Sermon Tone Analysis

*Great Like Jesus*

CLC August 24, 2008

 

Review Wine Skins

*Mark 2.18-22* If you want something new from God, you have to give him something new to put it in.

Wine Skins are made up of:

·         Mindset – the lens through which you interpret the world

·         Beliefs – specific things you believe about the world or yourself, driven by your mindset

·         Habits – the things you do as a result of your beliefs ad mindset

·         Maturity (acceptance of responsibility for the other three)

 

It may be hard to distinguish (especially mindsets from beliefs), but all flow into each other, but consider some examples:

|   |   |   | *One of Pastor John’s:* |   |   |

| Mindset | My happiness is tied to someone else | My prosperity is tied to someone else | My prosperity is tied to someone else | My health is outside my control | Kids need parents |

| Beliefs | I need a man to be happy | I need the government to make sure I get a job | I need to government to lower taxes | It doesn’t matter what I do, I’m just unhealthy | My kids need me to be involved in their lives |

| Habits | Chase men around, make yourself available | Vote for candidates who promise jobs; wait for someone to offer a job | Vote for candidates who  promise lower taxes, wait for lower taxes before seeking increase | Eat junk food, don’t exercise, eat more junk food.

| Engage, go to conferences, give up bowling league to be home, help with homework, etc |

| Maturity | Low | Low | Low | Low | High |

 

Whether a wine skin is good or bad depends on if it advances you toward your destiny~/purpose.

What is a wine skin made out of?

Animal skin.

*If you are going to get a new wineskin, something needs to die.*

If you need to change your mindset, beliefs, habits, or maturity, the old version has to die.

Last week Pastor talked about being double minded – *James 1.6-8* the double minded man “must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.”

You can’t hold onto the old mindset and get a new one.

You can’t advance toward fulfilling your purpose without killing the old interpretive lens, the old beliefs, the old habits and the old level of maturity.

* *

Today: Help w~/ wineskin re: being great, because your destiny includes greatness.

I want you to have the mindset, beliefs, habits and maturity to be great.

*Mark 10:35-45*

Gentiles: Great = bossy~/dictatorial.

You might conclude it is improper for Christian to seek greatness.

Some Christians glorify weakness, being meek, limiting yourself, minimize yourself.

Common bumper sticker quotes John the Baptist:  “He must increase but I must decrease (Jn.

3.30).”

But notice what Jesus says next (*v.

43)*: “whoever would be great.”

He assumes that some will seek to be great.

Doesn’t say, “seek to be mediocre.”

Rather, he helps to re-define greatness with a new model.

New mindset: Christians should be great; great like Jesus.

Greatness is:

·         Situational.

You can be a great businessman, but a lousy dad.

Great teacher but less-than-great wife.

Great student but sub-prime son or daughter.

·         Continuously renewed.

You don’t achieve it and then remain great.

You can be great and then slip.

Marriage or friendships provide a great example: you start out and are trying hard to be a great friend or spouse, but over time, your efforts dwindle and your relationship seeks a lowest common denominator.

·         Determined by other people.

Great dad is determined by kids; great pastor is determined by the congregation.

*Humility (Mt.

18.1-4)*

Antonym: arrogant.

To be humble means accepting that others have something to offer.

Everyone has some insight or experience I don’t have and which can help me.

Humility recognizes that position does not indicate revelation or competence.

Don’t become an expert.

·         Bike ride this weekend reminds me: Riding w~/ Group, Steve Bessony’s correction

* *

*Submission (John 5.30)*: “I can do nothing on my own, As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

* (Eph.

5.21)*: “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

·         Taco Boy – I refused to get my hair cut

·         Prussian general at Waterloo who complied with the order to move troops, but did it in the least efficient method.

Jesus is the perfect example of submission: *(Mt 26.39)*: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

·          “Not my will, but yours”

Father submits to kids’ will for homework, play, coach, etc.

Husband submits to wife’s will for how to spend money, time, vacations, decorating the house, etc.

Worker submits to how the boss wants the job done.

*Service (Mk 10.43-45)*: “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant”

Service is the outward action which flows from the inward condition of submission.

To do for another whatever they want or need done.

When Jesus lived in his human body, what did humanity need?

A way to have sins forgiven and be reconciled to God.

What did he do?

Went to the cross.

* *

A great worker doesn’t do whatever is in the contract or the job description.

A great friend

A great mom

 

Let’s go back to the wineskin.

Remember a wineskin is good or bad depending on whether it helps advance you toward your destiny.

|   |   |

| Mindset | My destiny includes being great like Jesus |

| Beliefs | Greatness consists of humility, submission, and service |

| Habits | Seek input from others, submit my will to the will of others, do whatever needs to be done.

|

| Maturity | High |

 

*Greatness Confession:*

Lord, I want to be a great ____________.

I confess that greatness consist of humility, submission, and service consistently over time.

Thank you for the sphere of action you have given me.

Help me be worthy of this sphere of action and worthy of more so that I may receive promotion into greater service.

Please grow my character, and prevent me from being promoted  beyond my character’s ability to sustain my position.

I would rather have the disappointment of being passed over for promotion than the disappointment of being demoted.

Help me be honest and ethical in all that I do and my nothing in my conduct contradict my testimony to you.