BE FAITHFUL WITH THE LITTLE
Luke 16:10 “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. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?”
I. Use Wisely/Be Faithful With What You've Been Given
Luke 19:15-26 “After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’ “‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’ “The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’ “‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’ “But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’ “‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ “Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’
“‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’ “‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’”
These scriptures make it pretty clear that you have to be faithful with what God has already entrusted to you before He will give you more. If you are waste your giftings, blessings, etc why would God give you more? Does that mean you have to earn blessings or work for things... absolutely not! Luke 19 makes it clear that the money (giftings, responsibility, etc) that these servants had been given were a GIFT. They hadn’t done anything to earn them. They had been given the money by the nobleman. The key here is what each servant did with what they’d been given. Example: If you own a company and you see an employee that has a lot of potential... currently that employee’s job is sorting mail. So you give them a promotion and more responsibility by putting them in charge of delivering the mail throughout the office. If that employee starts taking extra smoke breaks, or being late everyday or has a nasty, hateful attitude and complains everyday to everyone who will listen about how hard the new job is and that they wished they were still sorting mail or they are careless in delivering the mail and gets everyones mail mixed up would you give that employee anymore responsibility or promote them on up? No! But, what if that employee gave that job everything they had. They came to work with a smile everyday, they were on time, they were sure the mail was delivered on time and to the proper person. Would you trust that employee with more responsibility and promote them again in the future? Absolutely!!!
II. Be Faithful Were God has Placed You
1 Samuel 16:21-23 "So David went to Saul and began serving him. Saul loved David very much, and David became his armor bearer. Then Saul sent word to Jesse asking, 'Please let David remain in my service, for I am very pleased with him.' And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away."
David started out serving as Saul’s armor bearer. One of his assigned duties that we are certain of was that whenever a torment spirit came upon Saul, David would play the harp to calm him down. We don’t know how long that David served in this position but we know he did a good job because the King was pleased with him.
1 Samuel 18:5 "Whatever Saul asked David to do, David did it successfully. So Saul made him a commander over the men of war, an appointment that was welcomed by the people and Saul’s officers alike."
We also know by this scripture that David was obedient to Saul and he did such a good job (with the right attitude) that Saul, the people and the other soliders were happy with how David conducted himself and were glad he was in a leadership position. David’s right attitude, faithfulness, and obedience to the King’s authority enabled him to be successful at everything he put his hand to, because God rewarded him for being faithful and doing his best where he was.
1 Samuel 18:6-14 " When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals.* This was their song:
“Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands!”
This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. The very next day a tormenting spirit* from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did each day. But Saul had a spear in his hand, and he suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David escaped him twice. Saul was then afraid of David, for the Lord was with David and had turned away from Saul. Finally, Saul sent him away and appointed him commander over 1,000 men, and David faithfully led his troops into battle. David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him. When Saul recognized this, he became even more afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle."
We see here that even though David had been promoted to more responsibility and was successfully in great battles and leading lots of soliders, he still served in the position of playing the harp for Saul. David could’ve easily gotten a bad attitude or gotten in pride and complained about having to continue to play the harp....”I”m a great warrior, why do I have to sit around and play a harp now....can’t someone else do it?” type attitude. However, I don’t believe David did that. I believe he played that harp with joy and with everything in him. However, even though he was still doing the right thing, Saul got in the wrong attitude(jealousy) and started meditating on the wrong things and mistreated David. Clearly, David had done nothing wrong in this situation, but he was still demoted and made commander of only 1,000 men. Now, it’s easy to faithfully serve when you’re in a prominent position, but it’s a totally different ballgame when you’re embarassed and demoted (due to no fault of your own) to a position that seems unimportant. However, David still faithfully served where he was. He didn’t get on a self-pity trip about how unfairly he’d been treated and how wrong the situation was. No, David faithful led his 1,000 men just like he’d led the entire army of Israel (1Samuel 18:5-commander over the men of war). Because of David’s right attitude, continued faithfulness and hard work, he continued to be successful at everything he did.
1 Samuel 18:24-26 "When Saul's men said these things to David, he replied, 'How can a poor man from a humble family afford the bride price for the daughter of a king?' When Saul's men reported this back to the king, he told them, 'Tell David that all I want for the bride price is 100 Philistine foreskins! Vengeance on my enemies is all I really want.' But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight. David was delighted to accept the offer. Before the time limit expired, he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. Then David fulfilled the king's requirement by presenting all their foreskins to him. So Saul gave his daughter Michael to David to be his wife."
