Grace Bible Church

Glorifying God
by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
 A reminder to consider others
Please:
 Turn off your cell phone or set to vibrate
only
 Turn off sound to all electronic devices
 Use the nursery or cry room if your child
is fussy
 Get up during the preaching only if
absolutely necessary (please sit in back
if you must leave early)
 Who’s The Greatest?
Matthew 18:1-4; Mark 9:33-36; Luke 9:46-47
•What does it mean to be great?
•Great = considerably above average in
extent, amount, intensity, ability, quality,
eminence, or importance
 Who’s The Greatest?
Matthew 18:1-4; Mark 9:33-36; Luke 9:46-47
•There is great, greater and greatest -
but greatness in humans also demands
good character qualities
•A danger in striving to be great is pride,
one of mankind’s chief problems
 The Setting
Luke 9:46-47, Mark 9:33-34; Matthew 18:1
•Jesus and the disciples had come down to
Capernaum from Caesarea-Philippi
•Jesus asked them about what they had
been discussing while traveling, but
embarrassment made them silent
•You cannot hide anything from Jesus - He
is omniscient
 The Setting
Luke 9:46-47, Mark 9:33-34; Matthew 18:1
•Jesus’ questions prompted them to reveal
the subject of their argument by asking
Him who’s the greatest?
•They were expecting Jesus to establish
His kingdom soon
•Peter, James and John receiving more
attention from Jesus would suggest they
were more important
 The Setting
Luke 9:46-47, Mark 9:33-34; Matthew 18:1
•Their reaction is a mirror for any of us to
take warning of pride
•The quest for greatness can also be
pursued internally, not just externally
•Displays of pride can be subtle
 The Setting
Luke 9:46-47, Mark 9:33-34; Matthew 18:1
•Battling pride takes hard work -
James 4:10 / 1 Peter 5:6
•You can be humble and still have
confidence and conviction
•Humble people digging into God’s word
together will become more mature
 The Setting
Luke 9:46-47, Mark 9:33-34; Matthew 18:1
•Pride blocks the correction needed to
improve and from doing God’s will
•It is very dangerous to put yourself in the
position of being superior to God and
judging His revelation
•It is human nature to be proud and make
comparisons that are favorable to that
pride
 The General Principle
Mark 9:35
•The principle itself is simple, but contrary
to the way human societies establish
themselves
•In the world, those who are greater are
served by the lesser, but this is reversed in
the Kingdom of Heaven
 Jesus Calls a Child
Matthew 18:2; Mark 9:36; Luke 9:47
•Jesus calls a child to Himself to use as a
practical object lesson of greatness in His
kingdom
•The disciples were acting childish
•The greatest in the kingdom is Jesus, and
you need to be like Him to be great in His
kingdom
 A Kingdom Entrance Requirement
Matthew 18:3
•Jesus’ statement exposes their pride and
calls into question whether all of them
would enter the kingdom
•Assurance of salvation is based in the
actions of God, not the actions of man
•Many people have faith in what they have
done instead of in Christ and what He has
done
 A Kingdom Entrance Requirement
Matthew 18:3
•Jesus questioned their salvation because it
is not about doing something, it is about
being something
•Repentance is the change of mind brought
about by being convicted of sin,
righteousness and judgment
 A Kingdom Entrance Requirement
Matthew 18:3
•Conversion means to “turn around” and is
the action of the will in response to
repentance - Acts 3:19, 26
•Man cannot convert himself, it is brought
about by the work of the Holy Spirit
 The Nature of a Child
Matthew 18:3-4
•A child is not sinless, but does posses
characteristics of humility needed for faith
to develop
•Those who remain proud will not admit
their sin or seek God’s forgiveness as He
has directed
 The Nature of a Child
Matthew 18:3-4
•A child may be defiant trying to get his own
way, but will still yield to his parents on
whom he is dependent
•God will chasten a Christian to correct and
bring about righteousness - Hebrews 12:4-
11
 The Nature of a Child
Matthew 18:3-4
•If you humble yourself before God, He will
exalt you at the proper time as you
become more like Jesus
 Conclusions
•Your primary concern should be getting
into God’s kingdom, not who is the
greatest
•If you are not sure, humbly seek Him
(Hebrews 11:6)
 Conclusions
•If you want to be great, avoid the world’s
definition of it and instead humbly follow
and serve Christ
•Those who are great don’t think about it -
they just keep humble believing the Lord
and following Him
Grace Bible Church
Glorifying God
by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