“WHO DESPISES THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS?”

1= JEREMIAH: FORETOLD OF 70 YEAR CAPTIVITY.

A. Jer 25:8-11. “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send from all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all the surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of th emillstones and the light of the lamp. This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years.”

B. But he also foretold that God would bring them back:

1. Jer 29:10. “When your 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.”

2= DANIEL, THE PROPHET, WAS TAKEN INTO CAPTIVITY IN BABYLON IN 606 B.C.

A. When the 70 years of captivity was about over,

Daniel prayed to God on behalf of his people in

1. Dan 9:1-2. “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was madder king over the realm of the Chaldeans—in the first year of his reign, I Daniel, perceived in the books the number of the years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely 70 years. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.”

1. God answered that prayer during the reign of Cyrus, King of Persia, who had conquered the Babylonians.

a. Interestingly, Isaiah prophesied that Cyrus would allow the Jews to return, about 150 years before Cyrus was born.

1) Isa 44:28. (“I am dthe Lord, who made all things”) “…who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’” Isa 45:13. “I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, nor for price or reward, says the Lord of hosts.”

3= THE WORK OF REBUILDING THE CITY AND THE TEMPLE WAS A TREMENDOUS TASK.

A. ZERUBBABEL, a prince of royal Jewish lineage, lead a company of 50,000 back to Jerusalem. He also brought back the vessels of the temple taken away by Nebuchednezzer, king of Babylon.

1. He led the group in erecting again the altar of God on the site of the old one and laid again the foundation for the new temple.

2. But there were mixed emotions: Shouts of joy from those younger who didn’t remember Solomon’s temple, but tears of sorrow from the older ones who saw how small this temple was in comparison to the glory of the first.

4= TRAGICALY, AFTER THE FOUNDATON WAS LAID, FOR 16 YEARS THE WORK ON THE TEMPLE CAME TO A HALT.

A. Samaritans who were rejected by the Jews when they offered to help rebuild the temple influenced the Persian court to shut down the work.

1. And the people settled into their lives and pursuing their own activities without giving a thought to the unfinished task ordained by God.

5= GOD SENT PROPHETS TO STIMULATE THE WORK.

A. HAGGAI and ZECHARIAH were given the task to making it known to Israel that it was time to get busy in building the house of the Lord!!

B. Among the messages of the prophets:

1. Stop serving your self! Stop procrastinating! Get your priorities in order! God to work for the Lord!

a. Haggai 1:2,3. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.’ The word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, ‘Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?’”

2. Realize that all things are possible with God’s power! Zerubbabel will complete the temple!

a. Zechariah 4:6-8. “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ Thent he word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house: his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know the Lord of hosts has sent you.’”

6= THE KEY THOUGHT OF OUR LESSON CENTERS AROUND A SINGLE STATEMENT THAT CAN BE SO EASILY OVERLOOKED.

A. Zechariah 4:10. “For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hands of Zerubbabel.”

1. The people apparently saw Zerubbabel as a weak and inadequate leader that that his small efforts totally inadequate to the task. Many of them had seen the grandeur of Solomon’s temple, and this work was too little, too late!

a. And they despised the small things—gave up on the building of the temple!

2. But God’s message was plain: Don’t despise little things or things you consider to be inadequate, unimportant or insignificant if God’s hand is in the task! Immensely important things may have weak and small beginnings, but with God’s power coupled with our inadequacy, success will come!

a. Remember! A great avalanche is the product of one little, weak, insignificant and unimportant snowflake sticking together with another and then another and then another…

b. “Giant oaks from little acorns grow.”

c. “A stitch in time saves nine.”

2. Great projects have small beginnings:

a. I served on the original board of a great Christian camp, Pettijohn Springs in Madill, Ok, back in the 60’s. It had been the dream of a single man.

1) We faced roadblocks: Cynicism, lack of funding, little thinking.

2) But with the courage to borrow money to build a dinning hall—from that small beginning—money began to be given by wealthy donors

and now a great established camp serves hundreds of young people every summer and is open to all kinds of special events for the church!

B. The real key to success in any endeavor and esp. the Lord’s work is attitude: Faith, determination, concentration, perseverance and a sense of urgency, and seeing the significance of each little seemingly insignificant act precede and season any activity in the world or the church!!

1. A willingness and patience to do the little, necessary, ordinary, unglamorous, uncomfortable, sweaty jobs is what brings the ultimate success!!

a. We often have to be driven to see the need! We must be made to face the crucial and threatening circumstances! We need someone to remind us of impending failure and the consequences before we will take hold to do whatever is necessary to turn things around!

1) We need to learn the lesson of the dishonest manager in Luke 16:1-8.

2. We live in the atmosphere of the dramatic, the quick-fix the easy road, the get-rich-quick-win-the lottery mentality.

3. But the work of the Lord is done through a succession of little but necessary steps that must not be despised!!

a. Making the visit to a newcomer

b. Going to the hospital to visit the sick

c. Cleaning up the building

d. Encouraging with a phone call or note

e. Asking people to visit

f. Giving my contribution faithfully

g. Filling a task in a ministry

h. Winning one soul for Jesus

L. Pleading consistently with an unfaithful Xtian to bring them back, even if it takes months or years

J. Teaching your children the word of God, daily

K. Praying regularly each day for the elders, preachers and ministries

L. Reading the Word of God everyday

7= WHAT ABOUT YOU? DO YOU DESPISE THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS?

A. Do you dream about the past with its glory unable to see the great things that can be done with the completion of the small, but necessary works of faith?

1. “For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe, the horse was lost; for want of a horse the battle was lost; for want of a victory the kingdom was lost!”

2. Do you remember the words of the Lord, “And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward,” (Matt 10:42).

3. And again, Luke 16:10. “One who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in little is also dishonest in much.”

B. Maybe your problem is thinking of essential things as small insignificant things such as:

1. Being restored or submitting to baptism for the remission of sins!!

2. Remember Naaman?

a. “Just dipping in the Jordan?! Ridiculous!”

1) “Why not go wash and be clean?”