Dream Small

Terry Siverd
06/03/18 - Sun AM

DREAM SMALL

Sermon Outline By Terry Siverd

Cortland Church of Christ / June 03, 2018

As individuals, we all experience down times.

Sometimes we think of days of relaxation as “down-time” - - a vacation of sorts - - a time when we

pull away for the hustle and bustle for a little while with the goal of seeking refreshment and restoration.

The down-time I’m speaking of this morning is not that, but rather a time of being downcast and/or discouraged.

Our congregation has experienced shrinkage over the last years.

Many have moved away, some to be with loved ones in other locations and quite a few in search of a better job.

Many faithful saints have passed away and with their passing has come the noticeable absence of

other family members who themselves were not so anchored.  If the truth be known, in some instances family

members were just biding their time waiting for the passing of a loved one so as to make a break from the church.

Some have become disenchanted and offer numerous reasons for their absence, many of which are inexcusable.

Their faith has wavered; Their interest in The Word of God has declined; Their love of the brethren has diminished;

And their loyalty to Christ and His church has waned considerably.  And to add insult to injury, some in this category

persist in proclaiming to have a deep love for God and Christ, but they have a very strange way of showing it.

Many of our children have either left the church or have chosen to pursue their faith in other venues.

When you look at it closely, this is a central and significant cause of our decline.

All one has to do is to take a look at old church directories and take note of bygone “children”

who have grown into adulthood who are no longer involved with the church of our Lord.

If we were to just be able to keep our once-younger-ones faithful, our church building would be packed every Sunday.

It’s heartbreaking.  I don’t claim to know why we are facing such attrition or how to stanch the bleeding.

Many of you parents have made a diligent effort to bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,

but you have not always succeeded and this has proven to be the source of not a few tears. I can’t think of anything

more painful.  I have four siblings and none of them are involved with the church.  Many of us can say the same thing.

And last of all, we find ourselves challenged to share the gospel with those all around us.

Quite a few appear to be uninterested and/or comfortable with their life as it is - - without Christ, without the church.

Others express an interest in getting involved with Christ and the church but they struggle with procrastination.

The tyranny of the urgent takes precedence over the much more important spiritual concerns.

Some have become apathetic in reaching others with the gospel. 

If we ask the question, “who have YOU lead to the Lord?”, some cannot think of a single person.

Yet we see a few churches, some nearby and others in far away places that seem to be growing by leaps and bounds.

In some cases we refuse to learn from their successes and are quick to write them off,

being suspicious that they are nothing but enterprises catering to entertainment and "easy-believeism”.

Added to this is a tendency to live in the past, dwelling on days when the church was thriving.

In many cases this “thriving" was largely a result of transplantations, than actually reaching the non-churched.

There was a time when lots of folks were moving to our area in search of good-paying jobs which were abundant.

  I don't have a quick fix to our circumstance.  I don't think any of us do.

But what I want to offer us this morning is some wise guidance from the Word of God.

} Open your Bible to Zechariah chapter four |

I want to share one single verse (actually half of one verse),

But first let me set the stage by providing a brief summary of the historical setting.

Around 538 BC, five centuries before Jesus was born, the Israelites returned from

Babylonian exile to find Jerusalem in ruins and their beloved temple destroyed.

The temple had lain in ruins since its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC.

The returned exiles - - perhaps mostly made up of young people with a sprinkling of old men - -

had begun reconstruction (Ezra 3:1-6 & 5:16) and with considerable enthusiasm they set about rebuilding the temple.

However, Zerubbabel the governor, got little farther than laying the foundation before opposition set in.

Neighbors fought the project tooth and nail, finally succeeding in getting a restraining order to halt construction (Ezra 4). Enemies mocked.  Supporters became discouraged.  For years their sad world seemed to stand still.

Failure.  Zerubbabel must have felt like a failure.  Oh, there were plenty of other things to do.

Zerubbabel set to work building his own wood-paneled home.  But his grand dream (rebuilding the temple) had fizzled.

In an online essay, Don't Despise The Day Of Small Things, Dr. Ralph Wilson writes - -

"He (Zerrubbabel) was probably like the rest of us when failure looms.  What little self-confidence we have ebbs away.  We seal ourselves from more pain by denial.  We meet further effort with skepticism. We protect ourselves from

getting our hopes too high again.  We look at the ground rather than the sky, at the past rather than the future.”

And then one day a man of God, Zechariah, began to speak words that pierced Zerubbabel to the heart

and aroused within him with fresh hope:  “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel,” came the message.

NOT BY (MAN’S) MIGHT NOR BY (MAN'S) POWER, BUT BY MY SPIRIT, says the Lord Almighty.

Zerubbabel could feel his heart pounding as the message continued (Zech.4:6-7) - - 

“What are you, O mighty mountain?  Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground.

Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of, ‘Grace, grace to it!’ i.e., God bless it!  God bless it!.

“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the laid the foundation of this temple, his hands will also complete it.”

What had appeared so daunting (like an immovable mountain) now became doable, with God Almighty’s hand.

Zechariah’s last words to Zerubbabel appear to be quite timely, first for Zerubbabel and now us (Zech.4:10a) - -

FOR WHO HAS DESPISED THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS?

The NCV renders this verse as a statement rather than a rhetorical question:

The people should not think that small beginnings (small things) are unimportant.

This message is partially for Riley Maas, our lone high school grad, who embarks on a whole new journey this fall.

But it is also for all of us who are discouraged by the smallness of our church.

As you can see in today’s FamilyMatters, the title of my sermon today is, “Dream Small".  A few of you might be inclined to think (maybe without saying it out loud) - - “No wonder we're shrinking, our preacher urges us to think small.”

I would only ask of you that you hear me out and ponder deeply today’s sermon in the days and weeks to come.

Jeannie introduced me to a new song recently - - a contemporary Christian song titled, Dream Small.

Josh Wilson notes that this song was born at a time when he felt overwhelmed.

He knew that God had called him to be light in the midst of darkness, but he wondered, “what could I possibly do?"

Next week we will consider some “small things” that can help us grow spiritually and numerically.