Participants: Mark Howard
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000776
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01:00 How many of you like things that are great?
01:04 How about this, how many of you 01:05 would like to be considered great? 01:07 Wouldn't be great get at the end of your life 01:08 and wow, they were such a great person? 01:13 Did you know great has an enemy? 01:16 That's right and the topic, our topic today is 01:20 "The Enemy of Great," "The Enemy of Great." 01:25 I'm gonna ask if you will bow your heads with me, 01:26 I'm gonna kneel and ask God 01:28 to bless this time we have together. 01:33 Heavenly Father, Father, we know that all greatness, 01:38 true greatness comes from You. 01:41 And as we discuss the enemy of great today, 01:45 we're pray Father, Your Holy Spirit would give us 01:46 understanding as to how this applies to our Christian life, 01:50 how we can became great in Jesus Christ? 01:55 Father, this is my prayer in His name 01:56 and for His sake, amen. 02:02 "The Enemy of Great." I was reading a book recently 02:10 by a man named Jim Collins, 02:12 now Jim Collins is a former professor 02:16 of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. 02:18 The book is actually called "Good to Great" 02:22 and it's a book that's written on the subject of business. 02:26 But Jim Collins brings something very interesting 02:30 in this book and I want to share with you 02:32 a paragraph from the book "Good to Great." 02:35 Here's what he says, "Good is the enemy of great. 02:43 And that is one of the key reasons 02:45 that we have so little that becomes great. 02:50 We don't have great schools, 02:51 principally because we have good schools. 02:55 We don't have great government, 02:57 primarily because we have good government 02:59 that works pretty well. 03:01 And truth be told, the vast majority of people 03:05 will look back from the end of their lives and realize 03:08 that they did not have a great life in large part 03:12 because it was just so easy to settle for a good one!" 03:20 Now I think that's profound coming from a secular mindset, 03:28 it could be discouraging impossibly even devastating 03:33 to look back on one's good life 03:37 only to say it could have been great. 03:44 But from a Christian prospective 03:48 we must understand that anything 03:52 less than a great life will fail at eternity. 03:58 And a great life can only be ours 04:02 through a complete surrender to Jesus Christ, 04:06 because it's Him who makes our life great. 04:10 Good, Jim Collin says, is the enemy of great. 04:17 Now I want to share with you a passage in the scripture 04:21 and I think it's right along these lines. 04:24 It's in the book of Second Corinthians Chapter 10, 04:29 Second Corinthians Chapter 10, 04:31 if you go to the New Testament start out 04:33 with the book of Matthew then Mark, Luke, John, Acts 04:36 Romans, First Corinthians, Second Corinthians Chapter 10. 04:42 And we're going to go to verse 12, 04:45 Second Corinthians Chapter 10 and verse 12. 04:52 Okay, are we there? 04:53 Let's read Second Corinthians 10 and verse 12, 04:57 the Apostle Paul says, "For we dare not class ourselves 05:01 or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves 05:06 but they measuring themselves by themselves, 05:10 and comparing themselves among themselves, 05:13 are not wise." The Apostle talks about those 05:18 who measure themselves by themselves 05:19 and compare themselves among themselves, 05:21 he says, this is not wise, this is a foolish thing to do. 05:26 You know, I think that goes right along 05:28 with the idea of good being the enemy of great. 05:31 So often we determine what our life should be 05:34 by what everybody else is doing, 05:37 we want to live good lives, where is our standard, 05:39 well, we look to the people around us. 05:41 Maybe it's my wife, maybe it's your husband, 05:45 maybe it's a friend, or a coworker, 05:48 or a boss, or a pastor. 05:56 But Apostle Paul says, here it's dangerous 05:59 to compare ourselves among ourselves 06:01 because we are not the standard 06:03 we are to be reaching for. 06:06 No human being is the standard 06:09 and I think that we fall into this bad habit 06:13 of comparing ourselves among ourselves 06:15 and settling for subpar. 06:20 Let me give you another Bible example, 06:21 let's go in our Bibles to the book of Luke. 06:28 Matthew, Mark, Luke Chapter 18. 06:37 Luke Chapter 18, now Jesus tells a parable here 06:43 that's known as the parable of the tax, 06:49 the Pharisees and the public, 06:51 you know, the Pharisees and the tax collector. 06:54 Luke Chapter 18 and starting in verse 9, 06:59 Luke Chapter 18 and starting in verse 9, 07:04 the Bible says, "Also He spoke this parable 07:09 to some who trust in themselves 07:11 that they were righteous, and despised others. 07:16 Two men went up to the temple to pray, 07:19 one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 07:26 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 07:30 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, 07:34 extortioners, unjust, adulterers, 07:38 or even as this tax collector here. 07:42 I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all I possess.' 07:50 And the tax collector, standing afar off, 07:54 would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, 07:57 but he beat his breast, saying, 07:59 'God be merciful to me, a sinner.' 08:05 I tell you this man went down to his house 08:09 justified rather than the other. 08:12 For everyone who exalts himself will be abased, 08:15 and he who humbles himself will be exalted." 08:19 Now you have to understand something 08:21 about the tax collectors, the Jews viewed tax collectors 08:28 as traders to their country. 08:31 In fact they were two marks 08:33 against the tax collector in the Jewish mind, 08:35 first and foremost the Jewish nation 08:37 at the time of Christ was under tribute to Rome. 08:40 The Government of Rome ruled the Jewish nation 08:44 and their desire was at that their Messiah would come 08:47 and free them from Roman oppression. 08:51 They felt that the Romans were their enemies 08:53 and any Jew that would league with the Romans, 08:55 i.e., becamea tax collector work for the government 08:59 was an enemy to the Jewish race. 09:04 And so they look down on the tax collector. 