THE KIND OF PEOPLE GOD USES
Luke 6:12-16
(Antioch Baptist Church: Sunday, January 4th, 2026)
Throughout History, ordinary people have been called by God to do extraordinary things. For example, Moses was tending sheep on the backside of the desert when God appeared to him in a burning bush and called him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. David was a humble and faithful young shepherd, but God used him to defeat the giant Goliath. Nehemiah was a mere cupbearer for the king of Persia, but God chose to use him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. God put Esther in a position where she could be instrumental in saving the Jews from annihilation.
The Bible contains countless examples of God using ordinary people to accomplish great things for Him. With that being said, there will be times when we are tempted to think that our own labor for the Lord is in vain. Furthermore, we have a great Adversary who would have us to believe that God would never use someone like us to do great things for Him.
It is important for you to disregard your own insecurities and reject the deceptive schemes of Satan and instead look to God’s Word for proof that God is powerful enough to use ordinary people for His glory. God is not only able to do this; it is part of His divine plan.
The Twelve men that Jesus chose to be His Disciples serve as one of the greatest examples that God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. Our selected text chronicles their selection and call to service. The Gospels, the Book of Acts, and the Epistles give us much information about their lives with Jesus and their service to Him.
When considering the biographies of the Apostles it is fascinating to see how different they were from one another. Those men had different personalities, different occupations, different views, and different backgrounds. Levi was a publican. He worked for the Roman Government as a tax collector. In contrast to Levi was Simon Zelotes (zi-LOH-teez). He was a Jewish patriot, who was willing to give his life to free Israel from the oppression of Rome. Peter, James, John, and Andrew were all fishermen.
Though there were many differences among those men, one of the things they had in common was the fact that they were just ordinary people. Regardless, they were men that Jesus would use to do some amazing things. As we examine their stories we find some important information concerning “The Kind Of People God Uses"; that is the subject we will consider today.
Considering the fact that God created the Heavens and the Earth, it should not surprise us at all that He has the power to use ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. The Lord used Twelve ordinary men for His glory and their story shows us that:
GOD USES PEOPLE WHO ARE INCONSPICUOUS
"Inconspicuous" refers to “something or someone who does not attract attention”. Someone who is inconspicuous is one who doesn't stand out in a crowd. We generally think of the Lord's Disciples with great reverence. As a result of their service to Christ and their willingness to be martyrs for His cause we are inclined to put them on a high pedestal. Statues that portray their likenesses, famous paintings depict their actions, classic books chronicle their lives, churches and cathedrals bear their names, but the Bible shows us that they were common everyday people.
Among the group that Jesus chose none are said to have possessed any great talents. None were men of great influence or power. None of them stood out from the crowd. However, Jesus saw something in each of them. He knew that He could use them to accomplish a specific and special task.
In time, people would marvel at the actions of the men that Jesus chose. In Acts chapter four Peter and John were summoned to stand before the members of the Sanhedrin and make a defense of their service to the Lord. Upon hearing their message, the members of the Sanhedrin were astonished at their knowledge and boldness. (“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus” - Acts 4:13).
God is still using ordinary people to accomplish great things for His glory today. This is not to say that God cannot use prominent people; He certainly did so in the Bible: Abraham was very wealthy, Solomon possessed great wisdom, King David was very powerful, and Paul was highly educated. However, in most cases God chose to use ordinary people. Paul spoke to this reality in 1 Corinthians 1:26-28: “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong”
Paul goes on to say that one of the reasons that God chooses to use ordinary people is so that He gets the glory. (“God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” - I Corinthians 1:28-29).
The Disciples were unsuspecting and inconspicuous, but God used them in a mighty way. If God could use those Twelve ordinary and imperfect men, He can use you and me. Don’t underestimate what the all-powerful God can do in and through you if you will surrender to Him.
- God uses the inconspicuous; as we move further, the story of the Disciples also shows us that:
GOD USES PEOPLE WHO ARE INEXPERIENCED
Matthew had plenty of experience collecting taxes. Peter, James, John & Andrew knew plenty about running a fishing business. But none of the Twelve knew a single thing about being "fishers of men". However, in Mark 1:17 Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Jesus was going to do a special and specific work the lives of His Disciples. He was going to transform them from what they were into what He would have them to be. Over time He would teach, train, and equip them to be "fishers of men".
