Extraordinary God

We'll give it up for our worship team this morning.

That was awesome.

Multiply, how we doing?

Feeling good?

Awesome.

Hey, I'm super excited to be with you guys this morning.

Like they said earlier.

My name's Connor.

And if we haven't met, I serve on our church planning team over at Southland.

And just super excited about everything that God is doing here in Frankfurt and also in these four walls.

And I love what you've done with the place.

It looks great since the last time I've been here.

When Forrest told me a couple months ago that I'd come here and preach in September, he said, Hey, hey, right around that time, Emily is going to be having her baby.

And I said, Oh, that's awesome.

He's like, I may be there, I may not.

He's here this morning.

We're glad to see he's here this morning.

What he didn't tell me is that he was going to be delivering that baby.

Okay.

There's probably a story there.

I'm going to let him share it at a later date.

All I can tell you is I don't have to tell you how boss of a pastor you have.

Okay.

He's a man of many talents.

Yeah, give it up for that.

It's awesome.

Uh, we've got some pictures of sweet little Magnolia Ann.

Uh, she is beautiful, and we're super excited that she's here.

Uh what I will also tell you is that regardless, uh, it doesn't matter how great this sermon is or how terrible it is, whatever I deliver this morning will not be as cool as what he delivered this week.

Okay.

I just want to lower expectations for you this morning.

Um but no, super excited to be here and everything that God is doing.

It's uh it's awesome.

Um hey, uh I wanna I want to introduce you uh to a guy named Michael Gordon, and we'll put a picture up uh of him.

Um but this past week, uh a woman pulled into the parking lot of a Chick-fil-A in uh Fort Walton Beach, Florida area.

And as she was getting her nephew out of the car seat, uh a man approached her, uh holding a stick, waving at her, and demanded that she hand over the keys to her vehicle.

And so very frightened, uh, she shouted for help.

And uh just before he lunged at her and attempted to harm her, a complete stranger ducked in front of her and punched the assailant in the face.

And this is Michael Gordon, and when he isn't working part-time at Chick-fil-A, uh, he's taking down attackers, okay?

Like that is going the extra mile, okay?

That is the best Chick-fil-A service I think I've ever seen.

And here's what you should know about Michael is that he has no advanced combat training, like he has no police background.

Uh in fact, if you pull up his social media, there's really nothing extravagant about the guy or spectacular about him at all.

But he was quoted this week as saying this on the national news.

I heard someone that needed help, so I helped him.

And to be honest with you, like that's the way I want to live.

And he just said this to the CBS Evening News.

He just said, I would hope that someone would do the same for me.

See, I don't know if you've ever unexpectedly delivered a baby, or if you've rescued someone from an attacker, or even if you've done anything outside of your comfort zone week, outside of your comfort zone this week at all.

But here's what I can tell you.

Uh, it's that this simple truth that God does extraordinary things through ordinary people.

Uh if you'll let me, I just want to examine the lives of a few different ordinary people in the Bible this morning.

Just kind of peel back the layers of them and learn about some of the Bible's most unlikely heroes this morning.

Take a deeper look into their qualifications or lack thereof for ministry and the work that they did.

But but more importantly, I just want to examine what God did through them.

Uh, you've probably heard uh the story of David and Goliath, or at least heard uh that mentioned before, especially around March Madness, whenever a Cinderella team goes on a streak.

Uh but what you may not have heard is really much of David's background.

Like this little shepherd boy out in the field, that that all of a sudden his life takes a complete turn.

Uh David is God's anointed one.

Like all of a sudden, he's selected uh to be king, but not for any of the reasons that you and I would ever select someone to be a king.

And the book of 1 Samuel uh puts it this way Now the Lord said to Samuel, You have mourned long enough for Saul.

I have rejected him as king of Israel, and so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem.

Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.

But Samuel asked, How can I do that?

If Saul, the king, hears about it, he will kill me.

The Lord said, Take a heifer with you, the Lord replied, and say that you have come to make a sacrifice for the Lord.

Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me.

So Samuel did as the Lord instructed, and when he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of town came trembling to meet him.

What's wrong?

They asked.

And he tells them, Nothing.

I have come to sacrifice for the Lord.

Uh purify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.

Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice too.

And when they arrived, Samuel took one look at Iliab and thought, Surely this is the Lord's anointed son.

But the Lord said to Samuel, No, no, no, don't judge by the appearance or height, for I have rejected him.

You see, the Lord doesn't see things the way you see them.

People judge by the outer appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

So here's Jesse, like, presenting all the sons to Samuel one by one in the hopes that one of them is going to be selected as the anointed king, as God's anointed one, but one by one all of them are rejected by Samuel.

And finally, Samuel just asked him, like, is this all the sons you have?

