The Habit of Sacrificial Serving

February 5th 2023

Series: Habits of A Healthy Christian

Sermon Title: The Habit of Sacrificial Serving

Topic: HABITS are actions that are ingrained, that have become natural because of continued repetition. They are the things we do without thinking but accomplish with skill and precision. This is a message on developing the habit of serving actively.

Key Passages:Philippians 2: 1-8, Matthew 5:15-16, Psalm 115:1, Mark 10:45, Ephesians 2: 10, Mark 2:1-12, Colossians 3:23, Philippians 2:6-8,

Speaker: Grace – ADAM EBENEZER – Keith

Family Moment

We’re in week 6 of an 8-week sermon-series called HABITS of a Healthy Christian.

We’re talking about things HEALTHY followers of Jesus do.

Because it is our goal for everyone at Family Church to be a healthy follower of Jesus.

Write this down:

HABITS are actions that are ingrained, that have become natural because of continued repetition. They are the things we do without thinking but accomplish with skill and precision.

We’ve created an Acronym for the series.

HABITS FC or HABITS FAMILY CHURCH 😊

On the screen

H – Holy Fasting A – Abundant Prayer

B – Bible Learning I – Intentional Generosity T – Transformative Community

S – Sacrificial Serving

F – Fruitful Multiplying

C – Continual Coaching

And if you miss a message for any reason, you can go to our website familychurch.app OR download the family church app to stay connected.

PAUSE

Let’s jump into our message and talk about the HABIT of Sacrificial Serving.

I truly hope that today’s message will inspire you to serve.

That it will motivate you to serve.

That it will cause you to increase your service to others and really become a part of who you are... and not simply something you do occasionally.

PAUSE

When you think of serving others, what comes to mind?

Maybe some of us think about the fine folks who greet you at the doors on our way into church.

Or maybe what comes to mind are:

The wonderful volunteers who make your specialty drinks in the café!

Or the amazing people invest in your children every week!

Or the wonderful people who get to church SUPER early all winter and shovel snow and put down ice melt!

Or the incredible people who clean the buildings ... all of them are wonderful examples of what service looks like!

We have SO many AMAZING servants who serve 100% behind the scenes that want NO credit for what they do!

And to all of you…..I….we all so appreciate you and what you do!!!!

PAUSE

But, maybe your mind doesn’t go directly to church as mine does... maybe you think about other people like:

A server at a restaurant.

Or someone who bags groceries at the store.

Or the health care worker at your clinic.

Or one of your kid’s teachers at school.

Again, all of those are great examples of people who serve others.

PAUSE

Of course, there are many examples we could give of simple ways to serve others every day...

Small acts of kindness to help, or bless, those around us.

But, when it comes to Sacrificial Service, there really is no better place to look than Jesus.

There is no better example than Jesus!

Write this down:

Jesus is the greatest, most sacrificial servant, of all time.

Repeat

PAUSE

Everything Jesus did was an act of service.

Everything.

Jesus served the will of His Heavenly Father, by coming to earth, living a sinless life, and dying for the sins of all mankind.

Jesus took God’s wrath upon Himself and became our substitution.

The punishment for sin is death, and complete and total separation from God and anything good...

And served us, even though we did NOT deserve it by choosing to take our death, our sin’s punishment, upon Himself in order to serve God’s will.

PAUSE

Truly, Jesus is the definition of Sacrificial Service!

And we are called to follow Him!

So, the logical question then is…..what does that look like?

PAUSE

Turn with me to Philippians 2 in your Bible where we will see this clearly:

Philippians 2: 1-8

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,

2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

We can stop reading there……..

PAUSE

This passage teaches us Jesus is God and that He chose to become like that which He created... He became a human.

But NOT JUST a human, as if that wasn’t lowering Himself enough....

Jesus chose to become a servant to His creation!

But NOT JUST a Servant... Jesus even humbled Himself to the point of dying on a Cross for the sins of His creation!

One scholar says it this way, “Jesus didn’t simply lessen Himself, Jesus chose to empty Himself, to literally condescend Himself, in the greatest act of love to ever be revealed!”

PAUSE

You see, Jesus wasn’t just a good guy who helped people out.

He wasn’t just a kind-hearted fellow who showed up early and stayed late to assist people.

He wasn’t just an example of a servant-hearted person that we are to emulate.

Jesus’ sacrificial service SERVED a greater purpose.

His Sacrificial Service became the point of salvation for our souls!

Jesus’ sacrificial service is created the means for others to succeed and draw near to God!

And, the same ought to be true of our own sacrificial service, as well.

PAUSE

Pastor Keith, who serves as our Ebenezer Campus pastor often says, “We are most like Jesus when we are serving.”

Isn’t that true?

Jesus was a servant...and when we live like Him we will naturally serve others….

We will reflect the heart of Jesus to others.

Others will get a glimpse of Jesus when they see us serve!

When we serve people the way Jesus served people,

not only are we following Jesus,

but we are also reflecting Jesus to others in a way that draws them closer to Jesus!

It's a win-win!

PAUSE

Look at

Matthew 5:15-16 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Write this down:

I serve in the Name of Jesus so that my service brings fame to Jesus!

*repeat

This is a crucial point of discovery for newer Christians... but it is a great reminder for all of us!

When I serve like Jesus, and for Jesus, and in Jesus’ Name it can eternally influence others!

That was the heart-cry of the psalmist in Psalm 115

Psalm 115:1: Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory...

