The Geeatest Among You — Don Wilkerson

This message is one of the Times Square pulpit series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing to World Challenge PO Box 260, Lindale, Texas, 75771, or calling 214 -963 -8626.

None of these messages are copyrighted, and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to your friends.

Well, we had quite a Sunday, didn't we? You were here Sunday morning, and then what a blessing it was after our morning service for those of us here to participate in the ordination of the ministers. This was my first opportunity to be involved in this on such a scale.

A dozen or more that we ordained, or really what we did, we just confirmed the call of God on their lives. And these are ministers associated with World Challenge Ministers Fellowship. And God has given us some precious young men, precious ministers, pastors, evangelists, missionary going to the Philippines.

And those of you that were here, and we prayed for them, it was a very, very special time. And they are really an extension of this ministry here as well. They're a part of this fellowship, and we thank the Lord for them.

And then Sunday night, how the Lord ministered. What a powerful, powerful word went forth. And then last night, there was a good number came out to hear Pendley again, and she laid out some practical steps for us to get involved in just coming against this murderous industry in our society called abortion.

And we're gonna be taking some steps. We met with her today, our ministers, our staff met with her. She's gonna be coming back and training those that want to go out. And we're gonna start right at 68th Street and Broadway, right where our offices are.

And we're gonna start right there, because on top of us, as you know, we've been praying against one of the largest abortion clinics in New York. And David already called the owner and told them we're gonna be doing it.

He said, good, good, we want them out anyhow. And so we're gonna be doing that and providing an alternative. And can you just imagine, instead of them going to the third floor, they're coming in the second floor for us to counsel them.

And Penny will be helping us to train some counselors. And she's a part of our fellowship as well. We received her ordination from another group that she had already felt led not to remain there. And so we laid hands upon her today as a staff and ministers and received her ordination as well.

And so she's a part of this. This is her home church now. And she's gonna be coming back in and helping us and so pray for her and pray for this as this is a long-term commitment. We're not going into this emotionally.

We're looking at this in a very practical way and in a way that will become an ongoing part of what God has raised up this church to be in this city. And so you pray for that and we'll be letting you know about that in days to come.

Jesus Redefines Greatness in Luke 22

Praise the Lord. Turn with me if you will tonight in your Bibles to Luke chapter 22, Luke 22. I wanna read to you, begin reading at verse 14. We'll read a number of verses here to get this setting. It says, when the hour had come, he reclined at the table and the apostles with him.

Verse 14, I'm reading from the New American Standard. And he said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat the Passover with you before I suffer. For I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

And when he had taken a cup and given thanks, he said, take this and share it among yourselves. For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes. And when he had taken some bread and given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them saying, this is my body, which is given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me. And in the same way, he took the cup after they had eaten saying, this cup, which is poured out for you is a new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of the one betraying me is with me on the table.

For indeed, the son of man is going as yet. For indeed, the son of man is going as it has been determined. But woe to that man by whom he is betrayed. And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.

And there also, there also arose a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. Now, they thought if Jesus is about to come into his kingdom, we're about to come in with him.

They wanted to determine who was going to be the greatest among them to be the one to receive the greatest benefit. And he said to them, the kings of the Gentiles lorded over them and those who have authority over them are called benefactors, but not so with you.

But let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest and the leader as the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table?

But I am among you as the one who serves. And you are those who have stood by me in my trials. And just as my father has granted me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.

And you will sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Now in the 26th verse, I lift out of it these words as a title of my message tonight. Verse 26, the greatest among you, the greatest among you.

Let's bow in a word of prayer. And as we pray, there is another request that was handed to me regarding a young man who has been suicidal. He's on drugs and needs the Lord to touch him. His name is Christopher.

We wanna remember him in prayer. And then one of our ushers, his wife Dorothy White is going to have an eye operation on Friday and ask that we remember him in prayer. So let's lift these up as we again also ask the Lord to bless his word tonight.

