[0:00] morning to the Gospel of Luke in chapter number 16. The Gospel of Luke chapter 16. No, I'm not preaching on hell, if that's where some of you think we're going.
[0:17] That's a common thought to Luke 16. But rather we're going to read a verse, verse number 10, that I believe is a principle, and I want to make an application to this principle in a very specific way this morning.
[0:31] The Gospel of Luke chapter 16. Thank you for being here. It's good to have folks in church, better than just having me. I think, so I'm glad you're here. You made a good choice. Luke 16 verse 10, the Bible says, He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. And he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
[0:56] That's a kind of a synopsis or a closing principle. The emphasis is on that statement of being faithful rather than the story that precedes it. The story that precedes it's dealing with money and an illustration that is used to get to this principle that he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.
[1:22] But, in my words, if you're not faithful in the small stuff, then you're not going to be faithful in the big stuff either. And for some reason, I don't know if it's people that grow up around church and around the Bible and around Christianity, if it's their, if they get this idea that when God wants something big from me, you know, I'm going to follow through with it, when you don't follow through with the little things that God wants from you today.
[1:49] I don't know that somebody that gets saved out of a world of sin and gets light to the gospel and gets into the book, if they think that way so much. But I want to, I want to bring out a simple principle or thought this morning from the scriptures about the Christian life and use that principle there and apply it to the Christian life, that he is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.
[2:15] Now, turn with me to 2 Corinthians 5. I want to read a few verses. Be ready to turn to them here quickly. 2 Corinthians 5. And I want to build a little platform here with the scripture that we can stand on for the rest of this message.
[2:34] It's not going to be three points in a poem this morning. It's a little bit different of a study. 2 Corinthians 5. Look at verse number 7. It's just an afterthought of sense in a parenthesis here.
[2:46] Verse 7 says, For we walk by faith, not by sight. Now, we probably know that verse by memory because it's such a quick little, just a little hit there.
[2:57] That we can grab and understand. And we fail to realize a lot of times it's in parenthesis. That there's a greater thought or theme going through this about some other things. But the statement is, of course, a statement of truth.
[3:10] That we, Christians, believers in Jesus Christ, that have our eternal life through the Son of God and His sacrifice upon Calvary, that we walk by faith, not by sight.
[3:22] Now, turn to Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. And let's look at verses 5 through 7. Colossians 2.
[3:41] Are we there? I'll begin in verse 5. How did they receive Christ Jesus the Lord?
[4:12] Did they receive Him by works? Did they receive Him by deeds of righteousness? No, they received Him by faith.
[4:24] And Paul says, As you received Him, so walk ye in Him, rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith. We walk by faith. We're commanded here to do that.
[4:36] To walk by faith. One time it was a statement of fact. Here it is a command to walk by faith. It'll be easier just to go, don't even bother.
[4:46] So, in Romans chapter 1, Paul says this after talking about not being ashamed of the gospel of Christ, power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, also to the Greek.
[4:58] He then quotes the Old Testament and he says, The just shall live by faith. Live by faith. He says it himself in Galatians chapter 2.
[5:08] If you want to catch that, I'll just read. Well, I think probably many of you know it. Galatians chapter 2 and verse 20. He says, I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
[5:21] And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God. The just shall live by faith. I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
[5:32] So, putting those two words together, we're to walk and we're to live by faith, right? Is everybody okay with that? I mean, just pulling out a few verses. Has everybody got that?
[5:43] I can go forward if we got that. We're to walk by faith. The Christian life is by faith. We're to live by faith. But let me ask you, what does that look like?
[5:55] How do you do that? How do you do that? How do you walk by faith? I'm going to wake up this morning and walk by faith. I'm going to live by faith. I'm going to live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me.
[6:06] How am I going to do that today? What does that look like? Like, your life this morning, how does that apply to your life? You've been saved 50 years.
[6:17] You've been saved 5 days. What does that look like to you, to walk by faith? The command is to you. The statement of fact is for believers. Now, how are you going to fulfill that? Do you suppose it means that you're to quit your job?
[6:31] Because I've got to walk by faith. I've got to live by faith. I can't be tied down to this job. You know what? I have insurance. Is that living by faith?
