One of the lessons we learn from the world of sports is that victory is not always won by the biggest, the strongest, the fastest, or the most talented. Victory is won between the ears. Doing extraordinary things begins with extraordinary thinking.

Did you notice the remarkable story a few months ago about Tony Brown, a high school student in Browning, Montana? Last year in a train accident, Tony lost both his legs just beneath the knees. Nevertheless, his coach and friends urged him to go out for the wrestling team. He did and achieved a winning record, wrestling on his knees without his prostheses. Now, he is hoping to coach wrestling as a profession.

Tony is a reminder that all of us can do extraordinary things. That is God's will for us. Listen to this word from St. Paul to the Corinthians and to us: "No person has ever seen, heard or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love Him." So, how do we activate all those wonderful things?

First, we must overcome negative thinking and discouraging folks. Outside a small town in New Mexico is a sign that reads as follows: "Welcome to Portales, New Mexico, home of 12,493 friendly folks and 8 or 10 grouches."

Isn't that the way it is everywhere? There are always a few negative folks around to tell you that Murphy's laws will ruin everything. I like the story about the little boy who was trying to raise some money by collecting old bottles, going door-to-door in his neighborhood. When he came to the home of a woman who was the "town grouch," the little boy asked, "Do you have any coke bottles?" "No," she replied with a scowl. Then he said, "Do you have any old whiskey bottles?" "Young man," the woman replied, "Do I look like the type of person who would have old whiskey bottles?"

The little boy studied her for a moment and then asked, "Well, do you have any old vinegar bottles?"

Isn't it tragic that some people go through life so negative and sour and bitter? And if you don't watch out, they will infect you with their thinking.

How can we live positively in this world where much is discouraging? I think I see some clues in one of the miracle stories of the Bible. As brother James Loftin reminded you last Sunday, Jesus once fed 10,000 people with only five loaves of barley bread and two little fish.

In a recent Gallup poll, 82 percent of Americans agreed with the following statement: "Even today, miracles are performed by the power of God." A miracle is generally considered to be something that contravenes the laws of nature. But I like Bishop Earl Hunt's definition of a miracle which he gave us during Holy Week. He said, "A miracle is an orderly event used by God to bring about his will through powers and methods with which we are not presently familiar."

Miracles do not necessarily contravene the laws of nature. Often they super-charge or dynamize those laws. These miracles, or extraordinary happenings, ought to be almost commonplace in the lives of Christians. Let me extract from our text certain principles which will enable us to do extraordinary things.

FIRST, USE WHAT YOU HAVE!

Jesus told his disciples that he wanted to feed a huge crowd of people. Immediately the disciples started whining about what they did not have. Sounds just like us. We make far too many statements that begin with the words "If only." If only I had more talent...If only I had more money...If only my parents had reared me differently...

The disciples said to Jesus, "It would take $10,000 or $20,000 to feed this mob. Counting women and children, there must be l0,000 people on this hillside. There is no catering service in the Middle East that can handle such a crowd. Lord, why do you ask us to do the impossible?"

Jesus asked, "How much food is here? Go and see." In other words, don't bother me with what you wish you had. Count your assets.

That's where you always have to start if you want to do extraordinary things. Consider what you have and use it.

In 1872, at the age of 16, Booker T. Washington decided he wanted to go to school. He walked 500 miles to Hampton Institute in Virginia, and presented himself to the head teacher. Washington later recalled, "Having been so long without proper food, a bath, and change of clothing, I did not make a very favorable impression upon her, and I could see at once that there were doubts in her mind about me."

Finally she said to him, "The adjoining recitation room needs cleaning. Take the broom and do it." A lesser person might have been insulted by being assigned menial work. But Washington recognized immediately that this was his big chance. He swept that room three times and dusted it four times. He even cleaned the walls and the closets. Then he reported to the head teacher that the job was finished. She examined that room like a drill sergeant. She even took a handkerchief and rubbed it across the top of a door. When she could not find a particle of dirt, she said, "I guess you will do to enter this institution."

As a 16 year old, Washington could not do many things. But he could clean a room. And he did it gloriously. Extraordinary living begins with using what we have. What gifts and graces do you have that you have not fully activated?

THE SECOND STEP TO EXTRAORDINARY LIVING IS THIS: COMMIT WHAT YOU HAVE TO GOD.

