Resource Details

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT), 1 Chronicles 29:11, 14 (NIV), Mark 8:35–36 (MSG), Romans 12:2 (NLT), Ephesians 4:17 (GW), 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NLT), Exodus 4:1–4 (NIV), Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

"For I, ______________ , am God's masterpiece. He has created me anew in Christ Jesus, so I can do the good things he planned for me long ago."

Everything in heaven and earth is yours, O Lord ... Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.  1 Chronicles 29:11, 14 (NIV)

ACTION PLAN: On a post-it note, write down the words of Ephesians 2:10 with your name on it and place it somewhere where you can see it each day. Whenever you see it, read it out loud and pray for the Lord to remind you of your identity as His child.

The Stewardship of Influence

Influence: The power to affect how someone develops, acts, or thinks

God expects me not to master the world, but to serve the world.

"Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?" Mark 8:35–36 (MSG)

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Romans 12:2 (NLT)

I tell you and encourage you in the Lord's name not to live any longer like other people in the world. Their minds are set on worthless things. Ephesians 4:17 (GW)

Am I a thermometer or a thermostat?

"The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NLT)

ACTION PLAN: In a journal, write out a few names of people in your life that are within your sphere of influence. Take time each day to pray for those names and ask God to reveal ways in which you can serve them as an ambassador of Christ. As you go about your day, look for these opportunities to show Jesus' love to them and be prepared to give time and energy without complaint or doing so begrudgingly.

"What if [your people] do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The Lord did not appear to you'?" Then the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied. The Lord said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. Exodus 4:1-4 (NIV)

Moses' staff  represented three things:

• Security: What he leaned on; how he protected himself
  
• Identity: His occupation; how he provided for himself
  
• Influence: How he exercised authority

Four Crucial Questions:

• What am I leaning on for security?
  
• What is my identity?  
  
• Who is in my sphere of influence?
  
• What can God do through me if I give it all to him?

What is in my hand? It's time to take inventory:
Relationships, contacts, networks ...
Talents, abilities, energy, strengths ...
Intelligence, ideas, interests, passions ...
Resources, money, possessions, time ...

God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)

The key to my greatest success is SURRENDER.

ACTION PLAN: Spend time in a favorite space within nature, preferably somewhere where you can sit to relax, pray, and journal. Begin by praying and inviting God's presence into this space, then as you rest with God, write out the four crucial questions from above and write out your answer to each. When you conclude, ask God to use the things in your hands to make a difference in the world.