Printer Friendly VersionSupportive Scriptures: Mt 22:34; 19:16; 20:27; 1:1-3
Background Information:
Every bookstore seems to have a large section of self-help books
all telling us how to be great, become a success, be assertive, and grow rich.
Infomercials push the same themes at us – all for as low as $19.95! In
Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gives us His definition of how to be great. It
is quite different from the self-help books and the late night TV bargain
courses – and different from what TV evangelists sell from gold-plated
chairs as the Gospel of Health, Wealth, and Prosperity.
(You may want to replace titles or shorten the list of book
titles in the introduction.)
Not long ago, a famous boxer made the claim that that he was
the greatest. For a while, in the ring, he was. No longer.
Late night TV advertisers say we can learn the secrets to wealth
and entrepreneurial success for the expenditure of only a few hundred dollars.
We salivate over the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
For the right investment, we can learn the secrets of eternal
youth and beauty.
All of these and a hundred more such programs and schemes appeal
to the current American craze for greatness and success.
Or, take a look in the bookstore. We find titles like:
DRESS FOR SUCCESS
POWER BASE -- How to Build and Maintain One
THE SKY'S THE LIMIT
Makes you a winner everytime
THE ULITMATE SECRETS OF TOTAL SELF-CONFIDENCE
YOUR PERFECT RIGHT
HAVING IT ALL -- Life, Success, Sex, Money
THE SEEDS OF GREATNESS
THINK AND GROW RICH
WINNING THROUGH INTIMIDATION
HOW TO GET WHAT YOU WANT OUT OF LIFE
THE ART OF SELFISHNESS -- Fill your life with success.
"Selfishness is a term used by people who want to manipulate you."
HOW TO HAVE IN A HAVE NOT WORLD
Have exactly what you want, When you want it, All the time.
(This last book written by a TV preacher!)
I am not suggesting that all these books are bad. But they do
reflect our pre-occupation with power, wealth, greatness, achievement, and
success.
Nor has the church escaped this onslaught. Much of evangelicalism
(especially of the electronic variety) has become obsessed with the theology
of success and prosperity.
They preach that God's will is for everybody to be happy, healthy,
and wealthy all the time.
Put in a quarter, pull the knob, and get anything you want from
this vending machine god.
Use the right phrases when you pray and you can bend the will
of God to your own.
Invoke the magic formulas and you can ward of evil and guarantee
success in all you do.
As long as two of us agree, we can make God do our will instead
of His will.
What a far cry from the message of the lowly Nazarene who had
no place to lay His head; who was laughed out of His home town, and was betrayed
by His friends.
Jesus does, however, have quite a bit to say about greatness.
In fact, in Matthew's Gospel, we find a clear outline about how to achieve
it and what it looks like. Before we buy the world's message, maybe we ought
to stop and listen to what Jesus Himself said about the way to be great.
Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven;
but whoever practices and teaches these commands
will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:19
Jesus made it rather clear. He expects obedience. It is part
of greatness. . Some preach a Gospel of moral license, even though Paul warned
against it. Jesus says, “Not in my Kingdom.” It is always about
obedience.
Our society seems to send the opposite message. Those who are
great by the world’s standards often act as if they are above the law.
If you are great enough, or famous enough, or rich enough, or powerful enough,
you don't have to obey any longer. Drug laws, ethical standards, tax legislation,
traffic restrictions, even natural laws of the physical universe – all
the laws that govern others, just don't apply to you. And, if necessary, you
can always buy a lawyer who will get you off. We think somehow that if we're
great enough we are immune to the laws.
Listen to us talking to our children. “As long as you live
in this house and put your feet under my table who will keep the rules.”
We know what we mean, but it sounds like we are implying that when you grow
up and move out you won't have to keep the rules any longer.
But the laws do apply. And so we read the headlines of a politician
whose future is ruined, of an athlete whose career is cut short, a corporate
executive that is disgraced, and of a family torn apart because someone thought
they were above the law.
Jesus made it clear -- to be great means learning obedience.