The result of service that is rooted in love for Jesus, WILL point people to Jesus, and not to us.

PAUSE

Jesus said of Himself in Mark 10:45...

Mark 10:45 Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Jesus’ sacrificial service would ultimately be ransomed for our sins.

And our sacrificial service has a purpose beyond the acts of kindness as well.

We are not just serving to serve.

We are serving to glorify God and lead people toward Jesus!

PAUSE

Now, let’s unpack another Biblical idea here…..and we have said this before…… But write this down:

Saved People Serve People.

*repeat

Let me ask you something….

Would the people closest to you say you’re a servant to others? Why or why not?

Take a second…..

Really think about that….

How do others view you?

What do you think your co-workers would say?

What about your classmates?

What about your best friends?

Do the people around you KNOW you love them and you will serve them FREELY…..

Look at Ephesians 2, it says...

Ephesians 2: 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

You were created on purpose, with a purpose, for a purpose.

What purpose do you think God has in mind for you?

What are you doing to learn more about your God given purpose?

Who is someone you could help?

I want you all to understand this today:

Your service can help others connect with Jesus.

PAUSE

Let me show you one of my favorite stories about this in the Bible turn to Mark 2

As you are getting there in your Bibles, I want you to think about something….and I want you to think about this as you are reading this passage with me.

I want you all to think about one of two things

I want you to think about the person, or persons, who led you to Jesus or the person that led you here today to hear this message.

How is your relationship with Jesus different because of the way that person served you or guided you?

Think about that and let’s begin reading.

Mark 2:1-12 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.

3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.

So, these four friends are serving their friend who cannot walk….

4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.

Now that is what I call friends!

They are willing to anything to help their friend get close to Jesus!

Are you willing to do anything to help your friends encounter a real and living God?

5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Pause right here…..again these people who would be considered the good church going people…..church leaders do not like what Jesus is doing!!!!

They do not like this change that Jesus is teaching…..because it goes against their tradition….

And look at how Jesus responds to their thoughts:

8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?

Obvious answer…it is easier to say a person is forgiven…..

10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Amazing right?

These guys were not afraid to serve their friend….

And through serving their friend, not only did he receive miraculous healing…..

But he also left with a greater miracle than that...forgiveness of his sins!

And, the miracle also led countless people to praise God!

Good works will reveal our Good God…..

Jesus said: By your good works people will see that you are His.

Everyone there that day clearly saw God move…. including the religious people that did NOT want to see God at work in Jesus!

Let me ask you this…..

When is the last time you have served someone to such an extent that people praised God?

When is the last time you served so selflessly that people saw God in your actions?

(INSERT STORY OF SERVICE LEADING TO PEOPLE COMING TO FAITH IN JESUS)

Write this down:

Saved People serve people so that served people will become Saved People.

Let me say that again…. Saved People Serve People so that served people will become saved people.

We are not just serving to serve.

We are doing it with purpose. We are not just doing church for the sake of doing church.

We are doing this for a reason.

We do not just do kids ministry to do kids ministry. We do not just do teen ministry to do teen ministry.

We are not just going to do things because we always have…. We are going to do things that have a purpose and a reason.

And if that purpose or reason is not to lead people closer to Jesus; we are not going to focus on that.

PAUSE

Let’s bring this into your personal life….I want to go back to an illustration I have used before that I think is powerful…..

Imagine your boss is God and you work for God.

Imagine if tomorrow you walked into your place of work and your boss, who is now God, said, “doing good works is now part of your job”…..

Would your life look different?

PAUSE

If God said to you……part of your JOB is serving others….

Would your life look different?

PAUSE

If God said, “I want you to give the BEST of your time, talent and your treasure to God,” which he did by the way…

And if your yearly performance review from God was based on that…..would you invest your TIME, TALENT, and Treasure differently?

PAUSE

Because God said this in Colossians 3:23

Colossians 3:23, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

There are some key mental shifts some of us need to make based on this verse.

What is the first word in this passage?

WHATEVER

That means everything you do…..

At Home

At Work

At School

At Youth Group

At Church

On the Basketball court, volleyball court, baseball field, track field and so on…

Everything you do….God says you are to be the best…..No

God says you have to be the captain…..NO

God says you have to be a starter…NO

God says you have to get all A’s…NO

God says you have to be the boss…NO

God does not say any of that….he simply says to give it your all. To do it with all your heart.

And the reason is important…..you do not do that for your coach, your parent or your boss. You do it for God. You do it to reflect God!

PAUSE

Because again……people should see God when they see you! You should look like a reflection of Jesus….. remember it because Jesus gave it all for you and me!

PAUSE

Saved People Serve People. And saved people serve people SO THAT served people will become SAVED!

Plain and simple.

In closing, let’s re consider Jesus...

Philippians 2:6-8, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

Amen?

Jesus’ sacrificial service became the means for our eternal salvation!

Because Jesus chose to sacrificially serve us, God gave Him the Name above every name!

We serve a God Who Serves us.

And we serve others because Jesus serves others.

And here’s the remarkable thing....... when we approach service with this attitude of heart.... with sacrificial, Christ-like serving, then our service affects people eternally!

Your Christ-honoring service to others could be the act of love that leads them to Jesus... that leads them to heaven! 😊

So here is your life application……

Life Application: Make a commitment today to serve others MORE than you have in the past. And when others take notice, be sure to point them to Jesus.