Serving

Introduction – Why motivates Christians to serve?

As we’ve done each week in our ‘Conversations’ series, I’d like to begin the talk time today by encouraging you to turn to the people around you and for a minute, discuss this question: “What motivates Christians to serve at church?” “What motivates Christians to serve at church?”

SLIDE 2 – Conversation Question

I wonder what reasons you came up with? Perhaps you took a more theoretical approach, discussing the motivations Christians shouldhave for serving at church. Or perhaps you took a more pragmatic approach, identifying the practical reasons Christians have for serving at church.

Whatever approach you took, you may have circled around the idea that some motivations are better than others. And to give credit where it is due, let me just say up front that this book, The Team Member’s Handbook by Dave Moore, has been influential in my thinking about motivations for serving.

And so, motivations are going to be part of the conversation we have today about serving. Because when it comes to serving, God cares about our motivations. God doesn’t just want us to do the right things; he wants us to do the right things for the right reasons. Our motivations matter.

So let’s start by considering some of the poor motivations that can be in our hearts that lead us to do the right thing but for the wrong reasons.

SLIDE 3 - Poor Motivation for Serving #1

Poor motivation for serving number 1: A Christian might serve to be part of the ‘in’ crowd. Perhaps you’re new to church and there’s a particularly magnetic leader in a ministry who you’re drawn to. Or you’ve made a couple of friends and have found out that they serve in a particular ministry, and so you want to join the ministry team too.

And whilst serving in a ministry team is indeed a great way to meet people and develop friendships, this is a purely horizontal motivation and it’s concerning if there’s no accompanying vertical element.

SLIDE 4 - Poor Motivation for Serving #2

Poor motivation for serving number 2: A Christian may serve because that’s just what’s always been done. Say you’ve grown up in church, and you have just assumed you should serve because that’s what everyone else does.

We’ve always had a kids ministry and a barista team and a band and so on, and these ministries do good things and so we should probably continue to have these ministries, right?

At one level, this is a great testimony of being part of a church family where everyone contributes. However, just continuing to do what has always been done is shallow reasoning. We also ought to consider why things have been done and the reasons why they should continue to be done.

SLIDE 5 - Poor Motivation for Serving #3

Poor motivation for serving number 3: A Christian may serve because we care what people think about us. We may want other people to think well of us, to be impressed by our skills and talents, or to be noticed and praised. Perhaps we may care what our kids think of us, and we serve because we want to set a good example for them.

Conversely, we may want other people not to think poorly of us. We might say yes to serving because we’re afraid of what someone would think if we said no. Or we might say no to serving because we’re afraid of making a public mistake.

Yet when we do these things, we’re demonstrating that we care more about what other people see and think of us, rather than what God sees and thinks of us.

How then can we avoid having these poor motivations and instead do the right things for the right reasons? Well, we need to push past the logical need of having ministries and positions to be filled. We need to push past other people’s positive or negative perception of us weighing on our conscience.

And instead, we push to the very core of our hearts and cultivate our passions and affections upon Jesus. We need to go there as our starting point, and we need to be blown away by the amazing and beautiful truth that Jesus served us first.

First Teaching Point – Jesus Served Us First

SLIDE 6 – Jesus Served Us First

When Jesus’ disciples are squabbling over who will be the greatest in the kingdom of God, Jesus sets them straight with these words. From Mark chapter 10:

SLIDE 7 – Mark 10:43-45

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 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.”

The wonderful news of the gospel is that God, in the person of Jesus Christ, has lovingly served us. As the Son of God, Jesus is the greatest, the first, the one worthy of service. Yet in grace and love, he serves us first. He becomes one of us and gives his life as the payment for the forgiveness of our sins

This is a profound, upside-down idea! Other so-called gods do not serve their worshippers – that would be a demeaning and humiliating thing to do! The lesser is supposed to serve the greater, not the other way around. Even with human leaders, we see the lesser serving the greater.

I’m sure that King Charles, Donald Trump, and Anthony Albanese all have chauffeurs driving them whenever they’re going anywhere. Could you imagine if King Charles, or Trump, or Albo said to their driver, “Hey jump in the back, I’ll drive this time, where would you like to go?” I can’t see that happening anytime soon.

