The Value of One

one. Boy, that is the question, isn't it? Thankfully, Kay Campbell was somebody's one.

Thankfully, you were somebody's one. And so I want to encourage you today to think through

who is your one. I want to share a quote with you before we jump into our recap of the last

couple of weeks. And this is by one of the greatest preachers and ministers that God has

used on our planet, Billy Graham. He said, our faith becomes stronger as we express it. A growing faith

is a sharing faith. Our faith becomes stronger as we express it. Can we say these last words together?

A growing faith is a sharing faith. Is your faith growing? And by that I'm asking,

are you sharing it? Are you sharing it? Are we sharing it individually and as a church?

This is our last Sunday in this series called Who's Your One? That first sermon came from the

man you saw in the video just a moment ago, J.D. Greer, pastor of Summit Church in Raleigh, Durham,

North Carolina. God used him powerfully through that sermon series in his church to start a movement

that spread throughout their church and even around this nation as the North American Mission Board

picked it up as an evangelism campaign to roll out to churches. And so we're looking at it now

and asking ourselves the same question so many have asked, who's your one? You heard the sermon last

Sunday that a member of his staff preached in that series to their church, kind of tailored a little

bit for our church. But the question remains the same week after week, who's your one? A few weeks ago,

we looked at this verse, Matthew chapter 6 and verse 10. Your kingdom come, God. Your will be done. Part of

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

the Lord's prayer, that model prayer that Jesus was teaching to his disciples. This is how you ought to

pray. God, your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So we kind of drew this

conclusion. Let's say it together, can we? His will be done. So who's your one? One more time. His will be

done. So who's your one? And that is the question that I believe God has for our church in this moment.

If we want his will done on earth, then who's the one that he's going to send us to right now?

Our takeaway that week was, what is your next step? Let's get practical with it. Jesus's invitation

first was come and see. Come and see the great things that I'm going to do. I'm going to heal the

blind. I'm going to heal all manner of sicknesses and diseases. I'm going to provide food for thousands.

But more than that, I came to seek and to save the lost. I'm going to provide a spiritual answer.

The gospel of Jesus himself to those who needed to hear it. Bring light to that darkness. He said,

come and see. Walk with me as we do this. And then he said, come and die. Well, that's the hard message,

isn't it? That's the hard invitation. We don't think of Jesus saying, come and die. But over and over again,

he required his disciples to turn from what they do. Die to their own passions. Die to their own

pleasures. Die to their own lusts. Die to their own designs and plans and embrace his for their lives.

And he took them to levels that they never dreamed of. He took them to accomplishments that these

ordinary fishermen who hadn't made the cut could have never imagined for themselves. But he said,

you got to die to your way and embrace the Jesus way. And the Jesus way leads us to this final

invitation, which is go and tell. Jesus gave us this commission in Matthew 28, in Mark 16, all

throughout the gospel records. We see these men who walked with Jesus writing down his words that say,

go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them, teaching them to observe all the things that

I've commanded you. Go and tell my message. Go and tell my truth. And that's what we're all called to do.

So what's your stage? Does God want to move you from come and see to come and die? Does he want to move

you from come and die to go and tell? Where are you lacking? That was our invitation a couple of weeks ago.

And then we moved on to last Sunday. And our takeaway there was, do you have a burden? So we looked at

these men who literally tore a roof apart to get their friend to Jesus so Jesus could heal him.

So this guy's got a problem that only Jesus can fix. So do you have a burden? Is there someone in your

life who's your life? Who's your one that needs to hear about Jesus? And is it time to dig a hole in

the roof? In other words, are there, are there obstacles that you've got to get through? But

because your burden is so great for their salvation, you're going to do whatever it takes to get that

person to Jesus. Who's your one? And then Jesus said, we're going to be fishers of men. We close with that

story. Kind of putting the microscope on ourselves, wouldn't it? Talking about this fishing company that

would do everything in the world except fish. And they talked all about it. They knew all about it.

They told others to do it, but they never actually did it themselves. So our challenge at the end of

last Sunday was actually go out and fish. Jesus said, you're not going to fish for fish anymore.

Now when you walk with me, you're going to fish for people. So how many of us are actually fishing

for people like Jesus commanded us to do? So that brings us to today. And today we're going to look

at Luke chapter 15. If you would take the word of God with me and turn to Luke chapter 15. Matthew,

Luke 15 · chapter mention Luke 15 · chapter mention

Mark, Mark, Luke. It's in the New Testament. Luke chapter 15. We'll read from verse 1 down through

Luke 15 · chapter mention

verse 10. We're talking about the value of one. While you're turning there, are you aware that the value

of the dollar has dropped a little bit? Why are y'all laughing? You're aware? In 1913,

one dollar was worth about $26 today. Isn't that crazy?