His message is not like what the world tells us – that the greater you
get or the older you get or the richer you get or the more powerful you get
the less obeying you have to do. Instead, Jesus says, if you want to be great,
learn to obey. We are saved by grace to enable us to live obediently from
grateful hearts.
In His final words to His disciples, He stated it again. “If
you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)
Samuel told Saul that “obedience is better than sacrifice.”
Real love is not being willing to apologize after you break the rules or to
admit your guilt after you are caught. Real love is learning to obey in the
first place, thus avoiding the consequences of disobedience.
Some parents sent their son to a Christian school so he would
escape the bad morals his parents feared were present in the public school
system. When his mother caught him lying, he replied, “Oh, I leaned at
school that it's alright to lie if I am a Christian, because Jesus forgives
me.” Such theological inversions and convolutions can be picked up even
by children and seem convenient to many. But Jesus does not exempt anyone.
Grace does not eliminate obedience.
We have called it “The Great Commission”. It is Jesus'
last command to His followers. We are to go and make disciples, teaching and
baptizing them. Sometimes we read that verse as though it said, “teaching
them all things I have commanded you” as if our task were to teach about
Christ. What it really says is, "teaching them to obey". That means
that our task as preachers or Sunday School teachers or as parents is not
done when we have dispensed the information about Jesus. It isn't done until
lives are transformed – until we have taught others to obey the commands
of Christ, not just to know about them or to understand them. Any “gospel”
that teaches that all you need to do is to know about Jesus and accept him
into your heart and then you can live like you please is not the gospel of
Christ. He calls us to conformity to His will. He calls us to obedience. He
calls us to teach obedience.
From the beginning of His teaching to the end, Jesus clearly
stated that greatness, as far as He is concerned, includes obedience. And
that is what Jesus modeled as well.
THE WORLD SHOUTS: DO YOUR OWN THING!
Jesus whispers: Obey.
(see also Lk 6:35)
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees
heard got together.
One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”
Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And a second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew 22:34-39
Many in our day have been hurt enough that they have decided
not to risk loving anymore. Others have grown up without any of their love
languages being spoken to them and without learning how to “speak”
love to others. Love is seen as wimp-ish rather than strong. Expressing affection
is seen as a sign of weakness and emotional sappiness. Jesus says, “Not
in my Kingdom.” It is always about love – Love for God and love
for each other.
In an interview on TV, a woman who had recently been divorced
said, “I have decided that I never want to be dependent on anyone else
again and I never want anyone else to ever be dependent on me!” What
a lonely way to live. What a love-less way to live. What a miserable way to
live. We are not made to live that way. We have a need to be loved. We have
an equal need to give love.
But isn't that so much the mood of our times. No commitments.
Nothing binding, just whatever is convenient for me at the moment. Nothing
that will make any demands on me. Nothing that will tie me down. Somehow,
in these days in which we live, we have grown away from love. We are too busy.
We don't want to be involved. We can't stand the risks. We don't want to get
hurt.
After all, the more people you love, the more times they will
let you down and the more often you will be disappointed. It means you will
shed more tears and visit more hospital rooms and attend more funerals.
But it also means you will participate in more weddings, and bounce more babies
on your knee and laugh more often and receive more Christmas cards. Love has
its risks but love also has its rewards.
Jesus said, if you want to be great, you have to love.
Jesus said that greatness includes cultivating the ability to
love – to love God and to love others. We all need to love God more.
We all need to love others more.
Sometimes, our concept of loving others starts farther away
from home than it should. Why is it that we give the members of our own families
the least and worst parts of our day? Why do we measure our love by the size
of our financial gifts to mission projects? Why do we excuse our worst behavior
because it is only experienced by those at home? Why are we more concerned
about how we look and act to strangers than about how we look and act to those
we love the most?
When a guest came to dinner, the wife served the dessert and
said, “I'm glad you came today. This is my husband's favorite pie and
I'm glad I had an excuse to make it. I never do otherwise.” And I wondered
to myself why the very fact that her husband liked it wasn't excuse enough.
