Serving

Sanctification & Spiritual Disciplines

Session 8: Stewardship: Serving

I. Introduction: The Christian Life is Lived for Others

TURN & READ: A. Philippians 2:3-4 ESV “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

CHRISTIAN LIFE = LIFE of SERVICE

LOOKING to INTERESTS of OTHERS ABOVE OUR OWN

>>> WE NEVER COME FIRST in the CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW...

FOLLOWING in JESUS’ FOOTSTEPS WHO DIDN’T ABUSE HIS EQUALITY W/ FATHER—BUT EMPTIED HIMSELF,, BY TAKING on FORM of SERVANT/SLAVE...

OTHERS = MORE SIGNIFICANT…

OTHERS’ INTERESTS MATTERING to US

= PRACTICAL BASIS for SERVING...

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II. The Christian Life is an Act of Service

TURN & READA. Acts 6:1-4 ESV “Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

Problem: Greek speaking widows = neglected in favor of Hebrew ones...

TALE of TWO MINISTRIES:

“Distribution” from v. 1

and “ministry” from v. 4

SAME GK. WORD! διακονίᾳ.

(Q) Doesn’t this sound like an office in the church that we’ve heard of before?

DEACONS = PRIMARY SERVANTS in CHURCH,, BUT REM. EVERYONE = CALLED to SERVE.

>>> THERE ARE NO CHRISTIANS WHOM GOD DOESN’T CALL to SERVICE… THE ONLY QUESTION is WHAT KIND of SERVICE.

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TWO MINISTRIES of SERVICE:

: DISTRIBUTION of FOOD (V1) — SERVING TABLES (V2) — VERBAL FORM = SAME GK. ROOT!

MINISTRY of the WORD (V4)

>>> Biblically, ministry and service are synonymous.

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**NOTE: TABLE MINISTRY WASN’T INSIGNIFICANT or UNIMPORTANT...

TAKING CARE of WIDOWS = TRUE RELIGION...BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY ACCORDING to JAMES 1:27

YET,, NOT EVERYONE WAS an APOSTLE/ SPECIAL MESSENGER,, CHOSEN as REPRESENTATIVE/TESTIFIER of JESUS CHRIST...

**NOT JUST ANYONE COULD BE an APOSTLE!**

YET…TABLE MINISTRY = IMPORTANT.

>>> IN GOD’S EYES, BOTH ARE MINISTRY!

THOSE WHO SERVED TABLES FREED the APOSTLES to DO WHAT ONLY THEY COULD DO!!

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APPARENTLY THIS MATTERS to GOD....

LOOK @ QUALIFICATIONS for WAITERS

§ Good reputation

§ Full of the Spirit of God

§ Full of wisdom

**GREAT TRAGEDY in MODERN CHURCH: OUT of DESPERATION WE TAKE ANYONE WHO’S BREATHING...

MODERN DAY—WE’D PROBABLY TAKE ANYONE W/ HANDS & WORKING LEGS for TABLE-WAITING

1ST CENTURY—SERVING GOD = BIG DEAL—LET’S TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!

KEEP FINGER in ACTS 6...TURN & READB. 1 Cor.12:12-26 ESV “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”

o body of Christ—ALL of US FIT in SOMEWHERE. GOD HAS a PURPOSE FOR ALL of US.

ONE PART HURTS—WE COMPLAIN REGARDLESS of WHAT it IS.

BRAIN = MOST IMPORTANT…**COMMAND CENTER

BUT WITHOUT HEART,, BRAIN DIES **THE SOURCE

&& WITHOUT ARMS/LEGS/FEET/HANDS, ETC. BRAIN CAN’T ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING!

NO WORKERS!

EVERY PART MUST BE PRESENT & IN WORKING ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING.

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CHRIST = HEAD of the BODY… HE’S the COMMAND CENTER

BUT WE’RE HIS HANDS & FEET in the WORLD TODAY THROUGH WHOM HE WORKS!!

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C. LOOK @ RESULTS in BOOK of ACTS W/ PROPER FUNCTIONING of BODY...

LOOK BACK @ ACTS 6 Acts 6:7 ESV “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”

W/ EVERYONE in PROPER PLACE—WORD of GOD INCREASED,, DISCIPLES MULTIPLIED…

(Q) COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED if APOSTLES SPENT ALL THEIR TIME WAITING TABLES??

&& WHAT TESTIMONY of FAITH WOULD STARVING WIDOWS HAVE BEEN FROM the PEOPLE to BE KNOWN FOR LOVE???

