Little by Little - Jentezen Franklin

Read Textual Sermon from Jentezen Franklin

Little by Little

If you have your Bible, I'd love for you to open it with me to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 7, verse 21:

“You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.”
“And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.” (Deuteronomy 7:21–22, NKJV)

It's pretty powerful because He said, “I don't want you terrified.” The King James, I think it is, says that our God is great and terrible. It says that in several places—God is great and terrible. What does that mean? That means God’s great to us who love Him and serve Him, but He’s terrible to our adversaries. I like the fact that I don’t just serve a great God who’s great to me, but He’s terrible—no weapon formed against us will prosper. He’s the terrible One to our adversaries.

Watch verse 22. What a profound little verse right here: “And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you”—here it is—“little by little.” You will be unable to destroy them at once. In other words, it’s not going to happen instantly; it’s going to happen little by little. That’s what I want to talk about for just a few moments, because I believe there are many people who need to hear and understand what God said to the Israelites. He’s saying to you and me today:

Number one is this: He said victory and success for you are no longer in debate. It’s going to happen. But what is in debate is the timing. And Psalm 84:11 underscores that it’s not in debate, because He said in Psalm 84:11:

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (NKJV)

God will withhold no good thing from them. God will provide every good thing you need. It’s not in question. Victory and success are not a “hope so, maybe so, I wonder.” God says, “I want to get the debate over. I am a God whose very nature is to bless you with victory and success. I want you to win. You’re going to win.”

But God wants you to see how much He loves you, so that you will be powerfully favored, supernaturally gifted, and abundantly successful. I’m not afraid of any of those words. I just say it as a matter of fact. I want you to speak it, if you’re not scared of the good part of the Bible. Everybody say, “God wants me powerfully favored, supernaturally gifted, and abundantly successful in Jesus’ name.” Shout about it just a minute, and I’ll keep moving. That’s good news.

Victory Assured, Timing Adjusted

Now, let me balance it out. That’s the good news, but it needs a little balance, and here comes the balance. The balance is this: the progress to your promised land may not be at the rate and at the speed that you think it should be. Have you ever felt like that—you knew that you were headed somewhere that God had promised—and yet the progress, the success, the advancement felt like it was going way too slow?

But I’m here today to defeat doubt. I’m here today to conquer confusion. Many of you have irritation, agitation, and frustration as to “Why am I not there yet? Why doesn’t it grow quicker? Why won’t God give me instantaneous success? What is the inhibitor? What is the problem? Why can’t I seem to go as fast as other people are going?” And I’m going to answer your question, because God’s Word gave the answer in the text I read.

The issue is not a “what”; the issue is a “who.” The answer is God. God is the One who has slowed you down—because God loves you for who you are, not what you do. God’s not going to love you more when you do something big than He loves you right now doing what you’re doing.

I learned—and I had to learn—that when the church grew from 300 people to 500 people, this came as a revelation to me: God didn’t love me any more than He did when we had 300 people. And when we grew from 500 to a thousand, He didn’t love me any more. And when we grew from a thousand to five thousand, He didn’t love me any more. But what happened is I began to get in love with all that “more”—busier and busier and busier—and all of a sudden, I’m giving Him less time, and I’m giving “this” more time.

So God has to put a governor on our success sometimes and say, “Let’s slow down, and let’s go back to what made you great. It’s not your talent. It’s not your gifting. It’s not your ability. I’ll bless you in accordance with how you lean on Me and you connect to Me.” What we want to do should always be overshadowed by who we want to be. I want to be like Jesus more than I want to do something great.

In Luke 10:20, the Bible said the disciples came back and they were rejoicing. They said, “Even the demons are subject unto us.” And Jesus said:

“Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” (NKJV)

“I don’t want you rejoicing over what you are doing. I want you rejoicing over the fact that I, through My blood and My love for you, have saved you, and who you are is more important than what you do.”

Matthew 7:22 reads like a revival dream list for a preacher—“Have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out devils in Your name, done many mighty works in Your name?”—and then the dream turns to a nightmare when Jesus says:

“I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:22–23, NKJV)

Now, they did some pretty amazing things for Him, but they weren’t in relationship with Him. Relationship should supersede what you do. So many times, we want what we do to be the biggest and fastest and greatest—and who we are, and who we’re in relationship with, is totally neglected. What we want to do should be overshadowed by what we want to be.

And what I’m saying to you is really illustrated in the fact that in 1 Samuel 3:1 the Bible said, “And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord,” but six verses later, in verse 7, it says, “Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord.” So he’s in the ministry; he’s on the praise team; he’s singing; and he’s ministering to the Lord—doing things, doing work, doing things—but he’s not in close relationship with the Lord. Our greatest blessing is not our gifting. Our greatest blessing is not our talent. It’s not what we can do, but it’s simply to know Him and to be known by Him. That is the greatest blessing.