09:07 Second of all, the tax collectors 09:08 because of they said, 09:10 hey, they're already looking down on us, 09:11 it doesn't matter that I'm honest or not. 09:13 And so the tax collectors would regularly 09:15 overcharge people for their taxes 09:18 and skim that money off for themselves. 09:22 And so the tax collector was despised above all people. 09:26 And here we see a parable, 09:29 incidentally this parable does not related 09:31 to a made up story but a real situation 09:33 that Jesus had observed right there in the temple 09:36 where two men came in, 09:37 one a Pharisee, one a tax collector. 09:41 And the Pharisee comes in and he says, 09:44 'I thank you, God, 09:45 that I'm not as bad as other men.' 09:51 In other words, God, I thank you that I'm good. 09:55 Notice something, the Pharisee does not claim 09:59 greatness just goodness, he doesn't claim greatness, 10:03 he just thanks God that at least 10:05 he's not as bad as this guy. 10:11 Good is the enemy of great. 10:14 The Pharisee was complacent and self satisfied 10:17 that at least he wasn't as bad as the tax collector, 10:20 you know, we do the same thing. 10:23 We look at people, we run into people in situations 10:26 and we look at people and we say, 10:27 I can't believe a person could live like that, 10:29 I don't believe a person could act like that. 10:31 Sometimes we get err about ourselves 10:33 that I may not be perfect 10:35 but at least I'm not as bad as that guy. 10:44 You know what, that guy is not your example or that girl, 10:49 that person is not your example. 10:52 Sometimes we settle with good 10:56 instead of striving for great, 10:59 because we compare ourselves among ourselves, 11:00 this is what's going on here, this is what's going on 11:03 with the Pharisee and the publican, 11:06 the Pharisee does not consider himself great 11:08 but good enough. 11:15 You know, sometimes it's easy for us to point out 11:18 people who are not doing maybe 11:19 as well as we think we're doing. 11:25 I hear from people a lot, I hear from Christians a lot. 11:28 We see something going on in society, 11:30 we see something going on, 11:31 I had a person recently who was-- 11:34 who was in a situation where, with another person, 11:41 a church member who ran into some situation 11:43 with a person who is not a Christian 11:49 where they felt that the person treated them wrong, 11:51 said something mean to them, said something rude to them. 11:56 Sometimes it is the person at the check out, 11:58 and we say, I can't believe that person's so rude. 12:04 This person they felt was rude to them 12:07 and began to build up in their minds, 12:10 the idea you know that, well, at least I'm not that bad. 12:13 We do that, we have this bad habit of doing that. 12:15 It reminds of a story, a story of the evangelist, 12:19 the minister, John Wesley, one of the founders 12:21 of the Methodist Churches, he was walking 12:23 through the streets of London with a friend of his. 12:26 And he saw a man, who was a slave to alcohol, 12:33 the man was drunk and sick, 12:36 face down in the gutter of the street there in London. 12:44 And Wesley's friend points to the man 12:45 and he says to him, what a-- he says to John Wesley, 12:49 "What a wretch of a man, look at that filth? 12:52 Why don't they get this filth off the streets?" 12:56 And John Wesley commented on it as he thought, 12:58 as he reflected for a moment, he says, "you know, what? 13:01 He says, if it weren't for the grace of God, 13:05 I would be that man." 13:10 You know, the Pharisee said, 13:11 at least I'm not as bad as that guy, 13:14 if you're not it's because of the grace of God. 13:16 We too often compare ourselves among ourselves. 13:20 And keep this in mind, just because somebody else 13:22 maybe struggling or doing poorly 13:24 doesn't change the standard, 13:26 the high standard of Christianity. 13:30 I want to share with you a statement 13:31 that I read from the Review and Herald 13:34 of August 31, 1886. 13:36 I want you to listen to what this says in this article, 13:40 "The people of God should not measure themselves 13:43 by the world, nor by the opinions of men, 13:48 nor by what they once were before embracing the truth." 13:55 Now, you know, you might be able to say with myself, 13:59 praise God I'm not what I used to be before I came to Jesus. 14:05 But even then it says here, 14:07 we are not to compare ourselves 14:09 even with what we once were before embracing the truth. 14:12 Well, I was bad then, and I'm better now. 14:16 Listen to what it goes on to say. 14:19 "But their faith and position in the world, 14:22 as they now are, must be compared 14:26 with what they would have been if their course 14:30 had continually been onward and upward 14:33 since they professed to be followers of Christ." 14:38 What are we to compare ourselves with, 14:40 brother here or sister here 14:42 or the pastor or somebody else, no. 14:47 my own life before I became a Christian, no. 14:50 The only safe comparison to be made is, 14:52 what would you be now had you the first time 14:54 you accepted, Jesus, continually followed Him 14:56 step by step onward and upward. 15:03 "This is the only safe comparison that can be made." 15:09 You know, friends, we have to admit, 15:12 we have to admit our badness before Christ 15:15 can take us not only to goodness but to greatness. 15:21 We have to be willing to admit that badness. 15:24 You know, they say, it takes a big man 15:26 to admit that he's a small man. 15:31 It takes a big man to admit that he's nothing. 15:34 I like what Martin Luther says, 15:35 he says, the great reformer, the Protestant reformer, 15:38 he said, "God makes something out of nothing." 15:43 God creates out of nothing and until a man becomes nothing 15:48 God can't make anything out of him. 15:51 So it takes a big man to admit that he's a small man, 15:53 but in reality the person who could admit 15:55 he's nothing without Christ has potential 15:57 to became a great man. 15:59 So often we admit whether we are-- 16:04 we're sinners but we make the habit 16:06 of comparing ourselves among ourselves. 