Acts 4:13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
Influencers are those who can voice unpopular opinions or share unfiltered truths with boldness. They are not discouraged by critiques or cannot be derailed by defamers. Influencers are not only brave and bold but can retain the attention of the audience and impact the decisions and direction of the listeners.
The reputation of the early apostles was “unschooled”, “uncultured” and “ordinary simple men”. In the ancient Jewish society, those who publicly read and taught the scriptures were educated in the Law of the Lord. The Sanhedrin was the ruling Jewish council and court that consisted of members who were highly educated in the Torah and Jewish traditions. Normally a simpleton and illiterate would not dare to challenge or talk back to the Chief Priests, Scribes and Pharisees who were members of the Sanhedrin. However, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke with authority to the rulers and the elders of the people and preached the profound truth of the gospel confidently and convincingly. They were stunned at the articulation and the precision of the unschooled fisherman. The influential discourse made two indelible impressions on the educated rulers. Firstly, they were astonished and secondly, they noted that these men have been with Jesus.
To become influential in the dark world we must spend time with Jesus and we must learn and understand the scriptures. “Knowledge is powerful, but revelation is transformative”. Knowing Jesus builds our faith and makes us bold but understanding His Word with divine revelation makes us authoritative and transformative. To become influential for Christ we must spend regular qualitative time with Him. Become a praying man/woman rather than a man/woman who knows to pray. Secondly, devour the Word of God. Gaining knowledge of the scriptures is only information but understanding the scriptures through revelation is transformational and reformative.
Influencers for Christ:
- Information: Information preached with revelation will stun the audience.
- Transformation: Anointed preaching will transform a person inside out.
- Reformation: Insightful revelation will bring not only behaviour changes but character reformation.
Anointing makes ordinary people into powerful influencers.
Prayer: Dearest Holy Spirit, use my vocal cords to echo deep revelation and my tongue to preach transformational messages boldly and authoritatively. Amen.
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