00:01You know, there is something that is woven through the New Testament that most people have never been taught.
00:11And yet, once you hear it, it changes the way you see everything.
00:18When you slow down long enough to really pay attention, you begin to notice that the story of the kingdom
00:27of God does not move forward through the famous, the platformed, or the people who step into history with reputation
00:37and applause.
00:38The New Testament is carried forward by nameless men and women, people whose names were never recorded, whose faces were
00:49never described, and whose stories are known in heaven alone.
00:55The movement of Jesus did not rise on the shoulders of those in the spotlight.
01:01It rose through the quiet, the humble, the overlooked, and the ones who said yes to God in moments so
01:11small, the world never bothered to notice.
01:16And yet, heaven noticed every one of them.
01:19This is one of the most liberating, hope-filled truths in Scripture.
01:26And once it lands in your spirit, it changes the way you see yourself, your calling, and your purpose forever.
01:37When you read the Gospels with open eyes, you start to realize how often Jesus intentionally highlighted the people the
01:47world overlooked.
01:48Over and over and over again, the Scriptures refused to give us the names of the ones whose faith turned
01:56history.
01:57The men who ripped open a roof to lower their friend down to Jesus.
02:03The parents who traveled unimaginable distances, hoping their child might find healing.
02:12The servants who filled the jars at Cana so the miracle of turning water into wine could unfold.
02:20The widow who gave two coins with a quiet faith that moved Jesus more deeply than the most extravagant donations.
02:32The woman who poured out the alabaster jar in sacrificial worship, so moved by love that she broke open her
02:41most precious possession just to honor Him.
02:46These people, well, they held the heartbeat of the kingdom.
02:51Yet in so many of these stories, we never learned their names.
02:57Scripture almost seems to say, their identity doesn't come from being known on earth.
03:06Their identity comes from being known in heaven.
03:11That is a direct rebuke of the way the world measures worth, isn't it?
03:16And it's a direct encouragement for every soul who has ever felt unseen.
03:25You know, if we step into Acts, the pattern becomes even more shocking.
03:31The early church did not grow because of a handful of apostles.
03:36It grew because of hundreds of invisible believers who opened their homes,
03:44found courage in prayer, shared their possessions,
03:48carried letters across dangerous terrain,
03:52and risked everything so the message of Jesus could spread.
03:58They are mentioned only in passing with phrases like,
04:03and many others, or the brothers and sisters with them.
04:08But those others were the infrastructure of revival.
04:14Those unnamed believers paid the price.
04:17They fed the missionaries, sheltered the persecuted,
04:23supported the widows, raised the orphans,
04:26and carried the church through storms that would have crushed any movement built on celebrity.
04:33Their quiet obedience shaped history.
04:39Their hidden sacrifices became the beams and pillars of the kingdom of God.
04:46And even though we don't know their names,
04:50God does.
04:51And heaven has never forgotten what they carried.
04:55Now, this matters because almost everyone today feels invisible in some way.
05:02People wake up to responsibilities and no one applauds.
05:07They work hard at their jobs where no one says thank you.
05:12They raise families in the shadows of exhaustion.
05:17They pray prayers no one hears.
05:20They make sacrifices that do not trend on social media.
05:26They fight battles in their minds and in their hearts that they never speak out loud
05:33because they don't want to be the burden to anyone.
05:39Our culture is louder and more connected than ever.
05:42Yet, deep down, millions of people feel unknown.
05:49But the New Testament speaks directly into that truth,
05:54with a truth that's powerful enough to restore a soul.
05:58The kingdom of God has never been built by the people the world celebrates.
06:04It has always been built by the ones heaven celebrates.
06:09The unseen.
06:11The undervalued.
06:13The ordinary.
06:15The ones whose names the world never learns.
06:20And if you look close enough,
06:23you see that the New Testament does not treat anonymity as a lack of importance.
06:28It treats anonymity as the refining place of importance.
06:35You see, God often chooses the hidden ones
06:39because hiddenness protects the purity of the calling.
06:45When no one is watching, your heart is revealed.
06:49When no one is applauding, your motives are tested.
06:53And when no one knows your name,
06:57your obedience has no competition.
