Disciples Of Jesus Have The Heart Of A Servant Series

A. One day a kind old gentleman saw a little boy who was trying to reach a doorbell.

1. The boy asked the old gentleman for his help, and the old man lifted the boy up so the boy could push the doorbell.

2. As the old gentleman put the boy back on the ground he asked the boy, “What now, little boy?”

3. “Run!” said the boy, “that’s what I’m gonna do!”

B. Hopefully our desire to serve won’t get us into trouble, like that kind old gentleman.

1. Back in the 1990s, another servant got himself into trouble.

2. A professional clown named “Mr. Twister,” whose real name is Cory McDonald got himself into trouble out in Santa Cruz, California.

3. What kind of trouble did he get himself into, you might ask? Well, acting as a good servant, “Mr. Twister” walked about town putting quarters in people’s expired parking meters.

4. According to the Santa Cruz municipal code, it is against the law for a person to put money in another person’s parking meter without their permission, and anyone breaking that law can be fined.

5. After several warnings, Mr. Twister was ticketed for his random acts of kindness.

6. But Mr. Twister refused to stop doing the golden rule – doing for others what he would want for them to do for him.

7. In the end, his acts of kindness prevailed and he became both a local and national hero.

8. Cory McDonald, Mr. Twister said that he just wants people to be nice to each other and to help in whatever way they can.

C. God certainly agrees with that kind of an attitude – an attitude of kindness and service.

1. Today, as we continue our series on discipleship, I want us to focus on this essential of following Jesus: Disciples of Jesus must have the heart of a servant.

2. And the reason that disciples of Jesus must have the heart of a servant, is because Jesus had the heart of a servant, and disciples of Jesus are supposed to like Jesus.

3. In Luke 6:40, Jesus said: “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”

4. Jesus our teacher is a great example for us in the area of service.

D. Look with me at how Jesus characterized His own life and purpose: “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

1. How’s that for simplicity and clarity? Jesus came to serve and to give!

2. If that was true for Jesus, then don’t you think that is what God would want for us?

3. After bringing us into His family through our faith in His Son, God then sets His sights on building into us the same quality that made Jesus distinct from all others in His day, and for that matter, from anyone who had ever walked the face of the earth.

4. God wants to build in us the same serving and giving qualities that characterized His Son.

E. In many ways, there is nothing more refreshing than seeing someone with a servant’s heart and a giving spirit.

1. Colonel James Irwin was a former astronaut who was part of the crew that made a successful moon walk in 1971.

2. He often spoke of the thrill connected with leaving this planet and seeing it shrink in size.

3. While watching earthrise one day in space, he realized just how privileged he was to be a member of that unique crew of Apollo 15.

4. While on the way back to earth, he thought about the way that many would consider him a “superstar,” and that he was about to become an international celebrity.

5. But his relationship with God would not allow any of this to go to his head.

6. Listen to the humility that he expressed in these words: “As I was returning to earth, I realized that I was a servant – not a celebrity. So I am here as God’s servant on planet Earth to share what I have experienced that others might know the glory of God.”

7. That basic motto would help all of us Christ followers: I am a servant, not a celebrity.

8. Like Jesus, I am here to serve, not to be served.

F. But it is so easy to lose sight of that primary calling as we go about our daily life in our self-absorbed world.

1. If you are like me, then you sometimes think, “I wish I could go back in time and sit at the feet of Jesus. How great it must have been to sit as one of the Twelve and soak up all those truths that Jesus taught. I mean, if I had been there with Jesus and Twelve, it would have been easier to learn this idea of being a servant.”