Don't Miss Moments - Week 4 - The CORE - Pastor Tim Glende
Don't Miss Moments
Week 4 The CORE
Pastor Tim Glende
Once again, welcome to week number 4 of our Don't Miss Moments in the life of Jesus. As we continue our journey to the cross and the empty tomb during our journey through the Gospel of Luke. The G.O.A.T.. My guess is, if I ask you by a show of hands, how many of you know what that acronym stands for? The G.O.A.T.. Couple weeks ago I was flying back from my vacation in Mexico and I love some airplanes where you can actually have Wi-Fi on it. You can watch on your phone or on the screen in front of you live sporting events my way of getting through airplane travel and I was watching the March Madness release of the brackets would all of a sudden, everything stop and pause because the G.O.A.T. was coming back. Now you might not like it that Tom Brady is referred to as the goat because most of your Packer fans and your little bias to your players, but most experts would call him that. You know why? Seven. Who The Seven Rings that he wears? Asked a player in the NFL who plays the toughest position around. Seven Super Bowls, more than any other player of all time in history.
But then you get into other sports and that acronym, that goat is definitely debatable because there's a lot of subjectivity. It take basketball, for example. If you're a person, my age, you would say, Michael. Jordan is the goat. The best player ever, three championships in a row, two times with different players. Never lost, ever when he got to the NBA Championship. What if he thinks that LeBron James would squash? Michael Jordan?
And then if some of you who are older, you would say, hey, have you ever heard of this guy named wilt? Like Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game. Pretty hard to accomplish that. And maybe we could talk about the goat when it comes to music. But that would probably get a little bit ugly to Tainan. What kind of music you like and prefer and what era you're from and Pastor Mike's in the back going. “Come on Pastor Tim like drop it. It's Justin Bieber. No questions asked.”
And that could get a little ugly because you probably have thoughts on who the G.O.A.T. is when it comes to music or albums or artists. And I'm not going to go down the path of arguing who the G.O.A.T. is when it comes to American presidents. Because fists might fly here today.
Which all leads into our question that I want to wrestle with the day and our don't miss moment from the life of Jesus. Because when we talk about greatness in our world today, a lot of people define it differently.
Have argued and debated on whether or not. He was great whether they believe it to be true. And why it's true.
So when it comes to greatness, I want you to wrestle with this, we're going to dig into this. We're going to look at it. Don't Miss Moments in Jesus’ life. Don't get an answer of How It's defined for Him. How do you define greatness? If you look it up in a dictionary, you can find something like this greatness is defined as being larger than ordinary size or ability.
Being higher in degree or importance as in skill, achievement or power.
Because here's the thing, most of us would agree when it comes to how you define greatness. In those debates on who's the greatest. Well, there might be an argument of those people have all made the list because There's something very. That you can see. But for most people they would say, you know greatness when you see it, you call something and someone as great because of something they've done that's tangible. And while the debate on who the greatest might be is often times subjective based on preference or are has the objectivity of setting someone apart as being great described as greatness. It's fairly objective.
And so today, as we dig into this section, from Luke chapter 7, when I pray, you leave with us two things.
What a very clear definition. How we define greatness when it comes to Jesus. But also understanding why it matters. Why he's different than people who might be have that title greatest of all time here on Earth or in an area specialty. What sets him apart. And finally, why it matters for you. That this Don't Miss Moment. As a very important truth. For your life and relationship with God.
We're going to see Jesus life, 2,000 years ago, approximately an event that happened, a Don't Miss Moment. And when I pray that you bless that, you'll be blessed in knowing what makes Jesus. So great. Luke chapter 7 verses 11 through 12. Begin our story soon afterward. Jesus went to a town called Nain and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. Now Nain was about five miles southwest of Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth, and was about 25 miles away from Capernaum, Jesus headquarters for most of his ministry of in the northern region of Galilee, not down in the South, where Jerusalem lies. These are the early years of Jesus ministry. And in Jesus, doing what Jesus had become known to do. In fact, he told his disciples time and time again, we have to take the Gospel to different places, different cities. And so she uses on the road traveling from one place to another. He's about to enter the city of Nain, approached the town gate. A dead person was being carried out. The only son of his mother and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. Then there was a large crowd, Luke records for us, are traveling from one city to another. They had just come from Jesus healing someone who had a fever. They had just probably heard Jesus delivering a message and a powerful sermon. And, no doubt, this large crowd, moving along the road different people in different parts of it were having conversations.