SOMEONE HAD to DO IT.

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(T) PIGGYBACKING on BODY of CHRIST PASSAGE....

TURN & READ D. 1 Peter 4:10-11 ESV “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Passage = Part of PETER’S GUIDANCE on END-TIMES LIVING...

(Q) DO YOU SEE WHERE PETER SAYS, “IF” IN THIS PASSAGE?

AS EACH HAS RECEIVED a GIFT...

IMPLICATION: GOD HAS GIVEN SOMETHING FOR YOU to USE FOR HIS GLORY & SERVICE of OTHERS!

MUST BE FOUND & PUT to USE!

o Wayne Grudem, bible scholar defines these gifts as, “any talent or ability which is empowered by the Holy Spirit and able to be used in the ministry of the church.”

PART of CHURCH? = PART of BODY of CHRIST == YOU HAVE a ROLE to FILL.

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The PURPOSE of EACH GIFT as illustrated here, is TWOFOLD:

1. (V10) It’s given for the service of others.

“SERVICE” IDEA in THIS PASSAGE COMES FROM SAME GK. ROOT as ACTS 6!

BY SERVING OTHERS… YOU’RE BEING a GOOD STEWARD!

(Q) WHAT is a STEWARD?

STEWARD = MANAGER… NOT an OWNER.

SO THESE GRACE-GIFTS THAT GOD HAS GIVEN BELONG to HIM! WE’RE to MANAGE THEM WELL!

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2. 2ND PURPOSE: (V11C) It’s given for the glory of God.

PETER OUTLINES in THIS PASSAGE TWO SPECIFIC GIFTS: (FAR FROM EXHAUSTIVE!!)

TRADITIONAL “MINISTRY” (SPEAKING/TEACHING GIFTS)

USED for SERVICE of OTHERS & GLORY of GOD...

IF I TALKED OVER YOUR HEADS ALL the TIME,, WHAT BENEFIT WOULD THAT BE???

SUBJECTIVE VS. OBJECTIVE USE of GENITIVE CASE in GREEK

DEBATING the NATURE of the KENOSIS from PHIL. 2...

WOULDN’T BE SERVING YOU.

MY GOAL is NEVER FOR PEOPLE to THINK I’M SMART…BECAUSE TRUTH BE TOLD I’M FAR FROM IMPRESSIVE & SO MANY PEOPLE KNOW SO MUCH MORE THAN ME...

MY GOAL = TO HELP YOU GROW in YOUR LOVE FOR GOD & HIS WORD & ULTIMATELY THAT WE WOULD OBEY HIS WORD BETTER...

PETER EXPLAINS: SUPPOSED to BE TREATED W/ INCREDIBLE CARE & RESPONSIBILITY,, AS IF SPEAKING GOD’S VERY WORDS!!

LESS “TRADITIONAL” MINISTRY—CATEGORY of SERVICE.

WAS PETER THINKING BACK to ACTS 6 MOMENT WHEN WRITING THIS PORTION of SCRIPTURE???

PETER EXHORTS: SERVE in STRENGTH GOD SUPPLIES

IN ORDER THAT GOD WOULD BE GLORIFIED in EVERYTHING… FOR HE is WORTHY!

ALL MINISTRY is SERVICE

ALL SERVICE is MINISTRY

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IT’S ALL GREAT in GOD’S EYES:

TURN & READ Mark 10:42-45 ESV “And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

JAMES & JOHN REQUESTED to BE SEATED BY JESUS in GLORY....

GENTILES “LORD” RULERSHIP OVER OTHERS...

JESUS SAYS: GREAT ONE = SERVANT

ANY GUESSES WHAT GREEK ROOT?? —YUP, SAME ONE.

**JESUS TAKES it EVEN FURTHER**

YOU WANT to BE FIRST???

TO BE FIRST = MUST BE a SLAVE to ALL.

NOT SERVANT… BUT a SLAVE!!

WHY??

BECAUSE EVEN JESUS CAME…NOT TO BE SERVED…BUT IN ORDER to SERVE...

Philippians 2:7 (ESV)

7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

GREATEST MANIFESTATION (HUMILITY & SERVICE) == JESUS LAYING DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US!

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ANOTHER GREAT EXAMPLE:

TURN & READ John 13:1-17 ESV “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had 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 back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, 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 also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.[1]

AGAIN PHIL. 2—HE TAKES on FORM of SERVANT/SLAVE,, THOUGH BEING DEITY,, HE ADDS HUMANITY....

