1. One Thing I Know
“He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).
When His disciples saw the blind man sitting on the wayside, they asked Jesus whose fault it was that he was born blind, as the Jews believed that sin (the parent’s) was the cause of such blindness. Jesus replied that it was no one’s fault, “But that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” It was as if He was saying: “I am the Light of the world—now watch me light up this man’s dark world.” Then He spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle; this was significant as the rabbis taught that Messiah would have “healing in his spit.” He anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and told him to wash in the pool of Siloam. When the man did so, he came back seeing!
It was a notable miracle. Many who knew he was born blind brought him to the Pharisees who questioned him about how he received his sight. He explained how Jesus made the clay, put it on his eyes, and when he washed them as instructed, he could see. This upset them greatly, because it was the Sabbath. They accused Jesus that He could not be of God since He healed the man on the Sabbath day. Others said: “How can a man who is a sinner do such miracles?” They continued to bully the man trying to get him to change his answers. They asked his parents if he was their son, and if he had been born blind, and they affirmed both to be true. But when they asked them, “How does he now see?”, they were afraid to say more, lest they be put out of the synagogue. They responded: “We know that this is our son, and we know that he was born blind, but by what means he can now see, we do not know—he is of age—ask him.”
Again they grilled the man: “Give God the praise—WE KNOW this man is a sinner!” Filled with joy at his newfound sight, but frustrated with their harassment, he declared: “I don’t know if he is a sinner, but ONE THING I KNOW—once I was blind, and now I can see!”
There is nothing so powerful as a personal testimony! When you know what God has done for you: Brought you out of the pigsty of sin, redeemed your life from destruction, translated you into the kingdom of God’s Son, healed your body when medicine couldn’t, saved your marriage, delivered your children from Satan’s power—When you can say, “One thing I know—Jesus changed my life”—and the evidence is undeniable, that is a living sermon!
Go forth in 2021 and share what God has done for you!
2. One Thing I Desire
God said that David was “a man after His own heart.” What a testimony! What a legacy! With all of his faults, and David made several serious mistakes that caused him great pain, he had an undivided heart of which God was the center. A fierce warrior, yet tenderhearted toward the Lord, he lavished his love and worship on God unashamedly. He had been a teenage shepherd, young giant-killer, heroic captain of Israel’s armies, charming king, and loving father. But his life’s occupation was worship.
The most well-known passage in the Bible in every generation is Psalm 23, and its final words testify: “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” If ever there was a passionate man who possessed ambitious desires, it was David. But the thing he desired above all was to dwell in the presence of the Lord. He understood this was a lifelong endeavor, because the more you seek after God, the more you understand the wonder and beauty of His presence, the more you desire Him. His spirit cried out: “As the deer pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after you, O God. My soul thirsts for the living God—When shall I come and appear before God?” (When can I come to church again?) “My flesh longs for you…. to see your power and your glory, so as I have seen you in the sanctuary” (Ps.42:1-2, 63:2).
Once you have seen God in His sanctuary, you are spoiled for life. Once you have tasted the power of God, nothing else will ever satisfy that part of your heart that was touched by the transforming presence of God. This was David’s utmost desire:
“ONE THING HAVE I DESIRED of the Lord—that I will seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple” (Ps.27:4).
David realized there is no worldly pleasure or prosperity that can compare to the presence of the living God. What would he trade for the beauty of God’s delightful presence? Absolutely nothing! He cried out to God: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is none that I desire on earth besides you…. God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps.73:25-26).
I’m with David: “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the House of the Lord!” (Ps.122:1).
In 2021, may your heart’s desire be set upon God’s Presence!
3. One Thing Is Needful
Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus, lived in Bethany, about two miles from Jerusalem. They had a nice home where they often had Jesus as their guest. Martha was the “Martha Stewart” of her day, a wonderful hostess, hospitable, and apparently, a perfectionist. She worked hard to make everything enjoyable and pleasant for her honored guests. Certainly this is an admirable quality we should all emulate, but it should not become the focus of one’s godly service.
