God is Concerned about the Little Things
Notes
Transcript
Opening
Opening
How many of you have seen “The Founder”?
Based on the story of how McDonalds got started
Most restaurants were slow drive ins
McDonald’s was quick and the food was ready immediately when you ordered
talked to owners
they had worked out every detail
timing drills
others tried to mimic, but failed
it wasn’t enough to say you were going to make a fast food restaurant as fast as McDonald’s, you had to be concerned about all the little things too.
The same applies to lots of things, think about if you’re an architect building a house
Is it enough to say to the builder, “ I want a 4 bedroom, tri-level”, and expect to get a house that looks like what you had in mind?
No, you have to be concerned, not just about the big picture, but about the little things too.
Problem
Problem
Yet, often times, this is how we think about God in our lives.
we act as though God is not interested in certain areas of our lives because he has bigger things to worry about than us.
After all, There are Billions of People who don’t know Jesus in this world, thats the kind of big picture stuff God has not worry about...
He’s not concerned with how i spend my money
He’s not concerned with my relationship with my girlfriend
He’s not concerned with my living with that guy im not married to
He’s not concerned with my pain and my problems
We act as though much of what is in our lives is just little things that god cannot possibly care about because he is too busy concerning himself with the big picture.
But God is not just a big picture God
God is concerned about the little things.
This is something that i realized while reading through the birth of Jesus
Birth of Jesus
Birth of Jesus
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
If God is only concerned big picture stuff, then the story of jesus conception stops at Mary’s pregnancy.
If God is only concerned big picture stuff, then the story of jesus conception stops at Mary’s pregnancy.
Think about it, big picture here, God is bringing Jesus into the world.
God is taking on flesh and dwelling among his people
Okay then, Holy Spirit comes on Mary, She is with child, that ought to be the end of it. big picture stuff over.
But God doesn’t stop there...
Joseph
God could have allowed Joseph to divorce Mary at this point
Jesus still would have been born
But instead, God goes out of his way to make sure that Joseph stays with Mary
why?
He cares about Mary
To maintain the prophecy about the davidic line
Joseph isn’t the only evidence, think about all those prophecies we talked about last week. God worked to ensure that each of those prophecies would come true.
Born of a virgin
Born in Bethlehem
Out of Egypt
From Nazareth
All through the birth story of Jesus, we see God working and making things happen.
Birth of Jesus isn’t the only place we can see evidence that God cares about the little things.
Other Evidence
Other Evidence
Creation
God created the universe that functions, down to the minute details, perfectly
Oxygen, we need oxygen to live, we are constantly turning oxygen into carbon dioxide as we breathe, Yet god also created trees, constantly turning carbon dioxide into oxygen.
The earth is set exactly where it needs to set in order to sustain life
After he made stuff, he took the time to walk with man during the day
He tasked man with naming everything he made
New Testament
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Luke 22
Jesus, even when he is being led away to his death, stops to fix the ear of the soldier
Closing
Closing
The Scripture is riddled with examples of God showing that he cares about the little things in our lives.
so why do we so often act like he doesn’t care?
Its hard for us
because our minds can only handle dealing with so many things at a time, we have a hard time imagining that anyone, God included, could handle the needs and cares of everyone on earth.
Its an excuse for us
There are certain areas of our lives that we want to maintain control over. If we admit that God actually cares about those things, we would have to relinquish that control and allow God to be in charge of those areas. If we maintain that God has bigger things to deal with, we can convince ourselves that God doesn’t care about that part of our life and we take control back.
God’s plan is better
what we don’t realize is that in all the times where God stepped in and showed his concern with the little things, it was for the better. we want to maintain control, but we don’t realize that what God has is even better for us than anything we could make happen in our lives. we have fooled ourselves into believing that controlling our lives will make us happy because we can choose everything. The reality is, God knows better, and we are better off when we trust him and give him control.