Who's Your One? : The Importance Of One

Who’s Your One: (Part 1)

THE IMPORTANCE OF ONE

John 1:35-46 (ESV)

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 
36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 
37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 
38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 
39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 
41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 
42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). 
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 
46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

As I begin our sermon this morning, I first wanted us to wrestle with these two critical questions:

Do you believe that your personal influence can make a huge difference in your community or in the world?

Is it possible that you are where you are because God wants to use your personal influence to make an eternal difference in the life of someone else?

Time and again, my fear is that because we live in such a big world, where there are so many people, it is so easy for us to underestimate the impact that our one life can have. Often, our mindset is: "I am just one, and what can just one person do?"

However, the more you study the Bible, the more you will find testimonies of people who were willing to entrust their “one life” to God and allowed Him to use them according to His perfect plan. In the Old Testament, you will find examples like Joseph, though being one but was used by the Lord to preserve so many lives in Egypt, including His own family. Or you can also find examples of Esther and Nehemiah. They were not necessarily anointed prophets or judges; they were in a way common people who understood that God was calling them to higher purpose of existence.

In modern church history, we also have the example of Jeremiah Lanphier who was used by the Lord to fan the flame for the great spiritual revival of 1857. If you have not heard of him, let me introduce him to you through this short video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jlAxXa4Shk&t=39s

Without a doubt, the life of Jeremiah Lanphier is an awesome reminder to us that even if we are the only one, God can really make an eternal difference through us! This morning, we are kicking off our new sermon series entitled - Who’s Your One?

With this new series, we are following the lead of the national Southern Baptist Convention to encourage churches like ours to emphasize a more intentional one-on-one Gospel conversation. This initiative came about after so many studies why many evangelical churches are closing their doors or why others are not growing. One of the surveys they highlighted was done by the Barna Research Group, which was published on March 26, 2019. They have surveyed non-Christians and Christians who have not attended church within the previous months. The survey revealed that they prefer to learn more about faith:

30% said through casual one-on-one conversation

23% said through casual group within a group

20% said through meeting someone at church

7% said through video or movie presentation

6% said through concert venue

5% said through a Gospel tract

3% said through conversation with someone on the street

41% said through none of these

So, based on these statistics, if we want to see ourselves being used effectively in witnessing to others about Jesus Christ, the most effective way today is still one-on-one Gospel conversation. And this is not really surprising because even in the New Testament time, when Jesus Christ started His earthly ministry, we would find examples of one person capitalizing on his own personal influence to win someone to Jesus Christ. In fact, in the text we have read earlier, we will find Andrew and Philip demonstrating the power of their own personal influence. Let’s study our text and learn some specific actions that we can integrate in our own lives, so that God can use our personal witness effectively:

I UNCOVER THE BEAUTY OF JESUS

When you go back to our main text, first, we can definitely highlight the two specific occasions wherein certain people came in close interaction with Jesus. The first ones were the two disciples of John the Baptist. After John pointed to Jesus “as the Lamb of God,” his two disciples got a clear message and started making the efforts to get to know Jesus better. One of these two was Andrew, the brother of Peter. Then, you have Philip, who met Jesus Christ in Galilee. If you read verse 43, when they met in Galilee, Jesus extended the invitation to Philip to follow Him.

It is so important to establish this fact because, I believe, that this is the very foundation of our personal witnessing. Do you know why? It is impossible for anyone of us to talk about Jesus if we are not absolutely convinced that He made a huge difference in our life.

If you consider our text, Andrew told Peter, “We have found the Messiah” (v.41). While Philip told Nathaniel, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (v.45). Although Philip’s statement was a little bit longer, it had the same message, which points to Jesus Christ as the true Messiah. Of course, for both Andrew and Philip, this was extraordinary news. Both of them grew up learning from the Old Testament Scriptures that the Messiah was coming, and they were the very first ones to know Him personally. Undeniably, this is the very reason why they were excited to talk about Him. 
 Do you know Jesus enough that you would be excited to talk about Him? Allow me to lead you to two essential passages that I hope and pray we will fully understand:

1) Matthew 13:44-46 (ESV) 
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

In these verses, you have two beautiful parables that refer to Jesus Christ as a priceless treasure. Anyone who finds Him will immediately recognize that His worth is more than all the treasures of the world.

2) Romans 1:16 (ESV) 
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

This verse allows us to peek into the reason why the apostle Paul was so bold in talking about Gospel of Jesus Christ. His main reason was that Jesus has the power to save everyone who believes in Him. Of course, we can easily add the truth that He is the only one who has the power to save.

John 14:6 (ESV) 
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Today, many of us are taking these truths for granted. If He is a priceless treasure and the only passage for people to go to heaven, then we should never hesitate to share Him to others. Please know this: the worst disservice that we can do today is withholding Jesus from people who will be eternally deprived of the blessings He can bring into their lives.

II UNDERSTAND THE BENEFITS OF RELATIONSHIP

The second truth I want to emphasize is found in the people that Andrew and Philip went to reach as soon as they met the Messiah. While Andrew went to reach out to Peter, his brother, Philip went to witness to Nathanael, his friend.