Mary was the serious type and deeply spiritual, “which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.” On one of these occasions when Jesus had come, “Martha was cumbered about with much serving.” The Greek word for “cumbered” means “to surround, to draw out, to distract with care,” and the imperfect tense used here denotes continual action in the past to the present. It had become Martha’s pattern.
She was distracted from the extraordinary opportunity to hear Jesus’ teaching by her focus on preparing the best meal. Furthermore, she then resented Mary because she wasn’t distracted with her! She came to the Lord and complained: “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me!” There may have been a little resentment in her tone, because Jesus was not getting on Mary to help her with dinner. Notice, she did not want to switch places with Mary so she could sit at Jesus’ feet.
But Jesus replied, “Martha, Martha…” The doubling of her name reveals the frustration in His voice. “You are so anxious about things that don’t truly matter! You are troubled, vexed, and distracted by many things—but ONE THING IS NEEDFUL, and Mary has chosen that good thing!” (Luke10:41-42).
Women in that time were not allowed to participate with men in synagogue worship. They were separated and listened in silence. In rebuking Martha that learning His word was more important than doing chores, Jesus elevated women’s role in the Gospel.
Today, many fall into the snare of becoming more focused on the work of Lord than the Lord of the work! They equate “busyness with business”—that is the Father’s business, rather than devoting time, energy, and desire to fellowship with Jesus. We hear about “spiritual burnout,” and often this is due to a lack of time spent at Jesus’ feet—the one thing that is needful!
May this New Year of 2021 find you spending more time in His honored Presence.
3. One Thing I Do
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
Paul wrote this, his most joyful epistle, from a dank, dark, Roman prison-dungeon where he awaited sentence of death. For decades he had faithfully served Jesus Christ, planting churches, installing ministers, writing revelations, and teaching the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire. His future was uncertain in terms of how much time he had left—but he had never been more certain of the goal or the outcome. Paul was fixated on the goal to “apprehend—lay hold” on the prize of Heaven’s call to Paradise, which he had visited once in a vision (2Cor.12:1-4).
When he said, “THIS ONE THING I DO…” it actually consisted of three things which are interdependent on each other. That is, you must do the first thing—forgetting those things which are behind—before you can do the next. This meant to forget all: the good, the bad, the failures, successes, accomplishments, and shortfalls, to be able to do the second thing—Reaching forth unto those things which are before. Only then could he “press toward the goal.”
Paul used the metaphor of a runner in a race who has turned the corner in the homestretch of the final lap, and can clearly see the goal line. In this case, the goal is “the prize of the high calling” which actually means “the calling up on high” and refers to “going home to Heaven.” Paul would not let his past pull him down. No one can go forward while looking backward. If you try to drive a car looking in the rearview mirror, you’re going to crash.
Paul had stated that he was “the chief of sinners,” but he did not let his past disqualify him from serving the Lord. It actually qualified him to receive the ministry of greater grace, because great sinners need great grace, and we have a great Savior.
Likewise, we must let go of past hurts, sorrows, failures, disappointments, etc., and focus on the prize! Don’t let your mind go down “Memory Lane” and recall those scenes that stir up the hurt, or anger, or bitterness, or even the lusts. Don’t hold on to yesterday’s pain or regrets.
Paul’s secret to being able to go forward in the midst of suffering: “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb.12:2). Jesus looked for the joy—the joy of saving lost sinners like you and me, and bringing us into the family of God. This enabled Him to endure the excruciating death of the cross, because He looked beyond it to our glorious reunion in Heaven. Paul too looked for the joy—his homegoing to Heaven.
2020 has been one of the worst years in recent history. Its tragedies have affected everyone—saints and sinners. We do not know what 2021 will bring, but “we know in whom we have believed, and are persuaded He is able to keep that which we have committed unto Him” (2Tim.1:12). Thus, we FORGET what is behind us—we REACH—stretch out for what is before us—and we PRESS toward the finish line in Christ Jesus!
I know what I believe, what I desire, what I need, and what I must do to finish strong in 2021.
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