1 00:00:01,868 --> 00:00:03,269 Good morning. 2 00:00:03,269 --> 00:00:03,970 So funny. 3 00:00:03,970 --> 00:00:06,973 I was scurrying around looking for my Bible. 4 00:00:07,974 --> 00:00:08,942 I thought I'd left it in the back. 5 00:00:08,942 --> 00:00:10,777 It was right up here on this thing the whole time. 6 00:00:10,777 --> 00:00:16,082 Hey, good on you guys for being in church the Sunday morning after the 4th of July. 7 00:00:16,483 --> 00:00:18,218 Ears are still ringing, everybody. 8 00:00:18,218 --> 00:00:19,619 I don't want to maybe hold up your hands. 9 00:00:19,619 --> 00:00:23,590 Maybe make sure you've got all the digits you had yesterday at this time. 10 00:00:24,090 --> 00:00:26,459 Good on you guys. We say it all the time around here. 11 00:00:26,459 --> 00:00:29,829 There's a lot of places you could choose to be on a Sunday morning, 12 00:00:30,096 --> 00:00:33,066 especially on the Sunday morning after the 4th of July. 13 00:00:33,066 --> 00:00:35,435 And you made the choice to be in church. 14 00:00:35,435 --> 00:00:37,637 That is a good decision on you. 15 00:00:37,637 --> 00:00:40,073 I'm sure God is going to. 16 00:00:40,073 --> 00:00:43,476 I was going to say, I hope God, but I just know God is going to honor 17 00:00:43,476 --> 00:00:46,913 that in ways that maybe we could never have imagined. 18 00:00:46,946 --> 00:00:49,682 When we ever we choose to give the first of whatever 19 00:00:49,682 --> 00:00:52,652 it is to God our time, our energy, our talent, our treasure, 20 00:00:52,652 --> 00:00:56,756 God just does something and multiplies that in ways that are really surprising 21 00:00:56,756 --> 00:00:57,290 a lot of times. 22 00:00:57,290 --> 00:00:59,793 So I'm glad to see you in church this morning. 23 00:00:59,793 --> 00:01:02,829 I think you're going to be encouraged by the time that we spend 24 00:01:02,829 --> 00:01:06,466 together today, but I know it is. 25 00:01:06,866 --> 00:01:09,502 And it's just after the 4th of July, so I figured we'd do 26 00:01:09,502 --> 00:01:11,971 a little congregational call and response. 27 00:01:11,971 --> 00:01:12,939 You guys are okay with that? 28 00:01:12,939 --> 00:01:16,676 A little audience, little congregational participation. 29 00:01:17,210 --> 00:01:19,212 Who can tell me what this acronym means? 30 00:01:20,513 --> 00:01:21,915 Greatest of all time. 31 00:01:21,915 --> 00:01:25,051 The Goat gets a lot of publicity, especially in the last 32 00:01:25,051 --> 00:01:28,922 few years talking about the greatest, the greatest of all time. 33 00:01:28,922 --> 00:01:32,258 So I figured I'd just throw out some categories 34 00:01:32,258 --> 00:01:33,426 and we'll see what you guys think. 35 00:01:33,426 --> 00:01:36,563 What are some what are some opinions of the greatest of all time, 36 00:01:36,596 --> 00:01:39,599 greatest NFL quarterback 37 00:01:39,799 --> 00:01:40,533 month? 38 00:01:40,533 --> 00:01:43,403 I knew I'd have a lot of Joe Montana's. 39 00:01:43,403 --> 00:01:45,939 We had a friend, Tarkington, in the first service. 40 00:01:45,939 --> 00:01:48,074 I was like, whoa, that's going way back. 41 00:01:48,074 --> 00:01:50,043 A lot of you guys don't know who that is. 42 00:01:50,043 --> 00:01:51,177 Yeah. 43 00:01:51,177 --> 00:01:53,546 Glad a good quarterbacks that you guys shout it out. 44 00:01:53,546 --> 00:01:55,148 What about you basketball fans. 45 00:01:55,148 --> 00:01:59,152 Greatest point guard of all time NBA point guard of all time 46 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:01,521 magic. 47 00:02:01,521 --> 00:02:03,656 Who else. 48 00:02:03,656 --> 00:02:05,291 No Steph Curry. Really? 49 00:02:06,426 --> 00:02:09,429 You must have whispered it. 50 00:02:09,629 --> 00:02:11,464 Baseball fans. 51 00:02:11,464 --> 00:02:14,701 Greatest MLB pitcher of all time 52 00:02:16,603 --> 00:02:18,872 Nolan Ryan 53 00:02:18,872 --> 00:02:21,441 Hershiser those are some good ones. 54 00:02:21,441 --> 00:02:23,977 And okay, so we're in World Cup season. 55 00:02:23,977 --> 00:02:25,612 I had somebody come up to me between services 56 00:02:25,612 --> 00:02:27,413 like, dude, you didn't even ask about soccer. 57 00:02:27,413 --> 00:02:30,416 So greatest the Goat soccer. 58 00:02:33,119 --> 00:02:36,656 Wow. Messy Pele Pele again. 59 00:02:36,723 --> 00:02:37,457 You guys are going back. 60 00:02:37,457 --> 00:02:40,193 You guys are getting nostalgic on me. 61 00:02:40,193 --> 00:02:42,162 One last one and it's kind of a giveaway. 62 00:02:42,162 --> 00:02:45,131 Well, we'll talk about why, but greatest hockey player of all time? 63 00:02:45,598 --> 00:02:47,233 Gretzky. Yeah. 64 00:02:47,233 --> 00:02:50,136 So a lot of what you talk 65 00:02:50,136 --> 00:02:53,373 about, you know, if you ask me who the greatest quarterback is of all time, 66 00:02:53,439 --> 00:02:57,343 I'll say Terry Bradshaw because I've been a Steeler fan forever. 67 00:02:57,343 --> 00:03:00,146 Some of you smirked at that. Some of you laughed at that. 68 00:03:01,814 --> 00:03:04,817 So in order to settle the dispute, 69 00:03:04,817 --> 00:03:10,023 I went to the seller of all disputes her, whose name shall remain nameless. 70 00:03:10,023 --> 00:03:13,059 I don't think we have Alexa in here so I can say her name. 71 00:03:13,359 --> 00:03:15,028 Otherwise she'll talk back to us all afternoon. 72 00:03:15,028 --> 00:03:18,498 So I went to Alexa and I said, Alexa, greatest quarterback of all time. 73 00:03:18,498 --> 00:03:22,669 And she said, Tom Brady, sorry, I know, I know. 74 00:03:23,803 --> 00:03:25,438 Greatest point guard of all time. 75 00:03:25,438 --> 00:03:29,309 You guys said Magic Johnson, greatest pitcher of all time. 76 00:03:29,309 --> 00:03:31,878 I went to Siri and to Alexa on this one. 77 00:03:31,878 --> 00:03:35,148 And they were in dispute even between the two digital forces 78 00:03:35,148 --> 00:03:38,384 that be greatest pitcher, according to Siri, was Seung 79 00:03:38,384 --> 00:03:41,387 greatest pitcher according to Alexa was Nolan Ryan. 80 00:03:41,454 --> 00:03:43,623 So you guys decide hockey. 81 00:03:43,623 --> 00:03:47,627 Of course, his nickname is literally the Great one Wayne Gretzky. 