Because I'm pretty sure I heard God correctly.

He told me that it was one of yours, but like I'll be honest with you, these ain't it.

And Jesse probably pretty reluctantly replies, Well, there is one.

There's still the youngest, Jesse replied, but but he's out in the fields watching the sheep and the goats.

Send for him at once, Samuel said.

We will not sit down and eat until he arrives.

And so Jesse sent for him.

He, meaning David, was dark and handsome with beautiful eyes, and the Lord said, This is the one.

Anoint him.

And so David stood there among his brothers.

Samuel took the flask of olive oil that he brought, and he anointed David with the oil, and the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day forth.

And I can only imagine what it was like for Jesse's sons, for David's older brothers, and maybe even Jesse himself.

I can only imagine what they were thinking as Samuel anoints him with the oil.

They're probably thinking, like, really?

Like this?

This is who God wants?

This little kid, the person that has the lowest rank in our family, this shepherd out in the fields with the sheep?

You see, when it comes to David, not only was he not the first pick in his family, he was literally the last pick of his family.

Not to mention, he's the last person that anyone would have ever assumed could take down a giant like Goliath or lead an army as a great warrior or grow up to be the greatest king that Israel had ever seen.

David was the last person that anyone would have ever picked for any of that.

Let me ask you something.

Have you ever just felt like you've been picked last?

Like you've just been looked over?

Or worse, maybe you've had voices in your life that have told you time and time again all the ways that you weren't enough.

You're not tall enough, not big enough, you're not strong enough, you're not pretty enough, you're not popular enough.

And no matter what level of success you've been able to attain in this life, you just can't get those voices out of your head.

No matter how hard you try.

I can't take the pain of those words away this morning.

I I won't pretend that I can.

But here's what I can tell you.

From what I've seen throughout the Bible, and not only the Bible, but also just the people that I've seen that follow Jesus well, here's what I'll share with you.

Who the world picks last, God often picks first.

So, regardless of what the world has said about you, I just want you to hear me on this this morning.

What God says about you will always matter more.

And he says this the Lord doesn't see things the way you see them.

People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

The gospel writer John tells another story, a different story, the story of Jesus traveling to a place called Samaria.

And when he reaches a place called Jacob's well, there he stops to rest, and when he when he does, he encounters this Samaritan woman in the book of John chapter four, it says this now he, meaning Jesus, had to go through Samaria.

So he came to a town in Samaria called Sakar near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down by the well.

It was about noon.

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, Will you give me a drink?

His disciples had gone into town to buy food.

The Samaritan woman said to him, You're a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman.

How on earth can you ask me for a drink?

For Jews did not associate with Samaritans.

Now, let's just pause for a second because there's a lot to take in in the passage, but there's some things we need to notice about this Samaritan woman.

First, it says the Bible says it was about noon.

That may not seem like a big detail, but it's a big deal because most people would get up early and go fetch water early in the morning to try to beat the heat.

And so this is a very odd time for this woman to go.

Also, first thing we notice is that this woman is alone.

And that was extremely unusual because most of the times people women went in large groups to go fetch water.

And so, based on what we know, uh, here's what we know this woman chooses to go get water at the hottest point in the day when she knows that no one else will be around all by herself.

And why?

Because she doesn't want to be seen.

And we find out why that is in verse 16.

It it says this, he told her, Go call your husband and come back.

I have no husband, she replied.

Jesus said to her, You're right when you say you have no husband.

The fact is, you have had five husbands.

The man you have now is not your husband.

What you have just said is quite true.

You see, this Samaritan woman wasn't lying to Jesus when she said she had no husband.

She also wasn't telling the full truth.

And I can't imagine how she felt in this moment as this man that she's never met before just recites everything that she's ever done, every husband she's ever fed.

I mean, the first the first feeling that she probably had was shame.

But it's soon followed by amazement when she learns that she's literally standing in the presence of God.

You see, you see, if Jesus' only motive in this moment was just to condemn this woman, that's where the story would have ended.

Lucky for me and you, it isn't.

Doesn't end there.

Instead, Jesus' words not only have the power to change her heart, but the hearts of many others as Jesus actually uses this moment to reach even more Samaritans, and the rest of the chapter tells us this many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony.

She said this, He told me everything I ever did.

So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days, and because of his words, many more became believers.

And they said to the woman, We no longer believe just because of what you said.

Now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is our savior of the world.

If I have your permission, let me ask a difficult question this morning.

Are there parts of your story you would rather just not share?

Like, are there parts of your life you'd rather just not have anyone know?

You're not alone in that.

I've got a million of them.

Like sins that have just made me want to hide forever.

I I get it.

I understand.

Like I'll never stand up here and tell you to get on a rooftop and shout a laundry list of everything that you've done or posted on social media.

