The Power of One
The truth is, a kernel of wheat must be planted in the soil. Unless it dies it will be alone--a single seed. But its death will produce many new kernels--a plentiful harvest of new lives.25Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who despise their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.26All those who want to be my disciples must come and follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And if they follow me, the Father will honor them.27
John 12:24-27, NLT
IN A RECENT ISSUE OF A PERIODICAL THAT I SUBSCRIBE TO, a theme appeared that embraced the words of the text in John 12:24, namely ¡°The Power of One.¡± The editor brought together several testimonials from individuals whose lives had been significantly impacted by others. Included were the power of one teacher, the power of one student, the power of one friend, the power of one pastor, and the power of one personality.
Isn¡¯t it amazing how one individual can make such a powerful and lasting impression on us that it shapes who we are? Think about it. I immediately began to search my mind in an effort to find those individuals who affected me the most. What one single person has had the most impact on your life?
And then again, have you scrutinized your own life and made it your aim to powerfully influence others for the glory of God?
You can do it! You may never be on the front cover of Time or appear on national TV or even the local media. But you can make a difference. A powerful difference.
Somebody may...
¡ö be in heaven because of you
¡ö have kept going when they were tempted to give up because of you
¡ö be in church because of your life
¡ö be in the ministry because you lived and prayed in a manner that inspired them
Don¡¯t ever sell yourself short. You can have an impact that will last throughout eternity!
Jesus, by using the analogy between a grain of wheat and each of us, revealed the potential of a life devoted to God. He answered the question, ¡°What difference can one person make?¡± His teaching can inspire and guide us in the life of discipleship today.
Jesus declared the ¡°Value of One.¡± He put the emphasis on a single grain of wheat. Within each seed there is the miraculous capability to reproduce. Each seed is created to bring forth a new manifestation of life.
Illus.: Seeds found by archeologist¨C4,000 years old, still dormant, but with potential
The glory of Christianity is its claim that small things really matter and that the small company, the very few, the one man, the one woman, the one child are of infinite worth to God.
But wait a minute! Let¡¯s back up. Look at John 12:24 again: ¡°Unless it dies it will be alone--a single seed. But its death will produce many new kernels--a plentiful harvest of new lives.¡±
In the natural world, we know that when a seed ¡°dies,¡± it actually germinates. It is not destroyed; it is released to achieve the miracle of its mission. This is what Jesus means when he calls us to ¡°die¡± for him. He has no desire to negate our lives, or to destroy them, but rather he has every intention to use us beyond self-containment.
Our lives ¡°germinate¡± when we give them to Him. If the truth be known, that one person who so powerfully influenced us, was willing to ¡°die¡± to his own interests and ambitions in favor of God¡¯s. Example: Rev. Wm Deighton
Have you ever looked at our world with all of its needs and asked yourself, ¡°What difference can I make?¡± Well, you might not be able to change the whole world, but you can make a difference in your sphere of influence.
Dr. John Geddie, a Presbyterian missionary, went to Aneityum, an island in the South Pacific in 1848 and worked there for God for 24 years. On the tablet erected to his memory these words are inscribed: When he landed, in 1848, there were no Christians. When he left, in 1872, there were no heathen.
J.O. Sanders, Spiritual Leadership, p. 24.
My life shall touch a dozen lives before this day is done;
Leave countless marks for good or ill, ere sets the evening sun.
This is the wish I always wish, the prayer I always pray:
Lord, may my life help other lives it touches by the way.
Source Unknown
MAHATMA GANDHI
Mahatma Gandhi made a fundamental decision to expel the British power out of India. This choice founded in authentic power, was more powerful than the force of all the guns and bombs of an entire Empire. A short frail man with glasses, moved out an entire empire without a single bullet.
The Power of One Can Be Seen Everywhere!
