Perhaps the most underused resource in the Kingdom of God is the supper table. In this first message focusing on ordinary people who did extraordinary things, we look at Lydia and how her simple gift of extending hospitality had a big impact on God’s work in her town. Then we’ll think about how we might use our own supper table to make an impact for the Kingdom of God. Ordinary people can do extraordinary things when they put to use what they already have available to them.
Being chased from your home and country might make most people self-focused, desperate to restore security and normalcy to their lives. Philip had to flee his home and city because of persecution, but instead of focusing on himself, he saw others and took the opportunity to share Christ with them. God blessed his work with supernatural signs and many conversions. Later God called Philip to leave all of this and go to a desert road. He obeyed and ended up opening up the door of the gospel to Ethiopia through an Ethiopian official he led to the Lord along that road. His faithfulness to witness impacted two nations: Samaria and Ethiopia. He was an ordinary man who made an extraordinary difference because he was faithful to witness.
Through a chance meeting with a committed church planter, two Jewish believers became involved in starting two significant New Testament churches. Their names were Aquila and Priscilla. Aquila was a simple tent-maker, but he and his wife, Priscilla, helped start the the church in Corinth and the church in Ephesus as they supported Paul, the church planter and did evangelistic work of their own. They were ordinary people who made an extraordinary difference by supporting the starting of new churches.
Meet a woman who never taught a Sunday School class, led a ladies’ meeting, or sang a solo in church, yet had an extraordinary impact on her community. Her name is Tabitha, or Dorcas, and her impact came through her ministry to the widows in her community. She excelled at community ministry, and through this some amazing things happened.
Paul was imprisoned in Rome, and the church in Philippi wanted to sent him some financial support, They needed someone to make the weeks-long journey, find Paul, and deliver the gift. Epaphroditus volunteered. As it turned out he did much more than deliver some money. Like Epaphroditus, you never know what God may do when you choose to serve your church.
Everyone we know could use some refreshing at times. Life and problems wear people down physically, spiritually, and emotionally. It would be great if there were a lot more refreshers around, people like the man we’ll meet today. He made an extraordinary difference by repeatedly using ordinary abilities to do one thing: refresh a lot of people, including someone who told us about him. This week, you’ll meet Onesiphorus, the refresher.
The last person we’re studying who was ordinary but made an extraordinary difference is a person who, when he was saved, returned to his home town and accepted the responsibility to win the people there to Christ and organize them into a church. Sounds radical, but maybe it shouldn’t. Epaphras was a person like most of us and this is exactly what he did. If our region is going to be reached for Christ a lot of ordinary people are going to have to do things they never expected to do. They will end up doing extraordinary things as a result.