It's a harsh, cruel world out there, isn't it? And sometimes it seems that we live in a world devoid of encouragement. Some days, it feels as though all the encouragers that God ever created, have been wiped off the face of the earth. Completely extinct. And then you meet one. Wow! Thank God for the encouragers in this world. Amen? We've been looking this week at being a little person used by a big God, and in particular, I have been sharing some stories about some little people, who God has been using so mightily, in my life. A young man called Joseph in Africa, Max who works in the studio here with me, my wife, a silent servant. It's amazing how we suffer from superstar syndrome. We see all these larger than life media personalities, people who aren't really people, they're brands, and think, 'I can never be like that. I can't have significance like that', when all along, God has a crazy plan. He's looking for little people, little people like you and me, who He can use in the lives of others. I'd like to finish up this week as we look at significance by talking about a man in my life called 'Ton', as he likes to call himself. He is a few years my junior, but he is the most excellent encourager you will ever meet. Tony is this tall, gangly, curly redheaded guy and he himself would say, 'I'm no oil painting'. He's kind of right, he should be in radio with me. He's a Queenslander, that's a little bit like being a Yorkshire man in the U.K. or a Texan in the U.S., right? Queenslanders are kind of special, something different and wonderful about them. And he runs an advertising and design company. They do the most amazing, creative work. I met Tony when he was really, really down. He'd done some free concept work for a particular ministry who were doing a media campaign and they took some of that and then didn't use his company any more. God had really laid something on his heart at the time to support a media ministry, and one thing led to another and now he supports our ministry. Now he's on our board and he has this passion and fire for what we do. His creative company helps us with brochures and newsletters and just stuff that a ministry like this has to do. And as I said, they do the most wonderful creative work. We have recently put a website together, called www.whosjesus.com. They did all the printing and promotional stuff for that and it's just stunning. You know, the work they do is just wonderful. Now this guy was full of disappointment because he thought God was leading him down one path and that fell over, when all along God was getting him ready to work with us, to be with us. And in the middle of this disappointment, God was getting things ready for him to not only be a ministry supporter of Christianityworks, but also a personal friend and supporter to me. We live in a world where very few people encourage one another. Encouragers are like dinosaurs, they seem to be almost extinct, in the work place, where people give you the credit when credit is due. I was talking to a young man by the name of Mike and he is the assistant manager of a large organisation, well known and they just opened a large new iconic store in the middle of a large city and the regional manager visited and gave the credit to the store manager. The store manager, in reality didn't really do much. He left it all to his assistant manager, Mike. But the store manager never passed the credit on. The store manager never said to the regional manager, 'You know, this guy, Mike, has done such a good job we could never have done it without him'. Not so much as a 'thank you'! No, 'I could have never done it without you, Mike'. Have you ever noticed that? Sometimes it feels like we live in a world devoid of encouragement. Like you have been wiped off the face of the earth. And then God goes along and gives me Tony. Now Tony is a visionary guy. Tony lifts my gaze. I think big, this guy thinks huge. And in a ministry, when you are working day to day and you're managing the detail and the nitty gritty, sometimes you loose your strategic vision. Well, I organise to have coffee with Tony once every three, or four or five weeks and this man is so passionate for God. He focuses me, he lifts my gaze, he lifts my focus up to remember what God has really called us to do. So he doesn't just help the ministry, he encourages and builds me up. I don't know if you have ever thought about it, but being a person who does radio, who lives in a studio and does programs, you don't exactly have a million people around you. Not that I get lonely, but it is naturally a lonely way of working. Now fortunately for me, I am cut out to do that. But it is so wonderful to have Ton in my life, to get me over a cup of coffee and give me a shake and encourage me and bless me with his stories and pray for me and support me. Doesn't matter who we are, we all need that, and you know something, the people around us need that too. They are needful as well, they need support, they need encouragement, they need kind words, they need people to help them make connections, they need people who exercise their own gifts in their favour. This week I've spoken about four different people – Joseph, a young African man whom I met in the UK, who's been through the most horrendous life as a refugee on the run for his life, hunted like an animal. And he stepped into my life and has just blessed me. Because of Joseph, our programs are now going right across Africa. A gifted sound technician and producer Max, a knob twiddler, as I call him. You know, Max sits here in the studio every day with me and encourages me and blesses me with his gifts and abilities. A gifted, silent servant, in my wife, who does so many things in our ministry, that I could never do, looking after the supporters and looking after people who call in after programs and looking after our prayer partners And now, Tony an advertising executive. You know advertising and marketing people, they are kind of a different breed to the rest of us. They're creative and you know, wear different clothes to me and all that sort of stuff. But this guy takes everything he is in his business, everything he is as a person, everything he is as a follower of Jesus Christ, and lays that at my feet and supports me and encourages me, and blesses me. Just four people we have talked about this week who so bless me. If we talked about them all, we'd be here for months, because God has just been so good by putting these people in my life. Have you ever thought you and I are meant to be those people in other people's lives? Have you ever thought that your ability to encourage, just to write a kind email, just to pray for someone and say, "I've been praying for you." Just to say to someone, "You are doing such a good job, keep going." Just to say to someone, "You blessed me so much." We are put there to bless other people, you and I, little insignificant nobodies. We're not superstars. We're not going to have our faces plastered all over televisions, and we're not going to earn $130 million dollars a year for wearing a particular brand of sporting clothes. That's not us! If it is, ring me, I'd love to talk to you. But, it's just not us, right? God takes little people, and in my case, just a small number of little people who have a number of things in common. First, they are little people, they're not famous. Second, I happen to know them. Third, they put their gifts in God's hands and use them for my benefit. And fourth, He has taken the ordinary things that they do, the ordinary gifts that they have, the ordinary people that they are, and done extraordinary things with that in my life, and the lives of so many other people, touched by these programs. I believe God is calling you today, to put your ordinary gifts, your ordinary resources, your ordinary abilities at His feet and say, 'Lord Jesus, how do you want me to use this for You?' I believe God is calling us to lay our gifts and our abilities down at His feet so that He can take us, little people, to be used by a powerful God.

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