On April 14, 1970, 56 hours into the Apollo 13 mission, astronaut Jack Swigert was asked by mission control to “stir” the oxygen tanks. Within minutes there was an explosion and the race was on to save the lives of the men on that spacecraft. Here’s what happened.
The no. 2 oxygen tank used in Apollo 13 was originally installed in the Apollo 10 module. Technicians removed it to make some modifications, and during the procedure the tank was dropped 2 inches. That drop was enough to jar an internal fill line. They replaced the tank with another one for Apollo 10 and did an external inspection of the tank. No one knew about the internal damage and the tank was later installed in Apollo 13.
This next part is a little complicated, so bear with me. The oxygen tanks were designed to run off the 28-volt DC power of the command and service modules. But, a redesign allowed them to also run off the 65-volt DC ground power at the Kennedy Space Center. All of the components in the tank were upgraded to accept 65 volts except the heater thermostatic switches, which were overlooked. The switches were designed to open and turn off the heater when the tank temperature reached 80 degrees F.
During pre-flight testing, tank no. 2, the damaged one, showed anomalies and would not empty correctly. It could have been because of the damaged fill line. Technicians decided to use the heater to "boil off" excess oxygen in the tank. This required 8 hours of 65-volt DC power. That procedure may have damaged the thermostatically controlled switches on the heater which, you recall, were designed for only 28 volts. The theory is that the switches may have welded shut, allowing the temperature inside the tank to rise to over 1000 degrees F. It’s believed that the high temperature damaged the Teflon insulation on the electrical wires to the power fans within the tank.
Apollo 13 blasted off as scheduled. But 56 hours into the mission, the power fans were turned on inside the tank; it was a standard procedure called “stirring the tanks.” The exposed fan wires shorted, causing the Teflon insulation to catch fire. This fire spread along the wires to the electrical conduit in the side of the tank. That became compromised and eventually ruptured, causing the oxygen tank to explode. The explosion the other oxygen tank and parts of the interior of the service module and blew off one of the bay covers.
Whew!
The next time someone tells you “little things don’t count,” remind them of Apollo 13 and how dropping an oxygen tank 2 inches almost cost the crew their lives.
Spark plugs are rather small, but without them the engine in your car won’t run and you won’t be able to get anywhere. Microchips that keep your computer running and hold billions of bits of information are usually smaller than a thumbnail. Athletes lose races by a hair, politicians lose elections by a vote, vacuum cleaners won’t run because a tiny screw is missing…it just keeps adding up. Little things do count.
And if you look back in scripture you’ll find the same pattern developing. That’s mainly because God looks on the inside, not the outside. He doesn’t look at how big a house someone lives in, or how much money they have, or how educated they are. He’s looking for results, and He realizes that sometimes big things come in little packages.
Look at Moses for instance. Let’s begin in Exodus 4. To briefly recap, Moses was born a Hebrew, but was saved from the massacre of children, raised in Pharaoh’s court, gave in to his true heritage and defended his people, ran away from Egypt, got married, settled down and became a shepherd. Then, one day, he saw a strange sight: A burning bush. Then a voice came out of the bush. It was God, and He wanted Moses to tell Pharaoh to let His people go. “Hey, they won’t believe me,” Moses said, in an attempt to keep from having to go. And this is where the Lord first mentions the “little thing”. Exodus 4: 2
So the LORD said to him, "What [is] that in your hand?" He said, "A rod."
Now shepherds had used rods such as these since they had begun shepherding. They were not very imposing, usually made of some sturdy wood and used to help drive the sheep, help chase away attacking predators, and help the shepherd walk up steep or rocky hills and roads. That didn’t seem like much against the Pharaoh of Egypt. Ah, but that was before God got ahold of it.
And He said, "Cast it on the ground." So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach out your hand and take [it] by the tail" (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), "that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you." Ex 4:3-5 (NKJV)
You can imagine Moses’ reaction to the transformation. It was a mighty work to behold, something astonishing. But then, put yourself in Pharaoh’s place. Who was this Moses trying to kid by bringing a puny rod to his court? But then Moses threw it down, it turned into a snake, the magicians matched the miracle, but Moses’ snake ate the others. God was triumphant…at least for a moment. Of course, you know how long it took for Pharaoh to let the people go, and you know how he changed his mind. And that’s where we next catch a glimpse of this simple, small thing. Turn to Exodus 14: 16:
"But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
God was preparing this little thing for another big event, one He accomplished in verse 21. The rod seemed so small in the beginning, but it became a powerful, powerful instrument in the hands of the one God sent.
Now let’s take a look at another small item. Turn to I Samuel 17. Here we find the story of David and Goliath. Of course, you don’t need me to repeat it all. The Israelites were afraid of this giant, David appeared on the scene to find out if his brothers were okay. He heard the slanderous remarks Goliath made and couldn’t stand it. “I’ll fight him,” he said. “Say what?” said the Israelites, or words to that effect. But he convinced Saul to let him go to battle, and he refused to wear the armor of Saul. David went to battle with his staff, there’s that rod again, and his bag. In the bag was his only weapon: A sling. Along the way he stopped and picked up 5 smooth stones and put them in the bag. So it was “only a little boy David, and only a babbling brook. Only a little boy David, and five little stones he took. One little stone went into the sling, and the sling went round and round. One little stone went into the sling and the sling went round and round. Round and around and around and around and around and around and around; one little stone went up, up, up and the giant came tumbling down.”
