Jump Start # 3675

1 Corinthians 1:26 “For consider your call, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble.”

We started a new series of Sunday classes back home. I leading a class called, “Profiles in Excellence.” I say, “leading,” because out of the twelve weeks planned, I will only be teaching two of them. The rest will be taught by a different person every Sunday. The concept of this class is looking at people throughout our Bibles who went above and beyond the call of duty. Those who understood, “bringing your best.”

I kicked off the series with a broad introduction looking at the general qualities among those who brought their best. And, one of the leading characteristics is that by in large the majority were common, everyday, nobodies. Here and there we’d find a king like David or Hezekiah, but most fit that description of just a plain, simple person.

Our verse reminds us of that. There are not many mighty or noble ones. Sure, there are a few sprinkled here and there, such as the Ethiopian who was the treasurer of the queen. There were some leading ladies of Thessalonica and some from Caesar’s household. But they were the few. And, trickled through history are some famous ones who had connections to the Lord’s church, such as President Garfield, Elvis, Janis Joplin, Pat Boone, Glen Campbell, Pat Sajak, Duck Dynasty Phil Robertson,  a few sports stars, but by and large the bulk of the kingdom is made up of everyday people like you and me.

Now, some thoughts from this:

First, the legitimacy of what we believe is not based upon who is in it. The credibility of our faith lies in the truthfulness of Scriptures and not some household name from Hollywood. The rich and famous have to walk the same path as the rest of us to please the Lord.  It’s the same for us as for them and the same for them as it is for us. Don’t get caught up in chasing the stars who once were believers. Follow the Savior.

Second, the bulk of the kingdom work is being done by common people like you and me. The kingdom grew because of the faith that everyday people had. They understood a responsibility was placed upon their shoulders. God was counting on them. If it was not them, then who? Who would do the work? Doing what they could, many being servants and slaves, they lived, taught and showed a world Jesus Christ.

Don’t be looking to hire a preacher to do what we ought to be doing. Unlike the old Westerns on TV, we don’t bring in a gunslinger to clean up the town. It’s our responsibility and our job. We can do this, because God has equipped us and God is working through us.

Third, these simple disciples understood that the glory belongs to the Lord. There are just a few names sprinkled here in there in Paul’s letters. But most of those first disciples are unknown to us. Tracing that through history, most are forgotten. Heaven knows. Heaven remembers. Serving the purpose of God in our generation, like David is said to have done, in Acts 13, is our calling and our mission. It’s not to make a name. It’s not to be remembered. We are pointing people to Jesus.

Mechanics, office workers, school bus drivers, nurses, house moms, teachers, lab techs, and, yes, even preachers, make up the kingdom of God. The work is in our hands. We must be diligent, careful, honest and passionate about the wonderful work God has entrusted us with. MacArthur in his book, Twelve Ordinary Men, describe the twelve apostles as: “perfectly ordinary, unexceptional men” (pg 2). Among them you would not find a rabbi, a priest, a scribe or an intellectual. Most had blue collar jobs. Fishermen, called to be the backbone and the voice of the kingdom. What God did in shaping those hearts, he can do to yours.

“I’m just a member,” I’ve had some tell me. Implied, “I’m not a preacher, deacon or elder.” I’m just a nobody. But, it’s those nobodies that did the work. It’s those nobodies that became somebodies. It’s those nobodies that are the backbone and heart and faith of most congregations.

One doesn’t need a title or a position to be busy in the kingdom. Find your talent and use it to the glory of the Lord.

There are no nobodies when you belong to the Lord. You are God’s son and daughter!

Roger

Jump Start # 1983

1 Corinthians 1:26 “For consider you call, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble”

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I was given a box that contained many files and letters and photos of our family history. I have traced a good bit of our family but there was some parts that were missing. So I have been going through and chasing names, dates and who is connected and how. Genealogies are interesting. Family trees can be quiet large. It will take me a while to get through this box, but so far I’ve been reading about names that I never heard of before. And in all of these early ancestors, lots and lots of names, I saw something that is found in most families.

Most of us are common people. I’ve met a few who were distantly related to famous people, but most are not. All those names, and no one famous, no one rich, no one that people today would recognize. Such were the first Christians. Oh, there were a few leading women of Thessalonica. We know of the Ethiopian treasurer and Cornelius, a Roman soldier, but a handful of names from the thousands and thousands that became believers in the first chapters of Acts. Hollywood and Nashville Music has had a few connections through the years, but the bulk of the kingdom, is common people. Many of the first Christians were slaves. They were not wealthy. They were owned by someone else.

