Why Life’s Better as a Servant ... Part 4

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Why Life’s Better as a Servant

Part 4

[NKJV] Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many”
Question: “Why does being a servant/minister matter?
Answer: John chapter 13; shows how blessed your life becomes from doing this’

   Jesus gave us the example of a servant when He washed His disciples feet. Leadership should be measured by their willingness to be a servant. Not for want of repetition, our Lord came, NOT for us to serve Him, instead for Him to serve us, as shocking as that may be, then in the end freely giving His life for us.

    1) ’What is life, if not as a servant?’
   What you have known is that, especially as a Christian, there are going to consequences if you have not a servants attitude. . . If not a servant, then you can only be someone whom is self-seeking. This can only lead you down the path to ENVY ~ Jealousy and worst. . .Ultimately today’s society in which we live. You will struggle with, and fail to understand, why you feel this way, this is now the by-product of not taking on a servants life style. Here in the UK during WW11, there was a poster saying ..”Ask not what the Country can do for you .. rather.. Ask what you can do for your Country” .. Just because we are not at War, we ALL should be asking the latter part of this War poster/slogan. Imagine the society we, all over the World, could have?

[NLT] Luke 22:24/30 Strife & Destiny .. “Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. 25 And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’26 But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. 27 For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves. 28 “But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. 29 And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, 30 that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel”

[NLT] Philippians 1:27 “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News”
[NKJ] Philippians 2:2/4 “fulfil my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others”

   If you only ever used 2 verses as a template of how to best be a servant, then I’m sure it'll be .. ‘A good and faithful servant’ you could ware without blemish. So, looking at yourself, and ask ‘where am I at?’ .. then ask 'how can you help/serve others, more than yourself? For instance, like finding someone’s need is great, purchase a food hamper, purchase the food they eat, then send them a hamper/basket. You send/have delivered, without a name on it to say who sent it, who did this kind act.. This is not your glory, but Gods. Facing disunity in your life? Then it’s time to check yourself in the mirror, and ask this hard question .. ‘Am I being a servant like Jesus was?’

    2) Failure to into Ministry

   If your NOT living too serve, then don’t just become another seat warmer, you need to get involved with your Church in some capacity. For we all have attributes our Church can use. There are sadly those who just go to and NOT partake, and just take for themselves saying ..’What’s in for me?’ .. ‘what can they do for me?’ .. As long as they do, behave, this way they will always be left wondering, all because they don’t have a servants heart. John 13 – even the apostles needed to be taught how to be, and what it is to be a servant. The bases of the absence, of not having a servants attitude, causes you to sit back whilst others serve you. They even will go as far as saying .. ‘Sure I’m not needed, look lots of others are there already’ .. ‘I no skills they need’ .. Careful, don’t just be a taker!

    3) Burn out, and those whom are Ministering
   This ‘Burn-out’ comes when it always falls onto a few, doing everything, whilst others sit idly by. Don’t sit back and let other run themselves ragged and into the ground. ASK ..’How can I help?’ .. If you don’t know how, to do something ask, to be shown how. Being involved in the Church is rewarding, may be, you even learn a new skill.

   4) The Church fails to accomplish it has been called to do .. such as Evangelism:- and all the aspects of edification, because a lack of Ministry people. 

   A church only lacks due to there NOT being enough people willing to give their free time being Volunteers ~ helpers ~ Servants. Sadly there is a lack of parishioners coming forth with their free time. Let me ask another question here, if you will . .
Question:- “What if Jesus in His early twenties said, why do I have to do this, when NO one else will help?” & “What if Paul or John or Timothy said why do we bother when NO one else is?” . .

   May be now this is starting to sink in? 

. . Now, having a servants heart will help you become successful at work, this attitude will make you stand out. The failure in Evangelism, has to hurt and up set Christ Jesus, because of the lack of people volunteering their free time willingly. Jesus came to serve us, so much so He left us a model, with instructions on how to become a servant, wow how big is that? The Son who is God’s Son, came to give and to serve us, and make a way, where there was no way, for us to be able to be received by God, through Him.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thatnk you for giving us your Son so that we may be recieved by you, through His sacrifcie, that we may set free, for we know whom the Son sets free is free indeed. May we not just be hearers of you living Word but also doers, becoming servants at heart, whilst shinning your light and edifying your name. Amen

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The Sin of Being a Discourager

Numbers 32:9  “..For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them..”