Our Father, we thank you for the spirit of worship and praise that we sensed here tonight. We thank you, Lord, that your people have borne one another's burdens and we bear the burdens of others, Lord, that have looked to us with these prayer requests.

And we pray tonight for the sister in our church. We pray for her son. We pray for Christopher. We lift him up to you tonight. Lord, you are able to deliver him and free him from the spirits that bind him.

You're able to save him, Lord. You are to the uttermost. And we just agree to gather right now and we praise you, Lord. We thank you, Lord. We've seen you do many things at this altar. And Lord, may one day he be at this altar.

May he find true salvation and healing and deliverance in you. Lord, we pray for Dorothy that you would overshadow her and bless her and guide her and protect her this operation on Friday. Lord, we just pray that you would touch her and minister to her, we pray.

And Lord, for any others that are here tonight have come in burdened in this meeting and are in need of a physical touch even right now. Lord, heal them even as I'm praying right now so that they can receive the word of God.

The Worldly Hunger for Fame and Superiority

And now, Lord, give us hearts that are open to receive your word. Teach us from your word tonight, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen, amen. It was the late Andy Warhol who was an avant-garde artist who made a statement, I'm not exactly sure what he said, but it was a statement to this effect that everybody sometime in his lifetime would have an opportunity to be famous for at least five minutes or 15 minutes.

I don't remember the timeframe. He said there would come a day that everybody will have his moment of fame, five minutes or 15 minutes or whatever. Well, I don't know if you've had yours yet. I don't know if you've had your moment of fame yet, but there is in all of us an inherent desire for superiority and greatness or that which Jesus referred to here as Gentile lordship.

Men and women have attempted impossible, even bizarre feats hoping to become famous, if even for a few fleeting moments or to be famous in some particular field or endeavor. I saw this week in the New York Times a picture of a young lady who had her moment of fame 19 year old girl in Indianapolis, Indiana spent.

Now, can you believe this? She spent 517 days on top of a pole, a platform on top of a pole, sitting in that for 517 days. That's a year and three quarters. She did it to raise some money for cancer, but also she did it to win the record.

The previous record was 488 days so that she could be entered into the Guinness book of records as the longest pole sitter. Now, can you imagine that? Now she can turn to everybody else and say, can you top that?

What silly, foolish, even dangerous things people do to be noticed and gain notoriety. The young man, David Hinkley, who shot president Reagan did so to get some movie actresses attention. Now maybe she'll notice me was his motive.

I've read stories, you have too, of killers, murderers who when asked why they did it, they admitted they said to make the headlines. You have seen it yourself. You've seen the pictures of the arrest of some murderer and you'll see them walking and being arrested with a smile on their face.

Why? Because now I am famous. I have my moment of fame, even if I must kill to do it. And to one degree or another, this principle of wanting to be great is universal. It's inherent. Lucifer said this, I will ascend to heaven.

I will raise my throne above the stars and I will sit on the mount of the assembly. And there is a spirit of Lucifer within the sinful, it's within the world and it's a part of the sinful nature that seeks exaltation and greatness and superiority and fleshly recognition.

The desire to sit on the mount of the assembly, to sit in a place of greatness is not the spirit of Jesus Christ. It is the spirit of Lucifer. It is satanic. And in the church, in the church, this spirit is the cause for a lot of fleshly motivated service.

It's the cause of a lot of division and strife and many other problems. There are pastors, there are leaders who have bled sheep. They have bruised sheep. They have brow beaten sheep in order to fulfill personal ambitions for greatness.

And all many times it's covered with a veneer of soul winning or church growth or wanting to build a big church in order to minister to people. But really behind it is a personal ambition for greatness.

I know because I've been to some of those ministers meetings and yet is this not, this is not unsimilar to the motivation behind the building of the Tower of Babel. What did they say? Let us make a name for ourselves.

In Genesis 6, 4 it says that there were giants on the earth in those days. And also after them when the sons of man came unto the daughters of men and bared children to them and the same became mighty men which were of all men of renown.

