River Church NOLA
Dec 10 Wed
  • Beautiful One
  • Love Came Down
  • Trust In God
  • Build My Life
  • Intro
    There are times in our lives when what God gives us to do looks too small… too simple… too insignificant … to possibly become anything meaningful.
    Sometimes our dream is big, but the start is tiny… David was anointed King but began service to the king playing a harp. It was 15 years before he became king of Juda and 17.5 years before he became king over all Israel.
    Sometimes the vision is clear, but the progress is slow. Joseph took years in slavery and prison before he became #2 in Egypt.
    Sometimes the calling is heavy but the resources feel light. Me and YFC… reaching unchurched kids with not much support.
    And it’s in all these moments that God says,
    Zechariah 4:10 NLT
    10 Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” (The seven lamps represent the eyes of the Lord that search all around the world.)
    He says that because what looks small to you and me may already be great in his eyes.
    Most of God’s greatest works begin with the smallest, most unlikely ways…
    Not with fireworks…
    Not with crowds…
    Not with overflowing resources…
    But with a seed… a whisper… a small step of faith. Today, God wants to remind us …

    Don’t judge the size of your beginning - judge the size of your God.

    If you read the Bible long enough, you’ll notice something about God…

    1. God loves to start big things in small places.

    Zech was speaking to people who felt overwhelmed.
    The temple was in ruins.
    The work was slow.
    Their resources were limited.
    Their opposition was strong.
    But God said, the Lord rejoices to see the work begin He didn’t wait for the Temple to be finished to celebrate. he rejoiced when they started the work.
    He takes a Shepherd boy from the fields and turns him into a king.
    He took a slingshot, a stone and used to to bring down a giant.
    He takes a baby from a basket in the river and turns him into a deliverer. (Exodus 2 ff)
    Moses staff - It was just a stick in a shepherds hand, but when it was surrendered to God, it parted the Red Sea.
    He takes a poor widow’s last jar of oil and turns it into overflow… until every need was met.
    2 Kings 4:1–7 “1 One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.” 2 “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” “Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied. 3 And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. 4 Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.” 5 So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. 6 Soon every container was full to the brim! “Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons. “There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing. 7 When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.””
    He takes a mustard seed, the tiniest seed in the garden, and grows it into a tree that gives shelter to many…
    Why does God do it this way? Because when he does great things with the small, there is no doubt who did it and He gets the glory.
    God is not intimidated by small beginnings. Remember, the Bible says that he rejoices when the work begins… not finished… not perfected… just beginning. God loves to start big things in small places.
    The second reason you can’t despise small beginnings is…

    2. Small beginnings develop big character.

    Before David held a crown, he held a shepherds staff… played a harp…
    Before Joseph sat in the palace, he served in a prison.
    Before Jesus performed a miracle, he spent 30 years of quiet obedience.
    Why? Because

    Private development always comes before public elevation.

    Before Drew Breese became Drew Breese, he was a young boy throwing a footbal through a tire over and over again.
    Small beginnings teach you:
    Faithfulness - If you are faithful over a few things, I’ll make you ruler over many.
    Luke 16:10 NLT
    10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.
    Me at Redmond park cleaning floors … managing multi million dollar budget and over 100 employees.
    Dependence - You learn to trust God, not your own strength. If everything started big, we would rely on our talent and not on God.
    Humility - You realize success is by His power, not your talent. What God builds in you before promotion is what sustains you after promotion.

    God uses the small stage to prepare you for the big stage.

