[SPEAKER_00]: Christian parenting.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hello and welcome to a special summer series of the Truth Seekers podcast.
[SPEAKER_00]: I am so glad you have joined me.
[SPEAKER_00]: For the next eight days we are going to be talking about what it means to be an influencer for Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you know what an influencer is?
[SPEAKER_00]: There are a lot of influencers in the world right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: Chances are, if you've been on YouTube, you know what an influencer is.
[SPEAKER_00]: An influencer is someone who tries to influence others.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now you may be thinking, okay, so what does it mean to influence someone?
[SPEAKER_00]: To influence someone means to have an effect on someone's character, on their behavior, on their attitudes,
[SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever been influenced by someone, has someone ever had an effect on you so much that it caused you to do or say or feel a certain way that you might not have, if they had not influenced you, did you know that you can be influenced in a positive or a negative way?
[SPEAKER_00]: Let me give you an example of how I have been influenced in a positive way.
[SPEAKER_00]: When I was younger, I would go to church during the days when I was on summer break with my grandparents.
[SPEAKER_00]: I loved to help my grandmother during the week prepare for Sunday school.
[SPEAKER_00]: She would prepare the songs and puppets and the object lessons.
[SPEAKER_00]: I loved it so much that it influenced me to want to be just like her when I grew up.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, I love to share the message of Jesus to children just like she did.
[SPEAKER_00]: She influenced me.
[SPEAKER_00]: Big time.
[SPEAKER_00]: Can you think of someone who has influenced you in a positive way?
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, we can also be influenced in negative ways.
[SPEAKER_00]: For example, I know that if I watch a scary movie or hear people talking about scary things, it will influence me to have scary thoughts and maybe
[SPEAKER_00]: I have to be careful who I let influence me.
[SPEAKER_00]: Many times we have a choice on who we let influence us.
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to be around people who are going to influence me to be closer to Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: Did you know that you don't have to have a YouTube channel to be an influencer?
[SPEAKER_00]: No, you don't have to be popular or famous to influence people.
[SPEAKER_00]: Even if you have one person that you influence, the new RN influencer, did you know that Jesus has called us to be influencers?
[SPEAKER_00]: That's right, Jesus wants us to go out into the world and spread the good news that he has come.
[SPEAKER_00]: that He is good, that He is our Savior, that He offers forgiveness of sins, that He offers life everlasting, that He offers hope, and joy, and peace.
[SPEAKER_00]: There are so many people who need our influence so that they can see Jesus through us.
[SPEAKER_00]: we have the ability to influence others every single day by the way we choose to live our lives.
[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus even gave us eight specific ways that we can influence others.
[SPEAKER_00]: Over the next eight days, we are going to talk about each one of these eight ways that we can be an influencer for Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: These eight ways are going to come straight from Matthew chapter five, the Beatitudes.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you've listened to our preying the Bible series recently, then you are already familiar with the Beatitudes.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to take each one and talk about the more in detail each day for the next eight days.
[SPEAKER_00]: One day for each Beatitude, if you need a little reminder, I'm going to read them to you now.
[SPEAKER_00]: Here's what Jesus had to say in Matthew 5 verses 1 through 10.
[SPEAKER_00]: Blessed are the poor and spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[SPEAKER_00]: Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.
[SPEAKER_00]: Blessed are the meat for they shall inherit the earth.
[SPEAKER_00]: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.
[SPEAKER_00]: Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.
[SPEAKER_00]: Blessed are the pure and heart for they shall see God.
[SPEAKER_00]: Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.
[SPEAKER_00]: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[SPEAKER_00]: Alright, true seekers, are you ready to become influencers?
[SPEAKER_00]: Would you like to join me as we dive into each of these be attitudes that Jesus left for those of us who follow him?
[SPEAKER_00]: I am so excited about all that we are going to learn and how we are going to grow as influencers for Jesus this next week.
[SPEAKER_00]: Alright, influencers, I'll talk to you tomorrow.