Rev. Dr. Bryan Z. Kile
Gulf Prairie Presbyterian Church
Jones Creek, Texas
March 9, 2008
Do you find yourself always comparing yourself with others? Maybe not by thinking, "I'm better looking than her/him;" but maybe in wishing you had something like they have. I'm no economist, but I believe that the economic crisis in which our country finds itself today is significantly based on the mortgage mess in the so-called sub-prime loan market. I suspect that many people bought more house than they needed or could afford. Whether it was to "keep up" with someone else, or to show their family and friends how successful they are or possibly to prove to themselves they could do it, they bought into something that put them in over their head.
We all compare ourselves with others in some way or another. It might be cars - you know how that goes: "Wow, I sure would like to have a car like that!" It could be houses, "I wish I lived in that neighborhood." Or, "I wish we had a bigger house." Today, it might be, "I wish we had a more efficient car or house."
Sometimes it is our looks or appearance. According to news clips I see on TV from time to time, the plastic surgery business is booming. There are a lot of people out there paying lots of money to change their appearance to make themselves more beautiful or handsome, or more attractive to the opposite sex. The media seems to really play it up that you need to have a certain look, a slim or muscular body, if you want to be successful. Of course, you have to buy this product or that in order to gain that "look." The trend is being promoted at younger and younger ages. I read a piece from the New York Times just last week about a seven-year-old girl, along with a group or her friends and her three-and-a-half year old sister, who were all at a salon getting manicures, pedicures and "mini-makeovers," to celebrate the seven-year-old's birthday.
Youth are always putting pressure on each other to conform in certain ways. When I married Linda, her daughter, Allison, would spend half an hour each night before bedtime trying to decide what top went with which jeans or slacks, so she would "fit in" with the right group at school. Our move to Australia brought about an interesting situation for her. When we went to sign her up for school, the principal mentioned something about uniforms, and we could see a funny, disapproving look come over her. When we got back to our car, she hit us with that question: "Do I have to wear a uniform?" The answer, of course, was, "Yes, that's the way they do it here." Allison was not at all happy about that. The first couple of days she grudgingly put on that "awful looking" uniform and we drove her in silence to the school bus. Along about the third day, she said to us, rather nonchalantly, "You know, these uniforms aren't bad. I don't have to spend a lot of time deciding what to wear each night, so I am getting an extra half-hour of sleep."
Friends, there are dozens of ways we compare ourselves to others or try to be like them or work to be different from them. We draw comparisons all the time, and you know something? It's a waste of time and often a sinful thing to do. Think for a moment: Did you say something this past week like, "Gee, I wish I had a top like hers?" Or "Wow, I sure would like to have a car like his?" Have you made any kind of comparison such as that?
You know, you even do it with your faith practices, don't you? You may say (or think) something like, "She/he spends an hour everyday in prayer and Bible study. I wish I could find the time to do that." Or, "He/she knows the Bible so well, I sure would like to be able to quote it like they do." The Bible says, "God has had it with the proud, But takes delight in just plain people. So be content with who you are, and don't put on airs. God's strong hand is on you; he'll promote you at the right time." (1 Peter 5:5b-6 Msg.)
That's where John the Baptist seemed to be in our text today. Do you think maybe he was a little bit jealous? After all, here he sits in prison and Jesus is out there getting all kinds of crowds following him. John used to have the crowds following him, but when Jesus came along, he recognized his cousin as the Messiah and announced that to the crowds. Most of them followed Jesus after that. Then John gets arrested for condemning the sinfulness of Herod, and in our text today, we find him sitting in prison . When the man he believed to be the Messiah does nothing about John's situation, John begins to wonder if he was wrong. Can't you just hear John talking with his disciples? "What's with Jesus? He's my cousin, yet He doesn't seem to care about my situation. Why doesn't He do something to get me out of here? I thought He was the Messiah. If He is, He should know things look pretty grim for me. Why isn't He helping me? Why me, God?" John should have recalled the Proverb that says, "A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones." (Proverbs 14:30 NLT)
You have all had times when you've wondered why God hasn't helped you. You have probably all had times when you see others healed or prospering or in some way or another doing better than you. And you've wondered about God's love and mercy. I'll read someone's story of the miracle God has worked in their life and I wonder, "Why not me? Why hasn't God healed my eye?" I know Linda and I have sure been praying for that - and quite a few of you have told me you've been praying for that, too. I don't have an answer for that question. I do know that God has an answer. But, He has chosen not to reveal it to me - at least not at this time.