Some of the disciples talking off on one side to each other about the great thing that they had just seen Jesus do and another group people in there having a conversation about, did you hear what? He said? How amazing was that? And I can imagine the volume was was high and the joy was real. But that large crowd coming into this city now, met head on a large crowd, leaving the city. But had completely different emotions in play.
And there was nothing great about the scene that Jesus and this crowd encountered. When they saw the crowd, exiting with a dead body on a bier, basically a outside, a coffin of sorts at the table that he was carried on, getting out of the city to be buried.
I imagine the volume level came down from Jesus crowd because the weeping the wailing that the sadness of the other crowd was real.
And let's just be honest from an earthly perspective. There's nothing great about this.
Like with Jesus and his crowd was encountering, were people having lost someone near and dear to them. In fact, Luke recounts for us that this is probably about as bad as it could get. As a pastor, and I can speak for our other 4 pastors, no funeral is worse than when you are speaking to parents, who are burying a child. It’s just not supposed to work that way. You're not supposed to outlive your kids. It's not the way it's supposed to go.
And it's in that setting as those two crowds converge on each other at the city gate where Jesus steps in. And my friends, you don't want to miss the moment.
Let's look at what happens next for us. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said don't cry. Then he went up and touched the Bier. They were carrying him on and the bearers stood still. He said “Young man, I say to you get up. The dead man sat up and began to talk and Jesus gave him back to his mother. Now in those words, there are two “Don't Miss Moments'' and I want you to see both of them. I'm going to unpack them it because it matters for our definition of how we define greatness when it comes to Jesus Christ. What makes him truly great, greater than any person who's ever lived, the greatness of Jesus. Write in there. Maybe write them down to see if you can catch them.
There's one that you didn't miss. It's exactly what Jesus did right there at the end and Jesus stops the crowd in the tracks touches the bier, the coffin that the man is being carried out on that platform. And Jesus did something that I've never seen anyone do at the death of a loved one. I mean, I've seen people talk to them. I've seen people weep. I've seen some people give their loved one, a kiss for one final time, but I've never heard a single person in that moment. They get up.
No, they will not.
And that's what makes this moment. One that no one that day missed and when that we can't either, Because in that moment, Jesus speaks the words says, “Get up” and the young man. the dead man, rises to life and Jesus says to his mom, take your son home.
They didn't miss it. Like look at the crowd's reaction to what Jesus did in that moment. The crowd after Jesus gives that child back to his mother. We're all filled with awe and praised. God, a great prophet has appeared among Us. They said, God has come to help his people and this news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. Like people started hearing about Jesus, Luke chapters 1 and 2 record.
Early Childhood, Luke 3 records for us John the Baptists arrival, Jesus baptism chapter 4, we see his temptation chapters 5 & 6, he's doing some teaching, he's got us some a little bit of healing. He sent out and called some disciples. But now in this moment the crowd is recognizing, we've heard the rumors of this man is a great prophet. In other words, what they're saying is we can know and identify greatness when we see it.
And yet they missed the moment just a little bit. Jesus, as a great prophet. A prophet, maybe someone sent from God.
But they missed the mark on what? True greatness.
That was on display here was not just a prophet sent from God. The God himself.
My guess is many who are in that crowd that day. Some who were Jesus and some who were in the funeral procession. When they saw this happen when they saw Jesus, touch, that, that body when they saw that, that young boy raised to life. They thought about another great profit from some 700 years earlier.
Man, by the name of Elijah had done the same thing. He had healed up a widow son. Her only son.