Now listen carefully—this is why I’m saying this: it’s possible that you can get what you want at the expense of losing what you need, and God knows that. God knows that it’s possible to get what you want—and I’ve seen it happen to so many people. It happens to athletes. It happens to people who find great success in business. It happens to people who achieve their dreams and their goals, and they pursue them and start climbing the ladder. It’s possible to get what you want and lose what you need.

God said, “I’ll give you the land. Nothing’s going to stop it. You will conquer them—but it will be little by little. Why? Lest the beasts of the field devour you.” God said, “I want you to understand—listen, let it sink in—victory and success will undeniably be yours if you will follow the Lord, but it will not be instantaneous success.”

There’s unrest. There’s frustration. There’s agitation in hundreds of you, thousands of you listening to me right now—because it’s not going fast enough according to your plan. I’m going to tell you why it hasn’t happened yet: there is a God who loves you so much that He knows that if He gave you instantaneous success—all at once—you would be consumed, by the beast. He knows that the higher you go up, you get the attention of the beast. And there’s always, on a person that God elevates, the release of the beast—because the higher you go up, while you’re down here with everybody, you can hide; your gift can hide. But when God starts elevating you, it means two things: you’re uncovered; you’re standing out; and suddenly the beast notices you. And when the beast notices you, he targets you. And if you’re not ready for the attack, the beast will consume everything that you started out to do. It will be consumed.

How many people have we seen who begin to blow up—whether it’s in Hollywood or musical talent in the church—that they had and developed, and then they went big-time? And it’s not that big-time is the problem. It’s the fact that they haven’t walked with God long enough, little by little, that when you get there, it’s not your god; He’s my God. And you say, “Oh, I could handle it. I could handle it.” But how many athletes have we seen? How many people have we seen? It’s the spirit of the world; it’s the spirit of the beast. And you can’t fight that with natural inclinations.

God loves what you are more than what you do. That means He loves you right now like you were on top of the world and had done everything you’ve ever aspired to do. Now, that ought to warm your heart. Let’s just take a moment and say, “Thank You for loving me just like I am—not for what I do, but for who I am.” Wow. That set me free. That set me free.

We don’t even know who’s who. “He’s so successful; she’s so successful.” We really don’t know who’s successful. We really won’t know until a few hours after the rapture, and if you’re left here with all your stuff, you were not successful. But when the trumpet blast blows, and you and your family go up—you are.

I’ll take my little by little. I don’t want God to bless me out of the church. I have seen too many people get blessed out of the church. They started out in the church with nothing—struggling, “Oh God, I’ve got a dream. Please help me. Please help me.” And God began to bless them, and God began to bless them, and God began to bless them—and they got blessed right out of the church. And now they’re at the lake; now they’re at the beach every weekend. They’re blessed right out of the Bible—don’t read it anymore. Blessed right out of the prayer place. Blessed right out of serving. Blessed right out of the body of Christ. “Don’t ever need to come to church, because I’m so ‘me,’ and I’m…”—it’s egotism. Is it centered on you—your life—and the rules don’t count? “You don’t need church anymore because you make the big bucks.” It’s possible to be blessed right out of church.

That’s why I say He’ll withhold no good thing. So if the Lord’s withheld it, it meant it either wasn’t good for your heart, or it wasn’t time—and He’s got to develop you a little bit before the beast is released and comes with pride and ego and tries to take away and consume God’s purpose for that platform. Clap your hands and say, “Yes, Lord! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”

Relationship Over Performance

So, someone say it like this—all you young people, listen to me—you’ve got big dreams. The question is not “Can God handle it? Can God make it happen?” God could flip a switch spiritually, and tomorrow you could be discovered. Tomorrow you could get a full-ride scholarship. “Why didn’t He just flip a switch here, and instead of us going through hell—and I mean fighting with banks and going through stuff, and the church splits, and people mad—all that to get to here? Why didn’t we just ‘boom’—here?” Because then you’d have another preacher crash-and-burn—and a lot of you would do the same.

So God says, “Let Me let you walk through the valley. Let Me let you walk through some humbling situations. Let Me teach you how bad you need to stay on your knees. Let Me teach you that in the good times you praise; in the bad times you praise. In the good times you go to church; and in the bad times you read that Book. When you’re on top of the world, you read that Book; and when nothing’s going right, and everything’s the reverse of what God told you, you read that Book.” And when you go little by little, when you get there and the beast comes at you, you say, “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. I can rebuke the devourer for your sake.” Jesus said when you’ve walked with Him little by little…

2 Chronicles 26:15 says this: “And his name was spread abroad; he became famous, for he was marvelously helped”—listen to these words—“until he became strong.” This is the story of so many people. They become famous because God marvelously helps them. God marvelously blesses them. The fame was not from hell; it came from God. But when he became strong, the next verse says, “But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his own destruction.” The beast was released, and when the beast got released, he couldn’t handle it.

