Who is the Greatest?
Illustration:
Muhammad Ali today is called the greatest. But it hasn’t always been that way. He became the greatest in the eyes of the world over the last 40 years. Muhammad Ali used to “float like a butterfly” and “sting like a bee”. He dazzled crowds with his amazing ability to dodge a punch while he used a very unconventional style, with hands held low, as he bobbed and weaved. Ali won the heavyweight title on February 25th, 1964 from Soney Liston. Ali was a 7-1 underdog and 43 of 46 major press writers picked him to lose. You see nobody really believed that he could be a champion. But he defeated Soney Liston to become the Heavy Weight Champion of the world. Well on his way to becoming the greatest, Ali lost his title and then won it back it perhaps the greatest Heavy Weight fight of all time, the “Rumble in the Jungle”, against then champion Gorge Foreman. Ali played what came to be known as the “rope a dope”. Ali covered up and let the heavy hitter, Gorge Foreman, tire himself out throwing punches, then when Forman was exhausted, Ali knocked him out. Now he became “Americas Champion” and some called him the greatest. Ali would again lose his title to Leon Spinks and then regain it after beating Leon Spinks in a unanimous decision. Now, he had become the only Heavy Weight to win the title three times and many called him the greatest. Ali would go on to lose two more fights to Trevor Burbick and Larry Holmes before retiring in 1981. Ali would have the spotlight once more in 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta Ali, with hands trembling from the Parkinson’s Disease he now suffers from, lit the cauldron to signify the start of the Summer Olympic Games. Many people shed tears as they watched “The Greatest” light the torch. Because of his accomplishments, the world calls Ali “The Greatest”. And while Ali’s story is inspiring and should stir the emotions of our heart, what the world calls great and what the Lord calls great are often two very different things. While Ali became great by winning the Heavy Weight title three times, God isn’t impressed by such accomplishments. While God desires good things in our life, he is immeasurably more concerned with our character than with our trophies. While he enables us to do great things, he desires that we would do his will, and God desires that we would understand what lasting accomplishment is. Faith…Hope…Love… The trophies will gather dust and our bodies wear out with just a little time, but the things of God endure forever!
Transition: Mark 9:30-37
1. “The Greatest” will be servants
A. If we want to attain the greatness that God has for our lives, we need to learn to serve.
B. As men we always have a desire to be first, don’t we. We’ve all done it. Wanted to have our way, our will, or our needs met first. Or what’s more, we’ve been so selfish that we just plain wanted it our way…PERIOD
C. Jesus said that he who seeks to be the greatest shall be last and shall be the servant of all.
1. What does it mean to be a servant?
2. Servant means, “A person working in the service of another”.
3. The President takes an oath to serve the public, but has great power. A maid takes a job to serve her employer, but does not have great power, or influence, or wealth.
4. The definition of a servant is that thing which makes them similar.
5. They put another’s interest before their own.
6. So, can we then say that there is such a thing as a servant leader? A father, a husband, and as a friend we can serve another because we put their needs before our own…making us a servant to that person.
D. Jesus did not say we need to be subservient, he said we need to be a servant. We need to put others needs before our own. We need to lead and serve. If we want to “The Greatest”, we have to learn to serve.
E. Christ is our leader, but he came to serve, he became a sacrifice for us, he, “The Greatest” to ever walk the face of the earth…knew knows what it means to serve. We can follow his example.
Illustration:
It is not what men eat, but what they digest that makes them strong
Not what we gain, but what we save that makes us rich
Not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learned
Not what we preach or pray, but what we practice and believe that makes us Christians
2. “The Greatest” will be men of Godly character
A. In this world we’ve been taught from the time we were just little boys that to be a “real man” means that you have to be hard, be tough, never cry, the man who shows vulnerability, he’s weak, the man who cries, a sissy, and the man who kind, is labeled a “push-over”.
B. We’ve been told that to be a “real man” is to be in charge of our household, some us have even been taught that if anyone gives you any lip, back talk, or lack of respect, hit ‘em! Whether it’s another man in the street our child, or even our wife.
C. Now, I didn’t come here tonight to preach a message on spousal abuse or domestic violence, but I’ll tell you this, a real man is a man of character. A real man in the eyes of the world and a real man after God’s own heart are two very, very different things.
D. Proverbs 5:18-20
E. Let’s be enraptured with our wives…let’s become their servant leader… Let’s learn to be men of character.
F. Character in this context means, “The inherent complex of attributes that determine a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions”.
G. So our character is who we are, or what we believe to be the right way to handle a situation when faced with a moral or ethical dilemma.
H. So character then is simply is the expression of what we believe. In other words character is the outward action based on an inward belief, conception, or ideal.
I. Of all of the definitions of the word character I liked this one the best, “A formal recommendation by a former employer to a potential future employer describing the person’s qualifications and dependability”.
J. Would those around us recommend us for our dependability? Would our loved ones say that we are men of character? Would they say that we are constant like the setting sun, or blown like a leaf in the wind? Can they count on us?
K. I know these are tough questions. I know that to take a look at ourselves in the mirror which is the word of God isn’t easy…but I want to remind you tonight that message of the gospel is good news, faith, love, hope…
L. I’m not here to waste your time and hope that you aren’t here to waste mine. The Bible says that it is appointed unto man once to die. We only get one shot at this…let’s be men of character, men after the heart of God.
3. “The Greatest” will be humble
A. Mathew 23:12-14
B. Let’s not be like the Pharisees with their long prayers that don’t come from the heart! Let’s not be so foolish to think that God is impressed with our religion…but seek a relationship with him.
C. The Bible says that God is no respecter of men, we can’t do enough or pay enough money to impress God. Can you imagine what it would cost if we could pay enough money to get God’s attention?
D. Let’s get to the heart of the matter…our heart!
E. Jesus says that he who humbles himself will be exalted and he who exalts himself will be humbled.
F. Let’s not be like the Pharisees, the religious leaders of Jesus day, who were so religious and pious that they didn’t even recognize that the savior they had been waiting for more than two thousand years…had come and was teaching in their midst’s.
G. Let’s not just go through the motions of this chapel service here tonight, let’s not just go to church on Sunday and leave every week the same way we came.
Illustration:
A 3-year-old boy found a quarter in the driveway as he and his family were leaving to go to church one morning. When they returned home, he pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to his mother. “You can have this money, Mommy. I was going to give it to Jesus, but he wasn’t there.”
Conclusion:
4. “The Greatest” will be servants, men of Godly character, and humble
Illustration:
A famous actor was an after dinner speaker at a big function and when he stood up to speak, he invited his audience to choose a poem for him to recite.
There was a long silence until a retired clergyman raised his hand and asked for Psalm 23.
The actor was slightly taken back, but agreed to do so provided the clergyman would recite it after him, which the clergyman reluctantly agreed to do.
The actor recited Psalm 23 and received a standing ovation. When the clergyman recited the Psalm, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
The actor came over to the clergyman and said in front of all the guests. "Do you know the difference between his version and my version? I know the 23rd Psalm but he knows the Shepherd"...
Tonight if we seek to be “The Greatest” we need to get to know that shepherd, we need to follow his example as a servant leader, as a man of Godly character, and as one so humble that while he is son of God, he gave himself to the humility of the cross for you and for me.
