For The Sake Of One

Apr 4, 2021 | by The Fellowship

While He was on earth, Jesus was constantly being surrounded by “notorious sinners” who came to listen to Him teach.  His words were like none they had ever heard before! This great popularity caused much anxiety to the moral and religious leaders of the day who were the self-proclaimed authorities on all matters relating to God.  And they wondered why in the world Jesus would associate with “such sinful people—even eating with them!”

So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do?  Will he not leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?  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 have not strayed away.”  Luke 15:4-7 NLT 

In my calling to share the “Good News” with college students on a major university campus in Texas, it is my joy to also hang out with “sinners.”  Of course, we are all sinners – but some of us as Christ-followers have been saved by His grace.  It is those who have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and made Him Lord of their lives that I am seeking to reach.  My constant prayer is to be led to those students whose hearts are open to hearing about and receiving Christ.

I recently invited three guys from a couple of fraternities to lunch. One of them is already a believer who has been learning how to effectively share his faith.  He brought three of his fraternity brothers with him and God provided a great opportunity for a fun time to interact with them and then to share the gospel.

I have found a very effective way to lead into a spiritual discussion by asking this question: “What would you put in the blank?  (Blank) is proof to you that God loves you and wants you to be happy." They all shared something! This is a great conversation starter because there is no wrong answer.  It opened the way to talk about the ultimate proof that God loves us -- Jesus!

The next week I spoke to a fraternity about maintaining balance in college and encouraging them not to put their faith on the back-burner. “When the storms of life hit ... and they will hit ... if you are not rooted and established in your faith, it is going to be painful if not devastating.” They knew all too well what I was talking about since two of their fraternity members were lost to suicide over the last couple of semesters.

Following that talk, several new initiates expressed interest in meeting up to talk more.  A pair of twins, known as “Big Country” and “Lil’ Country” because of their size difference, wanted more information -- so I invited them to meet me for breakfast. All I can say is that there is a party being thrown in heaven right now over two lost sinners who have repented and returned to God. They both placed their faith and trust in Jesus and crossed over from death to life! (John 5:24). Both have been faithfully coming to the Bible study I am leading.

During this Easter season, as we remember the indescribable cost that Jesus paid for our sins in dying on the cross, I am so thankful for every opportunity to lead another to salvation in Him. Each new believer is a wonderful answer to prayer!  My deepest desire is to never miss an open door to usher someone into glorious new life in Christ!

T.H.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
John 14:6