Small Steps, Great Impact: Answering God's Call in Your Daily Life

When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath. And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites. (Judges 7)

God still takes ordinary people from one small step of faith to great things they never imagined they could do.

The Sword of the Lord and Gideon

They stood in their places. They broke those clay pots and held up the torches, blew the trumpet, and shouted, "The sword of the Lord and Gideon!" It is reminiscent of the children of Israel marching around Jericho—another impossible feat.

The Midianites woke in the midst of all of this and looked around. Perhaps they thought they were surrounded by a great army, when in fact it was just 300. In the chaos, they began to fight against one another, and they fled.

God Has Always Proved Himself Trustworthy

There are certainly times when we need a little help to believe before we step up and step out. It is true that God is sometimes teaching us to trust even when it seems insane and impossible, and that He brings us to the brink to stretch and test our faith and faithfulness.

But here is our fifth point, and we'll close with this: God has always proved Himself trustworthy when I followed Him by faith. There are times I need a little bit of help, and God is gracious and patient. Sometimes we wait and wait until we finally feel, "Okay, I can really do this now," and He is still as gracious and patient. Yet He calls us to follow Him faithfully.

That's what it is to be a disciple—a faithful follower of God. And by His Spirit, He enables us to do great things we cannot imagine, things we certainly could not do in and of ourselves, because we are not sufficient on our own. But as it has been said, one with God is a majority.

St. Patrick: Too Small for a Task Too Big

It is easy to look at the world around us today and say the test seems far too big and I am far too small. To bring it home to March 17th, I wonder if St. Patrick didn't also feel that way. In his own writings, he tells us he was 16 years old, living in Britain, when he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and made a slave for six years in Ireland.

He finally escaped and made it back home. And it was there that he became a missionary who returned to those who had taken and enslaved him. He preached to the people of Ireland, and the story is that through him they were converted from paganism to Christianity.

You can look at the world and say, "It's just too big, and I'm just too small." But one with God is a majority. Based on what I've seen in the Scriptures and in my own life, I can guarantee that God has called every one of you to greater things than you could imagine, and He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you can ask or think.

Small Steps, Great Impact

You may think, "I'm just passing out a donut," or "I'm just handing a bulletin to someone who comes into the church on a Sunday morning." No, you're not. It's not just anything. It may seem small to you, but it might be far larger than you realize when you hand someone a card and say, "I'd like to invite you to Easter at my church."

Within 10 miles of this building there are nearly a million people, many of whom do not know God or the gospel. The only Christian they have any contact with might be you—at work, at school, in your neighborhood, or even in your own family. Research has shown that eight out of ten of those people would come to church if someone invited them.

You might simply give them a card and say, "I'd like to invite you to Easter. The service times are 7:30, 9:00, and 11:00. I'll meet you out in the parking lot." It has been shown that many people are fearful to come into a church—maybe you were that person once—thinking they might spontaneously combust or their heart might stop. It probably won't happen, but we have fire extinguishers and an AED, so they'll be fine.

It might seem like a small thing, but it won't be small in that person's life. Here's what I've discovered: God always takes us from one small step to a bigger step, and a bigger step after that. Every person I know who is serving God in some major capacity today started with one small step—just handing a bulletin or a card to someone else. It always starts with one small thing.

Ambassadors in a Shifting Culture

God wants to do great things, and our culture desperately needs the grace and power of the gospel. We all recognize that the culture we live in has significantly shifted away from the things of God. Yet it is the truth of Scripture and the principles of the Christian religion that brought about the very culture we so enjoy in the West.

As the culture shifts away from that, many people who have never been to church also feel orphaned. As things move in progressive directions, they wonder, "What on earth is going on? Where am I going to go?" There are a lot of orphaned people out there—sheep without a shepherd, lost. And there is only one good place for them to go: to Christ.

You are His ambassador. He has called you, filled you, and poured out His Spirit upon you to be His light in a dark place, to sound the trumpet and say, "The sword of the Lord." He wants to use you in that way. There is much work to be done here in San Diego County, in California, and in the United States of America—but it starts with that one small step.

Closing Prayer

O God, pour out Your Spirit upon Your people. Give us boldness. Amen.