Good to Great in God’s Eyes Chapter 9 Part 1

I finished teaching Good to Great in God's Eyes this weekend. I've been adding the lessons to this blog over the past year, so it's a little scattered. You can find them here here here here here here here here here here and here!

Chip Ingram starts this chapter by pointing out all the “Bests Ofs” we have. Or “World’s Greatests”. You know: 10 sexiest bachelors, world’s fastest runners, Miss America, Miss World, Miss Universe! We admire the greatest. We want to be the best!

He said even back in Jesus’ day, 2 of His disciples who had spent 3 years with Jesus asked Him if they could sit on His right and left when He came into power.

Instead of rebuking them for wanting to be great, He told them what He considered to be great.

Mark 10:43-45 43Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

True greatness is serving others for the glory of God. That’s the way to a higher standing in God’s Kingdom. We stop thinking about ourselves and think about other people and about God. We become great in God’s eyes when we help others become greater than ourselves. Right now the world is all about self-interest, self-indulgence and self-glorification.

But we are not of the world and greatness in God’s eyes comes through building others up. In God’s kingdom someone else’s gains are ours. Someone else’s losses are also ours. Our ultimate service to others is to help them become all God intends for them to be, and then they go out and help others. Each generation enhances its own greatness by focusing on the next generation.

Moses was humble AND great. He trained his successor Joshua. And Joshua was the one who finally got to take the Israelites into the Promised Land. Eli mentored Samuel and Samuel had far more impact on the people of Israel than Eli did. John the Baptist: at one point in his ministry his disciples were concerned that his popularity was declining while Jesus’ was rising. And John said:

John 3:30 He must become greater; I must become less.

Later Jesus said about John:

Luke 7:28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Jesus – and no one is greater – spent 3 years empowering 12 men who then went out to empower others until the Gospel spread across the world.

Chip’s definition of a good Christian is someone who loves God, who walks in integrity, who is faithful to his or her mate, who spends time in the Bible because he or she wants to hear from God. Who makes an effort to discover his or her spiritual gifts and then uses those gifts in the local church. Who give tithes and offerings, goes on mission trips and helps his or her kids grow up to be godly men and women. Good Christians do what God calls them to do and they serve Him well.

But, he says GREAT Christians do all that and then pass it on. They pour their lives into others. They multiply themselves again and again and again. Good Christians “live the life”. Great Christians “leave a legacy”.

So how do you leave a legacy? I’ll post about that tomorrow.