Raise your hands if you know what this acronym stands for.

G.O.A.T.

I must be transparent and tell you that I did not know what that meant until a year or so ago. Jane and I have been going to the Smoky Mountains over these last 40 years because that is where we went on our honeymoon in 1980. I will say that the last few times we went to the area, there is a restaurant in Pigeon Forge called the Local G.O.A.T.. I never knew what that phrase meant and as bad as I wanted to stop to eat there, we never could get in because it was always so packed. You could go by at odd hours and the crowd would be large. I still have not eaten there.

Greatest of All Time. And, I assume that at least locally in Pigeon Forge, because the crowds affirm it with their frequenting it, I can only assume that at least in Pigeon Forge, the restaurant is the greatest of all time.

A Documentary came on just a couple of years ago about Michael Jordan, G.O.A.T., the greatest of all time to play in the NBA. And, my son Clay will argue to this day that Kobe Bryant or even Lebron James are the best to have ever played the game. I love agitating him with that fact.

Let’s be honest this morning, it is almost un-American not to aspire for greatest. In Western culture and living in the greatest country in the world that is what we have been taught to aspire to for you see we live in the greatest country ever. Amen? Let’s pray for America with all of it’s problems. But we are still blessed beyond measure to live in America.

Let’s be real this morning, we do, we aspire for greatness. In my youthful thoughts of idealism, I wanted to be the greatest basketball player, yet people were lighter than me and could jump higher than me when it came to playing the game at the higher levels, the competition became more fierce. Later in life, I aspired to be the best pawnshop chain here in our region. I failed in another business venture that set me back and I can say that I had the best single store performer in the area, but there was a larger chain owner of stores in our region. All that to say, that if you choose to live your life at that level of intensity and expectation, there will always be one greater than you.

Let’s visit this morning this topic of greatness. If we do realize that in this dog-eat-dog world we live in and the way the world defines greatness, the question must be asked:

How do we cope, how do we manage, how are we to survive this world when we do not prove to be the greatest?

Let’s drill down this morning on this most important subject of understanding how the Bible measures greatness.

Turn in your Bibles this morning to Luke 9:46-48 from the NASB.

-comments about the NASB

Luke 9:46-48

Luke 9:46–48 NASB 95

An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

Let’s quickly refresh ourselves of where we are in the word of God prior to Advent (Christmas) in our study of Luke. I want to take a moment and voluntarily answer a question.

Why do you lead us in staying in the same book to completion? Why do we go verse for verse?

There are numerous benefits to a continuance of study in the same book. Specifically, Luke, as we are studying now. The highest priority in question is that we are studying a gospel account of Christ. In other words, a comprehensive study of His time here on earth, ministry from beginning to end. A church that stays Christocentric will always be sound in its theology and furthermore, victorious in pointing people to Jesus. Secondly, no one can ever state that I preach to problems or the fact that I use the pulpit to preach an agenda. What is truly amazing and you will quickly discover that the word is living. What always amazes me is that we will be in a place in the Word of God in His perfect timing to address a matter that is needed right at that point in time. Lastly, as your pastor, I want to lead us straight through the more difficult doctrines or controversial texts of the Bible and meet those junctures head on. We eat must eat our protein, our carbs, our fruits, greens, and desert. I want to lead a church that desires the complete diet of the Word of God. Amen.

We began before Christmas in Chapter 9 when the disciples were sent out to minister independent of Jesus-there was a sending out. Comments from Herod erupted from the pages and there is a stirring. Oh dearly Beloved, when you go to mentioning Jesus around people, it will create a stirring in both directions, very rarely no middle ground, either a drawing to or a defensive nature, but it will create stirring.

We read of the feeding of the five thousand and people were called to sit and to be served by the Lord & His disciples. We then came to the Mt. of Transfiguration and we saw the shining as of the Shekinah Glory of God on the mountain that Peter, James, & John experienced. Paul encountered that light on the road to Damascus. Have you ever had a real encounter with the light of Jesus Christ? When Jesus and the disciples descended the mountain back into the real world, they encountered a man seized by a spirit. And the final words, before the verses we read this morning, Jesus told the disciples of the suffering and sacrifice He would be making shortly. He foretold of the cross cross that saves us from our sins.

