16 Aug 2015 – Ordinary or Extra-ordinary
On the Day of Pentecost, 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus, about 120 disciples were gathered together in one place, united in prayer. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house. The promise of God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples was fulfilled at that moment. All the gathered disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak to the Jews present in Jerusalem in other foreign languages “as the Spirit enabled them”. These disciples were empowered to testify for the risen Jesus in a miraculous way. They were just a group of ordinary disciples who had little or no education. The Jewish crowd recognised them as simple Galileans who spoke mainly Aramaic and were therefore greatly amazed to hear them declaring the wonders of God to the many Jews present in their respective native languages. They were astounded and asked each other: “What does this mean?”.
Many often think that God uses extra-ordinary people to do His work. Those of us who are more bold may even desire to do great things for God, ready to “bite the bullet” and sacrifice our lives and possessions if necessary. Those who are less bold may either make erroneous or convenient conclusions that we are to just to live simply as “ordinary Christians”. We will leave the serious Christian stuff (Bible literacy and teachings, discipleship, disciple-making, evangelism & missions, etc.) for the extra-ordinary champions that God will send to us in our Churches. The Bible however, reminds us that: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
Our Lord Jesus is looking for ORDINARY Christians to carry out HIS EXTRAORDINARY work. It was the Holy Spirit who empowered the disciples at Pentecost to follow the call of Jesus to be His witnesses as salt of the earth and light of world. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). We cannot do it in our own strength but “can do all this through Him (Jesus) who gives us strength” (Philippians 4:13). God gave us the Holy Spirit to empower us to be His witnesses – to share His love, proclaim His name, His character, and His mighty deeds to people who have yet to know Him. We are just ordinary Christians but we have the Holy Spirit who is here to melt us, mould us, fill us and use us as His witnesses wherever we are and in whatever we do.
