[Steve Myers] Have you ever wondered to yourself, can I make a difference? Can I make a difference in God’s church? Maybe that question has come to your mind. You’ve thought, of that, because often times we think it takes the home office to do the work of the church. Or, sometimes we feel that it takes a group, or everyone has to be together, or it must take a committee to accomplish anything, right? Or maybe even an entire congregation. Can I make a difference myself? Well, when you read through God’s word, it says, “Absolutely you can!” It doesn’t take a gigantic group of people to make a difference. Whether it is on your job, or whether it is in the community, or right here in the congregation, you can make a difference. In fact, it just takes one. Just one! That sounds really nice, and it seems like it may not be reality, but it is reality. It seems so often times we live in an age that we can just become a number. We are a number in a computer somewhere and it seems that we are really not with it, in that sense. And yet, it is not an exaggeration. When you look at what God’s word really says, it says, “Yes, one person can make a difference.” You can make a difference!

There are so many examples in the Bible. I thought I would give Mr. McNeely his full five minutes at the end of services here and cover every one of those…no I won’t do that. But I thought it would be helpful to look at just a few examples – from, maybe, ones that are familiar to others that may not be so familiar – to really drive home this point that “I can make a difference.” One person can absolutely make a difference!

An example that came to my mind, as I considered this topic, was the example of Caleb. If you remember when the Israelites were coming into the Promised Land, do you remember what Moses did? He sent twelve spies into the land. Ten of them came back and said, “Oh boy, there is no way. There are giants in the land. There is no way we will be able to take this land.” But Caleb was different. In fact, if you make your way over to Numbers 14:24. Joshua and Caleb came back with a different report. We are given some insight into why Caleb was different – why he was able to be that individual who really had a different perspective. Notice Numbers, chapter 14, verse 24. Look at what God has to say about His servant, Caleb. Here is what it says in Numbers 14, verse 24 – it says:

Numbers 14:24 – But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.

So here we see, God giving Caleb a powerful promise – that Caleb’s different spirit – in a way, it caught God’s attention. This spirit, of course, is God’s Holy Spirit, and it moved God to give Caleb a tremendous blessing, because Caleb was different. When we really get down to it – you want to be real? – we are different in the fact that we have been given God’s Holy Spirit. And if we want to catch God’s attention – we want God’s blessing in our life? – we’ve got to stand up then and be different. We’ve got to be that one to make a difference. Can we be that one?

You see, Caleb was different than the others – other than Joshua. They all saw the difficulties. Even though it was a land that was supposed to be flowing with milk and honey, they all saw the giants. They felt like little grasshoppers there. Yes, there were enemies there – no doubt. There were giants in the land, but the ten didn’t allow for faith. They couldn’t look through the eyes of faith and didn’t connect to the fact that God had brought them there. God had protected them by a pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. And so they didn’t respond with faith. But Caleb did. And even though we face many giants today – there are those that stand against us – there is no doubt we have other kinds of enemies. It may not be the giants that were in Canaan, but it might be sickness, or it might be difficulties with relationships, it might be unemployment, it could be the difficult situations that we see our families falling apart. But do we see those giants through eyes of faith? I think when we do, we see through eyes like Caleb did. Because if you turn just a page over to Numbers, chapter 13 even though he was faced with difficulties at that time – and for him, it wasn’t sickness, or unemployment, divorce or bad relationships – it wasn’t those kinds of things. It was, quite literally, enemies that were going to battle with Israel. But it didn’t change his perspective as one individual. Numbers 13:30 – here is what Caleb said – just as one:

Numbers 13:30 – “Let us go up as once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

So while the ten focused on what they couldn’t do – and boy, is it easy to do that; it is easy to focus on what I can’t do – you see, Caleb focused on what he could do. And through those eyes of faith, it was possible. He knew that, with God backing him up and if Israel acted on faith, there was no doubt that God would follow through with His promise to give them the land. So, his whole-hearted commitment is what absolutely pleased God. So, he became a great instrument in God’s hand – even as one individual. So, I think this familiar example, points to this fact: that any one of us – any one of us – can be an individual that God can use in powerful ways! Think about that. Can I give hope to someone? Can I give encouragement to someone? Is it possible for me, just as one person, to support, to talk to someone when they really need someone to talk to? You see you can be the one. We shouldn’t sell ourselves short when it comes to this. Because you know what God can do? He can take our very average abilities and He can change it. He can use those average talents, average abilities, average education, and He can use it powerfully.