Jesus taught His disciples about prophecies that had been fulfilled and prophecies that would be fulfilled. He taught them about the importance of loving God and loving one another. He taught them the importance of serving others. He taught them the Gospel and He taught them how to share the Gospel with others. Those men spent several years learning from their Master. Throughout that time Jesus prepared them for the mission that He would have them to accomplish.
If you belong to Jesus, it is His desire to do the same for you. You may not have much knowledge and you may not have much experience, but He can prepare and equip you for the mission He would have you to accomplish. Like the Disciples, Jesus can “make you to become” whatever He desires for you to be.
God uses people who are inconspicuous, He uses people who are inexperienced, and lives of the Disciples also show us that:
GOD USES PEOPLE WHO ARE IMPERFECT
We know that there are no perfect people, but God is powerful enough to use imperfect people to carry out His perfect plan. The Disciples were certainly not perfect people. Interestingly, they willingly shared the details of their imperfections and weaknesses in the Bible. Peter and John did not whitewash their stories; they did not skip over their failures; they provided us with firsthand information that proved that they were flawed individuals.
On one occasion, the Lord's Disciples were in the midst of a vicious storm; the wind was blowing, the waves were crashing, and the ship began to fill with water. Although these men had heard Jesus teach about faith and had seen many of His miracles, they began to doubt Him. They went to where Jesus was sleeping, woke Him up, and said “Master, do you not care that we are going to die”? In response Jesus “arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm." Then Jesus asked them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” (Luke 8:25).
The Disciples didn’t just deal with lapses of faith; Mark tells us that Jesus called James & John “Sons of Thunder” because of their hot tempers. This truth was vividly evident on one specific occasion. Luke 9:51-54 says: “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
The Disciples exhibited weak faith, strong tempers, and the scriptures tell us that they could be selfish and prideful. At the Last Supper, the Disciples argued about who was the greatest among them. Later that night, Peter, James, & John fell asleep during Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Following this, all of the Disciples forsook Him and fled. Peter denied Him before the Cross, and Thomas doubted Him after the Resurrection.
These are only a few examples of the Disciples' flaws; however, despite their failures, Jesus chose to use these men. It is also encouraging to note that even though they gave Him plenty of reasons to do so, Jesus never gave up on His Disciples.
I can boldly testify that even though I have failed Jesus significantly and far too often, yet, He has not given up on me. Beloved, you can rest assured that no matter how many times you fail, if you belong to Him, Jesus will never give up on you. Our Master has provided us with great encouragement in the story of His original Disciples. Their stories show us that if He can use people like them, then He can and will use people like us!
Throughout the Old Testament, the New Testament, Church History, and even in the present, God has and continues to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
Dr. Howard Hendricks of Dallas Seminary is an extraordinary man who has had a worldwide impact for Christ. The beautiful thing is, God used an ordinary man who obeyed Him to reach Dr. Hendricks. Howie was from a broken home, raised by his grandmother in Philadelphia. He often wandered from tavern to tavern, looking for his alcoholic grandfather. A man named Walt, who taught a Sunday School class, came upon young Howie and some other boys, and invited them to his Sunday School class. Howie didn’t know what Sunday School was, but since it sounded like school, he wasn’t in favor of it. But Walt took an interest in those boys, challenged them to a few games of marbles, beat them at it, and then taught them how to play better. Eventually, there were 13 boys off the streets of Philadelphia who attended Walt’s Sunday School class. 11 of those 13 boys went on to vocational Christian service, becoming pastors, missionaries, and seminary professors. God accomplished His purpose by using an ordinary man who obeyed Him. God can use you in a similar manner; however, for this to happen you must be fully surrendered to Him.
There were many differences among the 12 Disciples. They had different personalities, different likes and dislikes, different backgrounds and different views. But there was one thing that they all had in common, they were all willing to follow Jesus. Each of them was willing to learn from Him, and each of them was willing to be used of Him. Jesus took their availability and gave them the ability to serve Him. That is what is necessary for you to be used of Him. Inconspicuous people, inexperienced people, and imperfect people, these are “The Kind Of People God Uses”
God doesn’t need your ability, but rather your availability. Will you make yourself available to Him? Will you be submissive and obedient to Him? If so, then you can be the kind of person that God uses for His glory!
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