“But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you.” (emphasis mine, 2 Corinthians 10:13, ESV)
Having a sphere of influence is about reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ministry is about Jesus. Influence is about Jesus. And when we begin to understand that our spheres are assigned to us by God, that our ministry has boundaries fixed for us by God, and that our influence is given to us by God, we begin to live boldly as we confidently and lovingly and humbly reach people with the message of the gospel that opens the eyes of the heart to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).
WE NEED A CHURCH
You and I each have spheres of influence that are within a bigger sphere of influence belonging to the local church. The only way a local church body can reach everybody within its God-assigned sphere of influence is if the individual members are first reaching those within their own God-assigned sphere. None of us, therefore, are in the kingdom of God and in our churches by accident. In fact, not only will we never grow up in Christ and rightly imitate Him apart from His body the church, we also will never experience the fullness of joy and power in serving Him apart from His church.
SOMETHING BIGGER THAN US
We often think too much of our lives within the context of God’s will for us as individuals. But we need to learn to also think of our lives within the context of God’s will for everyone. It’s not just about God’s will for you and I personally. You and I fit into God’s will for all of mankind. Similarly, it’s not just about your ministry or my ministry. It’s about our ministry and the church in which God has called us to serve. If our aim in our ministry is not ultimately to benefit the church then it’s simply a detriment to us and to the church. Even in evangelism, the objective is dual, not singular: salvation, then discipleship and equipping within a local church.
Our life fits within the larger context of God’s will for mankind. Our ministry fits within the larger context of a church. Our local church fits within the larger context of the kingdom of God. Everything is a part of something bigger - our life, our ministry, our church.
MINISTERS AND STORYTELLERS
As Christians and members of a local church, we are therefore commissioned and empowered to engage and impact the lives within our God-assigned sphere of influence. “Me? You want me to engage somebody?!” By the power of the Holy Spirit. “You think my life can have an impact on somebody?!” By the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church of Jesus Christ MUST grow numerically. Every single person NEEDS to hear about Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2). The story of each person’s life has a beginning and an end, and it should have as the central figure, not him or herself, but Jesus Christ, the Living Savior, the Lord of All, and the Coming King.
You and I are ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, assigned to a sphere of influence. We are storytellers, with eternity as our backdrop. We are proclaimers, with a divinely inspired and empowered message.
EXACTLY WHAT IS NEEDED
As Christians saved by grace, who we are in Jesus Christ and everything we have, is exactly what our church needs and what our community needs. This means it becomes less about us. Are we okay with that? The promise of Jesus to us individually and corporately is this: “If you will decrease, I will increase” (John 3:30). May we decrease and may He increase, both in us and through us, as we faithfully reach with the power of the proclaimed message of His gospel all those whom He has strategically and eternally placed within our spheres of influence.
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