SERVING - DISCIPLES AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART!

JOHN 12:25-26

"The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must also follow me; and where I am, my servant will also be. My father will honor the one who serves me." To examine what it means to truly be a servant one must not look further than Jesus Christ. Jesus came to serve not to be served, and then if that was not enough give his life as a ransom for many (Matt 20:28). Being a disciple of Jesus Christ means to follow him and to imitate his Godly attributes and his quality of character. Living selfless, and becoming a servant of God is our goal to become more Christ-like. God only honors true servants of Christ, not people who claim to be disciples but lack action behind the faith of serving. Let’s go to the Bible to see examples of great hearts of servanthood.

MATTHEW 14:15-21 (Jesus feeds the five thousand)

As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “this is a remote place, and it’s getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to me,” he said, and he directed the people to set down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples and the disciples gave them to the people. The disciples thought it would be easier to send the people away, especially because the size of the crowd. Jesus saw the peoples’ need and had the right heart to help them. Jesus was questioning the disciples’ hearts and motives. He responded by saying, “you give them something to eat.” That’s how it needs to be in God’s Church. It’s easier by far not to serve and leave people on their own to fend for themselves, but God is saying, “No! You feed these people and look after their needs.” In serving others we end up bringing other people to Jesus. We have to understand that just like the five thousand in need, we are in need in the Church and others outside the Church are in need. Serving helps meet those needs, unifies us, and brings us together. Has anyone ever served you in humility? How did you respond to that person?

JOHN 13:4-5 (Jesus washes his disciple’s feet.)

So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with a towel that was wrapped around him. At the time of the last supper, only the lowliest of slaves would take the job of washing ones feet. It would have been a servant of a servant usually. If Jesus, God in the flesh, is willing to serve we his disciples must also be servants. We need to be willing to serve others in order to glorify God. Are you willing to follow Christ’s example of serving?

MARK 10: 35-45 GREAT SERVANT (The requests of James and John.)

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." James and John wanted the highest positions in Jesus’ kingdom probably so they could tell others what to do. They were known as “sons of thunder”! Jesus taught them that greatness in his kingdom comes in serving others. Greatness in the world is measured by personal achievement. In Christ’s kingdom serving is the way to get ahead. Jesus didn’t question their desire to become great, just their method. Your greatness in the kingdom is only limited by your willingness to be a slave to all!

PHILIPPIANS 2:5-7 SELFISH SERVANT

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Jesus Christ was humble; he was willing to give up his rights as a king in order to obey God and serve people. Like Christ, we should have a servant’s attitude, serving because we love God and others, not because of fear or guilt. You can choose your attitude! You can go through life expecting to be served, or you can look for opportunities to serve others. What are you making yourself? How much does “self” matter to you? How much does “self” influence your daily decisions? Self-denial is the essence of service. We must deny ourselves daily. Denying ourselves means to deny our feelings and desires in order to serve God (Luke 9:23).

LUKE 17:7-10 HUMBLE SERVANT

“Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘come along now sit down and eat?’ Would he not rather say, ‘prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’?  Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?  So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘we are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” If we have obeyed God, we have only done what we were told to do and we should consider it a privilege. We have to remember because of God’s great mercy we do not receive the punishment that our sins deserve. Once we were slaves to wickedness, now we are slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:15-20). Sometimes I think we expect extra credit for serving God, but obedience is not something extra we do but it is our duty! We have to learn to deal with our spiritual pride. Common pitfalls we can end up in if we don’t guard our hearts regarding serving are: Grumbling Servant- “I’ll serve, but I’m not going to like it, and I’ll have a bad attitude about it.” Complaining Servant- “Why do they always ask me to serve, can’t they see I have enough on my plate already?” Proud Servant- “I serve more than anyone else and deserve recognition, and I’m only motivated to do it when I receive accolades for my service.” The Unwilling Servant- “I’m not willing to serve in any capacity and you can’t make me do it. I’m here to be served not to serve.”

MARK 7:36-37 EXCELLENT SERVANT

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the people kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf and the mute speak.” Jesus warned people not to talk about his healing because he didn’t want to be known as a guy who did cool tricks like a miracle worker. He knew this would hinder the real message Jesus was trying to tell everyone. We can get caught up thinking of all the things Jesus can do for us that we forget to listen to the message. Jesus did all things well. When we serve, especially in the Church, we should strive to do it with excellence.

EPHESIANS 6:7-8

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. As disciples the expectation is to serve wholeheartedly, putting our whole heart into whatever we do. This is the difference between an “awesome” Church and a “mediocre” Church. We have to remember the Lord is watching us serve. He knows everything, including how much of ourselves we serve, and what motivates us to serve. The Lord rewards faithful servants. Another way to serve God is through our worldly job. Often times we aren’t always good examples to others by our actions at work. Christians should work as though Jesus Christ is our supervisor. When we serve we should do it with the heart of Jesus himself asking you to do it. Sometimes we can get caught up in the wrong mind set. It’s not the leaders of the Church you’re serving, it’s God! We can’t forget this. Some of us have stopped serving in the Church because they have been hurt by un-godly leadership in the past, and they’re afraid if they give their heart they will just end up hurt again. If you feel this way, get open about it. Satan wants you to stay discouraged as long as possible so you won’t want to serve. The devil knows when everyone is serving and doing their personal best for God that he is defeated.

GALATIANS 5:13:15

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But not to use your freedom to indulge in the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in Love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. There is a difference between freedom to sin and freedom to serve. There is no freedom in sin because it makes you a slave to Satan (Romans 7:14-25, 2Peter 2:19). Disciples are free to do what is right, and glorify God by their loving service to others. We can serve all we want but when our motivation is not love we become critical toward others. We stop looking for the good in our brothers and can only see their faults. This kind of sin kills any real unity in the Church. Instead serving each other in love builds up the Church and all the members of the body. We have seen from the scriptures Jesus’ strong conviction on serving others. The challenge is to grow in our walk with God so we can serve others in the same way. If you are not currently serving in the Church in any capacity, repent because you’re in sin! If you are currently serving, what is your reason for doing it? Is it out of your love for God that you serve, or are you doing it to receive accolades? Remember the first step to becoming a great servant is having a willing heart. Do you currently have un-resolved attitudes with others that prevent you from serving? If so, get reconciled with your brothers and sisters; they’re here to love you, not tear you down. There is a strong theme from the scriptures that it’s everyone’s responsibility to build the Church up, not just key members or leadership (Romans 12:4-8, 1 Pet 4:8-11, 1 Thes 1:9-10, 1 Cor 12:12-31, Romans 12:10). Have you asked others what you can do to serve others’ needs in the Church? If not, what are you waiting for, Christ to return? The true victories in the Central Valley Church of Christ will come when everyone is using the talents which God gave them to serve others. That being said are you using the talent that God gave you to serve, and build up others, which builds up the Church?

1 TIMOTHY 3:13
	Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus. AMEN!!