Ciao! Good morning, good morning, good morning! CC, you guys are looking amazing, beautiful! Did you guys enjoy last week? Were you here last week? Confetti everywhere, right? That was a great experience for us all.
Um, and I know that some may have come today thinking that there will be more confetti, and I just want to say it's not—no confetti today. But if you need some, there you go! There you go! We'll give you a little bit of that.
Um, no, but we concluded last week with a message from Pastor Brent about changing our perspective and looking closer to our daily wins and celebrating what God is doing in each of our lives each and every day.
So just before we get into this message, I really want us to take that time and really celebrate God right now. Can we do that? Celebrate the wins that God has done for us this week? And yeah, we don't have any confetti to send your way, but we've been praying this week for a spiritual confetti to fall in our hearts and our minds—that God would change the perspective in this area of the little things.
So I want us to begin with this: oftentimes we underestimate how much of life is made up of the little things. It is the little acorn that creates a forest. It is the little match that sparks the forest fire. It is the dust that makes the star. It is the little drops of water that fill the ocean. It is the little grain of sand that shapes the land. It is the little steps of the mustard seed-sized faith that gains the attention of God.
Proverbs 30:24-28 says this: "There are four things on the earth that are small but very wise. Ants are small and weak, but they save their food all summer. Badgers are small animals, but they make their homes in the rocks. Locusts have no king, but they are able to work together. Lizards are small enough to catch with your hands, but small enough to live in king's palaces."
The writer of Proverbs, King Solomon, speaks about the four small animals, and although they are small, they are wise. He wants us to grab hold of this truth: that there are big lessons in the little things.
If you know anything about me, I love nature. I can sit and watch National Geographic documentaries all day—there you go, all day long, right? And so while preparing this message, I was able to do two things that I really enjoy doing, and that's learning God's word and watching documentaries.
So I want to take you guys on a nature walk. Ants are small and weak, but ants are very intelligent. Ants have a purpose to work for the benefit of the colony. And badgers, small but very intuitive, are also very social and very clean. So to my students in here, I know—here we go, y'all ready for this?—keep your rooms clean, all right?
But here's the thing: badgers don’t eat in their homes, better known as sets. So we're going to be like badgers moving forward and stop eating Chipotle in our rooms, okay? That's what we're going to stop doing.
Locusts, although they are leaderless, work together as one unit. And lizards, although they are very small, are very adaptable. Lizards live almost everywhere, can change colors at will, and some lizards will go their entire lives without water.
Each of these animals teaches us a very important lesson: that little things carry big purpose.
So what does this mean for us? If God could place purpose in four small animals, how much more purpose has He placed in you? Some of you may know me as Pastor Harry, but before God had me pastoring youth, He had me scrubbing toilets. It was there that I learned the importance of the little things—how the back of the toilet was just as important as the top of the toilet, and how to move furniture around to clean behind certain areas that people may not even pay attention to.
Or how the first impression of our church could be one that changed someone's mind about God as they're in the bathroom. That every time I cleaned this place, I did it unto the Lord. Some of my most life-changing, vulnerable times took place with a rag in my hand and a toilet scrubber, scrubbing toilets and wiping windows.
The lesson that I learned in those times—I remember one day listening to a message while cleaning the church by Bishop TD Jakes, and he said this quote or these words that stuck with me. This was over eight years ago. He said, "It's easier for a janitor to become a pastor than a pastor to become a janitor."
I instantly started to weep because I felt that God had spoken directly to me. And can I be honest? It wasn't the part about the pastor; it was the part where I knew that God had seen me right in my season.
So many times we miss the big lesson in the little things. You may feel unseen or perhaps doubting yourself, not sure what's next, questioning everything. Perhaps comparison made you move faster than the pace of God's grace. But I believe this could be an opportunity for you to realize the big lesson in the little things.
It's common to desire to do something big for God and noticeable for God, but it's important to remember that even the little things we do for Him matter. Every act of kindness, every small gesture of love, every act of serving is significant in His eyes. Even if others may not see or appreciate these actions, God sees and values them. Yes, He does! He knows the intentions of the heart and understands the impact we make, no matter how small it may seem.
Zechariah 4:10 says, "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin." God rejoices to see the work begun. There's a beginning work to the little things, and God rejoices to see that work.
