Can Just One Make A Difference?

When God wanted to create people & make a family in His image, it was done through Adam & Eve (Genesis 5:1, Genesis 1:27).
When God wanted a nation, it was done through Abraham & Sarah (Genesis 17:1-8)
When God wanted to reclaim humanity after we screwed it up, it was done through One; Christ (pretty much the whole bible is about that)

Biblically as well as historically, Individuals changed the course of history, both for good & bad. Jesus discipled 12 men, he spent most of his time teaching them (they were very ordinary men) that changed everything.

So I believe Yes! One can make a difference.

As followers & disciples of Christ, it’s not even an option, it’s a command to be light & salt! We must have a huge influence & impact on many lives directly or indirectly.

Jesus spent 3 years with a unique group of guys. In today’s business (& church) metrics; Jesus’ main focus & the count of direct disciples would be considered a fail.

Until his resurrection many still had doubts that He was truly God. When Jesus was captured they all deserted him and fled. My guess is that many considered their last 3 years of traveling with Jesus a complete waste. They saw him die (along with hundreds).

Not until they saw him alive (along with hundreds) that they realized that they were part of something bigger than themselves. Something worth dying for.

Judas – Killed himself for betraying Jesus
Andrew – Preached in Scythians (modern day Georgia) and Thracians (modern day Bulgaria). It was believed to have been crucified
Bartholomew – Preached in India, believed to then be crucified
James – Preached in Jerusalem then stoned to death
James (John’s brother) – Preached in Jerusalem and had his head cut off by Herod (Act 12:1-2)
John (James’s brother) – Preached in Asia. It is believed that he was banished to the Isle of Patmos
Matthew – Matthew wrote the Gospel in the Hebrew tongue, and published it at Jerusalem. He died naturally
Peter – Preached the Gospel in Pontus, and Galatia, and Cappadocia, and Betania, and Italy, and Asia then he is believed that he was crucified upside down under Nero in Rome
Philip – Preached in eastern turkey & is believed to have been crucified upside down
Simon – second Bishop of Jerusalem then died naturally
Thomas –
Preached to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and Margians
Was thrust through in the four members of his body with a spear
and many more.. (Credit)

Jesus spend 40 days with his men after he rose. I can guarantee you that those who were not taken notes before are all tuned in now!

His last famous words were:

18 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Which can be broken down to:

Reminder / acknowledging who Jesus is & what power he holds (v.18)
Our Mission: 1. Make Disciples 2. Teach these disciples to obey his commands
Our Assurance that you’re not doing it alone (v.20)

Jesus’s commands are everything he said! A good place to start is the sermon on the mount. Matthew 5, 6 & 7.

We can’t teach anybody to obey His commands unless we are doing it ourselves. Since everything is about Jesus (we tend to say that a lot without realizing it’s true depth). So our work, our family, our hobbies, our lives ought to be about glorifying that by:

Following His Commands
Making Disciples

I’ve been learning that to be able to make the kind of impact He desires of us today that is no different than the impact he desired for his first disciples we must implode before we explode.

Nuclear weapons must implode internally before they explode externally. Paul, who used to kill Christians then later became one & wrote most of the new testament. He is considered one of the most influential figures in Christianity after Jesus himself revealed his Gospel to him. He stayed off ministry for 3 years. During this time God was imploding inside him before sending him out to explode among the nations. Jesus did the same thing for 30 years. There is always a time of preparation prior to anything big occurring. A time of implosion.

Time with Jesus, meditating on his commands will allow God to implode within us so we can explode with a mission that changes the world.

Jesus => Our Gifts & Passion => Huge Impact

Am I doing this? I’m learning to surrender to God & allow him to implode in me otherwise all my own attempts to explode in the world will be no more than pop corn.

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