We see that even after he was demoted, David continued to go above and beyond what was required. He didn’t just do the minimum to get by with, he went all out and did way more than what was required.
II. Jealousy & Attacks Will Come Because of the Anointing/Blessing of God in Your Life
1 Samuel 18:14 &15 "David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him. When Saul recognized this, he became even more afraid of him."
1 Samuel 18:28 & 29 "When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and how much his daughter Michael loved him, Saul became even more afraid of him, and he remained David's enemy for the rest of his life."
Let me add right here that you will run across people that are going to dislike/hate you because of the anointing and blessing of God in your life. They are going to be jealous.
1 Samuel 18:22 "Then Saul told his men to say to David, 'The king reallylikes you, and so do we. Why don't you accept the king's offer and become his son-in-law?"
1 Samuel 19:1 "Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for Daivd, told him what his father was planning......."
On that same line, the devil hates you and the anointing you carry and he (through people) will try to set you up/destroy you. The enemy will turn people against you who will try to set traps for you to derail or trap you. However, God will take all those plans for harm and use it to bless you. You just have to remain faithful and in the right attitude and God will ensure you prevail and be victorious over your enemies (Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”)
III. Your Thought Life Brings Life or Death
1 Samuel 19:4-10 "The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. "The king must not sin against his servant David,' Jonathan siad. 'He's never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in anyway he could. Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it all!' So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, 'As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed.' Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before. War broke out again after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines. He attacked them with such fury that they all ran away. But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the Lord suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp, Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall he fled and escaped into the night."
**Side note**Let me explain that I don't believe God sent this evil spirit against Saul. I do however believe Saul's actions opened up a doorway for the devil to come into/operate in his life & that God allowed Satan to send this evil spirit**
Your thought life and what you allow to infiltrate your mind and then meditate on will produce life or death results in your life and will affect the lives of those around you. When Saul stopped being jealous and angry (casting down the lies of the enemy in his ear) and got out of his own selfish, self centeredness and thought about the good things/the truth of what David had done and who David was, he had peace. When Saul meditated on the right things there was no open door for the enemy (a tormenting spirit) to infiltrate Saul’s mind or influence him. Because of this peace and the enemy locked out of Saul’s mind, Saul stopped trying to kill David. V.8-10 However as soon as Saul allowed jealousy to re-enter his mind and started meditating on negative, self-centered thoughts, the door swung open to the enemy and he swooped in (the tormenting spirit came back) bringing with it anger, death, rage division, hatred, etc. Saul lost his peace and tried again to kill David. The ripple affect of this is David had to flee for his life. This also affected David’s family (his wife Michal) -v.15-17- Everyone’s life (David, Johnathan, Michal, Saul and many others) was turned upside down because one man-Saul- meditated on the wrong things and opened a door for the enemy.
I don’t think any of us truly grasp the power of our thought life and what we allow to take up residence in our mind. Equally important is our attitude and actions through each position/location/assignment God places us.
IV. Your Really Working for God, not Man
Let me first make clear that you can’t earn right standing with God or work your way into Heaven. The point I want you to see is that God expects us to do our best at each assignment he gives us...no matter how big or small it may seem. When we faithfully do our best with the right attitude we are guaranteed victory and blessings....
Romans 12:11 “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”
Ephesians 6:7&8 “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free”
Colossians 3:23 “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.”
God is your true “boss” and rewarder. So, you don’t have to worry about the job your doing not being rewarded. Some people think, “Why should I work hard, no one notices and it’s not going to get me anywhere. So, why should I put forth so much effort?” God sees your hard work and He will reward you. Take your natural supervisors out of the equation because they really don’t matter. Even if no one else notices what you’re doing, God sees you and He will reward your hard work. This principle is true in every area, not just on a job.... it’s true in school, in the church, anywhere you have a job/assignment or task.
Isaiah 65:22 & 23 "Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses and confiscate their vineyards. For my people will live as long as trees, and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains. They will not work in vain, and their children will not be doomed to misfortune. For they are people blessed by the Lord, and their children, too, will be blessed."
1 Timothy 1:12 "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him,"
These scripture again promise not only a reward for our hard work, but the strength to do the work.
In closing...... God is our all around supplier...... 1) Assigns the task 2) Gives the strength and provision to complete the Task 3) Rewards us for being faithful and completing the task.
So be faithful were you are, in the small things and God will be faithful to promote and bless you.
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