The Road to True Greatness

[0:00] And they're kind of struggling here in Luke chapter 9 trying to figure out exactly what it looks like.! And I think that we can relate to that. I know I can. I know the Lord wants me to do things, but sometimes I'm like, Lord, how do I do this? Where do I go?

[0:11] And it's been a help to me, and I hope it has been to you. And we're going to see the disciples, Jesus is laying his heart out, and they completely miss the point. You ever been there? You're like, all right, Lord, I'll do that.

[0:24] You know, sometimes I just lay my heart out to my kids. They're like, yeah, what are we going to have for dinner? I'm like, good talk, guys. That's kind of the disciples right here. That's where we pick up our reading in verse 46. We're going to read just a few verses here.

[0:36] The Bible says this, Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be the greatest? And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child and set him by him.

[0:50] And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me, And whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me. For he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.

[1:05] It's kind of one of those things, okay, Jesus lays it out. And John answered him and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us.

[1:16] And Jesus said unto him, I can see Jesus almost just shaking his head, Forbid him not, for he that is not against us is for us. What I want to preach a message this morning entitled this, The Road to True Greatness.

[1:31] See, the disciples think they're on that road, but they're on the completely wrong road. And Jesus wants to recalculate their life, so to speak, and say, This is what true greatness looks like.

[1:43] It's not about being great in the world's eyes. The least among you will be the greatest. So let's have a word of prayer, and then we're going to jump right into it this morning. Father, thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for this wonderful time that we've had to lift our voices together.

[1:54] Thank you for the wonderful special. Lord, we have so many things that we could say, but thank you seems just not adequate, but it's all that we have, Lord. We're so thankful for what you've done for us.

[2:05] And Lord, I pray that if there is someone here this morning that does not know you as their Savior, that today would be that day. Lord, I pray for those that do and claim to follow you, that, Lord, we would be living a life that you call us to, that the greatness you have laid for us.

[2:20] Lord, I pray you would just be with me now. You would empty me of self. You would cleanse me of sin. Fill me with your spirit, Lord. I need you. I need you to guide my words and my thoughts, and we ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Thank you so much for standing.

[2:30] You may be seated. I love the sports debate of the goat. The greatest of all time. Every sport pretty much has this, and you turn on the TV, some of you sports people, you turn on the, and they just are always arguing about who's the goat.

[2:48] When it comes to basketball, you know, is it Michael Jordan? Is it LeBron James? Is it Kobe Bryant? It's Michael Jordan, right? Yeah, okay. Or it's Dirk Nowitzki, actually. It's actually Dirk, but that's just my own personal opinion.

[3:01] You know, when it comes to football and quarterbacks especially, it's kind of really what it comes to. Is it Tom Brady? Is it Joe Montana? Is it Peyton Manning? Is it down the list? And maybe it's Uncle Rico in your book.

[3:13] I don't know really who it is that it could have been. Hockey, you're like, the only name I know is Wayne Gretzky. Same here. Let's just move on. I was going to ask about the greatest college football team, but Brother Jonathan's already mentioned from the pulpit what it is, and so we're not here to cause a church division.

[3:33] We're here in the unity of the Spirit, so we're just going to move right along. But it really doesn't matter if it's sports. I think that we all have that desire to be great at something.

[3:46] And there's nothing wrong with the ambition to be great at what you do, and I think there's things in life that we do crave recognition. We want to matter. I think that lives in our hearts.

[3:57] I mean, you don't wake up in the morning. You don't wake up tomorrow morning to go to work and be like, I'm setting out to be the worst of all time. Now, you may work with that person, but hopefully that's not your mindset.

[4:08] And just to say this right here, as a Christian, you should strive to do great things for the Lord. But here's the problem that every human heart wrestles with pride.

[4:19] You go all the way back to the Garden of Eden, you're going to find it there. You're going to find it before the Garden of Eden. It's what caused Satan to fall, that he will be like the Most High, that he wanted the throne, that he wanted the preeminent.