16:09 We say, yes, I need a savior 16:11 but then we, we start to grow 16:12 in our Christian life and we stop. 16:14 Well, this is good enough, just like the Pharisee, 16:17 at least I'm not as bad as that guy. 16:23 We settle for good when we could have been great. 16:28 Why do we settle for mediocrity? 16:30 Why do we do it, why do we settle for mediocrity 16:33 when God has placed before us the opportunity 16:36 of something so much greater? 16:42 You know sometimes we say, 16:43 why are you asking me to be a better Christian 16:44 when brother so and so isn't a better Christian. 16:48 I'm not gonna strive in my Christianity to be great, 16:51 I'm not gonna strive at being a great Christian 16:52 when brother so and so isn't going to. 16:56 Let me ask you a question, 16:57 who's losing and who's gaining there? 17:00 You're losing out, you're losing out 17:03 because God has given us a high calling, 17:06 the highest privilege we have 17:07 as Christians is Christ likeness. 17:12 Godliness, Godlikeness this is the standard 17:15 that God has for us to reach. 17:17 This is what God wants to do for you. 17:21 God wants to take you and He wants to take me 17:23 and He wants make us great for His name's sake. 17:30 The price of Christianity is to fulfill the purpose 17:34 that God has created us for. 17:37 And when we settle for mediocrity, 17:39 good enough, when we settle for good 17:44 instead of marching onward to great, 17:47 we lose out on the privilege 17:50 that God has put before us. 17:53 Friends, the sacrifice of Calvary was not given 17:57 so that we could enter heaven as a culprits barely pardoned, 18:02 but as a conquerors. 18:05 God doesn't want us to just be good in this life, 18:07 He says, "I can make you great 18:09 if you'll submit all to me." 18:15 You know, I think back to high school. 18:20 When I went to high school, 18:21 In fact, I moved from living with my mother 18:26 in the Midwest in Missouri 18:29 to moving with my father 18:31 before what was going to be my junior year of high school. 18:35 Only as I got there and I began to dialogue 18:38 with the school they were on a different credit system 18:42 and they were able to move me from my-- 18:44 I skipped my junior year 18:45 and went right into my senior year. 18:47 Oh, hotdog I was gonna be on a high school it was, 18:49 it was great, I can get out quick. 18:52 And one of things I did for high school, 18:54 in high school when I scheduled my classes 18:56 was I made sure I scheduled a study hall 18:59 for the last class of the day, 19:01 you know what that means? That means you don't go 19:03 to the last class of the day, you leave. 19:07 I wanted to escape by, 19:09 do what I had to do get out and get out of high school. 19:12 I remember sitting up and working on papers 19:15 that were assigned in my English class, 19:18 I was able to do fairly well with English. 19:20 Teacher would assign book reports or essays, 19:22 I'd wait until the night before they were due 19:26 and I'd stay up and I turn them in 19:27 and I could get a B on those papers. 19:29 I felt satisfied with that, I was a good student, 19:34 I looked back and realized 19:35 I could have been a great student. 19:38 You know, there are things in high school 19:39 that you do, there's classes that you take and you think, 19:41 well, I'm never gonna use this for anything. 19:44 Sometimes it's not even the class 19:46 as much as learning to discipline your mind. 19:48 I look back and I regret not striving for greatness. 19:54 Always settle for goodness, 19:56 I was a good student and for that reason 19:57 I didn't become a great student, 19:59 I wish I'd applied myself 20:04 but I settled for good. 20:07 How many of us as Christians settle for good, 20:10 we settle for good experience 20:11 when we could have a great experience. 20:14 We settle for good witness 20:15 when we could have a great witness. 20:18 Good is the enemy of great, 20:23 but God has a higher calling for His people, 20:26 God has a higher calling, I want you to-- 20:28 I want you to see it in the Book of Revelation with me, 20:30 Revelation Chapter 14. 20:33 Revelation Chapter 14 and verse 6, 20:38 Revelation 14 and verse 6, the last book of the Bible. 20:44 Chapter 14 and verse 6, this is what the Bible says, 20:49 "Then I saw another angel flying in midst of heaven, 20:53 having the everlasting gospel to preach to those 20:56 who dwell on the earth." 20:58 Just a point here, the gospel commission 21:02 has not been given to angels, 21:04 it's been given to men. 21:06 We find it in Matthew 24, Jesus said, 21:08 "This gospel must be preached in all the world 21:09 for a witness and then the end will come." 21:10 We find it in Matthew 28 where Jesus gives 21:12 the last commission to His disciples, 21:14 "Go ye therefore and teach all the nations, 21:17 baptizing them in the name of the Father, 21:18 the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them 21:20 to observe all things that I've commanded you." 21:22 Jesus gave men the gospel commission and yet, 21:24 when we come to the book of Revelation, 21:26 God uses an angel to picture the power of the message 21:29 that He's gonna give through people. 21:32 That is a great calling and there is no higher calling 21:37 than what we find here in the pages of scripture 21:40 for God's people. 21:42 "I saw this angel flying in the midst of heaven 21:44 with the everlasting gospel to preach to everyone." 21:49 Verse 7, Saying with a loud voice, 21:52 Fear God, and give what? 21:55 "Give glory to Him for the hour of His judgment is come." 22:01 Fear God, and give glory to him, 22:02 what does that mean, give glory to him? 22:05 How do we give God glory, 22:06 how we are supposed to give God, 22:07 what is this mean? 22:09 I want you turning your Bibles to Matthew 5, 22:13 Matthew Chapter 5 and verse 16, 22:17 what does it mean to give glory to God? 22:21 Matthew 5 and verse 16. 22:28 Notice what Jesus says here, 22:31 Matthew 5 verse 16, notice what he says, 22:34 Let your light so shine before men, 22:39 that they may see," your what? 22:42 Your good works, and glorify you for them. 22:46 Is that what it says? No. 22:49 It says, "Let your light so shine before men, 22:51 that they may see your good works, 22:52 and glorify your Father who is in heaven." 22:59 We don't have any good works. 23:01 What are our good works? 