Nameless Servants

Have you ever considered the thought that most of the people who are presently serving Christ are unknown to us? In the same way, many hundreds of thousands (most likely millions) over the ages have served the Lord faithfully without any special recognition. These are those who have served in obscurity and their claim to fame is just not being known.

Usually, it is very easy for people to remember the names of the popular Christians who are well known in media and among the popular church circles. People often gravitate to one of their "camps" and begin to identify with their teachings in some manner or other. Most of the time the teachings of these popular Christians are well intentioned, but if their followers carry out their passion of following too far, it can tend to cause divisions in the body of Christ, and that never has a good result for any of us.

We know that the popular, well known Christians do good works in their own ways, but in this talk, I want to focus on a group of believers that are just as important.....if not maybe a little more so... in some ways.

The point of my subject is to remind us of those many believers who, down through the ages, have faithfully served God without any recognition. Their names and faces are unknown to us, and they have left no permanent remembrance of themselves that we can see. Being known only as people who lived and died in a time prior to us being on this earth, we can't visualize their faces. We know no title that we can attach to their names or even where their graves are today. They are the heroes whose lives and ministries overshadow the ones that capture our popular attention today.

Let's spend a few minutes thinking about some of these people.....

• ·         What were the names of the first guys that carried the ark of the covenant on their shoulders? We know that they were Levites, but what else do we know about them? Were they married? Did they have kids? Does anyone know what made them sad or happy? And yet, they served the Lord faithfully by bearing the ark on their shoulders. It did not matter if the weather was good or bad, if they were sick or had a headache, or even if they were tired or not. They were faithful at performing what God had appointed them to do whether anyone knew them or not.
• ·         What about the ones who cured the skins for the Tabernacle when it was being built? How did they learn to trap? What was each one's favorite color? What were their names? Were they old or young? Men or women? We can't answer these questions about their lives, but we do know that they spent their time serving the Almighty God carrying out the awesome tasks that He had given them. Popularity and fame did not accompany them.

Now, let us go on forward a few years.......

• ·         Can you name any of the people who cut down the trees in order to get the lumber used to build the first Temple? Is there any record of their ages or accomplishments during their lifetimes?
• ·         What about those ladies who provided the meals for the workers that were building the Temple? Were they married or single? What was their favorite dish? Was their hair black or brown? Did their eyes light up when they thought about the Temple being built and how that they were helping? Their faithfulness helped to bring about the first permanent place to worship God, but we are at a loss to name them.

Let's try a subject that is a little more up to date.....

• ·         What was the name of the person that led Billy Graham to Christ?

    Some of you may know that. It was an evangelist named Mordecai Ham, but

    having that answer leads us on to another question.

    Who was it that led Mordecai Ham to Christ? I really don't know the answer to

    that one, but even if I did, that generates another question to consider: who

    was it that led  the one to Christ, that led the one to Christ, who then lead 

    Mordecai Ham to Christ, who  eventually led Billy Graham to Christ? Do you 

    get the picture?

Please, I'm not trying to be silly, but I am trying to drive home the point of this talk.

There are many, many, many people, whose names we do not know, who have served Christ faithfully down through the ages.

Even today, many live for Christ in the same way.

They have not written books, produced television shows, blogged on the internet, or spoken at huge conferences, but the Lord still uses them magnificently in the kingdom of God. Many have powerful ministries in prayer and seeking God, but still few people know them. Some have seen God performing great miracles and bringing about powerful revivals, and others have experienced a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit's power and blessing. They may be godly mothers or fathers, friends to those who are in need, or powerful preachers in obscure, out-of-the-way places. The point is, they all know how to follow God with sincerity and faithfulness as much as any who are in the limelight. Some of these people meet at gathering places that are no more than basements, barns, or chicken houses. Some of them meet in fear and secrecy. However, those meetings are full of believers that carry out the work of the kingdom of God in order to spread the gospel to those around. ...........Nameless wonders.

In the past, we have read about Christians who died in prisons after persecution. Some died in the undeveloped areas of early Europe or America, after having lived a life of faithfulness to Christ and sharing Him with those whom they came into contact. I don't have their names, nor do I know anyone else who does except God, and He never forgets.

Others died after having lived a normal life, pointing their children to Christ, and faithfully allowing Christ to live through them in their daily walk. They did the wonderful work of helping to build the kingdom of God, then they passed on and were forgotten by the world.

Today, we easily recognize names like Louie Giglio, John MacArthur, and Chuck Swindoll (I do believe that these are good men with very worthy ministries), but do you know the names of the thousands who pray and give that their ministries may continue? They are all part of that special "Nameless Servants Brigade".

It is very common that we people, on the general scale of things, tend to pay more attention to the most obvious famous ones among us while forgetting those who may be the "hidden treasures" that the Lord has placed around us. The Lord, however, appears to take a different approach. He actually dedicates a special portion of the Scripture specifically to those who were not named.

Hebrews 11:35-39 NLT

35  .........But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection.

36  Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons.

37  Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, [some were tested,] and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated.

38  They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

39  All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith ..........

These people who are named… but not named….. are very important to the Lord, and their anonymity may be one of the most precious gifts that they have.

I believe the Scripture gives some indication to us how important these nameless people are to carrying out the Lord's plan on the Earth.

Consider these Scriptures.

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 NLT

12  The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.

13  Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

14  Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part.

15  If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body.

16  And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body?

17  If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?

18  But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where He wants it.

19  How strange a body would be if it had only one part!

20  Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.

21  The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."

22  In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.

23  And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen,

24  while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity.

25  This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other.

26  If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

27  All of you together are Christ's body, and each of you is a part of it.

Look back at verse 22. Three most important phrases are there.

weakest

least important

the most necessary

Now get the point of what is being taught here. Those who appear to be the weakest and least important to the body of Christ are the most necessary ones to be in place.

Where are you serving the Lord?

Is it in a hidden, unglamorous, obscure place?

You may be doing a service for the Lord of which very few are aware, but keep up the good work! I believe that the Lord needs many more of us doing that. The rewards you will receive will be great and eternal!

Are you presenting Christ to only a few people as compared to the opportunities that some other Christians may have to present Him? Who cares? Faithful service is really the goal.

Wherever you are serving is extremely important in the Body of Christ!

Hey! You are extremely important  to the body of Christ!

You really are, you know......so much more than what you fully understand.........

Remember this -- even a cricket can make a thunderstorm a little louder. It may be imperceptible to humans, but God can hear it..........and He is the one who really matters after all.

Humbly submitted,

His servant

xxx