That's not healthy either, okay?

But here's what I will say through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the right context and in the right company, can I encourage you to just share the painful parts of your story that God is redeemed?

Why?

Well, so that others can know that that same form of redemption is available to them as well.

You see, if God can use the story of an adulterous, sinful Samaritan woman, you better believe he can use whatever your story is as well.

Because if there's one thing that we can learn from this woman's testimony, it's that through the power of God's love, who you were doesn't have to be who you are.

Yeah.

You, me, anyone else, you can make the decision to turn back towards him, and in the process, you can point other people to him as well.

And even though there's parts of your story that may seem like they're worth forgetting, what God did to redeem you is not worth forgetting.

It's worth mentioning.

Who you were doesn't have to be who you are.

Nobody understands this like a guy that we would know from the Bible named Paul.

But the funny thing about that, uh Paul is one of the greatest followers of Jesus who ever lived.

But what's interesting about him is that the early Christians who followed Jesus would have actually known him by a different name, and that name is Saul.

In the book of Acts, chapter 9, it tells us this about him.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

It says this.

Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord's followers.

So he went to the high priest.

He requested letters addressed to synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the way he found there.

He wanted to bring them, both men and women, back to Jerusalem in chains.

So Saul is out there searching for Christians, literally kicking down their doors, violently dragging men and women away from their families.

He's in complete opposition of Jesus and their faith in him.

He's wanting to eradicate Christianity altogether.

And then it says this as he was approaching Damascus on this mission, light from heaven suddenly shone down around him.

He fell to the ground and heard a loud voice saying, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

Who are you, Lord?

Saul asked, and the voice replied, I am Jesus, the one who you are persecuting.

Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.

The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone's voice, but saw no one.

Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could not see, he was blind.

So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus.

He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.

Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias.

The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, Ananias.

Yes, Lord, he replied.

The Lord said, Go over to Strait Street to the house of Judas.

When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul.

He is praying to me right now.

I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming and laying hands on him so that he can see again.

But Lord, exclaimed Ananias, I've heard many people talk about the terrible things that this man has done in the believers in Jerusalem, and he is authorized by the leading priest to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.

But the Lord said, Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings as well as the people of Israel.

And you can't blame Ananias for being skeptical.

I mean, what he's just been assigned, what God is asking him to do, sounds like walking into certain death.

I mean, Saul is literally a terrorist.

Saul's been terrorizing and hurting people that he knows, people that he cares about.

He spent years in opposition to everything that even remotely resembles Christianity in trying to eradicate the world of it.

And out of all the people you could choose to be an instrument of Christ's love, God, you're picking him?

Really?

God says, yeah.

See, my love is strong enough to transform even the most wicked, the most murderous, the most sinful, the most corrupt, the most evil, even Saul.

And so that's what he does.

Ananias goes and he finds Saul and he lays hands over his eyes, and instantly he's healed.

And then Saul does something that no one could have ever expected.

He's baptized, and then he goes and tells the world.

Spreads the gospel as far as it will possibly go, and he writes what we know is half of the New Testament, and he lays down his life for his faith in Jesus Christ.

And that is the kind of person that God can use.

An unlikely king, an adulterous and sinful woman, a vicious murderer.

Now, let me ask you something.

Do you think that God can use you?

Because I do.

In fact, I know he can.

Rick Warren, he's a pastor out in California.

Some of you may have heard of him because he's the author of a book called The Purpose-Driven Life, but he he puts it this way, and I find this pretty humorous.

He said, Abraham was old, Jacob was insecure, Leah was unattractive, Joseph was abused, Moses stuttered, Gideon was poor, Samson was codependent, Rahab was immoral, David had an affair and all kinds of family problems.

Elijah was suicidal.

Jeremiah was depressed.

Jonah was reluctant.

Naomi was a widow.

John the Baptist was eccentric to say the least.

Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered.

Martha worried a lot.

The Samaritan woman had several failed marriages.

Zacchaeus was unpopular.

Thomas had doubts.

Paul had poor health, and Timothy was timid.

If you're not involved or working in any service or any type of ministry, what excuse have you been using?

You see, God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

I'm not going to hit you as hard as Warren just did.

That's not why I'm here.

Here's what I will tell you, though.

You've heard us talking about serving.

And I just want to say that every church, every church out there, it's not as strong as its elders.

It's not as strong as its lead pastor.

It's not as strong as its worship team.

Leadership.

Every church, any church is only as strong as its volunteers.

And one of the reasons that you guys have such a great church is you have a great team of volunteers, faithful volunteers who show up here at 5 30, 6 o'clock in the morning to set this up, and it's incredible just to watch how God has used them.

And if you aren't plugged in here or serving yet, I don't want you to hear this and think that I'm out here to condemn or convict you of this.

