First of all, let me thank all of you who have shown your confidence by calling me as your pastor.  It has been over fourteen years since I was Sr. Pastor of a congregation, and it feels good to be back in that role.  I know that for a few months, I will be on trial with you.  Hopefully in the coming months and years, we can all focus on the important task before us, the really big task of taking the Gospel to the lost and straying people of our community.

          But we must keep focused on that task, and not be side-tracked.  You see, in every age mighty deeds have been derailed because someone concentrated on the wrong details.  When Napoleon turned his armies towards Russia in the early 19th century, his soldiers seemed invincible in their march to Moscow.  But then a powerful and bitter winter storm struck.  Orders were quickly sent to his supply depot in Germany, "Blankets, boots and food! -- all you've got and send them immediately!"  But the supply officer there said, "You have the wrong forms.  Give me the proper forms and you'll have the supplies.  Wrong forms -- no supplies."

          "But winter is bitter and men will die," said the messenger.  "Will you refuse men the necessities of life because the forms are wrong?"  The reply came, "Wrong forms -- no supplies - those are the rules!"  And winter came, striking down Napoleon's army with a force 10 times the power of enemy swords or cannons.  In every age mighty deeds have been derailed because someone concentrated on the small things and missed the bigger things.

          God gave us His 10 Commandments to follow, His moral Law.  But some say there is an 11th Commandment that might say:  "Thou shalt not sweat the small stuff!"  Thou shalt not be upset over little things and neglect big things.  Thou shalt get thy priorities right.  Thou shalt do the important things, but "Thou shalt not sweat the small stuff."

          In our text, we read how Jesus called His disciples and then quickly got to work.  He had come with one message to proclaim:  "Repent, for the kingdom of God is near!"  As He went about proclaiming His message, He also healed the sick, cast out demons and raised the dead.  Those things were important, but they were not His main purpose.

          And they were tiring.  Healing, casting out and raising could be exhausting.  Often He did this all day and still more sick, more lame and more possessed kept coming.  Our text says one morning He arose early and went away to pray and be alone with God.  That's great for us to do, too!  Later His disciples came searching for Him and said, "Everyone's looking for you.  You must come back!"  But Jesus said, "Let's leave here, for I came to preach, not just to heal."  It's clear His disciples were upset that He didn't stick with what they thought were more important tasks.

          Performing miracles was important, but something bigger was at stake.  His mission was not to heal sickness of the body, but sickness of the soul.  He came to cast out darkness and give hope to the hopeless.  He came to raise the dead in their trespasses and sin.  Their real problems were not physical, but spiritual.  Bringing people back to God was more important than healing them.  But His disciples didn't always see it that way.

          The church of His day was bogged down in meaningless detail.  The leaders forgot the reason they were a church.  In Matthew 23:23, He made this clear:  "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin.  But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness.  You strain out the gnat, but swallow the camel."  He was saying beware of spending too much time on little things while ignoring big things.  Don't major in minors.  "Thou shalt not sweat the small stuff."

          But we can't eliminate all the little things.  Many of you have asked why the pastoral call process took so long.  Why have all those rules and By-Laws?  They're part of building a strong church.  By-Laws are the frame of the building.  They help us with joyful worship and positive outreach.  They help us with faithful service, loving fellowship, and biblical nurture - the five purposes!  Our Lord has given us a mighty work to do.  God is building His church among us, and we must keep focused on the big purposes and not let the small stuff get in the way.

          By now you might know it's not easy watching a church grow.  It's almost like making sausage.  When you see what goes into it, you're not sure you want to eat it any more.  But remember, the purpose of making sausage is not beauty, but food and nourishment.

          Building a church is like building a house.  When you see it go up, board by board, nail by nail, you occasionally see warped boards and bent nails.  You'll see a crooked wall or dirt between the walls or cracks in the plaster.  I'm a bent nail at times, and so are you.  My walls have some cracks, and so do yours.  My boards are warped, and so are yours.  But remember, the Builder is making a house, not a painting.  It's for someone to live in, not for perfection.  God is our perfection and the Builder is Jesus, not Pastor Bob, not any one member.  Christ is building this church, and He's building it His way, not ours.

          Some think all of life is small stuff.  Not true!  Some think all details are important - not true!  It's a great lesson of life to separate what's important from what's not.  Several years ago I visited a family whose loved one was in surgery.  The waiting room was filled with anxiety and tension because of the unknown outcome of the surgery.  Their loved one was hanging on to life by a thread, when suddenly one of the sons started complaining -- of all things -- about the coffee!  In the midst of a life-threatening situation, the young man blew up about coffee.  At first we thought it was due to the tension, but soon realized it really was about the coffee.  His father was dying and he wanted better coffee.  He left for an hour looking for a Starbuck's coffee shop, and we were glad to see him gone.  His mother said he'd often done something like that, and she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  His family was in the waiting room praying for a miracle, and he was sweating the small stuff.

          Let me say something that is not small stuff.  Jesus Christ is Lord!  He is the only Lord!  He's my Lord and He's your Lord and the people of Douglas County need to know Him as their Lord!  A world is dying in sin and the church is arguing about petty rules.  People need a miracle and we give them another doctrine.  People need love and we give them a new policy.  People need to see Christ the Light of the World, and we show them our dark side.

          Jesus came into a world so mixed up and confused that He was moved to tears.  He wept because His church and His people wouldn't listen to His message.  They had their traditions and ideas and no way were they going to change!  So they missed seeing the Savior, and they missed seeking and saving the lost.  Time and again He told them, "Thou shalt not sweat the small stuff."

          Our world is still that way.  We follow our own ways and get side-tracked and confused by our sin.  Praise be to God that Jesus stuck to His task.  He could easily have been sidetracked.  The Pharisees criticized Him and His disciples tried to dissuade Him.  Once even His family rebuked Him, saying, "You're upsetting people!  Don't say those things, Jesus."  At that point Jesus had to turn His back to His own family, because their eyes were fixed on the wrong things.  He kept His eyes on the cross while they got tangled up in the small stuff.  But He stayed the course and won for us eternal life.  In Him we are saved.  Thanks be to God!

          Later we're told His family was found together with the Disciples in prayer.  Their eyes were opened after the resurrection.  They got their eyes off the small stuff and saw the big picture.  They discovered Jesus, their son and brother, was their Savior, too.  Hebrews 12:2 tells us, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith..."  Oh, how we need to do this today.

          The call process may be over, but our work has just begun.  We have great tasks ahead of us here.  New people are moving in to our area in droves and they're coming to our doorstep.  Last week four new families visited us.  They want to worship God and have their children learn about Jesus.  We have a great job to do, showing them the Light of the World.

          That means each of us must be an ambassador for Christ.  We must invite people to come!  80% of those who visit a church come because someone invited them.  Not from a brochure, not from a pastor, not because they saw a sign on a corner, but because a member invited them.  Friends, that is your most important task as a member here.  If you invite them, they will come.

          And know this:  Satan will try to distract us every step of the way.  He'll try to convince us someone is doing it wrong.  He'll try to make us sweat the small stuff so we'll forget the big stuff.  Don't let him do it.  Resist him!  Every day ask Jesus to keep you focused on the important things.

          I have the 11th Commandment taped to the refrigerator door - "Thou shalt not sweat the small stuff!"  You can do the same!  Three men were all digging in a ditch.  When asked what they were doing, the first said, "I'm digging a lousy ditch because the foreman says I have to."  The second said, "I need the money and it is the only job I can find."  The third said, "Mister, I'm helping build a cathedral!"  Friends, we're building a cathedral.  God help keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, every step of the way.  Amen!

Copyright © 2000 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.