From Served to Serving
Shift: Jesus-followers must grow servant hearts by serving the people God has placed in their lives, following the example of Jesus with compassion and helpfulness.
The little things do matter…
Shifts not only have a big impact in the crust of the earth, but also in every area of our lives. By making these small adjustments in the right places, we can set off a chain reaction – much like the earth’s seismic forces that result in an earthquake – but in this case small changes can make a BIG difference in the most important areas of our lives. 16:Shiftscan take place almost anywhere: in the workplace, the school, the family, the church, the community, and in our spiritual and personal lives. In our last message, God disclosed to us the importance of Shift #11: The Shift from Burning to Building.
Jesus said in 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.”
These words of Jesus set the standard of servanthood. Jesus’ mission statement upsets all the accepted standards of the world. Categorically rejecting rank and power, Jesus establishes servanthood as his standard of greatness. By rank, a servant is last of all. In power, a servant has none.
SHIFT #12: FROM SERVED TO SERVING
I remember when I was a little spud in elementary school. Across the street from our school was a Texaco Star Service Station. In fact, the first day of school my mother dropped me off and expected me to find my way home about a mile away. Now, not knowing now to get home, I went across the street to the Texaco Star Service Station. A man in a dark brown shirt and pants, wearing a cap with a big star on it, asked me if he could help me. Yes, I told him I was lost and didn’t know how to get home. So he asked me a few questions concerning the whereabouts of my home, and invited me to ride in the side car of his motorcycle. It was only a matter of minutes that he drove me to my home on Emerson Avenue. What an impression of caring and service that man set upon the life of one small boy.
You see, the place where you got your gas in those days was called service stations, not merely gas stations. Attendants rushed out to your car and literally serviced your vehicle with gas, water, oil, and a clean windshield. You never had to leave your car. Now days, the attendant never leaves the booth so you pump the gas, service your car, and pay your own bill by a credit card directly attached to the pump. From full-service stations to self-serve gas stations. My, has service changed!
Jesus made the shift from served to serving. Jesus as the Son of God could have arranged life entirely to suit himself, but as the Son of Man he spent himself and all his rank and power in the service of others. He has come “to give his life as a ransom for many.” This saying of Jesus is a simple and pictorial way of communicating that it cost the life of Jesus to bring lost people back from their sin into the love of God. It means that the cost of our salvation was the cross of Christ. It defines what Jesus-followers need to focused upon in these last days, making the shift from being served to serving.
"Servant" in our English New Testament usually represents the Greek doulos (bondslave). Sometimes it means diakonos (deacon or minister); this is strictly accurate, for doulos and diakonos are synonyms. Both words denote those who are not at their own disposal, but are their master's purchased property. Bought to serve their master's needs, to be at his beck and call every moment, the servant's sole profession is to do as he or she is told. Christian service therefore means, first and foremost, living out a servant relationship to one's Savior.
What work does Christ set his servants to do? The way that they serve him, he tells them, is by becoming the servants of their fellow-servants and being willing to do literally anything, however costly, irksome, or undignified, in order to help them. This is what love means, as he himself showed at the Last supper when he played the servant's part and washed the disciples' feet.
A little background information on foot-washing in first century Palestine will help us to understand the significance of this act of service. Foot-washing was not primarily a ceremonial custom. It was practically important because people walked in sandals through dusty and manure-filled streets. Feet simply got dirty and stinky.
Not surprisingly, washing someone else's feet was regarded as one of the most demeaning tasks anyone could perform. It was reserved for the lowest of the household servants. It would be similar today to the entry job of a United States forest ranger. All rangers begin their work by cleaning toilets in the national parks. They don’t begin by sharing their knowledge of the awesome wonder of creation by leading nature walks.
We must place in contrast the fact that even though the task of serving was demeaning; the servants were well cared for by their masters. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the youngest of the sons requested his share of the inheritance and left for greener pastures. He scoots with the loot, and found himself penniless among the pigs, the detested swine of Jewish custom. When he came to his senses, he considered the fact that many of his father’s hired servants had food to spare, and he was starving to death (Luke 15:17).
So on this night before Passover, since there was evidently no household servant present at this private meal, who would perform this task? Jesus' disciples were not about to do it. Luke says they were in the midst of their favorite argument--"which one of them was regarded to be the greatest" (Luke 22:24). Those who washed feet in this setting would be admitting they were the good-for-nothings of the bunch!
Compassion and Helpfulness
When the New Testament speaks of ministering to the saints, it means not primarily preaching to them but devoting time, difficulty, and substance to giving them all the imaginative compassion and practical helpfulness possible. The essence of Christian service is loyalty to the king expressing itself in care for his servants.
So John sets the stage of this act of service by telling us it was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus was fully aware that his hour had come for him to leave his disciples and go to the Father. Jesus loved those who followed him supremely. He would love them to the end. So the evening meal was in progress in the Upper Room.
Jesus models for us the shift from served to serving as he washes the disciple’s feet in John 13:3-5, 12-15.
