Sunday Sermons
The Greatest Among You
“The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. If you can demand service from others, you’ve arrived. In our self-serving culture with its me-first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept. Thousands of books have been written on leadership, but few on servanthood” (The Purpose Driven Life, Warren p. 257). Acting and thinking like a servant is a difficult lesson, even the apostles, on more than one occasion were preoccupied with argument, “as to which of them might be the greatest” (Luke 9:46; 22:24). Jesus made it very clear that in His kingdom things will be different from the world where people are constantly trying to jockey for position and superiority. He noted, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant” (Matthew 20:25-26). Jesus then noted that a servant does not come to be served, but to serve (20:28). “In short, there are no ring-side seats for honored spectators in God’s Kingdom, just places of service down beside the King Himself who is busy washing feet, mediating for others, and dying for sinners (John 13:12-17; Romans 8:29; 1 Peter 2:21)” (Fowler p. 929). These verses serve as a rebuke to anyone who seeks to recreate the church along the lines of a secular empire or successful corporation. Jesus’ self-sacrifice is the standard of service that God expects(John 13:34-35; Philippians 2:3-6). “Jesus could ever refer to Himself as the best example of the virtues which He taught. Since honor consists in being like the King, the highest honor consists in being most like Him” (McGarvey p. 558).
Character not Giftedness
“No special talent or gift is required to stay after a meeting to pick up trash or stack chairs. Anyone can be a servant. All it requires is character” (Warrren p. 258).
Servants make themselves available
“Servants do not fill up their time with other pursuits that could limit their availability. They want to be ready to jump into service when called upon. Much like a soldier, a servant must always be standing by for duty. If you only serve when it’s convenient for you, you’re not a real servant. Real servants do what’s needed, even when it’s inconvenient” (pp. 258-259). Compare with2 Timothy 4:2; Luke 10:33 “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey”). 2 Timothy 2:4 “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier”. The constant goal is to always please God (2 Corinthians 5:9). “The warfare of the Christian soldier requires the same concentration of purpose as that of the earthly warrior” (P.P. Comm. p. 19). Thus Timothy must make sure that all other pursuits, even family and business, never become a hampering entanglement. “Only the preacher whose loyalty and devotion are pre-eminently to the person and work of Jesus Christ can please their commander. The soldier’s will is absorbed in the will of the commander” (Reese pp. 459-460). The Roman soldier was expected to keep one thing in view, and only one, the service to his commander. While on active duty the Roman soldier was not to be entwined in business pursuits or civilian life. A key word in the above verse is the term entangles. Is our life so interwoven with all kinds of commitments that we have very little time to actually serve in God’s kingdom? Warrren asks, “Are you available to God anytime? Can He mess up your plans without you becoming resentful? As a servant, you don’t get to pick and choose when or where you will serve. Being a servant means giving up the right to control your schedule and allowing God to interrupt it whenever He needs to. If you will remind yourself at the start of every day that you are God’s servant, interruptions won’t frustrate you as much, because your agenda will be whatever God wants to bring into your life” (p. 259). Remember, interruptions are opportunities for service.
Servants keep their eyes open to needs
“So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10); “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest” (John 4:35). Consider the fact that God said, “especially to those who are of the household of faith”. The needs of other Christians are to be given preference, not put at the bottom of your things to do list. “We miss many occasions for serving because we lack sensitivity and spontaneity. Great opportunities to serve never last long. They pass quickly. You may only get one chance to serve that person, so take advantage of the moment” (p. 259). “Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it’, When you have it with you” (Proverbs 3:28). “If not now, when? If not here, where? If not I, who?” Obviously, procrastination nor selfishness is a part of wisdom. Wisdom realizes that opportunities for doing good can be short-lived and limited. We must learn to buy up the opportunities (Ephesians 5:16). The expression, “those to whom it is due”, “may be laborers who have earned their pay, the poor who rightly plead for help, or suppliants at the city gates who call for justice. On the other hand, they could be those who have loaned money and deserve to be repaid” (Garrett p. 84). Service can simply start by looking for small tasks that no one else wants to do. “Do these little things as if they were great things, because God is watching” (p. 260).