Here's the mistake that I've seen often: we feel the beginnings are too small, so we rush through the littles, never learning the lesson, then arriving at the big and realizing that it is harder than expected. Do not despise the little or the small beginnings. Embrace the small beginnings. The Lord is rejoicing, and He's encouraging you.
His word says this: "Be confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
So as God is building the confidence in you, here are a few big lessons I've learned in the little things.
First big lesson—everybody say "big lesson"—big lesson!
The big lesson in the little thing is there's obedience. I heard a woo! Somebody said, "Whew!" That word—there's obedience in the little things.
And before we read our launch verse today, I want to just kind of give some context to this story. This is the story of David, Jesse's son. David had eight sons. The three oldest followed Saul to the war. This was the battle between the Israelites and the Philistines.
In this story, we pick up at verse 14, 1 Samuel 17:14. It says that David was the youngest son, and while the three oldest went with Saul, he went back and forth between Saul's battles and his father's sheep in Bethlehem, taking provisions to the troops and bringing word from the front line.
Just in that verse, we see David's obedience displayed. But can God trust you with the back and forth between someone else's battle and someone else's sheep? Are you willing to be obedient in the back and forth?
Speaking of back and forth, before God had me standing behind a podium, He had me carrying the podium literally back and forth for a year. I was sitting in the back one Sunday, and at the time, our audio engineer, Ro, was back there, and he leaned over and said, "Harry, can you catch the podium? Can you get the podium?"
I had never done it a day since then. I said, "Sure!" So I ran up, grabbed the podium, and brought it up. As I was walking up, bringing the podium, God spoke to me and said, "This is where I want you to be."
That sounds good, right? He wasn't talking about the stage, okay? He was talking about placing the podium and serving your pastor—that's what He was talking about.
And so I took that on. I said, "Yes, Lord." And here's what I learned during that season: I learned to be obedient to God's voice because it was in a little moment of traveling from the back to the front that I heard Him.
And so now, to this day, my ears are more sensitive in the little things to see, "What are you saying to me, God? Are you telling me to stay here, be obedient, be faithful in this, or are you telling me that perhaps it's time to do something different?"
But that took place—not up here; it took place from there, the back and forth. And it was there I was able to learn how to serve my pastors.
The positioning of this podium showed or told me a lot about my pastor. For example, one Sunday, I was running a little behind from placing the podium, and I saw that the bumper was on. PJ was getting ready, so I came up, and I just kind of— it was a little crooked, a little bit, just a little bit.
And I saw PJ come up, and he did. I said, "Oh no, that'll never happen again! I didn't do it right!" Because there was something about what God was teaching me in that moment: "I want you to place it in a position where it's easy for him to just begin to speak."
The attention to detail, seeing opportunities to not only serve but learn while serving. So it makes sense now, sitting in a meeting with my pastor, and he's speaking and teaching and giving us direction. Now I understand that he's very detailed—that he sees everything.
And so now I'm able to understand him and serve him better, but that only took place in embracing the little things. The Bible says, "Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant." That means that's a servant leader.
It's impossible to lead if you're not willing to serve. And because you're now a leader, you don't drop the servant. That's right! Your heart is that of a servant. Jesus said it; He said, "I came to serve."
So if Jesus is our example and He said, "I didn't just come to be served; I came to serve," that is our first position of our heart as leaders, those called to ministry, is to make sure that we are servant leaders in every capacity of our lives.
Because God knows that there's more in you; He put it there, right? God knows your gifting. He wrapped it, and I know you may feel that you could do more than just the back and forth. I know there's more, but there's a lesson in what seems like little.
Why did you ask? I'm glad you asked that question because the lesson is greater than the task. That's right! The lesson of obedience is greater than the task. It's more important to God that you learn the lesson of obedience than for you to do more because God's timing has purpose, and your obedience is attached to His timing and His purpose.
So when we embrace the big lesson of obedience in the little things, we know that it is not about us and only us—that our obedience is attached to God's purpose, plan, and provision for our lives.
So embracing the obedience part, and we see that in 1 Samuel 17, where the story picks back up. I'm going to take a little bit to kind of go through this because this story leads us to the big David and Goliath moment.