23:03 He says, "let them see your good works." 23:05 Listen folks, when people see our good works 23:09 people who know me and who knew me now, 23:12 know me and knew me then, 23:15 will look in my life and if they see good works 23:17 they'll see I know couldn't be that guy, 23:18 I knew him before. 23:20 It must be a greater power at work within him. 23:24 Jesus says, he wants his works 23:26 to be seeing his people why so that can give us glory? No. 23:29 So they can glorify our Father in heaven. 23:33 I want you to see that again, 23:35 I want you to see that again in First Peter Chapter 2. 23:39 Go to the New Testament toward the end of the book 23:41 after all the T's, 23:43 the T's are conveniently group together, 23:44 they're in the New Testament, 23:45 you get the book of Hebrews and then the book of James 23:47 and the book of First Peter, First Peter 2 and verse 11. 23:54 First Peter 2 and verse 11, let's read this text here. 24:02 "Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, 24:05 to abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul, 24:10 having your conduct," what? 24:13 "Your conduct honorable among the Gentiles," 24:16 that is the unbelievers, 24:19 "that when they speak against you as evildoers, 24:22 they may, by your," what? 24:26 "Your good works which they observe, 24:30 glorify God in the day of visitation." 24:33 Peter says, the Gentiles, 24:34 when they observe your good works 24:36 they can glorify God. 24:39 God has a high calling for His people, 24:42 and preaching the everlasting gospel to every nation, 24:45 and kindred, and tongue, and people, 24:47 it's not just a preaching with words, friends. 24:50 It's a preaching with our very lives. 24:53 As people see something in us as they see the works 24:56 that are shown that Christ abides in our hearts, 24:59 the works that show that we've been transform by Christ 25:02 then God is glorified. 25:05 God is called us to greatness not just goodness. 25:08 God is called us the greatness 25:10 because the greatness is from Him, 25:12 when we submit to God's making us great. 25:18 People will glorify His name for what he is able to do 25:21 with fallen humanity and praise His name for that. 25:24 What a high calling for God's people? 25:32 What a high calling God has given His people. 25:38 He wants a people ready for the day of His coming 25:43 so that when Jesus Christ comes in the clouds of glory 25:46 we will be able to behold Him as He is. 25:54 Friends, good will not cut it in the day of Christ's coming, 25:58 only great will do. And good is the enemy of great, 26:05 settling for mediocrity inhibits us 26:11 from being all we could be in Christ Jesus. 26:14 You know, some people, some people are happy 26:21 to settle for mediocrity, they say, 26:22 if I can make it with mediocrity I'm gonna do it. 26:26 You know, I tell you that I don't think mediocrity 26:28 is gonna cut it in the day of Jesus coming, 26:29 I don't think good is gonna cut it. 26:31 There are some of you who say, 26:32 hey, if good can't cut it I'm gonna be there 26:33 I'd rather be good, 26:35 I don't want to have to strive for great, 26:36 I don't want to go to that trouble. 26:39 But you're thinking about it all wrong. 26:42 The greatness that God promises us 26:43 number one, it is a promise. 26:44 Number two, there is no greater honor 26:48 that God could bestow upon us. 26:54 Then to prepare us to stand in the day of Christ coming. 27:00 There is no greater honor that God could bestow upon us 27:04 to give us the gift of His righteousness 27:06 and make us great through His omnipotent power. 27:16 And yet, some of us still will settle for mediocrity, why? 27:20 Why do we do that? You know, I remember growing up 27:22 and I remember Christmas time. 27:25 When I was young, I remember Christmas time, 27:28 we'd have all these packages, all these presents, 27:31 presents and kids would come up 27:33 and they gather around and look at the presents 27:34 and you know, our eyes were always drawn 27:36 not to the little tiny box 27:38 but to that one huge box, whose is that? 27:41 We go and look at it and everybody would, 27:43 oh, ah, what's in the box? 27:46 Oh, we wish that box was ours. 27:48 Generally one name on it, we wanted the big present, 27:53 how many people take the small present 27:55 when you can have the big present. 27:57 And, yet, we settle for mediocrity, 27:59 we say, no, no thanks, I know that God wants to do 28:01 greater things for me, but I'll settle for good, 28:04 why would we do such a thing? 28:06 Especially knowing that submitting to that greatness 28:09 only exemplifies God's greatness 28:12 and brings glory to His name. 28:14 Fear God and give glory to Him, the Bible says. 28:22 Turn with me in your Bibles 28:23 to the book of Philippians Chapter 3. 28:28 Philippians Chapter 3, 28:32 if we go in the New Testament past the gospels, 28:35 Acts, Romans, First amd Second Corinthians, 28:37 Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians. 28:41 Philippians Chapter 3, we're gonna start in verse 12. 28:47 Philippians 3 and starting in verse 12, 28:50 notice the words of the Apostle Paul. 28:55 If there was anybody in the Christian walk 28:59 who strive for greatness it was the Apostle Paul. 29:03 Listen to how he describes it, Philippians 3 and verse 12, 29:08 he says, "Not that I have already attained, 29:10 or I'm already perfected." 29:12 No I'm not great yet, he says, 29:13 "I'm not attained to greatness but he says, 29:15 I press on that I may lay hold of that 29:20 for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me." 29:25 Paul says here, Jesus Christ, Jesus has laid 29:27 hold of us to give us greatness and he says, 29:31 I'm not there yet but that's my goal, 29:34 I'm pressing on to be all that He intended that I should be. 29:43 Verse 13, "Brethren, he says, 29:45 I do not count myself to have apprehended," 29:47 I'm not there yet, you know, we can all say that, 29:51 we can look at our lives and say, 29:52 I'm not there yet but let's not settle for less. 29:57 Let's aim for that goal, 29:58 let's press on like the Apostle Paul. 30:01 Brethren, he says, I'm not attained, 30:08 I've not apprehended, but one thing I do, 30:12 forgetting those things which are behind 30:13 and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 30:15 I press toward the goal for the price 30:19 of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." 