God Abides In Small Places

I have entitled our message for this evening, “God Abides in Small Places.” Abide means, to dwell and to continue in a place. The Lord can be found abiding – and alive and well – in small places; and it is very important for us to be reminded of this fact because of America’s belief that “bigger is better.”

I am sure you are aware of Elijah’s revelation of how the Lord is not always seen in the seemingly big things in life. God told Elijah to come out of his cave and to go stand on the mountain before the Lord, and 1 Kings 19:11-12 tells us, “And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” The Lord revealed himself to Elijah in a tiny, but powerful, way – in a still small voice.

In our country we often believe that if God is going to show up in church, that it will occur in a megachurch. We also seem to think that when trying to start a new church we must send missionaries and church planters into the largest populated areas and cities. I am here to tell you that we need to reconsider some things.

I am sure you are well aware of Matthew 18:20, in which Jesus left these comforting words concerning small gatherings: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” These words reveal the truth that the Lord is present among small groups of believers assembled for worship. All of the verses I have shared up to this point are just a glimpse of a Scriptural truth that I would like for us to revisit this evening. We are going to understand the principle of small places by looking at both the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.

Before we go any further I want to share some interesting insights gleaned from an article entitled, “Significance vs. Size,” found in Ministry Today magazine.(1) The article focuses on Jim Graff, founder of the Significant Church Network, and Graff states, “The Barna [research] Group notes that, in 2005, 45 percent of American adults attended church on a typical weekend, but only two percent attend a Protestant megachurch. Bottom line: The vast majority of America’s Christians are being discipled and cared for in smaller churches.”

He also draws from The World Christian Encyclopedia to tell us that “Urban dwellers are more evangelized than rural dwellers,” revealing a huge need for ministry efforts to be concentrated in rural areas, or the places that are overlooked and deemed insignificant. Graff is saying rural America is significant to the Lord!

Jim Graff goes on to say this: “I would like to believe that the next 10 years will be known as the beginning of the Third Great Awakening in our nation. If you are unaware of what happened in the first two Great Awakenings, it makes for fascinating reading. Cities were changed as people began attending churches and steeples from newly-constructed churches filled the skylines. The Great Awakening, according to historians, was not one continuous revival but a series of revivals in several locations. And almost without exception, these sparks of renewal started in smaller communities before spreading into larger cities and towns.”

Let’s begin this evening by looking at the ministry of John the Baptist, as we read Matthew 3:1-6. I want you to listen closely as I point out six elements of John’s ministry that led to significance.

The Ministry of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-6)

1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.” 4 Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

He Preached in the Wilderness – When John began his ministry where did he preach? We read here that “he came preaching in the wilderness of Judea” (v. 1). The wilderness – do you feel that your church is in the wilderness? Does your church or ministry feel hidden and obscure? If you could identify yourself, would you call yourself the First Baptist Church of Hiddeness and Obscurity? This is how the members, and even pastors, of small churches often feel about themselves. They feel that they can’t be of any significance to God in a sparsely populated area; but just look at John! His ministry was in the wilderness, and it was even prophesied about and planned by God (v. 3)! Consider how God may have you planted where you are for a strategic purpose.