And yet, not only when we were Jesus’ lessers but also his enemies in our rebellion and sin, Jesus serves us. And so at the very centre of our faith is the beautiful yet radical truth that the Son of God gives up his status, gives up his glory, and gives up his life… to serve people like us, by saving people like us, from the hell we deserve. Jesus’ loving service of others is at the absolute centre of the Christian faith.

And so Jesus’ loving service of us ought to make an impression on our hearts. Our affections, our passions, our motivations, rise up and are drawn from the overflowing well of Jesus’ loving and sacrificial service towards us. In his second letter to the Corinthian church, the Apostle Paul puts it like this:

SLIDE 8 – 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

Fully grasping Jesus’ love for us compels our hearts, it transforms our minds, and it motivates our actions. And so, having been convinced of Jesus love for us, we no longer live for ourselves, but instead with gratitude in our hearts, we offer our whole lives to him as an act of loving worship, all for his glory.

(P) Our first motivation for serving is that Jesus is our Saviour who serves us first. Being compelled by his love, we in turn respond with love and gratitude and offer our whole lives to him as act of worship, all for his glory.

Second Teaching Point – Jesus Teaches Us to Serve

SLIDE 9 – Jesus Teaches Us to Serve

Yet Jesus is not only our Saviour, he is also our Lord. And so our second motivation for serving is that Jesus our Lord teaches us to follow his example and serve one another with love and humility.

Earlier this year, we preached through the ‘I AM’ statements in the Gospel of John. And although it’s not strictly an ‘I AM’ statement, we did spend one of the weeks looking at John chapter 13 where by his actions, Jesus says to his disciples, ‘I am your example’.

On the night before his betrayal, trial, and crucifixion, Jesus gathers with his 12 disciples to celebrate the Passover Festival. And reading from John chapter 13, verse 3:

SLIDE 10 – 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.

Jesus is the Lord with all power and authority; all things have been put under his power. Yet what does he do with such power? Take command? Issue orders? Demand servitude?

No, amazingly, he does the smelly, dirty, demeaning job that was even beneath a regular household servant. He strips off his outer layer of clothing, wraps a towel around his waist, and goes around the whole room, washing every single one of his disciples' feet. Having finished and returned to his place, he says to his disciples,

SLIDE 11 – 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.

Jesus the Lord gently but firmly tells his followers to follow his example.

I’m the oldest of three brothers and my wife Liz is the oldest of three sisters. Hand up if you’re also the oldest sibling in your family. Being the oldest sibling can be a tough gig, right? It used to bother me when my parents would tell me that I was the one who should be setting the example, and I was the one who should know better.

But now I have kids. And on occasions I’ve caught myself saying to my daughter that she needs to set a good example for her little brother. That she should not do the same things as him because she knows better. Isn’t it funny how life can come at your full circle?!

Well through Jesus the Saviour who loves us and serves us first, we are adopted into God’s family as his children. And then as dearly loved children of God, we’re called to follow the example of Jesus our Lord, our “older brother”.

So hear him say to you, “Brother, sister, follow me. This is the way. Serve as I have served you. Love each other, as I have loved you. Humble yourself as I have, such that you consider nothing beneath you.”

(p) Amongst the many joys of being one of your pastors is that I get to see some of the humble, behind-the-scenes ways in which people in our community serve one another. I see the people who come in early to set up the sound system.

I see the people who come in early to set out chairs for older folks to use during morning tea and who put our signs so newcomers know where to go. I see the people who stay back afterwards to clean up the dishes from morning tea or sweep up the crumbs after everyone else has left.

So as I stand here today and urge you all to serve because Jesus the Saviour first served us, and to serve because Jesus the Lord teaches us to serve, I do so knowing that I am speaking to people who get it and who are living it.

I am encouraged by you, and I want to encourage you that your service of Jesus and his people is seen and appreciated, and I encourage you to keep on running the race and fighting the good fight.

Third Teaching Point – We Share in Jesus’ Mission

SLIDE 12 – We Share in Jesus’ Mission

(P) We serve because Jesus served us first. We serve because Jesus teaches us to serve. And finally, we serve because we share in Jesus’ mission in the world.