30:23 Paul says, "I press toward the goal." 30:24 I'm aiming for the goal, no I'm not there yet, 30:27 but Christ Jesus laid hold of me 30:30 so He could make me great, 30:31 and I'm not gonna let Him down. 30:35 You see, friends, Jesus wants to demonstrate 30:37 His own greatness by what He's doing in His followers. 30:44 He points to His followers and He says, 30:45 "Here, here's what they were and here's My grace, 30:50 here's what My grace can do in them. 30:54 Here are my followers." 30:55 And what do we see? 30:59 A group of lackadaisical, lukewarm, 31:01 mediocre settled for good, professed followers of Christ. 31:04 Where are those who are striving 31:05 to press on for greatness? 31:08 Not greatness that we obtain, 31:10 but greatness that Christ has already obtained for us. 31:20 Forgetting what's behind, He says, 31:21 "I press on." You know, sometimes we look behind us. 31:28 We look at our hindrances, we look at the discouragements 31:30 maybe a job that didn't pan out, 31:32 maybe some future plans that didn't go 31:33 just the way we thought, maybe at one time 31:35 we were looking for greatness and then we just, 31:37 oh, it didn't workout, 31:39 a relationship that didn't workout, 31:40 a spiritual struggle that we've had 31:42 and we've not gained the victory yet, 31:43 and we look behind and we say, 31:44 "Oh, I'm just--I'm not gonna ever make it to great, 31:47 I'll settle for good." 31:50 Heed the words of the Apostle Paul, nobody says, 31:52 "I'm not yet attained." But I press on. 31:56 This one thing I do, this one goal I have. 32:05 Sometimes it's because we're looking behind, 32:07 that we just settle for mediocrity. 32:08 Sometimes it's because we have conflicts 32:10 with church members. 32:12 You know, it's funny as we compare ourselves 32:14 among ourselves, sometimes we get so caught up 32:16 and who in the church isn't just right. 32:19 And it amazes me when I hear church members say 32:21 "I don't understand why some of these other people." 32:23 You know what? 32:25 The devil brings people into the church, 32:26 did you know that? The devil runs-- 32:30 The devil is always running his own evangelistic campaign. 32:33 The same time God' bringing in the church, 32:35 the devil wants to bring people in the church 32:36 just to get you stirred up. 32:39 Don't let him do it, brother. 32:40 Don't let him do it, sister. Don't let him do it. 32:46 Press on for greatness. 32:50 And if there's that brother or sister, 32:51 that's stirring you up, pray for them, 32:54 minister to them just as Jesus would do. 33:02 You know, sometimes we just, 33:03 it's as if-- When we're fighting 33:05 the good fight of faith, we run up against struggles, 33:09 and sometimes as Christians, we act so surprised. 33:11 I don't understand why I'm, why I'm running into this, 33:13 I don't understand why I'm having such a difficult time. 33:19 Friends the devil is not gonna let you go out of his service, 33:21 let me go out of his service without a fight. 33:25 It reminds me of a story of a, of a lady who, 33:31 who was always so positive about everything. 33:34 You know, and some people just, 33:35 they can't deal with that well, 33:37 her boss couldn't deal with that well. 33:39 She just always came into work so chipper. 33:41 Oh, how are you doing? Everything's so great, 33:42 everything so lovely just like 33:44 she always has something good to say about everything, 33:46 it makes me sick. 33:47 He said, you know what, I've got an idea, 33:49 I've got it, I know something 33:50 she can't say anything good about. 33:52 So he came into her one morning and he says, 33:54 "Sister, he says, I've got something to, 33:57 what do you have to say about the devil?" 34:00 She said, "Boy, he sure is a hard worker, 34:02 he sure is a hard worker." 34:04 The devil is always at work, friends. 34:07 We've got understand that, 34:08 but don't be hindered by it. 34:10 Press on as the Apostle Paul pressed on. 34:14 Jesus Christ wants us to become great for Him. 34:22 When we give up the struggle, 34:25 when we cease to press on, 34:30 when we give into the devil's discouragements 34:32 and set backs, we rob Jesus Christ of the very thing 34:37 He's been longing to do for us, 34:40 to make us great in Him. 34:41 We rob Him of the thing that He deserves. 34:47 In the book Christ Object lessons page 331, it says, 34:50 "Many whom God has qualified to do excellent work 34:55 accomplish very little, because they attempt little." 34:59 They can do a great work but they settle for good. 35:04 God wants greatness for us. 35:09 The Apostle Paul says, 35:10 "Here I press on toward the goal." 35:12 It's interesting the Apostle Paul 35:13 uses his imagery of a race not just in this place. 35:17 Let's turn to another text where he uses it, 35:20 in regard to the Christian life. 35:22 Let's go back from Philippians 35:24 to the book of First Corinthians Chapter 9, 35:27 First Corinthians Chapter 9 and we're going to verse 25, 35:31 in fact 24 is where we'll start. 35:37 First Corinthians Chapter 9 and verse 24, 35:43 notice what the Apostle says here, 35:47 "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, 35:53 but one receives the prize? 35:56 Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 36:01 And everyone who competes for the prize 36:05 is temperate in what? In all things. 36:09 Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, 36:13 but we for an imperishable crown. 36:17 Paul's using an illustration here that was well known 36:20 in his days in that Greco-Roman Culture 36:22 something that we know today as the Olympics. 36:25 They get together for these big Greek races and he says, 36:30 don't you know that when all those people train 36:31 and they work and they get out there 36:33 and they run in the race, only one person wins. 36:36 And what are they winning? 36:37 He says, they win a perishable crown, 36:40 today we give medals, gold, silver, bronze. 36:45 But you know what they got in Paul's day? 36:47 They got a crown of laurel leaves on their head, 36:49 like you see with the FTD flowers, 36:51 there's little leaves that was the prize. 