John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God
There is only one God. ‘One Lord, one faith, one baptism’ Eph 4:5. One heaven. One door. One path. One way! Well, all ways lead to God, but there’s only one way that will have a good ending. We have only one lawyer. We have only one judge, who is the Father of our lawyer, which is always a good thing. Only one type of person is saved. Only those who put their whole faith of salvation in only the finished work of the One who died for us and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. One is a great number for believers! The word ‘only’ comes from the word one. There is only One way to heaven, Jesus!
1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
For the non-believers, the number one is not such a good number. People who aren’t saved are lonely if they’re alone. I can honestly say that I have not been lonely not even once, since the day I got saved. I relish being alone with God whenever I can be. Lonely people call me and say ‘I’m lonely’ and I can’t help but envy them. Even when Winnie gives me the ‘silent treatment’ I kind of relish it. I love being alone with God. A true believer can never be lonely because they’re alone with the one they love most. Alone as a Christian. Lonely as a non-Christian. I’ve experienced both. It’s better to be alone than lonely. Ever notice that lonely people are obsessed with everyone and anyone else? I’m kind of oblivious to others unless I perceive myself or my Lord to be attacked, or if someone’s suffering.
‘One is the loneliest number’ sang the group ‘guess who’ when I was a kid. I hated to be alone when I was a lost heathen. My parents would punish me by not letting my friends over. Future Navy Commander Mickey Pruitt and I literally wore out the Guess Who 8-track featuring ‘One’ as we drove around aimlessly through Burton Ohio when we were kids. 8 tracks were indestructible back then except for Mickey’s ‘guess who’ 8 track.
One in the world means nothing. The old adage ‘there are plenty fish in the sea’ isn’t only about relationships. I’ve gone through friends, dogs, goldfish, cars by the hundreds. Each one was ‘the one’. Couldn’t imagine what life would be like without that ‘one’. However One prophecy, or Word from the Bible, can get your attention, and change your tears into laughter. Just one! Now I can’t imagine life without that one, the Holy One of Israel.
The one truth of Jesus Christ will make you open your ears, and you need ears to hear. Pretty sure you have to talk for people to hear the Word of God. In my circles, and in the Bible times, no one could sit on a couch reading all day. Faith doesn’t come through your eyes. It comes through your ears. The Gospel is designed so that one person can tell one person the one Truth and that will change their lives forever. A true Christian has a one track mind. The one and only Jesus. There is only one subject to talk about that matters eternally. Going to chit chat with a stranger? Don’t talk to them about giant millionaires playing with little balls, or the weatherman taking wild guesses. Talk to them about the only one true thing in this world that matters, Jesus.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
One idea, one kind word of encouragement, one perfectly timed genuine smile, one prophesy completed (perceived or real), or one experience can revolutionize your world forever. It can either lead you to eternal life through Jesus or to eternal damnation. One word, one experience makes the difference. I’ve carelessly prayed for people and they got healed, and hopefully saved. A few times I said for example ‘bring your kids next time’ while they were struggling with infertility or maybe not even married yet, and had babies. God uses this, in spite of us. It’s not a gift. It’s just what God does to save souls and encourage people.
Last week I said that Satan is a counterfeit. Same here.
One prophesy, vision, experience or idea can start false cults as well damning people to eternal torment in hell. One comment from one teacher when I was ten derailed me permanently. I was passionate about playing the piano. I loved piano lessons. My parents couldn’t afford it, I think we still owe Mrs Ludlow money. Some morbidly obese old church choir director told me ‘you have no business playing piano young man’. (He was right of course, but I liked playing piano, and he humiliated me. He also said I couldn’t sing, Right again! haha) I stopped playing piano instantly to save my parent’s money (but I can still play the basic songs I learned) and Choir Director Carl moved on to the everlasting. One look, one word, one joke can send someone into a spiral. Playing piano is nothing. Piano playing has been lost from me physically, forever, no biggy. But be careful with the one thing that matters, Jesus! He’s Spirit and Truth. I’ve just noticed something, and I make this quote from personal experience.
‘The only difference between being lost physically and lost spiritually is that you know when you’re physically lost’……. Dean
God is aware of the damaging power of one. One ‘false word of wisdom’, one bad tempered Carl Winn in church choir or one false prophet. The worst is the last. A false prophet destroys people’s faith in God. If someone says to you ‘the Lord told me to tell you’, RUN! God’s not a gossip. God has a cure for false prophets. False sects love to call people prophets by the way.
Deuteronomy 18:20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die
A year ago we had a ‘short term missionary’ give one ‘word of wisdom’ to a long term missionary friend of mine down here. My friend was serving millions, to the worst poverty cases in all of Nicaragua. 59+ employees full time. He told my friend ‘prophetically’ throw away his meds cause he was ‘healed’. Well, he did, and then wasn’t. Well that beautiful, enormous ministry blessing millions is being closed as a result of this ‘false prophet’. An atomic bomb couldn’t have done more damage to lives and souls down here.
One word can either build or destroy.
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Like one song we teach our children at Million Friends–
Be careful little tongue what you say
Be careful little eye what you see
Be careful little ears what you hear
Be careful little mind what you think
Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
All these things lead to one thing, salvation