Jesus said if you want to be great, then be loving. Love God,
love those around you, love those closest to you.
Maybe we need to recapture the ability to love and to express love. Probably
the place to start is right within the four walls of our own homes. Our love
for God certainly ought to increase the level of love and quality of love
in our families. If our faith doesn't transform love there, it won't work
anywhere else either. Our world really needs homes where God's love is channeled
into every loving relationship. That love in turn will begin to spill out
into the lives of others.
Do you remember the hot air popcorn poppers? The directions
said, “Do not leave unattended.” If you ever did you probably returned
and found that the popcorn had overflowed the bowl and spread out over the
counter, and spilled onto the floor.
In Philippians 1:9, Paul calls for a love that will “abound
more and more” -- like a popcorn popper run wild. Imagine. An unending
supply of kernels flows in one end. The warmth of the interior causes the
kernels to pop -- effervescently -- joyously -- continuously. Pouring out
of the spout, they soon fill the bowl, surround the canister set, cover the
toaster, and fill the sink. Soon they have packed the kitchen, forced their
way into the living room, pushed out the doors and windows, flowing down the
walk and over the fence into the neighbor's yard!
That's the way love should be. Abounding more and more and more. Effervescent,
joyous, continuous. Filling every nook and cranny. Spilling out into the lives
of others.
THE WORLD SHOUTS: TAKE ADVANTAGE!
Jesus whispers: Love.
(The following point overlaps with the concept of letting go of things in the previous sermon.)
Now a man came to Jesus and asked,
“Teacher, what good thing must I do, to get eternal life?”
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied.
“There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life,
obey the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man inquired.
Jesus replied, “Do not murder, do not commit adultery,
do not steal,
do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and,
love your neighbor as yourself.”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What
do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your
possessions and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this he went away sad. because he had
great wealth.
Matthew 19:16-22
Jesus said, “If you want to be great, be a giver. “
The world measures success by how much you can acquire; how grand the house;
how expensive the car. Most of us spend a lot of time worrying about what
we will eat and drink and wear. Jesus says, “Not in my Kingdom.”
It is always about giving.
In Matthew 14:13 and following we read the story of a little
boy who was the only guy who showed up at the meeting that day with a lunch.
And at the end of the day some big guy wanted to take that lunch away. And
he let him have it. He could have been selfish and filled his stomach, instead
he was “great” and 2,000 years later we're still talking about it.
He gave up what was his by rights and because he did, God performed a miracle.
5,000 people ate and when they were done there was at least 12 times as much
left over as they had when they started.
Our other story is the 19th Chapter of Matthew.
There was a young man who came to Jesus who was a rich young
ruler and he said, “I want the greatest prize of all. I want to know
how to get eternal life. How do I inherit the kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus
said, “If you want that, then obey.” Sound familiar? The man said,
“I have obeyed -- from my childhood up.” Jesus said, “Okay,
then give. Go sell everything you have and give it to the poor and come follow
me.” And he went away sorrowful.
We think that the reason for people's sorrow and misery is that
they are poor, not rich.
But he was rich and he was still sorrowful.
We think it is because people are downtrodden and they're not
at the top of the ladder – that if we could just get them farther up
the ladder they would be happy.
But he was a ruler. And he still went away sorrowful.
We think that sadness comes because we are getting old and life
is running out.
He was young with life ahead of him and he was sorrowful.
The only thing that made him sorrowful was that he was unable
to give. Jesus said, “If you want to be great be a giver.”
We don't say that in our world do we? We say the way to be great
is to accumulate -- to live the lifestyle of the rich and famous. The more
you get the better off you are and the better you are. There has been a popular
bumper sticker on cars that says:
The one who dies with the most toys, wins.
