Learning to Value Small Things
Notes
Transcript
Please Take God's Word and find Matthew chapter 17, a familiar passage of Scripture, verse 20.
Introduction
Why do some people seem to have more faith than others?
ill. Illustration: small rural town was suffering drought and the people organized a preyer vigil for rain. A little girl was leaving her house to go to the meeting when she suddenly realized she had forgotten her umbrella…
Some seem to have a faith that moves mountains. Others don't.
Three times in the Gospels Jesus speaks of this kind of faith that moves mountains.
Perhaps the most famous place is in Matthew 17:20 /
The disciples were wondering
Matthew 17:19 (NIV): “Why couldn’t we drive him out?” and they went to Jesus; and they wanted to know about Jesus because they had no power against a demonic spirit. And verse 20 says,
20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Now, the expression “ as small as a mustard seed” - for the jews back in the day was a phrase that point to something very small.
So a mustard seed is very small, very small.
A mountain, of course, is very big.
What is Jesus saying?
I believe Jesus is saying that
“the smallest amount of faith we have is greater than the greatest amount of difficulty we face”
So The title of today's message is:
Learning to Value Small Things
Learning to Value Small Things
The Bible places great emphasis on small things.
Don't despise something because it's small, because small things have very big consequences.
When you take an atom, which is the smallest visible particle in nature, and split it apart, nuclear fission occurs. And the smallest of particles can cause the biggest of explosions.
And Jesus said that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. (Matthew 17:20)
So there are three things I want to remind you of today about the little things.
I. Little things make up God's Great Deeds
I. Little things make up God's Great Deeds
Number one: //
If you want to see the Lord do great things, don’t ignore the small things //
I was thinking about the little things in the Bible that God used.
For example, God used Moses' rod. And you can read about it in Exodus chapter 4.
And you can read about it in Exodus chapter 4. God used Moses and his rod to lead the children of Israel out of slavery. Moses, a fugitive, was forgotten in the desert.
Someone said that Moses spent the first forty years of his life learning to be somebody, the next forty years learning to be nobody, and the last forty years learning what God can do with someone who has learned the first two lessons well.
So there he was, a nobody in the desert, with just a stick in his hand.
And God said, "Moses, what is that in your hand?" And he said, "A rod." "Throw it down, Moses." And he did. The rod turned into a serpent. And then, He said, "Now, take it, Moses." And Moses took it. By the way, he said, "Take him by the tail."…" And then, the serpent became a rod again, but from then on it was no longer the rod of Moses; it was the rod of God who parted the Red Sea.
Now, I could ask you a question:
What do you have in your hands?
You say, "It's not much."
Friend, a little becomes a lot if you make it available to God.
God used David, a teenage boy, to face Goliath.
(Describe what happened…
- 1 Samuel 17:50 “50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.”
Now, if God used Moses with a rod, God can use you.
If God used David with a slingshot, God can use you my friend.
Jesus took a boy's lunch - five loaves of bread and two fish - and Jesus fed five thousand men plus women and children with a boy's lunch.
If God used that boy's lunch, God can use what you have.
- Acts 9:35 - tell us about a woman named Dorcas. And, of course, Dorcas didn't have extraordinary skills, but one thing she knew how to do: she was a seamstress. She had made coats, dresses, and other articles of clothing for people, and had sewn herself into the hearts and lives of many of God's people, who wept for her when she went to heaven. Acts chapter 9 - you can read the story.
If God used Dorcas, a seamstress, God can use you.
God used a woman named Mary who had an alabaster perfume bottle, took it, broke it and anointed the head and feet of the Lord Jesus Christ with that alabaster perfume bottle.
Some disciples criticized it and called it a waste. But the fragrance of what Mary did filled the world for two thousand years. And Jesus said:
13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
It was a small thing in the eyes of many, but not a small thing in the eyes of God.
One day, Jesus went to the temple and watched the offerings being collected.