[4:33] And inside each of us lives a relentless worshiper of self. Sometimes we hide it, but it's in there. We like ourselves, and we naturally want to be first.

[4:47] We want to be noticed. We want to be applauded. Humility, on the other hand, is not natural. Humility is something that is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.

[5:00] I do love when I watch the end of the game, and I mean, sometimes you want to know how good somebody is, just at the end of a football game, interview them. They'll tell you how good they are. I mean, you know, I'm just faster, I'm better, I'm stronger.

[5:11] Oh, yeah, I want to thank my teammates and my coaches, too. But it's always, it's just out there, it just kind of creeps out. But the Bible does call us to humility. It calls us to, if we are following the Lord, to walk after him.

[5:24] Micah told us, he has showed thee, O man, what is good. And what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.

[5:35] The Bible tells us, we're going to see it in Luke 14, he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. The book of James reminds us that we are to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift thee up.

[5:49] We want to be lifted up, but there's a way that that comes about, and humility, while it might be alien to our fallen, to the way that we live, it's essential to our Christian walk.

[6:01] But just because it's essential doesn't mean that we do it all the time. And as we come to our text, that's kind of the rub that we see here. Is it really, as we've looked over the last few weeks, Jesus is really from this moment on, and especially in verse 51, his face is set towards Jerusalem.

[6:21] He came for the cross of Calvary. He's always known this. In fact, before the foundation of the world, there was a lamb that was slain. Jesus, the cross did not catch him by surprise, but at this moment in history, he's really moving towards it now.

[6:37] And he's starting to lay these things out and tell the disciples things like, hey, the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of the Pharisees, he's going to be killed. And they're thinking, nope, we're not doing that.

[6:48] And he tells them, if you want to follow me, here's what it's going to look like. You're going to have to take up your cross daily. You're going to have to deny yourself, and you're going to have to come after me. And what's taking place there is they're struggling with that because that's not the plan they signed up for.

[7:07] When they kind of got wind of who this Jesus was, they're thinking, I'll follow that guy because I can see great things in my future. If this man can do these things, if he can cause all these fish to come in the boat, he can feed these people and heal these people.

[7:22] Well, I'm all in on that. I mean, if he can do this, no doubt he can overthrow Rome. That's kind of where the disciples were. And they thought greatness, much like we think today, is about being recognized.

[7:36] That they would walk through the streets of Capernaum. They would walk through the streets of Jerusalem. Why did you, that's Peter over there. Yeah, it's me, I'm Peter. I'm the leader over here, guys. And they were struggling.

[7:46] Many of these men were probably late teens, early 20s. They were craving that. But Luke 9 and these passages we looked at was a shock to their system.

[8:00] Jesus predicting his death. Really, the disciples couldn't even comprehend it. They were still picturing this earthly kingdom. They had visions of thrones and crowns and power and prestige.

[8:13] And they were thinking, man, I remember that guy in school making fun of me for being a fisherman. Watch this. That's where they were. That's what they wanted. And that's what they kept striving after.

[8:25] And so right after Jesus speaks about a cross, right after Jesus is showing them that what's going to take place, and he's telling them, you're going to suffer too. Instead of dwelling on that, they start arguing about who's the greatest.

[8:41] They start worrying about, hey, I'm the goat. Peter said, listen, everybody knows this, guys. I'm the greatest disciple of all time. I'm the leader. I'm the one that's going to say things.

[8:52] You remember when I said, thou art the Christ? That was me. You don't read your Bible like this? The disciples were trash talking with each other. They were excited about their possibility of being there because that's what's taking place in verse 46.

[9:09] Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be the greatest? You remember just a few weeks back, Peter, James, and John were on the mountain of transfiguration.

[9:21] They saw Jesus kind of pull back his humanity and saw his divinity, and yet they're still arguing about who's the greatest. That's a picture into our heart and our mindset as human beings because really all the things he's been saying, Jesus is talking about humility, and they're focused on the hierarchy.

