Service

Matthew 20:25–28 ESV

But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

John 13:12–17 ESV

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? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 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. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Recap

Over the Last few weeks we have been walking through our series entitled Christ..

And through it we have been looking at the example Jesus set for us through scripture

and have been applying it to our lives and how we can best walk and reflect christ in our own daily lives.

Love

We began by talking about the unconditional love Jesus has for us..

and How he intructed us to love others as we have been loved by him.

Humility

Next we saw how Jesus lived a life of humility and how the scriptures, especially the writing of the Apostle Paul

Teach us to walk humbly, to humble ourselves go one another, and to stay humble before God

Forgivness

Last week we saw how Jesus lived a life of forgivness and even died for our forgivness.

We read how he instructed us that we are now required to live that same life..

to forgive others as we have been forgiven..

We wreslted with the passage of matthew 6 where Jesus ties our own forgivness to the forgivness we give to others.

Today

Today were going to finish our series

and were going to talk about service.

How Christ, served humanity

and how we are to serve one another..

Christian

The two passages we read at the begining, Matthew 20 and John 13, Not only give us the instruction of christ for our lives as servants, but also example to follow.

Both paint a clear instuctive that those who follow Jesus should be those who lives are marked by that of the heart of a servant.

Biblical Day

In the opening message on love in this series.

we looked at where the name christian came from..

Acts 11:26 (ESV)

and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

If you were here for that message

then you know that the term christian that was given by those of antioch was not a kind term.

But rather it was a derogatory marker for those who followed Christ.

Servants

The term means Servant of Christ..

And not in the way we perceive the word servant in our current christian culture..

Rather, the servants they were refering to were those who were owned, or debted, or captive by their master

Calling a follower of Jesus a christian in biblical days was refering to them as servants of Jesus..

They were owned by christ

Considered the floor of society

the poor and disipicable..

This was a term of enderment for those who received it..

and society as a large looked down on this concept.

Culture Today

Culture today is not much different when it comes to servanthood..

to be a servant is considered in our modern day culture to be demeaning..

Beneath many people..

Servants are looked down upon..

instead of being a servant..

instead of serving..

We would rather be served..

instead of giving, we would rather receive..

This is the mindset of our current culture..

I bow, to no one..

Church

and unfortunatly, though Jesus taught clearly that we are to serve..

the church is not much different..

Statistically, research says that 20 percent of the church at large does 80 percent of the work in the church..

that means in a church of 100 people, 80 people are not activly envolved in serving..

Even in the church, many would rather be served thant to serve..

Jesus exemplified service

But jesus clearly states that this would not be the case for followers of christ.

Instruction

Matthew

In the passage of matthew Jesus gives us an instruction about being servants....

We find a story of a mother looking to make sure her children have stature..

she is the mother of James and john, two of Jesus disicples

And she asks jesus for a very forward favor

she asks that, when he comes into his kingdom, he would let them sit at his right and left hand..

representing authority and power

She wants them to be somone..

And jesus tells her, listen thats not mine to descide, its my fathers..

but even more theres a probelm with your though process..

because the gentiles, the world, are after authroity and lordship..

they use it to control people..

BUT IT SHALL NOT BE lIKE THAT WITH MY FOLLOWERS

IN my kingdom, if you wannt be great then you have to be a servant..

If you want to be first, you need to be a slave

BECAUSE EVEN I DID NOT COME TO BE SERVED

I CAME TO SERVE AND GIVE MY LIFE..

Jesus tells them, Greatness in the kingdom of God comes from service

Because servanthood is the heart of the kingdom.

Look back

If you look back at the other three charactor Traits we looked at in Jesus

We find the heart of a servant..

Service is birthed in unconditional loves for other

developed in an attitude of humility

and given our in a heart that is constantly about ensuring things are right with those around me.

Service is the heart of the kingdom of God..

loving one another

giving for one another

putting one another first..

Jesus tells them

This is the heart of Gods kingdom..

Example

but then in john Jesus shows them..

he doesnt just tell them

But he gives them an example..

John

When we come into John 13

Jesus and the disicples are gathered in the upper room eating the last supper

and JOhns account tells us that During supper

Jesus rises and takes up a towel and a basen of water

and begins to wash the disicples feet..

Servant

You have to understand

that in biblical days, the washing of feet was a customary practice

poeple work open toes shoes..

sandals

and they didnt have paved roads like we do or sidewalks

rather it was dirt roads and paths..

so when you came into a persons home

the servant, of that house would wash your feet as you came in

but it was the servant who did this job..

Peter

And so when Jesus gets to peter..

Peter has a probelm with this..

recognizing Jesus is the one who is the teacher.

and peter is just the student..

Peter says..

Jesus, your not going to wash my feet, I should be washing your feet..

