Clarity.

Living A Life Worth Remembering

I want to talk to you today about living a life worth remembering. So often we think I’ll never do anything significant. I’m just a business person. I’m just a school teacher. I’m just a stay-at-home mom. But really, that’s the wrong mindset. You’re not just anything. You’re a child of the most high God. You have seeds of greatness on the inside. Somebody needs what you have. Somebody needs your gifts and talents. Somebody needs your love and encouragement. You have something to offer that somebody else has. If you don’t rise up and do your part, this world would not be as bright a place as it should be.

And we have to ask ourselves, one hundred years from now, will it have made a difference that I lived. Did I get up everyday and give it my best? Pursuing my dreams and goals. Did I keep my heart of compassion open? Helping others, giving, caring, serving… Our attitudes should be I’m going to leave this place better off than it was before. I’m going to make a difference with my life. If we’re going to live a life worth remembering, we cannot make little plans. Don’t make little goals, little dreams. Have a big vision for your life. It all starts right here. You’ll never rise above the image you have of yourself. You have to make room in your thinking for the life you want. It has to be conceived on the inside before you’ll ever receive it on the outside.

And God is constantly trying to plant new seeds in our heart. He’s constantly trying to get us to enlarge our vision. To know who we really are, to know what we can accomplish. And God said there in Isaiah 43:19, “Behold, I am doing a new thing, can you not perceive it?” The reason some people never reach their full potential is because they don’t have a vision for it. They’re limited in their thinking. It’s like this one man I heard about. He was out fishing one day and he noticed another man across the bank fishing as well. He saw that every time this other man caught a big fish, he would throw it back. But that every time he caught a small fish, he would keep it. This went on all day long and the more he watched, the more curious he became. Finally, he got his nerve up and went over to him. And said, “Sir, I just don’t understand it. Why do you throw back the big fish, but you keep the small fish?” The man said, “Ohhh it’s simple, all I have is a 10 inch frying pan.”

That’s the way some people are today. Instead of getting a bigger frying pan, instead of changing their thinking and making room for the great things God has in store, they just throw it back so to speak. Oh that’s too big for me, Joel I could never be that successful. I could never handle that responsibility. I could never have that kind of impact. What’s the problem? Our frying pan is too small. We gotta get rid of our limited thinking. .. Make up your mind with me, I’m going to leave my mark on this generation. I’m not going to just make a living. I’m going to make a difference. I’m going to impact other people’s lives. I’m going to be a giver and not a taker. I’m going to leave this place better off than it was before. We have to realize we draw in what we constantly think about. If we go around thinking, “I’ll never do anything significant. I’ve reached my limits, gone as far as my education allows. I’ll probably never get out of debt, Joel. Come from the wrong family, not that talented.” No, you’ve gotta change your thinking. You gotta know who you really are, a child of the most high God.

You have all kinds of potential on the inside. You can accomplish things that you’ve never dreamed of, but you’ve gotta get a vision for it. You gotta know deep down in here, the favor of God is surrounding you like a shield. You are full of can-do power. You have wisdom, strength, and ability. When opportunities come across your path, you feel the dreams and the desires rising up. Don’t swing back. You think “I can’t do that, that’s too big for me…” No, dare to take that step of faith. Dare to believe. After all, if you can do it in your own strength, you don’t really need God. That doesn’t really take faith. If you’ll get out of your comfort zone and stretch to the next level, that’s when you’ll see God show up and do great things in your life. We’ve all heard the saying “you’re not everyone, but you are one. You can’t do everything, but you can do something. I’m asking you to make a difference in your life.

“I can be a catalyst for change.”

One of the ways that God leads us is by putting a desire in our hearts.

I’m asking you to do the same thing. Be a catalyst for change. In your family, in your neighborhood, at your school, at your office. Don’t just think “Oh… there are so many needs. My family’s always been this way. My school is so negative, they’ll never change..” No, you can make a difference. God has you where you are on purpose. You can touch people that nobody else can. Pay attention to what you’re feeling down in here. And then take the limits off of God. Quit telling God what you can’t do, and let God tell you what you can do. God will never ask you to give what you don’t have. When he puts a dream in your heart, He will always equip you with everything you need to accomplish it. If you will just dare take that step of faith, you’ll see how God has already made crooked paths straight. He’ll open up doors that you never thought would open. He’ll cause people to go out of their way to be good to you. Even when it looks impossible, even when you don’t see a way, God will supernaturally make a way. You have everything you need to make a difference. The seed of Almighty God is on the inside. Sometimes we think, “Oh only the powerful ones will make a difference. Only the strong, the talented, the good looking. After all, they come from the right family. Joel, they have the right name. I don’t have what they have.” Yes that may be true but the good news is you have what you need. You are anointed. You are equipped, You are empowered to do what God’s called you to do. You may not touch 13 million children, but you can influence a dozen office workers. You can impact one young man that doesn’t have a positive role model. You don’t know, you may touch one person, and that person may touch many, many others.

I know my father, he wasn’t raised in church. He grew up during the Great Depression. His family, they were good people, they just didn’t know anything about God. He didn’t have any kind of spiritual upbringing. And as a teenager, there was a young man by the name of Sam Martin. Sam would get to school early every morning and write scriptures on the black board. My father and a lot of the other students would make fun of him. They thought he was kind of far out. It didn’t bother Sam. Week after week, he kept showing up early, writing those scriptures, doing what he felt like he was supposed to do, making a difference. Well, one day at the age of seventeen, my father was walking home from a nightclub at 2 o’clock in the morning. All of a sudden he began to think about God and eternity. The seed was planted by Sam. He went and found him and said, “Sam, what’s wrong with me? Why do I feel this way?” The next day, Sam took my dad to church. The end of the service, the Minister asked people to come forward and receive Christ. My father wouldn’t go, he was too scared. Sam leaned over and said, “John, if you go, I’ll go with you.” And that was the day that forever changed my family line. Because of Sam Martin, we got out from under the curse. Today, we’re living under the blessing.

