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In your life, you have a list of priorities. It may not be a physical list written down with pen and paper, but in your mind, there is a list of what is most important and least important. You can tell what is priority in your life by noticing what you are faithful to. Everyone is faithful to something. Even if "doing nothing" is your priority in your life, you are probably very faithful to perform it! There is nothing wrong with having a sense of priorities in our life of things and actions that are important to us. There is also nothing wrong with having different things on our list. Where our priorities get Christians in trouble is when we have the things of the world as more important in our life over the things of the Spirit. Nobody really has a problem with faithfulness. We really only have a problem with being faithful to the right things!

Think about it: where does prayer and fasting and church attendance and Bible reading rank on your list of priorities? Not where we say it ranks, but where our actions show it ranks. All of us know where it should rank, but unfortunately our actions show our true priorities. Jesus was talking about priorities when He said:

That does not mean that we should not work to earn a living to buy the necessities of life, but that work and the cares of life should not be priority over the kingdom of God. When there is a conflict, according to Jesus, the things of God should come first! People show from their lifestyles that they esteem many things of the Spirit to be small things, but in eternity and on judgment day, it will be the small things by which we are judged and those things that seem small and minor in our life now will become very important to us at the end of time!

You've probably heard this verse quoted or misquoted before. It is found in the relationship manual of the scriptures, the Song of Solomon. As Solomon and his one true love were walking in the country trying to work out some relationship problems, they saw a little fox trying to bury a den under the wall in a vineyard. And they quickly realized that it was the small things in their lives that were stealing the joy and fruit of their relationship.

I did a little study on the foxes of that area. The largest of them only stand 15 inches tall. Foxes do not eat grapes nor or they interested in the fruit. They are interested in the ground of the vineyard that has been tilled and cultivated which makes it easier for them to dig. As they dig their burrows and dens, they loosen the soil around the roots and cause the plants to become malnourished and to lose their fruit. Walls around the vineyard keep out larger animals and the enemy but the walls do no good against the foxes. The only way to keep the foxes away was for a human being to constantly be there to shoo them away. For this reason, the Israelites which kept vineyards usually lived within their vineyards. Not because of invading armies or large beasts but because of the little foxes.

Solomon and his bride, Shulamith, realized that their love and joy was being taken from their relationship because of the little "foxes." You know, it is not what you do on Christmas, Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Valentine's Day that makes or breaks a marriage. The big days have less effect on what you do EVERY Day! Does your spouse feel special EVERY DAY! Do you show them that they are a priority in your life by your actions day in and day out! If there is a frustration over a big thing, it usually comes from frustrations over little things! It is not one big argument or disagreement that steals our joy and love in relationships, but the little things that we deem as not being important!

It is the same way with our walk with God! The greatest danger to the church is not Satan because He is easily defeated through the power of the blood of Jesus and the NAME! The scripture clearly states: "Submit yourselves to God; resist the devil and he will flee from you!" (James 4:7) If you are fighting the devil all of the time, then there is an area of your life that you need to submit to the Word of God! Chances are that the enemy that is going to rob you of your joy and your relationship with God is not going to be a big crisis or large trial. Usually, if our relationship with God slips at all, it is because of things that we deem as "little things" which in the end shake our root structure and cause us to lose the spiritual fruit of our labors! It really is the small foxes that spoil the vine!

But the scripture said "let us take the foxes." In other words, let's grab these foxes before they have time to do the damage. Let's stop this before it goes any further! If you make it for living for God or don't make it, it will not be because of one service! It will not be because of one day of faithfulness. But it will be because you made an everyday habit of something that either improved your relationship with God or devastated it! It is the little things that we tend to ignore and dismiss with a wave of our hands that rob the most precious things from us! Don't disdain the little things because that is the secret to a relationship's success!

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If anyone knew the importance of the little things, it was little David. He was the youngest of eight brothers. His older brothers, we find from our text, had become warriors in King Saul's army. It is very obvious from the eldest brother's comment of "few sheep" that he thought it was a menial task and a very small thing to keep the sheep of his father. He was a soldier in the "King's army!" He would not lower himself to the level of being a simple shepherd.

