sermonette: Little Things

Being Faithful In ALL That God Has Given Us
Bill Cherry
Given 16-Nov-02; Sermon #584s; 13 minutes

To everyone, please turn to Luke 16:10. The first is a familiar one to us. Um, He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much, and you probably know that this verse comes on the heels of, it's a, it's a kind of a summary verse of a parable that Jesus told about an unjust steward who wasted his master's estate. Now, we are charged with our master's estate. God has given us tremendous spiritual blessings and tremendous spiritual gifts, and the question is, how are we using it? And Christ told us, and He, He made this summary statement to show that we should be faithful in little things now.

Luke 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.

And that's an indication of what we will do later when we are entrusted with big things. So, the purpose of this sermon that is to show you that our faithfulness to do little things is an indication of our heart and our soul and our mind. Please turn to Luke 21. And we will start reading at verse 1, Luke 21. Uh, this is talking about Jesus here, it says, and He looked up and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a certain poor widow casting thither two mites.

Luke 21:1-4 And He looked up and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a certain poor widow casting thither two mites. [Now it doesn't say 2 pennies in my King James version, but it does have a note here, 2 mites equals 2 cents. So that's how much she cast into the treasury.] And [of a truth,] I say to you that this poor widow cast in more than they all. [And this must have been puzzling to them, and He gave an explanation. He said,] for all these have of their abundance cast into the offerings of God. But [they, but] she of her penury has cast in all the living that she had.

So He's saying this is what I see. I see a woman who has put in everything and literally where her heart was, there, she put her treasure, so she put everything there. And this is the way God looks at us. Where is our heart, and He judges, judges us by little things.

Now, I want to sing to you a song of the fifties. It's called Little Things Mean a Lot, and they wouldn't, um, but, uh. It expresses a love of a husband to a wife and the feelings that the wife has and the feelings that the little things and how they imitate the way she feels. So forgive the music, but I want you to understand and to hear the words.

Blow me a kiss from across the room. Say I look nice when I'm not. Touch my hair when you pass my chair. Little things mean a lot. Kneel with me at the side of the bed. Call me at 6 on the dot. Or on a day when we are far away, little things mean a lot. Don't have to buy me diamonds and pearls, champagne, sables or such. I never cared much for diamonds and pearls cause honestly, honey, they just cost money. Give me your hand when I've lost my way, give me your shoulder to cry on. Whether the day is bright or gray, give me your heart to rely on. Give me the warmth of a secret smile to show me you haven't forgot. That always and ever, now and forever, little things mean a lot.

Now this expression, that the things that he does, the little things, make a big, big difference, and they indicate where his heart is. And so it is with God. And her, and her, her message is, I can tell where your heart is by these little things that you do.

And God looks at us and by the little things that we do, He tells where our heart is. Um, please turn to Haggai 4 verse 9 and 10. Excuse me, I'm sorry. Zechariah, probably some of you knew where I was going. Zechariah 4:9-10. OK, verse 9.

Zechariah 4:9-10 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. And his hands shall finish it. And thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. [All right, this is a, an image of a builder, and the next part, this part of this verse, it says,] for who has despised the day of small things.

So God said, I'm building a foundation, I'm building a house, and it was physical, but of course, we know that God is building a spiritual house in us individually and in the church collectively. But He asked the question, who has despised the day of small things? And we were building a house. Picking up a board, a nail, and hammering it into a board is a small thing. Taking a ruler and measuring a board and cutting it is a small thing, and if you've ever tried it, sometimes you do not cut it just right, and I've done that before. Some of you built, and I've come up with boards that are shorter and will not fit the place, so I have to learn how to measure.

But measuring is a small thing, and plumbing up a house and putting a level on it and getting it level is a small thing. But the quality of work that you put in a small thing like hammering a board and you're putting it into these small things, and you have the integrity of the house is built on small things. And so the inherent integrity of our relationship to God, integrity of our spiritual character is built by small things. And so think of a small thing like a prayer. What if you set aside a special time every day, a special place, and special purpose? And we pray every day.

And you keep doing it or like David or Daniel, 3 times a day, a prayer. You put your heart into these prayers and, and your relationship with God, you remember what God wants you to do and how He wants you to do it, and you pour your heart out and pray for other people. These prayers will be like tiny little bricks in a big wall, and the more bricks you put in, the thicker and stronger this wall will be, and it will cause your relationship to God to be strengthened and strengthened, and your faith will be strengthened. So, these small things will build, and God will see where your heart is. Applied to Bible study. You want to put God's word in your heart, scripture by scripture, line upon line, here a little, there a little, for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction, and righteousness.

And this is your purpose, and you do it day by day, and you make an appointment with God, and you see this spiritual house that you're building, your relationship to God and your understanding of His word, and you do as we've been admonished in the sermon last week. You do not forget it because you apply it and you do it, and you practice what you, what you have read. And so, consider your relationships with other people, your deep desire to express the love of God in the way that you act toward them, first starting with the way you think. Your actions, a word of kindness, an act of helping, and you're able to control a forgiving heart and a forgiving spirit, and you're able to control the way that you respond and let God take care of the rest. Uh, these small things developed. They not only reveal the way we feel about God and God's word, but they also developed the way we feel.

So the little things will mean a lot. Now, do not we judge others by little things. And I know that um this, this story, this, this touched me very deeply, and I'd like to tell this story. I was at a wedding and it was a time for the boy and the girl to drive off and his foot was on the accelerator, his key was on the ignition, and everybody was around. But he stopped. He opened the door.

He walked out and he hugged his mother. And he said something to her, and to me. I do not know what he said, but I think he said, Mother, I love you very much. I want to thank you for what you've meant to me, and you'll always mean a lot to me, and I think that this was the kind of thing he said. Then he got in the car and then he drove off, and I said, that was a beautiful act. And I said, I think this man is going to make a good husband to his wife. Now, I haven't followed their marriage, but for all I know, he has.

But do not we think of the little thing that Abraham Lincoln did, walking miles to return a few cents, and they reveal character and they also developed character. But God has given us tremendous spiritual blessings, understanding, the fellowship, His word, and He is interested in the way that we are going to manage His estate like the steward, like a good steward should. So let us be faithful in little things.