36:54 And there would be people that would strain themselves 36:57 and some would even die through overexertion 37:02 in some of those races. 37:03 Intense competition just to gain the crown, 37:08 only one could win. 37:13 What are we looking for? 37:14 What are we pressing on for? 37:15 Do we have a goal, do we have a prize 37:17 worth more than a crown of laurel leaves? 37:19 The Apostle says, we do, he says, 37:22 everyone who competes for the prize is temperate 37:25 in all things, they do it for a perishable crown 37:27 but we for an imperishable crown. 37:30 How much more should we run diligently, 37:36 perseveringly to win the Christian race, 37:42 to strive for the greatness that Christ is calling us to. 37:51 Again in verse 25, he says, 37:52 "Everyone who competes is temperate in all things." 37:55 Now I have known people who have competed in, 37:57 in things before whether they be races, 37:59 whether they be other type of sporting events body builders. 38:05 And you know, when they got, 38:06 when they've got one of their meets coming up, 38:09 whether it would be the race, whether it'd be the-- 38:12 and I know a guy who was a body builder 38:14 and when that thing was around the corner. 38:16 He would be very careful in everything that he ate 38:19 and didn't eat, he wouldn't go out drinking, 38:22 even though he normally would, 38:23 he's not going to the bar at all, 38:25 he's not gonna eat out, he didn't eat any fast food. 38:30 Temperate in all things, he wouldn't go to bed late. 38:32 He went to bed very early, 38:33 he make sure he got all the sleep, 38:34 because he wanted to be top notch 38:37 when that competition came around. 38:39 Temperate in all things, now I mentioned to you 38:41 as we opened up this book by Jim Collins "Good to Great." 38:46 Jim Collins shared something in this book that 38:49 I have to share with you, 38:51 he talks about a friend of his 38:53 who was competing for what's called the iron man. 38:59 Where he wanted to go, this man was training 39:00 and he wanted to win this event. 39:03 And he says in his book that this friend of his 39:07 as he was training for this meet 39:09 was so temperate, he was so serious 39:11 about not taking in any extra fat or calories 39:15 that he actually would take his cottage cheese 39:17 and rinse it to make sure there wasn't 39:19 any excess fat in it. 39:24 He rinsed his cottage cheese for crying out loud, 39:27 to win the iron man. 39:31 How much more should a Christian be willing 39:35 to be temperate in all things for Christ Jesus? 39:39 How much more should we be willing to give all 39:42 to attain to the greatness that God's called us to? 39:47 Sometimes we think of our Christian experience 39:50 and we talk about striving for greatness 39:53 and I think that's gone a little bit overboard. 40:00 Rinsing your cottage cheese, but you know what, 40:04 the Apostle Paul says, I press on, 40:07 the man who runs in the race is temperate in all things. 40:10 Look what he goes on to say, 40:13 First Corinthians 9 and verse 26, 40:17 let's back up to 25 again, 40:19 "Everyone who competes for the prize 40:21 is temperate in all things. 40:22 Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, 40:25 but we for an imperishable crown, 40:29 crown of eternal life." 40:31 Verse 26, "Therefore this is the way I run, 40:35 not with uncertainty. 40:39 This is the way I fight, 40:40 not as one who beats the air. 40:42 He says I don't run to no purpose, 40:44 I don't run like those people in the Olympics 40:46 where only one person wins because in this Christian race 40:49 everyone who stays in the race wins the race, 40:53 but too many of us are dropping out, 40:55 we say I've gone far enough. 40:57 Friends, we've got to press on, he says, 41:00 I'm running but I don't run with the uncertainty 41:02 that the people who run in this Olympic races run. 41:05 Only one of them is gonna win but I know 41:07 that if I press on by the grace of God 41:09 I will win the race, 41:11 you can win the race, we can all win that race. 41:13 It's not an uncertain race 41:15 and the crown is not perishable, 41:16 it's a crown of eternal life. 41:20 So he says, "Thus I run, not with uncertainty. 41:23 Thus I fight, not as one who beats the air." 41:25 Verse 27, "But I discipline my body 41:28 and bring it into subjection, 41:31 lest, when I have preached to others, 41:33 I myself should become disqualified." 41:37 Now it's interesting the New Testament 41:39 was written in the Greek Language 41:42 and the Greek phrase that's translated, 41:45 I discipline my body means literally 41:49 to blacken under the eyes, to give a black eye. 41:53 Paul says, I discipline my body when my body, 41:56 when my carnal, when my carnal nature 41:59 wants to get me to, to sit back and relax 42:02 and quit striving. 42:04 Well my carnal nature tries to pull me aside 42:06 and get me to quit running in the race, 42:08 he says, I blacken the eye, I beat it back 42:11 and I press forward. 42:14 He uses the strongest language he can here 42:16 about a vivid struggle 42:18 and a perseverance that will not fail. 42:25 If those who train for worldly events 42:29 are gonna be temperate in all things, 42:30 how much more, he says, should we as Christians? 42:34 Who Christ has promised in eternal crown 42:36 how much more should we press on toward greatness, 42:39 greatness that will bring joy to the heart of Jesus 42:44 who gave his life for us. 42:47 Temperate in all things. 42:58 Sharing with you again from the book Christ Object Lessons 43:02 on page 332, the book says this, 43:05 "The heavenly intelligences will work with the human agent 43:08 who seeks with the determined faith 43:10 that perfection of character which will reach out 43:13 to perfection in action. 43:16 It says, the heavenly angels will work with the person 43:19 who is striving for that greatness. 43:23 To everyone, it goes on to say this, 43:25 "To everyone engaged in this work," 43:27 are you running this race, 43:28 is it your desire to attain to that greatness. 43:30 It says, "To everyone who is engaged in this work, 43:34 Christ says, I am at your right hand to help you." 43:39 We're not running the race alone, 43:41 Christ is at our right hand to help us, 43:44 to give us that victory, to make us great in Him. 43:50 Also from the same book, one page later, 43:53 333, Christ Object Lessons, 43:55 "As the will of man co-operates 43:56 with the will of God, 43:57 it becomes omnipotent, all powerful. 