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

56:170921

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

56:170921

Part 1 of 

Why Life’s Better as a
Servant

These are the translations I used in this study, and their abbreviations ..
*[KJV] :~ King James Version
*[JKV] :~ New King James Version
*[NLT] :~ New Living Translation
*[JKV] 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”
   In this verse there is one major thing that stands out, that goes to the heart of Jesus’ character, was how much in His life, Jesus was unselfish. You don’t ever read about when Jesus had turned one’s down, because He could not be bothered, for instance when dying on the cross, He could have turned to the other 2 and said “I’m dying here your too late .. leave me alone” ...
*[NLT] Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” ...
. . .The NLT In this verse it says .. “ but to serve others” .. as we slowly unravel Jesus’ message, which is one of the more prevalent ones. Listen closer to this next segment. Just think, what if Jesus only came to ‘be served’? We could never have had the opportunity to come to The Father God, man the mess, in the dark oppressive life we would be blindly facing.

   How can anyone measure the awesomeness that is the ‘Enmity’ of God’s glory, pouring himself into human form flesh, all for us, W O W. To this date since finding this out it still truly still blows my mind. Every time I spend any length of time giving this thought, I’m left thinking with a great appreciation, and love for our God. I know I have a very large body of text, but you’ll need to read to understand the rest of this sermon as I will be referring to it as we go forth. This is Jesus’ exemplar of being a servant ..
KJV:~ John 13:1-5 “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded"
NLT:~ “Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him"
KJV:~ 13:12-17 “So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them"
NLT:~”After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message.17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them"
   I want you to think back to what both called a road, what foot ware. The roads back then, when towns roads were dirty, with all manner of waste (that’s the polite way of describing them), and dusty too. It was customary that when you attended someone’s house, there was a servant to wash your feet. This was so that you did not walk anything from outside in. This is what Jesus wanted to try and show the Apostles that He came to serve, and to be a servant. He showed that He wanted that they were to behave this way and think not to think of it below them, no matter the subject. Just to think of as did Christ Jesus, that the very Son of God chose to serve, and washed and dried their feet, He came to serve, but NOT be served. V12 says .. “know what I have done to you?” .. Jesus was telling them ‘Do you fully grasp, even comprehend, what has happened here?’ .. ‘Think of who I AM, think of what I’m showing you, now let the penny drop, then know who I become to you?’

   V13 Tells them .. “ You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am” .. Jesus washed their feet, and asked, so you to should now wash one another's feet, therefore becoming servants to each other ..

Please Note#

“Serving, is not about what others can do for you,

rather what you can do for others, whilst NOT

looking for anything in return”

. . . This is why our society today is falling apart at the seems. The reason being as most peoples thinking ig .. I Me My Mine .. always have selfish wants .. ‘If it profits ME not, I don’t want to know’ .. or .. ‘I deserve that job’ ..or even more a thought of ..’I did nothing to deserve them, but should have four [4] holidays a year ..With regret I know all to well this type of person, do you?

   Just as Jesus served His disciples, He was saying to them, now I want you to be servants, even a servant to your neighbour .. KJV - 15 “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” .. it’s more than just washing each others/neighbours feet. For to serve has to start with a question like ..’How Can I help you out?’ .. or .. ‘know they are in need, how can I full fill that need without fanfare for myself?’ .. This is much bigger, so much bigger no matter if Royalty ~ General of military ~ Company Directer or CEO.

John 13:13 [KJV]* “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am” *King James Version
John 13:16 “The servant is not greater than his lord"
[KJV] :17 “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them”
[NLT] :17 “Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them”
   Jesus is trying to let us know and understand, just exactly what being a servant is about. God has told us that for being a good servant, He will bless our faithfulness. God will want to know, are you being a good servant? Well are you. Who have you helped out without fanfare? He wants to know who we have helped out without the ‘look at me and what I have done’, like ~ Work ~ Friends ~ Family ~ Neighbours? Even your bosses? I want to show you now something from Philippians that breaks down the elements of being a good good servant …

Philippians 2:1~7
V1:~ “Consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love”
V2:~ “being like-minded, being of one accord, of one mind"
Having the same thoughts of Jesus, wanting the same as
Him.
V3:~ “nothing be done through selfish ambition [comparing
yourself to another] or conceit or vain glory, but in
lowliness” ... [ vain glory:- serving for selfish ends] If,
and be careful here, you serve in Vain glory will only
in strife, who honestly wants MORE strife today.
V4:~ “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests”
So not your own interests, but we encouraged to look out
and help others with out reward.
V5:~ “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”
V6:~ "who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God”
V7:~ “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a
bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” . . . This attitude, being our own attitude. Like say that of a .. Butcher ~ Baker ~ Sales person ~ an Athlete or a Soldier and so many more. I know of a person who had a family ‘mask’ the replaced with one for work, we all do this. In other words, they changed their attitude. To be a servant to all who come to their work.

  Because now in the flesh, He [Lord God] humbled Himself even unto death .. V8 “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” .. humility has to be the main ingredient of being a servant. For without humility, it would be almost impossible to to be a servant. Whilst being a servant, it is no longer your will being done,, but you masters will that be done. Whilst here it is gods, but can equally be your .. Parents ~ Work Bosses ~ friends ~ neighbours, hoping by now your getting what I’m trying to convey.
    1) Humility :~ Often when looking for in today’s society, Humility has become as rare as white Truffles. In the space of a generation, we have gone from being able to speak frankly (even to a friend), to having girdle our mouths, in our own homes, as much as having to close our windows, to be able to speak openly with your spouse.
    2) Power :~ What we need to think on is that your energy suppliers, give us this power, (praise god for them), to make light where there is none, to bring heat where it’s cold. The energy suppliers leave this power in our own hands, to decide how use it, and up to us to turn the power on. Just as our Lord has given us power to us.

‘How will you use your Heavenly power?’

   One of the biggest reasons for unanswered prayer, is that we ask God for that which he already done, even if we don’t see it right away, or He already has given us both the power & authority to use. It would be like asking your gardener to mow the lawn when he he just done so, how stupid that would be. . .

• So then why would God answer your prayer, when He has already done so?
• No amount of badgering will make a bit of difference.
• Answer you for what He told you to do?
• How many really believe they have power from God in their prayers?
• How many speak in authority whilst praying?
• How many have faith in their prayers?We have to walk in Faith ~ Belief ~ Authority? That’s if we truly want change .. in our lives .. Jobs .. where we live!

[NKJ] Matthew 10:1 “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease”
   What Jesus is warning here is, for us to be born again and whom are not. You need to ‘Born-again’, [John 3:3*], or you will not know; be frustrated; left banging your head against the brick wall. SURPRISE .. We have had power the moment we became saved – Born-again.

Q: What is it to have this power?

A: It is the ability to get the job done.

# As a Christian, I’m not powerless #