Serving

Some things about Jesus are mind-blowing! Maybe most things about Jesus are mind-blowing. One of those things is that Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords, chose to be a servant. God chose to be a servant people. We have been looking at the 5 purposes of a church. God calls us to serve.

What examples come to mind? What does the Bible say about Jesus being a servant and in what ways do we see Jesus serving?

• Jesus washed the disciples’ feet during the Last Supper, doing the work of a servant.

• Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, not a war horse, showing His humility.

• Isaiah called Jesus the “suffering servant”.

• Jesus spent His whole ministry giving to others – healing, casting out demons, befriending, loving, forgiving, teaching, encouraging, training…

  • • Jesus could have lived in great luxury and demanded that people serve Him but that is the exact opposite of what he actually did.

• Jesus said He had come to serve, not to be served (Matt 20:28; Mark 10:45)

• He laid down His life as a ransom for many. That is what Mt 20:28 and Mk 10:45 go on to say. Jesus gave His life for us.

  • • His willingness to die was His greatest act of service; His greatest act of selflessness; His greatest act of love.

READ Philippians 2:6-11

That passage is like a huge V. It starts with Jesus being God Almighty but giving that up. The passage described Jesus’ descent. He did not use His equality with God for His own benefit. He made Himself nothing, becoming a servant. He became a human. He humbled Himself and became obedient to death on the Cross. Jesus voluntarily went from the highest of heights to the lowest of depths. This is one of the mind-blowing things: the immortal God – the God who cannot die, dies!

But then there is the other side of the V. Because of His willingness to humble Himself, God raised Him up, giving Him the name above every name. One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

But we didn’t read the whole passage. I missed out the first bit. Yes, it describes the servant nature of Jesus but let’s read how it actually starts. READ Phil 2:1-6.

The passage is actually about us. Jesus is the example but the passage is about how we are to be like Jesus: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God…”. And that is true of several of the passages about Jesus, the servant.

In John 13, after Jesus had washed the disciples feet, He said:

John 13:12b-17

“’Do you understand what I have done for you?... You call me “Teacher” and “Lord”, and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Clearly, Jesus said that this classic serving incident was an example that His disciples were to follow.

How would we define serving? It has two aspects: our attitude to ourself and our attitude to others. The servant says, “It is not about me. I work for someone else.” Serving is about dying to self in order to help someone else. Servants give up much of what they might otherwise want to do, in order to help others.

Philippians 2:3-4 says, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

That perfectly describes Jesus. He was not pursuing His own selfish desires. In humility, He put others above Himself. And we are to have the same mindset as Jesus. We are to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. In humility we are to value others above ourselves, not looking to out own interests but to the interests of others. The servant says, “I put you ahead of me”.

That is really challenging, isn’t it? Do we value others above ourselves? Do we put our own interests aside so as to serve other people’s interests?

Actually, I think this is a strength of this church. This church serves in many ways. People in this church serve in many ways – some within the church; some out in society. Last week, Leeanne shared the vision of the Christmas outreach and lots of people put their names down to help. Every Sunday there are multiple people serving: musicians, service leaders, greeters at the door, those providing morning tea, those looking out for newcomers, the technicians on sound and streaming and data projection, those leading the children’s programme, those who have prepared the notices. Who have I forgotten? Those who pray before the service, those who clean the church, those who offer to help because they become aware of someone’s need, those available to pray with us. And that is just for the 10:00 a.m. service. Add in all those who serve at Fuel and at 2:00 p.m. and at Night Church.

That is only Sunday. Think of all the work being done each week by the SHFT staff – the work in the College, the youth programmes, the carnival, the mid-winter dinner, the business breakfasts.

What about those who mow the lawns and look after the gardens and maintain our buildings?

Think of the serving involved in pastoral care and the ways our Life Groups serve. Serving is both internal and external. In our groups, we serve one another. Leading a Bible study is a way of serving. Praying for someone is a way of serving. Providing practical help when it is needed is serving.