[6:43] Oh, I'm trusting the insurance company to have my back. Is that living by faith? Look, don't get sidetracked on that. The laws of the land tell you you have to do it, right?
[6:56] So, you're obeying. There you go, Romans 13. There's your way around that. Now, are you supposed to dive into missions and don't look back going forward into all the world and with the gospel?
[7:08] Are you supposed to trust that God will supply every need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus? Is that what it is? If you get sick, do you stay at home? Because I have to live by faith today.
[7:21] I have to trust God with this disease, with this sickness. I can't trust man. Is that what living by faith? Because some people get that idea. Some people, their minds go that direction with walking or living by faith.
[7:34] Maybe you remember a good while back, Pastor John Robinson from Portland, Oregon was here. And one of the evenings that he was speaking, he told a story about when he basically infiltrated a cult.
[7:49] And the cult was called Followers of Christ. And one of the things about this cult, one of the things that kind of got his attention and got him to go deal with these people was on the news.
[8:01] It made national news at the time, years ago, that a couple, a young couple, I believe it was one or two of their babies died from a disease. And a sickness that was supposedly easily curable or treatable.
[8:15] And the reason the news got a hold of it was because the authorities got involved and arrested the parents for negligence or whatever the crime was because their children died over something that they never sought care for.
[8:28] And they didn't seek care for it because in their cult they believed going to the doctor was against the word of God or not living by faith. And there's evidence of somebody being confused and misled about this truth, this command.
[8:43] There's people that think that way. Now, let's merge the two thoughts this morning of Luke chapter 16 and then what Paul commands to the church and apply it to the Christian life about being faithful in much and least and so forth.
[8:58] Let's merge these thoughts and say this. This is what I believe here and I want to pronounce to you this morning is that if we walk and live by faith in that which is least, and we'll talk about what that might be, I believe we'll also be able to do it in that which is much.
[9:16] Now, some people right away think, oh, well, that which is much is like having this big faith and being able to cure a disease and work a miracle or some supernatural thing. No, that has nothing to do with it at all.
[9:29] Don't let your mind wander into that realm. That's not what God talks about to the church about faith. He doesn't deal in the supernatural. Not like that. But what constitutes the least?
[9:42] I believe if we'll walk by faith and live by faith in that which is least, we'll also do it in that which is much. But what constitutes, what do we put in that category, those least things that we're to walk by faith in?
[9:54] Is it when you wake up, is it breakfast? Trusting God to supply breakfast and put it on the table? Is it trusting God to keep you safe every day as you drive these roads of Los Angeles?
[10:07] Because you could probably use that faith, that help. What is the least of these things in applying to the Christian life? What I believe it is, and Hebrews uses this phrase, the first principles of the oracles of God.
[10:23] The first principles of the oracles of God. I believe the simple, actually the elementary things in the Christian life are the least. Discipleship 101.
[10:36] Here's a little discipleship booklet we have here called Grow in Grace. A few of you have seen this and used it perhaps. And it's kind of a self-taught discipleship course where it takes you through ten different things.
[10:50] They're the least things. They're beginner things that if you get saved, you believe on Jesus Christ. And it covers right away just salvation.
[11:01] It kind of nails that down for your own understanding. And you fill in some blanks of scripture. And then it goes into teaching that you're eternally secure in Jesus Christ. That's a great thing to know and understand from the scriptures.
[11:13] And then it takes you through a few things. It talks about baptism scripturally. And just kind of illuminates the believer. I think you all understand this and these first steps of your faith.
[11:25] But I want to highlight what these are. And say that I believe this is being faithful in the least. And I want to apply this to the Christian life. And apply this to walking by faith. One of them is, these are all S's.
[11:38] Services. In other words, attending church. Another one is the Bible. Have to do with the scriptures. Another one has to do with prayer. Another one has to do with your separation from the world.
[11:49] And sin. That kind of thing. Cleaning up your life. Another one has to do with giving. Another one has to do with witnessing. And in serving in the local church. And doing something. Now, these are not big things, are they?
[12:02] I mean, they can be. But they're kind of just elementary ideas. That a lost man doesn't think this way. Doesn't plan his life this way. But a saved man has to be taught. Hey, there's some things that you can and should be doing for the Lord Jesus Christ.
