Who Is the Greatest

The question before us today is this: Who is the Greatest?

Jesus answers that question as recorded in Matthew 18:1-5 

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me;

So, Jesus tells us that we can only be great when we have been changed.

Another word for changed is “converted” as it is recorded in the KJV of the Bible.

So, what does it mean to be converted? It means change – it means to reverse our direction.

Before we made the life change from sinner to Christian we were going our own way.

But, in answer to His call, we turn and go His Way.

During our lifetimes we will go through many and various changes.

We make career changes. It would be interesting to know what each of us planned and what we anticipated our occupations would be after graduating from high school or college.

Our families change as new lives are born into them; and also, as family members pass away.

But the life change that takes place when we submit our lives to Jesus Christ is very much different than other everyday changes we see in our lives.

Before our relationship with Jesus Christ began we been going along on our own will and way.

But in answer to His call, we must turn and go His way.

And this turning – this changing must be a total change. It must affect us intellectually, psychologically, ethically, and relationally.

Jesus calls these changes “a new birth” – “born again” – “a new beginning.”

To repent – that is, to change your heart – is to turn back in humility – as a child – and to open yourself in childlike humility – to receive life from Him.

“Changing” is not simply “turning over a new leaf.”

Nor is it “practicing religious rites or ceremonies.

But it is a turning to God Himself, as we meet Him in His Son –

It is to identify with Him as Savior and Lord of our lives – as our Redeemer and Master.

To be changed is to take our place – in humble relationship with the Master.

When we take our place in Him, He changes us from being focused on ourselves – that is, being self-centered – to becoming Christ centered.

Paul speaks about this in Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

The dynamic meaning of being crucified with Christ is found in three words:

Pardon       Power        Partnership

Being crucified with Christ brings Pardon. Pardon is forgiveness from our past sins; it means freedom from the Law; and it brings us a desire – an urgency to never sin again.

Being crucified with Christ also brings us Power.

Power isn’t immediately known. But it comes as we give ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

We seek out the “mind of Christ” rather than seeking our own will.

We do not live depending upon our own resources, because Christ lives within us – it is His power – not ours alone – that sustains us.

Being crucified with Christ means Partnership.

This partnership brings power but also brings suffering – this is a suffering that allows us also to share in His glory – that is, in His resurrection.

Consider how Paul writes about this resurrection:

Philippians 3:10 – “.....that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Paul also writes this in Romans 8:16-17: “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may  also be glorified with Him.”

Death and resurrection is the rhythm of the Christian life.

Baptism marks the death of the old person we were, and the miraculous beginning of our resurrection..

So, Paul declares: “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me.”

Being crucified with Christ means sharing the Way of Life that led Jesus to the cross – living by His purposes and being driven by His motives and teaching.

Being crucified with Christ also means – acting as a substitute – taking the sin-burdens of others – giving and forgiving in love instead of condemning .

We are always faced with a call --- a call to which we must respond in our thinking, in our speaking, in our actions, and in our suffering.

We are called into being by God – at creation.

We are called into our “new being” by God at our redemption through Jesus Christ.

Our redemption as new beings is not simply a present state. It is a pilgrimage – a pathway opened up to us, and for us to walk in it.

This pilgrimage is ceaselessly characterized by forgetting what lies behind us and stretching – and straining for what lies ahead.

Paul says also, in Colossians 3:3 – “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

This truth actually is seen in Scripture back in the Old Testament –

in Psalm 118:15-18 

The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;

he right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

The right hand of the Lord is exalted;

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

I will not die, but live,

And tell of the works of the Lord.

The Lord has disciplined me severely,

But He has not given me over to death.

The promise we have there is that we will live – and declare the works of the Lord.

WHO IS THE GREATEST?

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 vastly 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!