Servants do their best with what they have
“Servants don’t make excuses, procrastinate, or wait for better circumstances. Servants never say, ‘One of these days’, or ‘When the time is right’” (p. 260). In addition, do not buy into the myth that you are not good enough or talented enough to serve. Waiting for perfect conditions or the ideal time will probably mean that you will never start, “He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap” (Ecclesiastes 11:4). “Keep watching the wind and you will never sow, stare at the clouds and you will never reap” (Jerus). We can also be too cautious in this life. The unpredictable future can paralyze some people into inaction. The farmer who is ever watching the weather, and waiting for the ideal conditions---too much hesitation, too much caution, too much calculation. “Our business is to grapple with what actually is, and what lies within reach. Few great enterprises have waited for ideal conditions” (Kidner p. 97). There are risks in doing anything, but do not let such things deter you from living or trying. Waiting for the ideal time to teach someone, obey the gospel, and so on, can cause you to put off something until it is too late. “One cannot use the possibility of misfortune as an excuse for inactivity. Someone who is forever afraid of storms will never get around to working his field. The Teacher in effect says, ‘Just face the fact that things may go wrong, but get out there and do your work anyway’” (Garrett p. 338). In addition, beware of the attitude that says, “If you can’t do it perfectly, then don’t do it”. “God expects you to do what you can, with what you have, wherever you are. Less-than-perfect service is always better than the best intention (or no service)” (Warren p. 260).
Every task is done with equal dedication
“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men” (Colossians 3:23); “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). “The size of the task is irrelevant. The only issue is, does it need to be done? You will never arrive at the state in life where you’re too important to help with menial tasks. God will never exempt you from the mundane. There will always be more people willing to do ‘great’ things for God than there are people willing to do the little things. The race to be a leader is crowded, but the field is wide open for those willing to be servants” (Warren pp. 260-261). Jesus did things that the world considers to be very unimportant, He took time out for children (Mark 10:13-14), and He humbly washed the feet of His disciples (John 13:4ff). It is noted in Acts 28:3, after the shipwreck, Paul was out doing the menial task of collecting firewood. “Small tasks often show a big heart” (p. 261).
Servants finish the job
“Servants finish their tasks, fulfill their responsibilities, keep their promises, and complete their commitments. They don’t leave the job half undone, and they don’t quit when they get discouraged. Most people don’t know the meaning of commitment. They make commitments casually, then break them for the slightest reason without any hesitation, remorse, or regret. Every week churches and other organizations must improvise because volunteers didn’t prepare, didn’t show up, or didn’t even call to say they weren’t coming” (p. 261). This last point is especially an important observation. Sadly, some think that service in the kingdom of God, seeing that it is volunteer service, is service that can be done casually or with little commitment. Let us remember that we are serving God! Everything done for the local congregation is service rendered to God, we are looking in His vineyard and serving in His household, and such service deserves our best loyalty. “Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant” (Hebrews 3:5). Often our service is not effective or fruitful because we fail to do all the follow through and actually bring the task to completion (Acts 20:24 “So that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus”). There is a great need in the kingdom for “faithful”, that is dependable and reliable, servants (2 Timothy 2:2). Such faithfulness also involves finishing the task when others have quit, or keeping at the task even though you might be the only volunteer.
Servants are not easily discouraged
If we give up or get upset because others are not cooperating or participating, it means that our commitment is rather shallow as well. Real servants maintain a low profile, they do not need instant results, dramatic success or notoriety. Paul reminds us,“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). “Because you know that your labor in the service of the Lord is never thrown away” (Wms); “You know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever wasted” (Tay). All service, even service in obscurity or some small place is important to God, “And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). “Jesus makes particular use of the foregoing illustrative standard in a startling way: ‘If you think the prophets and righteous men were important, I tell you that even the most seemingly inconsequential help provided one of these little ones, will be immediately noticed and remembered by God” (Fowler p. 417). Carefully note how Jesus informs us that even honoring and caring for a lowly disciple, not to mention a prophet, is an important act in the sight of God. We need to learn to measure the importance of acts and activity on the basis of how God looks at reality. Remember, what you are doing and who is really watching you rather than all the other external conditions like what the world considers to be important and what other people are doing or not doing.