[12:16] And your life ought to change. And you ought to have a relationship with God through the Bible. You need to learn how to pray. And talk to God. You need to learn how to give. You need to attend local church. There's certain things that we teach to a new convert.
[12:30] And things that they need to start to grow in and implement in their life. Now, what I want to submit to you is that when you do these things, you're doing them in faith.
[12:42] And essentially, you're walking by faith. You are living by faith. And these are things that are to be done in the new man. In the new creature. I'll give you those for instances.
[12:53] Let me just talk about each, a few of these for a moment. Attending church. Why do you come to church? Why? What's the point of getting up on Sunday morning, getting dressed, and attending a local church?
[13:08] Is it obligation? Is it the way you were raised? Is it inside of you you feel this duty that I have to go to church Sunday and then I'm good the rest of the week? What is it that gets you or drives you or motivates you to show up to church?
[13:21] It could be my parents make me do it. That could be true. But those of you who have the choice, why? You know, well, if I don't show up here, they're going to be coming after me.
[13:36] Why is it that you show up to church? Are you any different than a lost person that attends mass or that attends a temple or that attends a mosque somewhere? Is there anything different about why you come to church?
[13:49] I want you to think about that. If you attend as a child of God because you believe it is what God has established for you and actually has ordained for his children to meet and assemble underneath the preaching and teaching of the word of God to collectively come together away from the world, set aside time to glorify the Son of God, to sing and to edify one another and to pray with one another, if you believe that's what God wants you to do and you do it in obedience, that's done in faith.
[14:26] God didn't knock on your door and say, I want you to go to church Sunday. He didn't tell you in a physical form. I mean, he may have sent someone to you.
[14:38] He may have invited that, you know, all that stuff. But when you obey and you do this, you're assembling with believers to praise the Lord and so forth and to be instructed in the word of God is something that God ordained.
[14:52] Your obedience to that is a display of faith. It's an act of faith. And I don't know if you think this about yourself, but I know this to be true. Myself included, every single one of us will shrivel up and die spiritually if we don't have local church.
[15:09] You're not strong enough to live a Christian life the way it ought to be without ever connecting to or attending a local church. And by the way, YouTube is not a local church.
[15:23] It has never been. And one of the worst things about COVID is that people thought YouTube is now a valid way to attend church. It's not. God did not ordain that. I'm not against people putting their stuff out there and I'm not against you watching it.
[15:36] I do it too. I listen to sermons on YouTube all the time. I love it. But it does not replace what God ordained for you to be. I believe you ought to be a member and join and show commitment to and submission to.
[15:52] Some people won't do that. And there's probably a reason why. But this is what God established. You understand that. This is his idea. You get that, right? Not mine. God willing, it wasn't anyone here's idea.
[16:04] Let's just do this and, you know, get together. It's of the Lord to do this. It is of the Lord. And your obedience to it shows a step. It shows a life, a choice of faith.
[16:17] That's what it is. This is being faithful in that which is least. What about reading your Bible? Why would you read a... Why would you read this old book? Do you ever think about that?
[16:30] Why do you read it? Well, because I'm supposed to or because God tells me. Well, that's... Amen. But step aside from the church and faith and say, Why would anybody read this book?
[16:42] Those of you that were here Wednesday night, you saw a video about that guy that was doing that study, that literary professor that did that study of the King James Bible and pulled out those idioms and those things and as interesting as that was, in his introductory remarks, he said, I did this exercise.
[17:00] I read through the entire King James Bible and then I did something that no one has ever done before. I read it through again and everybody laughed. And I thought, this loser, he might be smart, but he has no idea what Bible-believing Christianity is and what a walk with God through the Word of God is all about.
[17:19] He's a lost man that doesn't have this book speaking to him. He was just looking for some interesting things to write a book about. But why do you read your Bible? Why do you read about murder and genocide and heroes that are exalted and then commit suicide or commit adultery?
[17:38] Other people promote this and say, It's an R-rated book. Why would you read that? So why do you read it? Do you believe that according to this book, do you believe it, that it's able to build you up?
[17:52] Do you believe that this book, as Peter says, desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow thereby? Do you believe that you can grow from reading this book, spiritually speaking? Do you believe every word of God is pure and that He's preserved and that God speaks to your heart from these words?