44:02 Whatever is to be done at God's command 44:05 may be accomplished in His strength. 44:07 All His biddings are enablings." 44:09 God will give us strength 44:12 that we maybe become great in Him. 44:20 God will give us the strength to make us great in Him 44:23 and I want to share one more statement 44:25 with you along these same lines, 44:29 it's from Testimonies for the Church Volume 7, 44:31 it's on page 17 and in this book 44:33 I want you to note what it says, 44:36 "Nothing is apparently more helpless, 44:41 yet really more invincible than the soul 44:45 that feels its nothingness 44:48 and relies wholly on the merits of our Savior." 44:51 You know sometimes when we talk about resting 44:52 wholly on the merits of our Savior, 44:54 we said it in kind of a passive, weak way. 44:56 Well, you know, I'm resting on the savior 44:58 and I'm just, I'm so weak and we almost use it 45:00 as an excuse to settle for goodness. 45:04 But listen again to what it says, 45:05 "Nothing is apparently more helpless, 45:08 outwardly it looks helpless. 45:10 But in reality more invincible than the soul 45:14 that feels its nothingness and relies upon Jesus Christ, 45:17 on His merits, invincible." 45:23 God--listen to the next sentence, 45:27 this is the punch line here, 45:28 "God would send every angel in heaven 45:33 to the aid of such a one, 45:35 rather than allow him to be overcome." 45:39 You're not in this fight alone, 45:41 God would send every angel in heaven 45:43 to give you victory, 45:45 God will send every angel in heaven 45:47 to help you win that race and become great for Jesus. 45:51 Oh, friends, let's not settle for mediocrity, 45:55 why would we settle for less than the best 45:57 that God has offered us. 46:04 You know, the Apostle says, in Philippians that we, 46:07 where we already read, 46:11 "I press on to obtain that which Christ, 46:16 for which Christ took hold of me." 46:19 Christ has a purpose for my life, 46:21 for your life and that purpose is greatness. 46:25 He wants us to be great in Him, 46:27 not settling for good 46:30 but reaching forward to greatness. 46:35 You know, in my church one thing that we've done 46:37 and I've had added to, to the bulletins 46:40 that we hand out the programs. 46:42 I've had three questions added there, 46:44 sometimes I watch people and as people sit 46:46 and they come and they listen to the word being preached. 46:48 Often times, I mean, just to sit and listen, 46:51 I'll be honest with you, 46:52 just to sit and listen to a long presentation 46:55 can be wearing if that's all you're doing. 46:57 I always encourage people, take down some notes. 46:59 Listen, when you come out to hear the word preached, 47:02 don't just come out and say, oh, that was interesting. 47:04 The Bible talks about those in the prophet, 47:06 in the book of Ezekiel, 47:07 the prophet Ezekiel in Chapter 33, 47:09 talks about those who come and hear 47:10 the sayings of the prophet of the Lord 47:13 but they don't put them into practice, 47:14 they don't do them. 47:17 Sometimes people come out to hear the word preach, 47:19 but they have no intent to put them 47:20 into practice in their life, 47:21 they're not striving for greatness, 47:22 they've settled for goodness. 47:24 They say, you know, I'm satisfied with where I am, 47:26 I used to be pretty bad, 47:28 I'm better now and this is good enough. 47:31 Friends, we ought to come and hear the preach word 47:32 with an intent to learn something new 47:34 and practice something new. 47:35 And so I have this added in the, 47:37 in the programs that we use in my church. 47:40 Three questions, question number one, 47:42 what new thing did you learn, I'm gonna ask you that today, 47:45 what new thing did you learn, 47:46 as you're thinking about this, 47:47 as you're listening. 47:49 And not just in this presentation 47:51 but in anything you hear from the word 47:54 could be in a study class as well. 47:55 What new thing did you learn today? 47:57 You know, a lot of times 47:59 if you've been a Christian for awhile, 48:00 oh, I've heard that before, 48:01 I've heard that before, that's fine. 48:04 What new thing did you learn? 48:06 What new thing did you learn, jot it down. 48:12 You know, a pastor friend of mine 48:14 made an interesting point, and you probably noticed this 48:18 before that every time you come to the Bible, 48:21 you can read a passage you've read a hundred times, 48:23 when you come and read it again 48:24 you may get something brand-new out of it. 48:28 He said, you know, why? 48:30 Because every time you read it again, 48:32 you're a new person, you're a different person 48:33 than the person you were the last time 48:34 you read it, why? 48:35 Because the word of God is living and powerful. 48:38 Did you know when you read the word of God 48:40 with an intent to practice it in your life 48:42 and strive for that greatness Christ has called you to. 48:45 Did you know that, that word of God 48:47 is transforming in His power, living and powerful? 48:51 So that the next time you come to that passage 48:53 you're a new person and that new person 48:55 that you've become get something new out of it. 48:58 What new thing did you learn? 49:01 Number two, I ask them 49:02 what old thing were you reminded of, 49:05 what old thing were you reminded of, 49:06 maybe there was something that you knew 49:07 but you forget it and it struck you, 49:08 so that's interesting 49:10 and then the most important part, 49:12 the most important part 49:13 what do you're going to do about it? 49:15 What do you're going to do about these things 49:17 that you heard and learned today? 49:18 I'd ask you that today, what are you going to do? 49:20 Are you thinking about what you're going to do 49:21 about the message you're hearing today of the passages? 49:24 Are you gonna, are you determining 49:26 in your mind even now, 49:27 I want to strive for greatness, 49:30 I want to become all that Christ 49:32 has intended for me to be. 49:36 That's your privilege today. 49:39 I challenge you to put, to make personal application 49:44 to the things that you're learning. 