   No one truly loves a party poo-per, these you will find them sat by them selves. May be I can try and shine some light on this subject, you see these types of people look upon the ‘dark-side-of-life’. (It may to no fault oif their own). Sadly they do find all the shadows in life, and persist walking in them. They can bring the brightest happiest of days, down to gloomy, and spread their own ‘discouragement’, like confetti at a wedding, thus making all life harder for those they can influence. One thing that we need to careful of is that they don;t steel away Gods light from your life. Thie would the greatest of sin’s surely? Don’t be like thoes children of Isreal did, all because of thoes discouraging gloom artists.

Numbers 32:7  “..Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord has given them..”

   God tells us it’s a sin to discourage others. From your first of days till your last days at school. Some will go through a torturous time, with constant bullying; being told you’re usless; you’ll not amount to much; that they become so with drawn after 10 years or more of being put down & discouraged, their lives are now but a shadow of what they should have been.
   We all need to be strengthened and inspired for all of life’s experiences, never weakened and disheartened. If we meet others down cast and discouraged, it is our duty, as humans and friends, not to make their cares and trials seem as large as they can, but rather point out to them the bright light in their clouds, and put new hope & courage in their hearts.

So many people would say ‘I am your friend’, but never really understand what they are saying….

Friend… A person known well to others and regarded with liking (or highly

thought of) affection, staunchly loyal.They will tell you the truth, 

good or bad, an ally in a fight. Are you a friend to someone?

   It costs us nothing, that when we find others in sorrow, the worst thing to do is to tell them more sorrow. Instead we need to come along side them with love & encouragement.
1 Thessalonians 5:11  “..Therefore comfort each other and edify one another..”
Acts 11:23 “..When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord..”
Romans 1:12  “..I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me..”

   Next time we find others in the midst of difficulties and struggling ready to faint under it all, surly if we continue bemoan the severity and hardness of their battles, and then we leave them, as my wife has said on many occasions, it’s even worse than we found them, they will be even more crushed than if we had walked pass them. What we do need to do is to stimulate & encourage & inspire them to be brave and victorious in all they do.
   It is of vital importance that we learn this if you want to be helpers of others in their lives. Another foot note is that we just point out someone’s short comings and walk away. If this is you just stay at home, lock the door and throw away the key, because your worst to them than NO help at all. Again if all we have to offer is sadness to give out, we have no right to go among them. This is the truth, and some times the truth hurts.
   It is only when we have something that will bless them and lift their hearts and give them glimpses of bright and beautiful things to live for, that we are truly commanded to go forth with them.

“ A singer sang a song of tears, and the great World heard and

wept,for he sang the sorrows of floating years, and the 

hopes which the dead past kept, and souls in anguish their 

burdens bore, and the World was sadder than ever before.

A singer sang a song of cheer, and the great World heard 

and smiled, for he sang of love of a father dear, and souls

 that had forgotten to pray, looked up and went singing

 along their way.”

Let me ask this question … ‘Is it better that we should not sing of sadness if our song ends there’?

   Unfortunately there are so many sad notes swirling around in the Worlds air, making sad sad notes in our ears, continually. To be able to sing and hear only songs of hope ~ joy and good cheer. Jesus Christ had every right to sit on the Mount of Olives, because He could not get people to open their eyes to see of the impending doom coming over His people, whom He loved dearly. Jesus tried to avert this doom, because all the sin and disbelief was dragging them down. It is our mission, just as Jesus did to become preachers of hope. So our mission should we choose, must be to carry to everyone, to bring ‘good tidings’ and none of ill, but only joy.

# Give us your joys, your hope, your sunshine,

your life, your up lifting truths. We have too many

sorrows-tears-clouds, ill chains, and enough

doubts of our own. #

   This is our mission of Christianity in the World, it’s to help our fellow man to be victorious, to whisper hope where ever there is discouragement. It goes forth to break the yoke of bondage, and to captives to freedom.
1 John 4:4  “..You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world..”
   This is why it is so wonderful to have Jesus in our lives, spreading the news, the Good news. It follows that there can never be a loss in a Christians life, out of which a gain may NOT become a platform for a buried seed. There can never be a sorrow, out of which a blessing may not be born. There can never be discouragement which may NOT be made to yield some fruit of strength.

   Finally … if there for, we are true and loyal messengers of Christ, we can never be profits of gloom, discouragement and despair. We must be forever be heralds of hope. We must always be the bearer of good news. In Christ our Lord, there is always hope, with victory, a power to transmit loss into gain, and to breath life into death. We are living worthily, only when we are living victoriously with Christ within ourselves at every point, we are to be inspiring and helping others to live victoriously, and when our life is a song of hope and gladness, even though we sing out through tears & pain.