82 00:03:47,627 --> 00:03:51,397 And then I didn't even have a chance to go talk about talk to Alexa about who 83 00:03:51,397 --> 00:03:53,533 the greatest soccer player is. Somebody said Pele. 84 00:03:53,533 --> 00:03:55,134 And it just slipped my mind. 85 00:03:55,134 --> 00:03:56,936 Yeah, that's that's crazy. 86 00:03:58,071 --> 00:04:01,074 One of the things about. 87 00:04:02,108 --> 00:04:05,478 Alexis calculations is that it's based on 88 00:04:05,612 --> 00:04:11,251 championships, averages, records, awards 89 00:04:12,652 --> 00:04:15,021 and one of the one of the things you made me 90 00:04:15,021 --> 00:04:18,057 wonder why we're talking about sports greatness. 91 00:04:18,191 --> 00:04:21,194 That's because that's where we're going today. 92 00:04:21,461 --> 00:04:24,664 As we look at the Bible, as we look 93 00:04:24,831 --> 00:04:28,401 at the next sort of installment of our march 94 00:04:28,401 --> 00:04:32,839 Through the Gospel According to Matthew, it's the first book in your New Testament. 95 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:36,576 And we've been going through verse by verse, passage by passage, 96 00:04:36,576 --> 00:04:39,579 sometimes chapter by chapter 97 00:04:39,812 --> 00:04:40,947 of the Gospel of Matthew. 98 00:04:40,947 --> 00:04:44,250 And so last week we finished up chapter 17. 99 00:04:45,218 --> 00:04:47,854 Pastor Carl did a great job finishing up chapter 17. 100 00:04:47,854 --> 00:04:50,323 And so we get a fresh start at chapter 18. 101 00:04:50,323 --> 00:04:51,491 So if you brought your Bibles with you, 102 00:04:51,491 --> 00:04:55,428 that's where we're going to start chapter 18, right in verse one. 103 00:04:56,396 --> 00:05:00,466 And the disciples ask this question. 104 00:05:01,868 --> 00:05:04,504 At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 105 00:05:04,504 --> 00:05:08,141 who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 106 00:05:10,176 --> 00:05:12,145 Jesus, who is the greatest? 107 00:05:12,145 --> 00:05:15,148 Not the greatest catcher, not the greatest pitcher, 108 00:05:15,281 --> 00:05:18,184 not the greatest 109 00:05:18,184 --> 00:05:18,785 fisherman? 110 00:05:18,785 --> 00:05:20,853 There were a couple of fishermen in the disciples, 111 00:05:20,853 --> 00:05:24,824 definitely not the greatest tax collector, because those two universes never met. 112 00:05:25,958 --> 00:05:31,597 But they say, who is the greatest person in this kingdom of heaven? 113 00:05:31,597 --> 00:05:33,800 Jesus, you've been talking a lot about the kingdom. 114 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:35,835 You've been inviting people into the kingdom. 115 00:05:35,835 --> 00:05:37,837 You've been giving details into the kingdom. 116 00:05:37,837 --> 00:05:39,772 You've been making analogies to the kingdom. 117 00:05:39,772 --> 00:05:42,775 So we're wondering who's the greatest person 118 00:05:42,775 --> 00:05:45,778 in the kingdom of heaven. 119 00:05:46,112 --> 00:05:48,081 If you read that like me, 120 00:05:48,081 --> 00:05:51,551 and if you were here last week or caught last week's sermon on the line, 121 00:05:51,551 --> 00:05:55,154 you may be thinking, where is this coming from? 122 00:05:55,555 --> 00:05:56,522 How many of you guys 123 00:05:56,522 --> 00:05:59,492 have have friend groups where there's always somebody like this 124 00:05:59,492 --> 00:06:02,261 in your friend group where they say something, you're like, where are you? 125 00:06:02,261 --> 00:06:04,063 Where did that come from? 126 00:06:04,063 --> 00:06:06,265 What are you even talking about? 127 00:06:06,265 --> 00:06:08,901 If you have high school students, you do this a lot. 128 00:06:08,901 --> 00:06:10,970 Like, where is this coming from? 129 00:06:10,970 --> 00:06:14,741 Usually happens at 11:00 when you're ready for bed and they walk in and they start 130 00:06:15,541 --> 00:06:18,611 deep thoughts, you're like, I have no idea where this is coming from. 131 00:06:19,379 --> 00:06:23,383 I read that and I thought, where is this question coming from? 132 00:06:24,050 --> 00:06:27,053 I thought at that time, it starts out by saying it at that time. 133 00:06:27,053 --> 00:06:28,221 At what time? 134 00:06:28,221 --> 00:06:32,558 Well, let's jog back up to chapter 17 and try to get some context. 135 00:06:32,558 --> 00:06:36,362 And if you're like me and you tried to do that, you realize 136 00:06:36,362 --> 00:06:39,665 that doesn't help at all, because chapter 17 ended. 137 00:06:39,665 --> 00:06:43,069 If you were here last week with a fish story, there's just dialog. 138 00:06:43,102 --> 00:06:47,106 There's back and forth between Jesus and Peter, and Jesus tells Peter, 139 00:06:47,140 --> 00:06:48,875 go fishing, you're going to catch a fish. 140 00:06:48,875 --> 00:06:51,010 There's going to be a coin in their pay our tax bill. 141 00:06:51,010 --> 00:06:53,946 And then chapter 17 just ends. 142 00:06:53,946 --> 00:06:56,182 And so I'm thinking, well, that didn't give me any help. 143 00:06:56,182 --> 00:06:57,583 That didn't give me any context. 144 00:06:57,583 --> 00:07:00,052 I still wonder, where is this question coming from? 145 00:07:01,020 --> 00:07:03,556 Thankfully, our buddy Mark 146 00:07:03,556 --> 00:07:07,593 steps in and goes, Matthew does this a lot. 147 00:07:07,627 --> 00:07:08,861 Let me help you give some. 148 00:07:08,861 --> 00:07:10,496 Let me help give some context to this. 149 00:07:10,496 --> 00:07:14,734 So keep your finger right there in chapter 18 and thumb ahead of you. 150 00:07:14,734 --> 00:07:19,372 Chapters into the gospel of Mark at chapter nine, 151 00:07:20,139 --> 00:07:23,142 chapter nine, verse 33. 152 00:07:23,843 --> 00:07:24,777 It says this. 153 00:07:24,777 --> 00:07:27,680 They came to Capernaum when he was in the house. 154 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:29,282 Who's he? 155 00:07:29,282 --> 00:07:30,082 Jesus. 156 00:07:30,082 --> 00:07:34,420 When he was in the house, he asked them, who's them disciples? 157 00:07:34,620 --> 00:07:37,857 What were you arguing about on the road? 158 00:07:38,357 --> 00:07:42,962 But they kept quiet, because on the way they had argued about 159 00:07:42,962 --> 00:07:46,098 who was the what, the greatest. 160 00:07:47,133 --> 00:07:48,501 So thank you, Mark. 161 00:07:48,501 --> 00:07:50,203 You gave us a little bit of context. 