Nobodies

1 Corinthians 12:19-25

Pull a sheet of scratch paper out of your memory bank and see how well you do with the following questions:

Who taught Martin Luther his theology and inspired his translation of the New Testament?
Who visited with Dwight L. Moody at a shoe store and spoke to him about Christ?
Who was the wife of Charles Haddon Spurgeon?
Who was the elderly woman who prayed faithfully for Billy Graham for over twenty years?
Who helped Charles Wesley get under way as a composer of hymns?
Who were the parents of the godly and gifted prophet Daniel?

Okay, how’d you do? Before you excuse your inability to answer these questions by calling the quiz “trivia,” better stop and think. Had it not been for such unknown persons—such “nobodies”—a huge chunk of church history would be missing. And a lot of lives would have been untouched.

Nobodies. What a necessary band of men and women . . . servants of the King . . . yet nameless in the kingdom! Men and women who, with silent heroism and faithful diligence, relinquish the limelight and live in the shade of public figures.

As Jim Elliot, martyred messenger of the gospel to the Aucas once remarked: “Missionaries are a bunch of nobodies trying to exalt Somebody.”

Praise God! We’re among that elite group mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12: “some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary . . . . So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that might otherwise seem less important” (vv. 22, 24, TLB).

If it weren’t for the heroic “nobodies,” we wouldn’t have any sound or lights or heat or air conditioning in our churches next Sunday. We wouldn’t have homes in which high schoolers can meet on Sunday nights to sing and share. We wouldn’t have church staff and officers and teachers working together behind the scenes.

Nobodies . . . exalting Somebody.

Are you playing a behind-the-scenes role? Thank God for giving you that opportunity.

Were it not for a lot of unknown "nobodies," a lot of lives would remain untouched today.

Charles R. Swindoll Tweet This

Taken from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

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Pastor Charles R. Swindoll has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word. He is the founding pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, but Chuck’s listening audience extends far beyond a local church body. As a leading programme in Christian broadcasting since 1979, Insight for Living airs around the world. Chuck’s leadership as president and now chancellor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation of men and women for ministry.

పాస్టర్ చార్లెస్ ఆర్. స్విండాల్ దేవుని వాక్యాన్ని నిర్దిష్టంగా, ఆచరణాత్మకంగా బోధించడానికి మరియు అన్వయించడానికి తన జీవితాన్ని అంకితం చేశారు. ఆయన టెక్సాస్‌లోని ఫ్రిస్కోలోని స్టోన్‌బ్రయర్ కమ్యూనిటీ చర్చి వ్యవస్థాపక కాపరియై ఉన్నారు, అయితే చక్ యొక్క శ్రోతలు స్థానిక సంఘ పరిధి దాటి వ్యాపించి ఉన్నారు. 1979 నుండి క్రైస్తవ ప్రసరణలో ప్రముఖ కార్యక్రమంగా, ఇన్‌సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ ప్రపంచవ్యాప్తంగా ప్రసారమవుతోంది. డల్లాస్ థియోలాజికల్ సెమినరీకి ప్రెసిడెంటుగా, అలాగే ఇప్పుడు ఛాన్సిలర్ ఎమెరిటస్‌గా చక్ యొక్క నాయకత్వం క్రొత్త తరం స్త్రీపురుషులను పరిచర్య కొరకు సిద్ధపరచడంలో సహాయపడింది.