So if God has you on a slower pace, it’s to prepare you for what He’s taking you to—so that when you get there, it won’t be about “this”; it’ll just be stuff. It’ll just be another thing that I do for the King—but the King is the focus. The King is my everything. The King, not the dream, is the most important thing in my life.

Here’s how you do it. Song of Solomon 8:5 says:

“Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?” (NKJV)

Here’s the key—leaning on His beloved. You can’t lean on your own intelligence. You can’t lean on your personality. You can’t lean on your talents. You’ve got to lean on Him. “I’ll give you victory. I’ll give you success, but not at once. You will be highly exposed to the beast when I let you enter into the promise. You will get the attention of a demonic, evil spirit.”

Prepared for the Beast

Now let me tell you what that beast is. I want to put my foot on his neck. What beast do you get exposed to when you get success? The beast of pride. Elitism begins to register. Egotism begins to dominate. You’re no longer a servant. If you’re going to be gifted, if you’re going to be powerful, if you’re going to be productive and successful, you must hide behind the cross.

“I’m not going to give it all to you at once. If I do, the beasts will devour you.” “Not me—it couldn’t happen to me.” How many people have said that? How many ministers have said that? How many ministries have said that? How many stars have said that? How many good people? The higher men and women elevate, the less covering you have; the greater a target you become to the beast.

And I want to close with this little thought: some of you are just like the story of the prodigal son—you’re the angry elder brother—because you’ve seen people pass you by. Remember, the younger son wanted instant success: “Give me my inheritance now. I’m not waiting on anything. No ‘little by little’ for me. Give it to me, Daddy. Give it to me, Father.” And the father says, “Okay—a gift is a gift. The gift and the calling of God are without repentance. I love you. This is not your best—your best is to do this little by little—because you’re not ready to handle it. You’re going to…” The beast—where’s he going? To the pigs. The beasts are going to devour everything good in your life, because you can’t fight this in the natural. You need supernatural protection, son, where you’re going. “No, I want mine!” Boom—instant success. Wow—talk of the town, the younger brother.

The older brother stays home, and he’s angry. He feels overlooked: “Does it pay to serve God? Look how much fun he’s having. Look how much attention he’s having. I’m living right—can’t—ain’t had a date in six months—lonely. They go out every weekend—living it up—seemingly no ramifications—seemingly.” Angry with the Father. This older brother gets angry with the Father. Some of you, if you would tell the truth, you’re a little bit irritated at Him. “No good thing He withholds”—He’s withheld a lot from me.

Here’s my point: it’s a loving Father—Father—that has your best interest, that holds you back. More than what you do, it’s what you are. And He loves you now just as much as He would love you if you did all that stuff. But He would rather you let Him give it to you little by little. As your life becomes His life, then He’ll get the glory—not you.

Your Father has not forgotten you. He’s just trying to save you. The beast will appear as soon as you get there, so you’d better be ready. And the only way to do that—here it is—is leaning on your Beloved. The question is not “Can God handle it?” The question is: if God were to give you everything deep in your heart you know you were put on this earth to be and do, could you handle it? And are you content enough and committed enough and submitted enough to Jesus Christ to say, “Lord, thank You that I’m on my way to the promised land, and I don’t have to have instantaneous success, but I’ll take little by little as long as I’ve got You. I don’t want to get what I want and lose what I need. I need You.”

How long has it been since you said, “I need You”? How long has it been since you got before God and just said, “Lord, cleanse me and purify my motives. Here’s my dream again. I lay it on the altar, and I raise the knife, and if You want me to kill it, it can die. I want Your will.” You say, “I don’t think you can trust Him like that,” but you can trust Him like that—because the strange thing is, when you do trust Him like that, stuff—so much stuff—comes that you don’t know what to do with it. But then you do, because you’re leaning on Him. You say, “I only want to go where You would go with me. I have no desire to be there unless You go with me. Your presence must go with me.” Could God give you glory today and you not go goofy—really? Could He?

Because He’s going to—He’s going to find people, because He’s got to get stuff done. And He’s going to find vessels that He can trust to turn around and lean on Him more; that when they have been marvelously helped, they don’t trust in their strength, but they turn around and they say, “I lean back on the One who gave it all, and I am not ashamed of His superiority in my life. He is my everything.”

(Scripture Quotations Used)

• Deuteronomy 7:21–22 (NKJV)
• Psalm 84:11 (NKJV)
• Luke 10:20 (NKJV)
• Matthew 7:22–23 (NKJV)
• Song of Solomon 8:5 (NKJV)

Questions This Sermon Answers

1. Why does God often bring victory little by little instead of all at once?
2. How does God’s timing protect us from pride, ego, and spiritual attack (“the beast”)?
3. What matters more to God—what we do for Him, or who we are in relationship with Him?
4. How can rapid success become dangerous without spiritual maturity and dependence?
5. What does it practically mean to “lean on your Beloved” in seasons of waiting?
6. Why might God withhold something good for a time even if He has promised success?