I can understand where John was coming from, can't you? I think I would have been wondering about this guy Jesus, too. If He is the Messiah, if He is the Son of God as He claims, and as Aunt Mary claims, surely He knows what to do. Surely, He knows I need to get out of this prison and maybe even disappear. He had questions and needed some answers. So John sends his remaining followers (his disciples) to ask Jesus that all-important question. Are you really who you claim to be?
Now, Jesus' response is very interesting. He doesn't say, "Yes, go back and tell John that I am the Messiah." What Jesus says, in effect, is, "What do you think?" Jesus then reminds them of what He has done, pointing back to the Old Testament prophecies of the coming of the Messiah. Isaiah said, "When he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will shout and sing!" (Isaiah 35:5-6 NLT)
We can learn a great deal from how Jesus responds to John's question. First, He doesn't say, "Of course I am the Messiah. I have done great and marvelous things. I worked miracles greater than any man before me." The lesson for us today is this: Let your good works stand as testimony to your faith. There is no need to go around telling everyone what a great person you are. There is no need to announce to the world how much you give to the church or what great things you have done for Christ. Jesus, I believe is saying, "Let your good deeds stand on their own merit, you don't need to be like the Pharisees and blow a trumpet to announce what you have done."
The other important point to note in Jesus' response was this: "The Good News is being preached to the poor." (Matthew 11:5b NLT) Notice again, what Jesus did not say. He did not say, "Many people have recognized me as the Messiah and proclaimed me as their Lord and Savior." He simply said, "the Good News is being preached." I believe that is important to note, because what is important to Jesus was not how many followed Him. What was important to Him was the simple fact that people were hearing the Good News. That's what you need to be doing: Telling others the Good News.
On a flight from Atlanta to Chicago in July 2004, nine U.S. soldiers--home from Iraq on a two-week leave--were among the passengers. Before one of the soldiers boarded, a passenger traded his first class ticket for the soldier's coach ticket. As the plane was boarding, other passengers asked to trade their first class seats for the coach seats occupied by the remaining soldiers. Devilla Evans, a flight attendant on the American Airlines flight, said "It was a privilege to be flying with those two groups of unselfish people: those who would put their lives on the line to protect their fellow citizens' freedom, and those who were not ashamed to say thank you."
You don't need to rack up notches on your belt (or on your Bible) for the number of people who, through your testimony, have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. What He is saying is, share what you know, how Jesus has affected your life, with those whom you see on a day to day basis. God already knows who will accept that invitation and who will reject Him. But He never forces anyone to come to Him. He waits for them to hear the Good News and then prods them to respond and receive their new life in Christ. But someone needs to tell them. And in many cases, that someone is you.
Jesus did not hide who He was. I believe He was saying the same thing to John and to us. Don't hide the fact that you belong to Jesus. Show the world your faith and tell them what you believe. Now, I know that is a scary thing for many of you. That is the reason I believe you need to be actively participating in Sunday School and Bible study. That is the only way to really know the Word of God well enough to be able to answer people's questions when you share the Good News.
I read an interesting account of top company executives by Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal columnist and special advisor to President Reagan. She wrote that as she visited one top executive, he was reviewing annual reports from other companies. She asked what he looked for in those reports. He told her that all such executives look to see what kind of salary and perks the others get. Isn't it surprising that top execs want to compare themselves with others? We all do that a bit, don't we. You look at those other folks and think, "With my experience, I should be getting more." Or, "With my education, I should be leading this group not him/her." That's kind of what John the Baptist was doing. He may have been thinking, "I've been doing this preaching stuff longer. Why am I the one in jail and Jesus is the one out there getting the accolades from the crowd?"
The Bible is very clear that you should not go about promoting yourself in comparison to others. You know, like, "I do more than anyone else around here." The Bible cautions against such comparisons. Paul wrote to the Romans, "Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us." (Romans 12:3b NLT) In writing to the Corinthians, Paul said, "We wouldn't dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!" (2 Corinthians 10:12 NLT)
Someone has said, "You can do anything if you don't care who gets the credit." That is the example the Apostle Paul gave us. Not only did he tell us not to compare ourselves with others, as I mentioned a moment ago, he also gave us a wonderful example in his own lifestyle. When we read of his missionary journeys, we discover that he did not come back to his home base celebrating what he had done. He did not come back with a "head count,"of X-number of people he led to Christ or how many new churches he had started. What we see is, "Paul went with us to visit James; and all the elders were present. After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry." (Acts 21:18-19 NRSV) Another time we read, "They called the church together and related all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles." (Acts 14:27 NRSV) You see, what those texts say? Each time, Paul related what God had done.