162 00:07:50,203 --> 00:07:52,271 You gave us a little bit of backstory. 163 00:07:52,271 --> 00:07:55,475 They're on their way from one town to the next. 164 00:07:55,475 --> 00:07:57,143 And on the way, 165 00:07:58,478 --> 00:08:01,747 they started to have this discussion 166 00:08:03,082 --> 00:08:05,751 that turned into an argument. 167 00:08:05,751 --> 00:08:11,290 Spending time with Jesus, following Jesus, walking with Jesus. 168 00:08:11,390 --> 00:08:15,094 This delineation had sort of started to happen. 169 00:08:16,829 --> 00:08:18,731 They had started to split hairs. 170 00:08:18,731 --> 00:08:20,900 They had started to count beans. 171 00:08:20,900 --> 00:08:23,903 Some of them had experienced victories, 172 00:08:24,070 --> 00:08:27,673 some of, you know, shining, literally shining victories. 173 00:08:27,907 --> 00:08:30,910 Some of them had experienced defeats. 174 00:08:31,077 --> 00:08:34,914 We read last week about how the disciples were called on 175 00:08:35,348 --> 00:08:38,117 to do something they had done in the past. 176 00:08:38,117 --> 00:08:42,255 This was a thing that they knew they were able to do, drive out a demon, 177 00:08:42,255 --> 00:08:46,993 and they weren't able to do it, and they kind of got called out publicly. 178 00:08:46,993 --> 00:08:50,630 This guy comes and he says, hey, I ask your disciple, my son has 179 00:08:50,763 --> 00:08:53,699 has this demon, and I ask your disciples to drive out the demon. 180 00:08:53,699 --> 00:08:55,134 And they couldn't do it. What's up with that? 181 00:08:55,134 --> 00:08:56,869 That's kind of false advertising. 182 00:08:56,869 --> 00:09:00,339 And the disciples are like, what a fail, what an epic fail. 183 00:09:03,442 --> 00:09:06,746 And as they had been walking with Jesus and doing life, they had 184 00:09:06,946 --> 00:09:10,283 they had started shocking up these experiences. 185 00:09:12,518 --> 00:09:16,422 Keep in mind, we've got more chapters of Matthew behind us than we do 186 00:09:16,455 --> 00:09:19,458 in front of us. 187 00:09:20,426 --> 00:09:21,394 I thought, 188 00:09:21,394 --> 00:09:24,697 this is how it is in most areas of life. 189 00:09:24,897 --> 00:09:30,069 When we spend some time, when we spend any amount of time in any area of life, 190 00:09:30,102 --> 00:09:34,173 you start to think to yourself, how am I doing? 191 00:09:35,107 --> 00:09:37,543 How is this going? 192 00:09:37,543 --> 00:09:40,546 Should I be concerned? 193 00:09:41,147 --> 00:09:44,150 If there were a cut list, would I make it? 194 00:09:44,350 --> 00:09:49,021 If there were a report card, where would I land on the bell curve? 195 00:09:49,355 --> 00:09:52,358 How am I doing? 196 00:09:53,459 --> 00:09:57,296 They started to get concerned with where they stood, and as I thought about that, 197 00:09:57,363 --> 00:10:03,903 I thought often this type of thought comes from a place of insecurity. 198 00:10:03,903 --> 00:10:08,474 Questions like this so often come from a place of insecurity, 199 00:10:09,075 --> 00:10:11,611 and for some reason, that insecurity can 200 00:10:11,611 --> 00:10:14,780 a lot of times lead to pride, a self-preservation. 201 00:10:17,083 --> 00:10:18,384 These types of environments 202 00:10:18,384 --> 00:10:21,387 often create these types of questions. 203 00:10:22,321 --> 00:10:24,490 So the disciples are looking for the scoreboard. 204 00:10:24,490 --> 00:10:29,161 They're looking for a report card, a quarterly review of where they stood 205 00:10:29,161 --> 00:10:32,131 and how they measured up. 206 00:10:32,698 --> 00:10:34,734 And Mark, thank goodness, tells us this wasn't 207 00:10:34,734 --> 00:10:38,471 some deep theological, calm discussion over coffee. 208 00:10:38,537 --> 00:10:41,540 This was an argument 209 00:10:41,774 --> 00:10:44,777 with heated opinions. 210 00:10:44,910 --> 00:10:49,315 They were arguing and Jesus asked them, hey, 211 00:10:49,382 --> 00:10:52,418 have you ever remember when you were a kid and your and your and your parents like 212 00:10:52,451 --> 00:10:53,953 from the other end of the house? 213 00:10:53,953 --> 00:10:55,454 What are you guys doing in there? 214 00:10:55,454 --> 00:10:57,423 And nothing. 215 00:10:57,423 --> 00:10:59,058 Jesus kind of does one of those. 216 00:10:59,058 --> 00:11:01,627 It's like, hey, what were you guys arguing about on the road? 217 00:11:01,627 --> 00:11:03,896 And they just stood there? 218 00:11:03,896 --> 00:11:06,899 Nothing. 219 00:11:09,301 --> 00:11:12,271 And then they finally work up the gumption to go. 220 00:11:12,271 --> 00:11:14,573 Why don't we just ask him? He's Jesus. 221 00:11:14,573 --> 00:11:17,343 He probably already knows what we were talking about. 222 00:11:17,343 --> 00:11:20,179 He actually said, I know you guys were arguing. 223 00:11:20,179 --> 00:11:22,381 How about you tell me what you were arguing about? 224 00:11:22,381 --> 00:11:24,784 And they're like, he probably already knows. 225 00:11:24,784 --> 00:11:29,321 So let's just ask him, hey, Jesus, who's the greatest? 226 00:11:30,256 --> 00:11:32,491 And if you can imagine, 227 00:11:32,491 --> 00:11:36,896 if you have kids when they're looking to settle a dispute, 228 00:11:36,896 --> 00:11:40,099 it's rarely because they haven't tried on their own yet. 229 00:11:41,500 --> 00:11:44,837 They come to you with very heated opinions. 230 00:11:46,138 --> 00:11:47,907 So they come to Jesus 231 00:11:47,907 --> 00:11:51,143 and they ask this question, who's the greatest? 232 00:11:51,143 --> 00:11:56,582 Because in their minds, where they were status, 233 00:11:56,615 --> 00:12:00,720 achievement, recognition and definitely comparison 234 00:12:01,821 --> 00:12:04,023 were all used to determine 235 00:12:04,023 --> 00:12:07,026 what greatness means. 236 00:12:07,159 --> 00:12:10,162 It was the criteria in their minds. 237 00:12:11,197 --> 00:12:14,200 It was the criteria that by which they determined greatness. 238 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:15,668 And it's so interesting. 239 00:12:15,668 --> 00:12:17,837 Jesus does not respond 240 00:12:17,837 --> 00:12:21,640 with an explanation, at least not one that they thought they were. 241 00:12:21,674 --> 00:12:23,843 They were going to get. 242 00:12:23,843 --> 00:12:24,777 Wouldn't have been weird 243 00:12:24,777 --> 00:12:28,514 if Jesus responded with a list like, you know, whipped out some whiteboard. 