GREATNESS REDEFINED

Hello, I'm Ate Toya!

- Accounting and Business Management Teacher - Finance and Marketing, Rois Maire
Tailoring - musician and worship leader of our church - one of YP Leaders

I. REFRESH:

Last Saturday sa ating YP Meet, Nanay shared to us that we are all called to lead

James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we
want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” And He said to them, “What do you want Me
to do for you?” They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your
left, in Your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you
able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink;
and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. But to sit on My right or
on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” Hearing
this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. Calling them to Himself, Jesus *said
to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them;
and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but
whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be
first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but
to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:35-45 NASB1995

share what you remember

II. INTRODUCTION

Do you agree that we are all called to lead? We are all called to influence?

sabi ni John Maxwell:

even the most introverted person will influence 10,000 other people during his/her lifetime
We influence and get influenced in one way or another. Ex:
Your bosses- you- workmates- families
Teacher- students- classmates- family
High school, college, 1st work, 2nd work, churchmates

We encounter different sets of people in every season of our life. And every time it is an
opportunity to influence others.

We are all called to be a leader.

When God created you and me, He did so for a purpose. There is a role only you can fulfil.
We are created in His image, His masterpiece, created to fulfil the good works He has
established for us to do before the foundations of the world. Kaya nasabi ni Lord kay Jeremiah
that before he was formed in his mother's womb, He knew him and called him to be a prophet.
 Jeremiah 1:5 before I formed you in the womb, before you were born I consecrated
you, I have appointed you a prophet to the nations

*characters in the bible, everyone in the room

The same God who created the heavens and Earth knows us that well.
When we look up to the sky, the stars, and everywhere else from His vast creation, this is the
same God who cares for us deeply.

Di na ko lalayo, ako na lang nagBusiness Ad pa ko nung college but that did not stop God
from calling me as a teacher.
2016 - an opportunity opened
2019 - Answered and embraced my calling ng by taking educ units and seeing myself
pursuing and investing in this career

The calling is our destiny, the path God has created for us to walk in, but whether we get to
walk on that path depends on our attitude to God's call.
Ex. delayed LEPT
This is the difference between being called and being Chosen, being great in the eyes of God.

You know most of the leaders we know in the Bible were not elected. But rather they were
selected, they were chosen, because they have traits that the Lord has used to lead others to
know who God is.

leadership= manhigut
leader= manhig
verb= linhog
treating people, being consistent with your actions
Modern hebrew: used for driving a car

Thus, being a leader in Hebrew is not just a concept. It is a responsibility that comes with our
persistent character.

Mark 10:35-45 talks about

III. TRUE GREATNESS ACCORDING TO JESUS

A. (35-37) James and John request positions of status.

a. 37 Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in
Your glory:
Kahit paulit-ulit nang dinedeclare ni Jesus yung coming sufferings nya that time, the disciples
still thought that when Jesus got to Jerusalem, He would establish a political kingdom. James
and John see Jesus’ leadership as based on position and status. Paano natin nasabi:

i. The place of honor was the seat on the right. The place of second honor was
the seat on the left (1 Kings 2:19, Psalm 110:1). They asked for the two most
prestigious places in Jesus’ leadership.
 ii. This is because this is the standard of the world, for so many year since then
until now, many still look at leadership as the position and role they need to be called
of. Siguro even us there were times or even now, we are one those people

b. 35 Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask:

Their motivation is not actually a good one, cause during this time, nagcocompete ang mga 12
disciples kung sino ba ang greatest sa kanila. And guso nila maconfirm na sila yun.

B. (38-41) Jesus’ reply: think in terms of sacrifice, not self-glory.

a. 38 You do not know what you ask:

Since James and John still live under carnal ideas/by flesh regarding the life the Lord has
promised, hindi talaga nila naiintindihan what it would take to be great in the eyes ni Lord. Yet
it was not because Jesus had not told them.

But we could also understand here, and this is our first point
1. God's plan for us is a good life

James and John desiring to be great is not actually a bad thing. Jesus never told them not to desire
to be great, He wants them to be great, kaya He tells them how.

Do you believe that we are wired to desire great things?

When we were growing, what were your dream?

