I want to share a principle that is crucial in the Christian life: “The path to grow and be great in the sight of God.”
God’s plan is to make us like Jesus! This is God’s desire!
“For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Romans 8:29 (NIV)
God’s plan is for you and me to be like Jesus. When Jesus came to this earth, He broke the paradigm of who is the greatest and taught us that serving others will make you great before God and before people.
“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.” Mark 10:42-45 NLT
How many of you want to grow in God and be used by Him? Jesus gave us the “recipe” for how to grow in God’s kingdom.
Jesus was the Son of God. He was God. He came to give us an example of how to be a child of God!
The standard of being great in God’s kingdom is different from that of the world. In the world, if you have talent, if you can deliver a speech, if you can sing or play, if you have capability, you will lead! In God’s Kingdom and at Shalom C.C., it is not so.
Whoever wants to be the greatest, whoever wants to grow, must serve and love what God loves: People!
We all like to be served, to receive, to be first, to be at the forefront! This is human nature and it’s natural, but in God’s kingdom, the greatest are those who are servants!
Serving can change the life of a person, a church, an organisation and even an entire society.
Why is serving so powerful? Because it is theological. It is in the word of God, and Jesus Himself taught us.
John 13:12
“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. “13You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 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. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” John 13:12-17 (NIV)
I want you to visualise the above situation. Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. A task that was typically performed by slaves or the lowest of servants. At the time, washing feet was a slave’s duty. People wore sandals and they all walked a lot on foot. When you arrived at someone’s house, your feet would be dirty and dusty after a long walk, and upon entering a house, a slave would come with a basin of water and a towel and wash your feet.
In this passage, a very notable scene takes place. Jesus and His disciples entered a house after a long day of working and walking; they were all tired, with dusty and dirty feet.
Each disciple sat at their place, talking and waiting for the slave who would wash their feet. Their feet were dirty; where was the slave? For at the door there was a basin with water and a towel, but no slave.
They all saw the basin, the water, and the towel, but none of them took the initiative. They waited, continued talking, their feet still dirty, and suddenly Jesus got up, took the basin with water, took the towel, and began to wash his disciples’ feet.
I imagine silence fell over that house, and they began to look at one another and started thinking: No! This is wrong, I should have washed Jesus’ feet, I should have taken the initiative, I should have assumed this role.
But it is Jesus, the Lord, our master! He is the one kneeling on the ground, washing the feet of these men. He washes Matthew’s feet, John’s, Thomas’, Judas Iscariot’s (who betrayed him), and each disciple’s feet. They were there, paralysed by Jesus’ action.
Jesus takes the towel, the basin of dirty water, and He begins to speak:
You call me Master and Lord; indeed, I am!
I, being Lord and Master, have washed your feet.
This is what you should do for each other!
Unfortunately, the church of Christ has lost this most precious value taught by Jesus.
How difficult it is to find servants in God’s Kingdom, how difficult it is to find volunteers and people who want to serve others!
Many want to lead and be in charge, but few recognise that true leadership begins with service.
Jesus gave us a lesson: Serving is an attitude, an action!
You are not in this earth just to serve God and be close to God but to serve people! And when you serve people, you are serving God.
You were called by God to serve and relate to people. Jesus set this example and said, go and do the same; you will be happy if you practice it! I gave you the example!
Now go and do it! You are a servant, so serve, volunteer to serve, serve in your cell group, serve in the children’s ministry, AV Team, at the reception (welcome team), at Hope café, etc.
Jesus spent every morning, the early hours with the Father, in prayer, but He never stopped being with people and serving them.
Lives will be transformed when we practice what Jesus taught us.
When we serve people, we transform their lives!
Indeed, we must pray and pray a lot for people’s lives, but people will only be transformed when we serve them.
Society can be transformed, churches can be transformed, people can be transformed and begin to truly love each other thanks to the Power of Serving.
We need to learn from Jesus how to serve and wash each other’s feet.
Why do we need to serve?
Those who serve have the Nature of Christ.
Serving is part of our identity as Christians.