[9:41] That's where their mind is. Jesus came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. Jesus is talking about serving one another and loving one another and suffering for others, and they're focused on status.

[9:57] Well, I just want to at least be in the top three. And James and John thinking, we already got that covered. Sorry, Bartholomew. You know, it's Peter, James, and John. Everybody knows that. But before we're too hard on them, I think we need to stop and look in the mirror and realize we do the same things often.

[10:14] That we do compare ourselves one with another. We can come and we can say, well, at least I'm better than so-and-so. I mean, you know, I can do better than them. I mean, we have all these things.

[10:26] We compete with one another. We crave importance. And Jesus knew this was taking place. So what he does is he kind of sets his disciples down, and he shows them.

[10:37] And he shows us what true greatness looks like. He lays out the road map to it. He said, this is the road you have to walk to really experience greatness. Because if we follow the world's definition of greatness, we're going to be frustrated.

[10:53] We're going to be just beat up. We're going to be so upset. We're going to realize this. It's empty. Solomon told us in the book of Ecclesiastes, he sought everything the world had to offer, and here's what he found out.

[11:06] It was worth nothing. It was vanity of vanities. Emptiness of emptiness. And the disciples are seeking and searching for that. And Jesus says, here's where true greatness comes from.

[11:19] Humility. That's where it's found. And he wanted the disciples, and he wants us to see a few things, and we're going to walk through this text here. I think, number one, he wants us to see this, that humble disciples value insignificant people in serving Jesus.

[11:36] Humble disciples value insignificant people. You know, I've been married long enough now where I just think things, and she looks at me and just says, no.

[11:50] I can't have any fun. I can't do anything I want to do. She just knows everything that's going on in my brain, it's not fair. And I just, but I'm like, but come on. No. You know, anybody like that?

[12:02] Any people in that situation? I mean, you just kind of get that look on your face, and no, we're not doing that. The disciples, they're kind of reasoning among themselves.

[12:13] They're not arguing out loud in front of Jesus. You know, maybe they're over in the corner, and Jesus said, hey, what y'all talking about over there? But he knows their heart, and that's what the Bible says, that he begins to, he reads their heart.

[12:26] They hadn't really said a word in front of him, but he knew their thoughts, and here's what he found. They were full of pride. And he calls them out. Not like we would, like, hey, stop doing that, John.

[12:39] No, he says, hey, guys, come here. I want to tell y'all something. I want to teach y'all a lesson. Everybody come here. Verse number 47, And Jesus, perceiving their thought, the thought of their heart, took a child and set him by him.

[12:53] Maybe this was one of the disciples' kids. You know, they would travel maybe in a group, and maybe it was one of their children. He came and said, hey, why don't you come sit down next to me? Why don't you come hang out with me real quick?

[13:03] And he's there, and with that simple gesture, we can kind of read over and say, okay, well, you know, Jesus loves the little children of the world. We know that song. Everybody knows that song. But with this simple gesture, here's what Jesus is doing, redefining what greatness looks like.

[13:20] You know, because in our day, children are celebrated, and they should be. Children are a wonderful, beautiful gift from the Lord. Lord, sometimes I have to remind myself of that. You know, we went down and saw my parents and were on a road trip.

[13:34] You know, road trips just bring the best and worst out of families. Like, I'm going to pull this car over. I'm the only person that's ever threatened to pull the car over. No, I didn't think so.

[13:46] But we celebrate our children. We love our children. But in the world of the first century, children were way down the rung of the ladder. I mean, they had no rights.

[13:57] They had no rank. They had no reputation. And since they were dependent, they were powerless, and they were viewed as insignificant. Many of the, even Jewish leaders of the day, they would have thoughts that, hey, don't waste your time with kids.

[14:13] They have nothing to offer you. They're not going to help you in your business. They're not going to help you move forward. So, hey, there's nothing that they need from you. Don't waste your time. So by Jesus bringing this little child up and setting him next to him, you know, because they wanted, here's the problem, Peter wanted to sit there.