The story of the New Testament church, I think, bears that out. One of my favorite passages in the book of Acts is where a bunch of average people that God called, became a new church. Instead of those individuals – even though they were average – they turned the world upside down. God has given us that ability, because He has given us His Spirit. Even as one individual, we can make a difference. And it is a powerful difference.

There is another example. If you will turn with me over to 2 Kings, in 2 Kings we have maybe not quite as familiar an example as Caleb, but we have the example of King Josiah. King Josiah is an interesting individual. He takes over as king of Judah and it has been horrible before his reign. His grandfather Manasseh ruled for something like fifty-plus years as an evil ruler, and his father Amon was just as bad. Then Josiah takes over, after they assassinated his father, at only eight years old. At only eight years old, this boy-king takes over. How easy would it have been for a little kid to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps, or his father’s footsteps, and continue to desecrate the temple and continue to worship pagan gods – to continue to leave human sacrifice in all the high places? That would have been simple. Just follow the path of your forefathers. But as one individual, he changed the whole direction of the nation – the whole direction of things. Because as they were repairing the temple, they found the book of the law. And they came to Josiah and they read the book of the law. Like his father or grandfather, he could have said, “So what? I want to have the people do what they want. I want the people’s support. I want to encourage them to love me, so I don’t want to upset them by getting rid of their false gods. I will just go along with the way things have been.” But he didn’t do that. In fact, if you look at chapter 23, verse 3 – 2 Kings, chapter 23, verse 3, the king decides to obey God and follow Him. In verse 3, it says:

2 Kings 23:3 – The king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord – as one individual! In fact, at this time, he is a very young man – still a teenager, probably at this time. He makes a covenant as one to follow God, and it says: to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statues. And it says: with all his heart and with all his soul, and to perform the words of this covenant that were written in the book. Because one individual did that, it changed the course of the nation. In fact, if you skip down a little farther – look down in verse 25 – it says something about Josiah that wasn’t said about any other king of Judah. There were some great kings in Judah, but notice what it says in verse 25 of 2 Kings 23:

V-25 – Now before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and all his might, according to all the law of Moses, nor after him did any arise like him. There were some pretty good kings. David was a king in Judah. There wasn’t anybody quite like Josiah. Do you think one can make a difference? Josiah made a huge difference.

In fact, one of the interesting things: in order for Josiah to make a difference, one minor little character had to make a difference as well. If you look over to chapter 22 – 2 Kings 22, verse 8 -  when they found the scroll of the law, what could they have done? All kinds of false worship were prevalent. It was everywhere. You didn’t go up against Manasseh. You didn’t go up against Amon. You didn’t tell them, “Hey, you ought to be worshipping the true God.” What would that bring? Death, right? Yeah, no doubt. But look at verse 8 – 2 Kings 22, verse 8:

2 Kings 22:8-10 – Hilkiah, the high priest, says to Shaphan the scribe. “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” Let’s hide it so we can continue to live…oh no, it doesn’t say that. It says: Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan and he read it. So Shaphan the scribe went to the king bringing the king the word, saying, “Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the had of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the Lord.” So, in other words, they did the reconstruction, but, verse 10: then Shaphan, the scribe, showed the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. So, can you imagine, one individual – one puny little scribe – coming before the king of Judah and reading the word of God that is going to convict him – that is going to show him, without a doubt, that “we are not doing the right thing? We are disobeying the one true God” – basically saying, “Josiah, what are you going to do about it?”

Do you think one person can make a difference? Because if he hadn’t done this, the story would be totally different. Josiah would have never known any better. I think this reminds us of how we, as just one person, can make huge differences in people’s lives. God has called us for very specific reasons. What reason has God prepared you through your calling? In what way has God prepared you to make a difference? Because I believe He has. Right now, God is continuing to prepare you – just like a Josiah, just like a Caleb, or a Hilkiah, or a Shaphan. He has called us to impact the lives of others. There is no doubt about that. So, He has given us His spirit so that we would do that very thing – so that we will stand in the very world that has turned its back on God and truly make a difference. We should never sell ourselves short. All too often we do that – “Well, what can I do?” Then we usually follow it up with 3 horrible words: “I’m only a…then fill in the blank. I’m only a…whatever.” Well, God doesn’t think that way. God doesn’t think that way. He doesn’t want us to sell ourselves short.