Materialism is the code of our day and greatness is measured
by how much you accumulate. Jesus said greatness is based on what you give
away. Someone heard a man talking some time ago about things he had ought
to relax with. You know, the swimming pool, and a hammock, and all the other
stuff -- the house in the suburbs, the yard and all of that. He said, “I
spend all of my time mowing the lawn, and cleaning the pool. I never get the
chance to use the pool. I spend all my time and money cleaning it up. He said
the stuff isn't my possession, it owns me and runs my life.”
Jesus said if you want to be great you have to give. That is
not what the world says. The world says, “accumulate, hang on to it,
look out for number one”. Grab it tightly in your fists and pile it up
– and die. John Wesley said, “Make all you can, save all you can,
GIVE all you can.”
Jesus said if you want to be great, be obedient.
If you want to be great, be loving.
If you want to be great, be a giver.
THE WORLD SHOUTS: ACQUIRE!
Jesus whispers: Give.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked,
“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he
said:
“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like
little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever
humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:1-4, NIV
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who
is the greatest?” Jesus did not say Mohammed Ali. He called a little
child and had him stand among them and said, “I tell you the truth, unless
you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom
of Heaven. Therefore, he who humbles himself like this child is the greatest
in the kingdom of Heaven.” Jesus said if you want to be great, be like
a child. Society seems to believe that to be successful you must always have
the answers, be thick-skinned, and be cynical. Jesus says, “Not in my
Kingdom.” It is always about childlikeness. It’s hard to know all
that is wrapped up in that statement, but there are three things that perhaps
are suggested by this thought.
Jesus knew that a child is -- Tender.
You prick a baby with a thorn and it will bleed. You prick most
of us old codgers with a thorn and about all it does is break the thorn off.
Real men “don't eat quiche” and they don't cry -- but a child is
tender.
A mother sat near her toddler son in church. Somewhere in the
course of that service she was moved by what was being sung or said and the
tears began to roll down her cheeks. Her son saw that from three rows back
and came running up the aisle and slipped in beside her and wrapped his arms
around her neck and patted her and tried to comfort her. He didn't understand
what was going on, but someone he loved was crying. That touched him -- because
children are tender. They care when they see somebody else hurt. Jesus said,
if you want to be great be like a child.
We may not know all that Jesus meant by His statement, but it
may also include the fact that a child is -- Teachable.
During the terrible twos, the dominant words of a child seem
to be “no” and “mine”. Then comes the age when the child
says “why” and “how”. Why is the sun outside? Why is the
grass green? How do you wash a car? Can you teach me how to make cookies?
And they want to do and learn about everything they see about them. Not even
the Holy Spirit could teach some of us old dogs new tricks! But a child is
teachable; eager to learn, willing to try. And Jesus said if you want to be
great be like a child.
We may not understand all that Jesus meant by what He said,
but it probably includes the fact that a child is tender, a child is teachable,
and a child is -- Trusting.
Have you seen her jump into the deep end of the pool? -- no
fear; because daddy's there. Or jump off the stone wall into mother's arms.
There was a story a while ago about a father who stood his kid
on the wall and said “jump” and let him fall on his face. He put
him back on the wall and said, “jump” and let him fall on his face.
He put him on the wall again said “Jump, I'll catch you”, and let
him fall on his face. He said, “There, let that be a lesson to you. Don't
you ever trust anybody.”
That's not what God wants us to learn. He wants us to be trusting
– to be able to trust one another, and most of all to put our trust in
Him.
Dr. Sidney Martin often told the following story about one of
Scotland's greatest preachers, Alexander McLaren. He was born in a village
about three miles outside of the city boundaries of Glasgow. As a boy and
a teenager and well into his later life, he was plagued by an inherent dread
of the darkness. At age fourteen he found work in the city center of Glasgow
in an office there. That office was some seven miles from his home and for
his convenience it was planned that he should live with relatives in the center
of the city throughout the week and come home for weekends. Before he left
home to begin his new job, Alexander McLaren said, “My father declared
that I was to be home on Saturday night. We'll have to be all here ready to
worship in the House of the Lord on the Sabbath Day. When my father gave me
that commandment, I began to cringe.” This was the November time of the
year and there were no four-day weeks in those days. Alex had to walk on a
Saturday and he didn't finish work till five o'clock. By that time it was
pitch black and he had seven miles to walk home in the darkness. And with
that prospect in mind he said to his father, “Dad can't I stay with my
aunt and uncle on Saturday night and I'll walk home Sunday morning and I'll
be home in plenty of time for service.” The father said, “No Alex.