And there's different interpretations as to who these giants were. But it says that they were renowned and that word renounce means that they are those who have a motivation to be a celebrity. And today in the body of Christ we have too many such giants.

Men and leaders who have departed from the presence of the Lord and in so doing they have wanted to exalt themselves and exert themselves for fleshly recognition. And sadly to say because of the carnality in the hearts of many of the people in the pew they've been guilty of creating such so-called celebrities.

The Disciples’ Repeated Disputes About Greatness

And therefore I believe it's time to understand what true biblical greatness is all about. Now this misunderstanding of greatness is not new. The disciples had this on their minds a lot. In fact too much.

Here in Luke 22 it says there arose a dispute among them. Look at verse 24. There arose a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. Now let me tell you how I think that argument took place at that particular time.

I believe it probably started when they went in to observe the Passover. Because you see the seating arrangement at a Jewish feast was very definite. The table was arranged like a square with one side left open.

And at the top of the square and in the center sat the host. And on his right hand sat the guest of first honor. And on his left the second guest of honor. And the second on the right sat the third guest.

And the second on the left was the fourth guest. And so on around the table. But it started with the highest honor and went down. And apparently when the disciples, it may have been when the disciples came in to sit down, there was a dispute among them as to which one was gonna sit where.

For they had this idea deeply embedded in them that Jesus was going to set up an earthly kingdom, kick the Romans out. And Jesus was gonna be sitting on the throne of government as it were. And they were gonna be right there beside them.

And so they kept having, had this thing on their mind as to which one was gonna be closest to the throne of power. And it's one of the tragedies of the gospel story that the disciples could quarrel about status and procedure and seat arrangement and in the very shadow of the cross.

And I believe that this argument as to who would be the greatest in the kingdom may have arisen when they went in and was merely a carry over from what took place when they first went to sit down. Now go with me to Luke the ninth chapter because again, there is an occasion when the same question was asked.

Luke the ninth chapter in verse 42. A demon possessed lad was brought to Jesus. And it says, and while he was still approaching, the demon dashed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.

And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples, let these words sink into your ears for the son of man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.

You see, he saw that they were getting all excited about the power that was going on there. But they did not understand the statement and it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it.

And they were afraid to ask him about this statement. And an argument arose among them as to which one of them might be greatest. Now, do you see the same spirit there again? The disciples saw the power, the authority of Jesus and the recognition from the crowds that comes with that power and that authority.

And when they saw that, they wanted to share in some of that glory, in some of that fame, in some of that applaud. And folks, let me remind you again that we have set a policy in this church and we're gonna keep it, we're gonna hold to it, we're gonna hold to it in order to make a point that we're not gonna be clapping, we're not gonna be applauding for man here.

Because the disciples saw the crowds gathered at Jesus, saw the marvel at that, and they got swept up in that. And so they got in line, they began to argue to see which one would be sitting higher on the totem pole of greatness.

Or going back to the illustration of when they came in to observe the Passover, which one was gonna sit at the highest seat of honor. Can't you just see them as it were? I don't know that they did this, but as it were when they came in, they're making a mad dash to see who's gonna sit closest up to the head and pushing aside.

The Sons of Zebedee and the Temptation of Preferment

One more example, go to Matthew chapter 20. Matthew chapter 20. This is very interesting because it says, then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him. Verse 20, did I say chapter, it's chapter 20, verse 20.

Matthew chapter 20, verse 20. It says, then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, bowing down and making a request of him. And he said to her, what do you wish? And she said to him, command that in your kingdom, these two sons of mine may sit.

One as your vice president and one as your secretary of state. One on your right hand, again, that seat of honor. One on your right, one on your left. But Jesus answered and said, you do not know what you are asking for.

Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? Now you see, these two sons set their mother up for this. Do you know how I know that? Because when Jesus, you know, first of all, she said, command.

