Introduction: Change the World by P.O.D.
Imagine a place only your soul can vision
The heart of a child who looks, sees and listens
She paints a picture using every color
And what she sees, she sees is like no other
[Chorus:]
One word, a voice unheard
You can change the world
With everything I know you’re made of
One word, a voice unheard
You can change the world
If everyone would stop and listen
The art of innocence make so much sense
But placed in the wrong hands, well then it’s wasted
Filtered through he eyes of a pure mind
A one-of-a-kind paradise for you and I
[Chorus]
Break the cycle, find your rhythm
Share the gift that you’ve been given
You can
You can change the world
You can change the world
[Chorus (repeat)]
What comes to mind when you hear that phrase? You can change the world! (Pause for responses).
In my humble opinion, most often feelings of doubt, fear, and even humor are the feelings that most often accompany this phrase. “Yea right!”, “Who me?”, and “Ftttt!” I think tend to be the most common responses. There are few who feel qualified to answer the charge and even less who want to actually take on the responsibility.
If you took some time to look through the Bible, you will quickly find examples of these same responses from the likes of Moses who, when asked by God to go and lead the people out of Egypt, practically begged God to send someone else. You see this response very clearly in the life of Jonah as he literally tries to run and hide from God. Eventually he is eaten by a whale and finally gives in to God. You see the response briefly in Mary as the angel of the Lord has told her that she will have a son even though she has never had sex before. I would even be bold to say that I think you see this even in Jesus as he is praying the garden just before he is arrested, as he is sweating blood because of his anxiety.
Despite these feelings and responses that are natural and very normal, God has never stopped placing the charge on people’s lives, even our lives today. God today, stands behind us, saying, “Go and change the world! Change the people around you! Change your family, your schools, and your places of work!” In light of this calling on our lives to do God’s work, and due to the natural feelings of fear and doubt, I want to look at three things that will help us as we think about responding to this charge to change the world.
First, no matter how much doubt we have about how qualified we may be, the fact is that God would not ask us to do something that he knew we couldn’t do. In a sense, what I mean by that is that we are qualified to go and change the world.
We can find this qualification in the cross! Jesus said that we were so important to Him that he was willing to die on the cross for us. He was punished for our disobedience to Him, which is called sin, and then he said, “Come and join my family.” But Jesus didn’t stop there by just inviting us to be a part of his family. God said, “You are so important! You have worth! So much worth that I want you to be part of my family and I want your help to do the work that I have to do.”
How amazing is that!! God, who created the world, breathed life into its very existence, placed each individual star in its place, thinks that you and I are important to him. He doesn’t need us at all to accomplish His work but yet He still wants to entrust His work to us! There is no greater purpose for your life than that fact right there!
Second, no matter how scared we might be about taking on the responsibility that God is calling us to; God promises to always be with us.
Matthew 10:29-31 says, “Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.”
In Matthew 28:20, as Jesus is telling his disciples to go out and change the world he says to them, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
In Genesis 26:24, as Abraham is heading out on his new journey God exclaims to him, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”
In Genesis 28:15, God promises Jacob, “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
God likewise did this many more times with Moses as he went to Egypt, with Joshua as he took over for Moses, with prophets like Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Haggai, and with Mary as she carried Jesus. Over and over again, when we respond to God’s call to go out and change the world, he promises to be with us every step of the way. Picking us up when we fall, giving us courage when we are scared, and using us to do His work.
To help us understand the third thing that will help us as we think about responding to God’s call to change the world, grab a pew Bible and open it to Nehemiah 1:1-4 (Pg. 469).
***Have a youth read the passage***
In this passage, we find this guy Nehemiah in about the month of November in the year 445 B.C. One of his brothers comes and tells him that the city of Jerusalem is in shambles and that the walls around the city, which are meant to protect them, are broken and burnt. This being Nehemiah’s home town, he obviously is very upset about how vulnerable his people are to attack but Nehemiah’s mourning goes a lot deeper than the fact that the walls are not standing. The fact of the matter is that is had been more than 100 years since the walls were torn down. Nehemiah was upset that no one had even tried! Why did the people not try to rebuild the walls to protect themselves and their families? Well, one speculation is that no one stepped up to lead the people. As I mentioned before, God definitely does not need us to do His work, but yet throughout scripture we constantly see that God does his work through His people.
Think about the story of Jonah again. When Jonah ran away in the opposite direction to where God wanted him to go, did God forget about him and just go and fix the city himself? No! God went after Jonah and finally convinced him to go to Nineveh. In the time that Jonah was running, it’s safe to assume that people in Nineveh probably died, or left the city, and because of Jonah’s hesitance, never heard the message of God. Only God knows what happened to those lives.
Think about Moses. What would have happened if he had refused to go to Egypt? Think about Mary. What would have happened if she had refused to carry Jesus? Or even worse, think about Jesus. What would have happened if he had chosen to avoid the cross?
God has placed a call on our lives to go out and change the world around us. God has placed this call on us because He loves us and he wants us to do His work! As we respond to the call He promises to always be there with us, every step along the way! But it is also a call that is urgent, for who will change your family, your friends, your school, or your workplace, if you choose to ignore the call!
