Can One Person Make a Difference?

 

Can One Person Make a Difference?

Ecclesiastes 9:13–16

13 Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and it impressed me. 14 There was a small city with few men in it and a great king came to it, surrounded it, and constructed large siegeworks against it. 15 But there was found in it a poor wise man and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words are not heeded.

 

 

In our overpopulated, impersonal world, it is easy to underestimate the significance of one. With so many people, most of whom seem so much more capable, more gifted, more prosperous, more important than we, who are we to think our part amounts to much? I’m just one person, who cannot make much difference.
That’s the way most folks think. They really do!
Aren’t you glad Patrick Henry didn’t? And Henry Ford? And Martin Luther King, Jr.? And Walt Disney? And Martin Luther? And Winston Churchill? And Jackie Robinson? And Irving Berlin? And Abraham Lincoln? And Charles Wesley? And Dwight L. Moody? And Corrie ten Boom?
“But it’s a different world today,” you say. Back then, there was room for an individual to emerge and stand out in a crowd, but now, there’s no way!”
Wrong. God has always underscored individual involvement . . . still does.

• How many did it take to help the victim who got mugged on the Jericho Road? One Good Samaritan.
• How many were chosen by God to confront Pharaoh and lead the Exodus? One.
• How many sheep got lost and became the object of concern to the shepherd? One.
• ow many were needed to confront adulterous David and bring him to his knees in full repentance? One.
• How many prophets were called to stand before wicked King Ahab and predict a drought? One.
• How many did the Lord use to get the attention of the land of Israel and prepare the way for Messiah? One.

Never underestimate the power of one! And that one just may be you.

(copied from Chuck Swindoll)

Bible vs Cellphone

Sunday Sermon Critique

Let’s do a quick check about the message you heard in church yesterday:

Question 1: What was the pastor’s text?
Question 2: What was the text’s main truth?
Question 3: How were you challenged to be more like Christ from the message?

The purpose of corporate worship is to encounter God through preaching. When we attend worship our goal should be to hear a word from God for the purpose of drawing closer to Him and becoming more like Christ. The message is not to entertain us, it is to glorify God and proclaim His truth… otherwise it is a failure. If the minister proclaims God’s Truth, and you don’t get anything out of the message… there is a problem and it doesn’t lie with the speaker.

God has promised that His Word will not be unfruitful (Is 55:11). If there is a lack of fruit in our mind (“I didn’t get anything out of the sermon today”), it is our fault.

So here are a few suggestions for how to listen to a message…
1. Prior to the message, ask God to reveal His truth to you through prayer.
2. Prior to the message, ask God to speak through the pastor.
3. Be in an attitude of submission to God and His Word as it is proclaimed.
4. Listen for God’s Spirit to speak to you through His Word.
5. After the message, meditate on it and discuss it with others.

(borrowed from a friend)