But what everybody else in the family disdained, David loved. David did not mind keeping a few smelly sheep. He did not complain that it fell his lot to go day after day alone in the fields and watch over the herds, but we find that he eagerly took on the chore. Not only did he not look down on his job, but David was willing to risk his very life for the lives of those few sheep! It was not a mighty herd, but simply a few family sheep that he was keeping, but when the bear and the lion came around, David did not run, but stood his ground!

You see David realized the nature of his enemy. That is if he just shrugged off the loss of one sheep and let the bear have it, then the next time the bear got hungry, it would come back for more! Someone has made the statement: "give the devil an inch and he will think he's the ruler!" When you back off of anything in your life and give ground to the devil, no matter how trivial it may seem, you will always lose more than you bargained for!

Had Eliab been the one to have to keep the sheep, he probably would not have been paying attention when the bear or lion came. He certainly would not have been willing to risk his life by facing it with only a slingshot and a staff! The attitude of Eliab would have been "it's just a small thing." He certainly would not have done what David did when the lion carried off a lamb in it's mouth and David went after it and grabbed it by it's beard and pulled the lamb out of the mouth and then slew the lion! Those sheep may have been just a few and may have seemed very insignificant to everyone else, but to David, he was willing to risk it all to protect and keep them! David did not care whether or not anyone ever found out about it, all he knew was that the small thing was important enough to fight for!

And so we read in our text about the fateful day that the great warriors of Saul, including David's brothers, were cowering in fear because of that giant of a man Goliath. David, the keeper of the sheep, was sent by his father to take those "mighty warriors" some food and find out how the battle was going. David was shocked when he saw all of Israel's army shaking in their shoes and immediately pointed out that God would help them get the victory! Eliab got mad at David and tried to insult him! But I want to point out that the only person who had faith in God when the biggest trial of their life was happening was the young boy who had learned the importance of taking care of the little things! When Saul asked him how he was going to fight, David responded by saying "I have never actually fought a human enemy before, especially one this big, but I know that the same God that delivered me out of the mouth of the lion and the bear will be with me today!" David got his faith for the big battle of his life from the small victories! From learning to keep the small things!

You see too many Christians have the attitude of Eliab! They only want the big victories and only want the important battles! They do not have time to worry about "little things!" They want the great spiritual victory where everyone says "wow, you are a mighty warrior" but they do not want to be faithful in the small things like prayer or fasting which brings the faith for those great victories! Everyone wants the joy of living for God, and to be an overcomer, but they do not want to go to church beyond one time a week or really learn the Word of God! To them, church attendance beyond once a week is a "small thing." Everybody wants the great anointing and great ministry but are not willing to take care of the small everyday commitments to God! Everyone wants to have the recognition of winning souls, but few actually put the time into studying and prayer that it takes! I've heard people say "Bro. Sibley, stop talking and harping about that scripture, that's just a small thing in Word of God!" "Why don't you worry more about the big things of scripture like love, and forgiveness, and spiritual victory!" Ahhh, but what may seem a small thing in the Word of God to you, is actually the key to having Godly "love, forgiveness, and spiritual victory!" When it comes time to fight the big battles, only those who have trusted God and been faithful in the small things are the ones who respond with faith! To you, coming to a night service might be a small thing. Bible reading might not seem very important. Worshipping God despite whatever is going on in your life may not seem very powerful! But it is the small things that you perform now, that will give you the strength to take down the giant!

Also notice that out of all of Jesse's eight sons, it was the one who took care of the small things with which God entrusted the throne of Israel! You see, God exalts and lifts up whomever He desires! He elevates and blesses at His will! And God will not entrust His riches and glory with someone who has not proven themselves in the small things! Every person that God blesses mightily and exalts as a leader has one thing in common: they have been willing to lay down their lives for the small things! I laugh sardonically sometimes at young preachers who are not willing to work at studying and prayer, and teach Bible Studies and do not volunteer for workdays and such. All that they want to do is "preach." But God will never elevate them to a place where they can preach and be mightily used in ministry until they are willing to take care of the small things. And I have seen some of them by their own will and merit climb to a place of leadership without paying the price, and the anointing and responsibility destroyed them! Because it was keeping the few sheep on the hillside that taught and prepared David to keep the multitudes of the nation of Israel! Could it be that you have not seen the anointing or the move of God in your life like you so desire simply because you have not proven to God that you can handle the little things?! Do not disdain the little things! No matter how trivial a command in God's Word may seem. No matter how low priority you may view something! It is in the little things that God sees who He can entrust with the large blessings!

