I Need a God Who is Greater Than Me

Matthew 26:31-35

31 On the way, Jesus told them, “Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike* the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.” 33 Peter declared, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.” 34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” 35 “No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the other disciples vowed the same. 

As I have been praying about this new year and what I most need, I am confident that the Lord is calling me to something greater than ourselves. 

I’ll be honest, I am pretty selfish. I am selfish because I can be unselfish if I try. I have to try not to be self-centered. I have to try not be the center of my own life. 

My struggle is that I live in a world that tells me that I should be the center of my own world. It’s all about me. I seem to think that the whole world wants and maybe even needs me to instagram them a picture of me everyday, to tweet them my whereabouts, and facebook them my newest thought for the day. Why, because I AM important.

I am the center and creator of my own story. I have the right to choose my life path. I AM in charge of my own life. I can do anything I want to do.Why? Because I AM GOOD ENOUGH, I AM SMART ENOUGH, AND DOG GONNIT, PEOPLE LIKE ME!!!!

I really believe that I have got to begin to see things from a new perspective. I have got to approach life from a new angle. I have got to see that there is something greater than me that I can give my life to. That everything I need and truly want in life is not found in me. 

What I need is something GREATER THAN ME!!! I need a God that is Greater than Me. 

Now if I say, God is greater than me, I think, “Yeah of course, God is greater than me. That is really an easy statement to agree with. Why wouldn't I think that God is Greater than me. Um... He is God.”

Here’s the problem. I don’t usually live like I understand that God is greater than me. As long as I am the central person within my own life, I am saying that I am greater than God. I am a lot like Peter in Matthew 26.

v.31-32 — Jesus is laying out what is about to happen. He tells his disciples the things are about to go down. You are all gonna dessert me tonight. And I am gonna die. But, I am going to be raised from the dead, so meet me in Galilee after this whole thing is done. Jesus has just told them he is going to die and come back, but all they heard was you are going to leave me.

v.33 — Peter steps up and says it doesn’t matter what everyone else does, I’m not gonna leave you! 

Upon hearing the most amazing declaration — that Jesus would rise from the dead, he feels the need to move the attention off of Jesus’ resurrection and onto his own perceived future success. He has heard the truth that gives the Gospel power, Jesus is going to conquer death! And his reaction is, “hold on Jesus, I’m not gonna leave you.” In the midst of Jesus declaring the single most powerful event that has ever happened in human history, Peter feels the need to put himself in the center of the story and move the attention off of the good news, Jesus is going to rise from the dead to himself and how he is not gonna fail because he is gonna try REALLY HARD. 

v.34 — Jesus takes things a step further with Peter. He looks at him says, if you want to be the center of this story, you will not only fail, but your failure will be EPIC!!!

v.35 — Peter still doesn’t get it. He continues forcing his way into the center of the story again. “Even if I have to die...” (So far, Jesus has said that he was the only one who was going to die. Why is Peter trying to put himself in the spot Jesus said was his?) I will never deny you.

In other words, I CAN DO THIS!

I can’t tell you how many times I have done this! I put myself in the center of a story that is all about Jesus and I have the same mantra Peter does.

I CAN DO THIS. And like Peter I try really hard!

Skip down to verse 47

The book of John tells me that the guy waving the sword around like an idiot, the guy trying really hard, the only guy who is fighting, the guy that attacks a slave instead of someone with a weapon is Peter. 

He is trying really hard...

I CAN DO THIS! 

I CAN DO THIS!

I CAN DO THIS!

I do this so often with my life. I put myself at the center and say I can do this! My teacher told me I can be anything I want to be if I put my mind to it. My mommy told me I do anything I want to do I just try really hard. If I do my best, I can win the Superbowl, World Series, a Nobel prize, the Lottery and America’s next top model in the same year!

And everything about our lives begins with the letter i. And I tell people how great I AM. I forget that there is only one GREAT I AM.

I put myself at the center of my own life when I am meant to look to someone else at the center of my life. Man at the center of human history is destroys us. Think what happens when Adam interjects his own will and ideas into creation. In the same way, me at the center of my own life destroys me. 

Jesus is meant to be at the center of my story. I know this because on my own, I am pretty messed up. On my own, I can’t.

It’s not I can... It’s I can’t...

Like Peter, when I am at the center of the story, I can’t. THE GREATEST THREAT TO THE WORK OF THE GOSPEL IN MY HEART IS TO PUT ME AT THE CENTER OF IT. I need a God who is greater than me if I am going to do anything.

While everyone else may tell me to believe in myself and that I can do it, and all I need to do is try really hard, at the end of the day, I can’t.

I can’t... Make myself better

I can’t... Overcome sin

I can’t... Find joy or peace

I can’t... Know love or have hope

I can’t... Save myself

I can’t save myself because I am the problem. “The only thing that I have ever contributed to my salvation is the sin that made it necessary.” I need a God who is greater than me, because I can’t. The good news is I don’t have to. 

The center of the Gospel story is Jesus. It is all about what He DID. He lived a perfect life for me. He died for my sins. He did all the work for all of man kind. 

If his life, death and resurrection can have such a profound effect on the whole of humanity, what can it do in my heart? What can the work of Christ do to the trajectory of my life? How can I be changed? What can I become? It is not for me to decide, but for me to trust him. What could my life look like if I let Christ sit at the center of my life, directing, guiding, willing and working me for his good pleasure?