Sep9
Matthew 18:1…….Working
18:1 At that time (Jesus having just announced His death-(17:22-23) the disciples came to Jesus (Peter, James and John may have felt special privilege over the others, because they accompanied Jesus up the mountain where He was Transfigured.) and asked, “Who is the greatest (3187-Comparative in degree, rank. chief, top-dog, head-honcho, #1) in the kingdom of heaven?”(Suggests the disciples wanted to know who’s next in line after Jesus is killed.-(17:22-23) Even arguing and disputing it with each other.-{Mark 9:33} )
Extended Sermon Notes
“Teaches how we can sometimes get our priorities mixed up in wanting to be served rather than serving.” ⇒ Ministry should always be about Jesus not us. We need to be careful against being enamored with the need for attention.
“Teaches how we often fight with who we want to be, verses who God has chosen us to be. (Who lands where is God’s job, our job is to be faithful right where God has us.)” ⇒ Or we fight with what we want to achieve, verses what God grants to us. Or where we thought we would be at this time, verses where we are. Sometimes we get mad because were serving in children’s ministry, or were out in the sweeping the parking lot, or were an usher, or were working in the kitchen. That we should be doing something more important by now. Or were wondering when are we going to get the recognition we deserve.
“Warns if not careful we can look at greatness the way the world looks at greatness by way of power and success.” ⇒ The world defines greatness by way of power, fame, and recognition. Others define greatness by a person’s accomplishments. For example, Steve Jobs built Apple into a company that would become the first trillion-dollar company in the United States. Or Thomas Edison who invented the light bulb. Which is considered one of the most significant contributions to modern life. Or Albert Einstein who is known for General Theory of Relativity, which revolutionized physics. Einstein’s work helped explain how gravity and motion affect time and space. Some people define greatness by power. For example, the President of the United States is considered to be in the most powerful position in the world. Some define greatness by how much money you have, the car you drive, the house you own. Some people define greatness by how quickly someone climbs the ladder of a large corporation, becoming CEO and president. Some see greatness based on how well you dominate a sport. Michael Jordan and LeBron James are considered the greatest basketball players ever. Others see greatness by how you leave your mark on the world, push through obstacles, and break down barriers. Some see greatness as being on top of the charts, trophies, awards, magazines covers, etc. We live in a world that has a me-mentality. That it’s all about success, independance, popularity. We also see it in the Church. Who has the largest congregation, who sells the most books, who has the best music program. The Apostle Paul confronted the same issue in the Corinthian church when he wrote; “My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”-(1-Corn. 1:11-12) The Bible tells us that true greatness is being a servant, and the greatest person of all time is Jesus Christ. Being a servant is having an attitude exemplified by Christ, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:6-7)
“Teaches how we can fall into pride in wanting the honor and recognition of being better than others.” ⇒ Notice how the disciples ask not who’s great, but who’s the greatest. It’s word that requires comparison. In order to be the greatest, others must be less great. C.S Lewis calls this the “Great sin” in Mere Christianity. The one vice he writes of which no person in the world is free, which everyone in the world loathes when you see it someone else, and which we are most unconscious of in ourselves. And the vice is “Pride”. C.S Lewis argues that pride is essentially competitive by its very nature. He writes pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only having more of than the next person. We say people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better looking than others. If everyone else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking. There would be nothing to be proud about. It’s the comparison that makes you proud. The pleasure of being above the rest. You make think your proud because you talented. But when you meet someone who is more talented than you. You’re not really proud anymore. Suddenly you don’t find the pleasure you once had in your talents, because your pleasure was not in your talents. It was having more Talent than the next person and being above the Rest. And the opposite direction Pride also reveals itself in the despair that come when you feel your below the rest. Despair that creeps in when you think I’m not as good as them, How easy is it for us to look at others lives whether in person or on social media and think they have what I want. I wish I was ______(fill in the blank) as them. They’re a better person than me, parent than me, student than me. A better athlete than me, They’re smarter, better looking, more put together, and it goes on and on. This constant comparison of ourselves with others. Not only do we compare ourselves with others, But we also grave approval from others. We need to be careful here, because seeking approval of others is not all bad. For an example it’s good for a child wanting to please their parents or a student wanting to please a teacher. Or a wife to desire affirmation from her husband. And vice versa. Not only is not enough to be great, we want to be known as great. It’s O.K. to be great at doing things. But we must resist the temptation of wanting other people to know how great we are at those things.
“Teaches wanting to be great in God’s Kingdom is not wrong, but the attitude in thinking we can is.” ⇒ Ambition is not a bad thing. Wanting to be great in the kingdom of heaven is not a bad thing. We are all made to have some kind of ambition. The problem is not ambition, the problem is misplaced ambition. When we want to be ambitious in this world, we want to be successful in this world, we want to be admired in this world, that’s where it goes all wrong. But ambition properly placed is not a bad thing. A good rule of thumb is to remember that when we find ourselves with ambitious desire we need to ask where is that coming from? Our these desire to do great things for the Kingdom coming from the Spirit of God or coming from the flesh? The great things you do for God will follow the life of the believer, not the other way around. When we find ourselves with ambitious desires we need to ask where is that coming from? Are these desire to do great things for the Kingdom coming from the Spirit of God or coming from the flesh? The great things you do for God will follow the life of the believer, not the other way around.
“Even today, we often come with a prideful and competitive spirit in comparing ourselves to others in how close we are to the Lord. How much bible knowledge we have. How many verses we can quote. How many people we brought to Jesus. Or how big our church and ministry is.” ⇒ Often times we want to reach the lost for Christ, but not always for the right reasons. It isn’t because we necessarily love them and care about them, or our hearts hurt for them. We want to reach them because it will improve our image, meet our church quota, bills. Improve our radio, television, and internet promotion and advertising.
Additional Notes & Applications
Warns against thinking what we’ve achieved, suffered, and sacrificed gives us special honor and standing with God. (Never think that God owes you for all the things you’ve done for Him).
Displays disciples insensitivity, arrogance, and selfish ambition in worrying about rank and position in the Kingdom of heaven after Jesus just old them He’s going to die on the cross. (17:22).
Warnes how when we look to our own personal interests we become oblivious to the needs of those around us.
Warns have pride and ambition can get in the way of seeing the truth and what God wants to do in our life’s.
Greatness is often defined as the distance you place between yourself and your peers. Or how much your outpacing everyone around you.
This begins the fourth of a five set division of discourses found in Matthew’s Gospel.(See Gospel Introduction: “structure” of Gospel)
- Posted by David Costa/
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