Last week we asked the question Why Deacons? In the midst of that sermon we not only answered the question Why? But also the questions of who are they? And what do they or should they do? At the close of the service our you were given a ballot of 5 awesome Christian men of whom you were to select two to serve as your table waiters, your deacons.
The two men that were selected were Jake Hunter and Richard West. Also in the message the role of their wives was emphasized as they work and serve alongside their husbands. The two wives of these men are Jean Hunter and Barbara West. At the close of this sermon these 4 individuals will be called forward for us as a congregation to pray with them and over them as they serve over the next three years.
But before we get to that point let us continue to look at the concept of a servant leader.
Turn with me in your bibles to Matthew chapter 20 beginning in verse 25.
These verses make up the end of a conversation with the mother of James and John. You see the mother of James and John came to visit. And as any good mother would desire She wanted the best for her boys. She looked at the other 10 disciples and quickly deduced My sons are better than them. They should be in a leadership position in this new kingdom Jesus is talking about. So this bold mama maybe with the prodding of her boys, approached Jesus with the request. This mama wanted her boys to sit on the right and left of the throne of the King. Basically saying let my boys be the top two among all men in your kingdom.
Jesus quietly said No. This was not his call to make. It was the Father’s. Now can you imagine what happened when the other 10 overheard the conversation. They were fit to be tied. Who do they think they are? But basically none the disciples understand that the Kingdom Jesus was talking about was a heavenly kingdom; so each of them in their own ways were jockeying for those top positions of authority, but when Jesus sensed the tension he called all of them and gave them again his definition of a leader.
Listen again to our passage.
But Jesus called them together and said, “ You know in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them. BUT among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be first must become your slave. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.
So what does it mean to lead by serving. Well that is what we are going to briefly focus upon this morning.
A pastor once spoke about this tension between serving and leading. He said,” We all at times struggle with complacency. We have this strange tendency to be consumers and spectators. We walk around treating every situation like we’re food critics in a new restaurant. We expect everything and everyone to cater to us. We act as if breaking a sweat would be as painful as breaking our legs. He went on to say , “ it Reminds me of how someone described a college football game in the fourth quarter: “22 guys in need of a break, 70,000 people badly in need of exercise.”
To serve mean to act, to do, to risk, to put someone else and their life issues ahead of your own. And that my friends is hard.
So why do so many choose to be spectators and not players- To watch or ignore instead of to serve. Well it all boils down to selfishness or an inability to trust and risk. When asked to step out and participate, the response is sometimes:
1. I’m not good enough.
2. I don’t know enough about God.
3. I don’t know what to do. 4. I don’t have enough time.
5. What difference could I make?
All of these responses have at the center – ‘me’ – my fear, my doubt, my needs, my thoughts, my mind. And to some degree this is true, but we shouldn’t stop there. This is where our depending and trusting upon God begins. Christ invites you and I to join Him in ministry. Ministering to others isn’t about what I can do… Its about what Christ can do through me.
Being a minister is about God’s people using God’s gifts to display God’s grace.
If Christianity is going to make a real impact on your life – you have to get involved in ministry to others. No one ever checks out the win/loss record of the referee.
Luke-warm Christianity leads to a lack-luster life with no purpose and no promise.
God gives us opportunities that any and all of us can answer. A person walks into our church – any of us can greet them and pray for them as we meet them. A friend goes into the hospital for emergency surgery, any of us can hold them and their family in prayer; any of us can answer a need they’ll face: mow their lawn while their out, take a meal by the house, visit them in the hospital to lift their spirits. There are opportunities for ministry for which we are uniquely prepared. God gives you specific opportunities to minister for which you are especially experienced.
A lady was leaving her office one evening and was stuck in the parking lot when her car wouldn’t start. Just as she was ready to give up and call a cab, a gentleman walked up and offered to help. He tinkered under the hood for a second and the car started right up.
She was so grateful and offered to compensate the stranger, yet he refused. “You are such a good man,” she remarked. “Lady, if you knew me” he said, “you wouldn’t say that. I was released on parole from prison last week. I was doing time for hot wiring cars.”
The lady looked to heaven, and jubilantly said, “Thank you, Lord for sending me a professional!”
God prepares us for unique opportunities in ministry. There are times when God wants to use you, and perhaps exclusively you, to demonstrate his grace to someone in a personal and powerful way.
So how do I ask God to reign in my life in such a way that I am available to be His agent of ministry?
Here’s how we start. In your daily prayer time, approach God and ask him to give you two things:
Pray this: Open my heart to be like Jesus.
Give me the kind of heart Jesus had. Help me be willing to be re-made in the image of a servant – a servant willing to take any form you need; a servant ready to go anywhere you lead.
And then pray: Open my eyes to who I can serve today.
Show me who you have put in my life that I can give myself to today. Show me who needs to see your grace.
There was a elderly lady who didn’t get out much anymore who was listening to her Pastor speak on a local radio broadcast one Sunday. The Holy Spirit, through that sermon, convicted her that she needed to find a way to display God’s grace in ministry. But how? She couldn’t safely drive any longer. She rarely was able to get out of her home. Then, after a couple of days of prayer, she got it. She ran an ad in the local paper, saying: “elderly lady will play hymns on the piano over the phone to comfort and encourage anyone who is interested. Call me in my home.”
She ran the ad occasionally and would get a couple phone calls a day from people who needed a lift or encouragement. Some were elderly people such as herself who couldn’t get out much anymore. Others were in different situations.
One afternoon a young girl, 8 or 9 years old called. After a few minutes of conversation our lady surmised that this girl struggled with a health ailment that kept her home from school fairly often and the she lived alone with her mother – who being a single mom – had to work long hours to pay the bills. The girl shared, “I know my mother loves me and cares even though she works. I just want to know that someone else is thinking of me and loving me while she’s busy. Is there anything you could play on your piano that I would recognize?”
The lady walked over to her baby grand piano, set the receiver down and began to play a simple, yet familiar tune. And as she reached the chorus, she could the girl singing along, “Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so.”
The piano playing wasn’t the ministry gift. The lady’s heart was. Her heart and hands given over to God to display his grace is the testimony of a life transformed and committed to the purposes and person of Jesus Christ. May we be such a people. This isn’t about how bright you are or how right you are. This isn’t about your strengths or your weak links. This is asking God to show His grace to people through your life. Ask God to use you as a violinist uses a bow. No one praises the bow. but people are touched by the beautiful music they make together. Ask your Father in heaven to Open your heart to be shaped and molded after the heart of Jesus Christ. Then ask your Father in heaven to Open your eyes to who you can serve today.
Our world will be changed by serving others. Let us be today that kind of leader.
Right now I would like to close our service this morning by calling the Hunters and the Wests forward. As they stand here I want us to pray for them that as they serve the next three years as your servant leaders that God will bless them with wisdom, understanding, love, good health, and a hunger to follow Jesus and do what he calls to be done. Let’s pray.
