11 - Spiritual Formation

Service

Jesus is the greatest revelation of God the Father, He showed us what real abundant life is, where real true fulfillment and purpose are. He showed us that life is not in being served but in serving.

Luke 22:27 “For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.”

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

Galatians 5:13 “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

What I endeavor to encourage and challenge you with today is...

Being a good and Faithful servant of the Lord necessitates an accurate knowledge of God and accurate knowledge of self - identity.

Matthew 25:14–30 (NIV)

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. “ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Big Picture of the Parable - Israel had the covenant, had the Law, had the favor of God as a nation in order to be a blessing to the world, however, they kept the light of the world to themselves. And here the master has returned to them, yet, in knowing the ending, the master himself was headed towards the darkness to pay for the sins of the worthless servant.

The principle of this parable transcends time and is for us today, because we too are to be light of the world. The living testimonies of the risen Lord.

God longs for those who know Him and are a light to the world as His servant.

Paul commonly referred to himself as a slave of God, and servant of Christ. He said in Acts 20:19 “I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents.”

Fascinating Parable.

Each received responsibility according to their God-given ability. In other words, the size of their work was not the point. How big their impact or ministry or influence was not the point of the parable but rather the simple action of putting to work what God had given them.

Abraham had a Word from God

Moses had a staff

David had a sling

The little boy had 5 loaves and two fish

1 Peter 4:8–11“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

Whether producing 5 or 2, both received the same reward, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share in your master’s happiness!”

Lazy Servant

The term lazy:

Overall it is: Those who are slow to act through hesitation, anxiety, negligence, or sloth, things that awaken suspicion, dislike, or fear.

In the OT it is used for the lazy who let inconveniences stop them or who never move on from intention to actual action. (Prov. 6:6, 9; 20:4; 21:25)

In the NT as in the passage above, lazy servants represent disciples who hesitate to put their gifts to work in this period of earthly life, and who thus fail to live up to their eternal responsibilities.

The opposite of lazy servant is described by Paul in Romans 12:11 “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” where yielding to in-activeness and laziness is contrasted with being inspired and directed by the Spirit.

Hebrews 6:10–11“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized.”

Essentially, the lazy servant who has been given something to steward is saying, “Here, you can have it back.”

What would lead to this?

His misperception of the character of the master produced mistrust, fear, and ultimately laziness.

For us today, an individual who has hoarded the gifts of God and failed to serve God and others:

Are ignorant or refuse to believe in God’s goodness and mercy.

There is a lack of value for the love of God and His work of redemption at the cross, it didn’t move him to action spiritual fervor serving the Lord. Rather, the lazy servant continues in a self-centered life.

In keeping with the force of Jesus’ words, this parable emphasizes that wise and responsible use of one’s God-given abilities is a responsibility that accompanies a right relationship with God.

A person’s faithfulness to serving is evidence as to whether he or she is in a right relationship with God.

Serving as a disciple is a testimony of one’s love and trust of Jesus as Lord.

The Perseverance of the Faithful Stewards

Was Not:

A Self Righteousness Servant:

Working to merit or earn God’s blessing and people’s favor.

Needs to be seen for all they do, God seeing is not enough for them.

Cares for the size of the task at hand - in other words, the implied importance or significance of the task at hand.

Their boast is what they have accomplished or can accomplish, how much they are doing and therefore it becomes their identity. So they are serving for their identity of who they are.

What you ultimately boast in, at the depth of your self, is what gives you confidence to go out and seize the day, it ultimately defines you and it is where you draw your identity and self-worth from. In other words, a self-righteous servant is only as valuable as what they produce.

This is not how we are good and faithful servants.

Was:

Right Perception of the character of God

He is the greatest desire of our hearts, when grow in knowledge of Him, when we see Him in Scripture, it becomes an impossibility to not serve him and others. Because when we see Him, we imitate Him.

We learn that we are significant to God

God does not need us for anything, yet it is the amazing fact of our existence that he chooses to delight in us and to allow us to bring joy to his heart. This is the basis for personal significance in the lives of all God’s people: to be significant to God is to be significant in the most ultimate sense. No greater personal significance can be imagined.

Because we are significant to God, we learn that our identity is given to us not earned. And our confidence is not in our ability but in the cross and His grace that has been given to us.

1 Corinthians 15:9–10“For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”

Like Paul, when I have faith in who I am in Christ which is given, it moves me to imitate Christ as a servant.

John 13:3–5“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

John 13:13–15““You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

Story of Marina Chapman