“I DON'T WANT TO BE A SERVANT!”: How does trust lead to power?
- Luke 1:38.
- We don’t want to be a servant.
- It’s challenging for us today to embrace being a servant. We are far more familiar with being a consumer, where we are the one who is being served and whose needs are being attended to.
- It seems beneath us.
- But this morning I want to look at an important thought for those who are reluctant to be a servant: the trust that comes with being a servant for God leads to power. I want to use this sermon to unpack that idea.
NOT IN CHARGE: We buck at giving ourselves over to God’s will.
- Luke 1:30-33.
- We find it difficult to submit ourselves to God’s will.
- Why do we buck at acquiescing to God’s will?
a. We like being in charge.
b. We like being in control.
c. We fear the unknown.
- What might God ask us to do?
d. God may ask sacrifices of us.
- What if His will is painful for us?
NEW VISTAS: When we give ourselves over to God’s will, good things happen.
- Many struggle with believing that God’s will is a something worth having in your life. They see it as inferior to their own desires.
- What happens when we give ourselves over to God’s will?
a. We are a part of a bigger plan.
- We enter into the cosmic plan that God is bringing together.
b. We get challenged to be more than we thought we could be.
- This may not always be easy, but it is valuable.
c. We live for what will ultimately matter.
- Because it is God’s plan, it puts in a position to spend our lives in a way that is worthwhile.
WHY IS THAT? Because simple trust opens up God’s vision for your life.
- Luke 1:38.
- When we have a simple trust in God, He is able to bring His plan and vision into our life.
- Some examples:
a. Obedience to a challenging teaching transforms who you are into Christlikeness.
- I obey because I trust that God is wise and loving.
b. Stepping out to serve creates opportunities for pouring into people’s lives.
- Even when I doubt I have anything to give, I trust that God’s Word saying I have spiritual gifts means that it’s true.
c. Being attuned to the guidance of the Holy Spirit leads in fruitful, if unexpected, directions.
- I slowly learn to listen and heed the Spirit and trust that He knows what He’s doing.
d. Trusting Christ for salvation leads to joy and comfort we didn’t think we would have.
- It’s hard to believe that we could be forgiven, but we trust that Jesus meant what He said. Then we enjoy what that brings into our lives.
THE SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLE BEHIND THIS: Humbling leads to exalting.
- Luke 1:38; Luke 1:42-43; Luke 14:11.
- In Luke 14:11 (look it up), we see the spiritual principle that is mentioned several places in the gospels: the one who exalts himself will be humbled and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
- What exactly does that mean?
- For many, it sounds like nonsense. It’s not, though – it’s an insight into how God works in the world.
- When we humble ourselves, we acknowledge that God is king. We acknowledge that He is the Lord and we are His servants. We believe that our job is not to manufacture results, but rather to be vessels of God’s grace. As we do that, God works through us, bringing His power to bear on what we do in order to accomplish greater things.
- Thus we come to the principle. When I humble myself under God’s will and power, I become someone through whom God can work powerfully. So when I humble myself, God can then exalt me in the sense of working powerfully through my life because I am an open vessel.
- In Luke 1:38 we see Mary humbling herself before the Lord’s command. She acknowledges that she is “the Lord’s servant” and submits herself to God’s will.
- We see the exaltation foreshadowed in Luke 1:42-43 when Mary is declared “blessed” and “the mother of my Lord.” This points us to the exalted position Mary will occupy because of her obedience to the will of God.
- This is essential for us to understand today. Let’s go back to the question we opened this sermon with: how can trust lead to power?
- We now see the answer. When I have complete faith in God and gladly allow myself to participate in God’s revealed will, I am trusting Him. When I have that kind of trust (as Mary did), it puts me in position for God’s power to flow through me. I am that open vessel for God to do great things through. So trust in God leads to power from God.
- This is why being a servant is so essential. When we refuse to humble ourselves as servants, we shut up our source of power from God.
