It means the very opposite. Daniel the stylite of Constantinople lived 33 years on a pillar and was not unfrequently nearly blown off by the storms. The kingdom is moving violently through the godless, human system. They are the victims and the victors. She feels her heart melting, and as it were dissolved through love. That it is saying that the Kingdom is moving ahead under the power of this marvelous man, John, and vigorous, aggressive, forceful people are taking that kingdom. Frankly, folks, I dont imagine the wild honey could do much for the locusts, to be honest with you. You know, the greater ones are the focus of attention, arent they? And listen to this. Just go ahead and praise the Almighty God! The whole land was filled with people like that. Verses 4344: Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. Church Survival and Will you allow Him to break up the hardness of your heart and put aside the cares of the world so that those seeds can bring forth new things in you? Is it True for Christians That 'Once Saved, Always Saved'? Back to verse 11, and heres where we end. Because we simply cant believe that God can do anything great with us. He was great among men, among them that are born of women, just because of his personal character. Box 1400, San Antonio, Texas 78295 US, We pledge to our viewers & supporters to take He had absolutely no access because he couldnt leave the prison. AND the best bit.YOU keep control of YOUR money. He CANNOT lie, But I if Iwere in Johns position, it would be so hard pressed to perceive that after hundreds, yes thousands of years of preparation for the Messiah, I should be the one to be His personal herald. And as long as you admit no weakness, you will never grow to your full strength. When he confronted the Jews, things became explosive. Thats a rough leather belt, and a rough camel-hair coat, not the kind of camel-hair you think of. He became the issue. Please respond to confirm your registration. He is the personal messenger of the Messiah. So, unless you have been that reduced, I assure you that God can use you. Bless the King of Kings! They can clearly see his invisible qualitieshis eternal power and divine nature. Thats what an incredible person John the Baptist was. Shall I put him in a dungeon? the emperor asked. When God put you on this earth, He sent you as an ambassador. But when it comes to greatness as God defines it, its very different than it is for the world. This great, powerful, and mighty God will give his people strength and will bless them with peace. It doesnt stem from how much your annual salary might be. Break the power of hopelessness by speaking life words rather than death words. You went out to see John He knows what theyre thinking. What was it that attracted you to that man? They can compete against their own weaknesses and they will overcome. You must be like Him. Key to greatness is not competing. He had to dispatch two of his disciples. A young man played college football for four years, but never made the first team nor played in an important game. Acording to Matthew 21:26, everybody knew he was a prophet. You dont have to be able to explain Him. He is not only one who prophesies, he is the fulfillment of prophecy. She grew up to be the Queen of that country, 2000 years ago. John was Gods chosen voice. And that settled the issue. He remains a prisoner of that ignorance until the flame gets lit, and the urge to be free outdoes all fears. So if you take it reflexively, then the kingdom is moving ahead vigorously. In other words, you were saying, I do not care about what I look like. Psalm 145:3 (RSV) The Greatness of God A couple of weeks ago, I announced in the sermon that today I would preach the last of a 10+-year series of sermons on the Book of Psalms. His life had become the issue. Fairs sermon speaks of the possibility that each of us have with Gods love and guidance. Its a sense of violently pressing in, breaking the bands of your own sin and self. The first thing he did was admit that he had a weakness. And many of them, by the way, were trying to bring in a false kingdom by political means, such as the Zealots who were trying to seize the kingdom of God, politically, and establish it. Verse 16, Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God, speaking of John the Baptist he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just and make ready a people prepared for the Lord.. He did not want to play to that illusion, because anybody who plays to that illusion remains in doubt and confusion. 6) Greatness follows its passion, and doesn't sell its dreams too cheaply. Now, Im going to give you a little, sort of an interpretive lesson. I think Ill turn around and go fishing. Thats the way our life is, more leisure. And when John came they knew he was a prophet. They must have been a little bit quizzical at this point and saying, Well, now wait a minute. Copyright 2003-2023 | Outreach, Inc., All rights reserved. He was a prophet and they saw him that way. Now, our Lord reinforces Johns greatness and He does it by discussing three major truths about John that mark his greatness, three major truths. 