Jesus did life with a zoom lens.—Kyle Idleman

When someone stood in front of Jesus with a need, time seemed to stop and everything else in life seemed to

and

Reveal Answer

into the background.

One at a time is the way Jesus

the world.

As we discern the one that God calls us to notice, how do we then discern

to do?

A book called Wounded Healers by Henri Nouwen that helped me understand that those who had been through divorce could speak from experiences I had never had, and God could use their

as instruments to help others.

Wounded Healer Ministries at Gateway:

• Celebrate Recovery
• DivorceCare
• GriefShare
  

Even once we recognize the one we’re called to help, it doesn’t mean we’re

to actually help, because, often, God has to do a work in us before He’ll be able to do a work through us.

The idea that “I need to do something” too often, as we’re confronted by the magnitude of need, becomes, “

needs to do something.”

Once we allow God to do His work in us, then He’s

us to do the work that He desires through us.

The whole town gathered at the door to watch. So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons.…—Mark 1:33-34 (NLT)
Jesus: I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.—John 5:19 (NLT)

Jesus worked by the “in then through” model of making a

.

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.—Mark 1:35 (NLT)

It was in this time with God the Father that Jesus the Son, who said he only did what the Father did, would

what God had for him to do for his day.

Later Simon and the others went out to find him. When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.—Mark 1:36-39 (NLT)

Jesus spent the first part of his day with his heavenly Father so he could

on what God wanted to do through him.

Jesus: ³…Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. ⁴As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. ⁵Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. ⁶But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. ⁷Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. ⁸Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! —Matthew 13:3-8 (NLT)
God created seeds to create a harvest. He hardwired the harvest into the seed. He designed it so the right conditions and right soil would bear fruit.—Kyle Idleman

The farmer here is Jesus – Jesus is the one planting the seeds in us in order to bring a

through us.

We are the soil, and instead of focusing on the harvest we need to first focus on the

of the soil.

Jesus shows us a range of possible outcomes, based on how well we have responded to his

of the soil that is us.

Only the

soil – well-prepared, which took time and effort, since the ground had to be broken up, shallow rocks had to be removed, and weeds had to be pulled out – produces a harvest.

Just as the farmer has to work hard to prepare the soil before he can reap a harvest, we need to work at

Jesus, using means of grace, spiritual practices or disciplines, to become good soil, through which Jesus can bring a great harvest.

Last week’s prayer by Kyle Idleman: “Jesus give me your eyes for the one. Help me to see people the way you see people.”

This week’s prayer: “God do something in me so You can do something through me.”

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Next Week: The Proximity Principle

• Join a group!
• Find the book online: One At A Time: The Unexpected Way God Wants to Use You to Change the World, by Kyle Idleman (Amazon, Mardel, Barnes & Noble)