Sermon Tone Analysis

Be Great in the Sight of God!

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 18:1-5

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared September 29, 2022)

MESSAGE:

*Who would you name as a great man or woman?

Almost everybody could offer some suggestions, and opinions around the world would have huge differences.

But Jim Kane helped us understand true greatness in a little memory quiz.

It included these fill-in-the-blank questions:

-Name the last 5 Academy Award winners for best actor.

-Name the last 5 winners of the Miss America contest.

-Name the last 10 winners of the World Series.

*Very few people could answer even one of those questions.

But how about these fill-in-the-blank questions:

-Name a few teachers who helped your journey through school.

-Name 3 friends who helped you through a tough time.

-Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

(1)

*I hope everybody could answer those last 3 questions.

Jim's little quiz helps us get closer to true greatness.

But the best wisdom about greatness comes from Jesus Christ.

And in Matthew 18:1-5, the Lord teaches us how to be great in God's sight.

*Stop and think about this amazing truth: You and I can have true greatness!

We can be great in the sight of the Lord.

And the Bible shows us how.

1. FIRST: WE HAVE TO OVERCOME OUR SELFISH MINDSET.

*If we are ever going to be great in the sight of God, we have to face up to our selfish ego and pride.

This is not an easy thing for us to do.

And the Lord's disciples faced the same struggle right up to the night before the cross.

*Their selfish pride was the reason why they asked the question in vs. 1: "At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?'''

*We need to know that this question was not the beginning of the story.

Mark 9 tells us that they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest as they traveled down the road.

And we have to see the right picture.

They weren't walking down the road saying, "You're the greatest!"

-- "No.

You're the greatest!"

The disciples were all proudly saying, "I'm the greatest!"

*Later, they didn't want to admit their argument to Jesus.

But He knows our hearts, and He called them out on it when they got to the house.

Listen to the story from Mark 9:33-35:

33.

Then He came to Capernaum.

And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?''

34.

But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.

35.

And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.''

*They needed to know, and we need to know that if we are ever going to be truly great, we have to overcome our selfish ego and pride.

We have to humble ourselves and get servant-hearted attitudes.

This is not an easy thing to do, because this "I'm the greatest" pride is a very common problem.

*Jesus had to talk to His disciples about this over and over again.

The incident here in Matthew 18 took place about 6 months before the cross.

But later on, in Matthew 20:20-28 the mother of James and John worshiped Jesus and asked Him to do something for her.

21.

And He said to her, "What do you wish?''

She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.''

22.

But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.

Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?''

They said to Him, "We are able.''

23.

So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.''

24.

And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brothers.

25.

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.

26.

Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.

27.

And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave

28.

just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.''

*There were other times when the disciples argued about who was the greatest.

In Matthew 23:11-12, just days before the cross, Jesus had to tell them again:

11.

He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

12.

And whoever exalts himself will be abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

*And in Luke 22:23-27, just hours before the cross, even after the first Lord's Supper:

23.

They began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing (betray Jesus).

24.

But there was also rivalry among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.

25.

And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'

26.

But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.

27.

For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?

Is it not he who sits at the table?

Yet I am among you as the One who serves."

*This "I'm the greatest" pride is a very common problem, common among the disciples, common among all people.

That's because it started in the Garden of Eden.

In Genesis 3:5, one of the things the devil said to tempt Eve was this: "God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.''

*There is still a part of us that wants to be large and in charge!

Humility doesn't come easy.

I heard about a man who was awarded a humility button from his church.

Then they took it away from him, because he wore it.

(2)

*John Adams was one of the Founding Fathers of our country.

He was also a very devoted Christian.

And John Adams usually doesn't get as much credit as Jefferson and Washington, but Adams' service was crucial.

You can almost be sure that without Adams, there would have been no United States.

*John Adams faced many trials in those years, but one of the things that frustrated him the most was this prideful mindset we need to overcome.

David McCullough told how Adams was exasperated by the constant squabbles among the American officers.

*And John Adams wrote these words to his wife Abigail, "They worry one another like mastiffs (mastiff dogs), scrambling for rank and pay like apes for nuts."

Adams also wrote, "I believe there is no one principle which predominates in human nature so much in every stage of life, from the cradle to the grave, in males and females, old and young, black and white, rich and poor, high and low, as this passion for superiority."

(3)

*The passion for superiority: It may be hard for us to overcome.

But Jesus wants us to have a servant's heart like His.

Jesus came to serve, and He wants us to serve.

But just because we are serving, doesn't mean we have servant's hearts.

If we are serving with bitterness, anger, or resentment in our hearts, then we are still heading in the wrong direction.

Psalm 100:2 tells us to "serve the LORD with gladness," and that's what God wants us to do.

*We can be great in the sight of God by overcoming our selfish ego and pride.

We have to overcome our selfish mindset.

2. WE ALSO HAVE TO USE GOD'S STANDARDS FOR GREATNESS.

*Who gets to set the standards for greatness?

The answer is God because He is the greatest of all.

We must go to God, and that's what the disciples did in vs. 1.