Improving your serve!
Opening Illustration: Serving the ball story!
Thesis: Serving does not come easily to any of us, it is an art, a discipline which has to be developed in our life. Servanthood must also be modeled after Jesus.
Scripture: Mark 10:35-45
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
39 “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 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.”
The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Mk 10:35–45.
The background on our Scripture text from Logos!
The disciples are still blindly seeking self-glory (this was not the first time they tried to position for power and control with Jesus and with each other), and this time their desire breaks out into a brazen request for the chief seats (12:39). Mark 10:35–37 The request is brazenly self-seeking and self-centered. They want Jesus to do whatever they want, and that is to sit at his right and left in his glory. All the disciples want the kingdom to come immediately so they can sit in positions of authority and power (Luke 19:11), they want Jesus to restore political power to Israel (Acts 1:6), and they want greatness within this new established Kingdom (9:34). James and John decide that the best way to ensure greatness- positions of power above the other disciples is to get Jesus to give it to them. Matthew 20:20 tells us that their mother is the one who speaks up, but Mark tells us the request came from the two brothers. Did they put their mother up to it!
Sounds all too familiar in our society? Right!
We live in a society that promotes the I-me-mine-myself idol pyramid – Just listen to some commercials today and here are some oldies and lets watch them – did you note the message?
“Have it your way!” – Burger King – play commercial
“Do yourself a favor!” – used in many commercials no clip
“You owe it to yourself!” -Tom Horton play commercial
“You deserve a break today!” – McDonalds – play commercial
Introduction:
The Idol fighting against you and I in becoming a great servant for the Kingdom of Heaven is shown below and in this pyramid I erected on the table – I call it the idol of self pyramid and I is at the top of it all!
I
Me
Mine
Myself
The pyramid idea came to Charles R. Swindol in a cartoon: It’s from his book Improving Your Serve. Page 28
He makes the following thought – about our idol pyramid “Those four words stood out in bold print. They appeared as if they were forming an enormous monument, each letter seemingly chiseled out of granite. At the base of this strange “monument” were hundreds, perhaps thousands of people with their arms held up high, as if worshipping at a shrine. And then in very small letters, this caption appeared at the bottom of the editorial cartoon. “Speaking of American cults…”
Would you agree that we have a large American cult in our society today that is centered on the 4 idols in the pyramid?
Just this week I read about a recent survey conducted with an incoming class to Harvard – the target group was the new freshmen, and they were asked to list their personal goals (I would say their personal idols), they responded in order: money, power, and reputation, in that order. These three goals of most freshmen in America today reflect back to the pyramid idol that is holding people back from a true biblical virtue “The art of serving” which was made famous by Jesus Himself!”
Kenneth Fleming in his book “The Lost Art of Serving” stated, “No doubt the survey (revealed above) reflected the general thinking of a majority of university students in North America at that time. This book is about goals, but very different goals from those of the average college student. The Lord Jesus made it clear that goals in the kingdom of God are completely different to goals in the secular world. Greatness in God’s kingdom is measured in terms of servanthood, and Jesus Himself was the example to follow: “For . . . the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). The concept of serving is a major emphasis in the Bible. Strong’s Concordance has over 1,400 references listing the word serve in its various forms. If we truly want to be great in the eyes of the Lord and with others, we need to develop and cultivate the art of serving!
Thoughts above from Fleming, Ken. He Humbled Himself: Recovering the Lost Art of Serving (p. 7). ECS Ministries. Kindle Edition.
I. The shrine and worship of self – have you been to this temple?
a. We have a lot of people who live at the temple of self – they only worship at this self-erected temple – we see celebrities like this temple – sports stars love this temple and so do many people in leadership live in their temples of self.
i. Have you worshipped at this temple? Do you spend a lot of time there during the week?
ii. Idol worship is still happening today – it was not just an Old Testament problem!
1. Reference the self-centered minds of celebrities and politicians today. Note the news report you watched!
b. Swindoll states the following from his years of research of the Bible: “We are called to be a servant not a celebrity!”
i. The truth is God honors and will always honor servants for the Kingdom of Heaven over celebrities.
1. Just like God the Father honored Jesus- who was the greatest servant leader of all time he will do the same to those who choose this character trait over being self-centered celebrities!
