hear my testimony that my brother prayed twenty two years for my salvation, that he didn't wane? Did it stir you just a little bit to pray and continue to pray for your loved ones, to not let go of what God wants for your family and your loved ones? I hope so. Or that this little junior little junior here decided, maybe I do have excellence in me.
Speaker 1:Did that not encourage you to hear that testimony? You see what is going on is that faith is coming when testimonies are proclaimed. Hallelujah. The women or the woman in Samaria, when she told her her friends back home in the village, they became believers. Many of them became believers.
Speaker 1:What if she hadn't said anything? King Nebuchadnezzar made a decree that we're all gonna honor and worship the one true God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Talk about a testimony. Testimonies excite and stir and challenge us. And this begs some questions.
Speaker 1:When you talk, what are you talking about? Do you tell others of God's goodness in your life? And if so, hallelujah, you can be confident that you're influencing them and stirring and provoking faith to be activated in their hearts. And they might just, in fact, dare to believe that God would do the same for them. But if you're not, I encourage you to make today a day of change.
Speaker 1:To ask the Holy Spirit to to speak through you, to empower you, to get you to step over the fear hurdle that's in your way. We're not to fear. He is right there with us. And if you have a stirring on the inside, in the moment, you can trust him to get the words out in the right way. Hallelujah.
Speaker 1:Let's heed the words that David wrote in Psalm one forty five verses 10 through 12 and then 21. All your works shall praise you, oh lord, and your saints. That's us. Say that's me. All your saints shall bless you.
Speaker 1:They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom. They shall talk of your power. They shall make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, the glorious majesty of his kingdom. This is what we're gonna talk about. Amen?
Speaker 1:Then he makes a personal proclamation, my mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord. That'd be a good banner cry for you to wake up with tomorrow morning. Put your feet on the floor and declare that over your day. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord. And all flesh shall bless his holy name forever and ever.
Speaker 1:As I wrap up, I just wanna declare and remind you of some important things. I wanna declare these important things. Friends, ladies, God has clothed you in influence, with influence. You are making a difference in the lives of the people that you know, even the people that you don't know. And like Paul, your very purpose, your very purpose is to know Jesus and to make him known.
Speaker 1:You've been fashioned to share the gospel. It's good news. You've been fashioned to pray and to trust God. You've been fashioned to speak his truth into your circumstances. You've been fashioned to strengthen and encourage yourself and others.
Speaker 1:You've been fashioned to be a conduit of divine connections. You've been fashioned to testify of the Lord's goodness. Believe it. Lay hold. Take it, walk in it, enjoy it, and be the woman of influence that he has created you to be in Jesus name.
Speaker 1:Amen? Amen.