Service

Good morning everybody, welcome to the conference. Let's read today in two places about servants. Let's read in Matthew chapter 20 to begin with and then we'll read in Luke 17.

You'll notice what we'll read today is in your red letter section of the Bible. Words from the Master himself regarding being a humble servant. One of the amazing things that I constantly return to in the worship of our Lord Jesus Christ is his character.

Isn't that what we worship on the breaking of bread meetings? Not only that he died and rose but who he was. And so let's admire him as also learn from him in how he was the Lord of all and yet the servant of all as well. And so maybe not admiring so much but in instruction we will read here in Matthew 20 and let's read the the last half of a conversation that you likely know in verse number 24.

You know the conversation the disciples were wondering who would be the greatest who would sit with him on the throne and then verse 24 you see the inevitable reaction. It says when the ten heard of it they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. It's obvious and Jesus called them unto him and said you know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them and that they are greatly exercised authority upon them but it shall not be so among you.

But whosoever will be great among you let him be your minister. As you know that probably means more your servant. And whosoever shall be chief among you let him be your servant.

Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. I read this because it gives us the definition of greatness. Greatness is not becoming important in position or power or name but being humble itself is the greatness that he seeks and that's what he was.

Let's read another example of a parable in Matthew 17. Matthew 17 and 7. I'm sorry Luke did I say Matthew? Luke 17 and 7. There it is on the right side where it's supposed to be. Luke 17 and 7. But which of you having a servant plowing or feeding cattle will say unto him by and by when he has come from the field go and sit down to meet.

Will he not rather say unto him make ready wherewith I may sup and gird thyself and serve me till I have eaten and drunken and afterward thou shall eat and drink. Doth he thank that servant because he did these things that were commanded him? I trow not. Or maybe in English we would say I don't think so.

So likewise ye when ye shall have done all these those things which are commanded you say we are unprofitable servants. We have done that which is our duty to do. So there you have it two good passages from the master regarding our duty what we should do and who we should be.

There is a pathway in our spiritual development that seems to be observed. We get saved we were in love with our Lord. We learn to worship him.

We study his word and sometimes we hit a plateau which is not a good thing is it? We should always be increasing in in our development and our appreciation of the Lord and one of the ways that we can continue the upward slope and to grow in appreciation is is to lower ourselves is to become servants and so that's why I would read here that that is a command of our service to others. Now I just like to say three things in my message about what service isn't by what he tells us in these two places. First of all we would find in Luke 17 that we serve him without an interview right? Never had a job interview? You go and you talk to the big corporation corporation X and and you present your resume and these are my skills this is what I would like to do and and you're searching for something that would be in in your medicine expertise or in your and your IT field or or your management talents and and you present yourself as your unique set of skills and then they make a decision on you and you make a decision on them and and you have the dream of your lifetime you you you fulfill who you are.

Your job is no longer just a paycheck but it's a it's a dream. I don't think that's what we have in in Luke 17 here is it we have a variety of jobs but the man is not called an employee and neither are you brother and sister in the Lord you're a servant and so the servant here gets a variety of jobs. What's he get to do? Well let's see he's out there plowing a field and he's pastoring some sheep and then he's in making a meal and I suppose we could imagine that he's cleaning the dishes afterwards.