244 00:12:28,547 --> 00:12:30,549 All right, I'm glad you asked, Peter. 245 00:12:30,549 --> 00:12:31,851 You're obviously at the top. 246 00:12:31,851 --> 00:12:34,987 I mean, you do say some crazy stuff every now and then, but you did 247 00:12:34,987 --> 00:12:36,989 have that really good confession and mean, hey, 248 00:12:36,989 --> 00:12:40,459 you got invited up the mountain, so you're obviously at the top, Peter. 249 00:12:40,459 --> 00:12:43,062 And as we go down, you know, John, Andrew. 250 00:12:43,062 --> 00:12:45,698 It's kind of neck and neck between you guys. 251 00:12:45,698 --> 00:12:46,899 You better study the playbook. 252 00:12:46,899 --> 00:12:48,501 We'll see how it pans out for you this week. 253 00:12:48,501 --> 00:12:49,935 Grades are coming out on Friday. 254 00:12:49,935 --> 00:12:51,103 We'll see how you guys end up. 255 00:12:51,103 --> 00:12:54,106 That'd be crazy if Jesus did that. 256 00:12:54,173 --> 00:12:55,975 He doesn't do any of that. 257 00:12:55,975 --> 00:13:00,713 He responds with sort of this object lesson. 258 00:13:00,713 --> 00:13:04,784 He responds with his answer is in the form of an example 259 00:13:04,784 --> 00:13:06,652 with flesh and blood on it. 260 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:10,923 And really. 261 00:13:11,390 --> 00:13:13,592 It's almost like Jesus is saying, 262 00:13:13,592 --> 00:13:15,628 do you really want to know the answer to that? Have you ever? 263 00:13:15,628 --> 00:13:17,196 Have you ever been in a situation like that 264 00:13:17,196 --> 00:13:18,664 where you ask a question, somebody goes, 265 00:13:18,664 --> 00:13:20,399 do you really want to know the answer to that? 266 00:13:20,399 --> 00:13:21,734 And you're like, I'm not sure. 267 00:13:21,734 --> 00:13:24,537 Now, this was like dating in high school. 268 00:13:24,537 --> 00:13:27,540 Do you really want to know the answer to that? 269 00:13:27,573 --> 00:13:32,478 So Jesus responds and he basically says, you're asking the wrong question. 270 00:13:32,478 --> 00:13:36,682 I'm going to answer this, but it's going to expose how wrong you're 271 00:13:36,715 --> 00:13:40,452 thinking is when it comes to this idea of the kingdom of heaven. 272 00:13:42,321 --> 00:13:46,025 So Matthew verses two through four, it says, 273 00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:50,629 he called a little child and had him stand among them. 274 00:13:50,629 --> 00:13:55,534 And he said, I tell you the truth, unless you change and become 275 00:13:55,534 --> 00:13:59,271 like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 276 00:13:59,305 --> 00:14:02,508 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child 277 00:14:02,541 --> 00:14:06,011 is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 278 00:14:07,980 --> 00:14:09,114 You guys, it is hard to 279 00:14:09,114 --> 00:14:12,318 overstate how big of a deal this was for the disciples, 280 00:14:12,818 --> 00:14:15,654 how much 281 00:14:15,654 --> 00:14:18,958 spiritual and emotional whiplash 282 00:14:18,958 --> 00:14:21,961 this must have been for the disciples 283 00:14:22,628 --> 00:14:24,196 in their world. 284 00:14:24,196 --> 00:14:25,497 This didn't work. 285 00:14:25,497 --> 00:14:27,900 This didn't make sense in their world. 286 00:14:27,900 --> 00:14:32,671 Although children were loved, they were by no means great. 287 00:14:33,772 --> 00:14:36,842 They did not have this idea 288 00:14:36,842 --> 00:14:40,279 of a child in their minds when it came to greatness. 289 00:14:41,413 --> 00:14:43,382 Children had no resume. 290 00:14:43,382 --> 00:14:47,219 They had no litany of accomplishments they could point to and say, that's 291 00:14:48,153 --> 00:14:49,154 that's me. 292 00:14:49,154 --> 00:14:50,556 They had no authority. 293 00:14:50,556 --> 00:14:52,992 They had nobody reporting to them. 294 00:14:52,992 --> 00:14:55,294 They had no leverage. They had no status. 295 00:14:55,294 --> 00:15:00,900 They had no money, no platform, no influence. 296 00:15:01,267 --> 00:15:05,971 All the things the disciples and we use to determine greatness. 297 00:15:06,038 --> 00:15:08,841 Jesus is like, nope. This is who I'm pointing to. 298 00:15:10,376 --> 00:15:13,379 So the disciples are floored by this. 299 00:15:14,947 --> 00:15:19,351 A child not impressive, not image focused, not agenda driven. 300 00:15:19,351 --> 00:15:21,387 And Jesus literally pulls him into the middle 301 00:15:21,387 --> 00:15:24,623 and says, this is what it looks like to be great. 302 00:15:26,058 --> 00:15:28,627 In verse three that we just read, he says, truly 303 00:15:28,627 --> 00:15:31,997 I say to you, unless you change some of your Bible, say turn, 304 00:15:32,531 --> 00:15:36,001 unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter 305 00:15:36,001 --> 00:15:37,903 the kingdom of heaven. 306 00:15:37,903 --> 00:15:41,173 Jesus saying, this is how important this idea is. 307 00:15:41,173 --> 00:15:43,776 You guys are talking about greatness in the kingdom. 308 00:15:43,776 --> 00:15:47,780 I'm saying unless you make a fundamental change in how you're thinking 309 00:15:47,780 --> 00:15:50,783 about this, don't even talk about what happens when you get in. 310 00:15:50,983 --> 00:15:53,319 Let's just talk about entrance. 311 00:15:53,319 --> 00:15:55,721 He's saying this is how big of a deal it is. 312 00:16:00,192 --> 00:16:03,429 Then what was he calling out in this child? 313 00:16:06,532 --> 00:16:08,701 That makes them great? 314 00:16:08,701 --> 00:16:11,003 What is it about them? 315 00:16:11,003 --> 00:16:14,273 The answer is buried in a word. 316 00:16:14,273 --> 00:16:18,911 In verse four, Jesus says, whoever humbles himself 317 00:16:18,911 --> 00:16:23,749 like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 318 00:16:24,650 --> 00:16:27,319 It's this word that makes all the difference 319 00:16:27,319 --> 00:16:30,823 for us, and it's something we struggle with all the time. 320 00:16:30,856 --> 00:16:32,491 It's that word humble. 321 00:16:32,491 --> 00:16:34,827 It's that idea of humility. 322 00:16:34,827 --> 00:16:39,631 And Jesus is saying this childlike dependance, this trust 323 00:16:39,631 --> 00:16:44,303 in God that this child displays is what I'm talking about. 