And, this morning we come to a place where the disciples become sidetracked in their thinking. I know none of you have never been sidetracked in your thinking nor been sidetracked in your spiritual pilgrimage. Ya, right. We would all be perfect if there were not times of wandering like the sheep that keeps chasing the next tuff of grass across the fence in the other pasture.

Society will always Squabble over Status and Standing

Luke 9:46 “An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest.”

Isn’t it interesting how selfish we can all be at times? Jesus had just shared what will happen to His life in the days ahead:

Luke 9:44 ““Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.””

I want to ask you a question and consider what I am saying. How many of you have been just behind someone or a group of vehicles and they have an accident and you quickly surmise no one is dead and just continue driving on? We can become so desensitized to life happening about us while being so driven and focused on our world, our needs, our schedule, our goals, our accomplishments, and our agenda for daily life. Look at the heading for our first point this morning.

Society will always squabble over status and standing.

Society, the world at large has more influence than we would ever care to admit. You can get caught up in the rat race world chasing after our status and standing never slowing down to consider the others than need a touch of Jesus in their lives.

These same disciples by this point in our study of Luke had on more than one occasion failed to heal someone when it was called for. Yet they find themselves arguing (NKJV-disputing) who is the greatest among them. They had an overzealous focus on greatness. We all have been there. We all deal with it on a daily basis more than we would want to admit.

In Matthew’s account in Matthew 18:1-5

Matthew 18:1–5 NASB 95

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me;

These disciples arguing among themselves represented the world’s take about greatness. God’s Word is inerrant. The world will always dispute over who is the greatest. If you live your life by this world standard of finding your value, your worth in what this world thinks of you, you will always be disappointed.

Dr. Jay Wolfe, the Pastor of First Baptist Montgomery that served First Baptist for 31 years officiated my youngest son’s, Clay’s wedding. Jane told someone that I paid attention to him and watched him like Jay was a rockstar. In my eyes, I promise you I believe that Dr. Jay Wolfe is a great preacher, a great pastor, a great administrator of such a large Mega church as First Baptist. When I walked around their facility, I saw the number of classrooms, elevators, the three floors of entrance into their massive sanctuary, the programs, the ministry opportunities, the overall moving parts to administrating a church of that magnitude, I was in awe of such a tremendous man of God with such gifts. By the way, if all of you end up at First Baptist next Sunday, Brother Jay has retired. Lol. I love Brother Mark Bethea as well. I’m in even greater awe of a man his age being able to lead such a large church. Awesome.

The point:

First Baptist Montgomery, based on the Montgomery Baptist Association’s annual report dated November 2022, reports having 3,894 resident members. By comparison, Mt. Zion reported 83 resident members. I believe our number is up from that this year.

As great is Dr. Jay Wolfe is in my eyes, if he finds his worth in people’s eyes, he will be sorely disappointed. I can assure you, no better yet, I promise you that of those 3,894 resident members of that mega church, not everyone in that church believes he was that great. Why do I believe that statement? Because I know in my time of ministry as hard as I have tried to make everyone like me as a pastor, as a preacher, as an administrator, not every single person I have encountered in ministry liked me. I know you find that hard to believe, but its true.

Great-megas which means large, important, of high degree, great in status, a measure of superiority or excellence. It can be used of mass and weight, height, the point being made, in a given area of measure, you measure the best. Jesus lends a different definition of Greatness.

A Childlike Surrender of the Soul to the Savior is what Greatness is all about

Luke 9:47 “But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side,”

I want to say it again, if your self-worth is based upon your greatness, you will be highly disappointed. And just by the fact you constantly fall into the world’s clutches and attempt to measure your self worth, that phrase within itself is a spiritual hiccup.

Jesus was much more concerned with what your soul was worth than what your self worth is. You know what your soul is worth in God’s eyes? Everything. He went to the cross for your soul. He loves you that much.

Jesus knew what the disciples were thinking at that point as He was preparing to share with them. He knew what they were thinking because He is God. Ke knew what they were thinking because He is omniscient, meaning he is all knowing. He knows what you are thinking right this moment. And, if you are pondering within your being of your self worth this morning and you are facing disappointment in yourself for failures you have made, you are worth the very world to him. He came to this world to make you great in His eyes.

