“The Value of One”
Pastor Glenn Newton 1-15-00 Sanctity of Human Life Sunday
Text: John 10:1-18
In my 8 years as a Pastor I have received more criticism when I speak about my
pro-life stand than I do on any other topic. Responses have ranged from sarcasm to anger
to apathy. Yet, the defense of the unborn and the less fortunate must be at the forefront of
who the church is and what the church does.
Sadly, today the facts speak out for themselves. I am going to read some statistics
and give you some information that will inform you as to the Status of Abortion in
America today. (I have included a copy of these statistics in your bulletin)
Read Marked Stats..........
“If we teach a young mother it is OK to take the life of her own child in the
womb, we inevitably pull the thread that permeates the entire garment of the sanctity of
life -- forever.” Martin Palmer- a pro-life advocate
This morning, my desire is not to only approach the Sanctity of Human Life from
the abortion point of view, I want to address the Value of Life. Life is of Great Value,
and in a society where life has become something manipulated by the hands of men, We
need to be Reminded that God, and Only God is the giver of Life, and because it belongs
to him, We should defend Life, Celebrate Life, Uphold the Standard that says Life is
Valuable. Friends, Christians, it is our responsibility to honor and protect life. That will
be my goal this morning as I preach God’s Truth.
In our passage this morning, Jesus presents himself as the door (10:8) .... and He
warns us about those who would come to do us harm ..... to teach us falsely ........ to
distract us from the truth. In John 10:10 He warns of those who promise life but in the
end bring death and suffering. Satan comes to destroy everything that has value to God.
Namely you, and your family. What sick kind of joy Satan must have when a confused,
scarred, many times pressured 17 year old girl walks into a abortion clinic and allows a
murderer to abort that precious life.
I can’t imagine the pain that these young women live with as they come to realize
what they have done. This morning there is only one cure for that type of pain, His Name
is Jesus, and His Love and His Forgiveness can bring healing even in the case of abortion.
God’s grace is amazing.
God values life my friends, the lives of the unborn, the lives of the elderly, and
aged, the lives that have been broken by sin and the world, He Values You no matter the
baggage you bring with you. If your glad say Amen!
You see Jesus wasn’t your typical Religious Leader. In fact Jesus was one who
was rejected by those who promoted themselves as spiritual leaders. He demonstrated this
determination ..... to value all life. He detested Heresy, or Hypocrites. He said, “I am the
good shepherd! I know my sheep and my sheep know me and I lay down my life for the
sheep.” V. 14
The First Thing I want you to Catch this morning, We Have an Example.
Jesus demonstrated the Value of One. In John 10:14 Jesus speaks about “giving
His life for His sheep.” As He ministered, He saw people one at a time, and placed great
value on each individual. But in the end He realized He must finally face the greatest
enemy -- the “cross” -- and in doing so he ministered to those He met along the way with
a sense of urgency ... for His ultimate gift was eternal life.
God’s Word is so rich for many reasons, but one reason that God’s Word speaks
to me is because we not only can Read the Words of Christ, but we can See Christ in
Action, how he lived out what he taught. Jesus gave us many examples of how he reached
out to ONE in his flock:
The Leper - in Matthew 8: 2-30 -- Jesus touched the leper who asked Him for
healing and by doing so He touched the AIDS epidemic of His day. He understood the
suffering and the rejection of the victim.
The Elderly Woman - with the “issue of blood” in Luke 8:43-48 -- This woman
touched His garment and was healed. She came to Him trembling. He saw value in life
even in the aged, and brought comfort and hope to this women.
The Little Children - in Mark 10:13, Matthew 10:14, and Luke 9:47 - Jesus took
the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them. He realized the “little
ones” would face huge obstacles to their faith and morality, and He warned those who
might attempt to prevent them that there would be consequences. His warnings hold true
even to this day.
You see, Jesus’ life showed His Willingness to respond to the call of one person.
He looked them in the eye as though there was no one else in the crowd. He made them
feel loved and very special. We are to be like Christ, we need to be reminded of the value
of One. It’s worth the cost for just One person to find Jesus.
My wife demonstrates this principle of valuing the individual. I can tell you true
story after true story that is similar to the one about Angie. As the new pastor and wife on
the District, in our first church, we were “assigned” to be counselors at teen camp. We
took three or four kids from our church, and we picked up others along the way. The
camp was only 12 hours away from our home.
We were assigned our groups, and of coarse I got the seventh graders, the ones
who were going to get picked on all week, which means I was going to get picked on all
week. My wife got a group of girls, I think a little older. One day during the devotional
time, the Lord asked Nola to share about her past experiences and how God has brought
about healing and she told them that He could do the same for them, not knowing any of
them very well or what was going on in their life.
