THE RIPPLE EFFECT

Influence Extended and Multiplied

The Hundred-Fold Promise

A Nobody Named Kimball

Author – unknown

Edward Kimball was concerned about one of his young Sunday school students who worked at a shoe store in town. One day Kimball visited him at the store, found the student in the back stocking shoes, and led him to Christ then and there. Dwight L. Moody eventually left the shoe store to become one of the greatest preachers and evangelists of all time.

Moody, whose international speaking took him to the British Isles, preached in a little chapel pastored by a young man with the imposing name of Frederic Brotherton Meyer. In his sermon Moody told an emotionally charged story about a Sunday school teacher he had known in Chicago who personally went to every student in his class and led every one of them to Christ.

That message changed Pastor Meyer's entire ministry, inspiring him to become an evangelist like Moody. Over the years Meyer came to America several times to preach. Once in Northfield, Massachusetts, a confused young preacher sitting in the back row heard Meyer say, "If you are not willing to give up everything for Christ, are you willing to be made willing?" That remark led J. Wilbur Chapman to respond to the call of God on his life.

Chapman went on to become one of the most effective evangelists of his time. A volunteer by the name of Billy Sunday helped set up his crusades and learned how to preach by watching Chapman. Sunday eventually took over Chapman's ministry, becoming one of the most dynamic evangelists of the 20th century. In the great arenas of the nation, Billy Sunday's preaching turned thousands of people to Christ.

Inspired by a 1924 Billy Sunday crusade in Charlotte, North Carolina, a committee of Christians there dedicated themselves to reaching that city for Christ. The committee invited the evangelist Mordecai Ham to hold a series of evangelistic meetings in 1932. A lanky 16-year-old sat in the huge crowd one evening, spellbound by the message of the white-haired preacher, who seemed to be shouting and waving his lone finger at him. Night after night the teenager attended and finally went forward to give his life to Christ. The teenager's name? Billy Graham--the man who has undoubtedly communicated the gospel of Jesus Christ to more people than any other man in history.

Where to take it from here…

Remember how this sequence of events started? A "nobody" named Kimball, concerned for one of his students, visited him at a shoe store - and in doing that, he changed the world. Millions of people have been affected by his decision to go to that shoe store and share the gospel with one person. And millions more will continue to feel the impact of it.

Can anything like that happen today? You bet it can.

God wants to use you to change the world.

You know you can't be the next Billy Graham. You know will never be great in the eyes of the world. You know your talents and abilities are limited. You are perfectly aware that your energy level will never allow you to ramrod great projects for Christ.

But - you are tired of feeling listless, lazy and worthless. You want to find your place of usefulness and importance in God's economy of things.

Well, I have discovered the principles which will release you to accomplish much in the Kingdom of God and among the children of men.

Even the most despised person in the church can begin to see their fruitfulness mushroom into a great harvest of good in the earth - if - they will pay attention to the following words.

After my firstborn son drowned, I kept thinking of the scripture which says: "The death of His saints are precious in the sight of the Lord." (Psalms 116:15)

I preached on that word 'precious' one time. I told the people it meant 'valuable' and 'highly to be desired'. I was talking about the scripture which says: "The trying of our faith is much more precious than the trying of gold in the fire."

But, in the midst of my grief and disappointment, I questioned God about that scripture and then declared: "Okay, okay - if my son's death can be valuable in your sight and I am a part of You - then my son's death can also be valuable to me."

From then on, I knew I was committed to the task of bringing good out of my son's death. I was determined that God and I could make his death 'valuable' to others.

I was immediately thrust into full time ministry. I asked God to save a hundred kids because mine died. I asked that a hundred suicides be averted, a hundred fatal accidents be prevented and that a hundred people would be spared from murder. I went on to ask that all those people would go on to live for God and accomplish much good in the earth.

THE HUNDRED-FOLD PROMISE

Mark 4:20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Father's Day of 1999 marks the 18^th anniversary of my son's death. My "Father’s Day Gift" seemed harsh and cruel. But, together with faith, love and prayers it became a gift of life to many. Isn’t that what our "Father-God" did with the death of His own Son?

I may never play the flute or violin. I may never be a 'real' missionary to other countries. I may never start a ministry to the homeless or an outreach ministry to drug addicts. But, those hundreds of people will be doing those things and many more. The extended fruitfulness from my life and my son's death will reach around the world.

Why? Because, I am someone great? No. It is simply because I don't want to waste one bad thing that ever happens in my life. It’s because I believe in the Word of God, and I am acting on that Word. I am daring to ask for what I want. The Word says,

You, too, could have an extended ministry if you would only ask for it. You could know that the bad things in your life are causing a ripple effect of good throughout the earth - if you would only ask for it. You could have a multiplied fruitfulness without doing all the work yourself - if you would only ask for it.

In the business world, a man can be an excellent salesman. But, another man hires ten people to do his selling for him and makes ten times as much money. Another man hires 100 salesmen and becomes a millionaire.

What's better, for you to try to do it all - or for you to simply ask God to thrust a hundred new workers out into the field because of you?

In the world, there are men who don't like to sell. They are not gifted in that way. They don't like to be around people. Some are introverted because of their looks or because of a physical deformity. They are never going to go out in public to make their money.

But, they sit around thinking up ideas for others to carry out. They start businesses and hire the outgoing people to do the work for them. They reap the rewards of other men's labors. Sure, the laborers get their pay and their rewards also. But, the guy who is behind them gets a percentage of everything they bring in. He gets rich without doing all the work.

We are not interested in getting rich, but we do want ‘mountain of good’ to be done in the earth because of the ‘molehill of evil’ which has come against us. And prayer, faith-filled prayer - is one means by which we can accomplish the work of a hundred men or a hundred women.

We can produce a hundred seeds of faith that will spring up and bring forth a hundred-fold harvest for us before Jesus comes.

There are many people who will read these words and never get the picture. They will never actually do it. They will never hear Jesus say, "Well done thou good and faithful servant – you have increased your effectiveness many times over – and you have multiplied your fruitfulness far beyond anything you could have done by yourself. Enter into my glory and honor and joy forever and ever!"

But, there are many who will hear this word as a Word from the Lord and jump at the chance to cooperate with the Spirit and make their life useful and valuable to God.

I can see an old person becoming more fruitful than those who are young and healthy. I can see ugly people multiplying their love and faith far beyond those who are handsome or beautiful. I can see fat people excelling in this venture, while their proud thin friends waste their lives on vanities of all kinds.

I can see people in pain and agony crying out to God to redeem their life and suffering and asking Him to make it all worthwhile, somehow. And I can see God doing just as they ask. I can see them after all the grief and heartache is gone - rejoicing in all the good that God has done for them because of a simple exercise in prayer.

I can see the negative elements of many lives beginning to produce positive results all around the world.

Women who have been deprived of love in their marriages will create a revival of God's Love that will spring up in the lives of thousands of homes everywhere. The ripple effect of one is now becoming the ripple effect of a hundred and those hundred will create their own ripple effect of good in the earth. There will be no end to the mountain of good which is coming out of the frustrations of our lives.

2 Corinthians 9:8

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