But, it is important that we also look outwards. We want to encourage Life Groups to serve beyond yourselves. What could you do together to serve others? It might be helping with a community event, or supporting a solo mum, or giving to missions, or leading a church service or...

READ 1 Peter 4:7-11

The end of all things is near. Was Peter wrong about that? The end has not yet come and it is 2,000 years later. Or, is there a sense in which it is always true; the end is always near? We are to live in such a way that if Jesus returned, we are ready.

It does remind us that this world is temporary. Everything will end. So, we are to be alert. Alert for what? Maybe alert for the end. Jesus said to be watching and ready. But maybe it also means we should be alert for opportunities. Jesus also said we must work while it is still day, before the night comes (John 9:4). Our time is limited so we should be looking for what we can do in the meantime.

We are to be of sober mind so as to pray. Sober mind means we are not carried away with silly things or irrelevant things; we understand reality and seeing reality will lead us to prayer.

With the terrible news this week of the fighting in Israel and Gaza we might ask, “Is the end near? Is this part of the end times?” I don’t think anyone knows the answer to that. It is not necessarily anything to do with the end. But it could be. This is a time for us to be alert and to be sober-minded. Let’s not get carried away with speculation but let us soberly recognise the reality. What is happening in our world? What are the needs around us? What are the opportunities God is putting right in front of us? Recognising those realities will surely lead us to prayer.

Prayer is a form of serving. Prayer is us giving up time, giving up our freedom to do other things and our preferences, for the good of others.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Love, by definition, means prioritising others. We are to love deeply, that is, profoundly prioritise others. Love covers over a multitude of sins.

“Where love abounds in a fellowship of Christians, many small offences, and even some large ones, are readily overlooked and forgotten. But where love is lacking, every word is viewed with suspicion, every action is liable to misunderstanding, and conflicts abound – to Satan’s perverse delight.” (Wayne Grudem)

If our focus is on ourselves then we will think about how we have been offended. But if our focus is on others, we want the best for them and we think the best of them and we forgive. And, if they know we love them, when we mess up, they will forgive us as well.

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Hospitality is a form of serving. Hospitality means using our home, our food, for others. Isn’t it interesting that Peter says, “without grumbling”. If we offer hospitality but grumble about it, that says something about our attitude, doesn’t it? “Mutter, mutter, mutter, I don’t really want to have these people in my house. I’m doing this begrudgingly. Haven’t they heard about the cost-of-living crisis? I’d rather be doing something else.” But that is all about ourselves. On the other hand, God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7).

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in all its forms.

Each of you. This applies to everybody – every follower of Jesus. Use whatever gifts you have. That includes everything we have. Everything we have is a gift from God – our time, our money, our possessions, our abilities, our spiritual gifts – absolutely everything is to be used to serve others. This is a radical, mind-blowing thought. Why does God give us things? So that we can serve others. God doesn’t give us things for us. He gives us things so we can use them to serve others. That is how we be faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

2 Corinthians 9:11

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

Notice that Peter is talking about God-empowered serving. If you speak, speak the very words of God. Do not speak human words; pass on God-inspired words whether that is something from scripture, or words that God gives us at the time. The serving that the Bible talks about is Holy Spirit-empowered, supernatural serving. Ask God to work through you supernaturally. This adds a third component to our definition of serving: God: God-enabled selflessness; God-empowered help for others.

If you serve, do that with the strength God provides. Again, this is God-empowered serving – us being used by God to help others.

We see that clearly in the next words: so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. If we serve in our own strength, God doesn’t get the credit but when people know that God has blessed them through us, then God is praised.

So, what can we see from scripture? Serving is not just about reluctantly doing our duty. Serving springs from genuine love that puts other people ahead of ourselves. Jesus is our example of selflessness. Serving is also a spiritual thing, a God-empowered thing. Again, Jesus is our perfect example of God-empowered serving. As followers of Jesus, we want to be like Jesus. Can we pray this prayer? “Lord, pour out Your Spirit on us. Help us to genuinely die to ourselves – genuinely put others ahead of ourselves. And please enable us to serve in ways that help others and that bring You praise.”

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