FOUR
ORDINARY PEOPLE!
EXTRAORDINARY LIVES!
For ye see your calling… how that not many wise… after the flesh, not
many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things
of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world,
and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not,
to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence
(1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
When Jesus called out to the
fishermen, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,” he was about to
transform each of them from someone who worked only for himself and a daily
catch to someone who was part of a larger team, thinking about eternity—Laurie
Beth Jones1
ORDINARY: NORMAL,
COMMONPLACE, usual, average and familiar. In God’s team; it is not class,
degrees, wisdom, eloquence or nobility. They may not be the well-known
personalities in town. They may not have attended the best of schools or meet
your high standards. They are ordinary young men and women who don’t look it,
but God have chosen them.
I have been in the corporate world long
enough to know that corporate success is about hiring the best candidate ― the
most qualified. The rule is: show us what new thing you will bring on board and
we will hire you. However, on God‘s team, qualification, experience, technical
know-how and competence does not matter. God takes unqualified people and
qualifies them for an assignment. John Piper said, a minister of the gospel
wrote that “when it comes to being a
candidate for grace, your background has nothing to do with God’s choice“
Many of the people God worked through and
is working through are not the obvious choices of society. Why? So that no human will have cause to glory in God’s
presence: It’s simple: He shares His glory with no man/woman. You want to
be on God‘s team? Come just as you are.
ROLL CALL: ORDINARY LIVES TURNED EXTRAORDINARY
Jacob — thief and liar,
Joseph— raised in prison, Gideon — coward, Samson —womanizer, Moses — murderer,
David — shepherd, adulterer and murderer, Solomon— seven hundred wives and
three hundred concubines, Jabez —“rejected cornerstone”, Barak — coward, Jephthah
— son of a harlot (Judges 11:1), Ruth— Moabite (doesn’t qualify to be included
in Jesus’ genealogy, but God picked her), Rahab — prostitute, Samaritan woman
—divorced 4 times (when Jesus met her she was with her 5th husband),
Peter — fisherman and a coward, Paul— murderer and persecutor. These are a few
of the “squad” God chose to be in His team. What is the reason? “That no flesh should glory in his
presence.” Somebody hit the nail right on the head when he said “greater
portion of the Bible was written by murderers.” This is what he meant:
(i)
Moses (wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers and Deuteronomy). He was a murderer.
(ii)
David (wrote Psalms). He was a murderer.
(iii)
Paul (wrote 14 of the 27 books in the New
Testament). He was a murderer.
God did not hide any of the shortcomings of
His people because He wants us to know that its ordinary men and women He uses
and works through. A friend describes the Bible as brutally frank because God
shielded and hid nobody’s shortcomings and sins. Clearly from the Bible, every
single person that became useful to God had a past. But God doesn’t consider
our past when He wants a vessel to
use. In fact, your sordid past qualifies you to be used by God if you will let
Him.
Note though that these names of average,
common and ordinary men and women have been written in scriptures so we learn
from them. After God picks you up, you don’t have to continue in your averageness and ordinariness. You have to aspire for excellence and victory in
every area of your life. Yes, you may have
issues you are dealing with. But with grace you can conquer. Work on those
issues. Everyone has issues but we have to work at them so they don’t destroy
us. Others have been victorious through hard times and we can also be
victorious....
END OF EXCERPTS
You can access a free downloadable copy from any of the below ebook outlets
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-emergence-of-a-new-generation-enoch-a-anti/1117652272?ean=2940045479745
Paperback available:
In Ghana, you can get a copy at Ernest Chemist (Circle and Spintex Branches). More outlets coming soon
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