I don't know what you give, but I tell you that Jesus knows.
And when we give our tithes and our offerings, Jesus observes it to this day, because He is here in the Spirit.
And He watched what the people were giving.
And a widow came, and she put it in the offering plate (the equivalent of less than an American cent).
And Jesus said that poor widow - now listen. There were many rich men there, says the Bible, but that widow gave more than all of them - not more than any of them, but more than all of them.
Why did he say that? Well, first of all, she gave everything she had. (Jesus saw the sacrifice of that widow)
But secondly, did you know that millions and billions of dollars were donated to the cause of Christ through the example of that poor widow?
Many, many hearts over two millennia have been moved to give because that little widow did one little thing.
My friends, little is a lot when we put it in God's hands.
Jesus said, "
42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
Did you know that while we are here, our volunteers are there in the cry-on-room?
Have you ever thought about this? Did you know that this church has a "cry-on-room"?
The children are there, crying their eyes out… They are there. And there, in the Scriptures, it says: “I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— (1 Corinthians 15:51)
Those babies are there, in room place, and we have volunteers changing diapers and giving the little ones a glass of cold water because they are His disciples.
Did you know that every time a Kids Ministry volunteer gives a baby a glass of water, it is recorded in heaven?
Did you know that Jesus has angels who noticed the little things?
Listen, Jesus was never president of a college.
Jesus was never a governor.
He was never a “king” (on earth).
He never commanded an army.
Jesus held little children in his hands.
Jesus talked about flowers.
Jesus talked about seeds.
He talked about a lost coin.
He talked about a son who had run away from his father's house.
He said, "I know the exact number of hairs on your head." (Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7)
Jesus was interested in small things.
And we all need to remember how small we started.
We all started when a little sperm joined an egg.
And actually, you were a winner from the moment you were conceived, because there were a lot of sperm trying to be first, and you were first, so you were a winner. You are a winner from your conception.
But you were so small. And by the way, when the egg and sperm come together, that's life! A child. Someone said, "Oh, that's not a child, any more than a bolt and nut are a Ford in a Ford factory." Oh no, friend. Everything you add, after the egg is fertilized, is nutrition. That's all. Nothing more is added.
You started out so small and baby, look at you now.
No one is born a great man; we are only born babies.
But when God wants to do something, He takes a baby.
God wanted to free the children of Israel from Egypt. He sent Moses, just a baby. And he was a child.
When God wanted to free humanity, He did not send an army. He sent His Son, a little baby born of a virgin.
No wonder the prophet Zechariah asked this question in Zechariah chapter 4 and verse 10:
"Who dares despised the day of small things?" (Zechariah 4:10)
Don't despise the day of small things.
Now what was happening is they were trying to build the temple and they were having difficulty. They were out of financial resources, morale was low, opposition was great and it seemed like they would never finish. And its beginnings were very small. But Zechariah was saying, “Listen, don’t be discouraged because it’s small”….
Elijah was a little discouraged, and God placed him in a mountain retreat. And God gave him an illustration about what is very important - 1 Kings chapter 19, verses 11 and 12. And here is what God said to him:
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
Many times in our life we are not satisfied unless we see a tornado, an earthquake, but we need to learn to listen to the small voice,
the things that God will use are sometimes the size of a mustard seed.
If you want to see God do great things in your life, don't take the little things for granted.
II. The little things are the test of our faithfulness
II. The little things are the test of our faithfulness
Let’s look at Jesus said in Luke 16, 10
10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Now listen carefully. “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” -
"Whoever is faithful in a little is also faithful in a lot." //
Why? Because everything big is made of small things.
So, as night follows day, as sure as I'm in this pulpit today, if I'm faithful in what's small, I've got to be faithful in what's big, because everything that's big is made up of something small.
"The great Sahara desert is made up of small grains of sand.
The world's great rivers are formed by small sources of water.
Small drops of water and small grains of sand make the mighty ocean and the desert of sand."
