What is success? I have gone to many pastor’s conferences. Most of them have been great places to learn and grow. But sometimes, they give off an unintentional message about success. Every church that is celebrated is big. Every speaker is from a growing church filled with lots of people. Do you ever feel that way? Maybe you have a ministry job here at this church. And like most things at Trinity, it is small. Your small group is small, your Sunday School class is small, the offering is small, your ministry is small. Are you discouraged?
This month, we celebrate Mother’s Day. Maybe you are a mom, and you are discouraged. You see other moms. Their kids are grown, or married, or successful, or happy, and maybe you are in a challenging place right now and you are discouraged.
What is success? What does God want from us?
Luke 16:10: “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.”
This is a beautiful principle that our Lord is trying to teach us. And it applies to everything in life. As a parent, how do you know if your child can handle a big responsibility? Simple. How did they handle a smaller responsibility? If you give them a small responsibility, and they are faithful, then you give them something more. Jesus says, the one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful with a big thing. The one who is unrighteous in a little thing, is unrighteous in a big thing.
How do you know if someone can handle $1,000,000? It’s very simple. Can they handle $100? This also applies to church leadership. How do you know if a person will be a good deacon or elder? Simple. Because they were faithful with a smaller job. The one who is faithful in a little thing, is faithful in a big thing. And the one who is unrighteous in a little thing, is unrighteous in a big thing.
In Matthew 25:14-30, I want you to notice what the Master said to the first 2 servants. He said the same thing to both servants. “Well done, good and faithful servant, you were faithful in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things enter into the joy of your master”.
Trinity Baptist, God doesn’t expect you to have a big successful ministry. You may start a big international ministry some day, I don’t know. You may become the pastor of a big church. I don’t know. But most of us have small ministries. Maybe you are a mom of one or two kids. That is the ministry God has entrusted to you. Maybe you have a small important ministry in our church or somewhere else. What God wants is for the to be faithful in a few things. No matter how small your ministry is; God wants you to be faithful.
Brothers and sisters, most of us will not have big successful ministries. Most of us have very little ministries. You are a dad, you are a mom, you are a volunteer in the nursery or the youth group, you serve in the potlucks, you clean the church. What God will wants is for your to be faithful in your very little thing.
In Matthew 28:18-20, our Lord commands us to make disciples. He doesn’t expect you to reach hundreds of people for Christ. He doesn’t expect you to have a big successful ministry. But are you faithful to obey the command. That’s all He wants: faithfulness.
Are you a faithful pray-er? You may not see answers the way you want, or how often you like. But are you faithful? Be inspired by Colossians 4:2.
After reading John 13:34-35, consider if you are faithfully loving your brothers and sisters in Christ. God doesn’t expect you to to have a big ministry. Just be faithful to obey the command. Are you faithful?
We celebrate Mother’s Day in May. What is God’s will for a mom? You may be a mom, and you don’t feel successful. In fact, you are discouraged. You see other moms or other women with their lives, and their families, and their ministries, and you feel small, and discouraged, and insignificant. Look at Titus 2:3-5. You are a mom. Just be faithful. No matter what your circumstances are, just get up every morning, and say, I am going to live out Titus 2 today. Just today, don’t regret yesterday, don’t fret tomorrow. Just today, be faithful.
My own personal verse for 2018 is Romans 15:13. May it encourage you today as you serve faithfully!
Romans 15:13: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
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This message was originally preached on May 13, 2018, by Pastor Dave Gordon, and has been adapted into this post as the message was not recorded.