We Are The Church

their names anywhere else in the Bible. There are no famous stories of their great accomplishments and great faith.
But Paul – thru the inspiration of the Holy Spirit – mentions them.
All these names are in Scripture because God wanted them there.

What does that tell me?
Well, 1st it tells me that: God knows your name
God knew the name of each and every member who was part of the Church at Rome.

And God has always known His people by name.
· Back in the OT, the Prophet Nahum declared: “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in him.” (KJV) Nahum 1:7
· 1Corinthians 8:3 tells us: “… the man who loves God is known by God.”
· And Jesus told us "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep…” John 10:14

ILLUS: One woman told the time her professor in nursing school gave a pop quiz.
She said “I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: ‘What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?’"
She thought: “Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.”
Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.
"Oh absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers you will meet many people.
All are significant.
They deserve your attention and care, EVEN if all you can do is smile and say hello."
She said “I’ve never forgotten that lesson… and I also learned her name was Dorothy.” (Guideposts 1/96 p. 8)

Romans 16 tells us God has never had that problem.
God knew the names of everyone in Rome.
And God knows your name too!
God knows YOU… and he knows your name.
And He knows your name because… you’re important to him.

That lead me to the 2nd thing Romans 16 teaches me:
There are NO UNIMPORTANT people to God.

When Jesus chose His twelve disciples… there wasn’t a one of them that would impress us. Most of them were uneducated workmen. Several were rough fishermen who spent their times out on the open water catching fish, and on shore repairing their boats and cleaning their nets.
One of Jesus’ disciples was a tax collector - everybody hated tax collectors. In fact, many people still hate tax collectors.
And one of His disciples was even a terrorist (Simon the Zealot).

These are not the people I would have chosen if I wanted to create MY church.
These were not impressive people.
But then God usually isn’t all that impressed by impressive people.
God is not moved by pedigrees, or diplomas, or someone’s status in society.
God isn’t overwhelmed by how much a person puts in the plate on Sunday.

ILLUS: Several years ago Beverly Steele Everett (The Lookout 1/16/83) made the observation that God wasn’t perfect:
God is tone deaf: (did you know that?) He is so tone deaf that He thinks the off key singing of "Jesus Loves Me" by a 5 year old is as beautiful as a solo from "The Messiah" by a trained soprano!
God can’t count: If He could count, He would know better than to accept the dime from a preschooler with the same joy He accepts a thousand dollar donation from a rich man.
God can’t concentrate: He listens to millions of prayers ALL at the same time instead of concentrating on those