Getting Ready for Greatness
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· 6 viewsHe was tempted in all points like as we...In the temptation of Jesus he was tempted to turn His service into self-service, His worship into self-worship, His righteous behavior into self-destructive behavior.
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Getting Ready for Greatness
Faith does not ignore the presence of facts, it ignores the power of the facts. - Richard Whitman
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’
and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.
To often we observe greatness in other people, without giving sufficient attention to
What it takes to get there and
What to do when you arrive.
To often we are impressed with the product while ignoring the process.
We worship the creature rather than the creator.
We are enthralled with the gifts but don’t pay much attention to the giver.
We are ALL called to greatness!
We are ALL called to greatness!
There are no BIG I’s and little u’s.
You don’t have to have it all together in order to serve.
There is no greater case study about greatness than Jesus.
In this passage, we find He who was already great, getting ready for greatness.
Luke 2 he grew in stature.....
You have to grow into the promise that God has laid in your life.
You may already have the promise, but there is preparation that has to be made.
In just a little while Jesus will make his public appearance
In just a little while Jesus will make his public appearance
They will say,
We’ve never seen anybody teach like this....
We’ve never seen anybody preach like this....
We’ve never seen anybody walk on the water...
That’s his public ministry, but this text is about His private devotion that let to His public ministry!
Look in the mirror more than you project an image on Facebook or Instagram!
Led by the Spirit into the wilderness, the Spirit can lead you to some
strange places.
Bewildering places...
The Wilderness is the place of preparation before...
The Wilderness is the place of preparation before...
You desire greatness
Can you handle it....
Does your Character match your ambitions, or does your ambitions exceed your character.
Can you handle accolades without becoming arrogant?
God has not called us to be successful, God has called us to be faithful....
If you will be faithful over a few things....
It is in faithfulness that we discover fulfillment
Seek ye first....
A conversation about self-identity....
A conversation about self-identity....
“If you are who you say your are....”
And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
(Questions His identity!)
The devil is a liar!
Notice When the Devil Comes
Notice When the Devil Comes
He’s Hungry!
And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
Reduce His service into self-service!
Jesus is not against making bread.
Remember he took 2 fish and 5 loves of bread and opened up a baker and a fish restaurant.
Somebody is trying to mess with His mission. When He makes bread it is for everybody!
The way to give glory to God is to feed somebody else.
If you would be great you’ve got to give yourself over something larger than feeding yourself.
You’ve got to think about somebody other than yourself!
If you would be great:
You Have to Resist Self-Worship
You Have to Resist Self-Worship
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
The Devil led him up.
It was the Devil that led Him up!
Every elevation is not necessarily a promotion!
If you would rise to service that is truly great, it cannot be about you!
We’ve built up whole industries centered around self-aggrandizement.
Look what I’ve achieved.
Look what I’m eating...
Who cares what your eating
It’s alright, often it is for fun...
But, I don’t want us to lose ourselves in self-worship and self-aggrandizement.
Don’t ever become an addict to other peoples affirmation of you.
If you do you’ll will bow down to anything in order to get it.
Don’t you already know who you are?
You are a child of the living God.
I don’t need a poll to know who I am
I know who I am....
This joy I have, the world didn’t give it to me.
I’m not about to bow down to the devil, so that others can bow down to me.
Feel the temptation, Feel Jesus struggling...
Here Jesus say “No!”
Worship the creator, not the creature.
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
The Devil comes back to Him again
Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’
and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
The Devil knows how to quote scripture.
The Devil knows how to twist scripture.
Turn a stone in to bread
Cast yourself down and the stone wont hurt you.
The narrow impulse to self-service
The narcissistic impulse to self-aggrandizement
The nonsensical impulse to self-destruction
There is a part of us that has a hard time believing that God really does love us...
And so we,like little children are prone to test the limits with foolish behavior.
Daring God to save us from us!
We test the limits!
Self-destructive behavior
But even God’s grace doesn’t erase the spiritual laws of the universe.
1. Jump of the tallest building or
2. Go home and eat dinner
But you can’t jump off the tallest building and then go home and eat dinner.
God save me lest I destroy myself.
If God would make you great, you’ve got to get over yourself!
You’ve got to resist:
Self-Service
Self-Aggrandizement (self-worship)
Self-Destruction
If you would rise to greatness, you have to hear Jesus:
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Greatness is about getting over your:
Arrogance and your Insecurities
It’s not about how great you are
Nor about how weak you are
Some can’t rise to greatness, because their insecurities are getting in the way
That too is an obsession with yourself!
I dare you to get over yourself
Give your life over the the one who gives power to the lowly and strength to the week....
to the God who can use you without a college degree...
to the God who breaths new life into
There ain’t nobody like Jesus
He is the GOAT
Greater is He that is within me than He that is in the world.
All hail the power of Jesus name, let angels prostrate fall.... Bring forth the royal diadem and Crown Him Lord of all!
I dare you to give yourself over to somebody who is larger than yourself.
I dare you to decrease so that Christ may increase.
You’ve got to resist:
Self-Service
Self-Aggrandizement (self-worship)
Self-Destruction
Bow down to somebody who is truly great!
There’s nobody greater than Him!