I want to teach you a basic biblical principle today that’s one we’ll talk about throughout this time together. It’s called … THE GREATNESS PRINCIPLE. If you think about all of the great people you’ve known throughout your life, more than likely each one of them had a guiding principle that led their lives. Even Jesus did. But, let me give you some other examples first, so you’ll get a feel for this…
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – The Principle of Non-Violence…
Mother Teresa – The Principle of Compassion (Today, we’re going to look at The Great Compassion.)…
Winston Churchill – The Principle of Persistence (Never, never, never … give up!)…
Vince Lombardi – The Principle of Winning (Winning isn’t everything; It’s the only thing!)…
Spider Man – The Principle of Responsibility (With great power comes great responsibility.)…
So, what’s going to be the guiding principle for your life? And for those who are followers of Jesus, what was the guiding principle of his life … and how do we make that a guiding principle in our lives?
We’re in the worship series called “Dare to Be Great!” It’s a study of 3 passages that Jesus said were GREAT! And, if we want to be great in God’s eyes, we need to learn to live by this principle that cuts across all of these great passages; it’s called … THE GREATNESS PRINCIPLE…
This principle is taught over and over again in scripture and we’re going to look at some of those verses today. And in them you’re going to see THE GREATNESS PRINCIPLE. At least a dozen times in scripture, Jesus talks about this principle—the one that he lived by. Matthew 23:11 hints at it when Jesus says this: “The greatest among you must be a servant.” THE GREATNESS PRINCIPLE is a summary of all of these scriptures that boils down to this:
“When I bless others, God blesses me.”
This principle is taught over and over again in scripture and I want to challenge you today to make it a guiding principle in your life. The truth is if we miss out on the GREATNESS PRINCIPLE, we’re going to miss out on a great deal of what God wants for us! It’s the reason many people feel stuck today, in their walk with God—like they’ve hit a ceiling and cannot go any further—because they’re missing The Greatness Principle in their lives! It’s really a guiding principle of greatness for how God looks at us … and it was the guiding principle in Jesus’ life…
‘When I bless others’… What does that mean?
And how does ‘God bless me’ in return?
We’re going to talk about all of that today, as I give you 4 ways to live out The Greatness Principle. Here’s number one…
LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO BLESS OTHERS EACH DAY. If you’re going to live out The Greatness Principle, if you’re going to experience this abundant life, if you’re going to go to that next level in your faith … you’ve got to be looking for opportunities to bless others! And those opportunities are all around us, folks…
Have you ever been to Disney World in Florida? If you ever have, one of the things you’ll discover is that there’re ‘hidden Mickeys’ all over the place. And you can hear people talking about this when you’re waiting in line there. There’re hidden in fences, sometimes in the signage, sometimes on a billboard, and sometimes in the landscaping. There are literally 1,000 ‘hidden Mickeys’ all throughout Disney World… And, if you have your eyes open, it’s quite a game to play with the family—finding all those ‘hidden Mickeys’ … and you can!
In a similar way, there are hidden opportunities all around you that God gives you to bless other people, but some of us have put blinders on, and we’re missing out on those kingdom opportunities because we’re not looking for them. We’re missing out on God’s blessings and they’re missing out on a blessing from us! This takes us to our key passage today—THE GREAT COMPASSION. Just listen…
“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ – Matthew 25:31-40 (NLT)
So, we need to be looking for those opportunities to bless others each day. You have two in your bulletin this morning: Today is loose change for change Sunday … and we’re introducing you to a young couple today who is soon to hit the mission field (w/family) in Brunei—Dan and Anna (Overlein) Adderton. We’ll be talking more about them at a later date, but I wanted to introduce them to you just a bit this morning. So, opportunities are out there to bless others. And in this scripture—THE GREAT COMPASSION, Jesus gives us 6 for every day…
SIX OPPORTUNITIES TO BLESS OTHERS EACH DAY:
1. For I was hungry and you fed me (Food Pantry)…
2. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink (Well Ministry)…
3. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home (Blind Side, guests at church)…
4. I was naked and you gave me clothing (WeeCare)…
5. I was sick and you cared for me (families experiencing illness)…
6. I was in prison and you visited me (Barnabas House, Nancy Tews)…
You start opening your eyes … and you start seeing things, don’t you? The main reason we live with blinders sometimes can be summed up in one word: SELFISHNESS… We get so caught up in our own worlds (me, too), taking care of our own stuff, and we forget about the rest of the world—some who are in incredible need… Philippians 2:3a says, “Don’t be selfish….” So, instead, LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO BLESS OTHERS! And, as you look for those opportunities, God’s going to guide you to meet some of those needs. So…
INITIATE ACTION AS GOD GUIDES YOU. I need to teach you something here that’s really hard to teach, but very important…
Not all opportunities are yours! Did you know that? When you start looking for those opportunities, it’s going to be overwhelming. Your heart is going to break… But, the truth is, you can’t do it all!