Oftentimes, we kind of read straight through to get to that moment, which was amazing, by the way, but I want us to take some time to read through these few verses and see how impactful and important the little things were in this story and see how it could really impact us.
So it picks up at verse 20, and it says, "David rose early in the morning, he left the sheep in the care of another, took the provision, and obeyed Jesse's instructions."
We're going to stop and pause right there. This morning, as I was reading this, the Holy Spirit just dropped in my spirit this thought: it said that David left the sheep in the care of another. David did not neglect or abandon the first responsibility that God had given him.
Although he was given another set of instructions to go and do something for his father and his brothers, he didn't neglect the very thing that he was entrusted to. So he woke up early and ensured that what he was responsible for was taken care of.
And so my encouragement or my challenge to you is to think about that thing that you put down, that you've neglected, that you've abandoned because this looked a little bit better. God wants to trust you with all things.
And so we see this example, this picture of what David did—that there was no excuse to continue the very thing that God had entrusted him with. So he got up and made sure that was taken care of, and he took the provisions and obeyed Jesse's instructions.
So David reached the camp just as the army was lining up and shouting its war cries. Both Israel and the Philistines prepared to fight against each other.
And this is where we're going to really take a look at this. Verse 22 says, "David left a provision with the person in charge of baggage." So his father said, "Go and take the provisions." We see that take place in what David—that's obedience, check box! David obeyed in that he took the provisions to the person in charge.
And then it says that he ran to the front lines and shoved his way through the soldiers to greet his brothers. Let's stop it there and let's check that box. He went to the front lines as instructed.
I was reading that again, and it just stood out. Remember, this is not the first time David had made rounds to the battlefield. And I know that oftentimes in the back and forth, it could seem like, "Oh, this is no different. I'm used to this."
It's just this mundane approach to doing something over and over again; you just know what to expect. He could have easily just said, "I'm not going to push my way through. I see my brothers; I think they're good. That's good enough for me," and not complete the instructions that his father had given him.
But instead, he made sure that he checked every box because what seems small has set the stage for a big guy to do big things through a little boy. Your time is coming! Keep doing the back and forth.
We see that it said that this time young David heard his words. This time young David heard his words as Goliath was bashing God. And it was in that time—
That time gave me a thought: "Okay, what was different this time?" It was God's time. It was God's time. It was God's time that made David, in his obedience, to be at that place at that time to hear what was being said.
So what seemed small set the stage. What seemed little set the stage in the back and forth. In the little things, it prepared him to, in that moment, to hear those words. Now that very thing that God knew was in him was able to be displayed before all men, but his obedience led him there.
See, God's perfect timing does two things: it grows our faith and it makes certain that He and He alone gets the glory.
You want to do big things for God, but can He trust you with the little things first? You want to slay Goliath, but you don't want to bring your brother's lunch? Bringing the lunch back and forth and taking the word back to his father was very important.
We love the story of David and Goliath, but this part was just as important because it brought nourishment to the soldiers and it took peace back in the shape of a word to his father about his sons.
Think of that: three of my sons are at war, and to get the word back that they're doing okay, they're still here—from a father's perspective, that warms my heart. So that's just as important as defeating Goliath.
Here's an important part of this story: obedience sets up David for more. Obedience set up David for more because had he not been obedient to either of those directions or instructions, we may not hear about the David and Goliath story. It may not be written the way that we know it today.
The back and forth, through our obedience, we learn how to be faithful. 1 Samuel 15:21 says this: "But Samuel replied, 'What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, or your obedience to His voice?'"
And it says, "Listen!" (exclamation point, overemphasizing) "Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice."
So you may have sacrificed something, and God sees that, but were you obedient while doing it?
Obedience is greater than sacrifice, and our obedience allows for us to grow in this area of faithfulness.
And this is our second point: little things teach us how to be faithful. There's a story in Matthew about three servants. Jesus talks about this story about the three servants where two of those servants were given—all three were given a portion, something to steward, a talent, a money. One was given five talents; the other was given two.
Those two invested in a way, and they doubled that in which was entrusted to them, and they brought that back to the master. The third servant, he got the one and he hid it and buried it in the ground.