You have one dollar back in 1913. It's about like having $26 today. You can do a lot with $26,

can't you? You can go get a nice meal at a restaurant for one person. Not too nice.

And you better not order dessert. Listen, we know the value of the dollar has dropped significantly.

There are many in your lifetime. You have seen this play out. I remember when I was little

and I was looking at, we had these, we were living in Oklahoma City at the time and we had these gas

wars happening and gas got down to like 97 cents a gallon. Some of you are like, yeah, I know when it

was cheaper than that. But man, I couldn't believe that. Could you imagine today if our gas stations

here in town all of a sudden put up 97 cents a gallon? They'd run out of gas in five minutes.

Things change, don't they? Values change. Inflation happens. Anybody ever remember a museum for kids

called Free Enterprise USA? It was in Oklahoma City many years ago. It's been closed for a long time.

I didn't know if by chance any of you had ended up there when you were younger.

My parents took me and my brother there and it was this museum that was really dedicated to teaching

kids all about inflation, all about economics and the free enterprise system and all that.

And it was really hands-on. They worked in cartoon figures and you got to do things and invest in the

stock market and all this kind of stuff. And I guess I was nerdy into that stuff. So I really liked it.

But I learned, they showed this kind of kid-oriented video about inflation and how much the value of the

dollar has dropped over the years. And I remember panicking a little bit when I was about 10 years old

thinking, oh man, we got to stop this. Somehow, some way, we got to go back to using gold for everything.

And I didn't realize how unlikely that seems to be in our world.

But isn't it interesting that as our paper money diminishes in value,

one thing that will never change is the value of a soul, the value of a human being.

The value of my car dropped significantly the moment I drove it off the lot.

The value of your home may rise or fall, but the thing that never changes is the value of one.

So let's read about that. Luke chapter 15 and verse 1.

Luke 15 · chapter mention

And all the tax collectors and the sinners were approaching Jesus to listen to him.

The Pharisees and the scribes were complaining, this man welcomes sinners and eats with them.

How dare he?

This rabbi with shmeha, remember that from a couple weeks ago?

That crazy Hebrew word that's so much fun to say, let's all say it. Ready?

Shmeha.

Shmeha. Very well. Yes, that was good.

Satisfying, isn't it?

It means authority.

It means you are the cream of the crop.

You've reached the highest level.

You can introduce new biblical truth to people.

People need to shut up and listen when you're talking.

I'd like to think I have shmeha, but I know better.

All right.

Luke chapter 15.

Luke 15 · chapter mention

They're listening to him and he's up there teaching.

And they can't believe that this great rabbi that people from everywhere are talking about and following

is welcoming and eating with sinners.

Can't believe he would associate with those wicked people.

So Jesus tells them a story.

Tells them this parable.

And he says,

What man among you who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field?

You realize he's not talking to the Pharisees here.

They're not out there tending sheep.

He's making a point in front of them.

But he's talking to the common people.

They hear this murmuring among the Pharisees.

They hear this undercurrent of discontent, disapproval from these religious leaders.

So he says,

Which one of you?

You had a hundred sheep.

You lose one.

You're not going to leave the ninety-nine and you're going to go chase the one that's lost

until you find it.

And when he has found it,

he joyfully puts it on his shoulders.

And coming home,

he calls his friends and his neighbors together and says,

Rejoice with me because I've found my lost sheep.

I tell you,

in the same way,

there will be more joy in heaven

over one sinner who repents

than over ninety-nine

righteous people

who don't need repentance.

Continue on,

verse eight.

What woman

has ten silver coins

and if she loses one coin,

she doesn't light a lamp,

sweep the house,

and search carefully

until she finds it?

Of course she would.

One silver coin?

That was worth a lot of money.

Back in 1913,

if you lost one dollar,

I bet you'd go looking for it,

wouldn't you?

When she finds it,

she calls her friends

and neighbors together

saying,

Rejoice with me.

I've found the silver coin

I lost.

She had nine others.

They didn't go astray.

They stayed there.

But she went and chased down

the one that was lost.

And I tell you,

verse 10,

in the same way,

there is joy in the presence

of God's angels

over one sinner

who repents.

If you think about it,

the most significant number

in God's kingdom

is one.

Now, I want more than one person

in this church.

I want to see this church

filled until we've got to

bring in extra chairs.

We saw it last Easter Sunday.

I pray God lets us see it again.

I want the building and grounds committee

have to figure out

how we can expand the sanctuary

and fit more people in.

