In that day sparrows (small birds) were customarily thought of as the smallest of creatures, and the penny was the least valuable of the Roman coins. They were not of much value to anyone for any purpose. But as we learn from this beautiful text, God’s attention was perfectly on the “insignificant things” such as a sparrow and a penny. Nothing could happen to them apart from his permission.

Jesus hear is speaking to his disciples before he sends them out on their missionary journey where they would preach the gospel, heal the sick, raise the dead, and usher in the Kingdom of God. Before he sends them on their journey, however, Jesus instructs them with many encouraging words. We get to Matthew 10:29 (the verse above) and see Jesus speaking crystal clear to his disciples about God’s sovereignty. He is saying this: God is sovereign over even the most insignificant events in our life.

If God gives constant sovereign supervision even to seemingly insignificant creatures, surely he will care for his disciples in every aspect of their lives! You were created in the image of God and are much more valuable than birds and pennies.

When we speak of God’s sovereignty, we are precisely saying this: God has absolute rule over all of creation as King and total control and determination over all that happens. God is not only the One who allows and is in control of everything that happens in our life, he is also the One who determines everything that happens in our life. And if we are in Christ, we know that all things work together in our life for our good and his glory.

Most Christians do not have a hard time understanding God’s sovereignty in the big events we face — cancer, job promotion, new spouse, etc — but not enough Christians have a deep appreciation for God’s sovereignty in the little things we face.

Text message you sent to that person you like but they didn’t respond? God is sovereign.

Ran out of your favorite kind of Ice Cream moments before you got to Dairy Queen? God is sovereign.

Tweaked a muscle in your hamstring now you can’t work out for two weeks? God is sovereign.

Lost in a game of Halo to a friend? God is sovereign.

Accidentally peed on yourself while using the restroom during a first date with someone? Fortunately for you, God is sovereign.

There is a mysterious relationship between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility that I’m not going to get into, but we must trust that God is in control of all that happens, allows all that happens, and is the One who determines all that happens.

Trust God’s sovereignty in your life. Especially in the little things.

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The list is inexhaustible, but here are a few things that we search for to complete our identity that we already have in Christ.

1. Love. God is love. We look at the cross and see his great love for us. This is unfathomable, but God loves Christians with the same amount of love he has for Jesus. A spouse or family or friend can give us their love, but unlike theirs, God’s is unconditional, everlasting and perfect. Because of Jesus’ perfection imputed to you, there’s nothing that you can do that can make God love your more or less. No one loves you like Jesus.

2. Notoriety. God notices you. His eye is constantly upon you. The Creator of the Universe has your full undivided attention and notices all the things that you do. Because God’s eyes are on you, it’s irrelevant if the world doesn’t notice you. “It don’t matter if the world don’t see us, we still mean the world to Jesus.” – Lecrae

3. Acceptance. Acceptance here can be interchangeable with belonging. To describe someone before Christ the Bible uses language like “enemy of God”; “sons of disobedience”; “children of wrath”; “dead in our trespasses.” You didn’t choose God because dead people cannot make decisions. God choose you and has adopted you into his family where you are fully accepted and approved because Jesus’ perfect obedience imputed to you and in spite of all of your constant struggles, sins, and shortcomings.

4. Happiness. Words like satisfaction and fulfillment can be interchangeable here. The Bible gives us the answer to why we exist: “For by God all things were created . . . all things were created through him and for him.” You were created by God’s and for God’s glory. That’s the reason you exist. Unless you live for him, not matter how much sex, drink, money, fame, possessions, etc. you obtain, you will always feel a void in your life. Only God can fulfill that because you were created for him. Clearly, our pursuit of God — knowing him and making him known — is nothing more than the pursuit of true happiness in life. There is an infinite (never ending!) amount of happiness in God.

Everything that we long for we already have in Christ. Our identity is secured forever.

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These words were recorded from the sainted Mother Tersea in a Time Magazine article back in 2007. Though the article was published a few years ago, these words are still shocking to many people (not just Christians) today.

