You are ordinary. So were the disciples. And Jesus chose every single one of them on purpose. This past Sunday, Pastor Chip Dean closed out the I Will Build My Church series with a message from Matthew 4 and Acts 1:8 that was practical, personal, and full of the kind of hope that only comes from knowing God does not need extraordinary people to do extraordinary things.
Ordinary People, Extraordinary Purpose
Pastor Chip opened with a list of his week. Changed diapers. Rocked babies to sleep. Got spit up on multiple times. He said it with a straight face and then made his point. He is as ordinary as it gets. So are most of us.
But here is what he wants every ordinary person to understand. You are exactly the kind of person Jesus loves to use.
He painted a picture of what it would sound like if someone invited you to join the church the way you would pitch a job offer. You get to work personally with the CEO. You get an incredible team culture where everyone calls each other brother and sister. The work actually changes people’s lives forever. The CEO promises to take care of every need you have. The retirement package is an all-expenses-paid resort where no one has ever died.
That is what it means to follow Jesus and be part of his church. Not just coming on Sunday, singing songs, and going home. It is your life being changed by the Word of God and the Spirit of God so that you can go change other people’s lives too.
Where We Have Been
Before diving into the new material, Pastor Chip recapped the full arc of the I Will Build My Church series. From Zerubbabel leading 50,000 exiles back from Babylon to rebuild the altar. To Esther becoming queen against all odds and saving the entire Jewish people. To Ezra bringing the Word of God back to the people and calling them to live it. To Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem stone by stone. Each one a picture of what God does in a life when he moves someone from spiritual captivity to freedom to mission.
He also pointed out something worth sitting with. After Nehemiah, Old Testament history essentially ends. Malachi is the last prophet. Then comes 400 years of silence. But silence does not mean absence. During those 400 years God was working. He allowed Greek to become the world’s common language. He built a Roman road system that connected the entire world. He created peace across the land. He stirred a spiritual hunger in people. He scattered Jewish synagogues everywhere. Then at exactly the right moment, Galatians 4:4 says, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son.
Every condition was in place for the gospel to spread. If God orchestrated all of that for Jesus to come at the perfect time, it is no accident that you are alive right now. We live in the best era in history to share the gospel. We have the internet, cell phones, and social media. The world has never been more reachable.
Jesus Calls Ordinary People
The first movement of the message was simple. Jesus calls. He does not call the best and most qualified. He calls the ordinary.
Peter, Andrew, James, and John were fishermen. Blue collar. Working class. Matthew was a tax collector. Simon was a political activist. Thomas, Thaddaeus, and several others, we barely know anything about them at all. They were teenagers or young adults with no credentials, no platform, and no influence.
Jesus looked at them and said, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
The women who followed Jesus were just as ordinary. Mary Magdalene had been possessed by seven demons before Jesus healed her. Joanna and Susanna financially supported his ministry. Mary and Martha just opened their home and kept inviting people in. Priscilla was a tentmaker who helped disciple Apollos, who went on to plant churches around the world. Lydia was a businesswoman who hosted the first church in all of Europe in her house.
None of them were remarkable before Jesus found them. All of them were extraordinary after.
Jesus Disciples Ordinary People
The second movement was discipleship. Jesus does not just call you and leave you to figure it out. He disciples you.
Pastor Chip was clear that the church is not just about filling seats or counting decisions. It is about Jesus doing a work in you. Every Sunday sermon is discipleship. Every small group is discipleship. Every time you serve, Jesus humbles you into his likeness. Every time you share the gospel, he teaches you how much you need him.
The goal is to become more like Jesus. Not for your own sake but because the more you become like him, the more he can use you. That is the whole point of Matthew 16:18. Jesus builds his church by building his people so they can go build more people.
He also made a point about the second half of that verse that most people miss. The gates of hell will not prevail against it. Gates are defense. Gates only keep people out. Which means hell is not on offense. We are. Jesus is not calling us to huddle up and hold on. He is calling us to charge the gates of hell and bring people out of darkness into his light.
Jesus Sends Ordinary People
Acts 1:8 says you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Jerusalem was their community. Judea was their region. Samaria was not a place as much as a people, specifically the people nobody liked or wanted to associate with. Jesus was saying go not just to places but to the people who are not like you, because they are not called to be like you. They are called to be like me.
Pastor Chip applied it directly to First Baptist Powder Springs. Jerusalem is Powder Springs, Hiram, Marietta, Kennesaw, Dallas, and Austell. Judea is their support for church planters across the state and nation. Samaria is the people who are different, overlooked, or hard to love. The ends of the earth is their global mission work in places like Spain and Uganda.
He shared a sobering statistic. More than 70% of North Americans say a Christian has never shared the gospel with them. Not their fault. Ours.
Then he gave everyone a simple tool called SHARE.
S — Serve.
Serving wins the right to share. When people see your love for them they become open to what you believe.
H — Hear.
Listen before you speak. People are not projects. They have real feelings, real doubts, and real fears. Hear them.
A — Ask.
Keep asking questions. The more you learn about where they hurt, the better you can speak to where Jesus heals.
R — Relate.
Share what Jesus has done in your own life. Not a sermon. Just your story.
E — Extend.
Give them the opportunity to give their life to Jesus just like you did. If you have given your life to Jesus, you already know enough to lead someone else to him.
Pastor Chip closed with the math. There are 21,000 people in Powder Springs. First Baptist has 2,001 members. If every member shared the gospel with one different person every day, every single person in the city would hear the gospel in ten days. Douglas County in two months. Paulding County in three months. All three counties combined in under eighteen months.
Jesus builds his church through ordinary people doing ordinary things one gospel conversation at a time.
There’s a Seat for You
Whether you have never been sure your life has a purpose or you have been in church for years and drifted away from the mission, you belong here. We are a church that believes Jesus did not call the qualified. He qualifies the called.
Plan Your Visit and come find your place in what God is doing here. Or take your next step and Get Connected with our church family. We would love to go on mission alongside you.