Intro: There are many things that are fought for in the church today. The type of music that is used during the worship service, the way we use money, the length of time we have a worship service, the way we organize and we could go on. The one thing that usually isn’t fought over is the opportunity to be the servant of all.
John Michael Talbot said this of Francis of Assisi, “One of the most revealing snapshots of Francis’s approach toward servant leadership is found in one brief sentence in the Legend of Perugia that’s easy to miss amid all the accounts of the saint’s wonderful deeds. But there is hidden in a description of Francis’s practice of traveling and preaching in churches: ‘He brought along a broom to clean the churches.’”
What is happening in this passage is the same thing that is happening in the church today. We have forgotten why Jesus came. He came to seek and save the Lost, but he also came to serve and give His life a ransom for the same.
Mark 10.42-45 Jesus came to serve. How amazing is a God who would come down to our level and get involved in the ordinary happenings of man. What love this speaks of, what compassion and care that God would condescend, that he would stoop down and serve us! This passage and the Holy Spirit seeks to get us as believers, slaves, servants of God to pick up whatever shaped broom he designed for our hands.
I. The explanation of service – serve one another
I know Jesus had to get tired of the silly requests of His disciples. They had followed him almost the end of his ministry here and still they don’t get it. They are asking for places of power and authority and Jesus is offering a place of service. He has to explain to them again and again this is not about you!
A) They had a misunderstanding of greatness
The disciples misunderstood the true meaning of greatness. They had apparently learned from the gentiles who took pride in personal achievement. Jesus made it very clear it is not to be so among you. We are never to get our understanding of greatness or success from the worlds way of thinking. This mentality makes us want the highest position. The highest position in the kingdom of God is that of a servant. How amazing that just like the disciples we are asking for crowns instead of crosses.
Position, power, recognition should never become the standard of greatness in the body of Christ. If it becomes the standard the ambition and jealousy will be the atmosphere of the church.
B) The Master’s clarification of greatness
Jesus has always turned expectations and standards on their head. Esau was the first born but Jacob was chosen to be Israel, prostitutes and foreigners in his lineage. Women caught in adultery given grace, Samaritan woman treated as a person instead of a dog.
Greatness is never to be the goal. Greatness comes from seeking to serve. Life magazine carried and editorial comparing the lives of great people, Winston Churchill, Pope John 23, and Albert Schweitzer. None of these people sought to be great. Each one sacrificed Himself in service of the people.
Jesus is making a clear distinction. Admission into the kingdom is by grace. Position in the kingdom is found by faithfulness. Those that count the cost and lower themselves to serve all people are the greatest.
We fight for a lot of things in the church. We fight to get our opinions validated, our work valued, our leadership followed, our service honored, and our skills appreciated. Jesus was clear when we do things to be recognized by men we have our reward and it is temporary. Where is the line to be the chief servant? Where are the men and women with brooms? (My experience with other pastors) Jesus was clear the fields are white to harvest but the workers (the ones who serve are few).
II. The example of service – Jesus
Since service associated with the word diakonia necessarily involved dependence, submission, and constraints of time and freedom, the Greeks regarded diakonia as degrading and dishonorable. Service for the public good was honored, but “voluntary giving of oneself in service of one’s fellow man is alien to Greek thought. The highest goal before a man was the development of his own personality.”
We have a global culture focused on self-self-actualization and self-fulfillment that sees no value in servant hood. We need desperately to look to Jesus and His example of service despite the overwhelming value of self-interest today.
Englishman George Atley, a missionary to Africa, was attacked by a party of natives. He had with him a Winchester repeating rifle with 10 loaded chambers. The attackers were completely at his mercy. Calmly and quickly the missionary summed up the situation. He concluded that if he killed the natives he would do more harm to the mission than if he allowed them to take his life. When his body was found in the stream, his rifle also was found with its 10 chambers still loaded. George Atley could have saved himself. He chose to give his life for others - for the cause of Christ. Jesus did not have to go to the cross. He could have saved Himself. He chose to give His life to save sinners from the power and penalty of sin. In His sacrificial death, He came to "give his life a ransom for many"
III. The encouragement to service –
1 John 3:16 Jesus laid down his life we ought to do that before we complain, criticize, gossip, or gripe we should lovingly lay down our lives in prayer, worship, and in service to those that are hard if not impossible to love.