Jesus’ mission in the world right now is to grow his church. To grow his church by adding people to it. As we heard last week, Jesus came into the world to seek and save the lost; to rescue people from the perils of hell and to bring them into his kingdom of life and joy and peace.

And before he ascended to heaven, Jesus passes on this mission to his disciples. At the conclusion of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says,

SLIDE 13 – Matthew 28:18-20

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus invites us, his followers, to share in his mission in the world of making disciples of him and growing his church. To share his heart for seeking and saving the lost.

But Jesus doesn’t just want his church to grow in size; he also wants those in his church to grow in depth, in maturity. From today’s reading in Ephesians chapter 4,

SLIDE 14 – Ephesians 4:11-13

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

In comparison to 1 Corinthians 12 or Romans 12, where the focus is more on the array of spiritual gifts given to the church, the focus here in Ephesians 4 is the gifted people Christ gives to his church to lead it towards maturity. Christ has appointed apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to be the leaders of his church. But these people are not the only ones who have the responsibility of sharing in Jesus’ mission and building his church.

In fact, the work of the leaders of the church is to equip the people of the church to do the good works of service God has prepared for them to do.

As I mentioned in the All Ages Spot, winning the match is the job of the whole soccer team. Putting out the fire is the job of the whole firefighting crew. And playing a beautiful symphony of music is the job of the whole orchestra. And so likewise, doing the good work of growing and maturing Jesus’ church belongs to all the people of his church.

And in the same way that the soccer team has a coach, the firefighting crew has a station captain, and the orchestra has a conductor, Christ has given his church leaders to guide and equip his people.

And having been equipped, the body of Christ, the church, serves one another with the goal of helping one another to grow in maturity - that is to say, to become more like Jesus.

What a blessing it is that in his wisdom, Christ uses Christians to help Christians be more like Christ. Christ uses Christians to help Christians be more like Christ. Jesus uses his team to grow and mature his team.

SLIDE 15 – Motivations for Serving

(P) In summary, we serve because Jesus served us first. We serve because Jesus teaches us to serve. And we serve because we share in Jesus’ mission of building his church.

As the person who schedules all the Sunday serving roles and who oversees our Kids Ministry serving team, let me say that I’m extremely thankful that 60% of the adults in our church community are involved in at least one of our serving teams on Sunday.

But as we’ve identified today, we have some great reasons for serving, and some that are less so. So whether you are currently involved in a serving team or not, I suggest that we all take a moment now to examine the motivations of our own hearts?

Application - Examine Our Hearts

SLIDE 16 – Examining Our Hearts

If you do serve, what are your motivations for serving? Perhaps you’ve never even paused to consider why you do what you do… but take that opportunity now.

Do you serve because you know the beauty of the gospel, you know that Jesus loved and served you, and so you are compelled by his love to serve him and his church? Do you serve from a longing for Jesus’ church to grow both in number and in maturity? Or are there other motivations that have crept in and need to be removed or corrected?

If you do not currently serve, why is that? It could legitimately be because age, illness, or life stage has reduced your capacity from what it once was. Or perhaps it's because you’ve never been asked.

But it could also be because fear is holding you back. Are you worried about being embarrassed at not doing something perfectly, so that you won’t even try in the first place? Perhaps you have thought that it’s not your job to grow and mature the church. If so, have you been challenged by what you’ve heard today?

Regardless of how many serving teams you are or are not involved in, none of our motivations will ever be 100% this side of Jesus’ return. It’s likely that each of our hearts is constantly filled with battles between good and bad motivations. So why don’t I conclude by praying to our Saviour and Lord who knows each one of our hearts, and yet he still serves us and loves us all the same.

Lord Jesus,

We thank you for your great love. That even when you were your enemies, you served us first by giving your life as a ransom for sinners. Please help us to be your good and faithful servants who serve you and your church for the right reasons.

Please correct us where we need correcting and replace fear with love, so that we might do the good works of service you have laid out for each one of us. Lord, we desire to see your church grow both in number and maturity, please make it so. In your mighty name we pray, Amen.

My One Thing

(P) Well as we do each week, let me invite you to now take one minute to open your phone or your notebook and write down your One Thing. One thing that struck you, challenged, or encouraged you today. Take 60 seconds to write it down. Then share it over morning tea. After the 60 seconds, Peter will continue leading us in a time of prayer.