Nobody travels in this house on the Lord's day. You will be here on Saturday
night.” Alexander McLaren said, “as I contemplated that walk, that
seven mile walk in the dark, my heart failed within me. But, as I walked the
four miles or so from the city center to the boundary, it wasn't too bad.
The city streetlights were lit. When I came to the boundary there was nothing
ahead but black darkness. But I plucked up my courage and walked on until
I came to a certain spot on the road. And at that spot the road dipped down
into what was known locally as the haunted glen." He said that even in
broad daylight it was gloomy and eerie walking through the haunted glen. And
he said, "that night I stood on the verge of the glen and every bit of
courage I ever had evaporated. I stood there with my knees knocking. I dare
not set another foot. And to add to my discomfort, I heard footsteps approaching
out of the haunted glen. My fear knew no bounds until little by little I began
to recognize something vaguely familiar about those footsteps and out of the
gloom of the haunted glen there emerged the figure of my father. And he said,
‘Good evening Alex. I thought I'd just take a wee walk before supper.’”
But Alexander McLaren said later “I learned from my mother that that
walk had been planned well ahead. My father was waiting for me in the haunted
glen till he heard my footsteps. And that night as my father turned his heel
and thrust his arm through mine, I'd have gone through the haunted glen had
it been peopled with all the demons out of hell. My father was with me. And
that night,” Alexander McLaren said, “I learned something about
my dad I never realized before. To me he had always been a kind of a tyrant,
a paternal dictator. But that night I realized that he was my father and he
loved me. He knew my fears. He knew my weakness. He knew my inward shrinking
as I contemplated what lay ahead.” And friends, that's the kind of God
we have. That is why we have never to fear.
THE WORLD SHOUTS: GROW UP!
Jesus whispers: Be like a child.
Jesus called them together and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over
them,
and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be your slave –
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:25-28, NIV
The greatest among you will be your servant.
Matthew 23:11, NIV
In almost every society servants (Jesus used the word slave.)
are the lowest on the social ladder. Jesus said that leaders usually lord
it over others. People from some nations say, “We are free. We have never
been conquered by anyone. We will not be servants.” People from nations
that have been conquered and exploited say, “We are tired of being subjugated.
We will not be servants ever again.” No one wants to be a servant. Instead,
we measure greatness by how many servants you have or how many people report
to us on the job. Jesus says, “Not in my Kingdom.” It is always
about being servants.
Jesus said the way to be great is to be a servant. In this passage
we find James, John, and their mother coming to Jesus. One wants to be on
the right hand and one wants to be on the left hand (Secretary of State and
Secretary of Defense), when Jesus comes into the Kingdom. Jesus said, “You
don't have the right to ask that and I don't have the right to give it to
you.” Notice how he says it in verse 25. Jesus called them together and
said, “You know that the rulers of the gentiles lord it over them. In
their eyes they shall exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead,
whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants
to be first must be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give His life for ransom for many.” In chapter 23:11
you find it stated again. The greatest among you will be your servant. And
notice, He does not say we have become HIS servants. We are not to become
HIS slaves. (Although that is also true.) We become each others’ servants.
We don't mind becoming God's slaves, but the idea of my becoming
your slave, that is something else. But Jesus said, if you want to be great
you must become a servant. Do you see why this world is upside down? Because
in our world, the greater you become, the less people you serve and the more
people serve you. You move up to foreman and “they” take the orders.
And you send them for coffee and you let them do the difficult stuff and you
sit and wait till its done and give the directions and the orders. That's
the sign of greatness. How many people obey you or serve you, not how many
you obey or how many you serve.
