It’s still all about the ONE…(Luke 15:1-7)

…the one lost coin.

…the one lost sheep.

…the one lost son.

In order for us to always be all about the ONE; here are 4 things we must continue to strive for:

1. Invite the ONE… (invest relationally and financially in sharing the good news with people and inviting them to church)

 ”If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? (Luke 15:4 NLT)

Jesus is the GOOD SHEPHERD. God is the shepherd in this story. God is the Great Pursuer of our souls. HE was pursuing you long before you turned to Him. In fact, while we were turning our backs on Jesus, He was putting His back up on the cross! He loves you and wants to bring you home, He wants to bless you and bring you success in all you do.

The Shepherd also went out searching and didn’t come back home until he found the lost sheep. God is the great missionary. He left all of heaven, was born as a man to seek and to the save the lost.

Jesus said, As the Father has sent me, so send I you.

In Christ, you are a SENT ONE! Are you pursuing the lost? I mean, even way beyond convenience. Way beyond cute. Way beyond comfortable?

Are you willing to be comfortable getting uncomfortable for the cause of Jesus Christ?

2. Prepare for the ONE… (think like a 1st time guest on the weekend, what will help them feel welcomed and more apt to receive God’s message). We must prepare our host and kids environments. We must prepare our worship experience. We must prepare our sermons. We must prepare our guest and new believer follow up resources. We must prepare our volunteers, ministry leaders, and dcGroup leaders.

When the shepherd leaves the 99 others there is preparation that takes place. He has to make sure they are safe, fed, and taken care of while he is gone. BUT…even more importantly the Shepherd MUST prepare for his search and rescue mission! He has to pack. He has to plan out his route. He has to think like a sheep (which is easy for most of us). Sheep are dumb; they wander off. They smell a butt and go after it. We are often just like that The Shepherd has to think, “If I was a sheep, where would I be.” He has to assume that the sheep will be hungry, since he is lost and hasn’t been in the fold to feed on the pasture. He has to prepare to feed him an emergency meal. The Shepherd Has to prepare to address his wounds. The sheep may have fallen into a pit, gotten injured and is unable to help himself. The Shepherd must be prepared with the right tools to help this sheep out of the pit; bind his wounds, and graciously pick him up and carry him home. The SHEPHERD must prepare for the ONE lost sheep or the rescue mission will fail!

It’s the same way in God’s House. WE must prepare for the ONE lost person that God brings into our fold, maybe its a weekend worship experience, or possibly a weekly life group. We must think like a first time guest. What does our signage look like? Is the kids ministry clean and safe? Are the greeters smiling or looking like their dog just got run over? Seriously, there is HUGE DIFFERENCE between being greeted by someone who actually looks like they are GLAD to be in the Lord’s House or someone who looks like they are constipated. Is the worship team energetic and passionate about the lyrics they are singing? Are they prepared? Is the preacher glued to his notes or is he free to speak God’s word with boldness and confidence? Are the guest services volunteers ready to minister to people? Are we prepared for those who are hurting, or are we too buy? Did we bring the right tools to help people in their marriages, finances, parenting, health, career, dreams, hurts, habits, etc…

Are you preparing for the ONE?

3. Celebrate the ONE… (every week the heaven hosts celebrate the ONE…so must we).

And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! (Luke 15:5-7 NLT)

I love the fact that the Shepherd and his team throw a huge party when they have found the lost sheep. Wow, the Shepherd really loves his sheep!

If I go to a farm or a petting zoo and I look at a sheep I don’t see much, I don’t hear much, I only smell a stank coming from them BUT…The Good Shepherd can see what others can not see. Where some might only see failure, worthlessness, or insignificance, the Shepherd sees INFINITE VALUE, A PRECIOUS TREASURE, SOMETHING TO THROW A PARTY OVER!

When God looks at you, He throws a party! You put a smile on God’s face! Some of you have a hard time receiving that; but it’s true. When just one sinner turns to follow Jesus, all of heaven throws a huge celebration! You should join the party over your own salvation!

AND…some of you have a hard time throwing a party over other people’s salvation. I meet some people who just can’t believe that 246 adults have invited Christ to be their Forgiver & Leader in the past 2 years at our church (and 82 of those new believers have already obeyed Jesus in the step of baptism in just 23 months). They say, “No you must be watering down the gospel, no they must not really mean it; no that can’t really happen in New England.” My friend, do not discredit the move of God just because you aren’t seeing it in your own life. In fact, join in the celebration and I guarantee you will begin to see God move in your own life too!

AND…some of you have a hard time celebrating the wins and successes of others. Other people’s success does not make you a failure. In fact, you should hang out with them, greatness is contagious! Hang around with great people and you will soon see greatness in your own life!

Are you celebrating the ONE? Are you doing this in your private time with God? Are you doing this with your family (are you teaching them to celebrate the one)? Are you doing this with your ministry team(s)?

4. Develop the ONE… (into a hardcore follower of Jesus).

The Shepherd didn’t return home until he FOUND the lost sheep. The mission wasn’t over until that one lost sheep was draped across the shepherd’s shoulders. It wasn’t ENOUGH to say, “Well, we went out there looking, we just couldn’t find him. Sorry, we left a voicemail, I guess we are done doing all we can do. Oh well, we went until we got tired. Aww shucks, we just ran out of time. At least we still have the 99 others. They are just so much more committed. These lost sheep, they are just too much work.”

Nope. The Shepherd had one mission and it was ALL ABOUT THE ONE! And it wasn’t to just give it his best try; it was to do everything possible AND KEEP DOING IT UNTIL he found the lost sheep!

THEN…he carried it home, threw a party and connected him back with the fold. The sheep became a part of the 99. That one lost sheep made 100. It made the family complete.

There are a lot of lost people in our community. Our church is INCOMPLETE until we have reached every last one of them. Granted, there are other great churches in our community and they will reach certain people we can’t; but we must keep searching until we bring ONE more lost person home.

It’s not enough to just find the lost sheep. We have to bring him home and back to the family. It’s not enough to lead someone to make a first time decision for Christ, we must grow them into fully transformed disciples of Christ.

The Great Commission is not “Go into all the world and get people to SIGN UP.” It’s go into all the world and make DISCIPLES.

We have to continue to grow these new believers up in Christ through clear biblical teaching on the weekends, relationships with other believers in small groups, stewardship, serving others, and then joining the ONE LOST SHEEP Search & Rescue Team.

Found people find people!

We must follow up, follow up, follow up until they take a next step. We must grow first time decisions for Christ into fully transformed disciples of Christ!

Are you helping to develop the ONE? Are you in a small group loving on other believers, serving other believers, praying for other believers? Are you serving on a ministry team? Using your gifts in God’s House? Are you giving financially to the mission? Are you tithing and learning to live sacrificially for the kingdom of God?