A. INTRODUCTION
1. James the Less one of those persons who seems to fall between the cracks of history.
a. His father is named Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:19; Luke 6:15).
b. His mother was also a follower of Jesus and was one of the women at the cross (Matthew 27:55-56, 61; Mark 15:40).
c. Sometimes referred to as James II or James the Less (Mark 15:40).
d. He was little, or of small stature.
e. What impact would it make on James to be the shortest among the 12 men? Small men compensate in different ways.
f. Zacchaeus overcame his smallness by climbing a tree to get to Jesus.
2. James the Less is called the unknown disciple.
3. Who else in history was short? Napoleon, Eddie Gaedel (1925, baseball), Gary Coleman (TV), Tom Thumb (circus), Danny DeVito (TV), Voltaire (philosopher), Houdini (escape) Genghis Khan.
B. WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?
1. A disciple is identified with his Lord. Jesus called His twelve disciples, “that they should be with Him” (Mark 3:14).
2. A disciple follows the words of Jesus. “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed” (John 8:31).
3. A disciple reflects love. A second qualification is “love one another as I have loved you … by this shall all men know that you are My disciples” (John 13:34-35).
4. A disciple bears fruit. Both fruitfulness and faithfulness must be emphasized. “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:8). There is no success in the Lord’s work without both fruit and faithfulness.
5. A disciple assisted the ministry of Jesus Christ.
a. Cast out demons (Matthew 17:14-21).
b. Fed the multitudes (John 6:1-14).
c. Baptized (John 4:2).
d. Looked after physical needs (John 4:8; Matthew 26:19).
e. Brought people to Jesus (John 12:20-22).
f. Performed miracles (Matthew 10:1).
g. Preached (Matthew 10:7).
6. A disciple ministers in the place of Jesus Christ. Where He cannot go, we go in His place. Christ sent the twelve disciples with the 70 (Matthew 10:1-16; Mark 6:7-13; Luke 9:1-6). James the Less was one of the twelve who was sent out, and he had a definite ministry. If you consider yourself small in God’s sight, like James the Less, you can have a ministry.
C. WHY GOD USED THE “SMALL”
1. The First-Last Principle. That which is considered small or least in human perspective is promoted in God’s sight.
2. The Insignificantly Small Principle. God used an insignificant disciple like James the Less. Remember God used the foolish, the weak, the base (the small) as emphasized in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29.
3. God uses the small to give glory to Himself.
4. The small will depend more on God.
5. Usually, the small will be more zealous.
6. The small will work harder to accomplish results for God.
7. The Faithfulness-Fruitfulness Principle. Those who are most faithful will be the most fruitful for God.
8. The Conditional-Continuation Principle. To become a disciple, God places a condition “if” upon us. If you have “faith to continue.”
9. The small gets attention in the midst of loud noise and big phenomena. “Elijah heard God’s voice … “a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12).
10. “Despise not the day of small things” (Zechariah 4:10). “Ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder” (James 3:4).
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.
Dr. Towns’ email is eltowns@liberty.edu.
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