    Some people want the platform without the process.
    The anointing without the apprenticeship. Elisha was Elijah’s apprentice..
    The calling without the character. Joseph developed his character through what he went through.
    But God says, Let me build you from the ground up. Let me shape you in the small place so that you can stand in the large place.
    Your small season is not punishment, it’s preparation.
    The last reason you can’t despise small beginnings is…

    3. What starts small with God doesn’t stay small when God is in it.

    The seed becomes a tree.
    The foundation becomes a temple.
    The whisper becomes a powerful testimony.
    The first step becomes a journey.
    And the beginning becomes a blessing.
    Paul said this in Phil 1:6
    Philippians 1:6 NLT
    6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
    Our job is to begin in faith. God’s job is to finish in power.
    If God started it… He will sustain it… He will strengthen it… He will grow it… He will finish it…
    If God called you to do it, He will equip you for it.
    If God planted the seed, He will bring it to harvest.
    You may not see the end yet, but God sees the finished project.
    You may feel like you’re behind, but God says, that you are right on schedule.
    You may feel like it’s too small to matter, but God says it’s exactly enough for Him to breath life into.

    4. Don’t quit in the beginning stage.

    The devil hates that you are following God and hates anything that you might do for Him. So he tries to kill your dreams, steal your joy and destroy your faith. How does he do that?
    He whispers…
    Whatever you are doing is too small…
    It’s too slow…
    It’s not growing…
    It really doesn’t even matter…
    Conclusion
    But God shouts, Do not despise these small beginnings
    Don’t despise what God is doing in seed form.
    Don’t despise the quiet season.
    Don’t despise the hidden preparation.
    Dont Despise the slow progress.
    God has a track record of taking what begins small and turning it into something supernatural.
    He took 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and fed thousands.
    He tool a handful of disciples and turned the world upside down.
    He took a baby and provided a Savior.
    He took a crucified Savior and birthed a resurrected kingdom.
    And He can take your beginning...
    your little step
    your tiny seed
    your small assignment
    your early obedience and bring forth a future that looks nothing like the start.
    Billy Graham –
    Years ago there was a Sunday school teacher named Edward Kimball who took seriously the command of Christ to win souls. Kimball didn’t really know exactly how to win souls, but he did the best he could. He had a nineteen-year-old boy in his class who was lost, and this Sunday school teacher visited that boy. The boy worked downtown as a shoe salesman. Kimball went to the shoe store where the boy worked and went back into the back where the shoes stacks were, and he laid a trembling hand on the shoulder of that shoe clerk and pressed the claims of Christ upon that boy. The shoe clerk wanted Christ. He repented of his sin and was saved. Because he was saved, he went to his local church and told them, “I’ve become a Christian. I want to be a member of this church.” The church didn’t receive him. The church thought he didn’t know enough, perhaps wasn’t sincere enough. It took the church one year to receive Dwight L. Moody into church membership, because that’s who the nineteen-year-old boy was—Dwight L. Moody.
    If you know anything about Dwight L. Moody, you know he was the Billy Graham of his day. Few men in the history of Christendom have been used like Dwight L. Moody was used.  Dwight L. Moody had such a burden for souls that he started organizing Sunday schools in Chicago, and he got boys and girls—he had unique methods of getting boys and girls together to teach them the gospel.
    He became so effective that he was invited to go overseas to preach in England. He went overseas and was invited into the church of F. B. Meyer. Have you ever read any of F. B. Meyer’s books? An Englishman, an imposing name—Frederick Brotherton Meyer.  And, he was a cultured, erudite, learned, British divine. And, when Moody got up in his pulpit to preach, Moody had no seminary training, had no college training. He murdered the King’s English.  Now, he didn’t disappoint the king, but I’ll tell you, he murdered the English.  He was one of the few men who could pronounce the word Jerusalem in two syllables. And, as he preached, Moody used some, what we would call today, “tearjerkers.” They were real stories, but Moody’s great heart just caused him to tell these stories.  And, it mortified F. B. Meyer, and F. B. Meyer was sitting there with a slow burn, thinking, “Oh, how did I let this uncouth, uncultured, ignorant American in my pulpit?  When will it ever end? When will it be over?” And, Moody just kept on preaching.