And it's the little things - it's the faithfulness in the little things - that really matter.
And what God is saying in this passage from Luke chapter 16 is very important.
Jesus is talking about giving. He's talking about money. And he said, Luke 16:11 //
Luke 16:11 (NIV)
11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
Therefore, true riches are not what you have in the bank, but what you have in your heart and character - influence.
And God is saying that if you are not faithful with money, He cannot trust you with spiritual things.
Sometimes people think that if we are faithful in spiritual things, God will trust us with earthly wealth.
It's exactly the opposite. If you have money, this can be a test. God may be giving you a test.
And by the way, God doesn't call money the most valuable thing; God calls money a small thing. And He says, "If you can't handle money, I can't trust you with true riches."
Now, God tests us, and may be testing you, with money. God tests us with the little things.
It is a great privilege to be the pastor of IBNU, and I do not take it lightly. Indeed, I shudder when I think of the responsibility and smile when I think of the joy of being the pastor of this church. But, friend, I am not worthy to be the pastor of this church if I cannot be faithful in the little things.
If a man is not faithful preaching to ten people, he will not be faithful preaching to thousands of people.
You don't need to get paid to preach. If you are faithful in what is little, you can be faithful in what is much.
The things that make men fruitful are their ability to be faithful in little things.
And the things that mark men's loyalty are the little things.
(Great Artist like Michelangelo, Pablo Picasso were faithful to details) faithfulness in small things is a mark of truly extraordinary service.
III. Little things are a means of strength
III. Little things are a means of strength
Now here's the third thing I want you to see: the little things are a means of strength//
See, Jesus says that a mustard seed can go up against a mountain and remove it.
What a powerful force the little things have, especially when the little things come together.
Small drops of water form an ocean. Small snowflakes form a blizzard and can paralyze a city.
Neglecting the little things can lead to disaster.
You see, little things have strength for good or bad.
Now, think about those who were faithful in small things and God gave them strength to overcome big things.
For example, I mentioned David.
Before David became Israel's greatest king, he was a shepherd and was faithful to his flock like a shepherd boy.
And because David was faithful as a shepherd, God gave him an entire nation to shepherd.
And then, as a shepherd, he once killed a lion and a bear - no small feat, but it was a small feat compared to Goliath.
And, before David faced Goliath, David had already faced a lion and a bear.
Now, friends, I don't know what kind of battle or what kind of Goliath will come against me or against you, but I want to be prepared.
And the way to be prepared is to be faithful in the little things.
I think of Timothy. Timothy, who was Paul's disciple, and Paul was his mentor—Timothy was faithful in serving Paul. And later he took Paul's place - faithful in little things.
I think in the Bible about Elisha, who poured water on Elijah's hands. Do you know what that means? He was his personal household assistant. He simply stood there with a basin and poured water while Elijah washed his hands. And Elisha became Elijah's successor and was used mightily with a double portion of the Spirit of God.
I want to tell you that I have met men too big to be used by God.
But I have never met a man too small to be used by God.
God uses small things.
And if you are great in your own eyes, I highly doubt God can use you.
Now, I want to say this about the little things:
When I say, "Despise not the day of small things," and when I say that God can use faith as small as a mustard seed,
God is not saying we should do small things when we can do big things.
It is a sin to neglect the little things.
It is a sin to only do small things when we could be doing big things and should be doing bigger and better things.
Soon, NU Baptist Church will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary. Next year is our 30th Anniversary.
NUBC started with a handful of people in brother's home in Silver Spring, MD.
But, thank God, they started small. But they had a vision, and this church has always had a vision to do great things.
And I think about the early church. It started as a small entity.
I did a little research in the book of Acts. For example, the church started with twelve. Jesus chose twelve and, of course, one of them was a hypocrite.
And then in Acts chapter 1 and verse 15 we learn that those twelve had become 120. (Acts 1:15) That's a pretty good increase.
