: Francis A. Schaeffer
: No Little People (repack) (Introduction by Udo Middelmann)
: Crossway
: 9781433576751
: 1
: CHF 15.10
:
: Christentum
: English
: 304
: kein Kopierschutz
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
16 Encouraging Sermons on Human Weakness and God's Sufficiency by Francis Schaeffer Most Christians take an honest look at themselves and conclude that their limited talents, energy, and knowledge mean that they don't amount to much. Some even ask, Can I really make a difference? Francis A. Schaeffer counters this claim with truth from the Bible, arguing that with God there is no such thing as little people. No Little People contains sixteen sermons from Schaeffer that explore the weakness and significance of humanity in relationship to the infinite and personal God. The focus of this collection is the lasting truth of the Bible, the faithfulness of God, the sufficiency of the work of Christ, and the power of the Spirit. Readers will be encouraged by the value that God places on each person made in his image to accomplish his redemptive plan.

 Francis A. Schaeffer (1912-1984) authored more than twenty books, which have been translated into several languages and have sold millions globally. He and his wife, Edith, founded the L'Abri Fellowship international study and discipleship centers. Recognized internationally for his work in Christianity and culture, Schaeffer passed away in 1984 but his influence and legacy continue worldwide. 

Chapter One

No Little People, No Little Places

As a Christian considers the possibility of beingthe Christian glorified (a topic I discuss inTrue Spirituality), often his reaction is, “I am so limited. Surely it does not matter much whether I am walking as a creature glorified or not.” Or, to put it in another way, “It is wonderful to be a Christian, but I am such a small person, so limited in talents—or energy or psychological strength or knowledge—that what I do is not really important.”

The Bible, however, has quite a different emphasis: with God there are no little people.

Moses’s Rod

One thing that has encouraged me, as I have wrestled with such questions in my own life, is the way God used Moses’s rod, a stick of wood. Many years ago, when I was a young pastor just out of seminary, this study of the use of Moses’s rod, which I called “God So Used a Stick of Wood,” was a crucial factor in giving me the courage to press on.

The story of Moses’s rod began when God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, telling him to go and challenge Egypt, the greatest power of his day. Moses reacted, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11), and he raised several specific objections: “They will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod” (Exodus 4:1–2). God directed Moses’s attention to the simplest thing imaginable—the staff in his own hand, a shepherd’s rod, a stick of wood somewhere between three and six feet long.

Shepherds are notorious for hanging onto their staves as long as they can, just as some of us enjoy keeping walking sticks. Moses probably had carried this same staff for years. Since he had been a shepherd in the wilderness for forty years, it is entirely possible that this wood had been dead that long. Just a stick of wood—but when Moses obeyed God’s command to toss it to the ground, it became a serpent, and Moses himself fled from it. God next ordered him to take it by the tail and when he did so, it became a rod again. Then God told him to go and confront the power of Egypt and meet Pharaoh face-to-face with this rod in his hand.

Exodus 4:20 tells us the secret of all that followed:the rod of Moses had become the rod of God.

Standing in front of Pharaoh, Aaron cast down this rod and it became a serpent. As God spoke to Moses and as Aaron was the spokesman of Moses (Exodus 4:16), so it would seem that Aaron used the rod of Moses which had become the rod of God. The wizards of Egypt, performing real magic through the power of the Devil (not just a stage trick through sleight of hand), matched this. Here was demonic power. But the