Good Morning Friends,
There has always been an interest in who is the greatest of all time. The GOAT. We have people like the boxer Mohamad Ali who claimed to be the greatest but ended up physically debilitated. In sports we have rankings and desire to crown a champion not just each year but for all time. Perhaps you have your own opinions. Would you say the greatest basketball player of all time was Michael Jordan or Lebron James? The greatest quarter back and receiver combination Montana to Rice? We take a lot of interest in who is greatest but not as much on what makes a person successful and significant. One quality I think is important is learning not to be afraid of life. And honestly there are a lot of things to be afraid of such as death and the unknown, rejection and ridicule, pain and misery, and failure and loneliness. These are fears that describe an inner condition of the heart. That is, these are not fears of specific things like snakes, spiders and scorpions. I do not know what scares you, but I would have to think that John the Baptist was not scared of anything but God. But when it comes to being successful and significant there is more to it that involves the more excellent way and the more ethical way empowered. So, this morning we fear and love and ask, What Makes Us Great?
Scripture: For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.” Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you insect Israel! I will help you, says the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Now, I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff. You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest shall scatter them. Then you shall rejoice in the Lord; in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory. When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive; I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together, so that all may see and know, all may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Isaiah 41:13-20 (NRSV)
When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Let anyone with ears listen!
Matthew 11:2-15 (NRSV)
What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Let anyone with ears listen!
Matthew 11:9-15 (NRSV)
Message: Today in our Advent journey we consider John the Baptizer as we look at the characteristics that makes a person successful…. significant …great. William Shakespeare is credited with saying that,” Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” But then he was writing the story line. Khalil Gibran is credited with the request that we, “Keep away from wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children.” I think he was writing about being honest. Mahatma Gandhi once said that, “the greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” His message speaks more to compassion. Matthew Henry combines the two by saying, “Goodness makes greatness truly valuable, and greatness makes goodness much more serviceable.” But Daniel Webster understood the true foundation for greatness when he said, “A solemn and religious regard to spiritual and eternal things is an indispensable element of all true greatness.” In
an age where some power is distributed, and some power is centralized, we need to consider how they work together in a way that leaves a wake in our past as they cut through our history and into our future. The test of time determines greatness. But power, I do not believe, makes one great. Too many have laid aside the old virtues and now judge greatness by the power of fame, prestige, influence and wealth. Think for a moment about those that society presents before us as the great people of our time. For we as a society worship sports figures, rock stars and movie stars. One has to wonder how people will think of them in a decade…in a hundred or a thousand years. The ability to impersonate someone else in front of a camera is not the basis for greatness. A person’s skill at amassing money is not the foundation for greatness. One’s vocal quality and ability to entertain does not make a person great. Being at the center of power, whether that be in a business or in politics is not true greatness either. A person is not great because they achieved a position of power. Friends, fame comes and goes very quickly. Money is not a good test either for history reveals that many of the great people in this world were poor. Special abilities may give a person a day in the sun and a sense of greatness, but that does not mean that the person is great. Jesus of course is great even now and it is interesting that he said that there were none greater than John the Baptist. The reason? Well, I think it boils down to simplicity, humility, and utility. If you want to be great, truly great in the estimation of the only one that really counts, God, then those are the characteristics you need to demonstrate to be greater than John. But let me be clear on this one point, seeking greatness is a lost cause if one first does not seek the truth of one’s own being. That is why we must focus on remaking ourselves into servants.
And So, friends, we can package ourselves into a commodity or simply learn to give ourselves away in the love of Jesus.at the height of His earthly ministry, Jesus was approached by two disciples of John the Baptist. John had sent the two disciples to Jesus because he had a problem. John had a big problem. He was in prison. He was about to be killed. His life was hanging by a thread and yet when he sends messengers to Jesus Christ it is nothing about his problem at all. He does not ask Jesus to get him out of jail and save his life. All he wanted was affirmation that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. Jesus used this opportunity to tell the multitudes about John the Baptist. They know that John the Baptist had said that “Jesus must become greater and I must become less.” Jesus responds that the greatness of John is really the extension of the greatness of the glory of God in our lives. What he is saying is that the greatness of John… his humble and unaware greatness was born out of a confident and fearless belief in God that was turned into action. This hunter gatherer of a man had spent much of his life prophesying on the coming of Messiah. John wanted validation in knowing that his life had not been lived in vain for he would never see Jesus’ death and resurrection. John would never see how Jesus fulfilled all the messianic predictions of God’s future salvation. John would never see the fullness of how Great Jesus would become. So, friends even though we have not seen Jesus face to face we do have something John the Baptist never had. We have the power of the resurrected Christ and that is the greatest power in the universe. So, friends, being great may indeed be thrust upon us or we may be born into it or even achieve it at Shakespeare wrote but there is more for it is also about being honest about one’s life and being compassionate. Friends, true greatness is goodness put into action in a love that lasts. The test of time determines this greatness, so set your sights on those things of the Kingdom to come.
Pray we stop trying to remake the world as a way of being great and spend more time remaking ourselves as intermediaries in the world. Pray we are called of God for a service and faithfully answer that call. Pray we can endure criticism without resentment. Pray we be like John the Baptist and seek the truth. Pray we have strong moral convictions that lead others to repentance. Pray we are humble. Pray we deny ourselves. Pray we serve others for the Kingdom. Pray we have the simplicity that is in Christ. Pray we are willing to pick up a towel and serve others. Pray we are useful. Pray that when we are tired and weak and worn that Jesus would support our stand for those things greater than the world. Pray we realize that we today can understand the Gospel in a way that John the Baptist never really could. Pray that even though we may never be more courageous or godly than John the Baptist that we become greater in those things that glorify God in our lives though the power of the Holy Spirit given to us. Pray we realize how great it is to use the gifts of God to minister to the people of God with the Gospel of Christ. Pray we realize that the perfect love of Jesus castes out all fear.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 