But then, in Acts, chapter 2, verse 41, we learn that, added to the twelve, which were 120, three thousand souls came to know the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:41)
And so, that equates to 3,120 souls. And, brethren, in Acts chapter 2, verse 47, it says that more people were being added to the church daily. (Acts 2:47)
They didn't wait until Sunday to grow up.
And then in Acts, chapter 4 and verse 4, we read that five thousand men, plus women and children, families - that would be twenty thousand if you add the women and children, say, a wife and two children
- so that makes the early church, in just a few months, twenty-five thousand members. (Acts 4:4)
And then in Acts chapter 5, the Bible says they filled Jerusalem. (Acts 5:28)
Then, in Acts chapter 6, verse 7, the Bible says that the number of disciples multiplied. (Acts 6:7)
The church is growing exponentially.
One biblical scholar said the church reached a membership of more than 250,000 in six months.
Now, God wants us to grow. Listen to John 15, verse 2: Jesus said, “2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”
God is interested in growth.
Listen, Jesus said, "I called you and commanded you that you should go and bear fruit." (John 15:16)
And if you want to glorify God - John chapter 15 and verse 8: "By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so will you be my disciples" (John 15:8) - “bear much fruit .”
Now, if you are one of those who are in church and are not worried about reaping the fruits, about seeing souls saved, you know, you are in need of a good dose of salvation or a revival!
Now, let's not overlook the small things.
Someone did a statistic - I didn't do the arithmetic; I assume it's true - that if we started with 1 Christian, (in your SG) and that Christian gained one person a year and teach his disciple to do the same, and he teaches his disciples to do the same, in thirty years, there would be twenty and five million born again, starting with just one Christian.
Jesus wants you to bear much fruit.
Someone once said, "Anyone can count the seeds in an apple. Only God can count the apples in a seed."
When we teach the principle of multiplication, we need to think small.
But it's a shame that we're doing small things when we could be doing big things.
Pastor Dr. Lee - preached a sermon called "Chasing Fleas" - “Chasing Fleas”
In the text of 1 Samuel, chapter 24 and verse 14. It says: 1 Samuel 24:14 “Against whom did the king of Israel go out? Who are you chasing? To a dead dog! Just a flea!”
David was talking to Saul and said, "Saul, why are you worrying about such a small, insignificant thing? Why are you chasing fleas? There are better things to do." And Dr. Lee said, "A king who had a crown, a scepter, and a throne; a king who had an army under his command, doing what? Chasing a flea. Wasting great energies on cheap trivialities. Neglecting great opportunities. Dishonoring himself with cheap insignificance. A king firing a cannon at sparrows, attacking ants with drawn swords, catching minnows with a hook." And so, Dr. Lee warned that we should not become slaves to little anxieties, little ideas, and little ambitions.
- Years ago some whales were stranded on the beaches of San Diego. People tried to free these whales, but they had stranded themselves on the beach. They couldn't get them off the beach, and the whales died on the beach.
And what the whales did that got them into this difficulty - they were chasing minnows. Chasing small fish, they ran aground. And the newspaper headline the article as follows: "Giants die while chasing minnows."
God forbid that this wonderful church perish by chasing minnows!
What a mighty God we serve! And I challenge you, I admonish you to be faithful in the little things, but never waste your time chasing small fish, things that don't matter.
There's a lost world out there. God has given us so much, and I pray to God that we will learn to appreciate the little things and thus do great things.
Don't minimize the small things.
What is despised among men is highly esteemed by God.
Conclusion
And I also want to say that the highest place is not necessarily the greatest, and the greatest ministers are not always in the greatest pulpits.
Some of God's greatest preachers are in small churches, overworked, unpaid, under-appreciated.
But God knows their names. And I also want to say that whatever you do, whether it is a small offering, like the widow's, or a cup of water, if you do it in the name of Jesus, no offering will be small if it is given in obedience and love.