[18:07] If you believe that, if you read this, you're doing it in faith. Now I know people can pick up a Bible and read it and not be reading it in faith. And I know people can, you and I could even be reading this, as we'd say, in the flesh, just checking it off, thinking about other, I know how that goes.
[18:23] But when I open this book and I do it on a daily basis to get with God, to stop everything else in my life because I have this longing in me, there's this drawing on the inside of my being.
[18:37] I know what it is. It's the Spirit of God in the new man saying, give me the book. Get that book in me some more. There's a drawing to this book. Every time I obey that, so to speak, voice, it's me walking by faith.
[18:52] When you go to your Bible, you're doing it in faith. This book's not for the old man. It's not nourishment and food to mature the old man.
[19:03] It's the new man that walks by faith. And I want you to consider, these are the least things. But if you'll be faithful in that which is least, if you'll walk by faith in just these things, attending church, reading your Bible, those are elementary, the first things we teach people.
[19:21] But that's a walk of faith. That's establishing a walk of faith. I'm trying to turn your mind away from thinking it's giving everything up. But rather, it's just developing a discipline, a Christian life.
[19:34] There's another thing we teach people to do. It's to pray. It's to pray. Do you really believe that there's a God that can hear you and that is interested in hearing you, that wants to hear from you?
[19:46] Do you really believe that? A lot of people don't. And there are some that believe that, but they really don't have an open line of communication like we do because we have access by His Spirit to the Father.
[20:01] When you pray, you believe that you can get through to God without offering Him gifts? You believe that you can do that without doing something of your, showing Him some value, then He'll listen?
[20:14] When you believe that you can go to the throne of grace and obtain mercy and you can go through the Lord Jesus Christ by the blood of Christ to God Himself, you're doing that in faith. You're doing that in faith.
[20:27] I don't care if it's a flare prayer when you almost get in an accident. It's faith. Believing that there is God, He hears your voice and you have access to Him. It's an exercise of faith.
[20:39] I know we can pray, like James says, we can ask amiss. We can be asking for things to consume it on our own lusts, but understand, that's still being done in faith.
[20:50] Asking God, believing that He can do it. It may not be exercising good discernment or judgment, but it's an act of faith nonetheless by praying.
[21:01] And you believe you can call God, the Creator God, the divine supreme being of everything. You believe you can call Him Father? You call Him Father?
[21:15] That's done in faith. Believing that you're His child. How about giving? Giving. Giving. The Bible calls it communicating, meaning giving, or we just call it tithing or offerings.
[21:29] If you give to the work of the Lord and to your local church, it's not being done to earn God's favor. It's not being done, hopefully it's not being done so that He'll bless you with physical things.
[21:43] That'd be totally the wrong motive. But if you give what we'll call the tithe, the 10% of your income, because you by faith believe from the Scriptures, now you have to see the Scriptures and know this, that this is what He is wanting from you.
[21:59] And when He sees that He has your wallet or access to it, He'll know He's got your heart and that you'll obey Him. If you'll give in obedience to the Word of God, when you learn how to give 10% of your income to your local church, it's evidence that you're walking by faith.
[22:18] To write a check of your money that you earned by working for it. This is your money, and to give it to God. Not hoping that He does something in your life.
[22:30] Just because I believe this is what I'm supposed to do from the Word of God. That's walking by faith. That's trusting the Lord. That's obeying Him. That's a walk of faith.
[22:42] You could take that money and go on a trip. You could take that money and buy yourself some new clothes or upgrade something in your life.
[22:53] Upgrade something in your kitchen. You could do something nice for your spouse. But you choose not to neglect them, but you choose to give to God first.
[23:03] To obey the Lord God first. That's a step of faith. You need to understand that. It's a little thing. It's a little thing. What about witnessing? You believe that lost people are on their way to hell if they don't have Christ as their Savior?
[23:20] If they haven't come to the knowledge of the truth, what the Scriptures teach? You believe that, and you go out of your way to tell somebody else or to hand out a gospel tract and ask them to read it, knowing that that tract has a message in it from the Scriptures that will hopefully point them to Jesus Christ, that He died on the cross for their sins.
[23:41] You ever do those kind of things? You're doing that in faith. You're doing that, believing that, number one, God wants you to do that. Number two, believing that this is real. I'm saved. They're lost.