What’s interesting to me is Sam became a Minister like my father. But he never had the size of ministry my dad did. Sam never had a big church. He never had a big following. Yet think of the impact he made by simply touching my father. He’ll get a reward for every person my dad helped. For every person I’m able to help. Fifty years later, Sam wrote a book. His title was “I Touched One, and He Touched A Million.” You never know who you’re touching. I’m asking you to do something. Make a difference wherever you go. The true joy in living is in helping others. I want to feel your sense of destiny. you can accomplish things that nobody else can. You may be teaching students, but you don’t know, one of those students may impact nations.

When God puts something in your heart, He always gives you what you need to accomplish it. He’ll give you the favor. He’ll give you the words to speak. He’ll give you the strength. It may not happen overnight. You may have some obstacles. The critics and nay-sayers will probably come out of the woodwork. But don’t let that keep you from pressing forward. When somebody tells you no, you gotta do like he did. You gotta go back and ask again. I’ve found the favor of God will cause people to change their mind. God’s favor on your life will cause people to want to be good to you. It will cause you to be at the right place at the right time. You may only be one, but you and God are a majority. Today thousands of people have transportation on Sunday mornings because of one young man. He’s making a difference. He’s living a life worth remembering. And in the natural, he’s just a plain, ordinary person like you and I. but remember, God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Why don’t you make up your mind, you’re not going to live an average life. You’re not going to sit back and be complacent. When down in here, you have a passion towards something. Recognize, that’s God leading you to make a difference. A lot of times, we think, we’ll what’s my 2 cents going to count? He could’ve thought, “This is the 4th largest city in America, they’re not going to change one bus route for me, I’m just one person.” Yes you may only be one, but with God’s favor, with his anointing, with his strength, with his wisdom, with his power, you can do great things. If God be for you, who dare even be against you.

Sometimes we think, “Well, I’m not the most qualified. Joel, I’m not the most talented one for this job. I’m not the most eloquent speaker. That all may be true, but none of that matters when you’re the right one. None of that matters when God’s anointed you to do it. You can do more with one touch of God’s favor than you can do in your whole lifetime in your own efforts. What I’m saying is, when you have a desire down in here, know that God’s anointed you to do it. He’s going to give you the favor. He’ll cause people to hear the right things. You’ve been empowered to accomplish your dreams. Most of the time, it’s not ability, it’s availability. Are we willing, will we dare get out of our comfort zones and stretch to the next level. You have to realize God has matched you with your world. In other words, He’s given you everything you need to fulfill your destiny. You may not feel like sometimes you’re able to do it. But that’s okay. You have to get beyond your feelings and know right down in here, I have the seed of Almighty God. God will never ask you to give something, He’ll never put a dream in your heart, without first equipping you with everything you need on the inside to accomplish it. So even if you don’t feel like you have the wisdom, the talent, the ability, you gotta just remind yourself, “No, God has matched me with my world. He’s already put in me what I need.”

God will never ask you for something without first putting it in you. If you have a desire, if you have a dream, you may not feel like you’re able to do it. You may not feel like you have the strength, the wisdom, the talent, but if you will dare take that step of faith anyway, you will discover things in you that you never knew you had. This is where many people miss it. This is why many people are in mediocrity. They talk themselves out of it. Think about even Moses, when God told him to go stand before pharaoh and tell him to “Let my people go”, first thing Moses said was “God, I can’t do that. I stutter, I’m not a good speaker.” I love the way God answered him back. He said, “Moses, who made your tongue. Who made your voice?” God was saying in effect, “Moses I’ve already put it in you. Just do it.” God told Gideon he was going to deliver the people of Israel. God called him “a mighty man of valor.” Gideon said, “No not me God. I’m the least one in my family. Everybody’s more talented than I am.” Notice, he had a 10 inch frying pan. He needed to enlarge his vision. Don’t let the size of your dream intimidate you. Don’t let the fact that there are nay-sayers in your path keep you from pressing forward. I love what the Apostle Paul said. People were trying to talk him out of his dreams. Telling him what he couldn’t do. He said in Romans, “What if they don’t believe? Will their unbelief make the promise of God of no effect in my life?” What he was saying in my Texas translation was, so what if they don’t believe. The promise is not in them, the promise is in me.” That’s the attitude we need to have, respectfully. But “so what if they don’t think I can do it. So what if they’re trying to pull me down. So what if they’re criticizing. I’m not going to let their sour attitude cause me to give up on my dreams. I’m not going to let their unbelief keep me from leaving my mark.” In other words, just because they have a 10 inch frying pan, doesn’t mean I have to have a 10 inch frying pan.

Any time you go to do something great in life, any time you step out of your comfort zone, it stirs up the jealousy in small minded people. You have to accept the fact, not everybody’s going to cheer you on. Not everybody’s going to be excited about your dreams. Sometimes you just have to encourage yourself. When people are criticizing, don’t sink down to their level, be an eagle and rise above it.

Don’t change for your critics. Stay true to who you are. Mother Teresa said, “People will criticize you for doing good, but do good anyway.” Make a difference in your world. Live a life worth remembering. You are full of strength, full of wisdom, full of can-do power. There is nothing in your destiny, nothing in your future that you cannot do.