.  Living Hope Fellowship Church....Sermons by the Pastor 

THE LITTLE THINGS

 by Pastor Kevin Badgley

            Luke 16:10-12 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.  If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?  And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?”  True riches are the promises, blessings, and move of God. 

            Your character and faith are found out when you are tested with little things.  It shows where you are really living!  If you try to squirm out of obeying God on something small, don’t expect something big from God.  If you can’t be faithful in natural things, God will never make you ruler over spiritual things.  We have to obey God’s rules and God ordained authorities. 

            People ask, What am I doing wrong?  God says to take care of the little things, but they want to go straight to the big stuff.  If they refuse to fast and seek God, forget them ever casting out devils.  In Matthew 16:19 God gave us the keys to success and we must use them!  We have to get sin out of our own lives, before we try to help others. This is the key to revival in our souls.  We are to submit to the rules of men, or we will never fully submit to the authority of God, because His rules are stricter.  However, as we humble ourselves before the Lord and before men, and we become obedient and faithful servants, God will make us ruler over much. 

            Genesis 25:29-30 says, “And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:  And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage. . . .”  Verse 31-34 says, “And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.  And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?  And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.  Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.”  That birthright included an inheritance of blessings and all the material wealth his father had.  It went down to the eldest in those days.

            Our birthright today is salvation through Jesus Christ; we are joint heirs with Him!  Therefore, whatsoever the Father has given to the Son, He will give to us.  Whosoever will receive Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord has all the promises of God (see 2 Corinthians 1:20).  Philippians 4:19 is part of our birthright.   This is for all who believe for it, obey God’s Word, and live it no matter what the cost! 

            Esau sold his inheritance for one mess of pottage.  He was tired, hungry, and faint, but I don’t know anybody who has ever gone out hunting one day and come back so faint as to die!  Jacob was a swindler, a liar, and a thief, but Esau was the cursed one who sold all for almost nothing!  The next morning he was hungry again, but his birthright was nowhere to be found. 

            Romans 9:13 says, “. . . Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”  God Almighty forever in His Word named Esau as an individual that He hated!  Think of the high position that Esau came from, and where he went, over a bowl of food!  After all, it was just a little detail.  Jesus said that we will give account of every idle word that we speak on the day of judgment.  It is ALL about details, so put your priorities in the right place!

            Saul, disobeyed God’s command to destroy the Amalekites and not take anything they had.  God meant what He said.  Saul backslid, killed himself, and went to hell.     

            Achan thought it was a little thing to disobey God.  After all, it was just a little wedge of gold and a few changes of garments that he hid in his tent!  That little bitty detail of sin caused thousands of men to die that day.  When you disobey on a little point, you will start disobeying on bigger points.  Once you have quenched the Spirit it gets harder to hear Him.  Eventually, you may not know if He is even there. 

            Esau wasn’t faithful in his “little”.  He should have kept on walking and got something from someone else or just fasted that day.  Job 23:12 says, “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”  Esau said that the birthright wouldn’t do him any good when he was at the point of death.  He blasphemed his inheritance and then sold it for food. 

            We do this all the time.  We don’t think God expects us to do certain things.  We call out to the Lord for things, yet we haven’t been faithful in the little things!  What you consider unimportant is significant to GOD!  All Moses did was hit a rock with a stick, but he disobeyed God, and therefore he could not go into the Promised Land. 

            Esau had nothing.  Hebrews 12:17 says, “For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”  Some people cry bitter tears, but they will never get the victory until they get the details right and become faithful in the little things.  God is no respecter of persons!  No matter how long you’ve been saved or Holy Ghost filled, He knows what you are made of concerning the details!  Little things so easily beset us, but there comes a day when there is no place found for repentance! 

            That little detail about the pottage turned into something big.  Esau planned to murder his brother because of it!  You may have cheated a little, or stolen a little, and denied the Lord a little somewhere.  You may have just quenched the Spirit of the Lord a little bit.  You think it doesn’t amount to anything, but if not repented of, it will withhold the salvation of your soul.  Search your heart.  God’s way is straight and narrow, but it is the ONLY way to heaven!  Pay attention to little things, because the little foxes spoil the vine.