You may or may not have heard of the 7 Mountains of Influence. They are spheres, or areas, of influence. They are Religion, Family, Education, Government, Arts and Entertainment, Media, and Business. Each of us falls into one or more of these seven categories. As a believer, you can and should have kingdom influence to minister to the people in the sphere(s) of influence where you have been placed. Whatever talents and abilities God has given you, He has a place for you in one of these spheres of influence. And every one of us has a kingdom purpose here in this life to be ‘salt and light’.
If everyone was called into the “Religion” mountain (meaning full time ministry) then the world would have no way of finding God’s truths. Because not everyone is going to step into a church or a religious gathering or meeting. So not everyone is called into this sphere of influence. But where God has placed you, you can have kingdom impact on people’s lives and make a difference. You are a light to shine in darkness. Jesus said that this gospel of the kingdom would be preached to all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end would come (Matt. 24:14).
There are a few verses in the New Testament that tell us about the kingdom. Jesus said in Luke 17:20-21 that the kingdom of God does not come with observation, but the kingdom of God is within us. Once we become born again, we have the kingdom of God inside of us and that kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and cannot be moved. A couple of other scriptures about the kingdom state that the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. And the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.
Everywhere Jesus went, He demonstrated the kingdom of God. He spoke and then demonstrated signs, wonders and miracles. It says in I John that if we say we abide in Him, then we ought to walk even as He walked. And He went around doing good, healing all that were oppressed of the devil. The world is full of people oppressed of the devil and they don’t even know it. They have been held in captivity by Satan for so long and that is all they know. But when the kingdom of God is demonstrated and brings deliverance and sets the captives free, that’s when they will see how much oppression they’ve been under and how much freedom they now have. It’s like a weight being lifted from off of them. And we’ve all been there, where things have weighted us down. Worry, fear and anxiety are big ones that will weigh you down. But it’s the anointing that destroys every yoke of bondage.
With all the evil going on in the world today (and it’s been going on since back in the book of Genesis – read Gen. 6:5-6), people who don’t know the Lord are people without hope in this world. All they know is what is being spoken in the news and media all around them – which is gloom and doom. In Isaiah 60:1-3 it tells us to “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep (or gross) darkness the people: but the Lord will arise over you, and his glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
We, as born again believers, have inside of us the excellency of the power of God to minister truth and hope to a lost and dying world. We can have an influence wherever we go because of the kingdom that is inside of us to set the captives free and undo heavy burdens.
The bible has every answer for us that we will ever need in this life, and when we get those truths inside of us of what God’s Word says over what the world is saying, we can bring life, peace and hope to the hopeless. But not everyone will want to hear and see what God has for them. Look at Jesus and how everywhere He went speaking truth and demonstrating the power of God, there were those that wanted to kill Him. They hated Him and ultimately killed Him. That is religion – that is religious (antichrist) spirits that hate truth. But those who know the truth, if they will abide in the Word, then the truth will set them free. And whoever God sets free, is free indeed. There is nothing like it. Nothing compares to freedom in Christ.
So we have a message to give the world in whatever sphere of influence we are in. We have life to give to people – the life of Jesus. As it says in John 6:63, Jesus said, “It is the Spirit that makes alive; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak, they are spirit and they are life.” When we speak words of truth and life to people, to those who have a heart to hear, it will give them hope and make them alive unto Christ.
So wherever you are in life and whichever sphere of influence you are in, know that God has a plan and purpose for you being there and it’s to advance the kingdom of God. It’s to bring truth and hope to a lost and dying world who don’t even know where to turn. This should encourage us all because God has given each one of us the ministry of reconciliation – II Corinthians 5:17-19 – the ministry to reconcile others to Christ!