We see time and again those heroes of our past that hung it up and their self worth was measured by the attention they received in their past careers. They come back to it because they could not walk away from the attention, the accolades, being the center of attention, the importance, the prestige, and what usually happens?We all say, they should have continued to hang it up while they were on top.

I am not bashing our heroes of past, nor am I bashing the disciples for asking such a silly question. Nor am I bashing us for having those same pursuits. The point is we are all human, we are mortal, we age, we get slower, we get duller in our senses, our aptitude fades, we are a product of the sin of fallen man, we are sinners. We are not perfect.

Those same disciples that were asking “who is the greatest”were the same disciples that failed at healings.

Luke 9:41 “And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.””

They were the same disciples that would meet with Jesus privately to avoid embarrassment because they could not get on his spiritual wave of understanding with Jesus. He was so out in front of them in His spiritual depth and knowledge and they found themselves more times than not just nodding in head with agreement and no more understood a word He was saying than a man and the moon. Yet they wanted to know who was the greatest. Listen to me church, every day you get older as the world measures, you are losing a step of that greatness of yesteryear.

Jesus describes Success in His Eyes at the Opposite end of the Spectrum from Society

Luke 9:48 “and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.””

And I ask you this morning, do you want to be a giant for God today? Do you want to be able to leap the largest building for the Lord today? Do you want to be Superman or Superwoman for the Savior today?

Get small. You heard me. Get small.

Jesus performed what we call an object lesson. He taught visually. Listen, Jesus is the greatest teacher that has ever taught. He takes a “small child by His side” is what the Scripture states. Matthew 18:2 “And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,”

Mark 9:36 “Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them,”

Jesus took the position of a loving Father taking a son or daughter in his arms and bringing him close to Himself. Think for a moment back to your own childhood and the embrace of your parents? If you can imagine that feeling of total surrender, total dependence, total trust, total protection, and total pure love that a child has for his parent. A child to a parent is not a subordinant role, but a submissive role.

I know we live in a fallen world and when I think of someone abusing a child, my skin crawls. I can not imagine, but I know it happens and it sickens me. In a healthy climate, a child is one that loves his parent deeper than anyone else on the earth. There is a joy, a peace, love, and trust that the parent would never lead them anyway but the right way. In that journey, does a child need to learn, to be shaped, to be directed? Oh yes.

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

We all know that if you start early training a child in the correct way, they will turn out right.

Jesus is teaching us today that if we will get small and allow Him to be tall, we will be great in God’s eyes, and guess what, we will make a difference in His kingdom.

Out relationship with Christ is also describe as a marriage.

Visualize this picture.

Genesis 2:22 “The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.”

-Why the rib and not the foot or the head? Because we are not to Lord over or be Lorded over by our spouse. We are to be equal and complement each other.

Everybody, get out your binoculars with me. Hold them up and let’s look close at a visual scene of Jesus and the child.

Luke 9:47 “But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side,”

-a scene of authority, but a scene of watchcare and love

Matthew 18:2 “And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,”

Jesus was God and is God, an authority, but sitting before him placed the Lad in a comfortable, warm, approachable, more intimate, and equal status.

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

Listen to me, you want to be great? You are royalty in Jesus’ eyes when you belong to Him.

Matthew 11:11 ““Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

Do you want to be great?

1 John 4:4 “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

You are the greatest because of the greatest inside of you. You never have to hang your head because you are a child of the King.

Mark 9:36 “Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them,”

Let me ask you a deep penetrating question this morning? How is your self worth? Where are you today? Because if all you have is your own self to value your life, you will never be good enough, you will never attain excellence, you will never make the mark if you will. The more important matter to think about than your self worth is what is your your soul worth? Jesus thought it was worth everything this world offered because He died an earthly death that your soul could have saving worth, saintly worth, eternal worth. Jesus died a grueling death on the cross that you could know greatness and be the crown achievement of His life goal.

Have you accepted His death for you that you do not have to die, but live eternal?

He loves you that much.

Let’s pray.

Now, I want to close with this. He describes a picture that we all can clearly understand.