Because that means

that so many lost ones

were found.

the most significant number

in God's kingdom

is one.

Jesus

was the one sacrifice

for all of us.

He died,

the Bible says,

once

for all.

It only took one.

One time.

That's why you don't need

to get saved

or put your faith in Jesus

again

after you've done it.

Because you have then

become God's child.

You don't have to go

get baptized again.

If you made a genuine conversion

decision to place

your faith in Jesus

and then you went public

and were baptized

into a local body

of believers,

you don't have to go

do that again

because one time

was enough.

One sacrifice

by Jesus Christ

was enough

for past,

present,

and future.

Do you realize

that you and I

were dead in our sins?

We had no choice

but to go to hell

and pay this horrible

payment

for all the wrong

that we have done.

The sin that we were

born into.

Nobody had to teach us

how to lie,

cheat,

and steal.

We just knew it

and we did it

from the time

that we were birthed.

I hate to tell you

those sweet,

precious babies

that we prayed over today,

they're sinners.

And you were too

and so am I.

God says

there's a place

of punishment

reserved

for Satan

and all those

who have sided

with him

and all those

in his kingdom

and God wants

to rescue us

from the kingdom

of darkness

and bring us

into his kingdom

and so that's

why he came.

That's why he was born

and that's why

he hung on that cross

and that's why

he willingly allowed

himself to be killed

and that's why

he proved

that he was God

when he didn't let

death defeat him

and he rose up

from the grave.

Easter Sunday

is coming pretty quick,

isn't it?

We're all going

to be focused

on that Jesus

final victory

over death,

his resurrection.

Reality,

we should be focused

on that every day.

That's what gives us life.

That's what gives us

a chance.

That's what gives us

something to put

our hope in,

to build our family on,

put our faith in.

He's different.

He came back to life.

So that one time

was enough

for all of us.

The most significant

number in God's kingdom

is one.

All it takes is

one man.

By one man,

sin passed on

to the whole world.

That was Adam.

That original sin

back in the Garden of Eden.

And just like that,

by one man,

Jesus Christ,

a way of escape

was provided.

a way to reconciliation

with God,

restore that broken

relationship

with God.

So the most significant

number in God's kingdom

is one.

Isn't that interesting?

See these churches

using all kinds of tactics

to get thousands in?

one.

But really,

God cares about

one.

If we ever become

a church

that values

big numbers

over the value

of one,

we've missed

our mission.

We've missed

our calling.

So I want to

challenge you.

God's mission

for this church

is this.

each one

reach one.

Each one

reach one.

Would you take me

up to the next slide

there?

For some reason,

this thing quit

working on me.

I'm going to turn it off

and turn it back on.

Each one

reach one.

Should be,

if you click the space bar,

it'll go,

or one of the arrows.

Sorry about that,

y'all.

The devil doesn't like

what we're talking

about here today.

Each one of us

can reach

one.

And we must.

Each one of us

has the ability

to reach one.

See,

I can't be a Billy Graham,

okay?

I can't go out there

and hold big crusades

and have thousands

of people

turn to faith

in Jesus.

Well,

you might be able

to do more

than you think

you can do

with God's power.

However,

I know

that you can reach

one.

And there is one

right now,

thank you,

there is one

right now

that God has

in your life

that he wants

to place

on your heart

and give you

that burden

for like those

men who tore

through the roof.

There's one

that God

wants to place

this insatiable

burden

for their salvation.

And they need

you to care.

they need you.

They may not

even know it

yet,

but they need

you to care

enough

to share

Jesus with

them.

So what are

we supposed

to do?

Well,

there's two

things.

One,

pray.

Pray.

I lied.

There's three

things.

The first one

is pray.

We must pray.

We talked

about a little

bit in our

starting point

class this

morning.

How often

do you and

I pray

for the lost?

We'll pray

about any

number of

other things

and that's

good.

We should

bring our

needs and

our requests

and the

burdens on

our heart

to the Lord.

The Father

cares.

He cares about

the little bird

that falls out

of its nest.

He cares about

you.

He cares about

your daily

food.

He cares about

your daily

needs.

He cares about

your health

and he has

the power to

heal.

But you know

what should be

one of the

chief burdens

on your heart?

The lost

around you.

your lost

cousin,

your lost

daughter,

your lost

grandson,

your lost

neighbor,

your lost

co-worker,

your lost

friend at

school.

Are you

praying for

their salvation?

You know what

the scary thing

is about praying

for someone's

salvation?

God might use

you to do

this next thing.

Invite them.

