The Greatness Gap
GOATED Part 13- Dharius Daniels
Matthew 20:20-28
Greatness is our commitment to give God a return on His investment.
He plants with purpose. He deposits with destiny in mind.
“Intentional mediocrity is sin. It is mismanaging the gifts and talents God put in you.”-Elton Trueblood
God will take the skills you develop on one season and use them, repurpose them, in another season.
When you follow Jesus, there’s no such thing as a wasted season.-A Word!
“Life is lived forward but understood backwards.”-One of my favorite quotes!**
Sometimes you have to live into an understanding of what you went thru.
Biblical Breakdown:
Jesus said to her-“You don’t know what you’re asking. Can you drink from the cup I am going to drink.”
In the OT, the cup represents suffering. Jesus is saying, you can’t get the seat without getting the suffering.
Every position comes with a cup-
Maybe God is not slowing things down because you aren’t ready for the seat, but bc you aren’t ready for the cup.-A Word!
Whenever God asks a question in the Bible, He’s asking for our reflection. He isn’t asking bc He doesn’t know.
Their response-“We can”-Speaks to our inability to assess our own readiness.
You don’t know if you’re ready for a seat you’ve never sat in.-Something to think about.*
They kept following even when they got a no; their relationship with Him wasn’t contingent on the seat.
Jesus never chased people whose commitment was conditional.
Sometimes walking like Jesus means letting people walk away.-A Word.
John 6:65-69
Walking like Jesus at times means letting people who have conditional commitments walk away.
1 John 2:19- If they can, they need to.
Greatness flows from service.
Slave in the text refers to an indentured servant- an agreed about time where one would work to receive a certain compensation.
Greatness from Jesus’ perspective is submitted service. It is allowing our natural ability, acquired skill, and spiritual gifts to be used how God desires, for whom He desires, and in ways He desires.
3 Gifts He Gives Us:
Natural Ability- talent you were born with ; you determine whose glory you use this for.
Acquired Skills- things you learn intentionally or unintentionally ; *think about the skills you developed in your pit stop season* ; your season of burden gives you skills you can use in your season of blessing-A Word!
Spiritual Gifts- special graces distributed by the Holy Spirit that enable to be uniquely effective at a thing
Is Heaven benefiting from the gifts Heaven has given you? - Wow!
Are you willing to submit your gifts to God and say “God these are Your’s!”
Ways God Serves Us As We Serve Others:
Favor- Proverbs 11:25- “A generous person will prosper ; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed” ; When you serve others, God serves you with favor.
Flourishing-Psalm 92:13- “Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.” ; Serving God by serving God’s people restores and replenishes our soul. It doesn’t just bless what’s around you, it heals what’s in you.
Formation- Philippians 2:5-7- “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.”
Fulfillment-John 4:34-“ My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.” True satisfaction is not found in what we get, but what we give.
Fruitfulness-John 15:8-“This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” ; Serving shifts you from being busy to fruitful, from activity to impact.
The more gifted you are, the more complex clarity is.-A Word!
We can ask God to bless what we are doing OR we can do what He’s already blessed.
Not famous, fruitful.
Not popular, powerful.
Necessary, not known!-THAT is greatness.
Prayer for the Week:
“Father make Your will known to me. I want to be great from Your perspective. Show me what you want me to do. And before you show me, the answer is YES!”Amen