In the likeness of Jesus…
1. Servants are dependably aware of their origin and destiny
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
Jesus knew the source of his authority came from his Father. He knew that his incarnation of becoming flesh was ordained by his Father, and he would ascend back to heaven when he completed the work his Father gave him to do. So he was fully aware of his mission and ministry. He was able throughout his life and ministry to constantly recognize his work with humility, obedience, compassion and gentleness.
Servants must know the origin and the destiny of their authority. It is important that we as Jesus-followers know our roots. Our heritage is important because it helps us know who we are, but most importantly, whose we are. When we know we are God’s children, and one day we are going to spend eternity with him, then our service takes on a new dimension than the social services of our day. When we serve with loyalty to our Master, expressing care for his servants, then our service embodies eternity. We have a foundation and a future upon which to base our service. Our service has the stamp of eternity upon it.
2. Servants are dutifully observant of the task before them
4 …so he [Jesus] got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 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… 12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am.”
Jesus was both observant and sensitive to the fact that the household servant either was lax in the assigned duties or was no where to be found. The disciples entered the place of dining, and the servant did not do the customary act of washing their feet. No doubt, Jesus was the guest of honor.
How strange it must have been for the disciples to witness this act of compassion and helpfulness coming from their Teacher and Lord. But Jesus takes off his outer coat, wraps a towel around him, pours water into a basin and washes their feet. Jesus then returns to his place of honor. He asks them if they truly understood what he had done for them. They were right in calling him Teacher and Lord. Would they be responsive to move from served to serving?
Servants must be observant of the task before them. Jesus calls us as Jesus-followers to minister to one another in his name. There is no excuse for us to sit back and wait for God to show us the need for service in our lives and ministry. Jesus sets the example and calls us to observe the commitment it takes to serve him, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. So we make the shift from served to serving.
3. Servants are devotedly obedient to the commission assigned them
14 “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
Jesus called his disciples servants, not consumers. He commissioned his disciples to serve one another in the likeness of his service to them. Jesus set the example. Jesus provided a model. One who models has the willingness to go first. Jesus will never ask his disciples to do anything that he first isn’t willing to do.
Servants must be devotedly obedience to the call of servanthood. In a culture where people are most often concerned about their own well-being, we are charged to follow the lead of our Master. We begin our service to those who we are called to love, care about, and be concerned for. Only the Holy Spirit can create in us the kind of love toward our Savior that will overflow in imaginative compassion and practical helpfulness towards his people. Unless the spirit is training us in love, we are not fit persons to serve with that creative compassion and sensible helpfulness in the church.
All in the Family--
Let’s envision the following scenarios...
First, let’s picture a church where everyone wants to be served. (video clip, second service).Each person believes the church exists to serve their needs, to make them happy, and to cater to their whims and tastes. Imagine a church where everyone has a “take care of me” attitude and is quick to grumble whenever things are not as they should be. It becomes a church of self-absorption. Sadly some people don’t have to use their imagination to picture such a church. This kind of church will NEVER have a positive impact on their world.
I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord,
Real service is what I desire.
I’ll sing you a solo any time, dear Lord,
Just don’t ask me to sing in the choir.
I’ll do what you want me to do, dear Lord,
I like to see things come to pass.
But don’t ask me to teach boys and girls, dear Lord,
I’d rather just stay in my class.
I’ll do what you want me to do, dear Lord,
I yearn for your kingdom to thrive.
I’ll give you my nickels and dimes, dear Lord,
But please don’t ask me to tithe.
I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord,
I’ll say what you want me to say.
I’m busy just now with myself, dear Lord,
I’ll help you some other day.
Now, let’s imagine a church where every person has a passion to serve others. What could God do through such a church? The church was never meant to be a bunch of people watching on as a few exhausted people strain to carry the burden of a whole congregation. Football has been likened to service in the church. Thousands of fans are watching, desperately in need of exercise. Twenty-two players are exercising, desperately in need of rest! The wise saying from Ecclesiastes 4:9, “two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor” is true. It becomes a church of self-sacrificing. This kind of church is filled with people who will CHANGE their world.
Brother Lawrence lived in the 17th century. He remained 40 years in the uninterrupted awareness of God's presence. He walked in the humility of depending on God and the purity of doing everything for the love of God. It was observed, that in the greatest hurry of business in the kitchen, he still preserved his recollection and heavenly-mindedness. He was never hasty or loitering, but did each thing, even the washing of dishes, in its season with an even uninterrupted composure and tranquility of spirit. "The time of business," said he, "does not with me differ from the time of prayer. In the noise and clutter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Supper."
Moving from served to serving is one of the great disciplines that allow God to speak to our heart through his Word. Our series on 16:Shifts highlights the verse from John 3:16…
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
…God loves…God gave…We believe…We live.
Prayer: Father, I believe you love this world. You gave your one and only Son so I can live forever with you. Apart from you, I die. With you, I live. I choose life. I admit I need a Savior. I believe Jesus is my Savior. I choose to walk with Jesus and become a worldchanger.