¡ö Sports¨Csome athletes are referred to as ¡°the franchise.¡±
¡ö Politics¨CLincoln; one vote; legislation
¡ö Medicine¡ªone obscure scientist who labored for the benefit of all
¡ö Religion¨CBilly Graham
¡ö Race Relations¨CDr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Bible:
¡ö Moses
¡ö Joshua
¡ö Gideon
¡ö David
¡ö Nehemiah
¡ö Daniel
¡ö Mary
¡ö Paul
Church History
¡ö John Wesley¨Crode 20 miles a day for 40 years; preached over 40,000 sermons; wrote 400 books. His impact? An English nobleman, traveling through the countryside, stopped to ask a peasant, ¡°Why is it that I can¡¯t find a place where I can buy a drink of liquor in this wretched village?¡± The peasant replied, ¡°Well, you see, my lord, about 100 years ago a man named John Wesley came preaching in these parts.¡±
¡ö Charles Wesley
¡ö Martin Luther
¡ö D L Moody
However, if you¡¯re anything like me, you might be saying, ¡°This is all well and good, but I am not of this high caliber. You have set the bar too high. I¡¯m just an ordinary person. How can my life make any difference?
Acts 4:13: ¡°When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.¡±
Jay Berry: a true community leader at heart
Swayzee resident Jay Berry organized the April 2 support service for the community and families of local soldiers serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He pulled in two Army generals, an Air Force colonel, several local war veterans and other military dignitaries for the service. He has rubbed elbows with senators and a four-star general and was even been invited to the White House in June. On top of all that Jay, a local farmer, also has been gearing up for the upcoming planting season. Did I mention that he is only 23 years old?
More than 200 people attended the support service held earlier this month at Swayzee United Methodist Church, the same church that Berry has attended since he was a child.
Berry, a 1998 graduate of Oak Hill High School, said since he returned to the area three years ago after graduating from Vincennes University he has seen a decline in membership at his church. The church that used to welcome as many as 150 people through the doors for Sunday worship has now dwindled to a worship attendance of about 40. In a discussion with Jay the night of the support service he said something to me that stood out. He said, "I will not let my church die. I will carry Swayzee United Methodist Church on my back if I have to." Berry went on to explain how he was willing to step up and be a leader in Grant County because he wanted a way to give back to his community.
Hmm... interesting the impact one person can make. Even more interesting is what one determined person can do for a community. I don’t know about you, but I am inspired by that kind of initiative.
Berry saved a quote by author Sonia Johnson:
"We must remember that one determined person can make a significant difference and that a small group of determined people can change the course of history."
Those are powerful words, but even more powerful when those words are played out through actions. I applaud Jay Berry, a farmer by trade and a leader at heart.
HOW TO MAKE A POWERFUL DIFFERENCE
John 12;24-27, Message Bible
¡°Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you¡¯ll have it forever, real and eternal. If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you¡¯ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment¡¯s notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.¡±
1. Bury your life in serving others. Remember, Jesus died so that we might live. and we have to die in order that He can live through us.
2. Let go of your self-centered ambitions and plans and grab hold of Christ¡¯s.
Col 3:1-3
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
3. Be reckless in your love for God and others.
Christian philanthropist Fred Smith tells how his daughter Brenda and her husband Rick befriended an ex-convict and the woman with whom he was living. Rick gave the man a job. Brenda spent time with the woman, bought things for her, and witnessed to her about Christ. Together they convinced the couple that the right thing to do would be to get married. They even asked a minister to perform the ceremony and offered to open their home for the occasion.
But a few days later, Rick found a note from the man saying that they were leaving town to get away from a hired assassin.
Later, Mr. Smith asked his daughter how she felt about spending so much time, energy, and money on these people, only to have the relationship end so suddenly. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"No matter where they are or how long they live," she said, "they’ll always know that somebody cared."
Brenda and Rick had loved unselfishly, and for them that was reward enough.
Two seeds lie before us--the one is warmed in the sun, the other falls from the sower’s hand into the cold dark earth, and there it lies buried beneath the soil. That seed which suns itself in the noontime beam may rejoice in the light in which it basks, but it is liable to be devoured by the bird. And certainly nothing can come of it, however long it might linger above ground. But the other seed hidden beneath the clods in a damp, dark sepulcher, soon swells germinates, bursts its sheath, throws off the mold, springs up a green blade, buds, blossoms, becomes a flower, exhales perfume, and loads the wings of every wind. Better far for the seed to pass into the earth and die than to lie in the sunshine and produce no fruit. And even so for you the future in its sorrow shall be as a sowing in a fertile land. Tears shall moisten you, grace shall increase within you, and you shall grow up in the likeness of your Lord unto perfection of holiness, to be such a flower of God’s own planting as even angels shall delight to gaze upon in the day of your transplanting to celestial soil.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