Friends, it is important to your character as a Christian to not try to compare yourself in any way with another person. Always try to give God the credit for whatever you do, how you look, what you have in material goods.
The Jewish poet and storyteller Noah ben Shea tells a parable that serves as a valuable reminder of the roles we play in life: After a meal, some children turned to their father, Jacob, and asked if he would tell them a story. "A story about what?" asked Jacob. "About a giant," squealed the children. Jacob smiled, leaned against the warm stones at the side of the fireplace, and his voice turned softly inward. "Once there was a boy who asked his father to take him to see the great parade that passed through the village. The father, remembering the parade from when he was a boy, quickly agreed, and the next morning the boy and his father set out together. As they approached the parade route, people started to push in from all sides, and the crowd grew thick. When the people along the way became almost a wall, the father lifted his son and placed him on his shoulders. Soon the parade began and as it passed, the boy kept telling his father how wonderful it was and how spectacular were the colors and images. The boy, in fact, grew so prideful of what he saw that he mocked those who saw less, saying, even to his father, 'If only you could see what I see.'
"But," said Jacob staring straight in the faces of the children, "what the boy did not look at was why he could see. What the boy forgot was that once his father, too, could see." Then, as if he had finished the story, Jacob stopped speaking. "Is that it?" said a disappointed girl. "We thought you were going to tell us a story about a giant." "But I did," said Jacob. "I told you a story about a boy who could have been a giant."
"How?" squealed the children. "A giant," said Jacob, "is anyone who remembers we are all sitting on someone else's shoulders." "And what does it make us if we don't remember?" asked the boy. "A burden," answered Jacob.
A man who forgot this lesson was standing in the line and the Motor Vehicle Department with his wife, waiting to renew their driver's licenses. As the head of a large company, he was rather frustrated with the slow progress they were making. He grumbled to his wife, "Don't they know who I am?" She replied, "Yeah, you're a plumber's son who got lucky."
Friends, you cannot, you must not, compare yourselves to one another. Whether it be on the basis of looks, or prestige, or money, or faith, or any other attribute, or possession. When you begin to do that, you miss the whole point of being Christians and being part of the Body of Christ. Together we are the church and each has a part to play that is just as important as the part someone else plays. Each of you has special gifts with which to serve God. Some can do things others can't; and others can do things that can't be done anyone else. You are all special in God's sight and He wants each of you to be that special person He created!
The Bible reminds us, "Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18 NLT) I like the way Gene Peterson's paraphrase, The Message, puts it: "First pride, then the crash--the bigger the ego, the harder the fall." (Proverbs 16:18 Msg.) Jesus taught the lesson in several different ways. Speaking about His Kingdom, He said, "Many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then." (Mark 10:31 NLT) Another time He said, "What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?" (Luke 9:25 NLT)
A strong young man at a construction site was bragging that he could outdo anyone in a feat of strength. He made a special case of making fun of the older workmen. After several minutes, one older worker had had enough. "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?" he said. "I'll bet a week's wages that I can haul something in a wheelbarrow over to that building that you won't be able to wheel back." "You're on, old man," the young worker replied. The older man reached out and grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles. Then he turned to the young man and said, "All right. Get in."
Prayer:
Gracious and loving God: Help us all to give You the glory for all that we are and all that we do.
You are God over all the earth, so we thank You for the gifts You have given us, for the talents
and skills we have. May we live our lives in ways that are pleasing to You and always seek to
serve You rather than ourselves. In Jesus name. Amen.
__________________________
Sermon September 23, 2007
Sermon September 30, 2007
Sermon October 7, 2007
Sermon October 14, 2007
Sermon October 21, 2007
Sermon October 28, 2007
Sermon November 4, 2007
Sermon November 11, 2007
Sermon November 18, 2007
Sermon November 25, 2007
Sermon December 2, 2007
Sermon December 9, 2007
Sermon December 16, 2007
Sermon December 23, 2007
Sermon December 24, 2007
December 30, 2007 - Guest speaker, transcript not available
Sermon January 6, 2008
Sermon January 13, 2008
Sermon January 20, 2008
Sermon January 27, 2008
Sermon February 3, 2008
Sermon February 10, 2008
Sermon February 17, 2008
Sermon February 24, 2008
Sermon March 2, 2008
(Please note: At this point in time, we are only able to keep the last few weeks' messages available. As a result, links to
earlier sermons on previous sermon pages may not work.)
If you have questions about this message or wish to contact Dr. Kile for further information, feel free to e-mail him at pastor@gulf-prairie.org