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In our other text we read a prophecy in the story of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the legal heir to King Jehoachin's fortune. He was born rich with "a silver spoon in his mouth." He was born in Babylon during the time that the children of Israel were captive there. Despite being captives, the wealthy Jews of that day lived quite well and Babylon was the wealthiest country on the earth at that time. Zerubbabel knew nothing of the hardships of living in Judea. He knew nothing of having to work for crops and plowing the fields. As he grew up he quickly rose through the ranks and became a trusted advisor to the king! This position became even more important when he was given the entire land of Judea over which to be rule and be governor. Zerubbabel had the finest of everything and could have easily lived his life in perfect comfort from Babylon and Persia simply ruling over the Jewish people.

But everything changed when God spoke to him one day and told him to leave his comfort and go back and rebuild the temple! Zerubbabel didn't argue with God or think twice about it, but got a group together and left his home going back to the promised land. When he got there, the temple and the walls surrounding Jerusalem were but piles of rubble. For the first time in his life, Zerubbabel was forced into hard work. He labored for 2 years to build the foundation of the temple. And finally with great fanfare they dedicated the foundation of the building.

But then a bunch of small things began to intervene. The idol worshiping people of the area offered to help and to be hired. When Zerubbabel refused to let anyone who worshiped idols to work on the building, the idolatrous people began to sabotage the work and cause work. They also hired lawyers to turn the king of Persia against the work that was being done. They began to attack the workers and do everything that they could to stop the work from being completed. For 17 years Zerubbabel gave into the small things. For 17 years construction on the temple came to a halt!

In that time, the people lost their hope. We find in the book of Haggai that the older Jews had begun to weep when they had seen the temple foundation and refused to work because it was not as "big or as grand as Solomon's temple of old." They viewed the current building project as a "small thing." Not only that, but many of Zerubbabel's friends began to taunt him and question why he would risk his life for such a menial project! And for 17 years, Zerubbabel allowed the pressures of the small things to keep him from building a place in which God could dwell!

But finally God sent two prophets, Zechariah and Haggai, to encourage Zerubbabel to ignore the whiners and the scoffers. They encouraged him to fight the enemy and "take hold of the foxes" that were spoiling the will of God in his life and begin to rebuild the temple of God! Two years later, the temple was completed and they began to worship God in truth again! Zerubbabel's accomplishment so inspired the Jews that a great Bible teacher, Ezra, came from Babylon and began teaching God's Word. Another man, Nehemiah came and rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem! Jerusalem was restored and God was worshipped again because of one man's overcoming of the small things! He did not care that other people thought that his project was insignificant, but all Zerubbabel knew was that God had called him to rebuild that place, and he was willing to give up everything that he had and literally risk his life to do the "small thing" to which God had called him!

In our text, God promised Zerubbabel that he would be blessed and those that "despised the day of small things" would not partake of the blessings! Haggai ended his prophecies with great promise of blessing to Zerubbabel and his family! Why? Because he "despised not the day of small things!" He realized that, in God, the small things prepare the way for the larger blessings!

I am preaching to someone today! If you are going to make heaven and have the blessings of God upon your life that you have been promised, you need to change the way that you view the "small things." Our bodies are to be a temple of the Holy Ghost! The things of God may seem insignificant to you! But they are there to build your life into a temple of the Holy Ghost! You must change your priority to what is important in God's eyes! Let the world laugh at you for making the things of God priority in your life! Let them call you whatever and persecute you, but you mind the small things in God! Because when you are willing to sell out everything for the small things, then God will open the windows of heaven and entrust you with the great blessings that He has reserved!

