#356: Mentoring Moment: What Difference Does It Make?

Welcome to Kingdom Writers, where we help equip and empower Christian writers of all genres to share your unique gifts with the world. We're your hosts, C.J. and Shelley Hitz.

This podcast is filled with spiritual encouragement as well as prayers to help you overcome the resistance you face as a writer. Your story matters.

Today our theme is what difference does it make? And so, C.J. why don't you share the encouragement that you have for us as Kingdom writers on this theme.

Yeah, so, you know, just a couple other follow up questions, you know, to the what difference does it make? More specifically, what difference will my book make in the world?

What difference can even just one person make? How many of you have been in a place where you really just think, you know, I'm just one person.

What can I do? I don't even feel like I'm on the radar. You know, you just have these thoughts of is it really worth it? Is it worth the time, the effort, the energy?

A deeper question is, is my life really contributing very much to this earth that's, that's spinning, you know, right now? And, you know, it reminds me, you know, this whole idea of what difference does it make? And even more specifically, what difference does one make? And so I could have probably mentioned that, you know, in your time of thought as well, but I want to kind of dial down a little bit more. What, what difference does just one make? I remember years ago, we watched a movie, I can't remember the name of the movie, but the theme was.

It surrounded apartheid and in South Africa. And just the times that those folks were going through during that period of racism and, and separation. And I remember somebody, you know, that was fighting against that, that was trying to do good, that was trying to make a difference.

They were being challenged, what good can you do as one person? And I think it was a professor or someone, it was a teacher that asked the young man, you know, who do you think you are to, you know, do this? Do you think you're really going to make a difference? And I remember the, the person said, every waterfall begins with a single drop of water. Every waterfall. And that, that really is true at its very basic form. Every waterfall had to start somehow. It had to have that, that first drop, had to, had to take the plunge, so to speak. How many of you have ever felt like you're that one drop, the edge of the precipice and you're getting ready hopefully, to begin a momentum that perhaps will impact other people's lives?

Some of you may realize the power of One drop of iodine. Do you realize that one drop of iodine can purify eight ounces of water? Four or five will do a gallon. And so that one drop makes a huge difference. I think about our books and how when we birth them into the world, we may not think that there's a lot of impact. We may not think that they're going to do much. But I'm telling you, in God's hands, those books could perhaps serve as a drop of iodine in a world that needs purified, in a world that needs something encouraging, in a world that is just aching for truth, aching for hope, aching for something that reminds them of why they were made. And so one single drop. I want to just shift to the power of, of one bee. And I'm talking about, like, honeybees. I want you, I want to give you a few little stats here. One single bee can pollinate as many as 5,000 flowers in a day. Just one bee.

Many of you may or may not realize the lifespan of a bee is 30 to 60 days, which means if you were to add that up, one bee could possibly pollinate 150,000 to 300,000 flowers in their brief life.

It's said that one bee will produce one tablespoon of honey in their lifetime. So next time you pour some honey on it in a tablespoon, make sure you, you thank the Lord for that bee, you know, that maybe spent 30 to 60 days.

Producing that honey.

So there's a reason that we call that, we have that phrase busy bee, right? Because bees really can stay busy. And, you know, just the, the power of one bee and, and who knows the, the impact. We just know that without bees, without pollination.

We'Re in dire straits on this planet. Without bees. Sometimes you'll see articles about how the bees are diminishing and this and that's killing them off and pesticides and this and that. It's true that we need the bees. God put them there for a reason, and we need that pollination. And so just the emphasis of 1B and you and I are just one person, but my goodness, I want you to think about some of the impact that people have had throughout history. I want to give you a couple examples. Are you familiar with a guy named Edward Kimball?

Edward Kimball was a shoe salesman.

And one day a man came into the store. And Edward felt very compelled to share the gospel with this young man who had come in not realizing what he was going to get other than a pair of shoes.

But Edward Kimball shared the gospel with this young man who just happened to be a man named D.L. moody.