I believe, it was quite natural for both Andrew and Philip to prioritize these people they already have a relationship in their personal witnessing. It was natural for them to be concerned with their family and friends. Since, they just found the Messiah, the people closest to them should know Him too, right?

Well, in our personal witnessing, we need to understand the benefits that relationships with family and friends give us:

They give us access.

For many people, especially nowadays, the matters of faith are private. It is not open for everyone to meddle with. However, a parent, sibling, or a friend could access this sensitive topic.

They give us trust.

Since they know us and are familiar with our faith journey, we have probably gained some level of credibility to them. So, if we are the ones who will tell them what we have found in Christ, there is a bigger chance that they will listen.

They won’t second-guess our motive.

When we talk about faith in Jesus, there is always the possibility that we will make them feel uncomfortable because we are pointing them to the truth. This means, they have to accept the reality first that something is wrong or missing in their concept of faith. However, the assurance of love and concern can ease up the tension.

These three benefits in relationship should allow us to see the tremendous opportunities that God is giving us through the relationships He has blessed us with. Often, we have been terrified to fulfill this responsibility of one-on-one Gospel conversation because we always feel we have to share to random people on the street, stop them on whatever they are doing, and lend us some time for our Gospel presentation. Now, I’m not saying that we don’t do it. There are times when God has ordained opportunities like this. For example, you’re taking a flight and God allows you to have an opportunity to witness to the person beside you. But we should not take for granted the effectiveness of relational witnessing. Here are two essential studies related to this:

Evangelist Luis Palau’s research shows that 75% of all those who come to Christ do so through a relationship with a saved friend, relative, or co-worker.

The Institute of American Church Growth reports an even higher percentage, with almost 90% of the 14,000 Christians recently polled saying they came to Christ through “a friend or relative who invested in a relationship with them.”

So, who are the family members or friends whom God is laying in your heart? Can you identify at least one person that you will commit to pray for the next couple of days or perhaps a week? Then, after praying for the person, find an opportunity to share Jesus to him or her one-on-one.

III UNCLUTTER THE BASICS OF YOUR MESSAGE

Lastly, we should also emphasize the way we should share our message. If you examine verses 45-46, we will find Philip telling Nathanael as Jesus of Nazareth being the true Messiah. However, Nathanael was at first skeptical of what he has heard. He said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

If you are familiar with Nazareth, you will probably understand why Nathanael responded this way. You see, Nazareth was a very insignificant village. Scholars approximate that during the time of Jesus, Nazareth probably has around 200-400 in population. In Nathanael’s mind, why would God raise someone from this obscure village to be the Messiah? Of course, the more you know God, the more you would realize that He loves working through ordinary places and people to accomplish His extraordinary plans. Why? It is because He can get greater honor and glory through them.

1 Corinthians 1:27-31 (ESV) 
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 
28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 
30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Going back to Nathanael’s skepticism, Philip had a very simple response, “Come and see.” Notice, he did not argue, debate, or lecture Nathanael. He, instead, simply gave Him the invitation to checkout for himself the claims of Jesus Christ. This is a good warning for us, especially us who have been in the faith for quite some time already. Often, we have the idea that in order to win someone to Jesus Christ, we need to win the argument. So, we often would confuse witnessing with convincing. What’s the difference? In witnessing, just like in a judicial court, the witnesses simply narrate what they know about the case – what they have seen, what they have heard, or what they have experienced. It is up to the jury to evaluate the facts and make their conclusions. So, in witnessing, we are simply presenting what we know about Jesus – who He is and what He can do. It is up to the person we are witnessing to make his or her conclusion.

Of course, we know that whenever we are sharing the Gospel, the Holy Spirit is also working powerfully in the heart of the person who is receiving our witness. This verse is really comforting:

John 16:8 (ESV) 
8And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

Notice, Jesus plainly stated that one of the significant roles of the Holy Spirit is to “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:” The word “convict” literally means “to convince.” Therefore, part of what He does is convincing people regarding sin (they have sinned against God), righteousness (they don’t meet God’s standard of righteousness), and judgment (they will be punished because of their sins).

Now, in our case, this “Come and see” invitation could mean an invitation to attend our EGroup Bible studies, or a one-on-one Bible study regarding the claims of Jesus. It is also possible to give direct invitation to come to church, so that they will be exposed to the studies of God’s Word. There are so many people who started out as skeptics, but later became true believers of Jesus Christ.

If you read further with what happened to Nathanael, he went with Philip and encountered Jesus personally:

John 1:47-49 (ESV) 
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 
48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

I love these verses because you will see that when Nathanael came to Jesus, Jesus Himself was able to convince him that He is the real deal. You see, Jesus will never disappoint anyone. If you go to Him and check Him out, He is always able to prove to you that He is worthy of your trust!

As I close, I just want to challenge all of us never to underestimate the importance of our own personal witness. Listen. There are people in this world who are dependent on our witness. Whether we accept it or not, we are probably their best chance to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Helen Keller said, “"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do."