Your not going to wash my feet

and Jesus tells him..

Listen, you dont understand this now, but you will..

and if I dont you wont have any part of me..

and of course peter being peter..

says then wash my whole body..

to which Jesus says..

youve already bathed.. its just your feet that need washed..

Follow my example

Jesus gets done..

sit down..

and then says this..

John 13:13–17 ESV

You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 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. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Jesus says..

Listen.. im the lord..

Im your teacher..

and I have humbled myself before you in service

to care for you and wash your feet..

Now I expect you to go and wash each others feet..

Washing of feet

we might not practice actual footwashing much anymore in the church..

but the concept and lifestyle of footwashing should be instilled in all of us..

You see footwashing is not really about feet

Its about service

You see when I wash someone selves feet

humble

I literally have to humble myself before them..

i have to get on my knees before them..

Care

I am literally caring for them..

I am cleaning your feet from the debree that they have encountered in their walk..

First

I am putting them first, and myself second…

making the statment that they, at least in this moment, are more important

and thier needs are more important

Love

i am showing my love and admoration for them

and my willinging to help and to be there for them..

Serve

I am literally serving them..

Concept

and more than literally washing feet

Jesus is telling the disicples..

Your job is to serve one another..

as I have served you.

(that phrase has been present this whole series)

Paul reiterates this as well in

Galatians 5:13 ESV

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

We are called to be servant, like Christ was a servant and has served us..

What does it look like to serve

What is a servant?

what does it mean to serve?

Serving is a stewardship of my life..

It me, willingly helping to meet the needs of those around me..

my community..

my church..

my family,, friends and neighbors..

Its giving of myself and what I have to make sure others are cared for..

Acts 2:45 ESV

And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

the early church knew and exemplafied this in their community and lives..

What does it look like to serve?

I want to look at three quick Traits about service that we see present in Christs Example here with the disciples..

Three things that we can use as a gage for our own service in the kingdom.

Serving is an act of humility

John 13:3–5 (ESV)

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, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 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.

Jesus, though he knew his status as king of kings and lord of lord..

Though he knew who he was in comparison to the disicples..

Chose to lay aside his robe, his symbol of status..

And pick up a towel.

Jesus, as we talked about a few weeks ago..

Humbled himself to the disicples, and to humanity..

He willingly set aside his title and pick up the heart and towel of a servant.

by choice..

Bow

Look what Jesus did..

he laid asside his outter garment..

and picked up the towel..

CHOSE TO BE A SERVANT..

And then went to wash feet

and the first thing he had to do..

would be kneel down before the person whos feet he was washing..

Kneel

If you think about the days Jesus is living in..

when they had kings and rulers..

If you came before the king..

You would kneel..

as a sign of the kings status and authority over you..

You humbled yourself for the king…

because he was more important..

Jesus did the same before the disicples when he choice to serve..

He did the same when he chose to come and take on humanity..

He did the same when he chose to die..

us

If we are going to serve as Jesus as told us to..

We have to start with the realization that at times, others are more important than ourselves..

And we have to be willing to come down from our title, our status, our pride, and humble ourselves before them.

Serving is caring for others

Jesus picked up the towel..

Bent down before the diciples..

and started washing their feet..

He was meeting a practical need for them..

Their feet needed washed..

us

when we serve..

Serving is not about doing what you want.. and forcing others to be happy about it..

People get mad.. because they start ministries and no one shows up to them..

but did we start that because it was a true need?

or because its what we wanted to do?

If it was a need people would come..

Sometimes we do things.. to make ourselves feel good..

so we can say we do them..

thats not a true servants heart..

a true servant finds a need and meets it..

Church

We have needs in the church..

real needs that help care for people..

Care team ministries..

Meal Train Ministries..

Cleaning ministries,..

Parking Minsitries..

Kids Ministries..

Outreach Ministries

Real needs that exist in our church and our community..

Real people who have real needs that need met..

Jesus was meeting a practical need..

Acts of service should meet real needs..

If not they might not be service, they might be something we need to check our heart for..

Serving is an expressing the love of Jesus forward

This whole series we have been talking about how Jesus did something for us..

and so we should do that for others..

love

Forgive.

Humble..

And service is another great example..

Look what Jesus said..

John 13:15 ESV

For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

Us

when we serve..

We put into action the love that has been given to us..

and we pass it on to those who are in our lives..

There by showing others the love of Jesus..

ACt

But service is not only an expression, but also a response..

a little later Jesus will say..

John 14:15 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Serving other expresses the love God has given to us..

but also is an act fo obidience and thankfulness for the love God has give us as well..

Have you picked up your towel?

Are you giving back in service?

Are you washing the feet of those you know..

are you serving as Jesus has told us too?

have you picked up your towel?

service fair..