THE WONDER OF WHAT GOD CAN DO WHEN ONE WINS ONE
In every Christian, there’s a little bit of Edward Kimball, or, there should be. Kimball was not the guy who invented the game of dominoes, but he once set in motion the “domino effect” that shows what God can do when one wins one.
Kimball, a Sunday school teacher in England, introduced a shoe salesman, Dwight L. Moody, to Jesus. Moody became an evangelist whose converts included F. B. Myer. Myer’s ministry brought him to America where he preached at Furman University. There, a student by the name of R. G. Lee was introduced to Jesus and became one of the all-time greats among Baptist preachers.
Another convert won by Myer was J. Wilbur Chapman who in turn won a convert named Billy Sunday, whose ministry carried him to Charlotte, N. C. for a businessmen’s conference - to which he invited a friend Mordecai Ham - whose sermon touched the heart of a young man named Billy Graham whose worldwide ministries we all are familiar with.
This “domino effect” was touched off by Edward Kimball whose manner of Christian endeavor serves as a model worth replicating: seek, find, tell, invite one person to “come to Jesus”, and see the wonder of what God can do.
I suggest that there’s a little bit of Edward Kimball in every one of you who: learned that if you know the Lord you need nobody else. . . because you saw what God can do, yearned to see another then another come to know Him whom to know is life eternal.
When America’s leading Ford dealer was asked, “How’s the car business,” he would always answer, “I need to sell one more.”
Why did I introduce you to Edward Kimball? I know of no better example of a modern-day Andrew than a man who was once a “nobody” but, by winning just one more, became “somebody” in God’s sight.
A “nobody” doesn’t start out to become a “somebody” but, when “nobody” comes to Jesus, finds salvation through Him, then “nobody” comes to realize that, with God as Father and Jesus as Savior, “nobody” becomes “somebody” - and can now say in all sincerity, “I know I’m somebody ‘cause God don’t make no junk!”
You became “somebody” for the right reason, as did Andrew - and, like Andrew, and, like Edward Kimball, you yearn to see those closest to you become “somebodies” for the right reason; and, by winning one more, you too might set in motion that “domino effect” that can occur when one wins one more - John 1:35-49 . . .
Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist - baptized by John into the fellowship of those who sought to know the truth about LORD God and His plan for redemption.
“Messiah” was a concept that had been engraved on the minds of all young Jewish men; and although some of John’s followers thought John to be the Christ, John pointed to Jesus and declared Him to be the Lamb of God.
Andrew was one of the first to believe John’s announcement about Jesus and thereafter followed the One to whom John had pointed and had declared to be the prophesied Messiah.
Andrew accepted as gospel John’s assessment of Jesus because he trusted John as a spokesman for God. And not to be overlooked is the fact that John was worthy of trust since he took no credit for “making” Jesus the Messiah, but rather was willing to “step down” or “step aside” in deference to God’s anointed One.
Having had a mentor like John, no wonder Andrew chose “second fiddle” – as had John - as the role he would play in the unfolding drama of bringing persons to Jesus so that others could come to know Him whom to know is life eternal and, moreover, see the wonder of what God can do when one wins one more.
Of course, students of the Bible are familiar with the impact, personally and historically, that Andrew’s witness to his closest of kin, his brother, has had on so many of us - who, like Peter, have wrestled with issues of self-worth . . . has had on the institution of The Church - “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock of faith I will build my Church.” Volumes have been written about Peter’s role in Christianity.
However, give some thought if you will to the skeptic Nathaniel – so typical of the mindset that we run into in our present culture of agnostics, on the one hand, and a new “breed” of skeptics, on the other hand, who, for lack of a better term, are being referred to as “nones”. It doesn’t take much stretching of one’s imagination to see the skepticism implied using “nones” as compared to “nuns”.
The question Nathaniel asked, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth”, is basically what “nones”, “nevers”,“doubters” and “disbelievers” are asking in our day - to express their dislike for, their disdain of, their dispute with, the Church as an institution, as a creation of ancestors who, as far as many millennials today are concerned, were reprobates or hypocrites who simply did not “know” any better, and now need to be straightened out by today’s youth who say they “know”.
Jesus, I believe, would say to the “nones” what He said to Nathaniel. “Hey, you, I knew you before Philip ever told you about me. When you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
You see, Jesus gave the young man credit for being a seeker. . . His inquiring mind was to be commended. But, O, how he needed to temper his thinking, not become distracted by irrelevant issues, but stay focused on the basics – absolutes if you will!
Rather than disassociate oneself from, or disavow “those hypocrites”, see oneself also as a sinner, in need of a Savior! And, since sinners saved by grace never grow too old to be reintroduced to Jesus, you be the one who joins with them to make things better – together.
However, if we are to conquer hypocrisy and get on with the main business of “one win one”, and, if we are to do so together - as “all one body we”, together we must see and follow Jesus as Nathaniel saw and followed Jesus: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King!”
Nathaniel finally saw Jesus, not as an upstart vagabond from Nazareth, but as The Teacher Sent from God, from whom he had a lot to learn, to whom he had to commit himself totally and wholeheartedly - as Son of God - and who, as King of kings and Lord of lords, Nathaniel was willing to serve from that day forward.
This wholehearted following of Jesus on the part of Nathaniel was not to be a religious exercise, nor a chore, nor a “ho-hum” duty to be fulfilled by “going” to church or by doing this or that activity, but, by “being” in a personal relationship for eternity – a relationship in which what we do flows from who we are!
What we are talking about here is a “love relationship” rather than a dutiful endeavor in which we get “tired” so easily. Yes, it’s okay to feel tired, but let us be not “tired of it” but “tired in it”. And one thing we must never get “tired of” is our seeking, finding, telling, inviting. The Andrew Model! The Edward Kimball Model!
We seek Jesus . . . We seek and we find . . . We tell another as “one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread” . . . We invite those closest to us and even our acquaintances to try Jesus. You’ve tried everything else, now why not try Jesus?
If you try Jesus - in the sense that you learn of His love for you, and you in turn love Him with all your heart – naturally you will want to tell someone of His love for them and invite them to try Jesus. If they do, you and they together will see the wonder of what God can do when one wins one. Amen.