Which is why they pitied called Jesus, a great prophet, but but what Elijah did in what Jesus did were different? But if you look at the story of the Widow of Zarephath and Elijah and that that boy being raised to life. Elijah three times called on God to step in and raise that He raised that boy. Jesus didn't stop and pray, and ask God to act. Jesus as God acted Jesus Is God and In this moment Jesus did something that only God can do like the greatness of God if we want to use the world's definition is doing something that no one else can do having skills and attributes and carrying it out in a way that trumps everyone else. Well, my friend, There is no one ever who has lived. Who could do what Jesus did right there? Like, doctors can revive someone whose heart has stopped with medicine and and technique. But raising someone who is truly dead and this young man would have been truly dead for days and in that culture and era, where a funeral goes on for several days as family and friends, come together until you finally go out to the cemetery to bury them. Jesus In This Moment revealed his greatness as God.
You performing this miracle?
Talk about the G.O.A.T. in our world. We attributed to stats and achievements and actions.
And Jesus in this moment, the miracles of God, the things that he did, that only God can do reveal just that. And in this of all the miracles, my friends, trumps every other one because Jesus had power over death, the ability to give life.
Which is why the crowd reacted with praise, which is why the songwriter encourages Christians to do the same. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise His greatness. No one can fathom. Can't understand. It can't comprehend. It can't even explain it because none of us are truly God. How could God do that? He's God. All he has to do is speak the words and it can happen. That's crazy. I can't dip that. You're right.
That Don't Miss Moment revealed to the crowd reveals to us. Jesus greatness.
But that's not the only thing that defines greatness when it comes to Jesus. And it might be what you missed. About that moment. The second don't miss moment in our text helps us Define greatness when it in regards to Jesus.
It's verse 13 if you forgot it, here it is again. When the Lord saw her. His heart went out to her.
Like you might have missed in the moment, those words because a moment later Jesus touched that beer and raised that boy.
You might have missed in the moment that in verse 12 Loop record for us. Jesus in the crowd. We're going to name in verse 15. Luke writes the word Jesus in reference to the person who
At the end, the word about the message about Jesus. Began to spread. But inspired by God Luke chapter verse 13 changes. The title for the one who's acting. And there's got to be a reason. And I don't want you to miss it.
When the Lord saw her.
The mother. The one whose heart was broken and breaking.
I want his life. Was turned upside down the one who had lost her husband, and now her Her only son.
When the Lord saw her.
His heart.
So He went out to her.
And my friends, Jesus did something in that moment that we can't miss. It does reveal his greatness. But what this also reveals what makes Jesus greatness and what defines greatness for Jesus differently than any other human being who's ever lived it different than almost anyone who's on the list of the goat as the G.O.A.T. at in any sport or in any field.
It's the Lord. The name for the one who sings. The name of God, that reveals his heart for her sinful human beings. The name of the one, whose heart breaks and aches for people. Like almighty all-powerful. God spoke word that everything came to be Almighty, powerful. God, Jesus in that moment. Simply said get up. And that boy got up, but what makes? Jesus greatness different, it's not just what he did.
It's part of it. What makes Jesus grade is both the what? But what sets him apart and his greatness is also the why
Like Tom Brady has this crazy diet. Tom Brady goes through, this ridiculously crazy, workout Regimen, Tom Brady stays in such great shape and and practices day after day, to be great at his craft. For Tom Brady, not because, of me or anybody else here. He does it for him.
Like greatness defined by simply. What you do is normally what we view it, as it's very objective, but but Jesus is different. His greatness is not just about the what. But it's even more importantly, the why?
You and me.
Oh, that woman on the street that day by The City Gate of name. This Heart.
This heart goes out to sinful, broken human beings. In their time of hurt when they need help. When they're affected by sin or overcome by guilt, the greatness of Jesus is not just the what he did, but the why he did it.
Is that more than another day when he was led outside of The City Gate.
And on that day, there would not have been anyone who had looked at Jesus and said he's the greatest. Because bloodied and beaten carrying across, it was the symbol of Shame. In the worst treatment, anyone would get by the Roman government.
The people on the streets that day. We're not shouting how great he was. They were shouting crucify him. Kill him.
And yet the night before Jesus revealed.
Why he was doing that and the why behind it? Jesus said this to his disciples on Thursday evening of Holy Week. That took place. You said greater love. Has no one than this.
