ATTITUDES FOR GODLY DEVELOPMENT: “SERVING”

• Spiritual maturity grows by to the Living God, humility, love, and outward devotion shown through service.
• Serving is about filling a spot, staying busy, taking on another task, or doing something just to be noticed.

Possible reasons why people called to follow Jesus don’t serve in their church:

1. They have never been .
2. They don’t think they’re .
3. They see serving as just another to add to their already busy schedule.
4. They think a big church already has enough volunteers, so they it.
5. I’ve paid my dues, so let the younger generation step up. (Caleb’s life – Joshua 14:10-12) Why retire when you can re-?
6. Serving others isn’t among my .

• Jesus is the Lord overall and a of all.
• There is tension because Jesus models serving, while the culture values .
• Mark 10:37 …“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.”
• Mark 10:41-45 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 42 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. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 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.”
  • Jesus is motivated by , not a position. So should we.
  • Jesus abolished the pecking order of . (Mark 10.43).
  • Jesus provided His disciples with a understanding of leadership (Mark 10.44).
  • Jesus came to and serve, not to be served.
• Serving begins with a for Jesus and His church.

• Philippians 2:3-8 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
• Many in the American consumer church admire what Jesus did, but are horrified at the idea of living that way.

“God’s great holy joke about the messiah complex is this: Every human being who has ever lived has suffered from it – except one. And He was the Messiah.” John Ortberg

• John 13:4-5 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.
• John 13:12-17 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.
• Serving always comes from a heart.
  “Find a need and fill it.” Pastor Tommy Barnett

1. Find a friend and serve .
2. Find joy in doing small things well and with .
   “If it’s Christian, it ought to be a little bit better.” Jerry Falwell, co-founder of Liberty University
3. Find a place where you can . God gave us passion, skills, and a past to serve the Lord and others with fulfillment.
4. Find the vision like Isaiah (Isaiah 6:8).

Lord Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. I know that the penalty of my sin is physical, spiritual, and eternal death. I acknowledge that I can’t do anything about my situation. But I know that You came to pay the penalty for my sin. I trust in You alone as the One who died in my place. I repent of my sin and trust in You alone as the only One who can place me in an eternal relationship with the living God. I desire to be Your child. I desire to live as Your child. In Your name. Amen.

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