To be a Doctor, Lawyer, change the World, contribute significantly, to be the next Bill Gates,
President of the Philippines

even hindi sya natuloy we still desire to be excellent, to be great where we are right now, where the
Lord has placed us. Who doesn't want to be promoted? We desire to be promoted, to be
acknowledged, and commended, to do a great job in what we do.

You can act nonchalant and be cool about it but deep inside, we desire to be great. From time to
time we appreciate challenges. We want to be part of the solution.

As we serve the Lord, all we want to hear from our Abba Father was a job well done my good and
faithful servant.

genesis: man was given the authority, God commanded Adam, pangalanan mo yung mga animals,
and Adam wanted to do well and please God.

But what happened? Sin came in, sin distorted the desire for greatness
Going back to our story

b. 39 You will indeed drink the cup that I drink:

Perhaps when Jesus said this, napasmile siguro si James and John. Akala nila, yes, nanalo
kami. However, si Jesus alam nya what the baptism they asked for was all about. He knew
 that it was a baptism of suffering. And after that:

C. (42-45) Jesus describes true greatness.

a. 42 Those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them:
People’s desire for position and status showed they didn’t know the nature of Jesus yet, in
respect to leadership and power, those who see leadership as sef-serving, prestige, and
power to take control other, they still don’t understand the leadership and life Jesus desire for
us

i. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you Jesus is rebuking this practice, he

does not agree to this mindset and practice. Plainly, He is telling us not to operate the
way the world does. Kaya He said:

b. 43 Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant:

In the eyes of God, status, money, and popularity are not the prerequisites for leadership.
Humble service is the greatest (and only) prerequisite, as displayed by Jesus’ own ministry.

c. 45 Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve:
Highest priority when handling people is the welfare of your subject ofcourse. Many people are
taking a leadership role for what they can receive (either materially or emotionally) from their
people instead of for what they can give.

This is our number 2 point:

2. Become a servant

When I was in college hindi pa ko Christian, this is the motto of our Department Org.
To serve and not to be served.
Sabi ko uy ganda sige sali ako when I was asked to join. Pero initially ofcourse, my motivation that
time to hold a position sa org is not pure. Gusto ko lang ng excuse not to attend classes, gusto ko
yung privileges that being an officer gives, pinapadala sa ibang schools, naghehead ng mga
events, early exposure sa corporate world, and connection sa mga alumni.

When I got in, I realized it is more than that:

You will have to sacrifice your time and resources,
There was no regular funds so you will have to make a way to serve the 2000 students you are
meant to serve, kami yung may pinakamaraming student sa College of Business noon

And if you see yourself as a leader called by God, whether sa school nyo, work, church, you are
not serving people but you are serving God. When you are leading with God as your boss, sa
kanya ka sasagot, the desire to lead His people better follows.

And the only way to please God is to have the humility and willingness to submit to God. To know
Him and obey Him.

being a servant-leader is not about setting your dream aside, it's about God's purpose becomes our
ultimate direction of our dreams
 3. Empower others

Jesus gave us the best demonstration of empowering and serving others.

45 says And to give His life a ransom for many
He gave His life as a ransom for all. Jesus died for you and for me. 2000 years later, this divine
exchange still stands. He died so we can have life and have it to the full. So we can receive the life
good life sin has distorted. We can experience God’s promises through Jesus.

Just like Jesus, if we want to be servant-leaders, We look at others the same way Jesus looked at
them, they are to be empowered.

They are to be given an opportunity to be saved and redeemed by God, to be forgiven and free, to
receive the fullness of life.

The least we could do to empower them is to take part in their faith journey, just like Jesus did.

Here’s 3 keys to influence

-Ps. Rick Wilkerson, Senior pastor of a megachurch in Miami, with 1M follower

a. Encourage
Encouragement costs nothing to give but is priceless to receive
b.Model
Leaders teach what they know and reproduce who they are
c. Coach
Call out potential and bring awareness, evaluate and come up with solutions

True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It comes only from influence.
When you influence their character, development, or behavior.

As the number of people we meet grows, so does the responsibility to steward it.

treating people, being consistent with your actions, remember this is the root of being a leader
We can not do this on our own,
Allow Jesus in our hearts to lead us.

important yeses in life:

receiving Jesus
marriage partner
commiting to serve

matured leader: seeking not to be served but how to serve them better, empower and bring change

self-awareness: what you can give, to the need of others and the community