And D.L. moody, of course, went on to become one of the most.

Powerful evangelists in the late 1800s. Made numerous trips to England, had a huge impact there.

Other trips in different places. Obviously we, we have a lot of impact here in this country. There's, there's a college and a Bible college named after him. There's a publishing company named after Moody, Moody Publishing that many of you are familiar with. But one man, one shoe salesman, that had the impact.

That he never even realized that day, and what would happen over the course of the next 30, 40, 50 years and beyond.

Many could say that Edward Kimball is still getting mileage out of that gospel presentation today. And I want to say that you and I could be an Edward Kimball. We don't know our books could influence someone that then has an impact on millions of people. We don't know how many of you ever heard of a gal named Henrietta Mears. Henrietta Mears was a gal. In 1928, she was called to lead a Sunday school class that grew from 400 to 4,000 under her direction. So that's pretty impressive in and of itself. But she later went on to found Gospel Light Publishing and also a place called Forest Home Christian Conference center in Southern California. Of the people that she influenced, 400 went into full time Christian service. Among them were a couple guys by the name of Bill Bright and Billy Graham.

And any of us that have heard those names know that God used them in powerful ways as well to impact thousands. What I want to say is that Henrietta had no idea when she started leading that Sunday school class where it would lead, who she would impact, the kind of people that God would bring in and out of that circle, whether it be the Sunday school class, the conference center, whatever it might be. She had no idea. She could look back and say, wow, I can't believe God used me in that way. And look at what Bill Bright, Dr. Bill Bright, was doing. And look at, you know, with Campus Crusade for Christ. And, you know, look at Billy Graham and the impact he had in terms of his evangelism.

That's to say that one person can make such a huge difference. Ezekiel 22:30 says, I looked for someone. Notice it says someone. I looked for someone, just one person who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn't have to destroy the land. But I found no one. You might even say, but I found not even one. And that was Ezekiel 22:30. And I want to say today that God is still looking for one person today.

He doesn't have to have a crowd of a thousand or a million, or he doesn't have to put you on a stage where you've got an audience of 30,000. I want to say that he just needs one person. He just needs one drop of water to begin something powerful.

One little boy shared his lunch of bread and fish with Jesus.

Which Jesus then fed 5,000 with.

I want to say that we need to shift today from a limiting mindset to a limitless mindset, from saying it's impossible to asking what is possible.

In the hands of God? What are the possibilities? And this is a question we'll close with in this time of encouragement, what are the possibilities of how God could use your book.

And.

More specifically, or in a greater, more general way, specifically your life? What are the possibilities?

We could go on and on about the power of one, the power of one little thing and its impact. You and I are just one person.

We have books that God's put on our hearts to write, to publish, to market. That's why you're here today. You're here today because you're going to put your rear end in a chair.

And you're endeavoring to write words that impact others. And I would submit to you today that as we undertake every single but in the chair episode that we might just consider, could some words that I write today.

Perhaps impact someone that then goes on to impact millions? That person impacts millions. And I mean, you can just see this domino effect. Could it be that some of our words could have that kind of impact where someone shifts, someone that was a staunch atheist or someone that was just angry, or someone that just needed some form of healing? There's a shift. And because of that shift, there's a new momentum in a whole another direction it never went would have taken place had that person not come across your message, the message that God birthed in your life.

Don't underestimate what God can do with one person. And you are that one person here this morning. I am that one person here this morning. And so could that impact the seriousness of which we undertake each writing session? And as we do so today and into tomorrow, I just want you to think about, yes, I am one, but I'm not just one. I'm one in the hands of the almighty God, the God who created this universe and everything in it. I am one in his hand. And that's no small thing. And so that's my encouragement for you today, is that what difference does it make? Only God knows, as some of you mentioned in the comments. But isn't it fun that there's some possibility and mystery in that? What are the possibilities? What could happen? That's exciting when you think about it.

