Hello again and welcome to the program. We're going to talk today a little bit about small churches. 99% of our churches are small. God does not consider these churches to be failures because they're small. It has been my privilege to travel across Canada more times than I can remember. I've preached in every province in Canada and very few. of the churches that I have ministered in are large. Most are very small and have been small for many years and will be small when Jesus comes. They are pastored by faithful pastors who feed the sheep that God has entrusted them with. These churches are maintained by small groups of sincere Christians who have sacrificed to pay their pastor's salary and the expenses of the church from year to year. God has some larger churches. The psalmist said in Psalm 42, 4, I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God. First Corinthians 3, 7 says God giveth the increase, and sometimes God increases the size of a church. However, most of our churches are very small, And they're there in that little community as a testimony. Nobody will be able to stand in front of God and say they didn't have an opportunity to hear the gospel. These faithful pastors just continue from year to year. They can't afford to hire secretaries. They can't afford to hire someone to cut the grass. The question is asked in Zechariah 4 verse 10, for who hath despised the day of small things? Four verses earlier, we read that it's not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord. The psalmist said in Psalm 119, 141, I am small and despised, Yet do not I forget thy precept." It is good to have a larger church if the increase is of God. However, an increase that is acquired and maintained by compromise is not a successful church. Proverbs 15, 16 says, Better is little with the fear of the Lord Than great treasure and trouble therewith. Proverbs 16, 8 says, Better is a little with righteousness Than great revenue without right. The one church of the seven listed in the book of Revelation that received no rebuke from the Savior was the church in Philadelphia. The Lord highly commended them. He said in Revelation 3-8, Thou hast a little strength, and has kept my word and not denied my name." The church that received the largest rebuke was the Church of the Laodiceans. Revelation 3.17 says they were rich and increased. They had a crowd, but where was Christ? He said, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Revelation 3.20. We have explicit instructions concerning how God wants things done in his local church. 1 Timothy 1 verse 14 and 15 says, These things write I unto thee, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. It is interesting that not one word in 1 and 2 Timothy is mentioned about increasing the attendance. If Christians would take their God-given responsibility to witness to lost souls and people repent and trust Christ as their Savior, the Church will grow. The word attendance is found in 1 Timothy 4.13 where it says to the pastor, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine. The responsibility of the pastor is to spiritually feed the people God has entrusted him with. Jesus said, feed my lambs, John 21, 15, that's the little sheep, that's the children. Feed my sheep, he said in verse 16, and again in verse 17, feed my sheep. Every Christian should be attempting to reach people for Christ, including the pastor. However, the main purpose of the local church is to feed the sheep. If we are faithfully feeding God's lambs and God's sheep, we should not let anyone put us on a guilt trip about how many sheep we do not have.