• We’re told to make a list of what we’re looking for in a spouse. You don’t know what you’re looking for. The list becomes everything you like. You’re saying, “I’m awesome. If we could find another of me, we’d be double awesome.”
• Single guys, you don’t know what you need. Single guys think about a good time and not about a good legacy.
• You don’t have a list for you. What does your list say about who you should be for your spouse someday?
• Make a list of how you need to grow, what you need to change, what you need to learn so that you can find a good spouse.
  

  2. Marry the right person

• First, once you’re married … that’s the right person.
• Secondly, the right person should be someone who agrees with you.
• Those who are both Bible-believing Christians, are in theological agreement, pray regularly and attend church together have the highest rate of marital satisfaction, the lowest divorce rate, and have the most sex.

3. In the right way.

• 1 Timothy 5:1-2, young men should treat young women like sisters.
• We don’t have this category in our culture. We have friends with benefits, live-in roommate, co-habitator.
• We don’t have a category for healthy male and female relationships. You only find that in the Bible.
• That allows a friendship to develop, and I think that friendship is the basis of marriage.
• Song of Solomon 5:16, he is my friend and my lover. Friends with benefits is a corruption of this Christian truth.

4. At the right time.

• If you’re in college and don’t have any money, not the right time.
• If you’re still getting over addiction, not the right time.
• If you have a career track that is nonadjustable for marriage, now is not the time.
• If he just cheated on you, it’s not time.
• If your family, friends, and church say no, it’s not time.

5. In the right community.

• What does your church and family say?
• The worst marriages are those that rip someone away from community.
• If other people are not involved, you’re in great danger.
• This is why in Song of Solomon, her friends keep speaking in.

6. For the right reasons

• Some of you have an idol of independence and avoid commitment. Others have an idol of dependance and have to always be in a relationship.
• Check your heart. Are you doing this for the right reasons?
• When you do get married, you get to have sex.

Related Post:

Mark Driscoll: 6 Reasons Why God Created Sex For Marriage

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Once we learn about Spurgeon’s conversion story, we will develop a deeper appreciation for all God did through him after he was converted.

Spurgeon’s conversion story is told below:

“Through the Lord’s restraining grace, and the holy influence of my early home life, both at my father’s and my grandfather’s, I was kept from certain outward forms of sin in which others indulged; and, sometimes, when I began to take stock of myself, I really thought I was quite a respectable lad, and might have been half inclined to boast that I was not like other boys, untruthful, dishonest, disobedient, swearing. Sabbath breaking, and so on. But, all of a sudden, I met Moses, carrying in his hand the law of God; and as he looked at me, he seemed to search me through and through with his eyes of fire. He bade me read ‘God’s Ten Words’,—the ten commandments—and as I read them, and remembered what I had been taught about their spiritual meaning as interpreted by the Lord Jesus Christ, they all seemed to join in accusing and condemning me in the sight of the thrice-holy Jehovah. Then, like Daniel, “my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength;” and I understood what Paul meant when he wrote, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”
For years he remained under deep conviction of sin until one Sunday morning in January 1850 a snow storm forced him to cut short his intended journey and turn in to a Primitive Methodist chapel in Colchester. “The minister did not come that morning; he was snowed up, I suppose. At last, a very thin looking man, a shoemaker, or tailor, or something of that sort, went up into the pulpit to preach. . . . He was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason that he had little else to say. The text was, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.”
When he had managed to spin out ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I daresay, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, “Young man, you look very miserable.” Well, I did, but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before. However, it was a good blow, struck right home. He continued, “and you always will be miserable—miserable in life, and miserable in death—if you don’t obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.” Then, lifting up his hands, he shouted, as only a Primitive Methodist could do, “Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothin’ to do but to look and live.” I saw at once the way of salvation . . . I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard that word, “Look!” What a charming word it seemed to me! Oh! I looked until l could almost have looked my eyes away. There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that instant, and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks alone to HIM . . .

E’er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be till I die

Only heaven knows the name of that preacher, but we praise God for using him that day, and we also praise God for raising up for us Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the “Prince of Preachers.”