[23:51] And I want to get the Word of God to them. That's witnessing is done in faith. And let me say something about witnessing just as a side thought. that struck me this week was there's ways of tracking or talking to people where you just feel like you have a green light everywhere you go to every single person and just tell them all.
[24:12] The world needs to hear. I get it. But there's also these times, this is what I want you to pay attention to, there's these times that if you're aware, God just puts it on your heart, that person.
[24:23] You could go through your entire day, yet while you're at the gas pump, he says, give that person a track. Have you ever had that happen?
[24:35] Where it's just the Lord just, at one time, one moment in the day, he puts that person that's closest by you, that waitress, that teller, whoever it is, that person, he just kind of illuminates your mind.
[24:47] You walked in not thinking about the souls of men, but all of a sudden, boom, there's one, and it's like they're there. I want to submit to you, you better obey the voice of God there, because he's telling you to do it for a reason.
[25:02] He's not just checking up on you to see if you're willing. There's a reason he pointed that person out. I don't doubt it. You might think in your mind, this is what I'm trying to get you not to think, you might think, oh, they don't want to hear it.
[25:15] Oh, they don't care. They're just going to mock me. They're going to reject me. They don't want to hear it. You don't know that. There's a reason God laid them on your heart and put them in your mind and maybe even connected your paths that day.
[25:26] And when he does that, be ready and willing to obey his voice. And in faith, walk by faith. Believe that he's trying to move in their life and get the gospel to them.
[25:39] There's a ton of stories of people that are now saved that can look back to a moment when some Christian approached them. And there's stories, you get to talking to some soul winners and they'll tell you that I went and handed out a tract to this person and they just were ready.
[25:57] They were so ready. They wanted to receive. I went on door-to-door visitation this one time with a guy in the church and we drove to this area that we were going to start.
[26:08] We had plans to do this block and around the corner and so forth. And we got there and I remember just kind of we were talking all the way in just about this and that. When we got to the place, we were both like reached for the car, the handle to get out of the door and I just felt this like, yo, wait, wait, slow down, pull it back.
[26:26] You're not ready to just walk out and knock and start blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I felt this just inner desire, like a need to pray. And I said to them, hey, let's pray before we get out.
[26:38] And so we both prayed and it just kind of got our minds in tune to why we're here instead of just whatever we were talking, football or something on the way in. And now that our minds are right, we went and knocked on the first door and just gave us kind of introductory statement about who we are and why we're here and with Bibles in our hands and this woman just started to cry.
[27:03] I mean, she just starts weeping and she says, she didn't say I was just praying for somebody. It was one of those kind of stories. It was like, she said, I've just been waiting for God to show himself to me or something.
[27:16] I've been asking the Lord if these, you know, just, and then here you are right on my porch. And that was something exciting to see and it just, it like clued me into saying, you need to be in prayer.
[27:28] Pray without ceasing. Be ready. Because I could have just, not in the right attitude or spirit just walked up and be like, hey, we're here, here's a track and moved on. But it made a difference.
[27:39] Now, let me get back to witnessing. And people, what I'm saying is people, God is dealing with people. People are praying for people. You don't know who they are, but when that moment happens and when God points somebody specific out to you in your day, do not neglect that.
[27:53] Do not make an excuse why you can't. Because God could be lining up two things and tempting to save a soul from hell. Be part of that. So witnessing, anyway, back to this, witnessing is done in faith.
[28:07] And just doing right, period. When you choose to do what you know is right. When you believe from the scriptures that this is how God wants you to live now. These things God doesn't want in my life.
[28:17] He doesn't want me listening to that. He doesn't want me watching that. He doesn't want me hanging around these people because they pull me into that life. That kind of separation, that change inside of you, those steps of obedience to the scriptures, that's all walking by faith.
[28:34] It's all done in faith. Do you see that? It's not something that the pastor said to do it, so I have to do it. It's you choosing, I believe, believe, believe. That's faith. I believe this is what God wants me to do.
[28:47] I believe this is pleasing to Him. He loved me and gave Himself for me. I want to please Him. And so I'll do that. I'll stop certain things in my life.
[28:59] Now, all of these simple things, giving, attending church, Bible, prayer, witnessing, those doing right, separating yourself from sin, they're all what I'll call the first steps of the Christian life.
