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Listen "The Gospel of Luke: Finding Greatness | Competition | Struggle | Hustle - Audio"
Episode Synopsis
Sermon Notes 7/13/25
Luke 9: 46-50
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Check us out at: https://citylightvicksburg.org/
Or check us out here: https://www.facebook.com/citylightvicksburg
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Asking a man to share his favorite thing in a category, is a way to get a man to open up and reveal deep feelings inside of him. Guys love “who’s the greatest” debates. Apparently, Jesus’ disciples do too.
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We don’t know exactly what they were using to compare themselves to, but we do know they have NO BUSINESS doing so. Just a few verses ago, Jesus was miraculously transfigured - beautiful and shining like the sun - so you’d think they’d be humbled a little bit. Yet here they are, comparing their own greatness against each other.
.
The pressure to be great is all around us, especially today. But why? Why do we chase making our own name great? We believe that is where significance, security and our comfort/rest is. But the truth is that all of those things are found in Christ. But we must have the faith to see them there.
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The same faith that is required to cast out demons, is the faith required to know that our worth and greatness comes from Christ. It requires a new lens to see the path of greatness he calls you to. When my faith is my opinion of myself, my faith cannot be in Christ.
.
Back in this time, children were to be disregarded. You could ignore children because they were not valued in the society. And yet, Jesus grabs a child, and tells His disciples “your love and engagement with this child, is your love and engagement with me.” When the culture points at someone and says “they are not important to greatness” that is a Christian’s signal to say “I must spend my time talent and treasure with them because they are not important to greatness in this world.” And that is where our greatness comes from. Our greatness does not come from positions of power; our greatness comes from spending our energy with the least. Because the least are loved and cared for by God. Don’t let the call to be known and be great make you miss out on the ability to be great within the kingdom.
.
Searching for greatness in the world creates competition and struggle. The ones who are not against us, should be considered for us. Sometimes the folks that we are willing to criticize are walking in more faith than we are. The yearning for greatness creates the desire for competition, but God is looking for those who are willing to serve for Him. When we stop seeking our own greatness, it makes us more willing to just see what others are doing and just say “God be glorified!”
.
A couple questions to wrestle with:
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“Do I tend to overlook, disregard, or dismiss people who don’t seem like they can help me meet my worldly goals?” In the answer of that question determines what we think about ‘greatness.’
“When others around you receive promotions or things that you feel like you deserve, what happens to your soul? Is it delight, or is it grief?”
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Ask God to search your heart and be renewed in our understanding of Greatness.
Luke 9: 46-50
.
Check us out at: https://citylightvicksburg.org/
Or check us out here: https://www.facebook.com/citylightvicksburg
.
Asking a man to share his favorite thing in a category, is a way to get a man to open up and reveal deep feelings inside of him. Guys love “who’s the greatest” debates. Apparently, Jesus’ disciples do too.
.
We don’t know exactly what they were using to compare themselves to, but we do know they have NO BUSINESS doing so. Just a few verses ago, Jesus was miraculously transfigured - beautiful and shining like the sun - so you’d think they’d be humbled a little bit. Yet here they are, comparing their own greatness against each other.
.
The pressure to be great is all around us, especially today. But why? Why do we chase making our own name great? We believe that is where significance, security and our comfort/rest is. But the truth is that all of those things are found in Christ. But we must have the faith to see them there.
.
The same faith that is required to cast out demons, is the faith required to know that our worth and greatness comes from Christ. It requires a new lens to see the path of greatness he calls you to. When my faith is my opinion of myself, my faith cannot be in Christ.
.
Back in this time, children were to be disregarded. You could ignore children because they were not valued in the society. And yet, Jesus grabs a child, and tells His disciples “your love and engagement with this child, is your love and engagement with me.” When the culture points at someone and says “they are not important to greatness” that is a Christian’s signal to say “I must spend my time talent and treasure with them because they are not important to greatness in this world.” And that is where our greatness comes from. Our greatness does not come from positions of power; our greatness comes from spending our energy with the least. Because the least are loved and cared for by God. Don’t let the call to be known and be great make you miss out on the ability to be great within the kingdom.
.
Searching for greatness in the world creates competition and struggle. The ones who are not against us, should be considered for us. Sometimes the folks that we are willing to criticize are walking in more faith than we are. The yearning for greatness creates the desire for competition, but God is looking for those who are willing to serve for Him. When we stop seeking our own greatness, it makes us more willing to just see what others are doing and just say “God be glorified!”
.
A couple questions to wrestle with:
.
“Do I tend to overlook, disregard, or dismiss people who don’t seem like they can help me meet my worldly goals?” In the answer of that question determines what we think about ‘greatness.’
“When others around you receive promotions or things that you feel like you deserve, what happens to your soul? Is it delight, or is it grief?”
.
Ask God to search your heart and be renewed in our understanding of Greatness.
In God we trust