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Christ's Kingdom is not
about position and power.
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I'm probably not saying anything new
-
to many of you,
-
but I hope just emphasizing this again
-
will refresh in your
minds the significance
-
of these truths.
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The Kingdom of God is not
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about position and power.
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Isn't this an incredible question
that's being asked here in v. 1?
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"Hey Jesus, who's the greatest?"
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It's kind of like the elder's meeting.
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You get together and you
look among yourselves.
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Which one of us is the greatest?
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Or the deacons.
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Or the church.
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Or here this week.
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Who's the greatest?
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Who stands out among us?
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These fellows actually
asked that question of Jesus.
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And we need to get this
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into the fabric of our souls
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that Christ's Kingdom is not about that.
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That question just should not even
-
come into our minds.
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Who is the greatest?
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There's some names that could be
-
mentioned right now of men
-
who seemed to be some of the great ones
-
in the Kingdom who have just in recent,
-
I think even in this last year fallen;
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that are no longer in the ministry,
-
no longer viewed as the great preachers
-
that they had been viewed by so many.
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One of the great ones among us.
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It's such a dangerous way to think!
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Christ's Kingdom's not about that.
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Who among us is the greatest
-
is not the question to be asked
-
by the people of God;
-
by those who enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
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Sometimes we are more concerned
-
about protecting our image
-
than we are about exalting Christ.
-
Sometimes we're more concerned
-
about protecting our position.
-
I realize there may be a
fine line here at times,
-
but even as an elder in the church,
-
if my attitude towards someone is:
-
don't you know who I am?
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It seems like I've crossed a line there.
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Now, should they know who I am?
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The Scriptures teach there is an order.
-
We can't ignore that, but that attitude
-
should not fill the heart of one
-
who is a servant in the Kingdom of Heaven.
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But sometimes we're concerned
-
about protecting our position
-
or promoting our agenda.
-
We're more concerned about that
-
than we are about being the servant
-
to God's people that He's called us to be.
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And maybe I'm thinking more
-
about the leaders in the
church as I'm talking here,
-
but this applies to all of us.
-
Are you aspiring to be a
leader in the church?
-
The Bible does say that if you desire
-
the office of a bishop,
you desire a good thing
-
so there's something to
be said for that desire.
-
But I think there's a difference
between desiring and aspiring.
-
I'm always a little uncomfortable
-
with that zealous soul
-
that's always pushing himself forward.
-
"Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!"
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"I want to be one of the great ones."
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Who's the greatest in the Kingdom?
-
Who is the greatest in the
Kingdom of Heaven?
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Did I hear Jesus?
-
The King.
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Christ is the greatest!
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Can you imagine Jesus?
-
He is in the midst of us,
-
but in a visible form standing here
-
and we're out there,
-
"I've got a question!"
-
"Yes, son, what's the question?"
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"I'd like to know who's the greatest
-
in the Kingdom of Heaven?"
-
And the King is standing there!
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Of course, Jesus takes this opportunity
-
to teach some significant lessons.
-
He doesn't kick them to the curb,
-
but He is very direct with them,
-
very pointed with them.
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There is no room for competing egos
-
in the Kingdom of Heaven.
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Listen, even as I say that,
-
I'm preaching to myself.
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There's just simply no room
-
for competing egos
-
in the Kingdom of Heaven.
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We must function orderly as I have said,
-
but all within the framework of our gifts
-
to the exaltation of our King.
-
That's the goal.
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So Christ's Kingdom is not about
-
position and power.
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This excerpt was taken from Part 3
-
of Kyle's series on Christian unity.