A couple of points to ponder. I wonder why God chose to use the sling instead of the rod? A better weapon, perhaps, or maybe a more amazing example of God’s power. And I wonder why David got 5 stones instead of one. Did he not have as much faith as we might have thought, or was he just showing us all that we need to prepare for battle, no matter how much faith we have? Well, no matter. There are some great lessons for us. First, David was a small boy, not much of a soldier in the eyes of others. Second, David’s only weapon was a very low tech type of device; it seemed no match for the armor and weapons that Goliath possessed. And third, those stones were pretty small, too. But David knew how to use the small sling and small stone. He had faith that God was with him, and he had courage to see the battle through. Those little items counted for a lot in the battle against the Philistines; they were what tipped the scales in the Israelites favor, because God was using them.
And let’s look at one other Bible example, the one from our text this morning. Can you imagine the event of the day for that young boy? He sets off in the morning with his daily meal, or perhaps it’s something for his father or brothers who are working. Or maybe he has gone to hear Jesus. Whatever, somehow he’s there.
“The people are hungry,” Jesus says, “where will we buy food to feed them?”
“It’s gonna take a lot of money,” Philip tells Him.
Andrew, sharp-eyed man that he is, spies the young boy in the crowd, maybe getting ready to eat. He brings him to Jesus. “This boy has five barley loaves and two fishes,” Andrew says hopefully. Then he makes one other comment: “But what are they among so many?”
Oh that they had been listening all this time they’d been with Jesus; oh that they’d been watching. Here was a man who specialized in using little things, who specialized in making the impossible possible. Read on in John 6 now, starting at verse 10:
Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed [them] to the disciples, and the disciples [fn] to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost." Therefore they gathered [them] up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
When the boy left home, I’m sure he thought he had prepared adequately for whatever he was doing. If it was his lunch at the sermon, perhaps he had intended to share some with someone less fortunate. Little did he know.
Jesus took this little thing, this small lunch, and made it a feast and to spare. There are a couple of points for us to ponder on this incident, as well. First, remember that the boy was prepared. It was adequate for him, he was ready. He fits nicely in with David on that count, remembering that David picked up those five smooth stones in case he missed once or twice.
And second, once the little thing was used, there was some left. Twelve baskets full were gathered up. Oh, and David had four stones left, and Moses still had his rod. You see, God can use the littlest thing and not use it up. He makes it more powerful than we could possibly imagine.
There are so many things in our lives, little things, that have meant so much to us and our spiritual lives, things that we sometimes don’t fully appreciate.
Remember those Bible School teachers you had when you were a kid? Some you may not have liked very much, but what about that one who you still remember to this day? That “little thing” they did of volunteering to teach made a difference in your life in some way. They helped you build your foundation of faith. I said it was a “little thing,” because that’s what a lot of teachers will say to you about their efforts. But it wasn’t. They cut out figures in their books, got glue and crayons together, studied, learned new things of their own, and a whole lot more. The result was more than just smiling faces of kids as they come out of the class, it was the planting seeds in the hearts of those kids. Their job really counted in your life, and in the Kingdom of God.
Just like your own life counts. We talk a lot about being lights to the world, about letting people know we’re a part of the Lord’s body everywhere we go and in everything we do. Sometimes we talk about it so much that it loses its punch. And sometimes you may get discouraged as you try to live that Christian life. But don’t. When you turn away while a co-worker is telling a dirty joke, it may seem small to you but it may make someone else think about God. When you casually talk about what you learned in Bible school or heard in a sermon, it may seem a small thing to you but it may set someone to thinking about how they’re living their life and how it compares to yours. Your example, your Christian walk, may not seem such a big thing to you, it may seem that it’s just a little thing you’re doing, but it really counts in the kingdom.
And we don’t want to forget talents here, either. We’ve discussed this before, but it always bears repeating: Everyone is important to God. You may think that your talent is a little thing, not much in the grand scheme of things. But I want you to think seriously about this: What would happen if you and your talent disappeared today? How much would you be missed? Now before you say “not much”, let’s go back to the previous point I made. The example you set isn’t just in the world, it’s in the church. When you use your talent, no matter how small, it means a lot to others. It might take a major burden off of someone else’s shoulders. I heard a preacher talk once about a couple that became members at a congregation. Before too long they were put to work, the husband’s job was to make sure the wood stove was ready when the rest of the congregation arrived; the wife’s job was to cut out Bible school materials and make sure each class had crayons and glue and other supplies each Sunday. A little thing, right? Yes, but it matters a lot. Ask any teacher, they’ll tell you how important it is. And how important is it to you that the building be warm in the winter and cool in the summer when you arrive? It’s a little thing, but it counts in the kingdom.
We could also look at Bible study. It seems such a small thing to do, reading each day, looking at what God has told us. Sometimes it doesn’t take us very long, and we can get discouraged because we don’t think we’re studying hard enough or learning enough. But we’re wrong. The more we study, even in little doses, the more we know.
Have you ever felt that “boulder” in your shoe, the one that made your feet so uncomfortable? When you finally took off you shoe and shook it out it was nothing more than a pebble, sometimes almost a grain. But even though it was so small, it caused you to change the way you walked. In the same way, little words you say, acts that you do, can sometimes help people to change their walk. And isn’t that what we’re told to do? After all, it was a little girl who told Naaman that God might be able to cure him of his leprosy through Elijah. And what did the little meal of the little boy mean to a multitude? It was a feast. In the same way, what can the little things you do mean to others? They can make a difference.
There are lots of other things we could talk about, maybe you’re thinking of some right now. I hope that what we’ve said here today will help you understand that in God’s hands, little things mean a lot, and can become powerful weapons to help spread His kingdom. God uses little things, little people, little acts.