2023 Grace to You. Among ascetics, the most celebrated was Simeon the stylite of Syria and Danielle the stylite of Constantinople. In other words, all the men came after her fortune. But the ONE they bragged TO, was the SEED of Greatness; Jesus! And he did not hold back his message for anybody. The question is whether or not you can overcome them and that is the mark of greatness. And I like that second view because it expresses the flow of context which is a commendation of John. Where do you see greatness in our modern world? He was Gods tool to purify the people. Notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Now listen carefully. And they went and they asked and Jesus demonstrated, youll remember, with miracles and they went back, of course, and they told him. Let me show you a second one and thats in verse 7. In Luke 3:15, And as the people were in expectation and all men mused in their hearts, all men mused in their hearts concerning John whether he were the Messiah. See? Another element of Johns greatness, then, was that he became the focal point. But he grew up to be the Saviour. It doesnt come from how many Twitter followers you have. He was also willing to admit it to subordinates, people beneath him. Our Father, we hear the echo of the words of our Lord in Matthew 18. You see water softens the shell that the seed is contained in so that the LIFE within the seed can BREAK OUT. That marked John. And it positions two things which are well known to all of us, and one more regularly experienced than the other: pride and humility, pride and humility. Verse 7. In this sense, he was greater than Adam. The Lord Jesus said in John 12:24, 'Verily, verily', truly, truly, 'I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit'. You go back in history, and just from the human perspective now, you mark out the great people of human history and you will find they were people who had convictions about something, and they pursued those convictions to the end. But the great ones, against all opposition, carry through. But in those days, they use to de-wing, bake and salt those things and eat them like peanuts, with a little honey. His cause was not comfort. You know, when I look back in history sometimes and I read about great generals who put their life on the line, who went through incredible hardship to win a victory; or when I read about scientists who were locked up in some kind of a situation for days and weeks and months and years trying to discover something which we now take for granted; or when I read about some person who stayed with a problem, hour upon hour upon hour until, ultimately, it was solved; or a missionary who burned his life out by the time he was 30 years of age trying to get the gospel to some people someplace, then I remind myself that thats the mark of greatness. Just a flurry of things going on because they move through history generating that. 145--a hymn of praise that celebrates God's goodness expressed in the created order. And so, God says, I send him, My messenger, before You the Messiah and hell prepare the hearts of the people for you. 3. Because everybody has weaknesses, everybody has failings and infirmities and problems. Indeed, the word is spelled Ayin, Mem, and Final Mem. Youll notice in verse 12 that the word violence is used. He was the greatest human being that ever lived, based upon his human abilities and his unique calling in human history. He longs for the quietness where he can delight in the mercies of his God. Then he shall be executed, said the emperor. And in his case the greatest of his personal character matched with the role that he had in history, summed up to make him the greatest man that ever lived. Does he just sort of drop his head and shuffle off? Because hes searching for greatness. They all knew that. Christy Mathewson is one of the greatest names in baseball. One in his power and in his person and with his kind of character. Receive the Messiah into your heart, and if you as a nation receive Me, Ill bring the Kingdom to earth, the millennial kingdom. And so, they were common ordinary things. He will come watch the phrase before Thy face. That means in front of Thee, before Christ. Transcending all other perspectives on the human level of greatness is God's view, and the only way we can really understand God's view of greatness is to look at who God labels as great. And once you do that you can deal with it. John is the culmination of everything, For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. He is the culmination. He will have been that Elijah. You dont have to understand Him. Now is the time to put aside the pain of the past and the fear of WebTheir definition of greatness represents the way people usually think: The world says, the greatest person is the one who has the most money, power and prestige, the king. The point is this, people. When it comes to humanness, when it comes to the uniqueness of a human being, and when it comes to his special ability to speak, and speak powerfully, there never was anybody like John. Today, lets talk about John, the apostle who walked with Jesus and wrote his Gospel accounts as he ministered during his time on earth. To John it was all the way. Lets peer inside Pauls heart, and see whats in there. And by the way, you might be interested in knowing, I did a little reading on the background of that statement. The kingdom is moving under John and vigorous people are taking it. Theres only one thing that will cause him pain. So he admitted his weakness and then he sought to remove it. His college set up a bronze plaque in his memory. 