[14:34] James and John wanted to be on the right and left hand. He said, you know what? I got somebody that can take this spot. Why don't you come here? Brings this little kid and sets him next to him. And what he's doing is he is shattering their value system.

[14:47] Because in their heart, they're arguing. In their heart, they're saying, I want to be great. And as Jesus is sitting next to him, he says, you want to be great? This is what it looks like. This little kid.

[14:59] And they're thinking, what? A kid? What can he do? He doesn't even have a bank account. He doesn't even have a job. You know, he's always bugging me. What are we going to have for lunch? Like kids do.

[15:11] And husbands do too sometimes. I hope it's good. But I want us to really understand what he's saying.

[15:21] Jesus is teaching us this. To welcome the least is to welcome the Lord. To serve the small is to serve the Savior.

[15:34] This took everything that they had been taught, everything their society says, this is what greatness looks like. And he turns it on its head. And he tells them, greatness is measured by service, not status.

[15:46] That in this simple, single act of just bringing a child next to him, that he turned their world upside down and flipped the definition of greatness. That this is what it looks like.

[15:58] As a follower of Christ, serving others, serving the insignificant is what greatness really does. So what does it look like today in our life? How does it look like in your walk with the Lord?

[16:12] Maybe it's at home, as a parent, serving your children in love is greatness. Now yes, there's a hierarchy and there isn't a order that God has set it up in.

[16:24] But listen, we are to love our children. We are to train them up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. That they're not our servants. That they're not there just to give us what we want and hey, give them something just to get them out of our hair.

[16:38] But on the other side, kids, teens that are in here, you know what it looks like? It looks like honoring your parents. Obeying your parents. That's what God has called us to do. Because I know you know this sometimes, sometimes your parents have no idea what they're doing.

[16:53] Just pray for them. They need it, okay? They're trying the best they can. But there should be that mutual love and respect that we're to serve each other.

[17:03] That we're not to prefer others above. No, that we're to look at ourselves and say, Lord, how can I be a help? Maybe at work, are you the person that's known for helping others or known for stepping on them to get to the next level?

[17:17] It looks like service. That God calls us to that. Maybe at church, the question we need to ask ourselves is, are we a participant or just a spectator?

[17:31] I'm thankful everybody is here this morning. But God calls us into the church family to serve one another. That we're not just to come and get and get and get and get.

[17:41] I hope you get something. I hope you get something from the message. I hope you get something from the songs. I hope you got something from the Sunday school hour. I know you got the donuts. And there's certain things you should get.

[17:53] But when you come into the church, are you looking, what can I get? Or what can I do? How can I serve? How can I show others the love of Christ in this place? You know, sometimes it's areas that you don't want to be.

[18:08] You know, I'm so thankful that we have people that greet you when you walk in that smile. Maybe you could do that. You think, what can I do in the church? Maybe be a greeter and just show up and smile and say, hey, we're glad you're here.

[18:20] If you don't smile, don't sign up for that. I'm thankful for our nursery workers. I'm so thankful for them.

[18:31] I'm thankful for our Sunday school teachers. I'm thankful for our children's church workers. I'm thankful for those that are willing to drive a bus and to do the things and come a little bit earlier and stay a little bit later. Why? So people can hear the gospel.

[18:42] That's what it's about. That's what it is. I'm thankful for those that take time and effort and clean and mow the yard and all the things around her so when you show up on Sunday, hey, it looks like, hey, we take care of this place.

[18:55] Those are important things and God calls us all. It's simple things. Sometimes we think ministry is standing behind a pulpit. No, it's just serving people. How do you view people in your world that you come across every day of the week as interruptions or invitations to love them like Jesus?

[19:14] Because you're going to run into somebody tomorrow and you're going to think, man, I wish they would just leave me alone. I'm trying to get my work done. Maybe God keeps allowing them to interrupt you because they just need to be loved. Maybe you can just serve in that aspect because Jesus says, that's what greatness looks like.