[29:10] And every single one of them is done in faith. It's a walk of faith. It's living by faith. If you've confused yourself, thinking that, I don't know how to walk by faith, I think I have to just give everything up and do some amazing feat for the Lord, you're confusing yourself.
[29:29] When you obey the Word of God, you're walking by faith. Now, back in Luke chapter 16, we read that, if you're faithful in that which is least, you're going to be the ones that's faithful in much.
[29:43] But if you're not faithful in those small areas, then there's no way you're going to be faithful in what we'll call the big ones. Now, what would be the big ones?
[29:54] What kind of things constitute the big areas of the Christian life? Turn to 2 Corinthians 10.
[30:05] I just want you to read one verse here. There's a lot of places we could go, and I'll try to fast forward. We read that your walk of faith, that you get rooted, that you get built up, that you grow.
[30:25] And in this verse, we'll see that your faith increases. That is, I believe it's a natural outcome of you walking by faith. Those first steps, you increase. Look at this in verse 15.
[30:36] You'll see the word there. Chapter 10, verse 15. 2 Corinthians 10, 15. Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labors, but having hope when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly.
[30:52] When your faith is increased, this church, their faith is going to be increased. Paul's anticipating that. I believe that attending church and reading your Bible and a life of prayer and giving and witnessing and as you begin to do right things and abstain from other things, it's going to do nothing but increase your faith.
[31:16] You're going to grow. Even if I could say it this way, you're going to increase in your performance as well. Your Christian life is going to grow. And if God calls you to surrender to him, if he does one day call you to give up some things and to go, if he puts that burden on your heart, it will be after you're grown and after you've been established, after you've been rooted and built up and your faith has increased.
[31:43] Now there's some passages I could turn to on this and again I'll just, for sake of time this morning, not run you all over the Bible. I will take you to one place, Hebrews chapter 5, please.
[31:56] Maybe two more verses before we're done. Hebrews chapter 5. Paul says in Ephesians that he gave some offices to the body of Christ for the perfecting of the saints.
[32:11] For the perfecting of the saints. That is for their growth and their maturing. That they grow up in him. Hebrews chapter 5. There's a problem though that some people don't grow.
[32:25] And some people don't. They're not faithful in that which is least. So look at verse 11. Hebrews 5.11. He wants to expound about this high priest Melchizedek but he says, of whom we have many things to say and hard to be uttered seeing your doll of hearing.
[32:43] For when, for the time ye ought to be teachers ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat.
[32:57] For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness for he's a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age. Even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
[33:11] Next verse. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ let us go on to perfection. Growing. Moving forward. You understand this context.
[33:22] These that he's writing to are unskillful in the word of righteousness when they should be. They're babes. They have need of milk when they should be have needing of meat.
[33:34] They ought to be teaching the principles of the word of God rather than learning them again themselves. The problem is they're unskillful in the word. They're not using it in verse 14.
[33:46] They're not having their senses exercised to discern good and evil. They're carnal. They haven't grown. Their faith hasn't increased because they're not being faithful to what we say that which is least.
[33:59] Instead these people need to have it taught to them again. Now God forbid that as pastor of this church I would have to preach and teach on these little things every week.
[34:11] Every Sunday I have to be like you need to be in church. That is one thing I do not want to do is every time I see somebody that I haven't seen for a while say you need to be in church every Sunday.
[34:22] That's not that's terrible. It would be great if everybody would get a hold of the truth and grow and be faithful and their faith increase because they're walking by faith in the least things.
[34:36] Now the category of much let me get back to that it could be something like taking a position in this local church. There's positions in a church of a deacon or a teacher a position where there's some form of leadership where you're set aside in a sense as an example to others and there's a well it could be more than that it could be full time Christian service or the ministry in some way that you end up getting into because the Lord leads your life that way it could be even more some life changing thing of when somebody moves away to Bible school that's a life changing thing that's definitely altering the course of the way their life was headed.