Now, can you imagine this? She said, command. I want, I command you that in your kingdom, these two sons of mine may sit at your right hand and on your left hand. And listen, a lot of the commanding that I hear today in charismatic circles is no different than this.

Can you imagine? She says, command. I want you to decree it right now. I want you to make a command that all the others so that I can go and we can tell all these other disciples that my two sons have the highest position when you are elected president.

But the two boys put their mother up to that. How do we know that? Because Jesus then said in verse 22, you do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?

And notice who answered. Here's the two boys, as you were, they're hiding behind mother's apron strings and said, mom, mom, ask him, ask him. And so she does. And when Jesus said, are you able to drink this cup?

Here pops two heads out from underneath mama's apron strings and said, oh yes, we are. You see, they were looking to drink the golden cup of greatness, not the wine cup of suffering. And there is a teaching today in the body of Christ that tells you, you can get saved and you can drink the golden cup of greatness and you can avoid the cross and you can avoid drinking the cup of the wine and going through the wine press of suffering.

Greatness Begins With a Teachable Spirit

Now, go back to Luke 22. Using Luke 22, as well as other parallel scriptures, I wanna share some lessons on true biblical greatness that everyone who walks in holiness needs to understand. And this is what I wanna share with you in this message tonight.

The greatest, listen to me, the greatest in the kingdom of God are first of all, those among other things who are more willing to be taught than to be the teacher. They have a teachable spirit. Secondly, they are more willing to serve than to be served.

And thirdly, they are those whom Jesus said, you stood by me in my trials. We're gonna take a look at that. Now, first of all, Jesus said, you'll note in verse 25 and 26, he refers to the thinking of the Gentiles, the thinking of the world.

He said, the kings of the Gentiles lorded over them and those who have authority over them are called benefactors, but not so with you. And notice what he says, but let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest.

Now in Luke nine, where we read to you, when the disciples argued as to which one of them might be greatest, at that occasion, Jesus did something interesting. He gave them every simple but profound object lesson to make the same point as in Luke 22.

In Luke nine, verses 47 and 48, but Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their hearts regarding this whole concept of greatness, he took a child and stood him by his side or put him on his lap as it were, and said to him, whosoever receives this child in my name receives me.

And whosoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you, this is the one who is great. Now here is one principle of greatness and listen to it. We treat the youngest, the weakest, the most vulnerable, how we treat the child, whether it be the born or the unborn child, how we treat that individual tells us something about our greatness and whether we have the true spirit of Christ.

Penny Lee made us aware Sunday night, and it's been said by others that the barometer of a society is how it treats its oldest on one hand and its youngest on the other hand. And Jesus makes a case for the youngest here.

And he says, if you mistreat children, you are mistreating me. But Jesus is not just, there's a principle here. He's not just talking about little children. I think he's talking about the spiritually young.

He's talking about the weak. He's talking about the innocent. He's talking about the ignorant. And these children, my friend, need our love. They need our acceptance. They need our forgiveness without compromise and yet with compassion.

And the children that Jesus refers to are both literal and spiritual children. And Jesus said, whosoever receives this child in my name receives me. I remember one day when I was working at the Teen Challenge Ministry.

I'm no longer associated with it, no longer there. But when I, I remember some years ago, there was a woman who had been a social worker, got addicted to pills and came into the center. And she was one of those that needed a lot of attention.

And every day she was at my office, every day she needed a little bit of comfort and counsel. And one day she caught me in the hallway and she said, can I see you? And I had some files and papers in my hands at that very moment.

And I said, I'm busy. I'll get back to you. And I went on my way, completely forgot about her. That night as I was going to laying down to sleep and I laid down and I remembered her request when she said to me, may I see you?

And I remember the look in her face when I said to her, I'm too busy right now. She had a look in her eyes that said this to me. And it all came back to me as I laid down to sleep that night. In her eyes, she said to me, but I thought that I was your business.