And while I was reading this, verse 21 of this Matthew 25 is what really encouraged me, and I believe that it's going to encourage you. It says that the master was full of praise. The master was full of praise, said, "Well done, my good and faithful servant! You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!"
He started out with full of praise, rejoicing, and he ended with celebration, rejoicing and celebrating because what he had placed in the hands of those servants—those two servants—they were faithful over, and he felt that this was a time to celebrate because now I can trust you with more.
So if you ever wanted more, I got an equation for you. Here it is: I'm not a math guy; I like math a little bit, but here it is. You ready? Small amount plus faithfulness equals more. Very simple! That's it!
Small amount plus faithfulness equals more. Small amount plus unfaithfulness equals less. Very easy!
So it's important for God; it's important—it's His heart for us to steward the small, nurture the small, be intentional with the small because He wants to rejoice and celebrate you in those moments.
That's right! Help me see! God will place a small amount in your hands to see if He can trust you.
Jesus Himself stressed the importance of the little things by suggesting that if we are faithful in the little things, we will be faithful in much. If we are dishonest in the little things, we will be dishonest in much.
And my prayer is that God gives us all the grace to cultivate faithfulness in the little things that we do. When we are faithful in being faithful, God will continue to do His part, and that's building the needed parts of our character.
Here's our third big lesson in the little things, and it's this: God builds character in the little things. Romans 5:3-5 says that we can rejoice too when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance, and endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
And this hope will not lead to disappointment, for we know how dearly God loves us because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with love.
This year, God has been really building character in me, and I had a conversation with a friend, and he said, "Hey, how's everything?" You know we have this default response when someone asks you how things are going, like, "Oh, good."
But I've been taking a step back and just processing to respond the way that I feel. And I said, "I feel like a root system." They're like, "What? What is that? Make it make sense!"
Okay, so if you got this picture of the roots, if you look underneath the ground, all of these roots going in all of these different directions, right? Some are stretching, some are thicker, some are bigger, and it don't look good. It don't really look good when you really take a look at the picture.
But I begin to appreciate that picture more because although it's a stretching season, I understand the importance of the root to the seed. I understand the importance of the root to the tree. I understand the importance of the root to the fruit that produces more seeds.
So in that thought, and how God is so wise and all-knowing, feeling like the root system is okay because it's more important that what takes place underneath is handled and dealt with before it breaks ground, right?
Because the moment it breaks ground, others can be impacted and either hurt with not stewarding and allowing for the roots to do what they need to do. Because roots provide nourishment. Roots provide strength. Roots allow for the areas in your life that aren't so deep to go deeper.
Roots connect to other people before anything matures above ground. The roots need to be developed. They say that the root system underneath is bigger than the top of the tree.
So you may feel how the roots look, but the function in which they operate is what you want to hold to. Understanding this: that the moment that tree breaks ground, God is going to use that for not just you, but for others because He's a God of generations.
And that thing continues—it's a process that keeps on happening over and over and over. And you don't want to give up on your root season of going deeper just to break ground and rush past the little parts and then don't have enough seed or enough nourishment for that seed to become a fruit for someone else.
So as I was navigating through that in that conversation with that person, God really just placed this poem in my heart. I'm not a poet, so just brace yourself.
And He says this—He said, "In the simplest acts, I find the light. The paper picked up, unnoticed by sight. A lunch left behind, a daddy's caring gesture. A minute stretched to hours of friendship treasure. A prayer whispered, a heart's plea. God-honoring speech encourages me. Seeing a need and meeting it—true obedience and faithfulness shining through. For it's in the little things I see the seeds that grow to a grand degree. Trusting and believing both big and small in the God of all things, I stand tall."
It's the little things for me!
Thank you! While writing this, this question came to my mind: "Harry, what kept you going? What keeps this thing going for you?" And I realized it was three things that I prayed for more this year than any other year, and I believe this will help you.
I pray for stamina. So first, I pray for stamina—spiritual stamina, physical stamina. "Lord, give me stamina to develop in the areas in which I may feel weary. Don't get weary in well-doing, for in due season you shall reap a harvest."
So God, give me stamina. I prayed for endurance—to develop the strength to endure in spite of circumstances and situations. "Lord, give me endurance to continue on days that I don't feel like continuing on, the days that may seem a little harder, where it's tough. Give me endurance."
