Building Up One Another
Serve One Another
Galatians 5:13
Introduction
John Wesley wrote, “One of the principal rules of religion is, to lose no occasion of serving God. And, since he is invisible to our eyes, we are to serve him in our neighbor; which he receives as if done to himself in person, standing visibly before us.” This echoes a teaching of Jesus that when we serve the “least of these” we are serving Him. (MT 25:45). Whether it is serving someone in dire straights or simply serving others as we have opportunity - servitude is the mindset of the Christian life.
2. Building Up One Another - we are members of one another, devoted to one another, honor one another, we are of the same mind together, accept one another, admonish one another, and greet one another. Today we are going to focus on serving one another.
Galatians 5:13 "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge your sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love”
Galatians is a letter written to intercept a church that was wandering away from Christ by returning to a legalistic
understanding of their relationship with God. Paul wanted to rescue them from that distressing error and help them return to the right road. Freedom in Christ is freedom to serve others!
1. We Are Saved to Serve (serve one another in love)
The words often translated “serve,” “servant,” or “serving” appear over 300 times in the NT. In it’s strongest sense, a servant is someone who has given himself up completely to another’s will. - Getz
Ephesians 2:8-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Galatians 5:14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
We constantly need this reminder. Serving others is not our natural inclination - we like to be served! We often think about what we should get in return. We think about how others should respond. We compare ourselves to others. We find a way to make it a benefit to us. ?None are immune to these unservant-like attitudes.
When we serve one another in a spirit of love, we fulfill the whole law as it applies to our relationships with others.
“Jesus Christ made it possible for all of us to break out of our self-oriented mold. In Christ, we are set free to minister to others, to love others as ourselves.” - Getz
2. We are Saved to Love (…serve one another in love)
The New Testament is so clear in it’s call to love. Five times Apostle John wrote, “love one another” (1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11-12).
Apostle Paul made it clear that love was crucial:
-And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (1 Cor 13:13)
-Follow the way of love (1 Corinthians 14:1)
-Do everything in love (1 Corinthians 16:14)
-Be patient, bearing with one another in love (Eph4:2)
-Speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15)
-Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us (Eph 5:2)
-And over all these virtues put on love (Col 3:14)
-Pursue love (2 Timothy 2:22)
Jesus: “By THIS shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)
We are saved to serve and saved to love.
3. How Can We Cultivate the Servant's Heart? (Foster)
“Nothing disciplines the inordinate desires of the flesh like service, and nothing transforms the desires of the flesh like serving in hiddenness.” - Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline
Foster offers examples of serving in small ways that make a big difference in the lives of others. “In the realm
of the spirit we soon discover that the real issues are found in the tiny, insignificant corners of life.”
The service of guarding the reputation of others - refusing gossip/put downs. (Titus 3:2)
The service of being served - as Peter had to learn from Jesus. It is an act of submission and service to allow others to serve us.
The service of common courtesy - giving people the time of day - to acknowledge them and affirm their worth.
The service of Hospitality (1 Peter 4:9 “Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another). 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8
The Service of Listening - requires compassion / patience.
The service of bearing burdens of each other (Gal 6:2)
The service of sharing Word of Life with one another.
Foster suggests that we "Begin the day by praying, ‘Lord Jesus, I would so appreciate it if You would bring me someone today whom I can serve.’" (Foster)?
Conclusion
We are saved to serve and we are are saved to love. If you have not given your life to Christ, we encourage you to do that today in faith, repentance, and baptism. This path begins the journey of service and love.
Jesus is our greatest example of service and love. It’s easy to get sidetracked into our own concerns - the Jesus Way is to be focused on others.
John Wesley wrote, “…Since [Jesus] is invisible to our eyes, we are to serve him in our neighbor; which he receives as if done to himself in person, standing visibly before us.” Have you served Jesus today? How shall we serve one another today?
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Who can share a time when someone served them? Was it difficult or easy to receive that kind of attention from someone else? Have you ever been served by someone in secret - you didn’t know who blessed you?
2. Read Galatians 5:13. What is the relationship between freedom and serving others? what parallels do you see
between being a servant of Jesus and a servant to others?
3. Richard Foster wrote, ““Nothing disciplines the inordinate desires of the flesh like service, and nothing transforms the desires of the flesh like serving in hiddenness.” (Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline)
- What do you think he means by ‘serving in hiddenness’?
- What makes it hard to serve in hiddenness?
- How does that relate to the ‘desires of the flesh’?
4. Regarding Foster’s seven suggestions for serving others in small ways, which one is hardest for you? Which one do you think makes a real difference in the life of another?
5. What kinds of things keep us from serving as we should?
6. Brainstorm a service project that our group can participate in this coming week or two? Think about who to serve … who will lead the way in getting the information together … who will help keep everyone in touch … is this something the group can do ongoing … or just one time?
7. What else did you want to talk about today in relation to the sermon?
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Resources
Building Up One Another, by Gene A. Getz, Victor Books, 1981.
Sermon by David Owens
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/8-serve-one-another-david-owens-sermon-on-servanthood-140954
Sermon by Chuck Sligh
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/6-one-anothers-6-serve-one-another-chuck-sligh-sermon-on-mind-of-christ-242489
Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, Harper Collins Publishers, 20th Anniversary Edition, 1998.
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Video of this message can be found on the YouTube channel of Forsythe Church of Christ.
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