LEARNING TO TAKE BABY STEPS
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
I. Remember several years ago there was a movie that dealt with a group of people and
their personal fears and their daily problems.
A. The psychiatrist had one patient that had a great fear of elevators. The doctor was gentle and
kind. The doctors training suggested that a person approach all problems by taking small baby
steps toward the problem.
B. After a while of watching from a distance the elevator door opened and closed, and he saws
many people safely enter and leave.
Faith as a mustard seed, is small but effective.
C. The patient slowly walked toward the elevator saying,
SLOW SMALL BABY STEPS. SLOW SMALL BABY STEPS. SLOW SMALL BABY STEPS.
SLOW SMALL BABY STEPS.
II. A FEW THOUGHTS ON SMALL AND LITTLE:
A. I think a thousand mile journey starts with one step. The step might be a thought, then a plan,
a destination, a step, the arrival. All of this is birthed from taking a small baby step.
B. He that is ashamed of small things, shall fall little by little.
C. Out of small beginnings great things can be produced. By God’s hands all good things were made
out of nothing.
D. One candle can light a thousand, for God makes mighty things from small beginnings grow.
E. Practice yourself in little things, then proceed to greater. Little sparks precede great flames.
F. Little pot, soon hot.
III. IS THAT YOU GOD? WHERE ARE YOU, GOD? I CAN’T SEE YOU, --- PLEASE COME CLOSER?
A. THE PREACHER WAS VERY TIRED AND HE WAS SEARCHING FOR A MIGHTY MOVE OF GOD!
Elijah was in the midst of a pity party.
1 Kings 19:10 --- And I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life.
B. In great desperation, disappointment and heart break the man of God climbs the mountain before
him.
C. 1 Kings 19:11 Where are you God? I am on the mountain God?
THERE WAS A GREAT AND MIGHTY WIND THAT SHOOK THE MOUNTAIN SO HARD,
THE MOUNTAIN BROKE IN PIECES --- BUT THE LORD WAS NOT IN THE WIND!
D. 1 Kings 19: 12 Where are you God? I am on the mountain God?
There was an earthquake that shook the whole mountain ... this must be God.
---but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
E. 1 Kings 19: 12 Where are you God? I am still here on the mountain?
It is me, the one and only me! There was a big fire that burned the mountain.
Is this You, God? BUT THE LORD WAS NOT IN THE FIRE!
F. 1 Kings 19:12 AND AFTER THE WIND, EARTHQUAKE, AND THE FIRE,
A STILL SMALL VOICE! GOD ARE YOU THERE? IS THIS REALLY YOU GOD?
THIS IS NOT WHAT ELIJAH EXPECTED, LITTLE?
IV. FIND DAILY PLEASURE IN SMALL THINGS:
A. Despise not the small.
Zech. 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things.... ?
B. Gideon felt so small, his feelings almost limited the work of God.
Judges 6:15 And Gideon said unto the Lord: Oh, my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?
Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh and I am the least in my father’s house.
V. DO WE HAVE THE TENDENCY TO OFFER GOD SMALL THINGS?
Sometimes we offer to God but a very little. Crumbs, scraps.
It has been calculated that in a typical 70 year life span:
Sleep ---- 23 years ----32%
Work ---- 16 years ---- 22%
TV ------ 8 years ------ 11%
Eating --- 6 years ---- 8%
Travel --- 6 years --- 8%
Leisure --- 4 1/2 years --- 6%
Illness --- 4 years --- 5%
Dressing --- 2 years --- 2%
Time in church --- 1/2 year --- 0.7%
VI. GOD’S WAY BYPASSES HOW WE THINK HIS WORK SHOULD BE DONE.
GOD LOVES LITTLE THINGS.
A. God has made a choice to do His Work with small things.
B. Rod in Moses and Aaron’s hand. --- Exo. 4:2
C. Jawbone of the donkey--- Judges15:15
D. 5 smooth stones ---1 Sam.17:40
E. Handful of meal --- 1 Kings
F. Small stick in water to swim the ax head --- 2 Kings 3:7
G. Cloud the size of a man’s hand ---1 Kings 18:34
H. Little girl shares the miracle plan with Naaman --- 1 Kings 5
VII. THE SUM TOTAL OF SMALL THINGS CAN DO HUGE THINGS.
A. Small things together can make a great difference.
The Great fire of Chicago, Illinois was the sum total of little things.
B.The Great Fire burned over 12 square blocks. How did it start?
C. A little woman had a little jersey cow in a little barn.
The little woman lit a little kerosene lamp.
The little woman carried the little light out in the little barn.
The was a little wind that day.
The little lady was milking the little jersey cow by the light of the little
lamp. The little cow swung it’s little tail and knocked the little lamp over into
a little lump of hay. The hay started burning, the little wind blew the little flame
until the Great Fire of Chicago destroyed 12 square blocks of the city.
VIII. LITTLE ACTS OF LOVE DISPLAY HIS MERCY AND GRACE.
A. Matthew 26:12 Mary’s little act of love, anointed Jesus for His burial.
B. John 1:42 Andrew was a little worker for Jesus but he was a bringer.
He brought Peter and others to Jesus.
C.Paul: For when I am weak I am strong ... 2 Cor. 12:9 -10
IX. WE MAY BE LITTLE, WE MAY BE DIFFERENT, BUT TOGETHER WE CAN ACCOMPLISH
DREAMS.
R.T. Moore: A carpenter’s tools were having a conference, they were discussing being little and limited.
1. Brother Hammer was presiding, but the others informed him that he’d have to leave because he
was too noisy.