[19:32] For he that is least among you all, the same shall be great. That's what he is calling us to do. And see, Jesus' example, I can imagine they're kind of looking around thinking like, oh my goodness.

[19:44] Like, how did he know? How did he know we were talking about this? And he kind of silences their argument. But I'm sure you found out in your own life, as I have, that pride doesn't die easily.

[19:57] It likes to rear its ugly head. I think, okay, okay. I'll serve people better. I'll serve them. And you know, I'm going to do my very best, but what about these people over here?

[20:09] This is what John kind of brings up there in verse number 49. Kind of like right on cue. Because there's another kind of pride that we deal with, not just that we think of ourselves higher and that maybe we shouldn't serve, but this spiritual superiority.

[20:24] That's a deadly type of pride. That, hey, you know, I go to this church and I've been saved this long and we wouldn't maybe say that out loud, but sometimes we deal with it in our heart.

[20:37] Like, man, I wish they'd just get their act together like I have. We'll just move right along. But here's the thought, that humble disciples, number two, appreciate others who serve Jesus.

[20:54] So humble disciples, they value those that are the world consider insignificant because we all are, by the way. That none of us are significant to be honored by Jesus.

[21:05] No, he came and he loved us despite who we are. But John, I love John. I bet John thinks he sounds so spiritual. Verse number 49, he comes and says, and John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name and we forbade him because he follows not with us.

[21:25] He comes up and he said, Jesus, I just want you to know, yes, we're going to serve other people, but we had some jokers over there in the other town. They were trying to serve you and they're not one of us.

[21:35] So I told him, don't even think about it. That's what he's saying. You know, and John's so happy and he's popping his lapel and he's very excited about what God has called him to do and don't forget that the disciples just a few verses ago failed miserably to cast the devil out.

[21:52] You know, it's easy to see others' problem and miss our own. But have you ever noticed how envy hides behind discernment sometimes? We criticize others to make ourselves feel righteous?

[22:08] John's got his chest all puffed out and Jesus said, man, forbid him not. Like, he's doing a great work. He's doing a great job and Jesus said, for he that is not against us is for us.

[22:26] In other words, here's what Jesus is saying. Don't stop someone from doing good in my name just because they're not in your group. That's what he's saying.

[22:38] Listen, this kingdom, God's kingdom is bigger than our circle, our style, our label. It is. I know it's hard sometimes to think that and that's what Jesus says, that they're not against us, they're not for us.

[22:51] True greatness does not compete. It celebrates, it rejoices when Christ is glorified no matter who gets the credit. that's what Jesus is teaching us.

[23:02] That's what Jesus is reminding us. The apostle Paul gives us a great biblical example of this. In Philippians chapter number one and the church at Philippi and others were worried that people were kind of piggybacking off Paul and they were glad he was in prison because they finally got to be the preacher and they finally got to preach the gospel.

[23:25] Paul could have said, you're not the apostle Paul, what are you doing? You know what he said? He said, I'm thankful the gospel's going forward. I'm thankful somebody's hearing the truth. He said, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached and therein do I rejoice.

[23:40] That's what Paul was about. He didn't care who got the applause, he cared that Christ got the glory. That's what God has called us to do. God didn't call us to build our kingdom.

[23:52] God didn't call us to build the Central Baptist Church kingdom of Gainesville, Texas. No, he called us to build his kingdom. But there are other churches in this county and in this city that preach the gospel of Christ and here's what we should say, praise the Lord.

[24:09] Because I'm looking out, yeah, all of Gainesville is not in here. We're not the only church. We're not the only church that preaches the gospel and we need to have that kingdom-minded humility.

[24:20] That we, even towards other churches, we need that, we're not competitors, we're co-laborers. I love this thought, we can be brothers and not twins. That's okay.

