27, June 2004
Dakota Community Church
Becoming People of Impact
Introduction:
There are many ways to make an impact. Some large ways:
Matthew 4: 23-25
23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
Small things make some huge impacts:
Mark 12: 41-44
41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on."
Impact Questions:
- If I were to disappear, would anybody know that I was missing or gone?
- What lives have been changed because of me being born?
- Is my life positively or negatively impacting peoples lives?
- Are the people closest to me better because I am in their life¡¨
- Are the things that I am involved with producing, stagnant, or decreasing?
- Am I involved in anything that we will be producing and lasting after I am gone?
Luke 12: 16-21
"The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, ’what shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18"Then he said, ’this is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I’ll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ’
20"But God said to him, ’You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
People of impact:
1. Become a part of something bigger than themselves.
Romans 5: 7-8
7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- People of Impact are never satisfied with only their own life. Within them is the desire to go beyond themselves and into the life of others.
- Self-centeredness and self-absorption are two contributing factors to loneliness and isolation.
Illustration:
Some years ago the MINNESOTA CRIME COMMISSION released a statement more in line with what the Bible teaches about man¡¦s basic nature.
Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish, and self-centered. He wants what he wants when he wants it, his bottle, his mother’s attention, his playmate’s toys, his uncles, watch. Deny him these once, and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness, which would be murderous were he not so helpless.
He is, in fact, dirty. He has no moral, no knowledge, no skills. This means that all children, not just certain children, are born delinquent. If permitted to continue in the self-centered world of his infancy, given free reign to his impulsive actions, to satisfy his wants, every child would grow up a criminal, a thief, a killer, or a rapist.
THE MINNESOTA CRIME COMMISION HAS IN EFFECT INDICTED THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE! Not the first time though
ROM 3:23 All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
PS 51:5 Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Becoming a person of impact means maturity.
- Maturity means growing beyond yourself.
- It means having a vision and passion to help others.
John 6: 37-38
37All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
Question:
Are you part of anything that is not benefiting you directly in any way? Are you contributing to a cause that is bigger than yourself?
People of impact:
2. Are willing to expand beyond their own needs, wants and desires.
Acts 4: 29-31
29Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Here we see the early Christians response to a threat that they must stop spreading the gospel or risk death.
- These people affected the world all the way through history to the impact they are having on us today in a different language in a land they did not even know existed.
- What would your response be to a threat to stop all Christian activity or face death?
- People of Impact are willing to work for and towards something or for someone beyond their own four walls.
- It is easy to focus and concentrate on your own needs and less satisfying when you fulfill them and they have helped no one else.
Illustration:
Nizhizaka Hill is the place in Nagasaki Japan where the 26 martyrs were executed on 15 February 1597, 400 years ago. They went to their deaths singing Ps. 113. Paul Miki was preaching. Contrary to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the ruler of Japan’s expectation the Christians’ faith was strengthened.
Amongst them was a young boy, Thomas Kosaki, was crucified for being a Christian with his father.
He wrote to his mother a letter while on his way to martyrdom:
"Mother we are supposed to be crucified tomorrow in Nagaski. Please do not worry about anything because we will be waiting for you to come to heaven. Everything in the world vanishes like a dream. Be sure that you never lose the happiness of heaven. Be patient and show love to many people. Most of all, about my little brothers Mansho and Philipo, please see to it that they are not delivered into the hands of the Gentiles. Mother I commit you to the Lord."
People of impact:
3. Focus on long-term results rather than short-term fixes.
Galatians 6: 7-10
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Psalm 126: 5-6
5 Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. 6 He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.
We are living in a time where the most desired thing is immediate gratification.
Illustration:
Did you know there’s a company called "The Alibi Agency"? This London based agency’s slogan is: We serve those who stray. Here’s what’s on their web site: "With the pressures of modern life many of us have occasion to stray from our long term partners & dally with a brief sexual relationship with a third party, this is often a short term affair, inconsequential to our long term plans & relationships, but with modern communications, and media, it has become increasingly difficult to be able to carry on such a temporary dalliance, without risk of detection. The Alibi Agency was established to provide a way out of this situation, we offer a Service which can help to protect your loved ones from undue anxiety, & help ensure the stability of a long term relationship by offering secure and professional handling of "Alibi’s" for you. For instance: - we can provide you with invitations to corporate events, to cover your absence, we will provide telephone answering so that if someone tries to contact you, our receptionists will handle the call in the manner which was pre-arranged with you, as maybe a hotel receptionist, or a golf club secretary, she will offer to call your room, or have you paged, giving recognition to the fact that you are actually resident in the facility." It goes on but you get the picture. It¡¦s a very expensive service costing some $10k. But in the last 2 months they¡¦ve received 1800 requests for their services, 33% of those from women.