We are who we are by our choices, not our ancestry. Sure, we may get a hair color from somewhere in our family gene pool, or our height may be something common in our family, but we can’t hang our hat, or find excuses for what we’ve become by who we are related to. From simple farmers have come engineers, attorneys and other professional jobs. It’s opportunities, choices and what we do that makes us who we are. The same is true spiritually. We are not a product of our times, our families, our culture, but rather of our choices. Some grew up never seeing a Bible opened in their home. Some never said a prayer before eating. Some never went to worship. Yet, they grew up and they became believers. Others went to churches that were more social than Biblical, yet, they learned God’s way and today are worshipping as God has directed. An angry person may have seen anger in his home, but he is that way today because of his choices. A drunk may have seen alcohol every day in his home, but he is a drunk today because of his choices. Some dads were not affectionate. Some could not apologize. Some never said, ‘I love you.’ However, you do not have to be that way. Some were terrible with money. You do not have to be that way. Some couldn’t speak two words without one of them being a curse word. You don’t have to be that way. Choices. The song, “I have decided to follow Jesus,” is what this is all about.

The credibility of our faith lies in the truthfulness of the Bible and not a list of “who’s who” among us. Name dropping famous Christians doesn’t make what we do more right. Paul wasn’t concerned that there were so few noble, mighty and wise among the Corinthian brethren. That didn’t diminish the message that was being preached. That didn’t shoot down the genuineness of Jesus Christ. Our hope lies not in each other, and especially not in the famous among us, but in Jesus. Why are there not many noble in the church? Maybe they don’t have the time to listen or the heart that wants to listen to the message of Jesus. Maybe they are more interested in career than their souls. Is it any different with the common guy who lives next door to you? Why doesn’t he listen? Too busy. Hearts not there. Even in the church today, we can pass over a picture directory of dozens of names and stop at our doctors, lawyers, CEO’s and without meaning to, make a two tier system in the church. We have among us the elite, we brag, while the janitor or the stay at home mom is passed right over and never mentioned. And it may well be that the janitor and the stay at home mom are more of the backbone of the congregation than the elite. God loves all of us. God wants everyone to follow Him. We need to be more impressed with God than we are with each other.

It is interesting that the core of the first church was composed of servants. What better people to learn spiritual serving like Jesus, than fellow servants. They understand hard work. They understand taking orders from others. They understand that it’s not about them. They understand that they needed to please their master. Those very principles are what disciples do with God. Could it be that we have messed up leadership in the church today because we like to borrow the model from the military or the business world. There, the commander or the CEO, gives orders and others below them carry them out. Their job is to think the big picture and hire a staff that actually becomes the connections and the go to people. If you work for a major corporation today, it is unlikely that you can just pick up the phone and call the CEO. There are layers of people that you must go through and it’s very likely that you will never talk directly to him. That seems to work in the business world. It stinks in the church. God’s leaders are never called CEO’s. They are shepherds. Shepherds do not spend the day in corporate offices, buying and trading futures on sheep. They are not a sheep conventions. They are found out in the fields with the sheep. Where the sheep are, is where the shepherds will be. They led. They watch. They feed. They know the sheep. The sheep know them. They are serving, as Jesus served. They are aware of what the sheep are going through. The first Christians were servants. Executives often times make poor shepherds because they no longer know how to serve.

The names of most of the first Christians are known only to God. We read of a few conversions in Acts, but who made up those 3,000 and then 5,000 that became believers? God knows. The same is true today. We know the folks in our congregation and we may know the names of some in area churches, but nationwide, world wide, we may only hear of a few. God knows. And with that, God knows us. He knows what we have been through. He knows what we are capable of. He knows how hard we are trying.

I found in looking though that box of files, ancestors who came from Germany, Prussia, Switzerland. There is some Amish and Mennonite faith mixed in there. But mostly just names and dates, marriages, and children. What were these people like? Would I have liked them if I spent an afternoon with them? How many will be in Heaven? How many chose to believe? Past about three or four generations, all that remains are one or two photos here or there. Beyond that, there are just names and dates. And, someday, if the Lord allows this planet to keep going, I too, will just be a name and a date to one of my descendants. Those early Indiana ancestors lived hard lives compared to what I have. I wouldn’t want to trade places with them. But each generation and each person must decide for himself about Jesus, just as I must. We start out wanting to make a name for ourselves. We want to be famous. That’s youthful thinking. In time, if we have an honest and good heart, we realize what is most important is the eternal. It’s Jesus.

Names in a box. Most are forgotten, even by later generations of the same family. Yet, never forgotten by God.

Rejoice, Jesus said, that your names are written in Heaven. That’s what is most important!

Roger