Becoming Women of Influence & Favor

What spiritual trail are you leaving behind you?

Do you leave a sweet fragrance in your wake or do people smell a stink in your presence?

Therefore be followers of God as dear children.  And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.  Ephesians 5:1-2 

Let my prayer be set forth as incense before You, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.  Psalm 141:2

When you depart this earth will people feel a huge loss in your absence or will they barely notice you’re gone?  Have you made a difference in the life of someone else? Have you taught your children and grandchildren how to pray?

As women, we have huge opportunities to influence those around us and speak Godly words into their life.

There are 2 things God wants to teach us to help us become Women of favor and influence who make a difference in this world and the lives of others:

1. God wants to teach me to Draw

James 4:8

Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

There is a story about an old man and lady driving down the road.  They pass a young couple sitting close together.  So close, in fact, that you couldn’t fit a credit card between them.  The old lady says, “Why don't we sit close like that anymore?”   The old man replies, I'm right where I've always been.

Am I where God wants me to be? Have I moved away?  God is where he has always been.  It is my responsibility to draw near to him.  We make approximately 35,000 decisions per day that will either move us closer to the Lord or move us further away from him.

2. I have to learn to Read

We need to read what God’s word is telling us.  Worship and spending time with the Lord needs to happen more than once a week at church.

 Our spiritual journey, just like life, is a marathon – not a sprint.  Just like a marriage isn’t made at the wedding – neither do we achieve spiritual maturity at our salvation.  It is a PROCESS.

2 Timothy 4:7

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful

They say that if you put a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will leap out right away to escape the danger.  

But, if you put a frog in a kettle that is filled with water that is cool and pleasant,and then you gradually heat the kettle until it starts boiling, the frog will not become aware of the threat until it is too late.
The frog's survival instincts are geared towards detecting sudden changes.

Just like the frog, gradually we can become numb to the World’s influences and way of doing things.  Before we know it, we can look more like a worldly person than a Christian.

Before we know it, day by day decisions have moved us further from the Lord.  Oh, we may not be doing anything particularly bad… but our focus and reason for living have become self focused and world focused, not God focused.

All it takes for evil to flourish is for good people to stand by & do nothing.

We are placed here to make the world a different place.  YOU can make a difference.  We are not just here waiting to get to Heaven.  We are called to do AUDACIOUS things.

One person can make a difference – You have a story worth telling.  Let your mess be your message; your test become your testimony.

Jude 1:3-4

The Message (MSG)

Fight with All You Have in You

Dear friends, I've dropped everything to write you about this life of salvation that we have in common. I have to write insisting—begging!—that you fight with everything you have in you for this faith entrusted to us as a gift to guard and cherish. What has happened is that some people have infiltrated our ranks (our Scriptures warned us this would happen), who beneath their pious skin are shameless scoundrels. Their design is to replace the sheer grace of our God with sheer license—which means doing away with Jesus Christ, our one and only Master.

Thanks for tuning in today.  I have to give credit to my pastor who preached an awesome sermon on this last Sunday. 

{{ Hugs }}

Missy