Notice what Jesus did with that fish and bread that was brought to him. He looked up to heaven and blessed that food. What he did was customary in every Jewish household. At every meal the head of the family pronounced these words of blessing and thanksgiving: "Blessed art thou, 0 Lord, who gives food to the hungry." Notice that it was God who was blessed, not the food. Did you realize that the purpose of a mealtime blessing is not to bless the food but the God who provided it?

Jesus did not say, "0 God, make these tiny fragments of food stretch a long way or else I'm going to have a lot of hungry folks on my hands." He did not ask the Lord to put a little honey on the bread to really impress folks. No, he blessed God's name and committed that bread to God. That's not the way we usually pray. We usually present our

"wish list" to God and blame him if one of them is not granted. But Jesus just committed what he had to God, asking only that it glorify God. Just imagine if in our business affairs, we were to pray regularly, "I commit my business to you, O God; use it for your glory. My greatest desire for my business is not that it be profitable, though I hope it will; my greatest desire is that it glorify you and assist in Kingdom-building.

Just imagine if in our prayers for our families, we always added this heartfelt plea: "I commit my family to you, O Lord; use it for your glory."

Just imagine what God could do in our political endeavors if we committed each candidate to him and asked simply that the political process bring glory to God. If you want to have an extraordinary life, commit each and every part of it to God, asking that all of it bring glory to him.

THE THIRD STEP TOWARD EXTRAORDINARY LIVING IS TO EXPECT GREAT THINGS.

Jesus was the foremost teacher of the power of positive thinking. "Ask and you will receive," he said. "Seek and you will find." Jesus really went out on a limb when he took a mere snack and trusted that it would feed l0,000 people. Never was so much expected from so little.

Remember this: your expectancy determines the size of God's workshop. Some people expect so little that God has no elbow room in their lives. That was the case in Jesus' hometown of Nazareth where he could do very few mighty works because the people had so little faith. Your expectation dictates God's arena in your life. Is it tiny and cramped, or lofty and expansive?

Let me use another example from the sports world. One of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the National Football League was Fran Tarkenton. As a sophomore at the University of Georgia, he was nothing but a small, third-team quarterback with mediocre prospects. But in a tight game with the University of Texas, Fran did something radical. He sent himself into the game. He just trotted onto the field, and the starting quarterback assumed he had been replaced. The offensive coach assumed the head coach had done it, and vice versa. Tarkenton took charge, led the team down the field for a touchdown, and, as they say, the rest is history. Fran Tarkenton expected great things to happen, and they

did! Our church is currently in the middle of a capital funds program called "Up with Christ." No united Methodist church in America has greater opportunities for ministry than does Christ Church, if we have the necessary facilities. This is the largest capital campaign in our history, attempting to raise more money than some people think possible.

That's alright. I love to get into ventures that are bigger than our abilities can underwrite. I like to get out there where success is impossible unless God moves mightily. Then when we are successful, God gets the glory that he deserves.

I am expecting a miracle! I am calling it "the miracle in May.” I believe that Christ Church will provide the facilities to allow us to serve up to 4,000 children per week. I believe that Christ Church wants to continue to receive persons who have not yet called Jesus Lord, rather than telling them there is no room at the inn. I believe that Christ Church wants to invest 10 percent of all we raise in ministries to the poor. Because I believe that the Holy Spirit is capturing our hearts with the vision and will motivate us to make sacrificial commitments, I am expecting great things. I believe that we will exceed all stated goals.

If you want to do extraordinary things and live an extraordinary life, imitate Jesus’ principles: Use what you have; commit what you have to God; and expect great things.

I love a story about two fortune hunters named Sam and Jed. They learned that up in Canada, $5,000 was being offered for each wolf captured alive. So, they traveled to an isolated region of Canada and began looking for their valuable prey. One night they were exhausted and fell asleep in their little tent. A few hours later Sam awoke suddenly to see that they were surrounded by about fifty snarling, vicious wolves. Sam nudged his friend and said, “Wake up, Jed, we’re rich, man! We’re rich!” What an attitude of expectancy!

When St. Paul declared that we are more than conquerors, he must have been thinking of Christians who use what they have, commit what they have to God, and expect great things.