Can One Person Make a Difference? (Part 1) by Paula White

Have you ever been to an incredible Dinner Party? One that was more than just pleasurable… but it was purposeful? Maybe where you met someone that changed your life?... or defined a moment of your destiny? I've had a few of those in my life.
Where I thought I was simply going to a dinner, but they turned
out to be "defining moments that molded me." A SOVEREIGN SET-UP. As busy as God is, with everything going on, He's planning a party and He wants us to be the host! Pretty amazing that God is asking us to set the table, get the utensils prepared, clean the house and send out the invitations. It will be interesting to see who He wants invited to dinner and why- Luke 14:23, "…Whoever you find, drag them in… I want my house full!"
You have a job to do for Jesus! At this very moment there are eternal, powerful works prepared for us. They are works that have permanence and fulfill the highest purposes of God. In Psalms 90:16,17- Moses utters a heartfelt prayer, "Let thy work appear to thy servants, & thy majesty to their children. And let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; & do confirm for us the work of your hands; yes; confirm the work of our hands." His prayer must be our prayer! We are not trying to do our thing and ask you to bless it, let us do your thing and give us divine confirmation! That is when God identifies Himself so fully with what you are doing that He backs you up with His power. It's His Endorsement! We MUST have HIS POWER in order to CHANGE our WORLD…
Ultimately, God is glorified when we, like Jesus, accomplish the work that He has given us to do (John 17:4). However, in order to attain to the works of God- we must first become the "Workmanship of God" (Eph 2:10). That is where He conforms you to the image of Christ. An image is a reproduction of the form of a person or object. It is here that God reveals in us the nature of Christ… You are called as an "Agent of Assignment", an image-bearer of God in the earth to bring forth reformation! – to be a "World Changer", and a cultural influencer!
The longing of God has always been to live with you intimately, to reside and have a real relationship. He desires to bring the living Christ into each of us as individuals. God declares in Exodus 25:8, "Then have them make a sanctuary for me & I will dwell among them." To "dwell" means: Lodging, to reside or stay permanently… This is the very heart-throb of God. To be one with you, to have habitation not just visitation.
Out of that relationship of oneness He brings change in you to bring change through you, then as Christ filled individuals. We can transform the church, which is the instrument of God to reform the world. The church is NOT a building, it is a people!
Any program or church activity that DOES NOT reveal JESUS is a "DEAD WORK." It's powerless to transform people. We are seeking to be like Jesus, not men. We must fill people with "deity" not "doctrine." We want the kingdom of God, not typical "American Christianity… religion."
Therefore; we push to change the rules of religion, they never have fit. They are not the purpose of God, we, the "true church" of Jesus Christ, are not routine and we are not religious! But we are righteous and our "cause" is to spearhead spirituality that makes a REAL DIFFERENCE! With NO distinction between the "sacred and the secular."
Light MUST go where darkness is! The days of a fundamentalist approach that includes a pharisaical separation from this world are quickly coming to an end. Let the church be the church. We are not a museum for saints, but a hospital for souls. We must gain a theology as big as our city. We must take the whole Gospel to the whole person and interpret our communities! Exegesis of scripture means to interpret or to draw out the intended meaning.
Jesus sets the pattern of personal evangelism & building the Kingdom of God for us to follow. For over 2000 years, people have debated on the integrity, identity and legacy of Him, however; there is 1 thing that stands out in all the gospels of HIS life – Jesus was a friend of sinners. They liked being around Him. They were comfortable with Him & longed for His company. Unlike the legalists who despised Him, they found Him revolting, shocking, inappropriate… but by following the example of Jesus' life, He showed us where our "pulpit" is. By spending most of His ministry time among tax collectors, sinners & the such, He did not separate Himself, but took common men and in just 3 ½ years transformed them into fearless disciples. They were living proof that Christ transforms people.
We must ask ourselves - what was Jesus' secret? What was it that made Him so effective?
TO BE CONTINUED…