TO GOD LITTLE THINGS ARE BIG THINGS
Do not despise these small beginnings, for the lord rejoices to see the work begin Zechariah 4:10
“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. Luke 16:10
I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the lord, who made heaven and earth! Psalms 121:1-2 NLT
This understanding of eyes fixed on God creates something inside of us that we cannot sit still… We cannot settle for surviving and just getting by, but we must move forward…
WE MUST HAVE A PASSION FOR GROWTH, A FERVOR FOR PURPOSE, A RESOLVE TO ADVANCE, AND FAITH THAT GOD IS STILL IN THE MIRACLE BUSINESS!
1. YOU MUST START DREAMING
2. YOU MUST START DESIRING
3. YOU MUST START BEING AUDACIOUS
4. YOU MUST BEGIN
“I had deep within me the inability to do nothing. I knew I may die, but I also knew I would not die with a bullet in my back” Joshua Chamberlain
WHEN WE REALIZE AN INDECISION IS A DECISION WE WILL REALIZE AN INACTION IS AN ACTION.
Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 NLT
GOD WILL TEST THE RESIDENCE OF OUR FAITH.
You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver. Psalms 66:10 NLT
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-4 NLT
5. YOU MUST START EXPECTING
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 NIV
WHAT DO THE TESTS OF GOD DO?
By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. Hebrews 11:17-19 NIV
And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the lord will provide”). Genesis 22:10-14 NLT
IT IS ONE THING TO KNOW GOD IS YOUR PROVIDER IT IS ANOTHER THING TO EXPERIENCE THAT GOD IS YOUR PROVIDER.
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. Romans 8:15-16 NLT
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Acts 1:8 NLT
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! John 14:12-14 NLT
DO WE LOVE THE DREAM GOD GAVE US MORE THAN THE GOD WHO GAVE US THE DREAM?
Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. Psalms 73:25-26 NLT
“Hope is the great power that can move you to success. Why? Because when a man expects to win, he does not hold anything back, but gives his project all that he's got. Most people fail not because they lack ability, intelligence, or opportunity, but they fail because they don't give it all they've got.” Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. James 2:21-23 NLT