Three little People who Made a BIG Difference

(Slightly edited transcript of a message preached at Faith-Grace Vietnamese Baptist Church, Stone Mountain, GA, on 6 April 2014)

I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about passages in the Bible that deal with young people, and there are many of them. A famous verse from the new testament says, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). So children are an important part of the cast of characters that appear in the Bible.


In this message, I'd like to talk to you about three little people who made a big difference. I wish I could tell you their names, but none of them are given. Each of these little people show up in one passage of the Bible, and you never hear about them again. But the little things they do in the short time they appear are big and last forever. God didn’t see fit to tell us their names, I think to remind us that he can use ordinary people, even children, in a great way.

I have traveled to Washington D.C. numerous times for my job, and one of the first times I went I visited the Arlington National Cemetery, which is just across the Potomac River in northern Virginia. One of the most famous parts of this Cemetery is the Tomb of the Unknowns, where unknown soldiers from World War (WW) I, WW II, and the Korean War are buried in honour. The point of his honour for them is that, even though only God knows their names, they served their country, even to the point of risking their lives. So these three little people I’m going to tell you about are unknowns too, but the service they did others has earned them a place of honour, in the Bible, for ever.

1. The little maid from northern Israel (2 Kings 5:1-4)
The last time I was here I told you about how the nation of Israel split in two, with two southern tribes following God and the other ten tribes following false gods. Since the ten tribes followed false gods, God sent prophets to warn them that he would punish them if they continued to turn away from him. One of these was a man named Elisha, who did many miracles. A few people listened to him, but not many. So God sent the army of Syria against the ten tribes to punish them. In one raid, the Syrian army, whose leader’s name was Naaman, captured a little girl and brought her to Naaman’s wife as a servant. Pretty sad story so far, huh? Well, it has a happy ending.
     General Naaman had a serious sickness called leprosy. It’s one of the worst sicknesses anyone can have, since over time parts of your body fall off; so it’s really bad. The little girl felt sorry for her master and said something to Mrs. Naaman that made a big difference: she told her that there was someone who could heal General Naaman: Elisha. As a result of this bold statement, Naaman learns about the God of Israel and comes to believe in him and serve him, as far as we know, the rest of his life. Here are five amazing things about this little girl for you to remember:

 • Her family feared God despite the idolatry around them.  You can tell that her mentioning God and believing in his power to heal through his prophet.

• She had personal faith in God. Her parents had taught her about God and she believed it in her own heart. It wasn’t just something in her head but in her heart. She says “Would God…” or “I wish to God,” which is a phrase used to show deep desire. So her faith in God is in her heart and it’s deep.

• She didn’t stop trusting in God though she was captured and separated from her family. Wow, did that take a lot of courage for a little girl! Most little girls would be scared silly to be in such a situation, but she kept on trusting God, and God uses her greatly even in her captivity.

• She told others about God with no shame. She could have kept her faith to herself, but she saw someone in need and let them know that her God could help them. That’s what we do when we tell people about Jesus. All of us are sinners and deserve God’s punishment, but those of us who have trusted Jesus as our Saviour should tell others how they can be saved, not keep our faith to ourselves.

• Finally, her small act of kindness changes someone’s life for ever. Naaman goes to see Elisha, is healed, and becomes a believer in God for the rest of his life, and we will likely see him in heaven, all because of this little girl who trusted God and spoke about him to others.

2. The lad who shared his bread and fishes with Jesus (John 6:5-14)
All four of the gospels talk about Jesus feeding five thousand men at one time (plus women and children), but only one gospel (John) mentions the lad or young boy who shares his food with Jesus and the twelve apostles. The multitude or crowd follows Jesus out into the country, and the day is almost over. The people would have to walk a ways to buy food in the villages.
     Jesus, knowing what he plans to do, asks the apostles how they’re going to feed all these people. The apostles shrug their shoulders and say it would take a huge amount of money to feed such a crowd and that all they had on hand is five barley loaves and two small fishes (John 6:9). A young boy apparently hears them talking and offers his little bit of food to be used as the Lord and his apostles wish. The Lord accepts the gift, blesses the food, and miraculously multiplies the food so that everyone is fed and there is bread left over. And that’s not all. The men who see this miracle come to believe in Jesus as the promised one from God. Notice five amazing thing about this boy:

• He followed the Lord out into the wilderness, wanting to know the truth. He could have been at home playing with his friends, but instead he went to the trouble of hiking out into the wilderness with a crowd of people following the Lord (5000 men, plus women and children, so likely 10,000 people or more).

