This is the transcript of the message I gave at OVV this morning. You'll see I've used powerpoint which I'm happy to e-mail to anyone who really wants it. sorry for the weird formatting thing too down towards the end. I'm not sure what happened and how to fix it.
A few weeks ago I was sharing a meal with someone who knows me fairly well. This is someone who I respect for his insight and his ability to speak into people’s lives so when he took the time to share some observations of what he was seeing going on with me, I had this inner nudge you could call it that I rather than follow my basic instinct (slide 1) that I should shut up and listen. He touched on a few different things—all true but if I could sum up a large part of the message he was trying to get across to me it was that I was almost always content at being good (slide 2)...a good person, a good worker, a good friend, etc...but I rarely strove to be great in anything that I did. Why was that? What was it that was keeping me from pushing through from being ok to being amazing (slide 3)? Admittedly I didn’t have an answer for him at that point as I was kind of reeling from the truth of the statement and the questions he was asking. I mumbled and fumbled and we talked a bit more about some general barriers that might be holding me back but it was clear I think that I had just come up against something that I needed time to process and gracefully we changed the subject.
This conversation hasn’t left me though. In the quiet times I’ve gone back to it and tried to sort through the why’s a bit more. One thing that was clear right away is that there is both a practical and a spiritual component to this answer which is one reason why I’m talking about it today. For those of us who acknowledge the reality of the spiritual and in this context, the belief that all we are and all we do are founded in our faith in Jesus Christ we know that we can take all the practical steps possible to change or correct our situation but unless they are rooted in the truth and will of God, they will eventually fall flat. Unless the our spiritual foundation is solid then whatever we build will set in sand and subject to the waves that come against it until again it eventually collapses and is washed away (slide 4). So for me here’s how I saw the process happening...I needed to figure out what the spiritual principles are that take me from being good to being great. Before I can do that though I need to know what barriers are there that are getting in my way. What issues of faith or wrong belief are keeping me from that journey of being great? Even before that though I think there’s two fundamental questions that I need to ask and I want to explore this morning...Does God actually wants us to be great? If so, what does He mean by that? Spiritually speaking, what does it mean for us to be great?
Does God Want Us To Be Great? I think the simple answer here is absolutely (slide 5). Time and time again in the scriptures we see evidence of God calling people and nations to a higher standard of belief and of behaviour. That’s the easy question to answer. The answer that’s a little more detailed is what does kind of great does God want us to be? What’s God’s definition of great? First of all we need to remember that the reason we should want to be great is often quite different from what our basic human nature requires from us. Much of the reasons for us to be great in a practical or worldly context revolves I think around a conscious or unconscious need for increased personal return or sense of satisfaction which we find in both the people we consider great and for those actions and beliefs we take on ourselves. In fact I would suggest that this applies for even the greatest philanthropists or selfless acts just as much as the normal every day person. We’re all motivated to some extent by our selfish nature and either we can’t help admire the great people of the world and stand in awe of them to some extent...but in the end of course they’re human and full of holes just like the rest of us. (slide 6 and 7) or we attempt to be great ourselves through action or belief in some way that validates our reasons for being. All of this only gets us so far and in the end is very, very temporary.
The reason we want to be great as believers is completely different of course. While the actions are still practical and often world-changing, our motivation is completely different...at least it should be. Instead of personal return or satisfaction (which can still exist) our motivation is found in the eternal both for us and for those we encounter. It’s that Kingdom of God thing that Ahren’s been talking about over the last few weeks. (Slide 8) By being great we can not only change people’s lives now but also their futures. Our future is secure and so can it be for others too...and we’ve got the means to do it. What other reason do we need to be great but that?
So we know God calls us to be great and we know why this is important...but the question still remains what does it mean to be great? What’s the definition of great from God’s perspective? I think perhaps the most comprehensive definition of what it means to be great may be found in Matthew chapter 5. Here we have Jesus entering into the main part of his ministry on earth where having just crossed the sea of Galilee he encounters a large crowd waiting for him. He positions himself high up on a hill where everyone can hear him, he calls his disciples to him and begins his Sermon on the Mount with what we know as the Beatitudes. (Read passage from slide 9).
One thing that is worth pointing out first is Jesus using the term blessed here. Commentaries tell us that rather than thinking of it here as a direct action such as a priestly blessing (slide 10) it is more meant to, “...introduce someone who is to be congratulated, someone whose place in life is an enviable one. (Tyndale New Testament Commentary) It denotes happiness as their prime state of mind.” This suggests to us then that the beatitudes are more than just a prescription to live right but a definition of what God thinks great is. If we follow these instructions we are told that we will be blessed...or be transformed to a place of contentment where the Kingdom of God will live in us and work through us. Thinking back to the idea of why be great, the Tyndale Commentary again tells us that the beatitudes are presented as, “...the best way of life, not only in its intrinsic goodness but in its results.”
