Despise Not the Small Things
Text: Matthew 6:25-30; Zechariah 4:10
Series: Restoration Sermons
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Expository
Learning Objectives
By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:
- See that God made and cares for small things, and so should we.
- Reject the false sorting of God's commands into "essential" and "non-essential."
- Be faithful in small things as the path to Christian growth and great service.
Thesis
No one can afford to despise small things — the universe is built of them, God made and cares for them, Christ tended the "little ones," and Christian character and service grow little by little — so the believer must be faithful in the small things rather than sorting God's commands into "essential" and "non-essential."
Burden
"Who has despised the day of small things?" (Zech. 4:10). The tradesman cannot despise small things — pennies make pounds. The doctor cannot — a grain or a drop may kill or cure. The scholar cannot — the alphabet's small letters make all learning. Yet in religion we are forever waiting for something big and despising the small: the small duty, the small command, the small kindness, the small sin. This outline presses the point that God Himself does not despise small things — He made them, numbers the sparrows, clothes the lilies, and calls young disciples "little ones" — and that everything great in the Christian life is built, like the universe, out of small things faithfully handled. The burden of this lesson is to stop waiting for the great and start being faithful in the small.
Introduction
No one can afford to disregard small things. The tradesman cannot — pennies make pounds. The doctor cannot — a single grain or drop may kill. The scholar cannot — the small letters make education. The outline applies this to the Christian life under five heads: the universe is built of small things, the church had a small beginning, Christ did not despise small things, the religion's principles are thought small by some, and the lesson applies to our service.
I. Little Things Make the Universe (Matthew 6:25-30)
- The universe is built of grains of sand and drops of water — vast things made of tiny ones.
- God made the little things and cares for them — He feeds the birds and clothes the lilies (Matt. 6:25-30).
- The searching question follows: if God attends to the smallest things in nature, will He overlook the small things in a Christian's character? What we count small, He does not.
II. The Church Had a Small Beginning (Zechariah 4:10)
- Consider how small it began — in an infant: small hands that would one day grasp the scepter of all authority; small feet that would walk upon the sea; a small voice that would still the tempest and raise the dead.
- That infant became a man, and the man became the crucified One who laid the foundation of the church.
- From that small beginning the church grew, developed, and enlarged gradually — the kingdom that started as a grain of mustard seed (Matt. 13:31-32). God does great things from small beginnings.
III. Christ Did Not Despise Small Things (Matthew 18:10)
Christ Himself honored the small: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones" (Matt. 18:10), and Paul told young Timothy to let no one despise his youth (1 Tim. 4:12). Young and weak Christians are the "little ones" — not to be despised but cared for tenderly. If the Lord values the small and weak, so must we.
IV. Some Despise the "Small" Principles of the Faith (Luke 16:10)
Here is the danger that hides in this theme:
- Some divide God's commands into "essential" and "non-essential" — by their own taste.
- After reading the Bible, they keep the parts they think essential and slight the rest — making themselves judges over God's Word.
- So we come to treat lying, deception, and neglect of the Lord's Supper as "small things" — when God has marked none of His commands as optional. "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much" (Luke 16:10). There are no non-essential commands of God; the smallness is in our estimate, not in His Word.
V. Apply This to Our Service (Luke 16:10)
- We are called to serve and to work — Paul wore the title proudly: "Paul, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ" (Rom. 1:1).
- Too often we overlook the small things while waiting for great ones, and so do nothing.
- We are not prepared for great things unless we have been faithful in small ones — faithfulness in little is the training for much (Luke 16:10; Matt. 25:21).
- Christian growth is little by little, not by a stroke of miraculous enlargement. We grow as the seed grows — gradually, in small daily increments.
Application
Stop despising the small things — God doesn't. Watch the small duties, the small kindnesses, and especially the small sins, because a character is built or ruined in them. And refuse the most dangerous habit this lesson exposes: do not sort God's commands into "essential" and "non-essential" by your own taste, slighting the Lord's Supper or honesty or any command as a "small thing." God marked none of them small. Then take up your service in the same spirit: do not stand idle waiting for some great work to come along; be faithful in the small one in front of you, for that is how God prepares a servant for greater things and how a Christian actually grows — little by little, day by day. The man who is faithful in a very little is the man God can trust with much.
Conclusion
The universe is built of small things; the church began in a small thing; Christ cherished the small and the weak; and Christian character and service grow by small things faithfully done. God despises none of it, and neither may we — least of all His commands, none of which He ever called "non-essential." Be faithful in the little, and leave the great to Him.
Invitation
Do not think the gospel's call too small a thing to heed today; it is the greatest of all small beginnings, for it makes a new creature. Believe on the Lord Jesus, repent of your sins, confess Him, and be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38), and begin the growth that goes on little by little into the fullness of Christ. Come while we sing.
Word Study
| English Term | Greek Term | Basic Meaning | Usage in This Sermon | Sermon Significance | Key Texts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day of small things | — | spoken to a discouraged people rebuilding a modest temple | God rebukes the despising of small beginnings, for His great works start small | God rebukes the despising of small beginnings, for His great works start small | Zech. 4:10 |
| Faithful in a very little | en elachistō pistos | faithfulness is tested and trained in the least things; God reads our reliability in much by our reliability in little | Used in this sermon to establish the biblical meaning of the term | faithfulness is tested and trained in the least things; God reads our reliability in much by our reliability in little | Luke 16:10 |
Scripture Interlock Table
| Theme | Boles' Outline | Supporting Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| God cares for little things | I | Matt. 6:25-30 |
| Despise not the day of small things | II | Zech. 4:10; Matt. 13:31-32 |
| Christ honors the "little ones" | III | Matt. 18:10; 1 Tim. 4:12 |
| No "non-essential" commands; faithful in little | IV / V | Luke 16:10 |
| A servant of Christ | V | Rom. 1:1 |
| Faithful in little, ruler over much | V | Matt. 25:21 |
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Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 47. Doctrinal audit: core-framework (God values small things; the rejection of a self-chosen "essential/non-essential" sorting of God's commands — a key restoration principle; growth and service through faithfulness in small things); no correction. Style audit: OCR cleanup. Supplied supporting references (Matt. 13:31-32; Rom. 1:1; Luke 16:10; Matt. 25:21) flagged; Boles' own citations (Matt. 6:25-30; Zech. 4:10; Matt. 18:10; 1 Tim. 4:12) verified and retained.