[24:32] That's okay. That's what Jesus is saying toward other believers. We don't, we need to stop comparing gifts and start celebrating the grace that God has given us the gifts. Paul deals with this later.

[24:44] Not everybody in this church has the same gift. You know, some of you are encouragers. You should be greeters. Some of you are just truth tellers. You don't need to be a greeter. You wore that today?

[24:55] Oh man, come on in. I'm just saying. We can't say, well they get to get up here and they get up here and they do this and they sing.

[25:06] Listen, God gave them the ability to sing. Some of you sing a joyful noise in the Lord. I get it. I do. But sometimes we get so worried and we're so focused on comparing one another that we don't realize, hey, the gospel's going forward and we miss it and we're not excited about it.

[25:24] How does it come towards differing ministries? I just want to say this, if they preach the gospel, praise God. Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. Appreciation doesn't mean compromise. It doesn't.

[25:37] It means humility. Because there's others that we may not agree with. But God didn't call us to make that known. You know what God called us to do? Just run the race He's called us to.

[25:47] To appreciate the others that are there in doing the work of Christ. So Jesus is teaching here that greatness looks like humility. It values others that, it values people that others overlook.

[26:00] It appreciates the people that others envy. But He has one final layer. And really we find it in Mark chapter 9 and Matthew chapter 18. The synoptic gospels that men's this, when you hear that word, they're to be seen together.

[26:16] Because sometimes each gospel writer, they take different lenses, but especially in Mark's account of this text, Jesus reminds us of this, that humble disciples remove anything that hinders them from serving Jesus.

[26:31] And that's what He does. If you have your Bible there, why don't you flip over to Mark chapter 9. We'll read just a couple verses here. It's in the same context, it's in the same story as He's brought these children here and He's kind of laying out what humility looks like.

[26:45] And Jesus kind of shifts from this illustration that this is what humility looks like, this is how it serves, this is what it does, it appreciates. And He gives a very stern warning.

[26:58] He shows that humility isn't soft. Sometimes we look at humility and meekness and we think, the world's going to walk all over us. No, it's a very serious thing. Jesus was humble.

[27:10] He was, you know, Jesus describes Himself one time, He is meek and lowly. Meekness does not mean weakness. Moses, the Bible says, Moses was the meekest man on the earth.

[27:23] You think Moses was a pushover? You read the Exodus, you read what he did and the millions of complainers that he dealt with. I think he knew what he was doing and he was trusting the Lord. Notice what the Bible says in Mark chapter 9, verse number 42.

[27:39] And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believeth in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he were cast into the sea.

[27:52] Sometimes we read these verses and think, what is Jesus talking about? He wants us to understand this, that the little ones are not just children per se, not just young children, but all of those that are vulnerable, young and vulnerable believers.

[28:09] That sometimes we, sometimes we've been saved a long time, we've been serving Jesus a long time, that we think, man, what is their problem? You know what he's reminding us? We used to be there too.

[28:22] And sometimes we might have grown in our faith in some things that we were very staunch on and very just matter of fact and dogmatic about. It's okay to have preferences, it's okay to have some of these things, but we can get so hung up and say, well, if that offends them, then that's their problem.

[28:38] You know what we have to do sometimes? Sometimes we have to set aside our pride and our preferences and our certain kind of things that we like to do for the good of the kingdom, for the good of the gospel.

[28:51] You can do whatever you want. All things are lawful, Paul says, but it doesn't mean everything's good to do. It doesn't mean it's always something we can do there. And here's what Jesus is saying in this verse. Don't be the reason somebody trips up.

[29:04] You say, well, it's not my problem they're doing that. But maybe you're the one that God's placed in their life. And maybe they come and they're looking at you at work. They're looking at you in the church and how you do things and how you serve and they're thinking, well, why does he do that?

[29:17] You know, well, I don't think that's what should be taking place. And Jesus is reminding us that our life should lift people up, not trip them up. That's why a follower of Christ, we're to be the light, we're to be the salt, we're to bring others to him.