Now we don’t have time this morning to look at all 8 teachings but let’s highlight three and look at them in the context of how it defines God’s definition of great. Blessed are the poor in spirit (slide 11). What we know right away is that this doesn’t refer at all to material poverty. Rather as Charles Finney puts it being poor in spirit refers to having, “To having a realizing sense of our spiritual state. In this it is implied that we understand our own guilt and helplessness, and realize as a practical fact our own utter emptiness by nature of everything good, and of any tendency to that which is good. It is one thing to hold this in theory, and another thing to be heartily sensible of the humbling fact. Most professing Christians admit in words that they are in themselves wholly helpless and destitute, but to know and feel as an abiding practical conviction that this is their true spiritual condition how few are able!” What makes us great then if we are poor in spirit is our realization that we are completely and utterly dependent on the blessing and provision of God to sustain us. It doesn’t mean we don’t work or cease existing in some way rather we do so in a continual position of humility and acknowledgement that what we have and what we do is not our own God’s. There’s a freedom that comes from this position of poverty if you will because as Finney again says we’ve now learned, “... how blessed it is to trust Christ. They see such fullness in Christ, they do not wish any strength of their own. Their wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption are in Christ, and they need and wish for none of their own. Christ is all they need, and they need nothing in themselves. They have them all in Christ, and they are willing and glad to have them in him.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied (slide 12). Greatness in God’s eyes is defined by a hunger and thirst for righteousness...what does that mean? The word itself here is not thought to mean spiritual justice in this context rather something deeper and more intimately connected to God himself. The Tyndale commentary writes that, “...the meaning here will be that their one desire will be for a relationship of trust and obedience with God. It is thus a personal aspiration, not a desire for social justice...it’s a whole orientation of life towards God and his will” How many times have we looked at this passage I wonder and thought of this as an aggressive pursuit...a dangerous quest like the knights of old looking to slay the dragon and get their reward from the King (slide 13). The reality of course is that this couldn’t be farther from the truth that Jesus was talking about at least in this context. Our quest for righteousness is found in the depth of our pursuit of our relationship with God himself. (Slide 14) We all know this verse don’t we? So what makes us great is the strength and depth of our relationship with God. That makes sense doesn’t it? As Matthew Henry writes in his commentary, “Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are happy. Righteousness is here put for all spiritual blessings. These are purchased for us by the righteousness of Christ, confirmed by the faithfulness of God. Our desires of spiritual blessings must be earnest. Though all desires for grace are not grace, yet such a desire as this is a desire of God's own rising, and he will not forsake the work of his own hands.”
Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy (Slide 15). Simply put how mercy makes us great is that it turns our focus off of ourselves onto those around us The difference here though is that we show mercy because we have been shown mercy first and foremost from God himself. Shakespeare himself said in The Merchant of Venice (slide 16) “The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes: 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown; His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to awe and majesty, Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings; But mercy is above this sceptred sway; It is enthroned in the hearts of kings, It is an attribute to God himself” The greatness of mercy though isn’t just in the action of casual sympathy for someone else’s pain or plight. That’s not what Jesus is talking about here. The Greek word for mercy can be traced back to a Hebrew work that Barclay’s commentary describes as the following, “It does not mean only to sympathize with a person in the popular sense of the term; it does not mean simply to feel sorry for someone ill trouble...mercy, means the ability to get right inside the other person's skin until we can see things with his eyes, think things with his mind, and feel things with his feelings.” So to be great we need to show a deep and meaningful mercy to those around us—something far more than a deep wave of pity. We need to intimately connect with what people are feeling and act from that place...that is an advanced and very committed action isn’t? Are we ready for that? Are we capable of that? I don’t think so—not without God’s help. That is why mercy itself is reciprocal in its nature. We can be merciful because we have received mercy from God himself. Nicky Gumble, the creator of the Alpha series writes that, “Jesus stressed time and again, as he does here, that it is those who show mercy who will receive mercy. It is not that we can earn God's mercy. Rather, the fact that we forgive is evidence that we have been forgiven by God. It is not a bargain with God, but a virtuous circle. When we see how much God has forgiven us we cannot fail to have mercy on others.”
All right so we should stop here for today but this is just the first step in my journey of learning how to be great. I wonder though if there’s more than just me that resonates with the struggle to first come to grips with what it means and secondly to figure out how to get there (slide 17). This morning we at least have an understanding that God wants us to be great but that the meaning of the word is much different than what we would expect it to be. Most of it is rooted in our relationship and our reliance on him to provide. There will likely be a lot more stops on the road to figure things out and choose what direction is next but like all of us as long as we’re still on it, that’s what counts. (Slide 18)
Let’s pray...
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