2. Swindoll notes, “…in God’s family there is to be one great body of people: servants. In fact, that’s the way to the top in His kingdom. . . whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant. Forgotten words. Yes, these seem to be forgotten words, even in many churches with their smooth pastors, high powered executives, and superstar singers. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much of the servant mentality in such settings.”
a. Swindoll, Charles R. Improving Your Serve: The Art of Unselfish Living (pp. 19-20). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
b. So what has happened to the “The art of serving?”
ii. Swindoll adds this observation about our society and why “The art of serving has started disappearing more and more: “Yet, we constantly applaud the I-me-mine-myself philosophy in subtle as well as overt ways. We make books on the subject of selfishness bestsellers by buying them by the millions. We put the gifted on a pedestal and secretly (if not publicly) worship at their shrine. And we make every effort to “look out for number one” at all cost. Let’s admit it, ours is an age of gross selfishness. The “me” era. And we get mighty uncomfortable even when God begins to make demands on us. After all, this business of wholesale commitment to the cause of Christ needs to be kept in proper bounds!”
1. Swindoll, Charles R.. Improving Your Serve: The Art of Unselfish Living (p. 27-28). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
2. Jesus taught the opposite of this to his disciples telling them this is not the way of the Kingdom of Heaven!
a. It’s not about you – everyone please repeat this message ‘It’s not about you!” – It’s about God’s mission and love for this world! It’s about those God has called us to serve to open their eyes to His love and truth.
3. Swindoll observes, “Our world has become a large, impersonal, busy institution. We are alienated from each other. Although crowded, we are lonely. Distant. Pushed together but uninvolved. No longer do most neighbors visit across the backyard fence...”
a. We ignore each other or keep them at a distance!
b. We do out own things but don’t help others – why because of the temple we have erected starting with “I”.
c. The Truth is we are more with drawn than ever before – thank you Covid – people just stay away from each other!
i. People look at each other as threats to their health or home.
ii. Covid has made less and less people willing to serve to others.
c. But the apostle Paul tells us in Phil. 2:3-5: 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 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. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Phi 2:3–11.
• Paul tells us we need to be like Jesus – we need to humble – we need to use Jesus as our role model, and we are to model our behavior after Him – we are not to be like the many celebrities of today!
o People with pride and arrogance make up the bulk of celebrities today – Jesus the greatest man to have ever lived was humble and so should we.
o Truth is we live in a world of selfies – hey look at me!
? Illustration – type in selfies see what comes up – rather sad ?
o We need to be looking out for others – helping them out – connecting with them – developing relationships with them – this is the way to greatest in life and for eternity.
d. Personal confession: Yes, I will acknowledge the idol of the “I pyramid” is always trying to get me to climb on board and become a worshipper of it – it even feels right at certain times – the old saying is -if it feels good do it – well that’s a lie by the way – the act of self-centeredness according to the Bible and Jesus teachings is not the way of the Kingdom–– but the temple of Self keeps calling my name- it want me to climb on board the mound and stand at the top and say look at me and the idol tells me – no lies to me that this will give me satisfaction!
i. Ken states, “Why Is Serving Unpopular? Biblical servanthood is radically opposed to the values of this world. The world offers us a sphere in which self-interests are developed, a place for pleasure and the satisfaction of the five senses. It provides an opportunity to acquire material things which are so attractive to us. The world allows us to advance our personal authority, a chance to “get on in the world” as the phrase goes.”
1. This is what is robbing this world of servant leaders – people willing to model and speak of Jesus to others.
ii. Ken also adds, “Society respects the powerful, not the servants. Society is more likely to honor you for what you own than for what you are; more likely to respect your college degrees than what you know; more likely to acknowledge the symbols of culture you display than your attitudes and acts of genuine love.”
1. Fleming, Ken. He Humbled Himself: Recovering the Lost Art of Serving (p. 10-12). ECS Ministries. Kindle Edition.
2. Do you agree with Kens statement?
II. But the Bible tells us we need to be like Jesus and not like this world! He was different and that’s why He changed the world!
a. Jesus modeled for us three H qualities which must be developed to be world changers: Lets look at the three H’s of Jesus!
i. Jesus had the heart of a servant as we should as His followers:
1. Quote” Nothing is more refreshing than a servant’s heart and a giving spirit, especially when we see them displayed in a person many would tag as a celebrity.” Swindoll, Charles R.. Improving Your Serve: The Art of Unselfish Living (p. 16). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
2. See John 13: Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet: 13 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. 2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not everyone was clean. 12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Jn 13:1–17.
