When Big Enough Ain't Enough: Impacting Our World

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Won by one, Somebody's got to change their world,

Won by one, Take this message to every boy and every girl.

And they are waiting to to be won by one.

--Mylon LeFevre,Won by One

We are so enamored with the "big" that we don't see the impact every individual makes on our civilization. We have big cities, big roads, big plays, big banks, big networks, big performances, big states, big schools, big churches, and well just about anything else you can think of. Many of us have succumbed to the cult of the large. We have been conditioned to think that bigger is better. But as a wise pastor once said, "Bigger isn't better; better is better."

What our God is asking us to do is not blow up the world, win wars, or be politically victorious. He is asking us to impact our civilization. It is what we are admonished to by Jesus Himself when He said:

the Lord appointed 70 others, and He sent them ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place where He Himself was about to go. He told them: “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest. Now go; I’m sending you out" (Luke 10:1-3)

Jesus had already sent out the 12, so this time He goes really big and sends out 70.Did you hear me? Seventy! Jesus' work was to change the few to the core of their lives and watch them change a few, so they could change a few, and so on it went.

Want to get involved God's supernatural work? Start here.

Think about what Paul and Barnabas did; then what Paul and Silas did; and what Barnabas and John Mark did. They did it so well that they were accused of "turning the world upside down" (See Acts 17:6). We tend to think that God is the God of the big when it comes to our ministries. Yet, the examples we have in the Bible are not the gargantuan, but the seemingly insignificant. We cannot ever become so caught up in the crowds that we ignore the individual. That is the kind of life and the kinds of ministries that change the world, where every single person matters. That happens not in the big, but moment by moment and life by life. That can only happen in a small and intimate setting.

To have an understanding how God wants to work in our church, we need to look back at a bit of history. Have you ever of a group of believers called the Moravians? By 1722, there was only a small group of them left after the wars of Europe had displaced them. The few that were left settled on the estate of a count named Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf. They pulled together what was left of these believers on that estate. Together, they began a church called the United Brethren. These were a rag-tag bunch of refugees simply looking for a place to worship. It was there this Count of Saxony, von Zinzendorf, found Christ and led a missionary movement that continues to this day. All from just a few in a small church in Germany. You might even know the names of a few people that have made an impact on their culture though the ages. They are from this same church that started many years before in a land far away: Francis Scott Key, Wilbur and Orville Wright (yes, of Kitty Hawk fame), theologian and preacher, Harry Ironside, and of course, John Wesley. His warming heart was touched at a Moravian meeting. He soon after began the Methodist movement that touched lives world-wide. All from a small German church of a few insignificant refugees seeking shelter and a new start. That's what happens when God takes over.

Here is my point, with so much emphasis on large, isn't it amazing that God chooses to use the small? Think about the Roman church in the first century. They too were a small fledgling church that at least partly met in the home of Prisca and Aquila (Romans 16:5). How small? No one knows for sure. We only know that regardless of size, they were well known around the whole Roman empire. Listen to these encouraging words:

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith is being reported in all the world. (Romans 1:8)

Did you read that? Don't you think it's interesting that the Apostle Paul does not commend the mega-church in Jerusalem or even the home church in Antioch, but the little ole' Roman church. It was so far removed from the center and focus of the early church that it would have been considered the uttermost parts of the earth. Yet, that church was known in all the world because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes, God believes in the small. He almost revels in it. He reminds as to what the kingdom of God is like, a mustard seed. Rather than me trying to explain, I'll let our Lord do it:

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches. (Matthew 13:31-32, HCSB)

The kingdom of God is all about the small. The mustard seed was one of the smallest seeds known in that day, But, it was never intended to remain small. Small beginnings are good, but God's goal is world-wide impact and recognition. That takes growth.

So, never give up when things are small. God is using you in touching lives and changing people as His kingdom grows. The real kingdom of God makes great changes in its surroundings. So much so that it can't be ignored, even by those who could easily avoid it (the birds of the air in the above parable). God can use every one of us in the kingdom of God to be landscape changers...and it all starts with the smallest of seeds.

Size is not near as important as the One in whom we believe. His Gospel...the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for every single person. This message changes lives every single day. Let's join together in the greatest effort in all of history. Starting small where we are, we can change our community, our city, our country, our world, and our civilization. And our Lord starts it all with you. Let's get to it.

Pastor Trey Rhodes

www.MyOceansideChurch.com

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