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• It’s OK to have fun with sex in a marriage.
• The Song of Solomon is not an allegory. It’s about a relationship between a husband and a wife.
• The women speaks first and speaks frankly.
• Children are never mentioned in that book. It’s just about fun, free sex between a husband and a wife.
• Pleasure is a gift from God.

2. For children.

• In Genesis, God says be fruitful and multiply. How are they going to do that? Sex.
• Some of you were told that sex is only for making babies. Not true. It’s for both pleasure and babies.

3. For oneness.

• In the act of sex, a man and a women become one flesh.
• Biophysics has caught up with the Bible. When a man and a woman are together in a sex act, a chemical reaction happens in a human brain that has the same effect as heroin—which is very addictive. This means a man and a women, when together become connected on a deep level.
• This is why you can’t have casual sex. It doesn’t exist.
• This is why you get addicted to porn.
• Even men who frequent prostitutes frequent the same one over and over and over. They are physically connected to them.
• If you’re into your spouse and your spouse is into you by the grace of God, you will become into them and physically connected to them, desiring them. You will become one flesh, one family, one bed to glorify the one God.
• God built our bodies to connect with our spouse.
• When we connect with anything else, it leads to death. But we can repent and be made clean and connect with our spouse.

4. For knowing.

• Sex creates intimacy and knowing someone.
• When you are married and Christians you are able to know each other more than anyone else. It’s intimacy.

5. For protection.

• Sex within marriage should be free and frequent. Doing so helps to protect both partners from sexual sin.
• Bible-believing, Christian, married couples have the most sex.
• There’s no excuse for adultery, but I know couples and pastors who haven’t had sex in decades. When you’re together regularly, it helps to safeguard your marriage by having sex regularly.

6. For comfort.

• You don’t see this in porn.
• Sharing your body with your spouse is a comfort that is deeper than words.
• Sometimes just being with your spouse is a gift, especially in hard times.
• Years ago, we had friends that miscarried a child. The wife told the husband she wanted to go away for a few days to make love, cry, hold each other, pray, lay together in bed, and be intimate. For them, sex was a gift of comfort.

*Note: This entire blog post was written by Mark Driscoll, not me. I just picked it up on my blog. A few people have asked if this was coming from my own experience or knowledge. I guess the “Mark Driscoll” in the title didn’t give it away.

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Above is a photo of Francis Schaeffer

I picked up the story from Doug Nichols, International Director of Action International Ministries. He tells the story below.

In 1966 I joined Operation Mobilization for a year of ministry in France, but spent two years in India instead. While in London that summer, at the one-month OM orientation, I volunteered to work on a clean-up crew late one night.

Around 12:30 a.m. I was sweeping the front steps of the Conference Centre when an older gentleman approached and asked if this was the OM conference. I told him it was, but almost everyone was in bed.

He had a small bag with him and was dressed very simply. He said he was attending the conference, so I said, ‘Let me see if I can find you a place to sleep’. Since there were many different age groups at OM, I thought he was an older OMer.

I took him to the room where I had been sleeping on the floor with about fifty others and, seeing that he had nothing to sleep on, laid some padding and a blanket on the floor and used a towel for a pillow. He said it would be fine and he appreciated it very much.

As he was preparing for bed, I asked him if he had eaten. He had not as he had been traveling all day. I took him to the dining room but it was locked. So after picking the lock I found cornflakes, milk, bread, butter and jam — all of which he appreciated very much.

As he ate and we began to fellowship, I asked where he was from. He said he and his wife had been working in Switzerland for several years in a ministry mainly to hippies and travellers. It was wonderful to talk with him and hear about his work and those who had come to Christ. When he finished eating, we turned in for the night.

However, the next day I was in trouble! The leaders of OM really ‘got on my case’. ‘Don’t you know who that man is on the floor next to you?’ they asked. ‘It is Dr Francis Schaeffer, the speaker for the conference!’

I did not know they were going to have a speaker, nor did I know who Francis Schaeffer was, nor did I know they had a special room prepared for him!

After Francis Schaeffer became well-known because of his books, and I had read more about him, I thought about this occasion many times — this gracious, kind, humble man of God sleeping on the floor with OM recruits! This was the kind of man I wanted to be.