2. "All right," he said, "I’ll go but Brother Plane must withdraw, there is no depth to his work, it is
always on the surface.
3. Brother Plane responded, "Well, Brother Rule will also have to go. He’s constantly measuring people
as if he is the only one right."
4. Brother Rule complained about Brother Sandpaper saying, "He’s rougher than he ought to be,
He’s always rubbing people the wrong way."
Then The Carpenter of Nazareth walked in.
He walked forward and used the little hammer, plane, and rule, and sandpaper and made something good.
Brother Hammer arose and quoted 1 Cor. 3:9 For we are LABORERS TOGETHER WITH GOD.
Don’t criticize, God needs different tools. Let us appreciate one another.
We all can play instruments in God’s band!
X. CAN LITTLE THINGS MAKE BIG DIFFERENCES?
9/11/ 2001 WAS A BIG DAY IN HISTORY AND IN OUR HEARTS, BUT LET’S LOOK AT SO
SMALL THINGS THAT MADE A DIFFERENCE THAT DAY.
A. One head of a huge global company survived 9/11 because his little son started
Kindergarten that day. He took that morning to be with his little son.
B. One business in the Twin Towers took turns with someone each day buying donuts.
This one man that stopped at the Donut Shop, for it was his turn to bring the donuts,
and his life was spared because of donuts.
C. One woman slept late, her alarm clock did not go off at the normal time,
that little clock made a big difference in her life.
D. There had been a terrible car wreck on the New Jersey Turnpike that morning,
one man was very angry as he sat stuck in traffic. But his life was spared.
E. One lady accidentally spilled food on her clothes while eating breakfast, and
she decided to change clothes and go in late.
F. One man was burning up angry, he could not get his car started that day.
How terrible. But what mercy?
G. One unusual story from 9/11 was of a man that had a new pair of shoes.
He parked a distance away because of cheaper parking.
On his walk he wore a big blister on his foot.
His foot hurt so bad that he stopped at a drug store to buy some Band-Aids.
He sat down and put a Band-Aid on the blister.
The man is alive today because of a blister on his foot?
XI. DON’T TELL ME LITTLE THINGS DON’T MATTER.
A. THIS TEST MAY MAKE A TESTIMONY? THIS MESS MAY BECOME A MESSAGE?
THIS PROBLEM MAY BE MY OPPORTUNITY TO RELEASE A MIRACLE.
B. EVERY ONE OF THE ABOVE MENTIONED PEOPLE WERE ANGRY BECAUSE OF SOME
LITTLE, STUPID PROBLEM INTERFERED WITH THEIR PLANS FOR THAT DAY.
C. God has a plan and a purpose, today we may not understand it clearly, we may never
understand the change of events of what we thought was very negative, but God holds the
keys and we must trust Him completely.
D. That little thing that is vexation to you? That feeling of irritation? You may feel disturbed,
attacked, but know God is in control.
E. Often times it is not the occasional big problem, but rather that small, frequent repeated
annoyance that smacks us for a loop.
XII. WE DON’T WANT TO KILL TENDER GRAPES WITH LITTLE FOXES?
Songs of Solomon 2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines:
for our vines have tender grapes.
A. There is a parable that comes from the middle east.
There are two friends walking through the hot dry desert. As they walked the two men grew tired.
Step after step they walked together. The two men were in a discussion and the discussion soon
grew as hot as the sun bearing down on them.
In anger, the argument got so bad that the man’s friend reachED over and slapped him across his face.
B. With tears running down his face, the man’s face burned, and his pride was greatly hurt.
So the red faced man stooped in the sand and with his finger the man pushed the sand and
wrote the words: In an argument this day, my friend slapped me in the face.
C. The two quietly walked on together. This disappointment was very visible.
The two walked on until they came to a beautiful oasis. The two drank cool water.
They watered their animals, and then they decided to cool off by swimming in the water.
D. There was quicksand on one side of the oasis, and the two did not know it.
The friend that had been slapped was slowly sinking to his death. The quicksand was up to his neck.
But the friend that had slapped him, ran and rescued his life.
E. The man that had been slapped, and now rescued by his friend lay on the bank and regained
his strength, after recovering from the near fatal accident.
The man chiseled in a stone by the oasis, This day my best friend saved my life.
F. The friend that had slapped him and then saved him pondered in his heart:
After I hurt you. you wrote in the sand, and just now you wrote of the rescue in stone, Why
did you do that?
G. The man looked at his friend and said, When you get hurt and disappointed with a friend you must
write the offense in sand. The winds of time will blow the transgression away, the wind will erase
the pain, and you must forgive. But when a friend is kind and does something good for you, chisel
it in stone, so no wind can ever erase your memory.
H. MY DEAR FRIEND, WE MUST LEARN TO WRITE SOME OF LIFE’S EXPERIENCES IN THE SANDS
OF TIME, AND WE MUST ENGRAVE OUR BLESSINGS UPON OUR HEARTS.
I HAVE HEARD IT TAKES A MINUTE TO FIND A SPECIAL PERSON.
THEN IT TAKES ONE HOUR TO APPRECIATE THEIR UNIQUENESS.
THEN IN A DAY YOU CAN LEARN TO LOVE THEM WITH YOUR HEART.
BUT IT SEEMS IT TAKES AN ENTIRE LIFETIME TO FORGIVE SOMEONE.
AND IN SOME IT TAKES A GRAVE TO GET ONE TO FORGET PAST HARM.
The more you love the more you pray and seek God’s plan.
You are not a grasshopper.
God help us walk in baby steps moving toward the heart of God.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
