Bad Influences & the Believer

By Alexis Pereyra

There is no doubt that everybody has to serve somebody; whether we acknowledge it or not, it is true. Influence plays a big part in the decision we make as to whom we will serve. What we decide to yield to will put us under its hold. This book exposes many of the bad influences that bombard us today; and as believers, more than ever, we need to be sober and alert against them.
Learn about the power of influence and its sources. Expose the devils plan in bad influences and find out what can you do against them, through Gods Word.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 6, 2009
• ISBN: 9781469120096

Alexis Pereyra

Alexis Pereyra is an elder ministering at Iglesia del Dios Fuerte (Church of the Mighty God) for the past five years, where he is also a Sunday school teacher. A great love for God’s Word and a desire to minister the truths and delivering power found in it, has driven Alexis to launch out this blessed project. Alexis and his wife, Maria, live in New York with their son, Samuel (their little prophet).

Book preview

Bad Influences & The Believer

Alexis Pereyra

Copyright © 2009 by Alexis Pereyra.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2009900923

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Contents

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Acknowledgments

All thanks and praises are first and foremost to my Heavenly Father, my wonderful savior Jesus, and my eternal companion the Holy Spirit. Thank you so much, God.

I would also like to thank my wife for her unchanging love, her divine help, and her faithful support in this exciting project (it was actually her idea for me to write this book). Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing. Thank you, my love.

I thank my pastor, Aristides Calderon, for being a man of God who does not compromise the Word of God. Through him, God is shaping in me the man He created me to be, with integrity and faithfulness.

I want to also thank Sister Alda Vallejo for all her prayers and blessings upon us. It was her invitation for me to minister at a youth conference in Upstate New York that birthed the topic for this book (it was an honor and a humbling privilege, Sister).

Thanks to my son, Samuel, whom God has used to teach me so many valuable lessons. Thanks for believing in me, buddy.

Thanks to the Contreras family for their ongoing example of faithfulness unto the Lord; and special thanks to my co-pastor, brother, and friend Alexander Contreras for his support, guidance, and counsel. May the Lord continue to use you (just believe, Brother).

Thanks to my brother, Brother Marcos Pereyra, for his unselfishness and his surrender to God’s work. Thanks to my older brother Mario Pereyra for persevering in the faith and serving this beautiful country. Be encouraged my brothers, our redemption is near.

Thank you, Mom, for being such a dedicated woman, for being so loving, and for loving us the way you do. You’ve been a great example, Mom. May the Lord continue to fill you evermore with His power and grace.

Thank you, Iglesia del Dios Fuerte, for all your earnest prayers in my behalf and for loving us the way you do.

Chapter 1

What Is

Influence?

Influence is a very powerful and often ignored tool that we humans posses. Though it is true and evident that not all influence is bad, the sad truth is that most men and women use this tool in very negative ways and many times not with the best of intentions. To ignore what influence is and the effect that it can have on our lives can prove to be dangerous in our daily Christian walk. Below is a list of the basic dictionary meanings of influence; let’s look at some of them in detail as we go along:

1. The capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of others

2. The action or process of producing effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of another or others

3. To move or impel (a person) to some action

4. A power affecting a person, thing, or course of events, especially one that operates without any direct or apparent effort

5. To produce an effect on by imperceptible or intangible means

From the previous definitions, we can see that influence is a power, capacity, action, process that affects, compels, and produces an effect on someone to do something (in a nutshell). Looking at how much of an effect influence can have on someone, it is no surprise that so many people take advantage of this tool to compel others to carry out their deeds. In this first chapter, we’re going to be seeing the meaning of influence, some of the sources of influence, and the power of influence through some people we all know.