I was reminded of this a while back, when I read a story about a man who went before the Academy of Sciences with a presentation. This goes all the way back to 1963. This man who was a scientist and meteorologist, got together with the Academy of Sciences in New York. His name was Edward Lorenz. He had a presentation at the Academy in 1963 and that presentation presented a hypothesis. It had such an impact that it got him laughed off the stage. They laughed at him. His hypothesis is related to what now is referred to as the chaos theory, or what some call it the law of sensitive dependency on initial condition. (Write that down – it’s very important. No, you don’t have to write that down.) The law of sensitive dependency on initial condition is what it has become known as. But it got Edward laughed off the stage in 1963. Because this hypothesis, at that time – now it has grown into something much, much, more – basically said that the tiniest of changes in the atmosphere can ultimately affect the biggest circumstances. So, for example, he proposed that just a small minute little change could alter the path of a tornado or change the impact of a hurricane, and that a small little occurrence could actually prevent the tornado from ever happening. They laughed him off the stage. One of the Meteorologist there said, “Oh yeah, just one flap of a seagull’s wing could change the course of the weather forever. How ridiculous!” Well, Lorenz took that idea of the flapping wing, because it represented that small little change in the initial condition of the system, that could cause a change like a domino effect – the chain reaction of events that could ultimately lead to totally different circumstances. Edward Lorenz began to call it the butterfly effect. In fact, he went on to promote this and present it. He was no dummy. He was an MIT professor. This guy had his act together. He stated later, as he developed his hypothesis further, that a butterfly could flap its wings in Brazil and it could affect a tornado in Texas. And had that butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of that tornado could have been drastically different. Here we are fifty-plus years later, and most meteorologists accept this hypothesis as true. Now me, I don’t know the difference. I am not a scientist or a meteorologist, but I like the concept. Because that concept tells me, small things can have a huge, big, result. The littlest of things can make a major change of circumstances.

Think about that and how it relates to us. What if I have just a minor change of attitude? If I change my attitude, does that change things at all? I used to tell my kids that all the time. If you change your attitude, it is going to change the outcome. Right? You might not necessarily get the punishment if you change your attitude. There is no doubt that, if we just have the change of just the smallest of things, it can change the course of events that are to happen. Imagine just one act of kindness. Can that change the course of someone’s life? It could. If we do one small act, could that lead to someone saying, “Why did you do that?” Could that lead to someone asking us about why we do the things we do? Could that lead to someone asking us why we go to church on Saturday? Could that change the whole impact of what their life looks like? Can I really make a difference? I think so. What would be the outcome of just the smallest change? What about that slight small change – whether it be attitude, or direction? It could be a total difference. What was true for Caleb, what was true for Josiah and Hilkiah, is true for us today as well. So, as we are willing to change our prospective and to allow God to work in our lives, I believe it will have a significant impact – not only on the church, but our jobs, our communities and our families as well. Can we have that kind of an attitude? Can we have that kind of attitude that God wants us to have to catch that vision that Caleb had? It is not just a minor little thing, but those minor little things can make all the difference in the world.

A great example of that is the one we are probably all familiar with. It is the example of Ebed-Melech. We all know his example, right? Okay, he is kind of a minor little trivia guy in the Bible, but hopefully one you won’t forget. He is over in Jeremiah, chapter 38, verse 2. Take a look at Jeremiah, chapter 38, verse 2, where we’re introduced to a man named Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian. Probably would never remember his name but he is mentioned in connection to the prophet Jeremiah. Okay, we have all heard of Jeremiah. Well, Jeremiah doesn’t win any points with the king, because he keeps telling them what God is going to do. And God is eventually going to send them into captivity. So, it ends up getting Jeremiah thrown into the pit. Some translations say the dungeon or the cistern. Whatever it is, it is a miry mess and it is almost like quicksand. Jeremiah is sinking in this mud. He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t do anything wrong, but all the advisors told the king that is what you need to do. It would be very easy as a nobody – “After all, I’m just one person. I can’t make a difference, can I?” Well, Ebedmelech did make a difference. In fact, if we skip down further, we will find in verse 6, they throw Jeremiah into this dungeon, this cistern, and in verse 7:

Jeremiah 38:-10 – Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, a eunuch in the kings’ house…. In fact, it’s more than just that. Ebedmelech probably wasn’t really his name. It was probably a description of who he is. Ebed seems to point to the fact he was a servant or slave. Ebed would mean slave and Melec would mean the king. So, in the Hebrew, it would mean the king’s slave or the king’s servant. What can a slave do? I mean, bad enough that you are just one person, but you are a slave – “I’m a slave to the king. I am not even a Hebrew – not a Jew. I am an Ethiopian. I am a pagan. What can I do?” Well, he hears Jeremiah was in the pit and what happens? Verse 8: Ebedmelech left the king’s house and spoke to the king. That is an offense that could rise to the level of execution. A slave speaking to the king? But he does. Verse 9 – he says: “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by throwing him into the cistern to die of hunger. There is no bread left in the city.” Wow, imagine telling the king he is wrong! But he took a stand. Verse 10 – what would the king do to Ebedmelech? Then the king commanded him, “Take thirty men with you and pull the prophet, Jeremiah, up from the dungeon so that he doesn’t die.

So, this one slave – this one servant in the king’s household – took a stand, and went to the king, and risked his own life, his own safety, his own wellbeing. It wouldn’t have made any difference to him. He would have went on living in the king’s household. Everything would have been just fine for him personally. But he took a stand, and took that risk, and changed the course of history. What if Jeremiah would have died there? It would have been totally different. It changed Judah. It changed the whole history of the kings, and probably the fact that there would always be someone to sit on the thrown of David, because of Ebedmelech – because someone was willing to come to the rescue. I think that is an amazing thing and we can do…well we may not go before the king, but if we put it in our terms, can we pull somebody out of the dumps? I think we can. I think we can. As we go about our daily lives, we can make a difference in how we care for people – in how we treat them.
Sometimes that is a difficult thing to do, because we have a tendency to focus on ourselves.          He could have done that. “I’ve got enough problems. I’ve got my own challenges. I don’t have enough time to deal with that.” And yet, he did. And it points to the fact that we have to constantly fight that tendency to turn inward instead of outward.

So, God shows us through this example, we can, even as one individual, make a huge difference. You don’t believe that? There is that old saying, I think, that kind of helps us to recognize that is true. “If you feel you are too small – are you too small to make a difference? – then you probably have never been bitten by a mosquito.” Right? That is the old saying.

This story goes on and on and on throughout scripture – over and over and over and over again – how one individual makes a huge difference. If you turn over to the book of Acts, we will look at just one short little example – in Acts, chapter 9, verse 36. Acts, chapter 9, verse 36 – here we are at the time of the New Testament church. We have a terrible occasion that happens. We have a leading lady of the church die. But why was she a leading lady? Why was she anything? Well, let’s check out the situation. Acts, chapter 9, and verse 36, it says:

Acts 9:36-40 – At Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, Tabitha was her name in Aramaic. In Greek her name is Dorcas. Or, today if you had it in English, it would probably be Gezelle. Because her name means gazelle, literally – Gazelle. It says, she was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time, she became ill and died. It says: And when they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” So, Peter comes – verse 39: Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him weeping. Of course, this lady had died, so they were weeping. But here is the interesting part. It says she was showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Why was Tabitha a great woman in the New Testament church? She preached the gospel. How did she preach the gospel? She made clothes. She sewed. And it impacted people’s lives. It changed people’s lives. They were showing Peter these beautiful things that she had made. Do you think that impacted them? Why would that be there if it didn’t make a difference in their lives? Why would God inspire that to be recorded for us – to show the clothing and beautiful items she had made? She didn’t have to do that. She is only one person. In fact, she is just a woman in the 1st century. What impact could she have in somebody’s life? Well, it impacted them enough they wanted to call Peter. And he comes. And by God’s power, she is resurrected back to physical life again. So here is Tabitha, this ordinary, everyday church member that saw a need. People needed nice clothing, and she took it upon herself to make it. She could have said, “Well, it’s not that important. There are more necessary things that have to be done.” But she saw those that were in need, and she filled that need. And I’ll bet they couldn’t afford to purchase some of these things. So, she made it for them. She made a difference in Joppa. That tells me, we can make a difference wherever we are. We can make a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters as this light that God has given us can shine into a dark place.

We can do that. In fact, it is not just that it’s possible, God wants us to make that difference. Here is the key. We can’t make a difference, unless we are different. We can’t make a difference unless we are different. Unless we live by the power of God, we are going to blend in like everybody else in this world. We must be different. So, to make a difference, we must be different.

