The Power of Influence | Jentezen Franklin

the following program is sponsored by friends and partners of kingdom connection 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

Channel: Jentezen Franklin

Views: 28,564

Rating: 4.9442334 out of 5

Keywords: Jentezen Franklin, Free Chapel, Sermons, jensen franklin, jentezen franklin sermons, christianity, franklin jentezen sermons, church online

Id: xq3jAuGIbjk

Length: 28min 30sec (1710 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 07 2020