Dare to Serve
John 12:26, Mark 10:45, Philippians 2:5-7
April 25, 2010
Morning Service
Introduction
Born in Nottingham, England
His family lost their entire fortune due to his father’s bad investments and both parents died at a young age
Became a Methodist minister and evangelist
Requested an appointment as a full time evangelist but was refused three times
Resigned from the Methodist church and was barred from speaking in any Methodist church
Held revivals with the message of repentance and personal holiness
Establishes the Christian Revival Society which would later be called the Christian Mission
The ministry reached out to the poorest and most needy with a focus on alcoholics, criminals and prostitutes
Pioneered social ministry by starting soup kitchens across London and throughout England
Work begins to spread throughout the British Empire and United States
Writes a bestselling book In Darkest England about the plight of the poor
Social ministry continues to expand with homeless shelters, clinics and schools (adapted from wikipedia)
Today the lives of people around the world are touched because of the work of this man
William Booth was beyond a doubt a servant of Christ and had a servants heart.
Writers of the epistles often introduce themselves as servants
* Jude
* James
* Peter
* Paul (Romans, Colossians and Titus)
- Servant of the cross (Colossians 1:23)
- Servant of the gospel (Eph. 3:7)
- Servant of Christ (Gal. 1:10)
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:45
There is no way to become like Jesus without the willingness to serve. This does not mean that you let others control what you do, but rather that your actions are controlled by the desire to serve God and others.
Security is nothing more than freedom from fear or anxiety. Many Christians are incredibly anxious about serving in ministry or taking a leadership position.
Jesus had a divine position but He never used His authority against people. Jesus had a divine mission and He never stepped away from it. Jesus had a divine plan and He never forgot to submit to it
.
What does it mean to be a servant?
Two major Greek words used to describe servants are
1. Douleuo - To serve as a slave
Greek words often carry an additional meaning the is implied by the rest of the text. Many times the understanding of the word serve implies a form of submission. The implication is a form of bonded service, a willing submission to a master. To be a servant of Christ we must first be willing to submit to His will and His direction. The understanding of being a servant is that personal desires are surrendered to pursue the desire of the master. Jesus is the master and we are the servants. Jesus is the Rabbi and we are the disciples.
What are some of the things that servants are called to sacrifice?
* Time
* Effort
* Talent
* Will
* Resources
2. Diakoneo - to serve or to minister
where we get our English term deacon.
There is a direct connection between the word serve and the word minister. The entire church is called to minister to the needs of others. Ministry is the job of the entire church and not just the job of the minister.
Being a servant always means some sort of sacrifice or submission. Think about these terms used for leaders of the church in the New Testament. These words are related to several other words we use in the church.
Pastor -shepherd
Minister - servant
Preacher - share or proclaim the good news
There can be no mistake that Christians are called to serve Christ. Servants help meet the needs of others, slaves meet the wants of others.
To be a servant, your life must belong to Jesus. To be a servant, you must give up your desires. Service means moving beyond self to embrace the Lordship of Christ. Do not be content with merely making Jesus your savior, make Him your Lord.
Key Questions:
Is Jesus the lord of your church life?
Is Jesus the lord of your work life?
Is Jesus the lord of your family life?
Is Jesus the lord of your private life?
The example of Jesus on Servanthood
Jesus is the ultimate example of servant hood. There is no greater model of service than Jesus and Paul addresses this fact in Philippians chapter 2.
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:5-7
Notice just some of the ways that Jesus models and sets the example for servant hood.
1. Attitude
Jesus had the attitude of a servant from the moment He stepped out of heaven and onto earth. The moment when He passed from a divine existence to a mortal existence revealed the depth of His attitude. Jesus possessed an amazing attitude in many different ways. Jesus reached out to people who would not listen and would not believe. Jesus would not be swayed. Jesus taught the disciples who were absorbed with their own selfish agenda. Jesus would not be swayed.
Jesus believed in people when they did not believe in themselves. Jesus saw Peter as the rock when he was nothing but a pebble. Jesus saw potential in Matthew when he was a hated tax collector. Jesus reached out to legalistic like Niccodaemus and social outcasts like Zaccheaus. Jesus saw potential in everyone and it takes an incredible attitude to keep moving on when people do not change.
Jesus did not come for Himself but instead He came for us. The goal was not to set up an earthly kingdom but save a dying world. Jesus came with an attitude that simply could not be stopped.
2. Humility
Jesus came to earth and humbled Himself to lift us up. Jesus became like us so we could become like Him. Jesus allowed Himself to endure hardship, frustrations and pain, so we could have peace, power and grace. Make no mistake Jesus came to give us something we could not gain.
Jesus entered this finite world for the sole purpose of saving us. Jesus became a part of the world He created for us to understand the depth of God’s love. Jesus came down to our level to show us the power of redemption.
3. Gave up rights
Jesus gave up His rights to become human. Jesus gave up the right of praise. Jesus gave up the right to be in the full presence of God. Jesus gave up the right to divine fullness. Think about that for a moment. Jesus was confined to a human body and where a human body could dwell. Jesus had been able to be everywhere at all times but gave that up to become flesh. He lived out many years as a child with no rights and no freedom.
4. Surrendered His life
Jesus gave the ultimate act of service when He endured the humility of the cross. There was no greater act of service than this. Jesus willingly gave up the life that He humbled Himself to become for the chance of humanity finding freedom from the power of sin.
Scriptural principles on service
1. Greatness comes from serving (Mark 9:33-350
Service may require us to humble ourselves but it is a humility that leads to greatness. There are times when the teachings of Jesus make little sense to our human mind and this is one of them. Our human nature strives for honor, recognition and achievement. The thinking is that we have to climb the ladder of success to accomplish these things. Jesus says that in order to be great, we must lower ourselves. In order to rise, we must be willing to descend. The only ways that Jesus says that we can actually achieve greatness is to give up the pursuit of self exaltation. Only when we give up the quest for greatness in our own abilities that we find greatness in Christ.
Could it be that we are not achieving greater things for Christ because we are pursuing our desires? Are we losing out on extra blessings because we are centered on our personal agenda?
2. Servanthood requires loyalty (Luke 16:13)
Jesus makes it clear that there can only be one master. The illustration He gives is focused on materialism. No one can love both God and money. There are many other things that can disrupt our walk with Christ. The issue is one of loyalty, Christ expects His people to be loyal to Him and to the Kingdom. The issue of loyalty plays out in every area of life. Is Jesus the Lord of your whole life or merely parts of your life?
3. Servanthood requires readiness (Luke 12:35-40)
Servants need to be ready to do the will of the master at any time. Most Christians make time for Christ when it fits their schedule. Readiness is not a priority to many because they falsely believe that they have all the time in the world. We must be ready for Christ to call and stand up when the time comes to be counted. We need to be ready at all times because we never know when we will get the call of the master. We need to be ready when Christ is ready for us to serve.
