THIS Matters

March 20, 2025

John 17:4 (NLT) "I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do.”  

I want you to be able to say that when you get to heaven. You may retire from your job someday, but you're never retiring from ministry. You're never retiring from service. God wants you to serve the rest of your life. When you’re done serving, He’ll let you know. He’ll promote you to heaven. As I've said, nobody just gets to coast on through life. God wants us to be giving out.  

So, what motivates us to keep on going?  

1 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV) "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."  

How do we prove faithful? What motivates us to stay faithful in serving God over the long haul?

We have gratitude for the past and we have faith in the future reward. We also know that what we're doing really matters.

Now let's be honest, most of what we do in life doesn't matter. It isn't going to matter next week much less next year or next decade or in eternity. But any time you're serving in Jesus' name, no matter how small, it matters.  

1 Corinthians 15:58 (Mess) "Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for Him is a waste of time or effort.”

That means it all matters when you are working for the Lord, even the little stuff. Why?  Because in God's book, there is no little service. He said, "even if you give a cup of cold water in my name to a child, that counts.” It all matters.

You see, the fact is with our limited perspective we can't see how our small acts have big consequences, but they do!  

Years ago two teenage boys tried to come into a church service at night. Only it was packed out and they couldn't find any seats. So they turned around and decided to leave, because they couldn't find a seat. But one usher said "Come on, guys. I'll find you a seat.” And that usher personally escorted them down to the center and found them two seats. That night both of those boys accepted Christ and became Christians. One of them was Billy Graham who has now led millions and tens of millions of people to Christ.

We have no idea of the significance of small acts. 

Rocking babies in the baby room. It matters. Running slides for service. It matters. Scrubbing toilets and cleaning at church. It matters. Serving at VBS. It matters. Ministering to a co-worker at the water cooler. It matters. Giving teens a ride to youth group. It matters. Teaching toddlers a Sunday school lesson. It matters. Brewing coffee for your fellow church-goers. It matters.

So never belittle the little because it's all important. Fully Devoted Followers do every task with equal dedication because they know it all matters. It doesn't matter if you're doing something important that is well known or if you're doing something important that's not well known. It's all important.  

Don't mistake anonymous with insignificant. 

Don't mistake anonymous with insignificant or even unnecessary. Just because it's not known, doesn't mean it's unnecessary. 

One day you're going to stand before God and He's going to say to you, "What did you do with what I gave you, the talents, the abilities, the background, the experiences, the freedom, the education, the family experiences?  

Hebrews 6:10 (NLT) "He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other Christians.”  

How? "By caring for other Christians.” And God keeps His promise. In heaven you're going to get eternal rewards.  

Matthew 25:21 (NIV) "Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things so; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness.”