Before the week was over, one of Nola’s campers named Angie found Nola and
shared with her what she hadn’t shared with anyone before, that she was being abused and
she was thinking about suicide, and maybe had already tried. Nola because she cared,
because she was obedient to share something that wasn’t easy for her to share, God was
able to use Nola to give Hope this young lady who was in so much pain. God has been
Faithful to this young lady, we just received a picture of her and her new husband in the
Christmas Card she sent us from Japan where they are stationed in the military. My
friends, God wants to use you also, but first you must realize the great value of every
individual.
God used me that week also, maybe in not such a dramatic way. I became the big
buddy to the smallest, most immature, most fashion impaired, little 7th grader you’ve ever
seen. He wore black rimmed glasses, and his only pair of pants that he wore to camp were
pinkish in color. He had some other bad habits I won’t tell you about, but I became his
personal bodyguard for the week, mainly because he wouldn’t let go of me long enough
for me to get away. According to some of the Seniors that were there, I probably spared
his life a couple of times. God can use us all, in our own way, to lift somebody up.
The second idea that I want you to catch is this, We Have a Mandate
From the life of Jesus Christ, and his teaching in parables, we are given a mandate
to look after those less fortunate. Jesus didn’t model this for us so we could say, Boy
thats nice, but He wants us to follow in his footsteps.
Remember the parable of the Lost Son? Luke 15: 11-32 - “your brother was dead, now
he is alive; he was lost, now he is found.” The next step was celebration. We must do all
we can to recover that one who seems lost or separated. We no longer have the luxury of
picking and choosing who is important. If Jesus died for them they have the right to hear
the message of hope.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan - Luke 10: 25-37 - We are expected to respond to the
needy and the fallen, even when the organization of the church fails to do so. To those
who were listening, Jesus said, “go and do likewise” Good intentions are not enough. We
must respond to a lost world’s cry for help. If we as Christians’ say it’s not for us, Who
will do it? The answer is nobody.
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matt. 18: 21-35 -- Forgiveness is met with
forgiveness. The church must be willing not only to receive those who have been hurt or
rejected by us, but we must be willing to forgive them as though they’ve done us no harm.
Jesus is the giver of second chances -- even those who have aborted or failed or fallen.
Aren’t you glad? We have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God, according to
Romans 3: 23
You say, Preacher How could God want me? How could God want to use me in
the Church after all that I have done?
God has used all kinds of people to build His Kingdom. One of the Greatest men
in the Bible persecuted the church and killed Christians before he was saved, the Apostle
Paul.
A women possessed by seven demons, and lived obviously a life of sin before she
met Jesus, Mary Magdalene. Who was the first person Jesus appeared to after his
Resurrection, Mary Magdalene who had been made whole by the One who cares for each
of us.
A prostitue, a tax collector, common fisherman, you see God doesn’t evaluate you
based on where you’ve been, He looks at what you can become. He values you because
you are his creation, he loves you regardless of your choices. It breaks his heart when we
choose to reject Him by doing our own thing, but He is like the Father who is always
waiting for the wayward son/daughter to return. He values you, His Grace and
Forgiveness is available for all of us.
My third and final idea to catch is this: We Have An Opportunity as His disciples.
Discipleship is servanthood - The true disciple of Jesus Christ is not a disciple
because of their position in the church or community. Rather, they are disciples because
they are willing to be servants. Jesus loves us totally and unconditionally.
Discipleship is service - Jesus admonished His disciples to care for one another
through His example of washing their feet. Then He said, “now that you know these
things you will be blessed if you do them.” Jesus isn’t telling us we need to go around
washing everyone’s feet, but He is saying we need that attitude that says, “I am willing to
be a servant, to care for others first.”
Discipleship is sacrifice - As we are committed to serve the kingdom of God, we in
turn serve Him -- “As you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.” Though
the Lord was probably referring to Israel, he was also making reference to those we meet
along the way. “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for
me” Matt. 24:45
I heard the story of a very wealthy man who each day in his limousine passed a
tired, ragged newsboy at a big city intersection. One day he stopped, bought all the
young man’s papers, and invited the young man to his home. He fed him, gave him new
clothes, and promised to help with his support. When the rich man delivered the boy
back to his home and bid the boy goodbye .... the young boy hesitated, and then turned
back to the limousine and said simply, “Mister ...... are you Jesus?”
Friends, the world is looking for Jesus in you.
We have an Example ...... We have a Mandate ...... We have an Opportunity ......
Do you believe in the Value of One? God Does. He values You. He values your
neighbor who is lost. He values the atheist who declares there is no God.
I challenge you to put the same value on life, and on the individual as God does. I
challenge you to do more that say you value these things, but I challenge you to let your
actions speak for you. Somehow get involved in the Stand For Life. In your brochure
there are some practical ways you can be involved all year around. My wife and I are
involved with the PHC, but you can show your concern in many different way, allow God
to lead you. Will You Do This?
