Yesterday our church hosted a missionary who preached on faithfulness. His sermon was entitled "Doing Little Things for God". He talked about how people are encouraged to do great things for God, but we forget that the setting for great things is put in place by first doing small things for God. This occurs in several ways.

1. We set a pattern of daily disciplines that turn us into the raw material God will use for great things. If you aren't established in study, prayer, giving, and all the little things we must be faithful in, you're not ready to be used for something great. All the spiritual giants had extensive time of preparation before stepping out into greatness. Paul, Moses, David, John the Baptist, they all had a lot of desert time before moving into the limelight.

2. Our faithfulness in small ways over time adds up to great things. The money you give over the years, faithful prayer on a subject, patient ministry somewhere, all adds up over time to a large impact.

3. Faithfulness in some obscure place of ministry facilitates the ministries of others who will do huge things. He noted how Barnabas facilitated the minstries of Paul and John Mark. How many other little known people facilitated their ministries? Who can tell me the name of Billy Grahm's 3rd grade Sunday School teacher, or the name of the persons instrumental in first leading Charles Finney to salvation?

As we're welcomed into Heaven God will not say "Well done, good and rich servant, or good and famous servant. It'll be the good and faithful servant that's welcomed into Heaven.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002