07:01And in that quiet space, well, God does his deepest work.
07:07Scripture shows us that the one God uses most
07:12powerfully are the ones who don't need the credit.
07:17He works through the ones who would rather be faithful than famous.
07:22Surrendered, then celebrated.
07:26Devoted, rather than displayed.
07:29Heaven has its own reward system.
07:33And it has nothing to do with the metrics we obsess over.
07:38Faithfulness is the currency of the kingdom.
07:41Surrender is what moves heaven.
07:44And the people who walk with God when no one is looking
07:48often walk with a depth of purpose
07:52that cannot be quantified by human approval.
07:57Now, what makes this truth stunning
08:00is that it meets every human being exactly where they are.
08:05It doesn't matter if someone works a job the world overlooks,
08:09or cares for children,
08:11or serves behind the scenes,
08:14or prays quietly,
08:16or simply tries their best to love people in small,
08:21consistent ways.
08:23The New Testament says those moments
08:26are the brick and mortar of the kingdom.
08:29Those hidden acts of obedience
08:32are the seeds of eternity.
08:34You never know which ordinary moment
08:38becomes the doorway for God's extraordinary plan.
08:44You never know
08:46which quiet sacrifice becomes the turning point
08:50for someone else's breakthrough.
08:53You never know which whispered prayer
08:56becomes the key that unlocks something
08:58something heaven has been waiting to release.
09:03God takes the hidden things
09:06and breathes on them
09:07in ways that surpass every human measure of impact.
09:12And this is why this message
09:15has the potential to resonate
09:17across cultures, generations, and backgrounds.
09:23Because people in every corner of the world
09:26know what it feels like to be overlooked.
09:29They know the weight of being unseen.
09:33They know the ache
09:35of wondering whether their life matters.
09:38But the New Testament,
09:40well, the New Testament answers that question
09:44with an absolute clarity.
09:47Yes, you matter.
09:50Yes, heaven sees you.
09:54And yes, your life carries weight
09:58in the eyes of God.
09:59You may never stand on a stage
10:02or gather followers
10:03or have your story widely known.
10:07But none of that determines your significance.
10:11In the kingdom,
10:13greatness is measured by obedience,
10:16not by visibility.
10:19Impact is measured by faithfulness,
10:23not by fame.
10:25God didn't send his son
10:27to build an empire of celebrities.
10:30He sent his son
10:32to build a kingdom of servants,
10:35worshipers, and followers
10:37who carry his heart into the world
10:40in ways that will never be fully documented
10:44on earth.
10:47So, when you speak this message to people,
10:50you are not just encouraging them.
10:53You are inviting them
10:55into a completely different understanding
10:57of their own purpose.
11:00You are telling them
11:01that they have always been central
11:04to God's story,
11:05even when they felt like background characters
11:09in their own lives.
11:10You are showing them
11:13that God,
11:14well,
11:15God sees in secret
11:18and rewards in ways
11:20the world cannot imitate.
11:23And you would be revealing
11:26that the same spirit
11:27who empowered those unnamed believers
11:30in the New Testament
11:31is still empowering
11:33ordinary men and women today.
11:36The kingdom is still moving
11:38through invisible hands,
11:40quiet hearts,
11:42unnoticed sacrifices,
11:45whispered prayers,
11:47and steady acts of love.
11:49And if someone listening today
11:52has ever doubted their worth
11:55or questioned
11:55whether their ordinary life
11:57can matter
11:59in the grand story of heaven,
12:02let them hear this clearly.
12:05God does not overlook
12:07what the world overlooks.
12:10He sees every small step of faith.
12:14He remembers every quiet act
12:17of obedience.
12:19He honors every unnoticed sacrifice.
12:23And our God,
12:25well,
12:26He treasures every hidden moment
12:28of surrender.
12:30In the New Testament,
12:32the ones without names
12:34changed the world.
12:37And today,
12:38the same God
12:40is writing His story
12:42through people
12:43just like you.
12:47My name is Douglas Vander Graf
12:49and I believe in Jesus Christ.
12:53God bless you, my friends.
12:57Bye-bye.
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