God might

then take it

up to the

next level

and say okay

you've been

praying now

you're the

vessel I

want to

use.

You're the

one I

want to

use to

go have

a conversation.

Again you

don't have

to be an

expert in

theology to

share what

Jesus has

done in

your life.

But that

begs the

question doesn't

it?

Has Jesus

done anything

in your

life?

Do you

have anything

to share?

Do you

have a

testimony of

his goodness?

Do you

have a clear

moment when

you turned

from sin

and turned

to the

savior?

savior?

And can

you share

that with

someone else?

Say well I'm

shy.

Well maybe

God will give

that person a

pass on paying

for their

sins with

an eternity

in hell

because you

were shy.

Or maybe

God can

help you.

Maybe God

knows exactly

how shy

you are

because he

created you.

Maybe he

gave you

that personality.

But maybe

he can help

you overcome

whatever

obstacles are

in your

way and

dig through

a roof

to get

to that

person.

So can

you at

least invite

them?

Invite

them to

church.

Invite

them.

Hey let's

not even

get there

first.

Invite

them to

your home.

Invite

them over.

If they're

a neighbor

say you

know we

need to

we've been

living together

well living

together we've

been living

next to each

other for

how long

now?

I hope

that you're

sharing the

gospel with

the people

that you're

living together

with.

That would

be great.

If you're

not please

do it.

But first

invite them

to your

home.

Say come

over for

dessert.

If you

don't make

desserts there's

a lot of

people in

this church

that do.

Go ask

them to

make you

a dessert

so you

can share

the gospel

with your

neighbor.

I bet

they'll do

it.

I know

my wife

will.

Invite

them to

your home.

If

that's

out of

their

comfort

zone

invite

them

out

to

a

restaurant.

We

got

a

church.

This is

where they

will hear

the gospel

preached.

They will

meet all

kinds of

people.

Some of

them they

may know

already who

could help

build a

bridge to

that person

and let

them know

we love

you.

Jesus

loves you.

We want

you to

put your

faith in

him like

we have

because he

can make

all the

difference.

and then

maybe you

invite them

to your

d-group.

Maybe you

invite them

to your

Sunday

school

class.

Not a

bad idea.

Sometimes

those get

into things

that might

be a little

bit over

their head

if they're

not a

lifelong

church

person.

Might be a

little

intimidating.

But you

know your

class and

if that's a

good opportunity

to invite

someone who's

not already

a Jesus

follower into

that class

then do

it.

Maybe they

can meet

some people

there.

That's what

d-groups are

designed for.

So if you're

not in a

d-group

get in a

d-group.

We got

the

candidates

going on.

We got

Wade's

on Monday

night.

David

Sizemore

starting

one.

We got

opportunities

to meet

in homes,

meet in

places

outside of

Sunday,

outside of

Wednesday

night,

and get

in a

community

of

believers,

encourage

one another,

sharpen

each other,

and sometimes

that's a

less intimidating

place.

To invite

somebody who's

not used to

coming to

church,

isn't a

follower of

Jesus,

but they

might come to

somebody's

house,

eat something,

and enjoy some

fellowship,

and they'll hear

about the

Savior there.

So what can you

invite somebody to

today,

tomorrow?

Who can you

go home

and say,

come over to my

house for dinner?

here.

Let's figure out

a date.

Here's the

three times I'm

at the

available,

can you do

any of

these?

Let's nail

it down.

And then

number three,

we share.

Praying is

where we must

start,

but it's not

enough.

Inviting is

usually the

next step,

but it's not

enough.

We must share

the gospel.

We must share

the good news.

Praying for

someone moves

the hand of

God,

but do you

know what

the hand of

God then

moves?

His people.

Praying moves

the hand of

God,

and then God

moves his

people.

So his

people must

put feet to

their prayers,

and God

must use

them to get

his good news

out.

That's how he

set it up.

That was his

method.

So,

we must share.

If you

don't know

how to

share the

gospel,

think through

how you

were saved.

Maybe it

was recently,

maybe it

was a long

time ago.

But if

you've been

in church

for any

length of

time,

especially

this one,

you've

heard the

gospel preached

many,

many times.

That is

the story

of Jesus

and our

salvation.

That's

what saves

them.

They must

know they're

sinners,

just like

all of us

are.

They must

know that

Jesus died

for their

sin out

of his

love for

us.

They must

know that

he proved

he was

God by

God raising

him from

the dead.

And then

they must

know that

the only

way of

salvation is

placing their

faith in

him for

the forgiveness

of their

sins.

And then

they can

become God's

child.

Once for

all.

Once forever.

So we've

got to share

it.

one of

the best

ways to

share it

is telling

your own

testimony.