Yeah, that's just. It's just amazing to really. It's mind blowing, really, because most of the times we are just focused on what we can see with our eyes or the results that we, you know, we can tally up, you know, the numbers or the things. And it's like we have no idea what God will do. And the thing is, if you will just take tiny actions. Right, Take tiny actions. I've been saying this a lot lately. Just take the small, obedient steps of faith and you have no idea the doors that will open. You have no idea the lives it will touch. You have no idea what God will do if you'll just take it. Some of you have been stuck in the prison. Prison of procrastination, anyone? The prison of perfectionism. And God's just saying, I delight in you. I am wanting to partner with you. Will you give him your yes and let him take care of the rest? Right. So, C.J. why don't you just pray for all of us as we continue to embark on taking these steps, even when we can't see the results and even when it may just seem like it's one?

Father, thank you so much for.

Creating us.

We are each just one person, and yet we.

Are empowered by the God of the universe. I want to thank you for the examples of people like Edward Kimball and Henrietta Mears. You know, I think many of us want to. We sometimes maybe at one time dreamed, oh, maybe I can be a DL Moody or a Billy Graham, but could we dream of being an Edward Kimball? Just going about our day having no idea what impact our words might bring or perhaps sharing the gospel with someone might bring.

I pray that each of us would be content with being an Edward Kimball, knowing that this whole story is about you in the first place. It's not about having some big stage, although we know that you can bring that if you think we're capable of handling that. And I just want to pray, Lord, that each of us here would be able to write words that impact people for eternity, whether that's one person or a million. We're going to leave that in your hands, Lord. But I pray that words today and tomorrow would be written that go on to make such an internal impact that really only you know, the full extent of that, Lord. And I pray that you would give inspiration, that you would open eyes today, that you would clear minds, pray that you'd give strength and energy to each person here, that whatever it is that you want to accomplish through them in this time together would be accomplished, whether that is writing, marketing, or working on the next phase of the publishing process. Thank you, Lord, for bringing us here. We know that there are many obstacles that even had to be overcome to allow us to be here right now. And so I thank you for that victory. And I pray that you continue to draw anyone else in the academy that that would benefit from this time together. And we just ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. As CJ was praying, it reminded me that I've heard, you know, said many times before, you know, Jesus is the main character. It's not us. He is. It's for his glory, right? And when we get that all mixed up and I've been all around, I mean, I've been in Internet marketing for 18 years now. Oh, it. I mean, I've been all around and I, I've been in all the groups and heard all the things and struggled with all the things myself too. And when he's the main character, when we're doing it for his glory, it kind of flips the switch on. Okay, I, I do want to press publish on this book. The fear kind of dissolves a little bit, you know, the marketing. Okay, I'm gon do this. I'm going to pitch myself to these podcasts, right? I'm going to do these things. And yet I also remember, I think it was maybe Corrie Ten Boom was sharing a story that someone, she asked, like, how do you go around and speak to crowds of thousands of people and not become prideful? And she's like the lady she was talking to just said, I just imagined myself on Palm Sunday when Jesus was coming in and everyone is like, putting, worshiping and glorifying God and all these things. She said, I just imagine myself as the donkey, right?

People are maybe giving you praise or saying, way to go to publish that book and all those things. And it could puff us up or it could whatever. But then if we just see ourselves as we are the vehicle, we are the pencil, right? We are the priestly pens, we are the donkey. And so I just pray that today, as you continue to take these obedient steps of faith and obedience, that you would just realize this is all for his glory, it's not for us. And that he would just continue to work in powerful ways in your life.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Kingdom Writers. We believe that you, as a Christian writer, have a specific role to play in the Kingdom of Heaven to impact lives for eternity.

And because because of this, we choose to pour out our lives into encouraging writers like you to not only tell your stories, but to take the courageous step of self publishing your stories in books that will outlive you and leave behind a powerful legacy. This podcast is sponsored by Christian Book Academy where we help you give birth to your books. We invite you to join our community of Kingdom writers.

Sam.