324 00:16:44,970 --> 00:16:46,772 So that's our big idea for today. 325 00:16:46,772 --> 00:16:48,674 You guys, let me go back. 326 00:16:48,674 --> 00:16:52,111 Jesus taught that greatness in God's kingdom is found through 327 00:16:52,144 --> 00:16:55,547 humble dependance, not status. Or 328 00:16:56,949 --> 00:16:59,618 that's the criteria Jesus taught. 329 00:16:59,618 --> 00:17:03,589 Greatness in God's kingdom is found through humble dependance, 330 00:17:03,622 --> 00:17:06,625 not status or achievement. 331 00:17:06,992 --> 00:17:09,495 Jesus saying, become childlike. 332 00:17:09,495 --> 00:17:12,798 And the disciples, I'm sure because of a way their minds were going, 333 00:17:12,831 --> 00:17:17,002 the way this argument had gone, they were defaulting to not childlike, 334 00:17:17,002 --> 00:17:18,070 but childish. 335 00:17:18,070 --> 00:17:21,874 And they're like, I know, I know what children are like. 336 00:17:21,940 --> 00:17:26,779 And they're thinking they're selfish, they're immature, they're careless. 337 00:17:26,779 --> 00:17:32,051 And Jesus says, no, I mean child like with regard to your faith and trust 338 00:17:32,051 --> 00:17:36,989 and dependance on God, that's what greatness in the kingdom looks like. 339 00:17:37,623 --> 00:17:40,859 Jesus is saying, children don't fuss and fret 340 00:17:40,859 --> 00:17:44,096 with things like, where's my next meal going to come from? 341 00:17:44,663 --> 00:17:48,534 How does my stuff and my car compare to my neighbors? 342 00:17:48,534 --> 00:17:50,069 And how do I rack up 343 00:17:50,069 --> 00:17:53,172 credit card charges to make sure that that's not an issue anymore? 344 00:17:53,906 --> 00:17:57,076 Children don't worry about where the mortgage is going to 345 00:17:57,076 --> 00:17:58,977 or how the mortgage is going to be paid. 346 00:17:58,977 --> 00:18:01,713 I remember when my daughters, 347 00:18:01,713 --> 00:18:04,983 I think they were in junior high, I remember I explained to them 348 00:18:04,983 --> 00:18:08,120 what a mortgage was before that they did not care. 349 00:18:08,153 --> 00:18:12,458 I mean, even after that they did not care, but they just it just wasn't a big deal. 350 00:18:12,991 --> 00:18:14,359 They're just dependent. 351 00:18:16,862 --> 00:18:17,496 And Jesus is 352 00:18:17,496 --> 00:18:20,499 saying, that's what I'm talking about. 353 00:18:21,266 --> 00:18:23,602 They live with a knowledge of dependance, knowing 354 00:18:23,602 --> 00:18:27,372 that someone greater is caring for them. 355 00:18:28,107 --> 00:18:30,375 Jesus is saying, that's what I'm talking about 356 00:18:30,375 --> 00:18:33,345 when I talk about becoming childlike, 357 00:18:33,345 --> 00:18:36,348 and it all stems from being humble. 358 00:18:36,748 --> 00:18:37,816 Did you catch that? 359 00:18:37,816 --> 00:18:42,654 Jesus says, whoever humbles himself, did you guys catch that? 360 00:18:42,721 --> 00:18:44,389 Whoever humbles himself? 361 00:18:44,389 --> 00:18:47,860 This implies this active participation. 362 00:18:48,026 --> 00:18:50,262 There's a few things the Bible talks about I love, 363 00:18:50,262 --> 00:18:53,465 I love, I always try to hone in on when the Bible talks about 364 00:18:53,499 --> 00:18:54,733 do this thing to yourself. 365 00:18:54,733 --> 00:18:57,503 One of the ones that I love is 366 00:18:57,503 --> 00:18:58,971 when it talks about finances. 367 00:18:58,971 --> 00:19:02,508 With regard to debt, the Bible says, free yourself 368 00:19:02,774 --> 00:19:04,476 like a bird from the hand of the Fowler, 369 00:19:04,476 --> 00:19:06,078 like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter. 370 00:19:06,078 --> 00:19:08,947 It implies this you've got to have some skin in. 371 00:19:08,947 --> 00:19:11,016 This game has nothing to do with salvation. 372 00:19:11,016 --> 00:19:12,417 We're not talking about that. 373 00:19:12,417 --> 00:19:17,322 We're talking about this command from Jesus that says, do this to yourself. 374 00:19:17,556 --> 00:19:21,226 And then, yes, God comes and plants his super on your natural 375 00:19:21,226 --> 00:19:22,995 and supernatural things start to happen. 376 00:19:22,995 --> 00:19:25,731 But God says, do this thing to yourself. 377 00:19:27,299 --> 00:19:29,401 And in this case, Jesus says, 378 00:19:29,401 --> 00:19:32,371 humble yourselves. 379 00:19:34,740 --> 00:19:36,475 I remember in 380 00:19:36,475 --> 00:19:39,878 when I was youth pastor, I would always, do you guys know any high school boys? 381 00:19:40,179 --> 00:19:42,748 Maybe some of you are high school boys. Yeah. 382 00:19:42,748 --> 00:19:44,583 Some of you are like, oh, yes. 383 00:19:44,583 --> 00:19:48,387 Unfortunately, high school boys, it does not take being around 384 00:19:48,387 --> 00:19:49,821 high school boys very long. 385 00:19:49,821 --> 00:19:53,825 Before you recognize this sort of one upmanship contest. 386 00:19:53,825 --> 00:19:55,961 I used to call it a jackass contest. 387 00:19:55,961 --> 00:19:59,731 They get into this little, you know, bickering back and forth 388 00:19:59,731 --> 00:20:00,832 about who's better at this. 389 00:20:00,832 --> 00:20:03,835 And it's really stupid stuff all the time. 390 00:20:04,069 --> 00:20:06,305 And I used to tell them, because, you know, we'd have these 391 00:20:06,305 --> 00:20:09,474 little satellites before youth group, youth group would start, 392 00:20:09,508 --> 00:20:12,010 and I would just walk by and I'd hear these discussions 393 00:20:12,010 --> 00:20:14,680 and I'd just kind of hang out and listen to discussion. And I'm like, all right. 394 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:19,251 And I said, you guys, humility is going to come. 395 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:22,054 Know that. 396 00:20:22,054 --> 00:20:24,756 Make no mistake about it, humility will come to you. 397 00:20:24,756 --> 00:20:25,891 You will be humbled. 398 00:20:25,891 --> 00:20:29,194 But do what the Bible says and humble yourself. 399 00:20:29,194 --> 00:20:32,497 Because if you don't humble yourself, you get humbled. 400 00:20:32,497 --> 00:20:35,500 And one stings a lot less than the other. 401 00:20:35,834 --> 00:20:38,070 And Jesus says, do that. 402 00:20:38,070 --> 00:20:41,073 Humble yourselves. 