[29:33] And not stick our foot out so they trip over and say, what's your problem, man? That's what Jesus is saying. See, his warning is severe. But he takes it a step farther in that next verse.

[29:46] Verse 43 of Mark 9. And thy hand offend thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter into life maimed than having two hands to go into hell and to the fire that shall never be quenched.

[29:59] Where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. Verse 45, and a knife foot offend thee, cut it off. Verse 47, and a knife eye offend thee, pluck it out. What is Jesus saying here?

[30:12] Listen, he's not calling for literal amputation. You know what he's saying the disciples do, humble disciples? He's calling them to radical repentance. That if something causes you or something causes others to stumble, get rid of it.

[30:30] That's what Jesus is saying. If your hand, what you do offends other people, here's what Jesus says, stop it. It's not worth it. If your foot, where you go and where you visit, if it offends, avoid it.

[30:45] If your eye, what you watch and what you desire, if it offends others, turn from it. He's saying if there's an issue and it's causing others to stumble, it's not worth it.

[30:56] Don't try to patch it up. If you walked in your house and there's black mold everywhere, say, let's get the air freshener out. If you find it in your house and you know what you do, rip it out. Because it's not healthy.

[31:09] It's deadly. And Jesus is saying, listen, a disciple, a true follower of Christ is not living for the here and now. It's not living for the crowns and the power and the prestige this world has to offer.

[31:22] No, humble disciples live for eternity. That's the goal. Listen, we're living, God has called us to make heaven crowded. That we are the ones that call others to who he is.

[31:35] And that's what he says. It's better to enter into life maimed than have two hands and go into hell. That it's better to lose temporary comfort than eternal life.

[31:47] And a true, humble disciple of Christ values eternal reward over earthly reputation. And Jesus is trying to weed this out of the disciples because guess what's in our heart and our mind?

[31:59] We want prestige. Is it really worth that co-worker, that family member, that church member to miss heaven because they were so focused on how you lived and you weren't pointing to Jesus, you were pointing to yourself.

[32:14] Jesus didn't call us to bring disciples to us. He called us to bring it to him. That's what he's showing here. Humble disciples, they live for eternity and they live salty lives.

[32:27] Verse number 49, For everyone shall be salted with fire and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good. Some of you, that's your life verse right there. Especially Brother Garrett.

[32:38] He likes salt. But, if the salt hath lost his saltiness, wherewith will ye season it?

[32:49] Have salt in yourselves and have peace one with another. Listen, salt, it preserves purity. It preserves peace.

[33:00] And Jesus calls us to be a preservative, not a pollutant to the world around us. Is your life, are you living a life, you know, salt creates thirst.

[33:11] Is your life, the way you live for Christ, is it causing somebody else to thirst for him? Or, if you're living so much for yourself that it's just kind of like, oh man, you've been around somebody that kind of thinks very highly of themselves, it's very off-putting, isn't it?

[33:26] Like, man, he likes himself. You don't want to be around people like that. Jesus says, like, when people are around us, it should be salty. It should point others to him.

[33:38] That's what he calls us to live like. Just some practical examples. Where all, a lot of us are on social media. Maybe you should ask yourself this, right before you're about to send something, post something.

[33:53] Will this post draw people to Christ or push them away? That's a good question to ask. Because just because you can type it and just because you can't send it doesn't mean you should.

[34:06] At work, will this conversation you're going to have around the water cooler, will it honor Christ or will it bring reproach to his name? Because it's easy just to get caught up in the conversation. At home, will your children see Jesus and your patience and your priorities?

[34:22] Listen, we all fail, but we should be striving for our children to see who Jesus really is. At church, will my words build unity or stir division?

[34:36] If any of those things, if we're thinking, hey, get rid of it. Ask the Lord to help you. See, humble disciples say this, if it causes another to stumble, I'll lay it down.

