• How You Can Do Great Things For God
• Sometimes it is the small things that produce greatness.

• Introduction
• Appreciation and affection for God and Christ produce a natural desire to do something great for God.
• This desire is deepened by the seeming insignificance of what we are now doing for God.
• The desire to do something great for God is good.
• To realize our indebtedness to the Lord is good because it produces proper attitudes and feelings for the Lord.
• Knowing our blessings are undeserved protects us against arrogance, pride, and stubbornness.
• The desire to do something great can result in a life of true service.
• But the desire to do something great can also be dangerous.
• We can feel that anything we do is insignificant, unimportant, and worthless to God.
• We can feel incapable of doing anything genuinely meaningful.
• We can become defeatists who possesses terrible spiritual self-images.

• What Is A Great Thing?
• Most are convinced they have never done anything great for God.
• What makes an act or deed a great thing?
• How are great things distinguished from insignificant things?
• Is it a matter of results?
• Is it the magnitude of the deed?
• Is it the impact the deed has on society?
• Is it measured in continuing influence?
• Is it determined by the number of people affected?
• Is it a matter of the changes which result from the deed?

• What Is A Great Thing?
• In the NT, who did great things for Christ? Paul?, Peter?, James?, John?, Barnabas?, Timothy?, Titus?
• While the apostles might be on our list virtually nothing is known about the lives and deeds of most of them.
• Apollos was an eloquent preacher, but not one of his sermons is recorded.
• Luke wrote Luke and Acts and was a travelling companion of Paul, but little is known about what he did and where he served.
• So many names associated with greatness are of Christians about whom little is known.

• Examples of Greatness
• (Consider people Jesus called great)
• A Roman Centurion - Matthew 8:5-13
• A Canaanite woman - Matthew 15:21-28.
• A poor widow - Mark 12:41-44
• Many did small things which were great in God’s eyes.
• By most people's standards these people did nothing significant, earthshaking, or of lasting importance.
• By God s standards, their deeds were of such significance that their names and deeds will never die.
• Consider the memorable characters of Jesus parables.
• Kings or people of noble birth, wealth and power?
• A Shepherd who searched for one lost sheep - Luke 15:4-7
• A prodigal son who returned home - Luke 15:11-32
• A Samaritan who helped an injured Jew - Luke 10:25-37
• A widow who pled with an unrighteous judge - Luke 18:1-5

• God’s Definition
• Living a consistent, godly life is a great thing.
• Controlling the mind, the tongue, and the body and using each for righteousness - 2 Corinthians 10:5; James 3:2
• Being a person of compassion - 1 Peter 3:8
• Trusting God with one's life and future - Matthew 6:25-34
• Refusing grudges, bitterness, and hostility a place in the heart. To possess a love which hurt cannot overshadow. To use forgiveness to build a future with those who have been offensive - Ephesians 4:31-32
• Mercy, kindness, unselfish service, and steadfastness with all their kindred feelings, attitudes, and acts.
• Great servants of God are built through years of doing small things of true greatness - Luke 16:10.

• Conclusion
• Naaman 2 Kings 5 “Behold I thought…”
• Are we also guilty of the same thinking?
• Do something great for God.
• Be a devout, committed Christian.
• Live for the Lord daily.
• Fulfill each days opportunities without considering how big or little the deeds are.
• Years of such living will result in true greatness by God's definition.

By Carey Scott from an outline by Max Shearer

Return to the Sermon Outlines page

Home / Bible studies / Bible Survey / Special Studies / General Articles / Non-Bible Articles / Sermons / Sermon Outlines / Links / Questions and Answers / What Saith The Scriptures /Daily Devotional / Correspondence Courses / What is the Church of Christ / Book: Christian Growth / Website Policy / E-mail / About Me /