Influence is powerful for good or evil. Have you stopped to think about what Christian influence you have that brings honour and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ? In this address, you will hear of 4 examples of men and women who had an influence for good and evil.
Bible Scriptures: Darby Translation
1 Kings 12:1-14 “12 And Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.2 And it came to pass when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (now he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;3 and they sent and called him), that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
4 Thy father made our yoke grievous; and now lighten thou the grievous servitude of thy father and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.5 And he said to them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, How do ye advise to return answer to this people?7 And they spoke to him saying, If this day thou wilt be a servant to this people, and wilt serve them and answer them and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever.
8 But he forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him, and consulted with the young men, who had grown up with him, that stood before him.9 And he said to them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people who have spoken to me saying, Lighten the yoke which thy father put upon us?10 And the young men that had grown up with him spoke to him saying, Thus shalt thou say to this people that have spoken to thee saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and lighten thou it for us,—thus shalt thou say to them: My little [finger] is thicker than my father’s loins;11 and whereas my father laid a heavy yoke upon you, *I* will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but *I* will chastise you with scorpions.12 And Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed saying, Come again to me on the third day.13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him;14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men.”
1 Kings 13:1-2 “13 And behold, there came a man of God from Judah, by the word of Jehovah, to Bethel; and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
2 And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar! thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burned upon thee.”
1 Kings 13:7-11 “7 And the king said to the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a present.8 And the man of God said to the king, If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place;9 for so was it charged me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way that thou shalt go.10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he had come to Bethel.11 Now there dwelt a certain old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel;”
1 Kings 13:13 13 And he said to his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass; and he rode thereon,14 and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under a terebinth; and he said to him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.15 And he said to him, Come home with me, and eat bread.16 And he said, I cannot return with thee, nor go in with thee; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place.17 For it was said to me by the word of Jehovah, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou wentest.
18 And he said to him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Jehovah saying, Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. He lied unto him.19 Then he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.”
1 Kings 13:24 “and he departed. And a lion met him by the way and slew him; and his corpse was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the corpse.”
1 Samual 25:14-15 “14 And one of [Nabal’s] young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our master; and he has insulted them.15 And the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we companied with them, when we were in the fields.”
1 Samual 25:18 “18And Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two skin-bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched [corn], and a hundred raisin-cakes, and two hundred fig-cakes, and laid them on asses.”
1 Samual 25:23-24 “23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,24 and fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, [upon] me let the iniquity be; but let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear the words of thy handmaid.”
1 Samual 25:30-32 “30 And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah shall do to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning thee, and shall appoint thee ruler over Israel,31 that this shall be no stumbling-block to thee, nor offence of heart for my lord, either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. And when Jehovah shall deal well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid.
32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me.30 And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah shall do to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning thee, and shall appoint thee ruler over Israel,31 that this shall be no stumbling-block to thee, nor offence of heart for my lord, either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. And when Jehovah shall deal well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid.32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me.
2 Timothy 2 “5 calling to mind the unfeigned faith which [has been] in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and in thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also.”