Influences

Influences

7/29/19

How many times have we been influenced by someone or something that has crossed our path?  It is a common ordinance that this process comes naturally to our lives for it is a basic survival force to have things and friends in order to function properly, or at least that is how the world tells us we should live.  But God warns us about this specific entity of our lives and He gives us plenty of examples in His Word that clearly demonstrates why we should not be influenced by the world or worldly companions for the shaping of such influences can make a rigid complexion which takes advantage of others and then ourselves become gross influences on others.  It is very important that our hearts stay pure and to choose the correct friends or associates to be around because if we do not then our lives will become targets for a negative eternal placement.  Often we do not see this sharpening develop and by the time we do can be already hardened enough that our words and examples cut deeply in the manner of the world instead of the life-giving abilities God has installed into our hearts.  Repentance and restoration through

God alone is the only way possible for us to live in our true abilities, a natural and calming state that all of us desire.  With all of the opportunities of living in new places every so often, the new adventures gave me the possibility to meet new people and cultures which handed me the destinations of finding same age groups of people that I could call friends.  These opportunities were not limited to a church but also included people from school and outside sports projects as well.  As most people do not realize at the time, every one of these folks that I associated with became important enough in my life that eventually their attitudes and demeanors began to show through my life.  Of course, I failed to recognize this fact and for the most part, my parents did not have a problem with things because while I said and did some things that caught their attention they were not bad enough to warrant any direct attention.  I believed that I shied away from all of the so-called bad influences even though I could have easily fallen in their web, all the while not wanting to place my parents into a predicament in the public eye.

However, there were a few occasions that the people that I hung around influenced me enough that my attitude became visibly different and changed enough that mom and dad had to step in and speak to me about it.  The reaction I had was your normal teenage vows that I had no problems that I could see and that they were totally off-base with the people in question.  The few times these talks occurred I failed to understand that it was the same attitudes previously that were now affecting my behavior at that moment, a pattern in which I had been influenced and shaped enough to make a visible change in my daily actions.  Even when my parents gave me specific instances of how my attitude had changed from normal I still refused to recognize it and while I did not agree with their assessments I begrudgingly complied with their requests and sometimes punishment for reacting ugly.  I remember a couple of times replying with the argument that my parents were just picking on those that they did not like to which they replied that it was NOT that they did not like the person but the spirit that they harbored that was turning my influential attitude away from where it needed to be.  It is this aspect of the process that many of us do not realize is happening and when approached about our actions or non-actions we do not think about what has transpired but react and thus ignore the truth.

As I take the time to look back on some of these situations and other nonparental instances within my lifespan, I can clearly see how God placed the instincts of leadership in my parents to sense when things were not going as planned in my life.  As stated above I really did not see this change and when it was pointed out to me I reacted as any normal worldly influenced kid would; but, now I can see just how those bad influences in my life began to shape my entire structure enough to where I was not who I was before and actually going against how I was raised to be.  The influential process had covered me enough that I had not recognized the mold that I had come out of and how subtle the change was over time too.  It did not matter that I did not see these friends every day either for at that time I did not care that spirit recognizes spirit and how this recognition would affect my outward appearance to others.  It is this process that Satan gains a small enough foothold in a person’s life that he can begin to manipulate each function of their existence with an eventual take over if not recognized and then stopped.  I thank God that He showed my parents exactly what to say and how to present it correctly in order for me to stop and to think about what was really living inside my heart and then presenting itself to the people around me.

Why is this type of influence considered to be a problem in our lives, in our world and especially in our nation today?  The answer to that question is that we do not understand the process of the blacksmith and how they work to mold and shape the projects that have been requested from others.  The blacksmith will only complete projects that they have orders on which means that they have received specific instructions on what to complete, when it needs to be completed, and how it is supposed to be completed.  Once the order is received, the blacksmith will begin to heat up the piece of metal enough so that they can bend its original shape enough to form a somewhat close shape that resembles a finished product.  Through a slow process of heating and cooling, the metal is then shaped further into what the called for project should be so by the time they complete the project the original piece of metal no longer looks like it was but has been transformed into a newly constructed work that the requestor needs.  Little by little, this unmolded piece of metal turns into another work that does not look like the original piece and it is this process that occurs within our spirits when our enemy requests his workers to reshape our original mold into something he wants to be completed.  It is this spiritual blacksmith process that will ruin our lives if we do not understand what is going on around us and who or what influence our daily actions.

The first biblical example that God wants to share with us today comes from Proverbs 27:17 which states as follows: “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”  The first portion of this verse states what type of strength we are dealing with and what it takes in order to reshape or remold an object.  It is not an easy process of changing by any means but once it is made into the new object the eyes will behold another subject that will fulfill the desired need.  The first portion reminds us that it takes equal pressure on both sides of the equation in order to produce the adequate results desired and in conjunction with the second portion of this verse we see that this process of equality is necessary for the shaping of the human as well.