[35:21] moving a lot of times being faithful in the least leads to your faith increased and being faithful in much and a lot of times there is a move involved I shouldn't say a lot of times but it happens it could be a move to a school it could be a move to a church to take on a role or position within a local church it could be a move to a foreign field to serve the Lord Jesus Christ wherever he calls you but how do you get to that point how do you get to where you're quote faithful in much it's when you're faithful in that which is least I'll give you one more verse and an example of the apostle Paul in 1st Timothy chapter 1 and just take a peek at 1st Timothy chapter 1 verse 12 where Paul kind of giving his testimony here he references Christ enabling him and putting him into the ministry but I want you to see a little phrase here of where he was at before Christ enabled him in verse number 12
[36:23] I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who hath enabled me for that he counted me faithful that's going to come before the ministry as being faithful in that which is least before God ever calls and enables you to do something for him that we might categorize as much church I know of men I've heard of this several times a man in a local church gets involved gets on fire for God has a burden for the jail ministry starts preaching in the jails and I know of men that have preached in the jails and as they preached that burden grew within them and the opportunities the doors opened up they began preaching in other local jails and then the time came they felt God opening the door wide they quit their job and they went full time preaching and they're raising supporters preachers of jail ministries that's that's somebody being faithful in least and faithful all the way till God opens the doors and said
[37:25] I want you to do this on a bigger scale I want you to do this every day of your life and being faithful in much how can you ensure that when you're that you are ready to respond to the leading of God in your life if that day comes how can you ensure that you're going to respond right if God does seek to call you to something like that it's simple be faithful in that which is least program yourself condition yourself to live a life of faith walk by faith in these least areas I think these examples I gave of this kind of discipleship stuff that which is least or even the category of much I know that doesn't constitute the entirety of the Christian life I'm not posing that it does if you do these things you're good I know there's a whole other element to it is walking by faith trusting God putting down your your flesh or fears within your all of that stuff there's other areas or categories to this but the point I'm making is to pull off of that principle
[38:27] I believe it's a this is just a demonstration in the practical side of what it looks like for you today and tomorrow to walk by faith we walk by faith don't we that's what we are we are not of the world we are not stuck in a religion we do not check boxes to see if we comply with God we walk by faith I hope you walk today by faith I want you to understand these little things is examples and evidence of that then get faithful to it maybe there's a spot I mentioned I didn't intentionally try to get everything but maybe there's something I did mention that the Lord just said that's you and twisted your arm a little bit and said you're not faithful in that area I don't have your heart in that area you give yourself to other things before you give yourself to me in that area maybe God wants to see you faithful in that area he wants to see you exercise more faith each day and go to him in prayer he wants to see you open this book and seek to hear from him every day some of us are great talkers we like to avoid other people some people love to talk to everybody they see some people not so much but I'll tell you this if God puts somebody on your heart and if God opens your eyes to somebody and says them that's the one you don't want to reject or walk away from maybe you need to be faithful in that way and say
[40:05] God I'll commit when you tell me I will obey that's done in faith and if you'll be faithful in least and show yourself faithful in least you're going to find that you're going to grow your faith is going to increase and I'm not promising God's going to send you somewhere else that has nothing to do with it God can do that if he chose but that's what you want to be doing is the perfecting of the saints you want to be going on to perfection you want to grow and mature to bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ all right let's bow our heads together and the message this morning was more of a study if anything but it's something that has application to every one of us today it really does I'm not here to get your money and say you need to be giving why aren't you giving that's not my theme of the message it's rather being faithful in that which is least and if in these small areas of your Christian life if you're not flourishing then you need to focus on that you need to pray about that and let God convict you of that and obey his voice and grow in that the Lord
[41:09] God is faithful he's not a taskmaster he's not heavy handed but what he asks of you you can do you can do it and he enables you to do it by his grace father Lord this morning I pray that we'd be responsive to your word and that we'd be faithful in that which is least Lord may these categories mentioned may we be bearing fruit in them if someone's been dry if they haven't been bearing that fruit may your spirit illuminate that in their minds and convict them but also give them the power the strength to do something about it Lord you said we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us so please strengthen us to be obedient and Lord for those who are growing in their faith and it's increasing I pray God that you'll see fit to use and call them and to direct their lives to service for you if it pleases you and Lord may you get some fruit from our account that goes on to eternity fruit that abounds fruit that remains and may
[42:18] Jesus Christ get what he died for out of our lives before we're dismissed we're going to sing a hymn and I want to invite you if you need to get something right with God or you need to talk something over with the Lord about whatever you heard this morning nobody's going to ask you