It’s the “Little Things” that Count 7/26/04
Luke 19:11-27
I heard a Christian talk show this week talking about this subject. The little things your spouse does or the little things that your children do that just get under your skin. One of the pet peeves is the proper way to place a roll of toilet paper roll. I, of course, could care less as long as there is toilet paper there when needed. But I was surprised that 30% of the people who said that this was one of their pet peeves admitted if they were using the facility other than there own and found the toilet paper not in the proper way; they would change it.
It’s hard to believe that something as little as which way the toilet paper is loaded would matter to anyone. But we all have little things in our lives that seem minor to us, but mean the world to another.
My Grandmother when she passed away had very little as far as possessions are concerned. But in her will she requested all of her belongings be auctioned off and the money raised is to be split among the children. Most people come to auctions looking for a bargain, but not so in this case. You had cousins bidding against cousins. Brother’s against Sisters. I paid $10 for a little cap gun that I had played with as a little boy. To what seemed junk to one, was treasure to another.
You see it is the little things that matter.
Today I want to look at a parable that Jesus talks about this subject and we will see that little things do count.
(Read Luke 19:11-27)
This happened right after Jesus had met Zacchaeus and went to his house. And we read about the conversion of Zacchaeus in verse 8. In verse 9-10 we read the words of Jesus, And Jesus said unto him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost”.
This happened in Jericho as Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem; His final destination before His crucifixion. The disciples thought that Jesus arrival in Jerusalem would be the signal of the arrival of the kingdom of God. This parable was meant to dispel this misconception. (Verse 11)
Here in this parable we find each servant receiving mina. One mina was worth about four months wages to an average worker. So we have 10 servants all receiving a mina apiece. The noble man was leaving to set up another kingdom. And he in-trusted these servants to take care of his business while he was gone. Upon his return he calls the servants together to give an account of the money he had left them.
We read that the first one came and with the one mina he had made 10 minas. The Master is pleased and rewards him to be a ruler over 10 cities. The next one like wise took the one mina and turned it into 5 minas. And he was made ruler over 5 cities. Then the next one came back to him and he did not loose anything, but he did not gain anything either. The master called him a wicked servant and his mina was taken from him and given to the one who had made the 10. His unfaithfulness resulted in the loss of his reward.
What is the meaning of the parable?
Jesus is the master who left to receive a kingdom.
John 14:2 In My Fathers house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
The servants represent Jesus’ followers. They are to serve faithfully until Jesus returns. The citizens who hated him refer to those who reject Jesus outright. The rewards that were given to the faithful servants are those we read about in Revelation 2:26, And he that overcomes, and keeps My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
The first and second servants were rewarded for their faithfulness. Their faithfulness is commended and rewarded with greater opportunity.
The unfaithful servant came and made excuses for his failure. If the servant had really feared the master, he would have done something with the money or at least put it in the bank to draw some interest. So what he had was taken away from him. Now this is not saying that he lost his status as a servant, but he lost his reward. And in comparison to this, sense Salvation is by grace. We can lose our reward but not our salvation.
Now that we have a better meaning of this parable, in the words of song Jesus is asking you “What have you done for me lately”?
You see they were all given a little. (One mina) and what we do with our little matters as well. So let’s look at some of the little things that we may take for granted in life and see how we use them as well.
The Little Things we Say
The little things we say can make or break us or make or break others. A kind word can lift the spirit. Just a simple I’m praying for you, can give encouragement to someone whom is down.
Husband’s our wives need to hear the words, “I love you”. You might think, well they know I love them, but they need to hear it from our mouths.
It could be the simple little words of your doing a good job to inspire someone to continue the work God has gave them to do.
Just to tell someone thank you means the world to someone that thinks their deeds go unnoticed.
It is not just what we say to those we know, it could be the person in the check out line or the waitress in the restaurant. You never know when God might use you to tell a stranger that He loves them.
But unfortunately the little things out of our mouth can do damage as well.
James 3:5-6, Even so the tongue is a little member ad boast great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set fire by hell.
You never probably thought about it, but the little things that you say can discourage someone and cause them to chose to not accept Christ. That is why we should be careful of what we say. I know people who refuse to come to church because of something that was said to them one time when they did.