His friends.
And while the world will look at and said that is not greatness. The what Jesus did that they get laying down his life had a big huge. Why behind it? His love for you and me. The same way that he, his heart went out to that woman, that day at that gate, his heart went out to you and to me. As he was nailed to the cross as he was forsaken by God.
Has, he said it was finished?
Yes, Jesus for you. And for me my friends, just like for the woman on that street that day, his heart is gone out for us. In the cross, Reveals His greatness, the what? And also, the why?
And here's why Jesus greatness. And this miracle are life-changing for you and me. Three times in Jesus ministry three times. He stopped and he paused and he raised the dead like he did. A lot of other amazing Miracles that helped reveal his greatness. Like he changed five loaves of bread and two fish into a meal for 5,000. Plus he he walked on water. He healed, the deaf. He he allowed the blind to see, he healed 10 lepers and people with diseases that no one else could cure and he changed their life forever, but
Three times Jesus did. Did the great act of raising someone from the dead? The what? And every time there was a lie. It's hard for breaking people.
And I want you to hold on to that greatness because one day. Unless Jesus returns return sooner you and I will face death. That not so great moment. You and I will go through having a maybe bury someone we love and they'll be brokenness and hurt.
I want you to remember why he did it and the greater love has no one than this is selfless, love that laid down his life for you and me so that we might cross over from death to life. One day that because of Jesus and his greatness both the what and the why, you know will happen to you one day. What makes him stand apart and be on a level of the greatest of all time in a different way than anyone who's ever lived? You do that same very thing for you and me. Because the one who left that city, not looking so great, rose three days later to reveal his greatness. He has power over death. He has power over the grave. He has power over death, three times. You raise someone, he himself was raised from the dead. He raised himself, took back to life and one day my friends. He will raise you and I to life the greatness of Jesus will take us even when we breathe our last, right? To the Gates of Heaven and into his open arms where we will spend eternity.
That's why I want you to hold on to Jesus is so different.
Jesus himself told us that in these words from John's gospel. I want to leave them with you because he reveals it for the father, loves the son and shows him. All he does. Yes, he will show him even Greater Works than these so that you will be amazed. Greater things. Jesus said for just as the father, raises the dead and gives them life even. So the son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it very truly. I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged. What has crossed over from death to life. Very truly. I tell you a time is coming and has now come, when the dead, will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live the greatness of God my friends for you.
And for me, just like for that man, that day in in our future, Jesus greatness leads to greater things for you. And for me, at least a life with God for you. And for me, it means that one day, one day. Jesus will raise Adam and Noah and every person who has ever lived and believed in Jesus from the dead, put their bodies back together. Go and give them life and their bodies will be glorious. Jesus greatness. The living one will lead to greater things for you and for me. Which is what Martha knew.
After her brother died.
Things you can raise people from the dead and Jesus told Martha. I am the resurrection of life.
Believes In Me will live even though he dies, whoever lives and Believes In Me will never will never will never die.
You might stop breathing here, but never die. Move from life to life. And you know what? That's only possible. Because of the what and the why. That makes Jesus great. Like we can debate, who's the greatest of all time music or politics or or any sport that you want to mention one of the streets of named that day. What Jesus did leaves. No Doubt.
His greatness.
And that don't miss moment has given us. Don't ever forget definition.
Jesus. Great is both the what?
And the why?
And that's you. And that'll lead to greater things. Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, like you have defined for us and that don't miss a moment of Jesus that they true greatness a miracle. Something only. God can do sadly, sometimes. Lord me Miss use that word like we call things miracles that maybe aren't.
But on the streets that day of Jesus, you revealed your greatness and not just in the what you did because because that is great. But the why is what sets you apart. That's saving God, the God of mercy of the Lord, the one who saves. Your heart goes out to hurting people. And your heart stopped that day on the cross for us hurting people. There is no greater love that. The world has ever known, then the person who laid down his life so that we might be called your friends or let us hold on to this moment to see the definition of your greatness. And always cling to the why?
Because Jesus greatness will lead to greater things for all the belief in heaven for eternity. I pray these things Lord, in your powerful name. Amen.