It is impossible to truly serve without embodying the nature of Jesus. Any work we do for one another should reflect what He has done for us first. Jesus Christ led the way.
The culture of serving has to be something natural to us! Jesus taught us that serving people brings eternal life.
My function is not to preach sermons, my function is to serve people. Your function is not to sing, it is to serve people, your function is not to help with the sound system, it is to serve people, your function is not to lead a cell group in interesting discussions, it is to serve people, your function is not to help with the children’s ministry, it is to serve people, your function is not to be a member of the church, it is to serve people.
If I don’t serve people, my function in the kingdom of God is worthless!
It’s not what I do, it’s whom I serve!
Luke 10:25-37, we have the parable of the Good Samaritan, where a teacher of the law wanted to know how to be saved, and Jesus teaches about loving one’s neighbour and how to serve.
That man was an expert in the law, a person who knew the word of God very well, and he came to Jesus and asked: How do I get to Heaven? How do I have eternal life?
Jesus says: You are an expert in the law, don’t you know what’s written? The expert in the law knew and spoke correctly: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbour as yourself!
He knew the truth. But he didn’t know who his neighbour was; he didn’t know how to serve people.
Doesn’t this story repeat itself today? Don’t we have too much knowledge and too little practice? Do we not understand too much but do too little?
Are we not like this expert in the law who has the Bible memorised but doesn’t know how to put it into practice?
Are we misunderstanding the message? Are we just loving God but neglecting our brothers, our cell group, our service in the church and in God’s Kingdom?
Only those who have the nature of Jesus in their hearts can serve, only those who have been transformed by the Holy Spirit know how to truly serve.
Those who have a life with God have the nature of Jesus, which is to serve people!
Serving and loving God (who loves us) is easy, but serving people who are flawed is not easy!
That is why many prefer to stay only with the first part, which is to love God, because loving one’s neighbour and serving one’s neighbour is a great challenge.
Why do we serve?
Because serving is the result of the reflection of Jesus in our lives!
Questions:
Is praying something normal in the life of a Christian? (As disciples of Jesus). Is reading the Bible something natural and normal in your life? Is seeking a holy and pure life something natural and normal in your life?
If praying, reading the Bible, and living a life of holiness are normal things in our lives, serving must be something natural and normal too!
Serving is the result of someone who has the character of Jesus.
It is not something imposed, something forced upon us like a rule, nor should we do it out of necessity.
We do not serve because the church needs it or because society needs it. No! We must serve because it is the fruit of the nature of Jesus.
James, Jesus’ brother, said something very important about serving.
17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. James 2:17-20 (NIV)
How can I say I have faith if I have no work to show? How can I say I believe in God if I don’t serve people? Is my faith worth anything? Following Jesus and believing in God need to be followed by something practical!
Serving is the result of Jesus’ nature, serving is the fruit of someone who loves Jesus. Jesus served people, served His disciples, Jesus invested His life in people.
Every servant of Jesus, every person who has had a real encounter with Jesus, all who had the experience of a new birth must love people. Having an encounter with Jesus makes us see people as our own neighbours!
Loving people is about spending time with others, serving them, washing their feet!
Volunteering is not done out of obligation, but out of pleasure! Volunteering is not done with our hands but with our heart.
Volunteering is not free labour; it is service that no amount of money could pay for! Volunteering is about loving and serving!
Being a volunteer, being a servant, is the easiest way to tell a person: God loves you. When you love others, when you serve people, you are saying God loves you.
Are you serving, are you participating in our cell groups? Are you serving those around you?
Serving people is serving God!
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)
One day we will give an account to God of our services, and He will reward us! There is a reward for all who serve in God’s kingdom!
“He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was ill and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” Matthew 25:33-36 (NIV)
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40 (NIV)
When you serve people around you, when you help in a ministry, when you help in your cell group, you are serving Jesus and doing it for Him.
When you serve coffee, you serve on the Ev Team, when you are serving at the reception (welcome team), you are living the purpose of a child of God.
Serving is the fruit of the nature of Jesus in a person’s life.
May the Lord bless you and help you to became a good and faithful servant.