You Be the Change You Want to See - 1

                                                 You Be the Change You Want to See - 1

Subject:  Leading The Change in Your Family, Church, or Business

By Rick Welborne

2 Kings 7:1-4 (NLT)
¹  Elisha replied, “Listen to this message from the LORD! This is what the LORD says: By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, five quarts of choice flour will cost only one piece of silver, and ten quarts of barley grain will cost only one piece of silver.”
²  The officer assisting the king said to the man of God, “That couldn’t happen even if the LORD opened the windows of heaven!” But Elisha replied, “You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you won’t be able to eat any of it!”
³  Now there were four men with leprosy sitting at the entrance of the city gates. “Why should we sit here waiting to die?” they asked each other.
⁴  “We will starve if we stay here, but with the famine in the city, we will starve if we go back there. So we might as well go out and surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much the better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway.” 

--Be the change you want to see…like these lepers in this story I want us to realize that we bear responsibility in changing whatever we consider to be out of whack in our home, church, or business.

--They were starving, their city was starving, and everything seemed hopeless until they made the decision to do something…Why should we sit here waiting to die…why sit here until we die?

--Now you can make a decision to stay where you are, and if you do, there is not too much I can do to help you but if you are ready for change…get ready for insight that will help you.

--Tonight will be an introduction to what we will be talking about…You being the change you want to see.

1. To be the change you want to see; attitude will be everything.

Rob Ketterling: Attitude is everything.  Your posture will send a message that you’re all in or always looking for the next reason to opt out. If, however, you accept the challenge to invest personally, emotionally, and spiritually in accomplishing a shared vision, you can help create movement and achieve extraordinary change.

--In any institution it is easy to sit in the back ground and criticize the decisions and actions of those who are leading. It is not easy to become the change you want to see take place.

--This attitude…this decision is precisely what defines both those who hold organizations back and those who propel them forward.

--Many of us will say we want to see change and change is really what it is all about. Change doesn’t begin out there somewhere…it begins with us individually.

--It begins with four lepers saying “why should we sit here waiting to die.”  When each of us take personal responsibility for our own attitudes and actions, we will find the motivation to lead change.

--It is time for all of us to stop playing the “victim” card when people don’t treat us the way we expect them to.

Stop sacrificing giving God your best by resisting His call to be the change you want to see…you lead!

--Stop liking the distance between you and whoever is in charge…stop being physically present but spiritually and mentally disconnected. The four lepers said, “If we die…we die.” But we must try.  The attitude of Jesus.

Philippians 2:5-8 (NLT)
⁵  You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
⁶  Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
⁷  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
⁸  he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

2. To be the change you want to see, offer what you have to make a difference.

 

--As long as they choose to stay anonymous they will never to be able to use their God given gifts for His Kingdom and Glory! We have all seen those who could contribute so much, yet they stay in the shadows.

--When I was in high school I had some natural leadership qualities where people would watch and even emulate the things I did. Instead of leading for the good I became an instigator and a bad example.

--We see it at church or at work, the person who undermines what the pastor or boss is trying to accomplish. When they could be the change they want they push against the grain and create division.

--It is a form of rebellion to lead against those God has put in positions over you and the criticism you spew is only hurting the organization as a whole.

--Let me clarify that we have all been a part of a job, a family, or even a church that we have seen things that needed to be changed…how we react to that is the key…we either help or we hurt the situation.

Galatians 6:1-5 (NLT)
¹  Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.
²  Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.
³  If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
⁴  Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.
⁵  For we are each responsible for our own conduct. 

--It is so easy for us to see the faults and short comings of the leader and it is obvious that if we were in charge that we would do everything perfectly because we have all the answers…reminder…you reap what you sow.

--Example of an associate…if he was in charge.Paul said we should gently and humbly help…what a concept…and he goes on and warns us that we may be in the same situation ourselves.

3. To be the change you want to see, you can never be the creator of disunity. 

--Critics have the ability to stir up trouble but if they would use the same energy for the good of the organization what a difference they could make.

--Think about this…when you complain, undermine, and find an audience to listen to all that you are upset with, you risk causing disunity…think before you hurt Christ’s church.

John 17:20-23 (NIV)
²⁰  "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
²¹  that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
²²  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
²³  I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 

--If we selfishly have to prove our point we usually create wreckage for the entirety of those who are involved.

When we think we have to win to win, it usually ends up with division.

--I have said for years, especially in marriage, there is something more important than being right…it is being righteous…applies to all our organizations.

--When there are dissenting views on certain things in the church, the home, or the company it does not mean that there has to be a win/lose situation.

--You may have never given this any consideration but Jesus died so we could be one with Him and with the Father…you just may have to die to make your job, marriage, or church better.

--Remember Jesus…humble yourself and become obedient even to death on the cross. When will we ever learn that we can be restorers of broken walls instead of those who bring division and disunity.

Isaiah 58:12-14 (NIV)
¹²  Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
¹³  "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
¹⁴  then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken. 

--Please hear me…you will do your family, church, and business a big favor when you stop criticizing everyone else and you become the change you want to see.

--The only ‘God choice’ you have is to be like Jesus, to humble yourself, to lay down your life, and to do everything in your power to create unity.

--Stop thinking you do not have a voice (you have an audience with God anytime you desire) and do not think no one knows your name. God knows your name.

--Leading toward this change is not just a job but it is a responsibility to all of us who feel we want the family, church, or business to be better.

--When we have this attitude we invite those around us to go with us…we create unity which is a God given goal for us.

--We think that our input, our prayer, or even our vote will make a difference…let me remind you that George W. Bush defeated Al Gore by only 537 votes. You matter to God and His Kingdom.

--One person (with God on his side) can still make a tremendous difference today.  That is what we are talking about in this series.  It is about becoming the influence God intended you to be.

--If you care enough to complain, you should care enough to lead.  You be the change you want to see and others will follow.  Take your place and let’s go.