Life Ministries

“Bigger Than Any Mountain”

 Zechariah 1:16,17  Haggai 1:1-15  1Cor. 1:18-29

    My blog this morning has to do with the fact that there are basically two ways that God has done…and continues to do great and even miraculous things in our world. Throughout the Bible God has always made big things small and small things big. And, an understanding of this will help us with the problems we face every day and be a source of encouragement to us.

    First, I want to look at how God makes big things small. There are times in our lives when we will face seemingly impossible problems. Things that in a very real sense, are “mountains” blocking our path; circum-stances blocking our happiness; obstacles blocking our success. Obstacles that are overwhelming to us at times. But, throughout the Bible, God has a history of making mountains into molehills!
    Our first scripture from Zechariah and Haggai, was written during a time of Israel’s history when God used these prophets to teach His people this encouraging truth about who He was and what He could accomplish.
 Just to refresh your memory a bit, Zechariah served God during the time when the Jews had just returned from Babylonian captivity. As soon as they arrived back in Jerusalem, they realized that God was leading them to rebuild the Temple which was in ruins. At first, enthusiasm was high, and the people quickly laid the foundation. But, gradually, the rebuilding slowed to a standstill. The people stopped working on God’s house and began working on rebuilding their own houses and lives. As the years went by, the unfinished Temple became a testimony of the Jews preoccupation with themselves and their lack of zeal for God.
    Now, Zerubbabel was the governor of this colony of returned exiles, and he apparently prayed for God’s help in resuming the work on the Temple. I would imagine that Zerubbabel looked at the task; saw the limited resources; viewed the obstacles involved; and felt overwhelmed. (Isn’t that how we feel at times?) Perhaps this is how some of us may be feeling today. I want you to know that opportunities for God to work are often disguised as impossible tasks!
    To Zerubbabel and to the people, this may have seemed like too much in their own strength and power …and it was! But, God makes big things small. He makes the impossible, possible. God’s message is not just for Zerubbabel…it is for us today. God wants us to know that the same mountain moving power is still available today! This is why I say “God plus one is a majority!”If anything seems impossible to us then it becomes a matter of prayer…we must call upon God’s power to make big things small.
    God did this time after time; The people came to the Red Sea and God used a shepherd’s rod to part the water;  The people needed food and God made it rain bread;  God flattened the walls of Jerico that seemed impregnable; He came and healed the sick when no one else could; he gave sight to the blind…even those blind from birth; he leveled the biggest mountain of all when He was raised victorious over death and made way for our sins to be forgiven once and for all!  Jesus himself said in Luke 18:27 “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” God spoke to Jeremiah and said “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind, is any-thing too hard for me?” When Mary the mother of Jesus questioned the angel who told her of her conception by the Holy Spirit, what did the angel say?…“nothing is impossible with God!”  Do you believe that today?
    However, making big things small is not the only way God works. He also does just the opposite; He makes small things big. In the scripture from 1Cor. 1:27 it says “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; the weak things of the world to shame the strong;”  Just think; God chose two childless senior citizen adults – Abraham and Sarah to be the source from whom an entire nation would spring forth. He chose a boy sold into slavery by his own brothers to rule the nation of Egypt, and eventually be the source of food for His people during famine. He chose a shepherd boy to be the greatest King of Israel. He used a small boy’s lunch to feed 5000 people. He chose to used twelve uneducated men to turn the world upside down and begin His church….I think God really enjoys doing big things with that which seem small and insignificant!  What do you suppose God can do with you? What could he do with your church? What could he do in your community?
    God took a piece of wood that was used for execution and turned it into the most universally recognized symbol on earth…the Cross.  God makes small things big.
    Years ago a Sunday School in Philadelphia was overcrowded. They were so crowded that one little girl was actually turned away. From that day she began to save her pennies to help the church build a Sunday School addition. However, two years latter, the girl died. Her family found a pocketbook by her bed with .57 cents in it and a note telling what it was for. The pastor of that church used the note to make a dramatic appeal for funds to build the addition. The people’s hearts were touched. One realtor gave the church a piece of land for .57 cents… The story was picked up all across the country, and the results can be seen in Philadelphia today. There is a church that seats 3300 people with a very large Sunday School wing…But that’s not all; Next to the church is Temple University and Good Samaritan hospital…all of which came about because of that little girl’s .57 cents. In the University there is a room with that little girl’s picture on the wall and a reminder that God can do big things with .57 cents.
    I want you to know that if there is a big thing in your life today, God can make it small. If you feel small and insignificant, you’re just the person God is looking for to do something big….He will use the foolish things of this world to shame the wise!…He is the God of all things big and small!