A few days ago, believers throughout our world gathered to celebrate the moment when the light of the world was born to shatter the long night of sin. At the core of our faith is the belief that Jesus Christ, who needed nothing from this world, willingly entered it to bring life to those who were abiding in death. The Apostle Paul summarized Christ’s entry to Earth in this manner— “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (1 Timothy 1:15).
Throughout His Earthly ministry, Jesus never wavered from his mission. When the religious elite of his day criticized Him for receiving sinners and eating with them, Christ responded with this parable,
So He told them this parable, saying, 4 “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 Then when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ 7 Likewise, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous men who need no repentance. (Luke 15:3-7)1
Join the Ninety-Nine
In this parable, the ninety-nine are sheep. However, Jesus explains in verse seven that they are those who are already living righteous lives. They are the saved. If Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, is concerned with the One— the lost sheep, doesn’t it make sense that the ninety-nine should also be concerned with the one?
Although some suggest that the only valid form of evangelism is preaching to the lost “ones,” the criticism leveled against Jesus suggests that He “receives sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2). Jesus didn’t deny it. Instead, He explained His actions using a series of three parables that all explained the value of lost ones. There is no question that Jesus preached. Equally certain is that He intentionally showed love and hospitality to the lost. He received them and ate with them. His love transformed their lives. As the Apostle John wrote, Jesus is full of grace and truth (John 1).
At Link Church, we have defined part of our E5 Mission with these words— “We will embrace our Link family along with all who are hurting, broken, and lost, regardless of their situation or walk of life.” Stated another way, the ninety-nine will embrace the one.2
It was in response to this mission that Pastors David and Brittany launched the Ninety-Nine Serve Team. Together, the ninety-nine serves the Lord and pursues the one. Our Ninety-Nine Serve Team is currently working toward fully implementing a systems approach to hospitality. Lest this sound too mechanical, it simply means that we are being intentional about what we do. God created everything to work in systems: the body, the environment…everything. In a system, every part impacts the whole, and the goal is to give attention to the parts in a way that will produce a healthy whole. A good doctor isn’t going to ignore heart issues just because your lungs are healthy. The body is a system of systems where one part affects the whole.
The New Testament describes the church as a body. In this spiritual body, each part also affects the whole. It is a system. In the days leading up to Christmas, our ninety-nine held an event that was aimed at welcoming the one, showing love to both the lost and found in our community. Our leadership asked the question, “What if we approached welcoming people as a system?” The result was a plan that thought through how to approach people from the moment they pulled in the parking lot until the moment they exited the parking lot. Everyone was given a primary focus— welcome people. By intentionally embracing a culture of hospitality, we had the opportunity to visit with several hundred people, including a host of “ones.” Here are a few pictures of our team in action.
Some parked cars, some served cocoa, some handed out tickets, some prayed with folks, and everyone extended a welcoming hand, a loving word, and a reminder of why we celebrate. Now fast forward with me.
Light a Candle
The following Sunday we gathered for worship, welcoming the “ones” to join us. The next Friday, we gathered again to light candles as a reminder of why we gather. The light of the world has come to shatter the darkness. Light travels at a speed of about 186,000 miles per second. That is how fast darkness retreats. We lit candles as a reminder of how Christ came into a world covered in darkness. He was laid in a manger, there was no room for Him in the inn, and very few paused to acknowledge this King’s birth. Still, He spent His life seeking the “one.” Christ, who was worthy of everyone’s attention, accepted no attention. Instead, He chose to focus on those who were lost, seeking to restore them to the ninety-nine and to Himself. He chose to be a light in the darkness and invited all believers to do the same.
What if we lived every day like that? What if we embraced selflessness as a way of life, choosing to prioritize the “ones” within our reach? Link Church is actively evaluating the ripple effects of each action we take. How does one part effect the whole? What if we all thought like that in each area of life? What if before we act, we considered the ripple effects of that action? As we evaluate the impact of our actions, let us not forget the power of embracing a culture of hospitality and love. Jesus explained it like this,
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 Before Him will be gathered all nations, and He will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats. 33 He will set the sheep at His right hand, but the goats at the left.
34 “Then the King will say to those at His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in. 36 I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 And when did we see You sick or in prison and come to You?’
40 “The King will answer, ‘Truly I say to you, as you have done it for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you have done it for Me.’
41 “Then He will say to those at the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not serve You?’
45 “He will answer, ‘Truly I say to you, as you did it not for one of the least of these, you did it not for Me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46)
All Scripture quotations are taken from the Modern English Version of the Bible
This language is drawn from the book of Luke and was also popularized through the book Intentional Churches by Bart Rendel and Doug Parks.