Are you walking in your sphere of influence?
In 2 Corinthians Ch 10:13, the apostle Paul spoke in the Corinthian Church, saying, “We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.”
This verse will help us immensely in ministry to know where we have authority and where we need to be careful. In verse before that, Paul had said we dare not compare ourselves with others who commend themselves.
If we are honest, we want to be recognized for our actions. But we want God or someone else to acknowledge us. It’s not wise to boast about yourself. If we go beyond our measure or what God has blessed us with, we will get ourselves in trouble.
In the Book of Acts, we see that they only went where the Holy Spirit directed. They were forbidden to preach in other areas.
If we can understand how to walk in the authority God gives us; we will stay within the limits God gives us and prosper.
In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, we learn further, “for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Understanding this helps us fight spiritual battles.
Paul understood his authority.
Every one of you has a sphere of influence. You must know that. When God prophetically called me to Altoona, He gave me a specific sphere of influence there. If you stay in a place where you no longer have authority, you do that in the flesh. Or if you move into something you were not called to by God, you operate outside of proper authority. By staying in a comfort zone, you often walk in the flesh and not in authority.
But what is birthed in the Spirit has to stay in the Spirit.
What God has given is a spiritual thing.
In Romans 12:3, we learn about this humility,
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”
You are given a measure and amount of grace to operate in. Grace is the God-given ability to accomplish or do something. God gives a measure or amount of grace according to the measure of God’s gifts and assignments for you.
Some people are called to be captains (leaders) of ten, some hundreds, and some thousands. If you are to run one business, operate to the greatest of your ability. If you are called to do more, then be faithful to that. Only some people are good at more. And you will see that in the journey and outcomes. Only some people are called to lead a meeting or event project, but you may be in the second position and thrive there. It will be hard if you are working outside your giftings.
Know the measure and grace you are called to operate in. Be careful to stay there.
Again, Ephesians 4:7 drives this home, “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”
And our grace and giftings are beautifully designed by Christ, like a work of art, to go together as a body. A body is put together in a specific way to use people operating in their parts and with their grace and gifts. We must work together to achieve the final masterpiece.
Ephesians: 4:13 – 4:16 shows how this works, “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From Him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
When you step out of your grace, it’s detrimental to the body. But when you walk in your measure of grace, you are a tremendous asset to the body of Christ. And your personal giftings and measure of grace will sometimes change. You walk in seasons and times. It may be time to adjust and move. It may be time to wait. But in your time of waiting, do something to prepare.
As we look at the body of Christ, we recognize that we need each other. We all walk in giftings, grace, and seasons. We need to acknowledge this and support each other.