403 00:20:46,745 --> 00:20:51,216 So some application questions for us, some gut check questions for us. 404 00:20:51,216 --> 00:20:54,586 Number one, where have I stopped trusting Jesus? 405 00:20:54,586 --> 00:21:00,592 Simply, where are the simple things that Jesus has asked me to trust him in, 406 00:21:00,626 --> 00:21:06,064 that I've somehow rationalized away, that I've somehow said, you know what? 407 00:21:06,098 --> 00:21:07,332 I'll get back to that. 408 00:21:07,332 --> 00:21:09,334 That really doesn't make sense, because I'm in my 30s 409 00:21:09,334 --> 00:21:10,469 now, or I'm in my 20s 410 00:21:10,469 --> 00:21:14,773 now, or I'm in my 40s now, that where have I stopped trusting Jesus? 411 00:21:14,773 --> 00:21:17,476 Simply with all, without all the excuses? 412 00:21:19,678 --> 00:21:21,079 Number two 413 00:21:21,079 --> 00:21:24,916 where have I replaced dependent faith with control? 414 00:21:25,183 --> 00:21:27,853 I remember when my daughter started to get their driver's license 415 00:21:27,853 --> 00:21:31,890 and they graduated from high school, and they got married and they moved out. 416 00:21:32,090 --> 00:21:34,960 All of those things come 417 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:38,797 with a sense of responsibility, but also what we call autonomy. 418 00:21:38,830 --> 00:21:42,868 This idea that I'm doing it, I'm in control. 419 00:21:42,934 --> 00:21:44,403 And it's so weird. 420 00:21:44,403 --> 00:21:48,907 It almost happens subversively that that control replaces 421 00:21:48,907 --> 00:21:51,910 that dependent, childlike faith. 422 00:21:53,278 --> 00:21:53,879 Number three. 423 00:21:53,879 --> 00:21:55,414 This is a great one. 424 00:21:55,414 --> 00:21:57,949 Where do I believe Jesus in speech? 425 00:21:57,949 --> 00:22:00,719 But I distrust him in practice. 426 00:22:00,719 --> 00:22:03,121 Where does what I say and what I do not? 427 00:22:03,121 --> 00:22:06,258 Where where do I when it's 428 00:22:06,291 --> 00:22:09,895 10:00 on a Sunday morning at flipside and at 72 in fluorescent? 429 00:22:09,895 --> 00:22:12,497 I'll not along and I'll say Amen, and I'll say yes. 430 00:22:12,497 --> 00:22:16,535 And then I'll go out and it's Wednesday at 2:00 in the afternoon, and I'm in 431 00:22:16,601 --> 00:22:21,506 that office, or I'm on that field and I'm with those people, and my amen. 432 00:22:21,506 --> 00:22:24,509 And my yes, somehow have vanished. 433 00:22:24,943 --> 00:22:29,381 Where do I believe Jesus in speech but distrust him in practice? 434 00:22:33,251 --> 00:22:35,253 One of the things we talk about it around here 435 00:22:35,253 --> 00:22:38,357 all the time, it's one of the things I love most about our church. 436 00:22:38,357 --> 00:22:41,159 We talk about mercy and grace all the time. 437 00:22:41,159 --> 00:22:41,993 All the time. 438 00:22:41,993 --> 00:22:43,295 It's just this thread, 439 00:22:43,295 --> 00:22:47,432 these threads that run through the heartbeat of flipside and I love it. 440 00:22:47,432 --> 00:22:49,835 And when we talk about grace, we define grace 441 00:22:49,835 --> 00:22:53,505 as the undeserved favor and blessing of God. 442 00:22:53,705 --> 00:22:55,173 Grace is the undeserved. 443 00:22:55,173 --> 00:22:56,742 We don't didn't earn it, didn't deserve it. 444 00:22:56,742 --> 00:22:59,611 Undeserved favor and blessing of God. 445 00:22:59,611 --> 00:23:05,350 But did you guys know there's this sort of thing that lets grace flow freely? 446 00:23:05,450 --> 00:23:09,421 There's this thing that we that we're a part of, and that's why 447 00:23:09,421 --> 00:23:12,424 Jesus says, do it to yourself. 448 00:23:13,625 --> 00:23:14,159 James 449 00:23:14,159 --> 00:23:17,262 actually talks about this James chapter four verse six. 450 00:23:17,262 --> 00:23:22,834 It says, therefore humble God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. 451 00:23:24,069 --> 00:23:25,437 God opposes the 452 00:23:25,437 --> 00:23:28,440 proud, but he gives grace to the humble. 453 00:23:29,508 --> 00:23:33,779 The Apostle Peter also talks about it first Peter chapter five, verse three. 454 00:23:33,779 --> 00:23:35,514 He says, he's telling his readers, 455 00:23:35,514 --> 00:23:39,785 clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another. 456 00:23:39,785 --> 00:23:44,055 For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 457 00:23:45,490 --> 00:23:47,826 I think if James and Peter were were here today, 458 00:23:47,826 --> 00:23:50,595 they would say that didn't come from me. That actually came. 459 00:23:50,595 --> 00:23:51,563 They were good Jewish boys. 460 00:23:51,563 --> 00:23:54,232 They were just quoting their scripture that came from Proverbs 461 00:23:54,232 --> 00:23:56,101 chapter three, verse 34. 462 00:23:56,101 --> 00:23:59,237 Some translations say God mocks proud mockers, 463 00:23:59,237 --> 00:24:02,240 but gives grace to the humble. 464 00:24:04,876 --> 00:24:08,380 That childlike humility is what allows God's, 465 00:24:08,380 --> 00:24:12,451 what welcomes God's undeserved blessing and favor. 466 00:24:12,451 --> 00:24:14,519 And Jesus says, that's how big of a deal it is. 467 00:24:14,519 --> 00:24:16,755 And that's what this child displays. 468 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:22,861 It's so interesting. 469 00:24:22,861 --> 00:24:24,629 Jesus doesn't stop there. 470 00:24:24,629 --> 00:24:27,132 He keeps his foot on the gas. 471 00:24:27,132 --> 00:24:30,135 He teaches what true greatness looks like, 472 00:24:30,135 --> 00:24:34,039 and then he teaches how the truly great treat others. 473 00:24:36,341 --> 00:24:38,743 And he sticks with the object lesson 474 00:24:38,743 --> 00:24:41,947 because I wanted to pull a teenage girl up here and have her do this, 475 00:24:41,947 --> 00:24:43,715 because they do it so much better than I could. 476 00:24:43,715 --> 00:24:46,718 But they do that thing where they go. 477 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:49,588 I can just see 478 00:24:49,588 --> 00:24:52,858 some of the disciples, a child. 