This is the kind of man I want to be too. Amazing.

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I hadn’t spoken with Kelvin in a while so when he originally called I thought it was because he had a specific question for me, needed a prayer for a circumstance in life, wanted to know about a particular detail of an event I was involved in — you know, something like that. After all, that’s why most people call me anyway. I was wrong.

About eight minutes into the conversation I finally asked, “So, what’s up, man?” I was trying to get to the real reason why he called me. It was only later that I realized the reason he called was already mentioned.

He replied, in a heavily accented St. Louis tone (represent!), “Nothing, man, I was just calling to see how you were doing. That’s all.”

We spoke for a few more minutes then the conversation was over. Minutes after we hung up, I realized something: that was the first time in a very long time that someone other than a family member called me simply to see how I was doing.

That same week I had two speaking engagements, received a good grade on my Managerial Accounting test, and even graduated from college — all great things, to be sure. However, of everything that happened to me that week, Kelvin’s phone call stood out to me the most. It is true when they say that it’s always the little things in life that mean the most.

“…encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Who can you call that you haven’t in a while to simply see how they’re doing? What gift can you buy for someone who you know is going through a rough season of life? How can you be of encouragement to a discouraged pastor, friend, family member, or neighbor?

It may seem little in deed . . . but perhaps will prove to be colossal in heart.

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1) The John Piper Bible Reading Plan (This is also the same one I use)

2) ESV Bible Reading Plans

3) Zondervan Bible Reading Plans

4) Navpress Bible Reading Plans

5) 90 Day Bible Reading Plan

6) Two-Year Bible Reading Plan

7) The Bible Reading Plan for Shirkers and Slackers

Justin Taylor, one of the top Christian bloggers in the world, gives helpful insight on Bible Reading Plan’s here.

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Let’s be honest. People generally don’t hate Tim Tebow because of anything athletic related. Those who despise Tim Tebow feel that way towards him because of what he stands for: Jesus Christ. Be honest with yourself. If you’re a Tim Tebow hater, it’s probably because you have a problem with Jesus. If you’re a Tim Tebow fan, it’s probably because you’re a fan of Jesus.

It didn’t take long for haters and fans to realize that Tim Tebow plays for something much more significant than the scoreboard. That’s been true since he was in High School.

ESPN commentators, sports analysts, magazines and newspaper articles all alike seem to be asking the same question: ‘is God on Tebow’s side?’ All the media hype surrounding Tebow even has people wondering if God cares who wins a football game.

The answer, however, is that God is on God’s side and Tebow is on God’s side. Win or lose a football game, the bottom line of the entire Tim Tebow debate is that God is going to do whatever is going to make God famous.

Tim Tebow rightfully understands that it’s not about Tim Tebow, it’s about Jesus. Tebow is just stating the truth and those who have a problem with it don’t have a problem with Tebow, they have a problem with Jesus.

Tim Tebow is doing exactly what he should be doing as a Christain: using his God given platform to make Jesus famous. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 2:30, “The LORD declares… ‘those who honor me, I will honor.’” Tebow is honoring God, so God is honoring Tebow.

Those who take offense at this should consider some facts. Former Division II NWMSU Bearcat football Coach Mel Tjeerdsma, who led the Bearcats to 7 National Title appearances in 12 seasons, was an openly Christian man who honored the Lord.

Bearcat football quarterback Trevor Adams is a publicly outspoken Christian as well. After losses, Trevor would humbly respond in interviews that the tough loss was eclipsed by the fact that he plays for God’s glory and not the scoreboard. After victories, Trevor Adams would say that he is motivated by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and is thankful for the opportunity to play football.

The truth is Tim Tebow, Coach Tjeerdsma and Trevor Adams all honor God. They do so both in victory and defeat because God is working behind the scenes to make his name famous in Jesus Christ. Win or lose, God will honor those who honor him, by giving them a platform to make Jesus famous. Sometimes that means in victory, other times it means in defeat.

Christian athletes, here’s the plea: when God gives you a platform in the public spotlight, use it to make Jesus famous!

After all. . . Jesus is the only one worthy to be made famous.

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