- [Instructor] Welcome to a grace digital presentation.
In this video, we discuss the secrets of kingdom greatness.
Greatness is embedded in every one of us.
It also has to do with principles.
When we follow these principles,
they become principles of greatness.
Following these principles ensures
that there can be something more at the end of life
to look forward to than a tombstone.
Let's take a look at Paul formerly known as Saul.
Paul achieved greatness.
And in one of his final words, as recorded in the Bible,
he says, for I am already being poured out
like a drink offering and the time for my departure is near.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith.
Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord the righteous judge
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
He looked forward to something more
than just a tombstone at the end of his life.
He looked forward to a crown,
the crown of righteousness which the Lord,
the righteous judge will award him on that day,
and not only to him, but also to all who have longed
for his appearing and continue to exemplify
Kingdom greatness in their walk with God while on Earth.
In the Bible, we see Paul carry
a certain native greatness within him.
As an example, he was born of religious parents,
having good parents is a huge advantage in life.
Paul's parents injected religious blood into his system
to the point that he described himself
as the Pharisee of the Pharisees.
Paul was born in the business city of Tarsus
as a Roman citizen, a citizenship that was highly prized
and paid for at great expense
by many in the empire at the time.
Acts 22:27 and 28.
The commander went to Paul and asked,
tell me, are you a Roman citizen?
Yes, I am, he answered.
Then the commander said,
I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.
But I was born a citizen, Paul replied.
Acts 22:27 and 28.
Tarsus was also known as an intellectual city
with educational institutions.
He lived in a place with world thinking.
Ships from all over the world entered the port.
He would also see the returning armies
with their trophies of world conquest at their feet.
Meeting people from all cultures,
Paul began to realize how much God cared
for everyone in the world.
Yet neither has Roman citizenship,
nor has great education in Jewish law
under Gamaliel's feet made Paul great.
The secret to Paul's greatness was his choices.
To establish the cause of Paul's greatness,
we must return to the three things
he said in Romans 1:14 through 16.
I am obligated both to Greeks and to non Greeks,
both to the wise and the foolish.
That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel
also to you who are in Rome.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
because it is the power of God
that brings salvation to everyone who believes,
first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
First of all, Paul was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
he boldly stated, for I am not ashamed of the gospel.
At this time, Paul was speaking
to an empire which had thousands of gods,
but he held Jesus Above all saying, I am not ashamed.
The Romans had all kinds of mythology at hand.
They followed Zeus, Mars and many more.
But Paul courageously proclaimed Jesus as Lord of all,
even at the cost of great suffering, imprisonment and death.
One can adopt all the great philosophies of humanity
and praise them with the wise words they say,
but none of them will save a soul from hell.
None of them are going to lift
a man higher than his bootstraps.
But the gospel of Jesus will lift a man
out of the trench of despair,
and give him something to live and die for.
Secondly, he demonstrated a willingness
to proclaim the gospel in Rome or the ends of the earth.
Not only was he not ashamed of the gospel,
he was also ready to preach it.
He said, I am ready to preach to you there in your city.
The lack of preparation of the church in the last 2000 years
has left the church with a sad mark.
The Church of God has not been ready for anything.
Study every great man of God known to the world,
and every time it is the same.
The church was not ready for them.
God has often spoken to individuals
or groups to do something for him, and the answer was,
we are not ready.
The truth is that if God didn't believe you were ready,
he wouldn't have asked you to do the thing at all.
When we answer God in this way, we say, God, I know better.
I know you've asked me to do something,
but I don't think I'm ready.
The moment you think you are ready,
the world as you know it, would have changed so much
that you would no longer be needed.
When God says that you should do something,
he does not mean that you should discuss it
with another person.
He means that you should do it.
He does not mean that you have to run around
looking for help.
He only wants you to do it.
The third thing that made Paul great
is at the beginning of the verse where Paul says,
I am a debtor, he had not borrowed money
or bought a tent on credit.
It was not a physical debt.
He spoke of the highest debt in the world,
which was spiritual and moral.
If some scientist or doctor were to find some great answer
to a disease and kept it to himself, he wouldn't be great.
If one were also to try to make a fortune
off some new invention or medical care,
he or she would be forgotten.
However, if these discoveries are unselfishly
given to the world, the inventors or scientists involved
would never be forgotten.
Paul had an abundance of revelation from God.
He was indebted to the world.
He was compelled to share the revelation
of Christ he had received,
he owed it to the world to tell them
how he was wonderfully converted and saved.