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Sermon: Three Simple Rules To Greatness - The Greatest in the Kingdom. So at this point, he is at a low in his life. Part of the reason that many of us don't realize that we carry seeds of greatness is because we've had so many negative things happen to us. Luke 14:7-11. Scriptures: For it is he of whom it is written, Behold I send My messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. He is the fulfillment of Malachi 3:1. In this Eucharistic meal our Lord gives you His forgiveness, and He gives you life, for there is life in the bloodlife in His blood. He was greater than Abel. The kingdom is not for weaklings, the kingdom is not for waverers or compromisers. And so true greatness eludes him. Why would you make such a long, hard journey? WebIts a very tender and touching sceneone of the most moving and heartwarming farewell speeches thats ever been recorded in literature. Maybe he isnt as great as we think.. %PDF-1.3 We hope you have a day of ease. You know, and you just, Yeah, see. I dont care whether youre talking about the ministry or your job or your school work or your athletic career or whatever it is, greatness comes from an ability to get past your weakness. I might point out that those reeds that are spoken of here were very common reeds. And there are the people who can, and the people who can are the ones that make a mark. 4 0 obj Yes, they went out to see a prophet. You are loved, and you are valuable. And he said it to his subordinates and let them act in his behalf. Why were you so curious? Hardly. Its earthly reality, also, was being rejected by the Jews. You dont just easily take Jesus Christ, you dont just easily enter the kingdom. In Matthew 3, when all of the religious leaders came out, if he wanted to play to the crowd that was his moment. D. L. Moody was a servant; he shined the shoes of those who attended his conferences. And they knew that. He was not only in prison but he had been victimized some somehow by the current thinking about the Messiah. Incredible calling, status, no greater privilege is ever given to any human being in history than to John the Baptist, not even Mary. What is the obvious answer? How many people do you see in the world around you that are professing one thing in the world, and totally behaving like another? Hes afraid of nothing but sin.. In all of the human greatness of John, personal character, privileged calling, powerful culmination in human history, you take all of that human greatness and human status and historical value, all that he is born of women, all that he is in physical perception and he doesnt come up to the least person who is in Gods spiritual Kingdom. In Malachi 4:5 it said that before the Messiah came to set up His kingdom on earth, Elijah would come as a forerunner. The key to greatness is to have a servant's heart. There are lots of people who can go in short spurts and then be intimidated out of that conviction or cant sustain it for a lifetime. WebGreat people in the world have four things most of us want: power, fame, money, and influence. Now our Lord reinforces the greatness in this passage over and over again. He was also somewhat hard pressed to know whether Christ was really the Messiah because he had incomplete revelation. Matthew 21:26: All men perceived that John the Baptist was a prophet, a forth teller, a speaker. It is brown in color, stream lined in shape, and so small that if I dropped it, I would have difficulty finding it again. 20 From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. Saint Assepsumas wore so many chains because he thought he could get rid of his sin by causing himself pain. Pray the above verses of hope over your life. No, Elijahs not going to be reincarnated. Science can duplicate its content but not its ability. John ushered Him into three years of effective ministry. WebPride curses greatness. Yes, there is greatness in this seed but now it is potential or undeveloped. Now, some commentators take it passively. When little Mary Reed played in her home New Caldwell, Ohio, no one dreamed that she would end up in China as a missionary to the lepers, but she did. And then it would also at the end of the verse it would mean violent men are seizing it. II. John 2:6, Matthew 20:17-34, Romans 12:1, 52-week preaching calendar to help you plan your sermons, Customizable sermon manuscripts for verse-by-verse preaching, Preach with creativity and impact throughout the year, [NEW YEAR] 4-Week Series to kick off 2023, [PRODUCTIVITY] Fulfill your full potential, [FOUNDATIONS] Getting back to what matters most. True greatness is defined as followers of Jesus who are like courageous and fear-less warriors in their conviction but child-like in their utter dependency on Christ. David uses the word amam. In the midst of trying to appear to be one thingthey were actually another. People were turning to God, they were repenting of their sins, he was leading many to Christ. To be UNLEASHED is to be no longer tethered to Mary was chosen to bear the Messiah. Psalms 1:1-3 says that those who listen to God's Word and allow His way to lead them shall become like TREES planted beside waters and everything they do shall prosper. He could overcome his weakness. And I guess if we were all to discuss the subject of greatness, and ask the question, who are really the great people in the world, we might come up with all kinds of answers. For this is he of whom it is written, Behold I send My messenger before thy face who shall prepare thy way before thee.. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist. Now that is an amazing statement. He wants them to know how great John really is. 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