3. What a picture of servant leadership – can you imagine the smell of the disciples’ feet – no really – no shoes – dirt roads with manure all over them and they wore sandals – ugh!
a. But Jesus came to serve and to teach his followers to do the same – because this is how you change the world!
b. So, He washed there dirty smelly feet!
b. The three H ways Jesus lead as a servant leader are from His heart – His head and His hands and we should learn from Him to do the same!
i. Jesus led from the heart! We just talked briefly about this!
1. Quote “Most leadership books and seminars focus on the leader’s behavior, style, and methods. They attempt to change leaders from the outside. Yet, as we have taught people to lead like Jesus, we have found that leadership improves when there is first a change on the inside: leadership is primarily a heart issue. We believe that if we don’t get our hearts right, we simply won’t ever lead like Jesus.”
a. Blanchard, Ken; Hodges, Phil. Lead Like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time (p. 39). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
2. Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” Matthew 22:37–39
a. Quote: “What does your heart have to do with leadership? Everything! In the heart is your why. Within your heart lies the reason you do what you do; your heart is home to your intention and motivation. It is the core of who you are.”
i. Blanchard, Ken; Hodges, Phil. Lead Like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time (p. 39). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
b. Jesus’ heart is revealed by His washing of the disciples’ feet and telling them to lead as He did – from the heart of a servant who loves God and loves others sacrificially the heart is unleashed on serving others – with a genuine love and compassion!
i. Romans 12:1: 1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
1. Paul tells us that if we want to worship and serve God the best way to do this is to be a living sacrifice – using your life to serve others – in the course of doing this you worship God!
ii. Quote: “As Scripture confirms, the beliefs in your heart set in motion your why. In Scripture we learn that the heart is so important in our leadership because love is stored in the heart (1 Peter 1:22). We also forgive one another from the heart (Matthew 18:35); words are banked in our hearts (Luke 6:45); Scripture is stored in our hearts (Psalm 119:11); and it is with the heart that we seek and find God (Jeremiah 29:13). The heart includes the will, determination, and soul. It is the seat of all desires; it is the essence of who we are. No wonder we are told to guard our hearts above all else (Proverbs 4:23).”
1. Blanchard, Ken; Hodges, Phil. Lead Like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time (p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
iii. Ken Blanchard stated “A heart motivated by self-interest looks at the world as a “Give a little, take a lot” proposition. People with hearts motivated by self-interest put their own agenda, safety, status, and gratification ahead of that of those affected by their thoughts and actions.” (Lead Like Jesus page 41)
iv. Jesus was never self-serving! He served others and followed the will of the Father! He told his followers to do the same! He led for a heart of love and compassion.
v. He modeled servant leadership in his life and ministry! Jesus led from His heart! Do you?
ii. Jesus also led from his head!
1. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
a. We need to lead - serve from the heart and the head!
2. Blanchard states: “The journey of servant leadership starts in the heart with motivation and intent. Then it must travel through the head, which is the leader’s belief system and perspective on the role of the leader ... Jesus leadership point of view proclaimed that leadership was first an act of service. He spent three years teaching His leadership point of view to His disciples.” (Lead like Jesus page 83).
a. He did this by serving others – casting his mission and vision for the world. He role-modeled for his disciples how to serve and lead at the same time – in those days these were direct opposites of each other – you were either a servant or leader but never both!
3. Ken adds: “The journey of becoming a great leader starts in the heart with motivation and intent. If you don’t get the heart right, your leadership will never reflect how Jesus led. Then, when we realize that God is our primary authority and audience and that we are here to please Him alone, our good intentions travel to our heads. That is where we store our perspectives on life and leadership: specifically, all great leaders know not only whose they are, but also who they are. They are aware that the purpose of their lives is already embedded within them, put there by God. As Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
a. Blanchard, Ken; Hodges, Phil. Lead Like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time (p. 123). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
b. Listen, we have to get our hearts right to get our heads right to lead and serve others.
i. I have met many people with great ideas for leading church and school, but the problem was their hearts were in the wrong place which negated their great ideas!
ii. The head must be in connection to the heart of God and the love He has for others!
