SIZE MATTERS LITTLE

By on Oct 15, 2007 in Devotions


This is my humble gift to my brother pastors serving in obscure outposts during this Truth War seemingly alone as we battle apostasy within our own denominations. No, I don’t agree with everything Tozer says but he is dead on target in this teaching below.

O but I am blessed to tell you dear fellow soldier that while I am at my local church Connecticut River Baptist Church this morning I’ll likely see but 4 faces looking back at me. However, these people are in personal revival in Christ as am I. So as I testify to you of God’s greatness keep in mind that you are reading this here at Apprising Ministries, which is actually an outreach of “little” CRBC Company.

And then take into account that is was also originally posted at Christian Research Net, itself an outreach of AM. So while we may be small in number locally Jesus has still mightily multiplied how many this little outpost now reaches. You stay the course brother pastor and keep on fighting the good fight of the faith. And if I can ever be of service precious soldier please feel free to write me here at AM. Soli Deo Gloria!

And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. (Luke 16:15)

To God quality is vastly important and size matters little. When set in opposition to size, quality is everything and size nothing….

Man’s moral fall has clouded his vision, confused his thinking and rendered him subject to delusion. One evidence of this is his all but incurable proneness to confuse values and put size before quality in his appraisal of things. The Christian faith reverses this order, but even Christians tend to judge things by the old Adamic rule. How big? How much? and How many? are the questions oftenest asked by religious persons when trying to evaluate Christian things….

The Church is dedicated to things that matter. Quality matters. Let’s not be led astray by the size of things. BAM072-073,075.

“Encourage all those pastors who are discouraged today because they don’t match up to the ‘success’ of the big churches. Amen.”

(A.W Tozer, Tozer on Christian Leadership, October 14)

And from Christian Research Net:

Quantity Rather Than Quality

A.W. Tozer continues sharing along the lines of Size Matters Little. Keeping in mind that Tozer was likely writing in the early ‘50’s this is a remarkable—even prophetic—picture of the centered on man tactics that began to be employed in the Church Growth Movement and the resulting new evangelical Leadership Network which would also spawn the emerging church movement.

From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. (John 6:66)

Time may show that one of the greatest weaknesses in our modern civilization has been the acceptance of quantity rather than quality as the goal after which to strive….

Christianity is resting under the blight of degraded values. And it all stems from a too-eager desire to impress, to gain fleeting attention, to appear well in comparison with some world-beater who happens for the time to have the ear or the eye of the public.

This is so foreign to the Scriptures that we wonder how Bible-loving Christians can be deceived by it. The Word of God ignores size and quantity and lays all its stress upon quality. Christ, more than any other man, was followed by the crowds, yet after giving them such help as they were able to receive, He quietly turned from them and deposited His enduring truths in the breasts of His chosen 12….

Pastors and churches in our hectic times are harassed by the temptation to seek size at any cost and to secure by inflation what they cannot gain by legitimate growth. The mixed multitude cries for quantity and will not forgive a minister who insists upon solid values and permanence. Many a man of God is being subjected to cruel pressure by the ill-taught members of his flock who scorn his slow methods and demand quick results and a popular following regardless of quality. NCA007-008.

“Open our eyes, Lord, to evaluate our success or failure by Your standards, and be encouraged. Amen.”

(A.W. Tozer, Tozer on Christian Leadership, October 15)