I thought I was your business. And I said, oh God, forgive me for being so busy. Help me Lord, not to forget the youngest among us. Now I realized that we need discernment in ministering to people. Some people are rebels and reprobates that if you pay too much attention to them you're casting pearls before swine.

Some Christians don't need sympathy. They need to heed some advice, the advice already given them and grow up. There are some adults that act like babies and they should know better. But still my friend, there are spiritual babies because they have not been taught how to grow.

And God help us and give us discernment, give us compassion, help us Lord to come and to be able to receive them and love such a child, an innocent child. Jesus said, become as the youngest. Get down by them, identify with them.

Now I know it means more than this, but it also I believe means this as well. I remember I heard one day at Teen Challenge about a young man who was giving us all kinds of problems. And I heard the story of what happened.

And I said to myself, well, that's out of order. That's not right. I'm gonna dismiss him. And you know, my emotions all got worked up and I said, okay, you know, I'm gonna send him packing. So he came in and just before I told him that he to go pack his clothes, I said, do you have anything to say for yourself?

And he began to open his heart to me and he began to pour out his woe. He began to pour out a heart of a young man who yes, he had done wrong, but at the same time, there was a desire for God. I detected something there.

I detected a repentant heart. And so I got down on my knees and put my arms around him and prayed with him and forgave him and encouraged him. And he went out the door instead of with a kid kicking the pants, he went out with me, putting my arm around him, becoming as the youngest.

You see, when Jesus placed a child in the midst of his disciples, he knew what was in their hearts. He took a child and he placed it beside himself because that was a seat of highest honor. And he went on to say that whosoever received the little child received him and whosoever received him received God.

And he was trying to say to the disciples this, he said, the 12 were chosen as his lieutenants, but a child you see occupied no place of honor, held no official position whatsoever. And Jesus was saying to his disciples this, he said, if you're prepared to spend your life serving and helping and loving people who in the eyes of the world do not matter at all, you are gonna be serving me and serving God if you'll do that.

He said, if you're prepared to spend your life doing those apparent unimportant things and never try to be what the world calls great, he said, you will be great in the eyes of the Lord. Start there with a child.

But then he goes on deeper. He says, also develop in your heart the characteristic of a child. Becoming as the youngest also means having the humility of a child as one who is willing to be taught rather than always being the teacher.

Go with me to Matthew, the 18th chapter. Matthew 18. Here's Matthew's account also. He said, at that time, the disciples came to Jesus saying, who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And he called a child to himself and set him before them again at the closest seat of honor.

And he said, truly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of God.

And whosoever receives one such child in my name receives me. You see, conversion means we become and we have the heart of a little child. And instead of being ruled by pride, we have humility. Instead of being withdrawn, we reach out to others in the body of Christ.

Do you ever see a healthy child emotionally? They love everybody. They'll go to everybody. A child has all kinds of questions. They want to learn. They have a teachable spirit. I remember when I was teaching a Sunday school class one time at my father's church.

And this one man kept wanting to control the class. He wanted to let everybody know how much he knew and how little I knew. And I got very disturbed. And I said, dad, I can't go on with this class anymore.

And he said, well, he said, son, he said, that spirit is wrong, but hang in there. But then he took me aside and he said, son, remember this. Every time you meet somebody, no matter how young you are or how much older you get in the Lord, every time you meet somebody, always ask yourself the question, what can I learn from that person?

What can I learn from that situation? In other words, my father would say, have the spirit of humility. And my friend, the moment that you stop being teachable, that's the moment you stop growing. There will never come a time when you don't need to grow and you don't need your other brothers and sisters in the body of Christ who have something to teach you if you have a heart to learn.

Luke 5, 19, if you want to turn to, if not, you can just listen. Jesus, again, talks about greatness. He said, whosoever then annuls or breaks one of the least of these commandments and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

But whosoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Now the motive to keep, now notice it says, whosoever keeps and teaches them. You got to keep them before you can teach them.