49:48 The goal of coming to hear the word is 49:50 to put it into practice, 49:51 let it transform your lives by making application. 49:55 And never forget, 49:57 it's the word of the living God, 50:00 Jesus spoke and it was. 50:02 He said, let there be light and it was, 50:04 and when you read something in His word, 50:05 that power is in the word now as much it was then. 50:10 Let it change your life, friend. 50:13 Jesus has called us to greatness 50:19 not just to goodness, 50:21 our lives are to bear witness to Jesus Christ. 50:27 Let me rephrase that. 50:31 Our lives bear witness to Jesus, 50:34 I didn't say what kind of witness, 50:36 you've got to answer that question. 50:39 What kind of witness is your life bringing to Jesus. 50:41 You know, when you're settling for great, 50:42 I'm sorry, when you're settling for good 50:44 and I'm settling for good what is my, 50:47 what is my life saying. 50:49 What kind of witness am I giving to Jesus, 50:52 when I settle for less than what he wants for me? 50:56 My witness is not to the fullness of his power 50:59 that it could and should be. 51:02 Your life is a witness, what kind of witness is it? 51:05 You claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ, 51:07 what kind of follower are you? 51:08 What kind of message are people getting? 51:13 Did you know that when we call ourselves Christians, 51:17 we're advertising by the very name 51:20 that we're the followers of Christ? 51:23 What is your advertisement saying? 51:26 We advertise by the very, I'm a Christian, 51:28 you're advertising you are a follower of Jesus Christ. 51:30 Well, how does the ad read in your life? 51:35 How does that ad read in your life? 51:40 God doesn't want us to settle for good, 51:44 for mediocre, he's calling us to greatness 51:46 all that we can be in Him. 51:48 It reminds me of a story, 51:51 there's a man by the name of John Piper. 51:55 John Piper is a minister, he's a son of an evangelist 51:58 and his father, he says, I still remember 52:00 the stories that my father used to tell. 52:04 My father would be preaching 52:05 to congregations to multitudes of people, 52:07 inviting them to accept Jesus. 52:09 He says, I remember the stories 52:10 that you would tell about people 52:11 who would go out of his meetings 52:12 and meet with some tragedy. 52:15 They wouldn't make their decision for Jesus 52:17 and then they go and some accident would happen 52:19 and they'd never have that decision, 52:20 they never have that opportunity 52:22 to make the decision for Jesus. 52:24 He says, I remember those stories, 52:28 but he said, there's one story 52:29 that stuck out in my mind more than any other. 52:34 It's a story of a man, 52:36 an elderly man in a church that my father frequented, 52:44 this elderly gentleman was a man from the community, 52:47 and year after year after year the church worked 52:50 to try to reach this man. 52:52 They would invite him to meetings, 52:53 they would invite him here, they would invite him, 52:55 come on out, they wanted to him to come, 52:57 they wanted him to accept Jesus as his Savior. 52:59 But he wouldn't come, he wouldn't come, 53:00 he wouldn't decide. 53:06 Years and years passed by and his old age, 53:10 this gentleman, this old man comes into a meeting. 53:14 John Piper says, he came into a meeting 53:15 that my father was preaching. 53:19 He says, at the end of that meeting, 53:22 my father made a call 53:25 to accept Jesus Christ as Savior. 53:30 And he says, that old man got up 53:33 and came forward to the front of the church, 53:36 he came forward for the call to accept Jesus 53:38 and he sat down on the front row, 53:44 and began to weep, 53:49 and as he wept, he said, "I've wasted it, 53:55 I've wasted it, I've wasted it." 54:04 He lift his whole life for the devil, 54:08 he lived his whole life apart from Christ 54:10 and now in his old age, he'd accepted Christ. 54:14 And he was glad that he did, 54:17 but remorseful that he wasted the bulk of his life 54:24 when he could have been serving Jesus. 54:28 As much as he was glad to know 54:29 that he had a Savior, his heart broke 54:33 because he realized that he let his Savior down, 54:38 he'd wasted his life. 54:41 His life could have been great 54:45 and he'd settled for good. 54:50 What about you, friend? 54:53 Are you settling for goodness? 54:56 Are you settling for mediocrity? 54:59 Do you want to come to the end of your life, 55:03 like that old man, and have to say I wasted, 55:07 I wasted, I could have been great, 55:10 I could have reached the standard 55:11 that God has called me to. 55:13 I could have had all that God is calling me to be, 55:18 but I settled for good, I settled for mediocre, 55:23 I settled for status quo. 55:27 I accepted the standard of good 55:29 that everybody else is set out, 55:31 instead of the standard that God has put before me 55:35 and the heights to which I could attain through Him. 55:41 Friend, don't settle for mediocrity, 55:43 for Jesus sake don't do it. 55:46 When the devil tries to bring in something to hinder you 55:49 and discourage you from reaching the prize, 55:51 don't let him do that. 55:52 When we allow the devil to side track us. 55:58 We also allow him to bring discouragement 55:59 to Jesus Christ and to take away the prize 56:02 that is rightfully His. 56:08 Again in that same book, Christ Object Lessons, 56:10 page 331, it says, 56:14 "Remember that you will never reach a higher standard 56:16 than you yourself set. 56:19 Then set your mark high, and step by step, 56:24 ascend the whole ladder of progress 56:27 let nothing hinder you." 56:31 Friend, may be your goal today 56:34 to glorify Jesus in all that you do, 56:38 to strive, to press on as the Apostle Paul says, 56:42 for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 56:45 Don't settle for good, don't waste your life. 56:48 God has a plan for you, 56:50 even now God has a plan for your life. 56:53 And it's not a mediocre plan, 56:56 it's greater than anything that you could imagine. 56:59 God has a plan fit for you 57:01 greater than anything 57:02 that you could ever know apart from him. 57:04 It's yours now if you press on. 57:09 Don't let great be compromised by good, 57:13 strive to be one in Christ Jesus. |
Revised 2014-12-17