If you want to be a person of impact you have got to focus on the long-term.
Questions:
- What kind of seeds are you sowing?
- Do you sow when it is hard?
- Do you give when you can see no pay off in the immediate future?
- People of Impact are always looking towards the future and what difference it will make in years to come.
- People of Impact have the ability to see beyond the current and are driven by preparing the way for the future.
People of impact:
4. Are willing to do what others are not.
Ezekiel 22: 28-30
They say, ’This is what the Sovereign LORD says’-when the LORD has not spoken. 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice.
30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.
- People of Impact know that it takes hard work and a lot of effort to make a difference and to make an impact, are not afraid of the challenge.
The Modern Little Red Hen
Once upon a time there was a little red hen who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered some grains of wheat.
She called her neighbors and said, "If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?"
"Not I," said the cow.
"Not I," said the duck.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the goose.
"Then I will," said the little red hen. And she did. The wheat grew tall and ripened into golden grain. "Who will help me reap my wheat?" asked the little red hen.
"Not I" said the duck.
"Out of my classification," said the pig.
"I’d lose my seniority," said the cow.
"I’ d lose my unemployment compensation," said the goose.
"Then I will," said the little red hen. And she did.
At last, it came time to bake the bread. "Who will help me bake the bread?" asked the little red hen.
"That would be overtime for me," said the cow.
"I’d lose my welfare benefits," said the duck.
"I’m a dropout and never learned how," said the pig.
"If I am to be the only helper, that would be discrimination," said the goose.
"Then I will," said the little red hen.
She baked five loaves & held them up for her neighbors to see.
They all wanted some and, in fact, they demanded a share.
But the little red hen said, "No, I can eat five loaves myself."
"Excess profits," cried the cow.
"Capitalist leech," screamed the duck.
"I demand equal rights," yelled the goose.
And the pig just grunted.
They painted ’unfair’ picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.
Then the government agent came and he told the little red hen, "You must not be greedy."
"But, I earned the bread," said the little red hen.
"Exactly" said the agent.
"That is the wonderful free enterprise system. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide their product with the idle."
And they lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked,
"I am grateful. I am grateful."
But, her neighbors wondered why she never again baked any more bread.
People of impact:
5. Leave a legacy to those who come after them.
Proverbs 13: 22
22 A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children,
but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.
Matthew 26: 6-13
6While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, 7a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
8When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. 9"This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."
10Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."
- People of Impact are generational people.
Lives of great men and women all remind us we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us footprints on the sands of time. Let us, then, be up and doing, with a heart for any fate; still achieving, still pursuing, learning to labor and to learning to wait.
What and where you have come from is not nearly as important as where you go and what you accomplish in life. There are many good men and women who lived good lives and have done many good things, but only those who leave something behind can truly be called great.
Conclusion:
In the movie "Dead Poet’s Society," Robin Williams plays the role of a teacher in an exclusive eastern prep school. On the first day of school, he takes the class of boys out into the hallway to look at the pictures of past, now dead, graduates of the school. He motivates them to learn and excel in life with the following words: "We are food for worms, Lads! Believe it or not each and every one of us in this room one day will stop breathing, turn cold, and die. Step forward and see these faces from the past. They were just like you are now. They believed they were destined for great things. Their eyes are full of hope. But, you see, gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. If you listen real close, you will hear them whisper their legacy to you. Lean in. What do you hear?" Then Robin says in an eerie grave-like voice, ’Carpe Diem!’ (Latin for seize the day) "Seize the day boys! Make your lives extraordinary!"
That’s good advice for every Christian! Seize the day while you may!
Make an Impact!
PowerPoint slides containing Title page, sermon points and scriptures available on request. You will have to change the background because it is a picture of Winnipeg. Contact me at dcormie@mts.net
