Toweled To Serve

“TOWELED TO SERVE”

JOHN 13:1-5/ MATTHEW 20: 25-28

JUNE 2, 2002 INSTALATION OF LBA

INTRODUCTION: Anyway

People are often unreasonable, illogical,

and self-centered; Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish,

ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends

and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone

could destroy overnight; Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,

they may be jealous; Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will

often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.

Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

TRANSITION THOUGHT: Today is a day of new beginnings to some degree. Today, your newly elected Local Board of Administration takes office. This is a significant day because for the next 12 months these new leaders will make very important and crucial decision that will affect how bright our future will be as a church. It is also a significant day because we as the Local Church will commission these new leaders with our blessing and confidence. Leadership should not be taken lightly as it so often is. We have seen leaders, whether in the church, in government, or elsewhere, disgrace themselves and those they represent because they did not take their leadership role seriously enough. So today, our two text reveal the model for us of what it looks like to be a true leader and how we can follow this biblical example.

TRANSITION SENTENCE: REAL LEADERS ARE SERVANTS!

SO WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO BE A REAL SERVANT LEADER?

I. SERVANT LEADERS KNOW WHO THEY ARE (JN. 13:3/MTT. 20: 28)

JESUS IS STILL OUR MODEL OF LEADERSHIP

A. Jesus knew His origin

1. He had come from God/ He had remembered his up bringing.

2. Jesus remembered from whence He came, from the Glory of God (vs.3).

B. Jesus knew His destination:

1. “Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father (vs. 1).” “And was returning to God (vs. 3).”

2. Jesus knew what He came to do and knew how it was to end and to where he was returning.

C. Jesus knew His authority:

1. “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power (V. 3),” 2. Jesus was well aware of what was happening and what His soon Death would bring.

D. Jesus knew His role (MTT. 20:28):

1. Jesus did not come to be served. This seems to go against the grain because we all want to serve Jesus, but this was not the goal of His first coming.

2. Jesus came to serve!

E. Servant Leaders follow the Lord!

Bottom line here is that Jesus had His being and Foundation in God. He knew he belong to God totally. He knew that He was fulfilling God’s will and that Regardless of all the soon coming circumstances, He was going to be with the Father once more and Forever.

If we are ever going to be “SERVANT LEADERS,” it will be because we know we belong to the Father and that our being and foundation are in Him and that it doesn’t matter what happens to us in this life, for when it is over we will spend an eternity with Him!

TRUTH: ONLY WHEN WE COME TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE BELONG TO GOD WILL WE BECOME SERVANT LEADERS

HOW ELSE DO WE FULFILL OUR ROLE AS SERVANT LEADERS

II. SERVANT LEADERS KNOW THEIR GOAL (JN. 13: 1, 4-5 /MTT. 20: 25-27)

A. Jesus’ Goal was Love!

1. Having Loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

2. For Jesus Love had to be more than words, LOVE IS A VERB.

B. Jesus’ Goal was Service!

1. “Jesus took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash is disciples feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him (v. 4-5).”

2. Jesus explains it to us: “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life... (John 10:17).”

3. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).”

4. The Apostle Paul puts it this way, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and become obedient to death -- even death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8)!”