[34:49] Because you know what true greatness does? It's going to cost you something. Jesus is going to lay it all out next week. If you're going to follow me, this is what it's going to look like. You're going to follow him wherever and whenever and whatever he asks you to do.

[35:03] And sometimes it's going to be hard. See, Jesus didn't call us to be the greatest of all time. You know who he called us to be like? Him. A suffering servant.

[35:15] That's what Jesus was. See, true greatness is not about applause or recognition. It's about humility and obedience and love. Greatness is walking the path that Jesus walked.

[35:26] How do you find greatness? You have to descend to it. The way up in the Christian life is actually down. That's what Philippians chapter 2 is all about.

[35:36] Read it. That Jesus descended to us. And that greatness has found the same path that Jesus took. And I just want to remind you, if you know Christ as your Savior, that he calls you to that same type of service.

[35:52] And I ask you this as we close. What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you about? What is he calling you to? Maybe he's revealed an area of pride that needs confession. An attitude that maybe in our minds says, I deserve that.

[36:05] Instead of, Lord, what would you have me to do here? How can I serve others? Perhaps you failed to value someone the way Jesus does. Aren't you thankful Jesus values you?

[36:16] He loves you. Do you value people the same way? Maybe you've been comparing your ministry and you've been craving recognition. You've been clutching something that's a stumbling block.

[36:27] If you belong to Christ, the question is not, will I be great? The question is, will I be humble? That's what he calls believers to. Right now, I think we should all ask the Lord, Lord, would you help me live that kind of life?

[36:42] Would you help me live a life that values the people others overlook? Would you help me live a life that appreciates the people God is using? Would you help me live a life that removes anything that hinders others from seeing Jesus in me?

[36:57] What he's called us to do? That's what true greatness looks like. Maybe you're here and you're just not sure where you stand with Jesus. You love him.

[37:09] You enjoy the songs. You want to follow him and you've been searching for meaning and truth and peace. You've tried everything the world says. Hey, do this and you'll be great. But you found this to be true.

[37:20] You're empty handed. Because the world has nothing to offer. It's just going to fade away. It's not lasting. And I just want to remind you here this morning of That's You that the greatest act in history wasn't performed in a stadium.

[37:35] It wasn't performed on a stage. It was performed on the cross of Calvary. The Son of God, the only great one, the true great one, humbled himself and took our sin upon himself and he died in our place so that we might be forgiven.

[37:51] The Bible tells us in Romans 5, but God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That's why he came. That's what he's teaching his disciples.

[38:02] This is what it looks like. But he's not on that cross anymore and he's not in that tomb because three days later he walked out alive, proving that death and sin are defeated forever and he offers that life to you, not rules, not religion, but a relationship with the creator himself.

[38:22] That's where greatness is found. I see these things online, who's the most famous person in your phone and these people, oh yeah, yeah. Listen, you realize you have a direct connection to the God of the universe?

[38:33] That he knows your name, that he loves you, that he cares about what's going on? That problem in your life right now, he wants to help with it. And here's the beautiful thing, you can come as you are, broken and burdened and beaten down and in need of grace and he'll meet you there.

[38:53] You don't have to clean yourself up. No, he's running towards you. Would you come to him today? Would you turn to him from, turn from your sin and turn to him?

[39:07] My time is up but I just want to say this church, may we be the people who walk the road that Jesus walked. because the world is saying, you want your life to mean something, do this, go here, take this job.

[39:22] No. Follow me is what Jesus says. Would we be those kind of people? Would we be the kind of people that serve when it's inconvenient? That love when it's undeserved?

[39:34] That surrender when it costs us something? Because he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. that's the road to true greatness.

[39:48] It begins with humility. It leads to the cross and it ends in glory with Christ. That one day we're going to stand before him and I want to hear well done thou good and faithful servant.

[40:05] You know how you hear that? You walk the road Jesus called you to. Not the road the world is calling us to. That's what true greatness looks like. Would you stand with your heads bowed and your eyes closed?

[40:16] you know how you hear you talk about