Today, I want to share a tool (or mindset) that can help us focus on how to accomplish our mission and vision.

Credit to Kyle Idleman and his book, One at a Time, whose ideas he shares in the book shape this lesson.

Resources links:

• Book: One at a Time
• Bible Study for Families: SEKIDS_1XFG.pdf (squarespace.com)
• Bible Study for Groups: OAAT-Study-Guide-Final.pdf (squarespace.com)
• Youtube Video Series

Intro- 

Jesus was one man who changed the world. How did he do it?

We are to be imitators of God and Christ. Ephesians 5:1-2:

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

So how can I imitate Christ and make as much of a difference as he did? 

By loving one at a time.

Zoom Lens- 

While Jesus loved everyone in the crowds, he loved them one at a time.

Example 1: Mark 5:21-43, Jairus and the woman with a bleed

21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24 And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?'” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

Jesus loved one at a time.

Example 2: The man by the pool of Bethesda, John 5:2-9, 13-14

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. (skip to 13)

13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.

Jesus loved one at a time. 

In then Through–

To make a difference, we must first let God work in us, then through us.

Paul said in Galatians 2:20,

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Is your soil being tended? Mark 4:1-9, Parable of the Sower

1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Jesus explains this parable in verses 10-20. Let’s focus on verses 18-20.

18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

Just like with plants, before fruit (a result) can be born, growth must start in the soil (the heart). 

Example: Moses (80 years of preparation)

40 years in Egypt, 40 years as a shepherd, until finally 40 years as God’s leader.

We must first be willing to let God work in us, before he works through us.

Proximity-

Loving one at a time will take us to places and people we are uncomfortable.

Mark 4:1,35; 5:1-20, Jesus and the demon-possessed man

1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. … (skip to 35)

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”

5:1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. 14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

Jesus loved one at a time, even when it was uncomfortable. But look at the result. 

Loving one at a time is going to take us to people and places that are uncomfortable, but it is there that God is glorified.

Compassion and–

Loving one at a time requires compassion and action.

Luke 10:30-37, The Parable of the Good Samaritan (summarize, read verse 33)

30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Here we see Jesus teaching that to love one at a time, we have to show compassion.

Examples of Compassion and… 

• two blind men who Jesus healed, Matt 20:34
• the leper,who Jesus touched and healed him, Mark 1:41
• the 5000 who Jesus fed, Mark 6:34
• the widow who Jesus raised her son, Luke 7:11-17
• the people who Jesus prayed for, Matt 9:35-38

Extra Mile Mentality-

Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount about what loving one at a time looks like. 

In Matthew 5:38-42, 

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Instead of giving in to evil, we overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21

Paul puts it this way in Philippians 2:1-11,

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We love one at a time because, in showing that love, God is glorified, souls are saved, and we become more like Christ.

Don’t Be a Prig-

We must humble ourselves, give glory to God, reject our own biases, and consider others before ourselves, because everyone deserves to hear the gospel. None of us are better than another. 

Romans 3:22-24:

22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ (is) for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Outro-

The “one at a time” principle is that it doesn’t require us to try to be someone we are not, but rather it requires us to trust God and let Him do the work in and through us.

God is calling us to partner with Him in His work, by showing love one at a time.

The True Story of Alfred Lomas 

Adapted from EverybodyWiki, About – Alfred Lomas, and One at a Time

Alfred Lomas was a gang member in South Central Los Angeles. He joined one of the gangs at age 12, and was involved with drugs and violence. Then in 2005, after being released from jail, he came across an elderly lady in a back alley who was lost after being seperated from her mission trip group. The lady saw him and, instead of turning the other way from this scary-looking, tattooed man, walked up to him. She asked if he was hungry. Alfred was confused, but he was also hungry, so he nodded yes. The lady asked him to help her figure out where she was, promising to take him somewhere he could get food. Alfred went with her and got connected with a Christian ministry called the Dream Center. There he was fed, but he also learned about God’s unconditional love and became a Christian. From then, his life changed. Alfred is now the founder of a program called Inner City Visions. It is through his work that 92% of the systems-involved youth who have gone through his training program are now successfully employed, the neighborhood were the program in located has experienced a 43% reduction in violence and murders, as well as many other impacts. 

All because one elderly lady:

• saw someone like Jesus did
• had compassion on him
• trusted God to work in and through her
• overcame her fear
• and went out of her way to talk to him.

We can all love one at a time.