I heard about a young teenage girl who thought she would give God a try. So she put on a dress because she thought that was what she was suppose to wear, only to be told that she was not to come back to that church because of the length of her mini skirt.
The little smart remarks or the meaningless teasing can do a lot of damage.
We need to be careful of the little things we say.
The Little Things we Do
Do you know why I think a dog is a man’s best friend? When you see a dog, whether it is your dog or someone else’s your first reaction is to give the dog a few taps on the head. You are saying to that dog I want to be your friend so you won’t bite me.
But when was the last time you did something little for your spouse? My grandfather never had much money to buy my grandmother flowers, but he would be driving home and see some wild ones growing along side the road and he would pull over and pick her a bunch.
Last year my wife Hope and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary and I surprised her with a renewing our vowels church wedding. Now I, along with others, went to a lot of trouble to do so but you know what she did? She did a little thing but it meant the world to me. I came home one day after a hard day of work and she hang a hot bath ran for me with candles around the tub. A bowl of M&M’s and clean cloths and my Bible lying on the sink. Take some notes here wives. Just a little thing but it meant the world to me.
It’s not just the little things we do for our spouses; it is our kids as well. Go pass a ball with them. Get involved in their lives. Find something they like and spend a little time with them. Both my boys got into this card game “Yu-gi-uh”. With working two jobs, I don’t have a lot of time to spend with them so I leaned to play the game. It only takes a little time before they wiped me out but it is the little things that count.
The little things we do for our family. The little things we do for our friends. Even the little thins we do for a stranger can make all the difference in the world.
Even the little things you do for Christ can make a huge difference. Just think how much more this church could do for Christ if EVERYONE did just a little and not just a few doing the majority of the work. I know that this is God’s church, but if you consider it yours, what are you doing or what could you be doing? It is God’s church but it is our responsibility to do our part.
We are approaching our new-year and we have several positions open. We did a simple thing a few weeks ago by giving out Jesus videos. Just a simple little thing, yet the attendance was very poor. We meet once a month for G.R.O.W. for about an hour to do outreach; that’s only 12 hours a year and yet people are to busy in their schedules.
Remember it is God Rewarding our Works not our intentions.
You know that if you are a Christian the Bible says that you are to be the light of the world to bring others to Christ. But sometimes it is the little things that we say or do that cause us to loose our testimony. You can do a hundred things right, but slip just once and that is what they remember.
What little things are you doing? Are they good things or bad?
The little things that we give
Remember when Jesus feed the 5000 (Men not counting woman and children). You had a little boy with a little lunch (5 loaves & 2 small fish) and yet when he gave it to Jesus; He fed a multitude.
I went to the Promise Keepers event a few weeks ago. They dismissed for lunch and feed about 8,000 people. I thought that I was toward the end of the line, but after I received my lunch I went and sit down along side the exit line for others. I was amazed at the people. I ate my entire lunch while others passed by. It gave me a realization of the miracle that Jesus did with so little.
God can always take a little and make a lot. All we have to do is be willing to give. Now this is not just talking about our finances. We have tithes this is the 10% that you give to the church, but often we forget about the offerings any thing past the tithes. The little bit counts.
But if we would all give a little bit of our time as we talked about before, how much more could be done for His glory. So much could be accomplished if all of us would give just a little.
We need to give a little more time and devotion to our families. Often we try to buy them off with providing a nice home and nice things when what they really need is more of us as parents.
We need to give a little more to help others. Lend a hand when we see someone in need. We need to give to those who are less fortunate than we are.
Matthew 10:8b, Freely you have received, freely give.
The little things we say, do, and give can and will make a difference.
One more thing that I want to talk to you about is giving your heart and life to Jesus. It is so easy and simple that some think there is some catch or fine print to accepting Him. It is so simple and requires very little on our part. A little child can do it. You can do it at a church or in the privacy of your home. You can have someone show you or you can do it on your own.
John 14:6, Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: No one comes to the Father, except though me.
It is as simple as A, B, C.
Admit you are a sinner.
Believe that Jesus is the Son of God. That He died for our sins and was buried and rose again on the 3rd day.
Confess your sins and ask Him to forgive you and come into your heart. And then confess Him to others.
It is a simple little thing to do, but it is the most important thing you can ever do in your life. If you are here today and have not done so, please to so today.
If you are saved can you give just a little more. It does make a difference!