I ran across a little poem that I think makes that point. It is a poem you can find at christianity.com. It was written by a man named Paul Gilbert. See if it makes that point. He wrote: “You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day, by the deeds that you do, and by the words that you say. Men read what you write, whether faithless or true. Say, what is the gospel according to you?”

What is the gospel that you live? How does that word of God shine in your life? You see, God expects it to, because He has given us the ultimate difference. He has given us His Spirit and we can make that difference. How do we do that?

A couple of quick little things we can do to make that difference – a couple of guidelines – things to think about. First thing we can do is, we can ask. We can ask God to show us a need to fill. Ask God to show you a need that you can fill. I promise, God is going to answer that prayer. God will answer that prayer, because you are going to begin to see so many needs – so many things that are important to others – that you can fill in and begin to be aware of the necessities around you, and how you might be able to let that light shine and fill that very need. Now of course, then begin to realize, “I can’t fill all the needs that I see, but I can fill some of these things.” Ask God to show others those needs that they can fill as well. So, we can certainly start there, by asking. Ask God to show us.

We can also ask God for courage. The second thing we can do is, ask God for courage, because most of us…I know I need it. I need a prod. I need a little push. If you are like me, I’m just reluctant to step out sometimes. I’m reluctant to take that first step and begin. We can ask, “Help me.” Ask God, “Give me the courage that I need to get started. Help me, God, to do that very thing. Help me to take that very first step. Help me to step out in faith. Help me to see through eyes of faith.” Because it seems like, once you get started, then, like that butterfly affect, it is going to be hard to stop. It is going to create that domino affect that, once we start, that flow is going to be that much easier. So, go for it! Don’t let the obstacles get in the way. Because often times, we see that first obstacle,  and that is where we stop. But that’s not where Caleb stopped. That’s not where Shaphan stopped. That’s not where Tabitha stopped. We’ve got to move beyond that. So, ask God for the courage to move beyond that.

The third thing we can do is, ask God for wisdom. These are all tying in to praying to God and seeking Him. Ask Him for wisdom. Because serving others does require some wisdom. We don’t want this light that we have to blind people. We don’t want it to be intrusive. We don’t want it to be obnoxious. We have all been treated like that in our life. So, we want to ask God to help us develop the discernment, so we that we know when it’s the right time to be there. When it’s the right time to make ourselves scarce. Timing can be everything. So, ask God for the wisdom to do it in the way that He knows best. We know that He can give us that guidance to know when and what and why that need should be filled. So, we can ask God for that wisdom.

A fourth thing – last thing. Once we get started, if you’re like me, I don’t always stick with it. So ask God to help you stay committed. Because it’s no fun to start something, and then you drop the ball, and it just doesn’t get accomplished. Right? We don’t want to start sailing that ship and then jump overboard. You can’t do that. Can’t do that. So, we can pray and ask God to help us stay committed. Ask Him to do that, so we can finish the task at hand. If we do that, then I think we can truly begin to fulfill our great calling – because it is a great calling. God called each and every one of us – not just some of us – but every one of us to great things. He has called us to be spirit born members of His family. Is that a great thing? It is an awesome calling. So, God has called us to do great things as well.

Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 1, probably summarizes that great calling that He has given to us. Let’s notice it – Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 1. See if these things come to mind as we consider this great calling that God has given us – to really make that difference. Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 1 here, Paul says;

Ephesians 4:1-7 – Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you – and here Paul is speaking on God’s behalf – walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. We’ve been called to be that difference. Verse 2: …with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Almost like a little direction that God is giving us. We can do these things with gentleness and lowliness and longsuffering. We can bear with one another. We can encourage one another. We can edify each other. And he says: There is one body, one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. And then in verse 7: But to each one of us, to every individual – he says – grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. We have been given God’s grace. We have been given His favor. God favors us, and He expects us then, even as a committee of one, to make that difference.

So, he tells us very clearly, we can make a difference. We can make a difference right here in the church every single Sabbath. As we strive to be that one positive individual to influence others, we can be that one person to make that difference in the life of a person that God may be working with. He may be calling that individual, that’s my neighbor, that I work with, that I see every other day. He might want us to be that individual to make the difference in even preaching the gospel – being that living, breathing example in the eyes of those that are around us. He certainly wants us to be the individual to take up the challenge, and stand in the gap, and make that difference. So, we need to be ready to answer that call – to stand, when others around us won’t do it – to be that light in this darkened world around us. He has given us that choice. Because it becomes clear when we see example after example after example that just one can make all the difference.