But Jesus said if you want to be great in my kingdom you become
a servant. You become the slave of all. And Jesus did it. He took a towel
and basin and washed feet. Most of us would say, “Lord, I don't do feet.”
He did feet. He said, in effect, “I am telling you something about the
Greatest in my Kingdom. You call me Lord and you are right when you call me
Lord. And If I am Lord and Master and wash your feet then you ought to wash
each others feet.”
And we need to understand that this business of being a servant
doesn't just mean doing servant things. It really means having the spirit
of servanthood. There's a difference between an attitude of servanthood and
the typical way of complaining while doing all the dirty work and letting
everybody know how much you hate doing it. “Do you understand?”
Jesus said, “I call you to servanthood.” To willingly be a slave
to all -- that's greatness.
THE WORLD SHOUTS: BE THE BOSS!
Jesus whispers: Be a servant.
You see, it all comes down to the fact that the essence of greatness
is the quality of our character and the kind of persons we are – not
in the things that we do or the titles after our names – or in all the
rest, but in how much like Jesus we have become. In His Kingdom, if you want
to be great, be obedient. Be a servant. Be loving. Be giving. Be like a child.
There was a man some years ago that who had power and success
and fame and wealth. But there are few who would say that Adolph Hitler was
“great”. There was, on the other hand, a little withered old lady
who spent all of her time with dying people in the ghettos of the cities of
India. For a long time nobody knew her. She didn't have much money, and she
wasn’t great to look at. But when Mother Theresa walked into the room,
royalty stood.
If you search for the greatness of the world and pursue and
strive for it, it brings turmoil and conflict. But when you strive for the
kind of greatness that Christ desires it brings peace. Do you see why I say
that God really wants to turn our lives upside down? And yet, even we who
are Christians end up living our lives in the day to day process of things
pretty much like the world around us. And pretty much like that world dictates.
And pretty much by that world's standards. Don't we? But if we let Him turn
us upside down then everyone will think that we look kind of funny going through
life on our heads. Maybe. Yet maybe looking at the world in the ankles is
to be looking at Christ in the eye. And you will find out that He and those
who have listened to him are the only ones who really live life right side
up. -- because it’s world that’s upside down. Listen and you will
hear the world shouting:
THE WORLD SHOUTS: ASSERT YOURSELF! Jesus whispers: Submit.
THE WORLD SHOUTS: TAKE ADVANTAGE! Jesus whispers: Love.
THE WORLD SHOUTS: ACQUIRE! Jesus whispers: Give.
THE WORLD SHOUTS: GROW UP! Jesus whispers: Be a child.
THE WORLD SHOUTS: BE THE MASTER! Jesus whispers: Be a servant.
THE WORLD SHOUTS: DO YOUR OWN THING! Jesus whispers: Obey.
THE WORLD SHOUTS: MANIPULATE! Jesus whispers: Serve
THE WORLD SHOUTS: SEX! Jesus whispers: Love
THE WORLD SHOUTS: SELF! Jesus whispers: Others
That's the way to be great. God calls us to that with a still
small voice. Are we quiet enough to hear what he says about the standards
of greatness? About the measuring sticks of life? Have we tuned out the boom
box and the television and the advertising of Madison Avenue and let Jesus
whisper the priorities of life? Are we Christians in name only and living
like the world or have we really come to him and let him have everything and
turn our lives upside down? If we're really like his disciples then we have
to let him do it. Even if the world thinks we look weird.
This kind of grace, when it is lived out in our lives, does
indeed turn life upside down.
May God help us to change our –
Rebellion into Obedience
Self-indulgence into Love
Selfishness into Generosity
Demanding in to Servanthood
and to become more child-like.
That would be great indeed!!
Possible Songs:
SL # 541 Jesus Calls Us
SL # 487 I am Resolved
SL # 208 I Want to be Like Jesus
SL # 490 Oh to be Like Thee
SL # 679 The Servant Song
SL # 535 Make Me a Servant