Does that make your list? Is that your career? Is that what you've gone to college for? I throw not. No the interview didn't come in the process of this few of this this parable. The variety of jobs that was given to him were the lowly ones and so what can I what one lesson can we take from that brother sister? I think we could probably learn from that that we look around us and find work to do for our Savior for our Lord and it might be cleaning the dishes it might be serving the food it might be pastoring the sheep and it might be plowing the field or there's a variety of things to do and so in the parable we would take this finding the divine purpose and goal for your life might not be the great dream that you wish to fulfill it might be just the humble service now I don't suppose that the Lord came into his disciples meeting that day and he picked up the basin and wrapped himself in a towel and stooped to wash the feet because the Lord was so good at that kind of work that wasn't his dream job but that's what needed to be done that day I don't know what do you wait for then you see a stack of dishes do you pray that it might be the Lord's will that this would be the work that I should do I don't know ladies is that what you do when you go to the kitchen and your family's left you the pile no it's the variety of work and of course he says the servant does it whatever the master said today is the job is what he does so he's not going for an interview before he takes on the work so he does a variety of things and so I guess we could say that would be applied to us in the same way whatever whatever you do what do you do then and you are assembly might be plowing field and pasturing sheep but we could also think of many other things are you the taxi driver are you the person that takes her or him to the doctor are you the babysitter it's a mundane job but it needs to be done and it certainly is a great help for those that I've got to go to the doctor today or or I've got I've got to work and my kids what do I do with them and the servant is there to fill in the mundane the mundane tasks as well so whether it's organizing events or visiting people that are sick or helping those that are busy and and you're there honestly hearing this morning of my brother Keith passing away it's just you folks that are from area and you know him you knew him Keith was always there right he had the box of tools he had the keys to the van he was there and he was a man that would be a perfect example of what I'm trying to say the mundane and the variety so plowing fields and herding sheep and preparing food aren't exciting but he was prepared to do it one of the thing you would notice in this kind of a parable is not only is it maybe mundane or it's a variety of work but it was also a daily work wasn't it was a daily thing how many days do you have to take care of a flock of sheep how many days do you have to take care of your herd of cows how many days do you have to take care of the kitchen well the answer is seven right seven every single day is where you're going to do it how many days a week do you have to take care of your family how many days of week well obviously it's every day what happens if he doesn't do his job well he's not plowing his fields we might see he's got he's got tall grass he's got lost sheep and his kitchen is a mess I don't know if you've heard the joke I've certainly been told many times but the woman that was frustrated with her husband who asked her the annoying question so what did you do today what did you do today well she said one day I'm just going to teach him I'm gonna teach him and so she didn't do what she did today and the kids are a mess the kitchen as well there's no supper on the table and she says now I've got the good answer for you ask me what I do every day well now you can say I didn't do it I didn't do what I did yesterday in the day before and now look at the place and so the daily work is what impressed her as we would find here what did you do today so the first lesson here is we do the service even though we didn't get the interview nobody asked us if what we were good at is what we were given but he says we just did our job we were unprofitable servants and we did it and the other passage that we read from Matthew we didn't do it because it was the path that would lead us to something higher and greater no that's not the idea he says you want to see greatness just look around look down there's dirty feet there's needy disciples there's things to do around you and he says that will not be what will make you great in a future day that's what is greatness at this very moment so the Lord didn't stoop to wash the disciples feet because he knew that it someday would pay off and that he would be enthroned in glory no no he said I'm great at this very moment this is not the pathway to greatness this is greatness itself there's another lesson we learned you see the man he comes in from the field and he doesn't go and dress himself first he doesn't make his own meal and get washed up what's he do his hey you come here you come here first and you feed me what can we learn from that that we serve him before we expect him to serve us oh there's an opportunity to correct a few of our attitudes isn't it oh I serve God and I expect a few favors donut Lord I've served you and so I think that I deserve to get this job or Lord I served you and and this is how you pay me I've got a sick child I've got financial problems what kind of a favor is God giving me and so we expect that well since I've served him then he owes me something is that what we read unfortunately that's a horrible attitude that we have no he says if we do that we're just doing our job we are doing it as he says on profitable servants I find it amazing that the Lord saves us isn't that isn't that remarkable that for some reason he chose to save you and it wasn't with any condition that you serve him later he just served you or he saved you and it's free it's great it's a it's like completely without strings no attachments and then he and then he gives us the opportunity to serve him and if all he did was save us from hell we would have a