Until you feel this moral debt,
and know that you are responsible
for saving the man next door,
until you feel that you cannot stop praying
until the family across the street comes to Jesus,
you are not great.
Today's Church must recognize
that we are debtors to the world,
and we owe the world what we know and have.
We owe the world our experiences,
our knowledge and our goods.
Jesus said to his disciples,
that just as they had received freely,
they should also give freely.
We are responsible for giving back
from what we have received in such abundance.
When we find a source of living water,
we should not just sit with a gun by our side,
but share the living water with everyone who is thirsty.
In a world without God, this is our responsibility.
What really made Paul great is that he took
on the responsibility of saving the world.
He ran from continent to continent, nation to nation,
and tribe to tribe telling people that Jesus is Lord,
and that all can drink freely
from the rivers of living water.
Every Christian has a vision of God,
whether he accepts it or not.
Parents have a vision of educating their children
in the faith and teaching them right and wrong.
Christians have the mission and vision
to proclaim the gospel of the good news
and to make disciples of the nations in the kingdom of God.
If every Christian were faithful to his heavenly vision,
we would regard the world as Jesus is.
Hold on to your vision and be what God wills you to be.
Unless you act and do so fast,
the devil will steal your vision.
Hold on to the vision, keep it, let it be bright.
Having a vision is greater than money
or anything else the world has to offer.
When God calls you, he calls you to obedience.
He wants us to obey.
Each one of us has his own vision.
Will we end our lives like the apostle Paul
and say that we never disobeyed the heavenly vision?
When God asks something of you, you have to do it.
Remember this that when God puts a new vision in you,
it burns like fire.
And most people do not comprehend it or understand why.
God's vision for us differs from your education,
or from what you can learn naturally,
it burns inside of you,
and will not stop until it is fulfilled.
And you have sleepless nights
and feel fear when you do not fulfill it.
Thus, it is better to be obedient
to the God given and heavenly vision.
And it doesn't matter what you do
or how well you are doing or how successful you are.
When God plants a vision inside of you,
he wants you to respond whether a preacher
or choir member or lazy pew sitter.
God has a vision for your life and only for you.
Nobody will have one like you,
but the vision is from God.
Run with the vision and walk in the vision.
Live the vision and you will rejoice in heaven.
You will rejoice because you obeyed God.
This vision must live in our hearts forever.
One burning vision God gives to his children
in the vision to hand over,
to pass on the sword over to a new generation.
There are many examples in the Bible
of how God put this vision on the shoulders
of men he had chosen.
Since Paul is the focus of this study,
let's take a look at Paul's life
and how God also placed this burden on Paul.
Paul had an apprentice and Timothy, a young preacher.
And it's amazing to see Paul
honor this faithful young minister
by writing to him two books of the Bible, 1 and 2 Timothy.
If you read those books,
you'll see how gently encouraging and personalized they are,
with instructions from one old man
to a fiery young newcomer.
In 2 Timothy 2:15,
Paul praised Timothy and his first apprenticeship period.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,
a worker who does not need to be ashamed
and who correctly handles the word of truth.
That is such a powerful verse.
In 2 Timothy 1:6,
Paul encouraged the young Timothy
to fan into flame the gift of God,
which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
He says in simple English,
an encouragement to this young disciple of his.
Timothy, I am filled with memories of this sincere faith
that you have shown ever since I met you.
It is the same deep faith I saw in your grandmother, Lois,
and your mother Eunice.
It dwells in your heart too.
That's why I now remind you to keep ever blazing
that flame of special grace,
that divine gift God has graciously given to you,
which came upon you when I laid my hands on you.
God has never given us a spirit of fear and timidity.
We are not to shrink from danger.
We are not cowards.
No, the spirit he gave us is of strength,
love, and self discipline, self restraint,
and wise discretion.
Going back to the original Greek,
basically Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:18 and 19.
This is the charge or order or command
that I entrust to you.
Timothy my son, in agreement with the prophecies
that first directed me to you, fight the good fight,
cling tightly to your faith and keep your conscience clear.
By ignoring their consciences,
certain persons have run aground.
They have wrecked their witness
and crashed their ministries into the rocks.
like Paul said to Timothy, in the verses we just read,
these words are also for you.
If like Paul, we want to achieve Kingdom greatness,
it is imperative that we have faith unfeigned
and standalone resolute in the good fight of faith.
We must not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Be ready in season and out of season
to share your faith to others and acknowledge
that we are debtors to the world
because of the abundance of revelation
we have received from God.