When we look at the second half of this verse we see a course that really makes sense when we think about what will occur for we all know that when we listen to others our minds and hearts pick up ideas and thoughts that sound good to us at the time.  Our spiritual ears have been tickled enough by the presentation that our curiosity begins its natural movements to either accept or to dismiss this new information.  Human history has provided with an endless supply of examples that people have had before them and either listened to what was presented or rejected those concepts and in either acceptance those folks have followed the paths intended.  This verse clearly states that men have the power and the ability to influence others no matter which direction they pursue.  This verse also indicates just how deep this influence goes if allowed.  The word “countenance” used here is defined as a face or facial expression, support which means that the influence is deep enough that its presence has changed the receiving person’s body enough to be recognized by others.  This is totally true and I refer you back to the personal experience of myself above for while I did not hear it the influence of the friends that I had completely revamped my speech and attitude.

There is a detail here that is very important that we understand and it deals with the equality that God Created us in.  Remember that God breathed into us His Spirit and we became alive and to this day each human being that is alive harbors that same spirit that God gave us so long ago.  Satan is a spirit as well and operates through this realm of his existence and our existence which means he can see which angle to direct his blacksmith work into our lives.  If God did not place His spirit within our lives and make the battleground “fair” then He could not claim to be the almighty and all-knowing Eternal and Holy Being that He states (is).  Which brings us to our second Scripture verse which is located in Genesis 2:6 and states as follows: “But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.”  I can hear some of your saying what does this verse has to do with the first biblical example in this article and at first, when God gave these two verses to me I had the same question, but when God showed me what He was saying it shows just how complete an influence can be in a person’s life.

In the verse, in Proverbs, the word used here that is the topic of concern is “countenance” and when it is used with the rest of the verse it gives us a picture of exactly what method is used to shape the countenance of a human and includes the entire surface molding of that person well enough that it changes shapes that different recognition features are present.  The verse in Genesis used here refers to the face or surface of the ground and how much of it is covered by the mist that God provides.  In both usages, the word for countenance and surface are the exact same Hebrew word “pene” which means that God is talking about the exact same descriptive terms; coincidently, it is also intriguing that both of these Scripture passages refer to the same origin, dirt and that would be us.  When you combine the words in front of these two specific referred words you get a picture of exactly how deep influences run, in both examples it is plain to see that all areas are covered enough to change the consistency of the influenced area.  Another thought to ponder for a while, it is both spirit beings that put into motion this covering aspect and gives us the eternal clue as to which kingdom one shall incorporate into their lives.  All of this information, when put together, says that these two verses and the content of both are Kingdom oriented which means they are Kingdom verses and our lives reflect which kingdom we serve.

The keys to your life are shaped over time and through those who you allow to influence you.  It will be obvious to others if you allow God and His Word to be the influences in your life and vice versa if you allow Satan and his kingdom to be number one.  Both of these influential kingdoms want to form your molten life and will become your standing ground in the future and the shaping of our lives is never complete as long as we are alive and walking on the earth.  It is this component that our enemy wants us to have nothing to do with the Truth and why he makes it so difficult for us to hear this necessity if we are not directly paying attention to what is going on in our lives and who is accessing our inner courts.  Whether you look at this process as a “pounding” of the Truth into our lives or as a potter is trying to mold and shape the clay, it is the one who swings the hammer or spins the wheel that brings our influences into life.  Adam and Eve failed to recognize this aspect of their lives and look where it led them, the Serpent had them so confused and influenced that when the time came for the reckoning of the relationship the woman could not even quote God’s command correctly; thus, Genesis 3:7 came along and changed all of creation’s existence forever.

Church, where is your stance on the influences that are allowed into your lives?  Always be aware that your presentation in public is just as obvious as mine was to my parents even though they presented to me the Truth about my actions.  It is not hard to see which influencing spirit has control over our hearts, for as God showed me in that helicopter ride almost a year ago our hearts may look abundant on the outside but deep within lays a blackened core that is already showing signs of public decaying.  Influence will appear in many subtle forms and will be accepted as normal or okay if we do not recognize their intent and content.  The ONLY way possible to distinguish between good and evil is to keep the command of God and obey His Word, this command was given in the Garden of Eden and has not changed one bit ever since.  But for some reason we want to be teased with options, to play with the fruit that is in front of us and soon after we find that our teeth are munching on the fruit of disobedience and death. 

It is time we allow God to totally eradicate the sinful influences from our hearts so that we may once again find our lives vibrantly pursuing the eternal blessings that God has for each one of us.  When we live in such a state, we cannot help but display the Truth and Love that God wants to share with everyone, but it cannot occur if we harbor sinful disobedience within our hearts.  We see that God casts out even His prized Creations from His perfect palaces when we choose disobedience over Truth.  Repent, Church and allow God to work His Kingdom through our lives through the blood of His Son Jesus.  There is no other influence we need than that of Jesus for He sacrificed Himself for all and that is good Kingdom influential news that all mankind and nations need to hear.

DLB