whole reason of eternity to praise him and to be thankful but then he gives us the opportunity to serve and not only that he says there's a reward for it so first of all he saves us and then he gives us opportunity to serve him back and then he says not only that there's a reward coming so we don't serve him to gain the favors we serve him just because that's our duty well how about the thank you mm-hmm nothing wrong with a thank you is it I suppose you've had the experience just like everybody and they say well I served him and you know what I got for thanks yeah they criticized me they ignored me and I had no idea that when I said it was a personal exercise that really how personal it would be because nobody else seems to have it where's the thanks well I wonder I wonder if we felt like this servant sometimes where we would just say yeah there's criticism and negativity and some loneliness in it I hope that the assembly where you is is where you are it is is a thankful place and they say I appreciate what you've done and I see what you do and thank you very much but even if it never came who would we really have to hear the thank you from do we serve our brethren do we serve our sisters or do we serve Christ oh I think that's the attitude isn't it so even if nobody ever said anything to you in a positive way you would still have this to say well you know I'm really serving Christ and and that's that's who I'm waiting to hear the thank-you from so the thank-you day hasn't come we haven't been to the judgment seat of Christ we haven't heard well done as we will and so we continue just doing our job and so that's perhaps the way that people keep going they keep delivering the clothes they keep visiting the the the people they keep teaching the children they keep outreaching and and bringing the kids to the Sunday school and nobody might say thank you but they realize the day is coming when I will hear the thank-you well done now good and faithful service and so you ask you when's my review day when's my thank-you day when's my payday well it's not soon so keep going the master is still going to meet us there's a lot of reasons to quit aren't there I can think of a few I'll just give you three three reasons that we sometimes just give up and they don't really work well because we forget about these parables and about these examples of our Lord we might say we quit because we don't get the thanks we deserve I did it for four years and nobody seemed to notice kept going to the jail visiting the men in the prison preaching the gospel I kept going to the trailer cord and and teaching the gospel to those people I kept visiting the the old folks in our assembly that are lonely and nobody seemed to notice and so I quit I just stopped because I never got the thanks that I thought I would I've already mentioned there's the problem right we're we're looking for the thank you from the wrong person and so that's a that's a bad reason to quit because we haven't heard the thank you from our Lord what's another reason what's another reason I suppose reason number two we could say we quit is because we didn't get the results that we wanted to see I expected like I mentioned it would be more than a personal exercise that other people would see the vision and they would join or I expected more people to get saved or I expected the assembly to be more healthy for what I put my life into and we said we don't get the results and so what do we do we quit I don't know is there anything in the Bible that would tell us that that's a bad attitude hmm well let's see what did Paul say he said I planted and Apollos watered and what was the last part oh yeah God God gave the increase and so even though I've been assigned to hold this row I have been assigned to wash this pile of dishes I've been assigned to do this task and I didn't get the results I don't know if somehow that's my fault Lord says he'll give the increase here's another one also that I've referred to suppose number one is I didn't get the thanks that I expected I didn't get the results that I expected and here's another one that probably hits as hard I didn't get the feelings I expected you know I thought this would fulfill me I thought it would make me like feel good about who I am or about who we are or something like that no I suppose the servant here that was plowing and shepherding and washing and preparing and feel so good about it either but he still had the attitude this is you know I'm not doing this because it will make me feel good or make me a person that is you know some kind of a sterling character or a super Christian I did it because it was my duty and so this kind of person you know they don't they don't back up they don't stop they don't they don't quit they say this is the job that God gave me to do so things that he didn't get so he serves without an interview right then he serves saying that I will serve him without him serving me so there you go serve without an interview serve without the expectation here's the third one and this is the last we serve without a superiority attitude we've just done our job just done what we've said we would do and so that's the lesson that we get from Matthew where he says he says hey you two you think you're gonna sit with me on the left and on the right and you don't know what you're talking about this isn't going to work and of course the ten others that were all mad at him because they said who do they think they are and so all of a sudden they think hey we're disciples we're somebody we're serving our Lord we're following him and aren't we special I hope you're not that kind of a servant that's an easy trap to fall into because greatness doesn't show up because of our position nor does it come out because of the power that we wield in the service neither position nor power it's the work and the greatness doesn't come from the fringe benefits how do you know if you've fallen into the trap of these two disciples how can you do a self check to look in the mirror and you say it is attitude like the Lord wants a servant that really serves without without any of these attitudes some kind of a super Christian oh here's a few suggestions