Servanthood is our Attitude

Which human culture is the healthiest in the world?I guess no one can tell for a certainWhy? I supposed that whoever is doing the survey will claim that his culture is the healthiestBut seriously, we can hardly tellBecause it’s completely dependent on the metrics you’ll use to ascertain this questionIf you’re going to use longevity as a parameter to the question, then perhaps you’ll say Japan has the healthiest culture in the planet If it’s about friendliness, probably you’ll say Philippines because Filipinos are known for their hospitality and close family tiesIf it’s about financial success, you might say.... Germany because For the third year in a row, Germany is the world's best country to be an entrepreneurIf it’s about emotional stability, you could say..So we could hardly tell whose culture is the healthiestThe same is true with churches, no single church could claim that their culture is the “healthiest”If you would equate health to numbers, then you could say that mega churches are the healthiestIf you would equate health to missions, you could say that missionary-sending churches are the healthiestIf you will equate health to good fellowship, then you could say that small churches with small groups are the healthiestEvery church has their own culture, their own DNA, so to speakBut of course towards the process of maturity, every churchs’ goal is to have Jesus’ CultureI prayed and looked back from the beginning of the year to see how far our conversation for the year has gone so far and I found out thatWe talked more about building up individualsWe talked about surviving our sufferings, values that last, being “balanced”Speaking of balance, we love being “balanced”, or at the very least we are trying to be “balanced” in every aspect of our livesSo even in preaching the great Word of God, I try to balance it through the help and grace of the Holy SpiritPastor Rick Warren said, when we preach, we should remember these few thingsWe need to Build up (Edify)Fire up (Exhort)Cope up (Encourage)So today and the few weeks to come, let me talk to you about “church culture” What is culture?Define -Culture is invisible but determinative You can’t see it, but it defines who you are as a person, as a people and as a churchBad culture will consistently undermine an amazing vision, mission and strategyI was looking at our church constitution, its a bulky stack of paper containing things that matters to us as a churchThings that is perceived to keep us togetherThings that is supposed to differentiate us from the worldAnd as I go through the pages, the values we defined caught my attentionAnd I asked myself, “do we truly embody these values?”And for some in the church, do they even know that we have these defined values? Do they even know this document exist?And I go.. “Lord, what must I do?”.. clearly, I received it in my heart.. discuss it with the church

I guess no one can tell for a certain. Why?

I supposed that whoever is doing the survey will claim that his culture is the healthiest

But seriously, we can hardly tell because it’s completely dependent on the metrics you’ll use to ascertain this question

If you’re going to use longevity as a parameter to the question, then perhaps you’ll say Japan has the healthiest culture in the planet

If it’s about friendliness, probably you’ll say Philippines because Filipinos are known for their hospitality and close family ties

If it’s about financial success, you might say.... Germany because For the third year in a row, Germany is the world's best country to be an entrepreneur

So we could hardly tell whose or which culture is the healthiest

BREATHE!

The same is true with churches, no single church could claim that their culture is the “healthiest”

If you would equate health to numbers, then you could say that mega churches are the healthiest

If you would equate health to missions, you could say that missionary-sending churches are the healthiest

If you will equate health to good fellowship, then you could say that small churches with small groups are the healthiest

Every church has their own culture, their own DNA, so to speak

But of course towards the process of maturity, every church’s goal is to have Jesus’ Culture

BREATHE!

I prayed and looked back from the beginning of the year to see how far our conversation for the year has gone so far and I found out that

We talked more about building up individuals

We talked about surviving our sufferings

Values that last

Living a being “balanced” life

Speaking of balance, we love being “balanced”,

or at the very least we are trying to be “balanced” in every aspect of our lives

So even in preaching the great Word of God, I try to balance it through the help and grace of the Holy Spirit

Pastor Rick Warren said, when we preach, we should remember these few things

We need to Build up (Edify)

Fire up (Exhort)

Cope up (Encourage)

BREATHE!

So today and the few weeks to come, let me talk to you about “church culture”

What is culture?

Culture is invisible but determinative

You can’t see it, but it defines who you are as a person, as a people and as a church

Bad culture will consistently undermine an amazing vision, mission and strategy

I was looking at our church constitution, its a bulky stack of paper containing things that matters to us as a church

Things that is perceived to keep us together

Things that is supposed to differentiate us from the world

And as I go through the pages, the values we defined caught my attention

And I asked myself, “do we truly embody these values?”

And for some in the church, do they even know that we have these defined values?

Do they even know this document exist?

And I go.. “Lord, what must I do?”.. clearly, I received it in my heart.. discuss it with the church

BREATHE!

Let me read to you a portion of what is contained in our church constitution

In Article 3, section 3.5 it reads…

Jesus is our only Model of true servanthood. He came not to be served but to serve. He said that if we want to be first, we must be the very last and servant of all. Those who wants to be great must become a servant. In everything that we do must reflect this attitude. The world has already discovered the value and power of this, and they called it “customer service”. Business and corporations became utterly wealthy because of this. As Christians, we enrich people’s lives and make people spiritually wealthy because of our attitude of servanthood. People feel big and great because a Christian bends over backwards to help, encourage, edify, and serve. Let us all make people feeling good by humbly serving them. And in doing so, you are in fact serving the Lord already!