If you examine the gospel of mark you see the activity of God. The activity isn’t what many expected from the anointed one of God. It is the activity of a servant. Again and again Mark emphasizes what Jesus did. So as Mark reveals to us one of the many aspects of God in Jesus we see an always active servant. The encouragement for us is found in the fact that we are recreated at salvation to bear the image of Jesus Christ.
A) Serve to strengthen the body (Ephesians 4.12)
He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work(ministry), working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ. (The Message)
Too much emphasis is often placed on learning something new, finding some code in the Bible. One of the oldest and simplest truths is Jesus came to serve not to be served. Spiritual strength comes from obeying Christ in the simple things. The word equipping in this passage is the same used of Peter, Andrew, James and John mending their nets. They were mending or preparing their nets for service. As the word is taught and you learn the truths of the Bible apply it. It will strengthen you and strengthen this body called Immanuel.
B) Serve to show the gospel to people
1 Corinthians 9.19 “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them”
C) Serve to share the joy of Jesus
Acts 20:35 “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
John 15.11 “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”
This statement is in the context of abiding in Jesus. It is in getting close to Jesus that He cleanses of our selfishness and sinfulness and prepares us to serve and share the joy of Jesus.
Bruce Thielemann, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Pittsburg, told of a conversation with a member of his flock who said, “You preachers talk a lot about ‘do unto others,’ but when you get right downto it, it comes down to basin theology.”
Thielemann asked, “Basin theology? What’s that?”
The layman said, “Remember what Pilate did when he had the chance to acquit Jesus? He called for a basin and washed his hands of the whole thing. But Jesus, the night before His death, called for a basin and proceeded to wash the feet of the disciples. It all comes down to basin theology: Which one will you use.” Leadership Journal, Craig Larson
IV. The exaltation of servants – The greatest shall be the least and servant of all Mark 10.43-44
Here is what Jesus said in Luke 18.14, “ I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
And in 1 Peter 5.6 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time,”
J Vernon McGee “"It is only when you and I come in humility that we will be able to know the grace of God....In view of the coming of Christ, humility should be the attitude of the child of God. Christ is the one who will establish justice and make things right when He comes. You cannot straighten out this world, although you may think you can."
Humble literally means to bring to the ground or make level and figuratively to abase or cause someone to lose prestige or status. Humility is not thinking humbly of oneself. Rather, it is having the proper estimate of oneself in relationship to God. The Christian virtue of humility is the exact opposite of the worst of sins, which is pride. The pagan world did not admire humility. Instead, they admired pride and domination. The person with humility thinks of others first and not of himself and admits to a sense of dependence on God.
Kairos is the Greek word that is used here for proper time. When we have a proper understanding of our need for God in all our service He will exalt us at the time that will most glorify Him!!
God will exalt us in His own good time. God never exalts anyone until that person is ready for it. First the cross, then the crown; first the suffering, then the glory. Moses was under God’s hand for 40 yrs before God sent him to deliver the Jews from Egypt. Joseph was under God’s hand for at least 13 yrs before God lifted him to the throne.
This should be greatly encouraging. God is trying to tell you the trial is going to some day end. The pain will someday be replaced by great joy, the persecution will be replaced by exaltation.
God’s game plan for living is service.
What God changes remains changed. What man changes has a tendency to go back the way it was. Boyd Bailey – Seeking daily the heart of God.
So has God changed your heart to the heart of a servant?
Conclusion: Challenge
1) Figure out whether or not you have a relationship with God and have the stamp of service on your life.
2) Find a place to be part of a Sunday School class or other small group. If you don’t think there is one for you pray if God is calling you to begin one and get with me and we will discuss how to move forward
3) Small groups, SS classes find the place in this body God has called you to serve.
4) Small groups find the place God has called you to serve in the community. (My wife’s class)