So you

know I

was raised

in church

and when

I got

old enough

to understand

a Sunday

school teacher

or my

mom or

whoever it

was shared

this with

me.

And I

was old

enough to

understand

that I've

got to put

my faith

in Jesus.

And I

want to

share that

with you.

And this

is what

God has

shown me

over the

years.

I said

it a few

weeks ago.

Your story

is somebody

that nobody

can argue

with.

Your story

is something

that nobody

can argue

with.

Your story

is unique

to you.

They can

argue until

they're blue

in the face

about something

they read

in the Bible

or something

they heard

at church.

But they

can't argue

with what

you have

experienced

where God

has brought

you.

And you

can use

that with

scripture.

If you're

only telling

your experience

that's not

going to get

them anywhere

good.

But if

you share

the word

of God

with them

at least

give them

John 3

16.

Okay?

Can we

all say

John 3

16?

Let's try

it.

Ready?

For God

so loved

the world

that he

gave his

only,

his one

and only

son,

only begotten

son,

that whosoever

believes in

him should

not perish

but have

eternal

or everlasting

life.

We got

that one

most of

us.

If you

don't

commit

that one

to memory

alright?

Pull out

your little

Bible app

on your

phone or

grab your

paper Bible

and look

at it and

read John

3 16

until you

know it

backwards

and forwards

upside down.

John 3

16 has

the whole

gospel in

it.

There's

many many

other verses

you could

share to

help lead

somebody to

Jesus but

at least

get the

gospel in.

Share your

testimony.

Share this

quote with

you.

One of the

greatest

evangelism

professors I

ever heard

in my

seminary

training was

this.

If a man

hears the

gospel and

receives it

God's

responsible.

It's true

isn't it?

We can't

take credit

for that.

When you

heard the

gospel and

you received

it God

was responsible

for that.

He made

that happen.

If he

hears it and

rejects it

he's responsible

for that.

He rejected

he had an

opportunity and

he didn't

he didn't

accept it.

He rejected.

God knew he

would reject

it.

Still allowed

him to have

this time on

this earth

but he

rejected.

He's

responsible but

if he

never hears

that's on

us because

our job is

to get the

gospel out.

I don't

exactly understand

how that

works.

God could

just plop

a Bible in

front of

everybody on

earth and

have it fall

open to

John 3 16

and make

sure they

hear.

He could

do that

if he

wanted to.

But instead

he chose

to tell us

to go do

it.

And in

some way

even though

God's in

charge of

all this

and he

knows and

all his

children are

going to

come into

the kingdom

it still

depends on

us going

and getting

it out.

So you

can't just

sit back

and say

well I

don't have

to do

anything

because God's

responsible for

it all so

he'll sort

it out.

He'll sort

the sheep

from the

wolves you

know.

Thank God

I'm a

sheep.

Nope

that's not

what he

said.

He said

you're

responsible

to take

this good

news out

so go

do it.

Go

and

tell.

So

our

takeaway

today

is

this

praying

inviting

and

sharing.

You know

what happens

if all

God's

people win

one

we win

the world

and I'm

convinced

that Jesus

isn't going

to come

back

until

every

corner

of this

earth

has had

a chance

to hear

the gospel.

So it's

our job

to get

it out.

Win

one

win

the world.

What do

you need

to do?

Are you

already

praying

for the

lost?

Do you

need to

take the

next step

and invite

them?

Have you

already

invited

them but

you've

never

actually

shared

the gospel?

Where do

you need

to go?

What

step do

you need

to take?

Pray

invite

share.

Would

you bow

with me

right now?

God

give

every

man

woman

and

young

person

in

this

room

one.

Give

them

one

right

now.

Give

them

a

face

that

is

burned

into

their

brain

and

they

can't

get

it

out

of

their

mind.

!

If

y'all

will

hold

on

we've

got

a

couple

we've

got

one

more

thing

to

do

hey

if

you

guys

will

tell

them

to

come

back

in

for

just

a

second

we've

got

one

more

thing

to

do

before

we

leave

God

I don't

want to

miss

I don't

want our

church

to miss

this

we've

got

a

very

very

special

opportunity

here

to

see

you

save

hundreds

through

the

group

of

people

in

this

room

you

want

to

do

it

the

only

question

is

will

we

go

and

tell

so

give

us

that

one

burn

that

face

in

our

brain

burn

it

in

our

mind's

eye

and

let

everyone

see

the

path

forward

the

next

step

with

that

one

pray

for

them

invite

them

share

you

with

them

and

it's

in

Jesus

name

we

pray

amen