Serving: Are You The Sheep Or The G.O.A.T.?

Introduction

I want to have a discussion about the G.O.A.T. I know this topic is heavily debated. Friendships are won or lost on this subject.

What does G.O.A.T. stand for? So, who are the greatest of all times? Which sports?

G.O.A.T. In Sports:

Football: Deion Sanders, Tom Brady, Lawrence Taylor, Michael Vick (people feared playing agaisnt them)

Basketball: LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant

Golf: Tiger Woods (didn’t ), Jack Nicholson (total number of big victory wins, he’s still the win)

Boxing: Ali or Michael Tyson

Track: Jessie Owens, Usain Bolt, Alyson Felix, Carl Lewis, insert a woman Jamaican sprinter.

Baseball: Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron

Gymnastics: Simone Bile

Tennis: Serena Williams, Billie Jean King, Djokavic, Federer, Nadal, Steffi Graf, Billie

Criteria for the G.O.A.T.:

Subjective (based on personal beliefs) vs objective (unbiased, factual)

Most dominant athlete that has played the sport (Simone Biles - even through mental health)

Impact and legacy (Alyson Felix, Derek Jeter)

Championships, longevity, overall skill

Issues In Evaluating the G.O.A.T.:

It is subjective (opinion based) vs objective (unbiased* and based on facts) - limited or expanded research in following career; it’s difficult to find the one.

It is circumstantial - emotionally driven, time bound (era), views - your thoughts vs your thoughts

It is rooted in self-centeredness and borderline idolatry; it becomes our aim - we want to become the greatest of all time

Caution: We limit it through the things in our life and materials. Things become the distraction. What are they doing through their greatness?

When you consider the subjectivity and subjectivity, we could consider other QBs in this category.

This is also a struggle for Christians when we are lovers of multiple things.

We only consider them great when we care! Whether you know him or not, there is a greatest of all time.

There are more sports that we must consider the greats - bowling (Pete Weber, Walter Ray Williams, Jr.), Nascar (Richard Petty, Lewis Hamilton).

We focus on the greatest of all times, and we don’t focus on Jesus, or what we are required to do as Christians.

Main Idea: Serve like Jesus, He is the Greatest Of All Time!

Body/Key Points

If we want to serve like Jesus, then we must:

1. Serve distinguished. Are you the sheep or the goat?

Matthew 25:32 “32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” When you consider the end times, when we all get to heaven, those who believe in Jesus Christ, we need to understand that God is the ultimate Judge and He will judge accordingly - there are two kinds of people - sheep and goats.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Goats and Eschatological Judgment)

God will separate believers, whom He identifies as sheep, from nonbelievers, whom He identifies as goats. There is a shepherding practice common to the ancient world (Ezek 34:17). Sheep and goats were the most commonly owned animals in the ancient world, and they frequently grazed together. However, shepherds would eventually separate the animals, and Christ compares this process to the separation of people that occurs on judgment day. The text offers no definite answer as to why goats are the animals chosen to illustrate perdition rather than sheep (compare Darrett, “Unfair to Goats”; Nolland, Matthew, 1026).

The Bible Knowledge Commentary (34:17–24)

But how will God differentiate one from the other? The character of the sheep is seen in their conduct (Ezek. 34:17–21). The wicked sheep are those that follow the conduct of the shepherds, oppressing the weaker sheep. They trampled the pasturelands and even muddied the streams so that other sheep were left with less-than-desirable vegetation and drinking water. These fat sheep were successful in brutalizing the lean sheep. The wicked sheep even butted all the weak sheep with their horns, to drive them away. God will not permit these wicked practices to continue. Instead He will rescue the oppressed and will judge the aggressors. He will judge between one sheep and another (v. 22; cf. v. 17).

2. Serve greatly.

Matthew 25:34 “34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

Verses 35-40 gives us insight on what it means to be a sheep - hungry - gave food; thirsty - gave something to drink; stranger - welcomed; naked - gave clothes; sick - visited; imprisoned - went to them.

How we correlate this to Jesus? We would do right in front of Jesus; but Jesus is saying, how you treat the least is the real you. The bible is clear about the least of these and those who are oppressed. Contextually, this could mean those who are in poverty; limiting access to critical health care, proper education, and voting rights; and bullying and police brutality. Scholars say that how you treat the messenger {and the message] is a reflection of how you feel towards the sender. One’s treatment of the authority is how you feel about God.

Serving is not just a matter of will, but a matter of the heart.

Being the greatest of all times, isn’t necessarily bad. It’s okay to be good. You need to be the best. In fact, God expects our best - worship, giving, prayer, study time, and serving.

3. Serve always.

Matthew 25:31 “31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.”

This verse speaks to a need to continually serve God and his people in our daily lives. Serving is not just only during Thanksgiving.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary (25:34–40)

His works will not save him; but his works will reveal that he is redeemed.

Application

Unlearn/rethink how we view service from a Biblical-perspective. Love God. Love others as yourself.

Commit to serving someone this week - your parents/guardians, teachers, friends, church, community.

As a ministry, I want to volunteer more during the rest of this year and in to the new year.

MLK Clean Up

Write letters to our senior adults; clean up their homes

Central Texas Food Bank

Closing

Here’s how we remove the subjectivity out of this. We can debate on the greatest of all times in dual-threat versus tripple-threat, we can discuss how Mayweather is 50-0, we can discuss mamba mentality over the Jordan brand over the LeBron’s school and their plays on the court. Jesus is the G.O.A.T.

The one who has never lost a battle is God who gave His son Jesus to die for our sins.

Jesus requires us to serve.