that we can ask ourselves if we've become the hypocrite if we've become what we hate what we what we never intended to start with how do we know this how do I look in the mirror and say am I an elder in this assembly that really serves like the shepherd of the the Great Shepherd how can I know that I am a person that is honest authentic well here's a few danger signs do you feel that you have to remind people around you of who you are or what you've done that should be a big danger sign right hey did you hear what I did I was visiting her in the hospital do you guys all know that you know that by the way did you know that I was out there visiting door-to-door today did you know that you have to know that maybe that's a bad sign maybe you were saying hey would you like to come and join me that would be a good thing but just to say you have to remind people or did you say or do you have to say do you know who I am in this assembly did you know that I am a servant of God as if that were some great person that needs to be obeyed that's a bad thing if you're having to remind people here's another one oh I suppose we could find a verse for that too somewhere in Galatians what's it say and six and three it says he that thinks of himself to be something when he is nothing he deceives himself what are we we're dust we are servants we are saved from from our sins and so we don't think too much of ourselves in that way do we so we don't have to remind people of who we are what's another danger sign well how about this one how about if we demand or Reese or expect some kind of a privilege I suppose you could fall into that trap and you could say well they treat me nice for what I do no that's a bad thing the two disciples they created a horrible conflict right within their little group of twelve why they expected that they would be somebody how about this one you have to remind yourself and you look in the mirror do I resent it or do I feel threatened if other people challenge what I say or what I do that's kind of a personal attack that when somebody feels right they don't like me I'm gonna fight back I can't imagine I can't imagine our Lord feeling that way no he took the exact opposite he was the servant so that's an attitude problem when we realize that we've become somebody superior somebody important because we think we're a servant it's a horrible way to look at ourselves here's another attitude check how about the service that we do does it feel more like a privilege or more like a drudgery yeah I got to do it do we have to well yeah I guess we'd have to you don't have to do anything you get to do things and if you don't want to do it then you have to do them so it's an attitude change do we get to yes you get to do we have to yes you have to if that's the way you feel about it but we will we will serve a drudgery or privilege how do you turn something mundane like the servant that is working in the field and in the kitchen how do you turn that from mundane into something motivating well you look at who you're serving it's the privilege what's he say my yoke is easy my burden is light what's the same first John we love him we do his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome they're not grievous why oh they're difficult yeah they're difficult but they're not heavy they're not hard it's because of who we're serving we don't serve with an attitude I don't know about you but I I do enjoy listening to the kids programs kids movies because the messages aren't just for kids they're for us one one program in particular remember we were listening with years ago we were listening to the adventures in Odyssey radio program from focus on the family there was a program that was once about boy named Alex and he watched some slides from Jason Whitaker's marvelous mission trip to I don't know maybe South America or Africa or something and he's Wow adventure and an intrigue and service to God and he says I'm I'm gonna I'm going to be a to and so his friend Sarah says hey look here Alex there's a volunteer needed it says here in the newspaper for the Nairobi children's home he's Wow I'm gonna go and so he started to save money and he he says I got to get some photos to get some support and so he dressed like a Maasai warrior and he started to learn some Swahili and he and he thought of the great adventures he would have and so he was preparing his trip and then he comes back to Jason his mentor and he says I'm really ready to go to Kenya and he says well actually the Nairobi children's home is after named after dr.

Nairobi and it's here in Connellsville and and it's it's a home that really needs volunteers and so we'd be glad your help oh he says that's not so adventuresome he's I don't really want to go he's I was hoping for more excitement he's all there's excitement all right you just haven't done it yet and so they persuade him to go and and so he has his own slideshow not what he expected he wasn't standing in front of mud huts with thatched roofs and strange costumes from the natives that he says no here's a picture of me reading a book with this boy that lost his father and and I became his friend and here's another picture of me I'm teaching a group of boys that are younger than me and a Sunday school lesson with him here's another picture of me I'm helping this kid do his homework he's you know I learned a lot about my mission trip to the other side of town that dr. Nairobi had a vision not to seek adventure do a spectacular but to do what my lord asked to serve so three things and I'll finish here three things that we don't have in our service first of all we didn't get the interview the job was given to us second is that we didn't have an attitude we didn't have the superiority that would tell us that who we are is based on what we did and then we would have the idea that we would serve him without any kind of condition we would say we just did our job as the Lord asked may the Lord help us then as this conference continues just to say I'm gonna pick something and it picks somebody a week that comes I'm gonna put something into action from this conference I'm going to do what the Lord gave me as he wants me to do