Ordinary You, Extraordinary God

Pastor Leon Aguilera

¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.  – 1 Samuel 16:13

Our culture disrespects the ordinary. If it’s not special, superior, showy, or shocking, then it doesn’t matter.

Is that what God really wants for our lives? Does God want us to exert ourselves for a flash of fame? Is there anything wrong with being an ordinary person living a faithful life?

King David was painfully ordinary. How many miracles did he do? Zero. The showdown against Goliath happened when he was delivering his brothers’ lunch. If there was anything noteworthy in his life, it wasn’t David; it was God.

For much of David’s life, he did the grind. Even after he was anointed by the prophet Samuel to be the next king, he wasn’t immediate royalty. No, he waited for ten more years—a decade of suffering and preparation to be the man after God’s own heart. Ten years of obscurity and monotony, camping solo on the hillside, watching the sheep. Yet during that season of preparation, David got really good with a slingshot, and he wrote songs for God. Little did he know he’d face a giant and write much of the book of Psalms. He just plodded faithfully along where God had placed him.

So much of the pain and heartache of life come from trying to prove we’re something more. We’re not. We’re just ordinary. There’s such release and relaxation in this. We don’t have to feel badly because we don’t look special or have a unique talent, an exciting job, or a dramatic story. God is very happy for us to be ordinary, to faithfully live our regular, obscure lives.

Here’s what ordinary life looks like: the monotonous grind of diapers, cooking, cleaning, laundry, bills, and a job you may or may not like. Whether or not your sacrifices are acknowledged or appreciated by others, God sees your faithfulness. God knows, and He’s keeping track. You need to persevere and be faithful. Wherever God has placed you, live that ordinary life faithfully for God.

Because if we go back to David’s story, we see what’s extraordinary about him: God in him. The moment that Samuel anointed David with oil, “the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” If there’s anything exceptional about David’s life, it’s God at work in him.

We see this consistently through the Bible. Why did Pharaoh appoint Joseph, a foreign criminal, as his number two official over all of Egypt? “And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?” (Genesis 41:38)?

How did lowly Gideon lead a mighty military rout, though massively outnumbered? “But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon” (Judges 6:34).

Any success in Samson’s entire life story is defined by this phrase: “And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him” (Judges 14:19).

What transformed the disciples from cowardly into courageous? Jesus told them to go to the upper room and wait for the Holy Spirit—do not pass GO, do not collect $200, don’t do anything till you get the Spirit. They didn’t get to do a neighborhood survey or even work on their brochures. They got in a room and waited for “until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).

How liberating for us to realize that we’re ordinary and that the extraordinary thing is always, always, always God.

The Last Two Steps (In Conflict Resolution)

Pastor Leon Aguilera

¹⁵ Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. ¹⁶ But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. ¹⁷ And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.  – Matthew 18:15-17

Last week we looked at the need to possibly bring others into the picture to help resolve a conflict. Sometimes, even this strategy fails. The next move is Jesus’ seventh step in conflict resolution: Take it to the Church. Jesus said, “And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church.” Now, that doesn’t mean every offense between believers needs to be surfaced during a Sunday morning worship service.

First Timothy 5:20 says, “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.” The only time for a public statement in church is when it involves a leader, a pastor, or someone whose sin is known to everyone. And then, for the sake of the body, so fear might come upon everyone. But I believe “tell it unto the church” means tell it to the leadership. Get some people who can really turn the screws. They can firmly say, You say you’re a Christian, you say you love Jesus, you say you’re living under the authority of this Book, but here are three witnesses, all who agree about your offense. Yet you won’t admit you’re wrong. So either act like a Christian or stop telling people you are.

You ask, That’s it, the final step? Well, sadly, no. There’s a last move. Jesus’ eighth step in conflict resolution: Be willing to end the relationship. This possible conclusion is why you must make sure this is a big deal, because once you start the ball of Matthew 18 rolling, you can’t get it stopped. If the person is hard-hearted, this could come to the place Jesus described in the phrase, “let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” That expression was first-century talk for,We’re done with you and you can’t worship here anymore. From that moment, we wait with open arms. We pray God will change their heart and turn our attention to the people who do want to live under the authority of Scripture.

In the Kingdom of Christ, in the church, the individual is not more important than the whole. But if you believe God honors obedience to Scripture, then you will move ahead by faith regardless of the consequences. Be willing to end the relationship. But always pray that won’t be necessary! 

Next Two Steps in Conflict Resolution

Pastor Leon Aguilera

¹⁵ Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. ¹⁶ But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. ¹⁷ And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.  – Matthew 18:15-17

Here’s Jesus’ third step in conflict resolution: be specific. Now we’re getting into the details. Do you see it there in verse 15? “if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault.” No beating around the bush, no starting with ten words of encouragement and all these worldly truisms we’ve been told. JUST GET TO THE POINT! It goes like this: You did this, and it hurt me. This is how it affected me, how I’ve tried to deal with it. Could you help me with this? Tell him his fault.

Actually, the Greek there is just one word that means lay the evidence out. This has nothing to do with explaining or excusing. Just state the facts: This is what happened. If you don’t know what happened, you better stay home.

And by the way, go and tell. Don’t show. Don’t be showing your marriage partner that you’re upset about stuff. No moping or passive aggressive mixed signals—out with it. You hurt me when you do this. Loving, verbal statements are a communication centerpiece for a happy marriage. Say it using Jesus’ pattern: full of grace and truth. Don’t scrimp on either.

Jesus’ fourth step in conflict resolution: Private at first.  It’s got to begin privately.

You ask, Why? There are several good reasons to start privately. First Peter 4:8 says love covers a multitude of sins. If my brother has sinned, I love him and want him to grow and be everything God wants him to be. So I go to him privately, lest he be publically shamed and embarrassed.

I also go in private because I might be mistaken. Now, if you’re not open to the possibility you could have seen the situation wrongly, don’t go to the person because you’re not humble enough yet. Keep praying about it.

Finally, I go in private because he may not know. He does not realize what he did. 

How could he possibly not know?

Since he is just like you and me, he may have a blind spot. He may be committing a sin he cannot see because of lack of knowledge or maturity.

You may think, I don’t see any blind spots in me. We all have them but can’t see them without help. That’s why they’re called blind spots. Conflict resolution starts in private.