I recall a meme I saw online, it had a picture of a janitorial supply cart and it said, "Called to ministry? This will be your first pulpit." Truer words were never spoken. My first five years in ministry I mopped a lot of floors, and believe me, I expect more floors in the future.
Ministry is much more than faith. It's action. If we are Christians, if we have been washed in the blood of Jesus, and our sins have been forgiven, then we will believe certain truths about who God is. We will want to attend church, and learn more and more about Jesus. We will want to seek healing for past hurts and traumas. We will learn to walk by faith, not by sight. We will learn what it means to be redeemed. We will also begin to walk in holiness, and see sins defeated in our lives.
Now, a lot of this is internal isn’t it? What’s going on inside of me? Healing, Redemption, Sin, Faith, etc. Now, we take it from internal to external.
Catherine Booth co-founder of The Salvation Army said, “A salvation that does not lead to service is no salvation at all.”
When we became Christians, we were in essence giving ourselves to God. Saying God I’m yours. We decided to follow Jesus. We made a commitment to obey Him and do His will. That’s all part of the package of being a Christian.
So we’re talking about where the rubber meets the road. Are you serving Christ in your daily life? Are you about your Father’s business? Or are you just living life for yourself, with a Christian sticker slapped on the outside of the bus?
God knows the difference. In fact, it says in the word that not everyone who says to me “Lord, Lord’ will inherit the kingdom of God, but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven.
Are you one of those "Sunday only" Christians? You come to church but that’s about it? We are called to more than that. We are called to be about our Father’s business. Did you know, everyone you see around you, at the store, in traffic, at work, at home, on the internet, they all need Jesus Christ as their savior? And without Jesus they are in great danger. Time is short.
Jesus came to serve. That’s the example he set. In Matthew 20, we see Jesus explaining to his disciples why he came.
“17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” -Matthew 20:17-19
You might read that and think who would sign up for that job? Jesus would, for the sake of us.
It must’ve been really hard though to know it was coming. Have you ever had something really stressful on the horizon, and you just kept thinking about it and worrying about it? It's so hard. But Jesus signed up for that. We’ve also signed up for difficult service. But it’s so worth it.
Because Jesus also says, three days later I’ll rise to life again. There’s something better waiting on the other side.
Jesus lived with a deep concern for the people around him, for all people in fact. We’re called to something similar.
I think we like to help others. We do. Most of us do. We like to help. We do it if we feel like it. And it feels good.
But the real challenge comes when we don’t feel like it. Will you still serve then? That’s the challenge.
Can we take it from, I like to serve, to, it is the focus of my life to serve?
So we saw the power of that explanation by Jesus of his radical service. Let’s see what happens next. Starting in verse 20…
"Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
“What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” -Matthew 20:20-21
What is it you want? Jesus brilliantly asks. I often scroll social media, and see people at points in their lives that they are proud of, at a wedding in a tuxedo, in a graduation gown from high school or college, on a stage for some reason, receiving some award or recognition.
What do we want? As humans, we want to be recognized. We want to be wealthy. We want to show how important we are. We want to be the greatest.
I admit at times that’s my focus, how can I become great? How can I be really special, show that I’m different, meaningful, useful, helpful, mighty?
I used to think well, if I write books then I’ll be important. Or maybe if I do good in sports. Or if I make lots of money. Or if I got elected for a public office, then my life will matter.
Then once we become a Christian we wonder, how can I be important in the Christian world, how can I influence people and innovate and make a difference?
What do you want? That’s the key question. Look at your motivations. What are you seeking in life? Nothing will satisfy but God himself. Anything else will fall short.
I used to think that getting married would make my life meaningful, that somehow true love would really change my whole life and make it good and right. Marriage is a blessing, but, it’s not the answer. Neither is fun adventures, parties, family, wealth, none of those things truly satisfy. Only Jesus Christ can fulfill our greatest longings.
Let’s see what Jesus does next.
Verses 22-23, “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, 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 by my Father.”
Jesus says you're missing the mark here. You don’t understand greatness correctly. Jesus later affirms that greatness is a good thing to seek. If you want to be great, if you want to make a difference, if you want to live a life of significance, that’s a good instinct.
But Jesus is going to help us adjust our aim. We want to be great, but we’re missing the correct target. We’re pointed at the wrong target.
We see how greatness is exercised in the world system, it’s exercised through power, wealth, and extravagance. The powerful parade around in fancy clothes, indulge every luxury imaginable, and they exercise control over our institutions, economies, and power structures. They act as “lords” over the “little” people like you and me.
Next, in verses 24-25: “When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.”
If you can understand this, you’re going to avoid a lot of pain in targeting things in life that don’t matter.
People have wasted their entire lives chasing things that don’t matter. It reminds me of something the famous actor Jim Carrey said. According to a source, he has a net worth of about 180 million dollars.
He said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.” ?Jim Carrey
Gentiles, that’s the whole world, non-Jews, it’s all about power. People lord it over each other. They exercise authority over the masses. They seek to control people. We seek money, power, authority, influence, celebrity, and then when it doesn’t satisfy us, we are shocked.