That's not why I'm here.

We're glad you're here.

I'm glad you're here.

This church is glad that you're here.

But but let me challenge you just to think about something.

Uh one day a month, specifically one Sunday a month, can you open a door?

Can you set up tables?

Can you can you unload heavy equipment out of the back of a truck?

Can you can you hang out and play around with kids?

Can you greet people in the parking lot?

Can you smile?

I guess a better question is, can you show up and be ordinary so that God can be extraordinary?

You see, if there's one thing that the Bible teaches us, David, Samaritan woman, to Paul, it's that God can do a lot with a little.

I'll close with this.

Uh, when I was in high school, uh, my first job uh was working for a local farm at the Lexington Farmers Market during the summer.

And I'd set up a table there and sell produce all day, and I hated it.

Okay?

I was terrible at it.

It was hot, it was gross.

Uh but it taught me a lot, uh, specifically about tomatoes.

You see, early on the Saturday mornings, around 6 a.m., when me and all the other farmers were setting up our table, me and the other workers I came with became a master at the art of presentation.

And we wanted our produce to look so good that people could not help themselves but come up to our stand and buy it.

And so we would sit the juiciest, reddest, ripest looking tomatoes out on display all day long.

We literally, we called those the money tomatoes.

Okay, because they just drew people in.

But around one o'clock in the afternoon, after the crowds dissipated, and just before we were left and we were packing up the truck for the day, an interesting thing happened.

Every Saturday, right around one o'clock, there was this small second wave of people who showed up faithfully every week, and we called them the canners.

You see, the only tomatoes that we normally had left by this point in the day were bruised and battered beyond recognition.

Like just beaten up from the truck ride there because occasionally I would hit potholes and curbs, okay?

Occasionally.

You don't want me driving your box truck, okay?

I'll just say that.

But these tomatoes that we had left were beyond all hope of ever making it on display, but that's exactly what this little group of old ladies was after.

And as a 16-year-old, this just really confused me because I often wondered what on earth would anyone want a busted box of tomatoes for?

Like what are they good for?

As it turns out, a lot of things.

Tomato sauce, tomato soup, homemade tomato juice, homemade ketchup, even toppings for pasta and bruchetta, you see, the possibilities are limitless.

You see, you don't look, you don't use perfect, pretty looking tomatoes for any of those types of things.

You use throwaways.

Because they're soft and they're beaten up and they're easy to work with.

And I had no idea that something so broken and so ugly could be used in so many cool ways.

You see, I think oftentimes a reason that we're hesitant to serve in any area of ministry, myself included, is because we look in the mirror and we say, I'm too ugly, I'm too broken, my story's too bruised.

What would God ever want with someone like me?

But friends, I want to leave you with this.

The truth of it is, and this is no secret, when it comes to ministry, there are no money tomatoes.

Period.

There's only bruised and battered people that the Lord uses in remarkably cool ways.

And so if you've been thinking about getting involved, I just want to encourage you to talk to someone today to take that next step.

If you haven't thought about getting involved, I just want to encourage you to think about it this week.

Pray about it.

Ask God, God, what are the ways that you can use someone like me?

How can you use my story?

How can you use an ordinary person like me to do something extraordinary?

I don't know how broken your story is.

But here's what I do know God has great use, probably multiple uses for someone like you, for a story like yours.

That is what the farmer's market taught me.

Farmer's market and the gospel.

Let's pray.

Dear Heavenly Father, God, I'm so grateful.

Just so humble to be here with this body of believers this morning.

God, I'm grateful for what you're doing.

God, and their team of volunteers, the way they show up every week and they just faithfully serve you.

God, none of them are perfect.

But God, you're using them in extraordinary ways.

God, I'm just so grateful that you can use gifts like that.

Grateful you can use somebody like me who's ordinary.

God, I just pray for anybody who's just hesitant this morning, who looks in the mirror and says, God, you couldn't use me.

I couldn't serve your church.

God, I just pray, just pray that they would feel your presence over them this week and that you would encourage them just to get in the game.

God, I'm grateful for the leadership of this church and forests.

Grateful for his team.

Jonathan, Sally, Emily, all their volunteers, God.

Just the way that they've humbly opened their arms and said, God, whatever you want, we're gonna go wherever you tell us to go.

We're gonna do whatever you want us to do.

And in the process, you've done something extraordinary in the city of Frankfurt.

So, God, I just pray that they would feel encouraged, they'd feel loved, that they'd be on mission, God, for your kingdom.

That they would they would just know that you can do a lot.

God, you can do a lot with a little.

God, thank you for what little you've given us.

And thank you that you can do a lot with it.

We love you.

We're grateful for you.

In your name we pray.

Amen.