Zerubbabel was strangely absent at the dedication of the temple. Many scholars have puzzled over this, but let me tell you what I think happened to him! I think he got elevated into an even greater position! I think that God responded to him finishing the House of the Lord with an even greater blessing!

Not only that, but when you read the genealogies of Jesus Christ you will find that Zerubbabel was His great (8x) grandfather! Also King Herod later took the small temple that Zerubbabel built and enlarged it and made it more beautiful! It was into Zerubbabel's temple that God in flesh, Jesus Christ, walked and performed miracles! Solomon's may have been fancier, but it never saw God the way Zerubbabel's temple saw Him! Jesus was able to have a ministry and to reach many people at the temple, because one man minded the small things in God! Actually in the long run, Zerubbabel's day of small things became the scene and center of the greatest thing that ever happened: Jesus Christ walking the earth! Do not despise the day of small things, for faithfulness in them lead to the greatest blessings of God!

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Jesus constantly emphasized the importance of taking care of the little things of God! He talked about how that God watches over even the tiniest sparrow. He took the five loaves and two fish and break them to feed 5,000 men plus women and children! He took time out for the children of His day when others pushed them away. He watched the widow drop a penny in the offering plate and declared that she had given more than anyone else because she had given all that she had! With God the principle is important! If you can't give $1,000 dollars to God each month does not mean that your offering is any less important! Pay tithes on $10 and then God will trust you with a thousand! Be faithful in the little things if you want to see God's abundant blessing! Even Zacchaeus the shortest man who ever tried to see Jesus, became a witness and was blessed by Jesus choosing to eat with him! Why would the scriptures even mention Zacchaeus' height? They wanted to show that God takes care of the small things!

I could go on and on, but I want to close with the words of Jesus found in Matthew chapters 24 and 25. When you read these chapters, you should know that they are the days immediately before Jesus' crucifixion. Jesus is giving them the last instruction that He will be able to give. He is talking about future events and even things that would happen at the end of time. These chapters should be of interest to you because we live closer to that day than the original disciples! Whatever instruction is found in these chapters are the very words that Jesus wants this generation to hear and understand!

With all of this in mind, I find it highly interesting that Jesus spent those last few moments by teaching them 4 parables or stories. All of which emphasize taking care of the small things! I challenge you to go read the 24th and 25th chapters of Matthew this week and realize the importance of understanding these stories. I simply want to give you an overview of each as we end our sermon today.

The first was the story of a servant who takes advantage of his owner's long trip to stop doing the every day things that he is supposed to do:

The main point here is that the servant who is found doing the small tasks that he is supposed to do, will be blessed when the master returns!

The second story was the story of the ten virgins: five wise and five foolish. The five foolish got dressed for the wedding and came to the place where the bridegroom was meeting them but forgot one "small thing" the oil in their lamps!

The point here is that while the five foolish were off trying to get the "small thing" that they had forgotten, the bridegroom came!

The third story that Jesus told His disciples was of the master of the house who traveled to a far country and meanwhile left his three servants with money to invest for him. The money or "talents" as the scriptures says were given out according to each of the man's ability. One received 5, another 2, and the last only 1. The ones who had 5 and 2 talents doubled their investment and were made "rulers over many things." But the one who only had 1, became lazy and slothful and did not do anything with the "small thing" with which he had been entrusted.

The issue here was that the servant who had only 1 talent became "slothful" and since he only had to deal with 1 talent, procrastinated doing the Lord's business. Because he did not take care of the "small things" in which God entrusted him with, he not only lost his talent but his eternal salvation!

The last parable that Jesus taught was about how that people will stand before Him at judgment and will not enter into eternal life because they did not feed Him when He was hungry and give Him a coat when He was poor. And when they ask when did this happen, He will say:

Do you know what the point is? In everything, we will be judged according to how we handled the small things! Despise not the day of small things, because how you react in the small things will determine how God reacts to you in the biggest thing of your life: eternal life!

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The words that Jesus spoke to the faithful servants are the ones that I want to hear:

Despise not the day of small things! For it determines your eternal destination!