Around 4000 B.C., Adam was only one man. How could one guy affect the world?

Since Adam, a person had to stand out from the crowd to make a difference. 

A guy named Noah was born 126 years after Adam died. He believed God and built a boat. He floated around for a year in a flood (about 2370 B. C.) when he was 600 years old because, by faith, he found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 

Abraham was one guy who received a promise about a son when he was 75 years old. That promise was fulfilled 25 years later in 1958 B.C. What influence did he have on the world? God gave his grandson the name Israel. 

Have you heard of Moses or David?  

Saint Patrick was one man in the 5th century AD with a vision through whom the Gospel was brought to the western hemisphere via Ireland and Europe.  

In 1380, John Wycliffe thought the Bible should be available in middle English. 

In 1415, Jon Hus was burned at the stake with John Wycliffe’s manuscripts used as kindling for promoting the Bible in English. 

In 1496, John Colet started translating the New Testament from Greek in to English for his Oxford students. Making it available at St. Paul’s Cathedral, within six months he had 20,000 people inside eager to hear God’s word in their language and at least that many waiting outside to get in.

In 1516 Erasmus published his compilation of Greek manuscripts into a Greek and Latin parallel New Testament now called “the Textus Receptus.” 

Using the work of Erasmus, William Tyndale printed an English translation of the New Testament in 1526-26. He was strangled at the stake and his body was burned for believing that all people should have access to the Bible in English. “Lord! Open the King of England’s eyes.” Within four years, four Bibles were published at the king’s behest using Tyndale’s work. 

Miles Coverdale was one person who wanted the complete Bible in English, which he printed in 1536. 

In 1793, William Carey, the father of modern missions, sailed believing that the Good News should be carried to India. 

David Livingstone was one person who wanted to know Africa and tell people there about their Creator.  

Hudson Taylor was one person to wanted to have an influence on the inland areas of China.  

There are many, many more “ones.”  

Are you one who wants to have a lasting influence on your world?  

It’s not about how big you are. It’s about believing God.  

It’s about persevering through faith in God’s Word and being faithful through adversity to have an enduring positive influence on other people for God’s glory.  

Abraham believed God … as did a lot of other people noted in Hebrews 11.  

Each one of us will stand alone before God to give an account of what we have done with what we have been given.

None of these people were ever alone because God was with them. Their stand was based on His word.
While it might look like they stood alone, for most, there were other people involved. (That’s how we know about them.)

What will be your legacy?