• He thought ahead and brought plenty of food for himself. I’m not sure if his parents were even with him, but likely they were but had forgotten to bring food. He was prepared, though, and it really paid off.

• Like the little maid, he saw a need and was willing to do something about it. He wasn’t just going to keep his food to himself when others obviously needed it. He was not selfish, when he could have been.

• He had confidence in the Lord; he trusted him, whatever he decided to do with the food. I can see him approaching the Lord and offering him the food respectfully, and the Lord smiling at him and blessing him for his kindness. God loves it when we trust him, and I’m sure he was very pleased with this boy’s confidence in him.

• His small gift blessed thousands of people, for time and eternity. Not only did the crowd get a good meal from his offering, but they came to believe in Jesus, which would bless them forever. You see how little people offering little things can change people’s lives forever? Let’s look at one more, and then we’ll close.

3. Paul’s observant nephew (Acts 23:12-22)
After the Lord is risen and goes back to heaven, his greatest enemy is a Jewish man named Saul of Tarsus, who attacks the Lord’s followers with all his might. He even tracks them into cities outside of Israel, like Damascus in Syria.
     But on the way to Damascus the Lord appears to him and Saul believes in him. Jesus tells him that he will be a special servant of his and take the good news, gospel, of salvation not only to the Jews, but also to the whole world (Gentiles).
     Saul, who takes the new name of Paul, travels all over the eastern Roman Empire preaching to Gentiles, but he is so burdened for his own people that he travels to Jerusalem to reach them, even though the Lord warns him that we will have trouble there.
     God’s word always comes true, and Paul is nearly killed by his own people, many of whom still don’t believe in Jesus. He’s thrown in jail, but the Lord appears to him and tells him that everything will be OK. While this is happening, though, a band of men plan how to kill Paul when he goes to court.
     Somehow, by the hand of God, Paul’s nephew, a young man, learns about this plot, and he goes to the jail to warn Paul, who in turn tells his jailors about it. The jailors believe the story, and they get a band of soldiers to take Paul out of town so that no one can harm him.
     Wow, thank God for that young man. Paul likely would have died, since the band of men were determined to kill him and would have had a good opportunity while Paul was on his way to court. But God uses an observant young person to save Paul’s life and extend his ministry for years to come.
     Some great things about this young man:

o He was looking out for his family. He cared about their welfare, not just his own business. And it goes further than that...

o He risks his own safety to save Paul. Think about it: he goes alone, and he could’ve been caught going to the castle or coming out. But he takes the chance to help his uncle. We should be ready to help our family, especially when they’re in trouble and there’s something we can do about it.

o His personal risk has far-reaching, eternal results. Much of Paul’s ministry still lies before him, and some of the greatest things he ever wrote (seven of his 13 letters in our Bible are written after this escape). These things were made possible because one young person cared about him and risked danger to keep him safe.

So little people can make a big difference, can’t they? The Bible, God’s word, shows us that this is true. One thing these three little people had in common, though, that enabled them to make this big difference was their trust in a big God. The little maid continues to trust God even though she’s carried off to a foreign country; the lad follows the Lord into the wilderness and gives up his food to him; and Paul’s nephew risks his life to save his uncle from being killed. Do you want to make a big difference?

• Trust in the Lord, first as your Saviour, the one who died for your sins and rose again to give you everlasting life; and then with every part of your life;

• Look for little things that you can do to help others and see what great things God will do with that.

Three little people who made a big difference…by doing little things for a BIG God!