And the motive to keep the commandments of God comes out of a broken, a repentant, a childlike heart that says, oh Lord, I need this for myself. Reason I say that is, you're getting a lot of teaching in this church.

And when you come to the services, and especially when you come to the classes, please don't do this. As you listen to the teaching and go on and say, oh boy, I know just who that could apply to. Boy, and in fact, I can't wait to go back to my old church or I can't wait to get to my church and I can't wait to tell them.

You know what that's called? That's called pitchforking. You know, that's receiving it and then that's pitching it over your shoulder and say, I just know exactly who that's for and I want to pitch it right on their lap.

Now it's true, God may want you to teach others in time, but it says first keep, then teach. Have a spirit of humility, have the spirit of a child to admit your personal need for change. Then the Lord will use you to serve and to teach others.

I like what F .B. Meyer, who is a writer, some of you may know the name, he said this. He said, I used to think, listen to it. I used to think that God's gifts were on shells, one above the other, and that the taller we grew in Christian character, the more easily we could reach them.

I now find that God's gifts are on shells, one beneath the other, and that it is not a question of growing taller, but a stooping lower. Unless you become converted and have the spirit of a child and say, it's not my brother, it's not my sister, but it's me, oh Lord, in need of that teaching.

Greatness Is Measured by Servanthood

And Jesus said, whosoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. And we want to produce some great people in this church. Now, let me go on. Jesus, back in Luke 22, says also that true greatness is manifested by a spirit of serving rather than wanting to be served.

Read it again. Verse 25, the Lords of the Gentiles, the kings of the Gentiles lorded over them. Those who have authority over them, they're called benefactors, but not so with you. But let him that is the greatest among you become as the youngest and the leader as a servant.

And now he asked the question, he said, in the world among the Gentiles, who is greater? The one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? He said, isn't it not the one who reclines at the table who is the greatest outside the kingdom of God?

But he said, not so with you. And so when Jesus asked the question, who is greater? He is saying, who is greater, the consumer or the waiter? The one who sits down only always wanting to be blessed or the one who serves the tables?

I've got to give you my illustration. Some of you have seen. Some people come to church like this, feed me. Then when they get fed, they immediately want to go to this. That's not the Pope, that's a crown.

Feed me and then crown me. But Jesus said, he that would be greatest among you, who is the one who waits on the table? He says, here's the greatest in the kingdom of God. May I serve you? May I serve you?

That's the greatest in the kingdom of God. You see, today there is, you pardon my saying it this way, there is an American express card gospel today, making people gospel gluttons who will not leave home without the card.

They want a church, they want a preacher, they want a table where somebody strokes their ego, where they are given the promise that they will be fat cats in the kingdom of God. And Jesus said that there can be in the church today, a spirit of the kings of the Gentiles, who see themselves as the benefactors of spiritual authority and like the mother of James and John, they bow before Jesus, not in humility, but to command Jesus to give them the highest honors and the highest blessings.

And Jesus said, it ought not to be so among you. He said, I am among you as one who serves. Now, thank God for his faithful servants. And we've got many right here in Times Square Church. And I learned long time ago that that's what makes the wills of the church go around.

People who don't look for recognition, but people who want to serve more than be served. I remember a woman came after, I preach when I was traveling ministry and preaching, a dear sister came to me after the service.

And she approached me, she said, years ago, I read the cross and switchblade. And from that day on, the Lord put it on my heart to pray for your ministry. She said, I pray for you. I pray for David every day.

And I said, thank you. And I went on my way and I was appreciative. But as I went down, the Holy Spirit just stopped me in my tracks as it were and said, now, wait a minute, wait a minute. I want you to know what's going on here.

And then the verse came to me. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. And the Lord spoke to me and said, when we get to heaven, you are gonna have to stand in line behind that woman because she is the greatest in the kingdom of God.

Nobody knows her. Nobody knows about her service. It was just quiet service unto the Lord. A woman who had intercessory prayer. Nobody sees it. It's what we call secret warriors. And I thank God for them.