4. Jesus communicated and acted out His vision for His life and never got sidetracked from His God given mission and call.
a. Ken Blanchard states, “Our experience tells us that few people have a clear, compelling vision for themselves, even though God has one for each of us. And how do you make a decision about what you are going to do with your time if you don’t have a compelling vision that tells you your purpose, reflects your picture of the future, and reminds you of your values?
i. Did you hear that thought – You are to serve and lead with your head and your heart – they must be connected!
1. Blanchard, Ken; Hodges, Phil. Lead Like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time (p. 125). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
b. Jesus knew his future, His mission, the plan and where it was leading Him – go read about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He struggled with the God’s ultimate goal, but He followed because he knew God’s love and ultimate way is the way of wisdom!
i. Ken suggests that every person should do the following if they want to serve and lead like Jesus:
1. He says that there is an exercise we can do to get our head into serving, “To determine your picture of the future, we want you to write your own obituary.”
a. Seriously what do you want people to talk about at your funeral – what legacy do you want to leave behind?
2. Blanchard, Ken; Hodges, Phil. Lead Like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time (p. 128). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
iii. The hands of a servant leader – have you ever looked at Jesus hands?
1. “Whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:27–28
a. I have enjoyed watching the Chosen because you see Jesus using his hands to serve others!
i. I recall the scene of him making wood figures to give to a young girl – His hands where active not idol – they went from blessings a child with gifts made with His hands, to laying hands on the sick and them getting them healed – to delivering people from demons – to calming the raging storm, to using his hands to direct them to God the father– I challenge you to watch His hands in the series – I believe they will speak to you!
ii. Jesus laid His hands on people to heal them, deliver them and to encourage them!
iii. He laid his hands on lepers – they were the outcasts of society – but he showed them thru his hands they had value and that God loved them. He touched them when others would not.
iv. He pulled people up with his hands in times of crisis – like when Peter sank after he walked on the water!
b. Ken and Phil made this observation also about Jesus hands: “Hands provide a powerful symbol of the doing aspect of leading like Jesus. The Bible is filled with vivid images of Jesus’ hands at work. With His hands, Jesus healed the sick, cleansed lepers, fed the hungry, overturned the tables of the money changers, washed the feet of His closest disciples, and hung from a cross to save sinful human beings. With His hands, Jesus rescued the fearful, reassured the doubting, restored the fallen, and beckoned the already occupied to a higher calling and a special personal relationship with Him. As varied as the work of Jesus’ hands was, it was always motivated by the same purpose: to point people to the holy and loving God; to help them recognize their sin; and to encourage them to name Jesus as their Savior and Lord, to know His love, His forgiveness, and eternal life.”
i. Blanchard, Ken; Hodges, Phil. Lead Like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time (p. 165-166). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
c. Quote “We believe great leadership—servant leadership—is an inside-out job that begins with this key question: Are you here on earth to serve or to be served? Answering this question involves your head: in your mind you formulate your beliefs about leadership. However, people won’t have a clue what those beliefs are until you start to do something.”
i. You have to use your hands too!
1. Blanchard, Ken; Hodges, Phil. Lead Like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time (p. 165). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
2. As Jesus glorified God the Father in His life, He got His hands dirty. In fact, He went beyond merely proclaiming what others should do to yield to God as Lord, to die to self, and to serve others; He demonstrated with His very life His willingness to serve.
a. Blanchard, Ken; Hodges, Phil. Lead Like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time (p. 166). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
b. Are you will to cultivate, develop the lost art of serving – of becoming a servant leader?
Conclusion:
What do we need to know from this message?
Answer: Being a servant is greater than being a celebrity and a servant will get way more rewards in heaven than a celebrity ever will! Jesus chose to be a servant and told us to model his lead in serving with our own lives.
What do we need to do with this message?
Answer: We need to lead like Jesus – from our heart – our head and through our hands!
Why do we need to do this?
Answer: Because if we model Jesus, we too can be a part of changing the world around us and we will get a great reward in Heaven for a job well done.