NOT EVERY OPPORTUNITY YOU SEE IS A COMMAND FROM GOD TO PARTICIPATE IN! You’re just one person. I’m just one person. We’re just one church; it is just one church we’re a part of. We can’t meet every opportunity. BUT … don’t let the overwhelmingness of not being able to meet all opportunities keep you from taking advantage of some opportunities…
So, how’s your prayer life? If you’re going to live by The Greatness Principle, you’ve got to learn to pray about each & every opportunity that comes your way! We may be just a small church right now; we may not be able to do 50 things a year, but we can do 5! What I’m saying is … YOU CAN’T DO EVERYTHING, BUT DON’T LET THAT BE AN EXCUSE FOR DOING NOTHING! In Psalm 32:8, “The LORD says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’” God do you want me to do that? There’s the question. And the answer will either be … yes, no, or slow! INITIATE ACTION AS GOD GUIDES YOU! Then…
FOCUS THE ATTENTION TOWARD GOD. This is a quick teaching, but an important one…
As you start serving others—blessing others, as God says ‘Yes, get involved in something,’ people will look to you with gratitude as you’re doing a good thing. But, here’s what you want to do: YOU WANT TO TRANSFER THE CREDIT AND GLORY TO GOD!
It’s not that you can’t take the compliment; it’s not false humility. You did something; you served. But, we also need to praise God, thank God, and let others know that it is really God who is doing this good thing through us…
In Matthew 23:11-12, Jesus says: “The greatest among you must be a servant. 12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” What you don’t want to say is, “Look at how great of a servant I am!” The minute you do, I’ll guarantee you … you’re in for some humbling…
When we come together to worship each week, every single person who’s helping lead in worship better know that they are SERVING! That’s what we do here. Jesus said in John 12:26: “Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.” It’s all about service, folks … with our attention firmly on God! But, when we do these things, we need to (finally)…
EXPECT GOD TO BLESS US. The Greatness Principle says, “When I bless others, God blesses me.” So, here’s our review today…
You open your eyes and look for opportunities to bless others every day—opportunities in your neighborhood, in your family, in your workplace—you start looking for them…
Then you say, “God, which ones do you want me to get involved in?” and you pray about it, knowing you can’t meet ‘em all, but some…
And then as we’re doing that and get involved, we give God the glory; we give God the credit … AND THEN LOOK WHAT HAPPENS…
When you live out THE GREATNESS PRINCIPLE, God will bless you!
If you bless others, then God’s going to bless you; that’s how this thing works—a biblical principle… And it works with our finances, too; Luke 6:38 (NLT) says, “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back”; it’s always more than what you give with God…
Folks, there’re FOUR WAYS GOD will BLESS YOU:
Tangible Blessings. In story after story, someone gave their last $10 to God … and then through a series of circumstances, they received that $10 back … and more! Now, I CAN’T PROMISE TANGIBLE BLESSINGS every time, but what I can promise is this…
Intangible Blessings. I want you to get this: Your blessing is not always tangible—not always something you can hold in your hand, but I can promise you that if you bless others, God will bless you … but it may be intangible—like the satisfaction of knowing you did the right thing (God wired us to feel really good about that)…
Greater Influence. You start serving in one way or another … and then you have greater influence in your church (and I’ve seen that)…
Visible Miracles. Have you ever spoken to someone who’s having a bad day, and then you can see—on their face—that their whole day changed? That’s a visible miracle, folks—when you see someone’s entire attitude turn around…
So, there’re many ways we can bless others … and many ways God’ll bless us in return. And no verse captures THE GREATNESS PRINCIPLE quite like Proverbs 11:25 (MSG), so I’m going to close with that today: “The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.” So, here’s some homework: When you get home, think about today’s message and ask yourself:
How can I apply The Greatness Principle to my church? How could you be a blessing to others through your church?
How can I apply The Greatness Principle to my family? Don’t forget to bless those who are closest to you—your spouse, your children, your parents, your grandparents … and on and on…
And how can I apply The Greatness Principle to my city, my community, and the world?
And don’t forget your possessions (money), too; The Greatness Principle also works there … and we’ll talking more about that aspect of our discipleship this fall…
You may be thinking about now, “Rom, that’s great for others, but not for me. I’m no Martin Luther King, Jr. … or Mother Teresa … or Spider Man!” But, folks, just remember Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew 5:16 (NLT): “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Every day, folks, let’s look for ways to ‘let our light shine’ … that God might be glorified, others might be blessed … and that God may bless us in return… Dare to Serve. I dare you!