When we look at the first definition of influence above, it says that the power of influence is not only found in people but also in things as we will see in the following list of what I refer to as some of the sources of influence. But first, let’s pray:

Blessed Father, we thank You so much for Your bountiful love, forgiveness, and grace and for making Your mercies new every morning; and O how we need those new mercies every day. Lord, we present ourselves before You that You would search our hearts, examine our minds, and show us any wrong ways in our lives so that with the help of Your Holy Spirit, we can make it straight. Father, keep us from falling into any of the many traps that the enemy is always setting before us. May this book help us to understand to a better degree that we are to be aware of what is influencing us in our daily lives and how are we influencing others. We trust that only You are able to do this for none other can we turn to who can offer such deliverance. We ask this, Lord, in trust and confidence and in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Before proceeding to name some of the sources of influence in our days, please note that once you become aware of the truths revealed in this book, you will be responsible to put them to use in your own lives and to share it with others, not forgetting what the Lord says in His Word that we have to be doers of the Word and not just mere forgetful listeners. As we do share with others the great counsel of God’s Word, we do it not in any way judging anyone but simply exhorting and instructing so that by the truth, more and more of us can be set free.

From the previous definitions given on what the word influence means, there are two points that we cannot ignore, which are definitions 4 and 5 where it says, A power . . . especially one that operates without any direct or apparent effort. Whatever or whoever is having an influence over us does not need to show any direct effort, meaning that the power of influence that anyone or anything has over us is measured by how much we YIELD to him, her, or it. I cannot recall any incident during my unsaved years when anyone directly forced me to commit any sin, whether it was drinking, smoking, or any other thing I committed. No one ever placed a gun to my head and said, Drink this or die! The truth is that everything I did was of course my fault and a direct result of my yielding to the influence around me, which came from someone or something.

The other important point is in definition 5 where it says, To produce an effect on by imperceptible or intangible means. This simply means that no one has to touch us or have direct contact with us in order to exercise the power of influence over us. This definition outlines the advantage Satan and his evil spirits have over human beings. Here’s why. Spirits will not physically touch us; however, by this definition, we learn that they can still have an effect on us through the influence that we choose to yield to. It is no wonder that the Lord tells us in His Word to not give place to the devil (Eph. 4:27).

Chapter 2

Sources of

Influence

The World System

When the Word of God speaks about us believers not conforming to this world (Rom. 12:2) and when it says that we’re not of this world, it is not speaking about the earth in general and its meaning as the planet that it is. For if that were the case, we would have to live in a bubble somewhere in outer space; instead, it is referring to the world system and the ways in which those who do not have the fear of God in their lives conduct themselves.

The world system plays a gigantic role in influence and covers a large range of temptations and situations. I will not tackle all of the points in which the world is proving to be one of our most gigantic enemies. I simply want to illustrate in simple terms the effect of the world system on our spiritual lives and our call to not conform to it. From culture to fashion and to what we do, say, or even think is widely affected by the world system. Unfortunately, this influence is almost always evil simply because it goes against the precepts and principles found in God’s Word. Example, when it comes to fashion, the world system says (concerning young ladies) the more of your body you expose, the better you look and the more attractive you look. But we all know that’s not what the Word of God would say. Concerning what we say, the world system would tell us that unless we sound like the way they talk in the latest movies or videos, we’re not up-to-date. So oftentimes, we end up adapting a church lingo (vocabulary) for Sundays and go back to our updated worldly lingo the rest of the week; after all, the world would say, You have to fit in. There is a verse in the scriptures that serves as an anchor for most of the content of this book; it is found in Romans 12:2, and it says, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

The world system gets its power of influence over us due to the fact that most people often exhibit the fear of not being accepted, and because of this fear, a lot of us looking for approval give in to the influence that the world system puts on us to conform to what it does. I want to say something to you. If you have received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you must know this—HE HAS ACCEPTED YOU ALREADY! You need not feel ever again as if you have to do anything to or for anyone to receive some sort of limited acceptance; just believe that as you have accepted and received Christ into your heart, He has accepted you, Amen! The Word of God clearly speaks on the attitude that we are to have toward the world system under the present rule of the prince of darkness. Look what it says in 1 John 2:15-17 (KJV):

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (emphasis added)

There is so much to meditate on here that an entire chapter could be dedicated to this passage alone. I will try my best to make some points clear. The Lord exhorts us to love not the world in this passage. He does not mean that we are to despise the planet He created, for He said that it was good. What He means is that we have to detach ourselves form this world’s present agenda, the satanic-inspired humanistic system, a system that looks to make us slaves of our self and of the flesh, which in turn will guarantee us a one-way ticket to hell in eternal separation from God. The word love is key here. How do we