Four Steps To Becoming A Successful Servant Of God
If I were to ask you this morning; “Give me the simplest definition of a Christian that you could think of? What would you say?”
(What I am seeking is “A follower of Christ.”)
A simple definition of “Christian” is to be “A Follower of Christ.” In the gospel of Matthew – Jesus is walking by the sea Galilee and He sees Simon Peter and his brother Andrew and he says to them. "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." The scripture goes on to say that Jesus went along the beach a little further and “He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.” Matthew 4:19-22 (NKJV) A simple definition of a Christian is: “A follower of Christ.” Jesus also said in Matthew 16:24; "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Matthew 16:24 (NKJV)
What does following Christ involve? Following Christ involves becoming a servant of Christ. Look at verse twenty six from John chapter twelve with me.
“If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” John 12:26 (NKJV)
Jesus called His followers servants. If you are truly striving to be a follower of Jesus – if you are striving to be a successful follower of Christ – you must become a servant. As Christians we should all want to be successful servants of God. How do you become a successful servant? Here are four steps to becoming a successful servant. Step one:
1. Develop a SERVANT MENTALITY.
This is the first step in becoming a successful servant. You must have a mentality that says, “My purpose on this earth is to serve God.” You must realize that God is in charge. You must realize your position in life. You must change your way of thinking from “Me” centered thinking to “Him” centered thinking. This world does not revolve around you. Everything that happens in the world is not about you. You are here to serve God – not the other way around. Your pattern of thinking should reflect a servant mentality. Follow along with me in Matthew 10:24.
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.” Matthew 10:24 (NKJV)
Look at the way the Message Bible puts it.
"A student doesn’t get a better desk than her teacher. A laborer doesn’t make more money than his boss.” Matthew 10:24 (MSG)
The question is, “Who do you think you are?’ You are not the boss of the universe. You are not the master of the world. Your thinking should say, “I am a servant of the king.” Jesus is “King of kings and Lord of lords.” He is the creator of the universe. He set the stars in place and controls the universe by His power. He is above all – and in all – and at the end of time – the beginning of eternity – “every knee will bow, every tongue will confess – that He IS LORD.”
A successful servant will reflect this fact in their thinking. A successful servant will give of their time, resources, energy, money, expertise, etc. – to glorify God. Jesus becomes the center of a servant’s actions – the center of their motives. The servant’s purpose for living is to please Him. A successful servant gives all that they have – for the glory of God.
The second step to becoming a successful servant is:
2. Have a DETERMINATION to serve.
It is not enough just to have a servant’s mentality – you must be determined to serve –you must be determined to help.
Look at 2 Corinthians 8:1-4
“Now, brethren, we wish to make know to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality, For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability they gave of their own accord, begging us with much entreaty for the favor of participation in the support of the saints.”
The churches in Macedonia had an awesome determination to help. Nothing was going to keep these churches from helping. Not the affliction they were suffering not the poverty they found themselves in. They were determined to help.
Do you know what I have found? I have found that there are three types of givers:
A. The first type of giver are those who give because they can. They have an abundance and they give out of their abundance.
B. The second type of giver are those who are able to give – but don’t. They have the enough to give yet for whatever reason they don’t give. Perhaps it is because they have not taken the first step of a servant. They still have a “Me” centered mentality – rather than a “Christ” centered mentality.
C. But the third type of giver are those givers who have very little but give of what they have. They give sacrificially.
Follow along in Mark twelve with me:
“Sitting across from the temple treasury, He (Jesus) watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. And a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. Summoning His disciples, He said to them, “ I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44 (HCSB)
Jesus recognizes sacrificial givers.
If you want to be a successful servant of God you must develop a determination to be of help. Give of your time. Give of your energy. Give of your resources. Give of yourself. The scripture says, “God loves a cheerful giver.” Have a determination to help.
The third step to becoming a successful servant of God is:
3. Commit to FOLLOWING GOD.
Every one of us sitting here today is following someone or something. Some of us listen to friend’s advice. Other’s listen to the opinions of the so called “experts”. Some of us follow family customs. Or perhaps we follow the accepted social norm. But all of us follow something.
Here is a simple rule:
A successful servant of God follows GOD.
What does it take to follow God? Folks this is not rocket science – let me tell you what it takes to follow God. “Do what He says.”
Here is a key point. I want you to listen carefully. Folks you will never be a successful servant of God if you don’t do what He tells you to do. The scripture tells us:
“Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 (HCSB)
Listen to how the Message Bible states this verse.
“Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear!” James 1:22 (MSG)
To follow involves three things:
Trust –
Obedience –
Risk –
Do you remember the story that Jesus told on in Mathew chapter twenty five it goes something like this. [The Story can be paraphrased.]
"It’s also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money. "After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: ’Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’ "The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master’s investment. His master commended him: ’Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’ "The servant given one thousand said, ’Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.’ "The master was furious. ’That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest. ’Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won’t go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.’ Matthew 25:14-30 (MSG)
A successful follower of God will:
a. Trust that God is in charge.
b. Obey God’s Word.
c. Walk in faith. Walking in faith takes risk.
What is the fourth step in becoming a successful servant of God?
4. Start serving WHERE YOU ARE.
Many people are waiting for the right time and the right place to start serving. Let me tell you:
The right time to serve is NOW.
The right place to serve is WHERE YOU ARE.
The minute you start meeting the needs around you – you become a servant.
Listen to Matthew 25.
"When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, ’Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’ "Then those ’sheep’ are going to say, ’Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ’I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’ "Then he will turn to the ’goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ’Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because— I was hungry and you gave me no meal, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was homeless and you gave me no bed, I was shivering and you gave me no clothes, Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’ "Then those ’goats’ are going to say, ’Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’ "He will answer them, ’I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’ "Then those ’goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ’sheep’ to their eternal reward." Matthew 25:31-46 (MSG)
Did you notice that one group were successful servants – the other group weren’t? Successful servants serve. They serve where they are – because that is their nature.
Here is a simple rule: If you want to find good workers – find people who are working. Good workers – work. The same is true of servants. Good servants – serve.
Successful servants serve where they are. You don’t have to go half way around the world to find people in need. All you have to do is look at the person next to you.
Jesus is looking for servants who serve. Someday I want Jesus say these words to me: “Well done good and faithful servant, you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.” Don’t you want Jesus to say those words to you too?
Develop a servant’s mentality. Have a determination to serve. Commit to following God by doing what He says. And start serving today right where you are.
