Sermon - Luke 15 - Who Is Your One? - Littleby Baptist Church - July 28, 2019

The Bible shows us that Jesus fed thousands, twice. Peter preached, and three thousand people were added to the church in a single day.

The Great Commission tells us:

Matthew 28:18-20

“¹⁸ Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We are to go and make disciples of all nations.

We are also familiar with Jesus’ final command before He ascended to be with the Father.

Acts 1:8

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

We need to witness to our community, our state, country, and the rest of the world.

Sometimes when you look at all of this, it can seem overwhelming. Now I know anything is possible for God, but I for one do not expect to perform a miracle where thousands are fed. I think it is amazing having 1 person accept the Lord and while I have seen thousands profess faith at the Harvest Crusades at the Angel’s Stadium, it is hard for me to imagine giving an alter call and having 3,000 repent of their sins and beginning a new life with Christ.

Sometimes when we think about making disciples of all nations, witnessing to our community, the state of Missouri, the USA, and the rest of the world, it can be hard to figure out how we here at Littleby Baptist can really do all that.

When you look at these things at face value, through our human eyes, it can be overwhelming.

You have probably heard me say that I like superhero movies. I enjoy a good adventure and most superhero movies are fairly clean. Roughly 75% of this message was written last November after watching the movie Justice League.

That was not the first time I watched it so, I was half watching and half reading articles from various Christin sites. I read a headline and the first paragraph of an article about J.D. Greer, who is the President of the SBC, not that I knew that back then. The article was titled ‘Who’s your one?’ I could not tell you anything about the article and it took me well over an hour one night to find it, but the title stayed with me. ‘Who’s your one?’

Later during Justice League a young Flash was struggling with how he can help during a large battle. He was a rookie superhero who had never battled any powered foes and they were heading into a tough battle. Batman calmly told Flash to simply rescue one person. Flash a little confused asked what he should do after that, and Batman told him that he would know what to do then.

That conversation between Batman and Flash, the title of the article I half paid attention to bounced around in the back of my head and struck a chord. As an individual, as a small church, we may not be able to change the world, but it does not mean that we cannot have a God sized impact.

Matthew 22:34-40

“³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. ³⁵ And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him: ³⁶ “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the greatest and most important command. ³⁹ The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

We are to Love God and Love our neighbor. This is the third section of scripture I have read this morning; did you catch the difference?

The Great Commission is about making disciples, plural. Acts 1:8 is about witnesses to vast numbers of people. The second of the Greatest Commandments is about loving a single person. ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

As the Church, the whole Body of Christ we are to reach the world. As the Body of Christ, we can reach places we could never do as individuals, witness to cultures that we could never touch on our own.

That is one of the great things about being a Southern Baptist is that we combine with other like-minded churches and reach farther than we could ever on our own. With our contributions to Grand Crossings Baptist Association, Missouri Baptist Convention, NAMB, and IMB the reach of Littleby Baptist is farther than we probably realize. Our Sunday school offerings touch lives in ways we will never know on this side of eternity. I love that we gave $625 to Faith Maternity Care in Fulton, carrying for young mothers and their children.

We are part of the Body of Christ and we do help in achieving the the Great Commission and we are Witnesses to the ends of the earth.

As individuals we need to remember the second of the Greatest Commandments to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love your neighbor, in other words start with one person, love them and you will know what to do after that.

We live in a world of 7 billion people, and for you or me it is beyond our ability to reach even a small percentage on our own. That is why we start with one. Pick one person to pray for. One person to love beyond measure. One person to witness to. When that one person repents and turn to Jesus, help them stand on their own feet, and then you will know exactly what to do.

You may ask, if focusing on one person is really that important?

Luke 15:1-7

“15 All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to him. ² And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” ³ So he told them this parable: ⁴ “What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? ⁵ When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, ⁶ and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ ⁷ 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.”

Jesus told this parable to emphasize the importance of the one. One sheep was so important that the shepherd left the rest to find it. All the shepherds focus, all of his attention, was on finding the single lost sheep. For Jesus, any and every person who is not following Him is just like that lost sheep. He asks for us, His followers, as we are loving others to go out and find those that are lost.

It is our mission to make disciples, or maybe from a more personal level it is our mission to make a disciple. Our focus is to start with One.

The shepherd was looking for that single lost sheep. The next parable in Luke 15 we find a woman looking for the single lost coin. Who is your One? Who are you praying for, speaking to, meeting a need of? Who is the one that you are loving?

After Flash rescued that first person, he understood exactly what he needed to do. He ran back and rescued another, then another, and another until all the people where safe. Then he ran in to help the team.

As an individual we cannot reach the entire world, but as an individual we can touch one and love one. Then two can touch two and love two, then four will be reaching four, eight will reach eight, then sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four, and on and on. You, loving your neighbor, focusing on your one, can impact that world.

Through loving your one, you will be witnessing to your community, your nation, and to the ends of the earth. Through touching and loving your one, you will be making disciples.

You will never know how far loving your neighbor will reach. For most of us, our one is our mission field.

Who is your one to witness to? Who is your one to encourage? Who is your one to walk along side of? Who is your one to lift up? Who is your one to invite to church? Who is your one to pray for?

Who is your one to touch and Love?



Go into your mission filed and touch one and love one!

God Bless,

Robert