479 00:24:53,258 --> 00:24:57,429 Now, if you had parents like mine and you made that noise, oh, game over. 480 00:24:57,429 --> 00:25:00,432 If I ever went, they were like, what? 481 00:25:00,699 --> 00:25:02,434 Sit down. I'm not done. 482 00:25:02,434 --> 00:25:04,936 And Jesus is kind of like, I'm not done. 483 00:25:04,936 --> 00:25:09,241 He keeps his foot on the gas and he sticks with this object lesson in verses 484 00:25:09,241 --> 00:25:13,144 five and six he says, and whoever welcomes a little child 485 00:25:13,144 --> 00:25:16,781 like this in my name welcomes me. 486 00:25:16,915 --> 00:25:21,186 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, 487 00:25:21,186 --> 00:25:24,256 it would be better for him to have a large millstone 488 00:25:24,322 --> 00:25:28,593 hung around his neck and to be drown in the depths of the sea. 489 00:25:28,793 --> 00:25:29,661 Yikes! 490 00:25:34,132 --> 00:25:34,599 Jesus 491 00:25:34,599 --> 00:25:37,602 basically says, you asked the question. 492 00:25:37,636 --> 00:25:39,905 You guys are the ones who ask the question. 493 00:25:39,905 --> 00:25:44,576 And I'm saying greatness looks like childlike surrender and dependance. 494 00:25:44,576 --> 00:25:46,711 Humility humbling yourself. 495 00:25:46,711 --> 00:25:52,017 And then he makes a statement that could have easily been a question. 496 00:25:52,017 --> 00:25:54,953 He makes this statement that just could have easily been a question. 497 00:25:54,953 --> 00:25:59,357 He basically says, how do you treat people who embody that dependance? 498 00:26:00,592 --> 00:26:02,794 How do you treat those who are an example 499 00:26:02,794 --> 00:26:05,797 of what I'm talking about? 500 00:26:06,798 --> 00:26:08,600 Because the way the disciples 501 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,603 were thinking by that rationale, 502 00:26:12,304 --> 00:26:14,272 greatness is found in things like power. 503 00:26:14,272 --> 00:26:16,942 It's found in things like influence and status. 504 00:26:16,942 --> 00:26:19,177 It's found in achievement and in recognition. 505 00:26:19,177 --> 00:26:22,948 If that's the criteria, the byproduct of that is children 506 00:26:22,948 --> 00:26:26,551 automatically get pushed to the margins because they have none of that. 507 00:26:27,052 --> 00:26:33,224 And Jesus is saying, this is how this is what I want to know about you. 508 00:26:34,759 --> 00:26:36,761 If you can accept that kingdom greatness 509 00:26:36,761 --> 00:26:41,099 is found in humility and dependance and trust and need, then children 510 00:26:41,099 --> 00:26:44,269 suddenly get brought to the center what Jesus was doing. 511 00:26:45,036 --> 00:26:48,139 That's why Jesus literally put a child in the middle of the room. 512 00:26:52,477 --> 00:26:55,480 And that's why Jesus almost immediately moves 513 00:26:55,614 --> 00:27:00,952 from talking about becoming childlike to talk, talking about welcoming a child. 514 00:27:00,986 --> 00:27:03,321 He says, not only is this how I want you to be, 515 00:27:03,321 --> 00:27:06,458 but the way you treat them and those like them 516 00:27:07,058 --> 00:27:10,061 is a reflection of what you think about me. 517 00:27:11,029 --> 00:27:14,032 Because church family, this statement is true. 518 00:27:14,065 --> 00:27:18,269 What we value reveals what we actually believe. 519 00:27:18,303 --> 00:27:21,539 You can tell me what you believe all day long, 520 00:27:21,539 --> 00:27:24,976 but when I find out what you value, that will really be the proof. 521 00:27:24,976 --> 00:27:26,544 And Jesus is saying that. 522 00:27:28,913 --> 00:27:29,981 What we value 523 00:27:29,981 --> 00:27:32,984 reveals what we actually believe. 524 00:27:34,719 --> 00:27:36,554 One of the things I love about our church is that we 525 00:27:36,554 --> 00:27:39,557 demonstrate that value through our children's ministry. 526 00:27:39,557 --> 00:27:40,492 It's so simple. 527 00:27:40,492 --> 00:27:47,032 It's such a simple way to exemplify and to reveal what we actually believe. 528 00:27:47,065 --> 00:27:50,835 Every Sunday there's volunteers that show up and they have 529 00:27:50,869 --> 00:27:53,938 the rooms are clean, they're teaching, they're praying. 530 00:27:53,938 --> 00:27:56,274 They're doing really just fundamental stuff. 531 00:27:56,274 --> 00:27:58,810 Checking kids in, 532 00:27:58,810 --> 00:28:01,780 creating spaces where children can feel loved 533 00:28:01,780 --> 00:28:04,783 and where they can hear that Jesus loves them. 534 00:28:05,316 --> 00:28:07,185 It's not babysitting. 535 00:28:07,185 --> 00:28:10,922 If you're part of the children's ministry, you are doing a sacred work. 536 00:28:10,922 --> 00:28:14,492 Please know that because I know there's some Sundays where it does not seem like 537 00:28:14,492 --> 00:28:17,495 that. 538 00:28:17,962 --> 00:28:19,230 That's kingdom work. 539 00:28:19,230 --> 00:28:22,434 And by Jesus definition, that's kingdom greatness. 540 00:28:22,734 --> 00:28:26,838 Dressing exactly what this this question that the disciples were asking. 541 00:28:29,474 --> 00:28:32,477 I had forgot about this. 542 00:28:32,744 --> 00:28:37,816 This is a sticker that I don't even know how this got in my Bible. 543 00:28:38,917 --> 00:28:40,985 It says, hello, my name is Mr. 544 00:28:40,985 --> 00:28:44,589 Jeffrey and the date on it. 545 00:28:44,756 --> 00:28:50,095 My goodness, the date on it is Sunday, August 14th, 2011. 546 00:28:50,762 --> 00:28:52,230 And it's the 9 a.m. 547 00:28:52,230 --> 00:28:55,233 kids team. 548 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:56,234 When Jennifer 549 00:28:56,234 --> 00:28:59,237 and I first came to flipside, our kids were really small 550 00:28:59,237 --> 00:29:01,172 and I didn't get involved with the worship team. 551 00:29:01,172 --> 00:29:03,174 I didn't get involved with the tech booth. 552 00:29:03,174 --> 00:29:05,176 I didn't get involved with refreshments. 553 00:29:05,176 --> 00:29:07,946 I started volunteering in children's. 554 00:29:07,946 --> 00:29:12,317 My wife and I both started falling, volunteering in Children's and Mrs. 555 00:29:12,317 --> 00:29:13,651 Stumbles, a kindergarten teacher. 556 00:29:13,651 --> 00:29:16,721 She I mean, those kids, they just they it's like they 557 00:29:16,855 --> 00:29:19,390 I was like, what is going on? 558 00:29:19,390 --> 00:29:22,160 And what am I doing? They can't wipe their noses. 