Jesus is our only Model of true servanthood. He came not to be served but to serve.

He said that if we want to be first, we must be the very last and servant of all.

He came not to be served but to serve. He said that if we want to be first, we must be the very last and servant of all. Those who wants to be great must become a servant. In everything that we do must reflect this attitude. The world has already discovered the value and power of this, and they called it “customer service”. Business and corporations became utterly wealthy because of this. As Christians, we enrich people’s lives and make people spiritually wealthy because of our attitude of servanthood. People feel big and great because a Christian bends over backwards to help, encourage, edify, and serve. Let us all make people feeling good by humbly serving them. And in doing so, you are in fact serving the Lord already!

Those who wants to be great must become a servant.

In everything that we do must reflect this attitude.

The world has already discovered the value and power of this, and they called it “customer service”.

Business and corporations became utterly wealthy because of this.

As Christians, we enrich people’s lives and make people spiritually wealthy because of our attitude of servanthood.

People feel big and great because a Christian bends over backwards to help, encourage, edify, and serve.

Let us all make people feeling good by humbly serving them. And in doing so, you are in fact serving the Lord already!

BREATHE!

After John baptized Jesus, he went to the wilderness where He was tempted by satan

At the end of His fasting, Jesus begun to to call His disciples

And as soon as He mobilized His team, the first thing they did was to “serve”

In the New Living Translation of the Bible the word “serve” was used 199 times

And the word service was used 52 times

Open you Bible to Mark 10

TEXT: JESUS TEACHES ABOUT SERVING OTHERS (NLT)

Mark 10:35–45 NLT

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.” “What is your request?” he asked. They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.” But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?” “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!” Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.” When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

BREATHE!

1 Peter 4:10 NLT

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves

Romans 12:3 NLT

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.

A student at a Bible school in the Philippines became disturbed over the condition of the men’s rest rooms, since they always seemed to be neglected in the cleaning routine. When nothing was done to eliminate the filth, he took matters into his own hands and complained to the principal of the school. A little while later, the student noticed that the problem was being corrected, but he saw with amazement that the man with the mop and pail in hand was the principal himself!

God has given each one of us our unique SHAPE

To help you evaluate yourselves, use this acrostics SHAPE

Romans

Spiritual Gifts

Romans 12:6–8 NLT

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

Later the student commented, “I thought that he would call a janitor, but he cleaned the toilets himself. It was a major lesson to me on being a servant and, of course, it raised a question in my own mind as to why I hadn’t taken care of the problem!”

Heart

Colossians 3:23 ESV

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

Abilities

Ephesians 4:12 The Living Bible

Why is it that he gives us these special abilities to do certain things best? It is that God’s people will be equipped to do better work for him, building up the Church, the body of Christ, to a position of strength and maturity;

BEATHE!

Ephesians 4:12

Personality

1 Samuel 16:7 The Living Bible

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by a man’s face or height, for this is not the one. I don’t make decisions the way you do! Men judge by outward appearance, but I look at a man’s thoughts and intentions.”

Experiences

Proverbs 20:29 The Living Bible

The glory of young men is their strength; of old men, their experience.

Philippians 2:14 NLT

Do everything without complaining and arguing,

BREATHE!

MARK of a Good Servant

Must do Everything without complaining

Philippians 2:13–14 NLT

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Do everything without complaining and arguing,

Always Work with Enthusiasm

Philippians 2:13 NLT

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Ephesians 6:7 NLT

Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Resist Quarrel

2 Timothy 2:24 NLT

A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.

Kind to Everyone

Galatians 6:10 The Living Bible

That’s why whenever we can we should always be kind to everyone, and especially to our Christian brothers.

BREATHE!

BEATHE!

We are called to Serve...

1 Peter 4:10 NLT

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves

Romans 12:3 NLT

God has given each one of us our unique SHAPE

To help you evaluate yourselves, use this acrostics SHAPE

Spiritual Gifts

Romans 12:6–8 NLT

Heart (passion)

Colossians 3:23 ESV

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

Abilities

Ephesians 4:12 The Living Bible

Personality

1 Samuel 16:7 The Living Bible

Experiences

Proverbs 20:29 The Living Bible

The glory of young men is their strength; of old men, their experience.

BREATHE!

Before we pray, I wish to pass out this piece of paper and I’d like you to please include that as part of your prayers

And then fill it out with a willing heart

The church needs more volunteers with “Servanthood Attitude”

We just need your name, email address, mobile no. and date of birth (the birth year is optional)

You information will be kept private unless you allow us to share it with your fellow fellow volunteers

Tag the skill or skills that matches your SHAPE

Once your data is uploaded to our systems, you shall expect to receive an email from worshipplanning.com

Right after the Service, I’d like to request everybody to stay just for around 15 minutes

I will explain how our automated volunteering system works

Let’s pray

PRAYER

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