JOHN’S GOSPEL: PROOF of JESUS as SERVANT/SLAVE.

FOOTWASHING = RESPONSIBILITY of LOWEST SERVANT

GOING EVERYWHERE in SANDALS,, ON ROADS ANIMALS TRAVELED ON...

GROSS…WHO WOULD DO THIS???

THE MESSIAH WOULD.

And the IMPLICATION??

IF JESUS = MASTER…LORD…MESSIAH…SON of GOD.... && HE’S WILLING to DO THIS??

HOW MUCH MORE SHOULD WE BE ABLE to HUMBLY SERVE OTHERS??

**DOESN’T HAVE to BE LITERAL EXAMPLE,,

NEVERTHELESS WE MUST FOLLOW in HIS EXAMPLE of SELFLESS, HUMBLE SERVICE to GOD & OTHERS...

>>> NOTHING SHOULD BE BENEATH US <<<

STORY: VOLUNTEER FREAKING OUT BECAUSE PASTOR = VACUUMING.

WE’VE GOT it ALL WRONG.

I PRAY I ALWAYS LEAD BY EXAMPLE in THIS.

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III. A paradigm of stewardship:

GOD HAS GIVEN to ALL of US:

ABILITIES

TIME

OPPORTUNITIES

A PURPOSE for BEING HERE.

HOW ARE WE USING WHAT GOD HAS ENTRUSTED to US?

ARE WE LIVING UP to OUR GOD-GIVEN POTENTIAL… AT ALL???

TURN & READ (25:14-15) Matt. 25:14-30 ESV “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

i. Preliminary thoughts:

SERVANTS ALL ENTRUSTED W/ MEASURE of MONEY

TALENT = LARGEST BIBLICAL MEASURE of WEIGHT… APPROX. 75 LBS.

WORTH APPROX. 20 YEARS AVERAGE PERSON’S WAGES

1. And the MASTER ENTRUSTED to EACH SERVANT ACCORDING to THEIR ABILITY...

a. MASTER KNEW THEIR CAPABILITIES… & HE SET EXPECTATIONS ACCORDINGLY!!

CONTINUE (V16-23): 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

(Q) Do you notice that these TWO SERVANTS EACH HAD DIFFERENT RESULTS??

ONE SERVANT—MADE 5 TALENTS — CONSIDERED a GOOD & FAITHFUL SERVANT

OTHER SERVANT — MADE 2 TALENTS — CONSIDERED a GOOD & FAITHFUL SERVANT.

THEY WERE GOOD STEWARDS ACCORDING to THEIR ABILITY & MASTER’S EXPECTATIONS...

>>> GOOD & FAITHFUL SERVANTS USE WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN GIVEN...

***MASTER DIDN’T EXPECT 10 TALENTS from the “2 TALENT GUY”… BUT HE DID EXPECT SOMETHING...

CONTINUE (V24-30) 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

i. GOOD STEWARDS USE what they’ve been entrusted with.

ii. BAD STEWARDS BURY what they’ve been entrusted with.

iii. IMAGINE the INSULT THAT the BANK WOULD’VE DONE a BETTER JOB! YIKES!!

INTEREST WOULD HAVE ACCOMPLISHED MORE THAN YOU!!

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Closing Thought:

TURN & READ: Psalm 84:10 ESV “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

RATHER THAN FINDING SECURITY & SHELTER ELSEWHERE.... I’D RATHER HAVE the MOST MENIAL TASK in GOD’S HOUSE...

CAN WE TAKE UP THIS POSTURE?

I LIKE to USE the PHRASE: “I’M PRIVILEGED to SERVE”

JOHN MAXWELL: DON’T SAY “I’VE GOT TO”… BUT “I GET TO”

TAKING CARE of PLOWING PARKING LOT in COUDERSPORT...

“I’M ENTRUSTED W/ SAFETY of THOSE WHO COULD SLIP & FALL...” I GET TO DO THIS...

IF WE’RE GOING to BE ANYTHING LIKE JESUS

IF WE’RE GOING to GROW in CONFORMITY to HIM in SANCTIFICATION....

>>> WE HAVE to SERVE...

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Takeaways:

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE is LIVED WITH OTHERS ABOVE SELF

ALL MINISTRY is SERVICE & ALL SERVICE is MINISTRY

GOD HAS a PLACE FOR US to SERVE… & HE WILL REQUIRE an ACCOUNT of HOW WE USED WHAT HE GAVE US...

WE SERVE BECAUSE HE FIRST SERVED US.

Close in Prayer