What’s in your heart? Are you focused on money, marriage, family, education, pleasure? Whatever it might be, change it over to God. Only God can satisfy.
But God feels far away. Then get closer! Draw nearer. Get into the tent with Him. Go deeper. Seek His face with all your heart. And you’ll know true meaning.
Next, Jesus says to his disciples:
Verses 26-27, “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—"
Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, "Stop trying to be great! Just be a loser!" Nope. Jesus doesn’t say that. He says, Ok, awesome, you want to be great, that’s a good desire, now let’s talk about what real greatness is.
If you want to see greatness friends, stop by the food pantry and see volunteers serving bread and frozen meat to people in need.
If you want to see greatness, watch a volunteer carry out food pantry boxes and help old ladies load groceries into their cars.
If you want to see greatness, go visit the corps I served at last, and watch a volunteer there, serving people baked good and produce from the free tables.
Jesus teaches us what true greatness is, and yes, it’s real. And the world will sometimes recognize this level of greatness, not always, but sometimes.
The world does recognize people like Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr, St Francis Assissi, and others as truly great people. But it’s rare.
Do you want to be great? Then become the servant of those around you who are in need.
The word for servant there is diakonos in the Greek, which gives the idea of someone who runs errands for someone else. The KJV renders it "minister."
Do you want to be the greatest, as Jesus says, the first, then become the slave of all. The word slave there is doulos in the Greek, one who gives himself up for another, a slave or servant.
That will determine your status in heaven, in the next life, will you be the least or the greatest in heaven?
How well did you serve others? Those who made themselves servers to others will be great in the next life. They already are great today. But they will be rewarded greatly.
In the highest of heaven, the greatest heroes of the faith, in the next life, will be those who made themselves the lowly servant of all.
Lastly, Jesus says, “...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” (v.28).
Look to the example of Jesus himself. What did Jesus do in His life? Did he seek power and money and authority? No he didn’t. Was he famous? Yes he was. But it wasn’t because he was seeking that. He simply did God’s will. And God brought the people to minister to.
Jesus our God came to serve. And even to die, to give his life as a ransom for many! To die for us, to empty himself of divine power and authority and serve those in need. That is true greatness.
So it’s time to set a new target in life. Let’s make our target greatness in service.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we admit we’ve targeted the wrong things in life. We’ve wanted money, we’ve wanted romance, we’ve wanted greatness in power but instead we repent and choose to desire greatness through humble service. Help us in this new endeavor, in Jesus name, amen.
Lastly, I want to talk applications. It’s all well and good to say we want to serve others. But how exactly do we go about doing that?
Let’s look at four examples quickly, of how to service others practically.
First, sharing your faith with others. The gospel, that all have sinned, all need a savior. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.
We’ve got to do that. Get creative. Use social media. Use tracts, we have tracts in the lobby area you can use, just hand someone a tract. Offer to pray with someone. Share your testimony, what God did for you.
Second, pay for someone at the restaurant. Buy someone lunch. Grab someone some bread. Many come to the food pantry and they pick up food for someone else. Meet needs. That’s the second thing. Pay for someone’s groceries. Buy someone food or clothing or a hotel room, there are so many ways we can meet needs. If you don’t have a lot of money, get some food from the food bank or clothing from a charity, and share some of it with a neighbor. That’s giving too!
Third, volunteer at your local church. Step up and take a position of leadership. Volunteer at the local food pantry. Bell ring for The Salvation Army. Mentor a child at Big Brothers Big Sisters. Sponsor a child on Compassion International. Start a new ministry at your church. Lead a bible study. Start a small group. If God is tugging at your heart now, follow His lead.
Fourth, find something unique to your skill set. It might be out of the box. I remember a friend of mine would minister to people on Xbox live. Others have started podcasts. I recently came across a guy who does Christian artwork. He uses his gift for God. I myself write a Christian blog online. Others have started homeless shelters, my wife started a women’s group, find what God has called you to, and then do it. It might be out of the box, but trust in God and do it!
A word of warning though, don't start something outside the will of God. Sometimes we get so excited we forget to check with God to see if it's His will. Make sure you pray first, and let God guide your ministry pathway.
What will your reward be in heaven? It will depend on how well you make it your mission in life to serve others.
And in the end, it’s time to take another step closer to who God wants us to be. It’s kind of nerve wracking. It’s kind of scary. It makes us nervous to step out into the unknown. We try to explain away why we couldn’t go further to serve others. But instead of arguing with it, and trying to fight it, or argue with God, what if we just boldly said, “Ok God, I trust you, and I’m taking another step out into the unknown of radically serving others.”
Make a plan. Pray and ask God's help. What can you do today to bless someone? Small steps lead to bigger steps. Start small. Bless someone. Do it again. And pretty soon, you’ll go further than you thought possible. And you’ll be excited. Because God’s got all of you.
