BEING FAITHFUL IN THE SMALL THINGS = EXPONENTIAL INCREASE

Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,^[a]
    but blessed is he who keeps the law.” ESV

John 10:2-4
English Standard Version
“2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”

Hosea 4:1-7
King James Version
“4 Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. 3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. 4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. 5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. 7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.”

Hosea 4:1-7
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
4 Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy (a pleading contention) with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no faithfulness, love, pity and mercy, or knowledge of God [from personal experience with Him] in the land.2 There is nothing but [false] swearing and breaking faith and killing and stealing and committing adultery; they break out [into violence], one [deed of] bloodshed following close on another.3 Therefore shall the land [continually] mourn, and all who dwell in it shall languish, together with the wild beasts of the open country and the birds of the heavens; yes, the fishes of the sea also shall [perish because of the drought] be collected and taken away.4 Yet let no man strive, neither let any man reprove [another—do not waste your time in mutual recriminations], for with you is My contention, O priest.5 And you shall stumble in the daytime, and the [false] prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother [the priestly nation].6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you that you shall be no priest to Me; seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. 7 The more they increased and multiplied [in prosperity and power], the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.”

Matthew 25 AMPC “14 For it is like a man who was about to take a long journey, and he called his servants together and entrusted them with his property.15 To one he gave five talents [probably about $5,000], to another two, to another one—to each in proportion to his own [a]personal ability. Then he departed and left the country.16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he gained five talents more.17 And likewise he who had received the two talents—he also gained two talents more.18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.19 Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.20 And he who had received the five talents came and brought him five more, saying, Master, you entrusted to me five talents; see, here I have gained five talents more.21 His master said to him, Well done, you upright (honorable, [b]admirable) and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy (the delight, the [c]blessedness) which your master enjoys.22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, Master, you entrusted two talents to me; here I have gained two talents more.23 His master said to him, Well done, you upright (honorable, [d]admirable) and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy (the delight, the [e]blessedness) which your master enjoys.

24 He who had received one talent also came forward, saying, Master, I knew you to be a harsh and hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you had not winnowed [the grain].25 So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is your own.26 But his master answered him, You wicked and lazy and idle servant! Did you indeed know that I reap where I have not sowed and gather [grain] where I have not winnowed?27 Then you should have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received what was my own with interest.28 So take the talent away from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will be [f]furnished richly so that he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have will be taken away.30 And throw the good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness; there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory (His majesty and splendor), and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.32 All nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them [the people] from one another as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats;33 And He will cause the sheep to stand at His right hand, but the goats at His left. 34 Then the King will say to those at His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father [you [g]favored of God and appointed to eternal salvation], inherit (receive as your own) the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you [h]brought Me together with yourselves and welcomed and entertained and [i]lodged Me,36 I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me [j]with help and ministering care, I was in prison and you came to see Me. 37 Then the just and upright will answer Him, Lord, when did we see You hungry and gave You food, or thirsty and gave You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger and welcomed and entertained You, or naked and clothed You?39 And when did we see You sick or in prison and came to visit You?40 And the King will reply to them, Truly I tell you, in so far as you did it for one of the least [[k]in the estimation of men] of these My brethren, you did it for Me.

41 Then He will say to those at His left hand, Begone from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!42 For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink,43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me and entertain Me, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me [l]with help and ministering care.44 Then they also [in their turn] will answer, Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?45 And He will reply to them, Solemnly I declare to you, in so far as you failed to do it for the least [[m]in the estimation of men] of these, you failed to do it for Me. 46 Then they will go away into eternal punishment, but those who are just and upright and in right standing with God into eternal life.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I woke up with these verses on my heart today. God has promised My sheep hear my voice. For most the process of hearing His voice starts with simply reading the Word of God with a sincerely seeking heart.

Simple steps to hearing His voice:

1. Sincerity
   • Matthew 5:3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”
2. Setting apart time to listen diligently
   • Matthew 7:7-8 “Amplified Bible, Classic Edition7 [a]Keep on asking and it will be given you; [b] keep on seeking and you will find; [c]keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened.”
3. Predetermine to “SHEMA” = Listen diligently and OBEY
   • Matthew 13 “King James Version 13 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. 10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
   • 18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
     • REALIZE we have an enemy who delights in snatching away the WORD of God that is sown and yet not hearkened to, not obeyed, not heeded whole heartedly. Anyone who listens but does not obey or delays, defers obeying is self deceived.
   • John 14:15-17 New Living Translation “If you love me, obey[a] my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[b] who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.[c]”
     • Loving Jesus requires obeying his Word. Take note, of those ifs. Notice that Jesus asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit to those who love Him AND obey His commandments. We need to take the first steps and THEN Holy Spirit comes and empowers us, teaches us, leads us, equips us etc. Many are stunted because they do not get serious about obeying.
4. KNOW and BELIEVE that God will deliver on EVERY SINGLE promise. Romans 4 is a delightful confirmation of what God can do for a man who believes His Word.
   • John 6:29 “New Living Translation 29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”
   • Hebrews 11:6 “New Living Translation 6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”
   • 2 Corinthians 1:20 “New King James Version 20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”
   • Hebrews 6:18 New Living Translation “18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.”

Scripture tells us plainly that God’s people perish for lack of two things… Lack of vision and lack of knowledge. The only way to gain either one of these precious things is to hear, truly hear God’s voice. He has promised to shepherd His sheep consistently, relentlessly and tirelessly. He is utterly devoted and faithful to His sheep. “My sheep hear MY voice”. This is a scriptural truth, which exceeds every worldly fact.

Flip this around and hear what this is saying

“Anyone who does not hear my voice, is not my sheep”

“Anyone who does not follow The Shepherd, is not His sheep”

Dear friends, so many are have deceived themselves into thinking that mere words and confessions guarantee salvation. Please wake up and realize that at the end of the day, many are in dire danger of hearing these words

Matthew 7:22-27
English Standard Version
“22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Friends, if we cannot hear God, we are doomed to perish. “My people perish for lack of vision”… The very heart of being a disciple is discipline. A disciple has a God given vision and the dicipline to faithfully carry out all the steps given to them by the shepherd to see the vision come to pass. We need to seek out His purpose, His plan for our lives and then throw ourselves into these with everything we have.

Perhaps today, the vision God gives you is to simply carve out time to hear His voice. That would be a beautiful first step to hearing His voice better and clearer. Perhaps He has given you a bigger vision, be faithful in the first step and he will multiply and provide for the next steps.

1 Timothy 4 NLT”6 If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters,[c] Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed. 7 Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. 8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 9 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. 10 This is why we work hard and continue to struggle,[d] for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.11 Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. 12 Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. 13 Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. 15 Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.”

“Above all things guard your heart, for out of it flow the issues of life” paraphrase of Proverbs 4:20-24 I have a post on guarding your gates, keep your eye pure, your ear pure, your cistern pure and you will hear His voice more consistently and more clearly. I find personally that spending a lot of time on social media, frankly on any media of any kind, clouds my vision and causes a lot of static in my hearing that hinder my ability to see and hear clearly what God is saying to me personally.

Blessings, rest and know that He has promised all his sheep can hear clearly and follow Him utterly. And if you all, when you fall, know that is part of this journey.. “though the righteous man falls 7 times, he gets back up”. Simply repent, stand up and resume the race. Be gracious with yourself and know that the Father takes delight in those who are learning to run the spiritual race as much as we all took delights in our little children learning first to roll over, rock, crawl, toddle, walk and finally run.

With love in Christ,

Lisa

“