559 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:23,361 They can't tie their own shoes. 560 00:29:23,361 --> 00:29:25,897 These kids are driving me nuts. 561 00:29:25,897 --> 00:29:29,667 And I was so glad I got involved in that ministry back then, 562 00:29:29,667 --> 00:29:34,038 because it forced me to put into practice what Jesus is talking about. 563 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:37,675 So thankful for our children's program. 564 00:29:37,675 --> 00:29:41,179 Trish and everybody involved in that program is doing such a fantastic job. 565 00:29:41,179 --> 00:29:42,213 We just had VBS. 566 00:29:42,213 --> 00:29:43,782 It was phenomenal. 567 00:29:43,782 --> 00:29:46,785 Crazy the way God moves in that. 568 00:29:52,157 --> 00:29:53,057 Also Jesus 569 00:29:53,057 --> 00:29:56,161 takes a conversation from receiving kids to safeguarding them. 570 00:29:56,161 --> 00:29:57,796 He doesn't stop at welcoming them. 571 00:29:57,796 --> 00:30:00,598 He says protect them. 572 00:30:00,598 --> 00:30:02,400 One of the ways we're doing that at flipside 573 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:04,335 right now is through this sheepdog ministry. 574 00:30:04,335 --> 00:30:06,371 Some of you probably are like, what is that? 575 00:30:06,371 --> 00:30:08,940 That's that's by design. 576 00:30:08,940 --> 00:30:12,177 There are people here who involve who are involved in our security team. 577 00:30:12,210 --> 00:30:14,913 You may have seen them with a little headset or a walkie talkie. 578 00:30:14,913 --> 00:30:19,250 Other than that, they are incognito and they are walking around here 579 00:30:20,652 --> 00:30:24,522 making sure that this is a safe place for families and children to come. 580 00:30:26,057 --> 00:30:26,991 Their ministry is 581 00:30:26,991 --> 00:30:30,094 one of the best examples of what Jesus is talking about today. 582 00:30:30,094 --> 00:30:33,331 It's humble service with no real platform, 583 00:30:33,331 --> 00:30:37,135 no real spotlight, no fanfare, no hoopla. 584 00:30:37,202 --> 00:30:38,736 It's just faithfulness. 585 00:30:38,736 --> 00:30:41,940 It's just humble dependance on God. 586 00:30:43,975 --> 00:30:45,710 The disciples asked about greatness 587 00:30:45,710 --> 00:30:48,713 and Jesus pointed to a child. 588 00:30:51,549 --> 00:30:53,818 Jesus says, this is how the greats. 589 00:30:53,818 --> 00:30:56,821 This is how the goats at. 590 00:30:57,589 --> 00:30:59,591 It's the fruits of humility. 591 00:30:59,591 --> 00:31:03,494 These things that he was pointing to are the fruits of humility. 592 00:31:04,796 --> 00:31:07,098 The world says, become great. 593 00:31:07,098 --> 00:31:09,667 Jesus says, how about you? Just be humble. 594 00:31:09,667 --> 00:31:10,935 Let's start there. 595 00:31:10,935 --> 00:31:12,337 The world says, become great. 596 00:31:12,337 --> 00:31:15,340 Jesus goes, let's just be humble. 597 00:31:15,940 --> 00:31:18,509 The Bible says, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, 598 00:31:18,509 --> 00:31:20,578 and he will lift you up in due season. 599 00:31:20,578 --> 00:31:22,580 And we as adults go, what does that mean? 600 00:31:22,580 --> 00:31:24,215 What does that mean? What does that mean? Lift me up. 601 00:31:24,215 --> 00:31:26,751 I want to know how I'm going to be lifted up. What does that mean? Do season? 602 00:31:26,751 --> 00:31:29,354 Because I'm getting really impatient and I'm getting tired. Wins. 603 00:31:29,354 --> 00:31:33,258 And God says, just be humble and let me take care of that. 604 00:31:35,860 --> 00:31:37,629 The disciples no different than us. 605 00:31:37,629 --> 00:31:38,663 They wanted a scoreboard. 606 00:31:38,663 --> 00:31:41,933 They wanted a report card because everybody understands rank. 607 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:43,534 We understand promotion. 608 00:31:43,534 --> 00:31:45,069 We understand position. 609 00:31:45,069 --> 00:31:49,741 We understand things like popularity and performance reviews and follower counts. 610 00:31:49,741 --> 00:31:54,545 We understand all of these criteria and means that we can determine greatness by. 611 00:31:54,545 --> 00:31:56,581 And Jesus gives us a child. 612 00:31:56,581 --> 00:31:58,783 He says, be like this. 613 00:31:58,783 --> 00:32:01,819 That's what kingdom greatness looks like. 614 00:32:01,819 --> 00:32:04,756 And that's the lesson for us. Amen. 615 00:32:04,756 --> 00:32:07,292 God, we thank you so much 616 00:32:07,292 --> 00:32:08,493 for your word. 617 00:32:08,493 --> 00:32:13,298 We thank you that we have the opportunity to come to this place today. 618 00:32:13,298 --> 00:32:18,269 And just to start this week off focusing on you and what you have to say 619 00:32:18,269 --> 00:32:21,639 about what true greatness looks like. 620 00:32:23,041 --> 00:32:26,210 I pray that if there's anybody here this morning that is 621 00:32:27,211 --> 00:32:30,782 really struggling with this idea of where they measure up, 622 00:32:30,815 --> 00:32:34,652 especially if it's where they measure up with regard to you, I pray that 623 00:32:34,719 --> 00:32:37,588 if there's anybody here who needs to give their life and their 624 00:32:37,588 --> 00:32:41,492 their surrender, their heart and their surrender their will to you, 625 00:32:41,492 --> 00:32:45,029 I pray that they'll do that and that you will just give them 626 00:32:45,029 --> 00:32:48,132 what your word talks about, the peace that transcends all understanding. 627 00:32:48,199 --> 00:32:50,868 I pray that as we go back into the places you've called us to go 628 00:32:50,868 --> 00:32:54,172 this week, this is going to be a big challenge for a lot of us 629 00:32:54,172 --> 00:32:57,475 because, man, we live in a world of competition. 630 00:32:57,475 --> 00:33:00,111 We live in a world of reviews. 631 00:33:00,111 --> 00:33:01,946 We live in a world of comparison. 632 00:33:01,946 --> 00:33:05,316 And I pray God that even at the end of the week, 633 00:33:05,350 --> 00:33:08,152 our minds will be called back to our time here today, 634 00:33:08,152 --> 00:33:12,857 and it'll just be a safety valve and take all of that pressure off. 635 00:33:12,857 --> 00:33:16,294 Jesus, we thank you for that and we ask all these things in your name. 636 00:33:16,361 --> 00:33:17,028 Amen.