    Later on, F. B. Meyer was having tea with one of the ladies, and he said to her, “And how does it go this afternoon, madam?” She said, “Wonderful, wonderful. Since Moody has been here, I have won every girl in my class to Jesus Christ.” F. B. Meyer said, “I learned something that day of the language of the human soul, and my life was never the same.” And, F. B. Meyer later on testified that a transformation took place in his life because of the life of Dwight L. Moody.
    Later on, F. B. Meyer came to the United States to preach, and he was preaching in a college; and he was preaching on total surrender. It was a Christian college. There were students there for the ministry. But, he was talking about giving everything to Jesus Christ, and he said something like this: “If you are not willing to give everything to Jesus Christ, would you at least come this far: Would you say, ‘O God, I’m not willing, but I am willing to be made willing’? Would you at least tell Him that?” There was a young man sitting out there. His name was Wilbur Chapman. Wilbur Chapman said, “O God, that’s me. God, I’ve been about to quit. I haven’t let you have everything. And God, you know what a struggle I’ve had. It’s so hard for me, Lord. But Lord, I’m going to do what F. B. Meyer said. And Lord, even though I’m not willing, God, start with me where I am. I am willing to be made willing.” And, God started with Wilbur Chapman where he was and made him willing.
    And, Wilbur Chapman became a mighty, flaming evangelist for the Lord Jesus—whose life was touched by F. B. Meyer. Wilbur Chapman was used mightily across the continent as an evangelist. He needed a helper. He went out and found a young YMCA clerk, an ex-professional baseball player who was now doing YMCA work. This man himself had had a dramatic conversion. His name was Billy Sunday. And, Billy Sunday started a work with Wilbur Chapman. He did counseling. He helped put up the tent, put out the chairs, put out the songbooks. He did anything he was asked to do. When Chapman finally got out of evangelism and retired, or whatever he did, he turned everything over to Billy Sunday, even his sermon notes. Billy Sunday didn’t know how to prepare a sermon, especially at first, but he did a better job with Chapman’s sermons than Chapman did. Billy Sunday would take Wilbur Chapman’s sermon outlines, and he preached.
    And, Billy Sunday came in 1924 to Charlotte, North Carolina, held a mighty revival crusade. And, there in Charlotte, that city had a spiritual upheaval as many came to Christ. Then, the depression came, and many felt that the depression was God’s judgment on America. And, there were a group of people who came out of the Sunday crusade there in Charlotte who banded themselves together for a prayer meeting. And, they began to pray for an awakening, another revival, that would come to Charlotte, that would shake Charlotte, shake America, and shake the world. As they continued to pray, God sent another evangelist to Charlotte, North Carolina, as a result of that prayer meeting. That man’s name was Mordecai Ham. He came to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1934, and there, Mordecai Ham held forth and preached a revival crusade. In that revival crusade, a long, lanky, sixteen-year-old farm boy came to that revival crusade. The preaching was so hot he couldn’t stand it. He left the auditorium and got up in the choir so he’d be behind it. But, the Spirit of God found Billy Graham up there in the choir, and Billy Graham gave his heart to Jesus Christ.
    What if Edward Kimball had not gone to see DL Moody?  We would not be here right now because somewhere in the millions of people Billy Graham is responsible for being a Christian is Robert Storey because BG began YFC.
    Every great move of God, every ministry, every miracle, every testimony, began with something small.
    What is in your hand today? What seed has God given you? What step has he asked you to take?

    Small beginnings in the hands of a big God lead to extraordinary endings.

    Prayer -
    Salvation
    Father thank you fro every small beginning in our lives. Thank you that you rejoice when we take the first step. Strengthen our faith, sharpen our vision, and help us to trust the process You’re working in us. Remind us that You are the God who turns seeds into harvests, small starts into divine assignments, and ordinary people into vessels of your glory. We commit our beginnings to you and we trust you to bring them to completion. In Jesus name…

      • Zechariah 4:10NIV2011

      • Luke 16:10NIV2011

      • Philippians 1:6NIV2011

River Church NOLA
robert@riverchurchnola.com
504-578-8317
https://riverchurchnola.com
6 members • 18 followers