And I prayed for godly wisdom—not my friends' wisdom, but godly wisdom for understanding. Because the word says, "The steps of a man are ordered by the Lord who takes delight in his way." Order my steps! Show me me as I'm walking on Your path. It's Your path, so order my steps along Your path.
The scripture we've read tells us that the process won't lead to disappointment. That's what we hold to—that I won't be led to disappointment. His word is true; His word is true! He said it won't lead you to disappointment. Guess what? He won't fail you! Trust God in the little things.
Be faithful in it, knowing that the very thing that He's preparing you for, He wants you to be ready.
We go back to David and said it was this time he heard, but the preparation needed to happen. The big lesson of building character in the little things is essential to our growth, which is our last and final lesson: that there's growth in the little things.
Growth only happens if you don't stop doing the little things. What little things are you thinking about stopping? Can I encourage you not to stop? Don't stop the little things! Keep doing the little things! Keep with the back and forth!
Don't abandon the very thing that God has placed in your hands. Don't feel pressured by this world to do something big and grand and neglect the portion in which God had trusted you with because He's the God of more, but He is also the God of little.
So Colossians 1:9-10 says this: "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God."
All right, look at somebody and say, "Don't stop!"
I have five "don't stops" out of this word, this scripture, this verse that I want us to just take with us as we conclude.
Don't stop praying! Don't stop praying! We see the first line: "We have not stopped praying." Don't stop praying! I know that prayer that you prayed today didn't happen today, or that prayer you prayed ten years ago still has not come to pass.
But here's the thing: God has heard your prayer! That's right! And we don't trust in the thing; we trust in the God. And that if God says that it's a yes, then a yes it will be. And if He says it's a no, then the no it will be.
Because God's yes is better than our yes, and His no is better than our yes, right? But we trust God because we know that He has the best for us.
So don't stop praying because prayer changes everything!
And don't stop being filled with the knowledge of His will—two key words: His will! Don't fill yourself with your will. If you need some direction or you can't seem to put your finger on where you are as it relates to God, lean into His will.
Put everything else aside and say, "Hey God, I'm here, and Your will is—if it's Your will, that works! That's all I need to know!"
If You're not ready to reveal to me the complete purpose and give us all of everything that's going to take place, God, I trust Your will because it's Your will that matters.
And it's in that will that you will find your will, your purpose, your direction.
Don't stop seeking guidance through wisdom and understanding. In Proverbs, it says, "Commit your works unto the Lord, and your thoughts shall be established."
Commit your works unto the Lord! You must commit all of your works—everything that you do—that's speech, that's job, that's career, that's parenting, that's marriage, that's friendship. You commit every work that your hands have touched unto the Lord, and He will direct and give you insight on how to navigate through seeking God through wisdom.
He said, "Ask, and I give it out generously. Ask for it; I'll give it to you."
Don't stop pleasing Him in every way, including the little things. Pleasing Him in every way—every way! It may be the back and forth; it may be at the doors; it may be in the bathroom doing the work; it may be cleaning the tables; it may be behind a camera; it may be behind a piano.
In all things, do it unto the Lord! Don't stop doing the good work He's placed in your hands. Steward the small, love the small, embrace the small!
Look at that! We got some confetti! Hey! I told you we prayed for that confetti! I did not see it, and it's God's timing because it happened in the first service the same way, same time.
So see, thank you, Lord!
Um, don't stop doing the good work He's placed in your hands. Observe it, dwell with it, tell everybody about it, rejoice with it, dance with it, love it, embrace it because God is encouraging you on, and He's rejoicing in the fact that you have embraced the smalls.
So as we prepare to end this message, I want to pray. I want to pray that whatever the little thing is for you that God has already been just poking at your heart about—maybe the little is a recommitment, a rededication to God.
Maybe the little is getting out of the seat and being a part of the little moments that create a big purpose that God has for us. Or maybe the little is just going back to that very thing that you've neglected or abandoned and dealing with it.
Wherever it is or whatever it is, I want us to put it on our hearts and our minds right now.
Let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for all that You've done for us. You have been able to show us so much about Your nature and Your character in the little things that we overlook on a day-to-day basis.
on Dec 18, 2023
