“Sometimes it’s the little things that count most.” Alexandra Adornetto
Stuck in a dead-end job
and with little money, 26-year-old Kyle
MacDonald, came up with a plan. Starting with one red paper clip and a dream,
he would trade on the internet until he exchanged it for a house. He advertised
the paperclip on craigslist.com and two women swapped a fish-shaped pen for it.
Later that same day, MacDonald was able to trade the pen for a small ceramic doorknob
with a smiley face on it. He traded the doorknob for a Coleman camping stove. Next,
a US navy Marine swapped a generator in return for the stove. Then a guy from
New York swapped “instant party package” (a beer keg and a neon Budweiser sign)
for the generator. The beer package went to a DJ in Montreal, in exchange for a
snowmobile. By this time Macdonald was starting to attract attention and he was
invited onto Canadian TV to tell his story.
As a result, he was able to trade the
snowmobile for an all-expenses-paid trip to an obscure little town in Canada
called “Yahk.” He then traded the trip for a 1995 delivery van. He gave the van
to a musician wanting to haul her gear around in exchange for a recording
contract, with studio time and a promise to pitch the finished CD to music
executives. He swapped the recording contract with a singer who gave him a
year’s accommodation in a house in Phoenix Arizona. He exchanged the accommodations
in Arizona for a day with Alice Cooper. The day with Alice Cooper he swapped
for a snow globe of the band KISS! Now if you thought that was a weird swap get
this. The KISS snow globe was swapped for an acting part in a movie! Apparently,
actor Corbin Benson is an avid snow globe collector and was particularly
interested in the KISS snow globe, so he swapped his part in the movie for the
snow globe! Finally, a local municipality in Saskatchewan Canada handed over
the title deeds for a house for the movie role. That’s the amazing story of how
Kyle MacDonald turned one little red paper clip into a house! Macdonald says he
has offers from Hollywood studios to turn his story into a film.
This morning we’re beginning a new series on
the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, God of Reversals. Throughout
this book, we’re going to observe that those who seem to be big in their day, in
the forefront, the leaders, the ones in charge, the celebrities of their day –
that sometimes in a moment – they are displaced and replaced. Often, God uses
the little things, those that we wouldn’t consider, to put in places of
priority and His blessing.
If we’re honest, most of us feel like little people.
Other than our families, our church, and to some level, in our community, we’re
virtually unknown. It’s easy to feel like little more than your social security
number with no real identity.
There are 331 million people in the United
States and nearly six million in Wisconsin. Then, there are nearly 200,000 people
in Racine County with about 11,000 in the City of Burlington. The Village of
Rochester where I live has a population of just under 4,000. If I walk a few houses
down from my home, I don’t know anyone. You probably are in the same boat. Essentially,
we’re a bunch of little people, just a bunch of nobodies. Even in our small
worlds, we are smaller cogs.
Little
things though are important. Spark plugs are rather small, but without them your
car engine won’t run and you won’t be able to get anywhere. Microchips that
keep your computer running and hold billions of bits of information are usually
smaller than a thumbnail. Athletes lose races by a hair, politicians lose
elections by a single vote, vacuum cleaners won’t run because a tiny screw is
missing. It just keeps adding up. Little things matter and they count.
If
you look in Scripture you’ll find the same pattern developing. That’s mainly
because God looks on the inside, not the outside. He doesn’t look at how big a
house someone lives in, or how much money they have, or how educated they are.
He looks at the heart. And God loves to do big things out of little packages.
It’s
a pattern that we find throughout the book of 1 Samuel. God used a godly woman
struggling with infertility and her desperate prayer to change the destiny of a
nation. He spoke and woke up a sleeping little boy and shared the future of the
nation of Israel. He took a young man who was so shy, he hid out rather than be
chosen as a leader. He takes another young man who when his family was asked to
bring in all their sons, they completely forgot that he even existed. Then, God
took a sling and a rock and took out a giant who was ridiculing His name.
God
loves to use the little things. He loves to bring about total reversals.
The
book of 1 Samuel could be pulled right from today’s headlines. There are wars, compromising
religious leaders, political gamesmanship and intrigue, committed friendships, and
even romance.
It reminds us that there are no little things
and no little people with God. It fleshes out that wonderful reminder found in Matthew
10 that God knows even when a sparrow falls and knows how many hairs we have on
our heads. No one is a nobody with God. No one is a little person. Your life
counts. You’re important to God. He’s got a place for you in His plan!
Remember the last time that you stubbled your
toe or got a splinter in a finger. All of a sudden something that previously seemed
small and insignificant was very important. A match doesn’t seem important unless
you’re in complete darkness.
God designed you. He created you and He has a
plan for your life. He uses those who surrender to Him, then what was small
becomes huge.
What changed? It all depends on whose hand your
life is in. That’s the message repeated over and over again in 1 Samuel. Those
who surrendered their lives to God, even though their lives seemed insignificant,
made a difference in eternity.
All of creation is created by God, blessed by
God, loved by God. Even small, out-of-the-way communities; even
unglamorous, common, run-of-the-mill places and things. Even young,
scared, poor, forgotten people.
God is the God of Reversals. He loves to use
the little things and little places so that He gets all the glory! He loves to
use “little people” like you and me! That’s one of the great messages of 1 Samuel.
I hope that you’ll join us on this journey.
Can
we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out
more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at
262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life,
I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My
Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy.
Please include your mailing address.
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