I’m sure when I mention the word servant you don’t think of someone who is great. You think of someone who is cleaning a house or mowing a lawn, maybe waiting on tables or giving you a pedicure. You probably think of any number of menial activities however, greatness is not the picture that comes to your mind.
Let’s be honest, American culture looks down on servanthood. We have become a culture that thinks serving is beneath our dignity. America has become a ‘very me’ centered culture. Jesus taught an upside-down kingdom and what I mean is that he specifically told those who would lead his body that they should not do it like the world does.
In Luke chapter 22 Jesus said, in this world the kings and great men lord it over their people…But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank and the leader should be like a servant. I have been working in the corporate world for the last 20 years.
In corporate America we run our organization by chain of command which is the same way the military works.
It’s why we recruit from the military and it’s why we hire college graduates from business schools because they are both trained to follow orders. It’s an over-under relationship.
You follow the orders of those above you and those below you follow your orders and you don’t jump rank. It is a very efficient way to run an organization. I work by chain of command every day.
The problem is that as Americans we have implemented this style of leadership into the church and pretty much anywhere, we’ve sent missionaries. As a result, the holy man myth has been perpetuated. The corporate style of leadership has prevailed in building the church and it's why we have the clergy / laity separation or distinction in most churches. It’s the holy man and those who follow him.
Jesus did not teach a chain of command structure for his body, but he said that the greatest among you is servant of all.
Paul went further in breaking down the chain of command structure and broke down ethnic hierarchy, social class hierarchy, gender hierarchy and the holy man myth by saying in Galatians chapter 3 verse 28 that, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Your relationship with God is not through the holy man and we all equally stand on the same foundation, the Man Christ Jesus. All who accept him are made equal, yet we are all uniquely gifted as part of his multi-faceted body. It’s a unified, yet diversified body of Christ. It’s an enigma. The God who fills all in all, has poured out his blood on all nations and He puts his Spirit into all who will come under that blood covenant no matter if they are red, yellow, black, or white because we’re all precious in his sight.
The Bible teaches that there is only one holy man and there is only one head of the church.
No, it’s not the pope, it’s not your priest, it’s not your apostle, it’s not your pastor or your bishop. Jesus is the only head of the church and everyone who comes under his lordship is simply just another part of the body. If you don’t get this foundation right then everything you build on top of it is built on a faulty foundation of man centered worship which will eventually crack, crumble and fall.
Now in saying all of that yes leadership is important to fulfill mission, but leadership is what I will call a supportive part of the body. Leadership is about supporting and undergirding the members of the body so that they can fulfill the mission. Leaders are simply mature facilitators. Jesus Christ was the only fully gifted human and when he ascended, he chose to create an interdependent, multifaceted, corporate body as the only entity that could contain his gifts. No individual was ever meant to show the fullness of Christ to the world. We are meant to do that through redeemed communities.
Many people view leadership as having a position, but leadership in the kingdom is defined as serving.
It does not matter if you are a teacher in the church, a businessman, professional athlete or missionary you are called to serve. Leadership is serving others with the God-given talents you have received. There are positions of leadership in the church which should be recognized and respected, but the men and women who fill these places must have a servant’s heart. Part of the qualifications, which Paul gave for these positions which he called elders or mature facilitators were to be gentle, peace loving and being willing to serve others. Peter said that elders or mature facilitators should not be demanding or act like dictators, but should lead by the example of servant hood.
Selfish ambition and lack of humility has become the driving force of our culture which is completely contradictory to Jesus lifestyle and the way he wants us to live our lives.
In Lesson 39: The Yoke Of The King I showed you that we are called to be joined to Christ. Jesus fleshed out what God is like and now it’s our responsibility to flesh out what Jesus is like. Augustine the church father is ascribed as saying that we are to be a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which Christ loves, a voice through which Christ speaks and a hand through which Christ helps. We are called to serve others. Webster's 1828 dictionary says, "to minister means to serve, to wait or to attend".
Now when you go to a restaurant the waiter or waitress will minister to you at your table. At a hospital, you will find nurses who are waiting, serving or ministering to the patients. What I hope to accomplish in this lesson is to help you to start looking at things differently. I want to shift the paradigm of the way you look at the call of God upon your life, your gifts and how you view leadership itself. In the coming lessons I’m going to help you discover, develop and expand the vision that Christ has personally called you to.
What I want you to see is that serving others and putting them first is actually what ministry is all about.
In the last lesson I talked to you about the two-tiered vision of Christ. The first tier is us becoming conformed to the image of Christ and it’s been the primary focus of this discipleship school. The second-tier of vision is God's eternal purposes, accomplished through each individual member of His body. As I’ve previously said we each have a common foundation. We also each have an individual part to fulfill, which makes us unique in God's mighty plan. The Holy Spirit empowers us to be like Christ, but also to be ourselves. This is called the manifold wisdom of God as articulated in Ephesians chapter 3 verse 10.
Just as Joseph, Abraham’s favorite son, had a coat of many colors, so God has woven a beautiful tapestry together called the body of Christ. The body is made up of many individual colors masterfully woven together through the wisdom of God to display the likeness of Christ. Christ wants each member of His body to come under His headship, walking in the rhythms of his grace, so that each of us can receive His vision for our lives. God has a ministry specifically hand tailored to fit your unique personality. He has gifted each part of His body to bring forth an expression of Himself. We are each called to lead in our sphere of influence. In one form or another we are all leaders because we influence people around us each day by what we say and do.
Leadership is first of all about self-government which is learning to live a life ruled by the blood, water and Spirit of God. It’s developing our personal devotion to God and living from the resting place of Christ within us. It’s out of that place of rest by which you fulfill the calling of God upon your life.
To be a member of the body of Christ means that God has called us to serve and minister to others in Jesus' name.
The term serve and minister can be used interchangeably. What a profound difference from the way that the world thinks. In the world's system to be great is to be ministered unto, but in the kingdom of God to be great is to humble yourself and serve others. Jesus as our leader did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. He has called us as His body to follow His example of servanthood because the greatest call in the kingdom is to serve.
You know there is a saying that we use in the United States which is that we live in a 'Dog eat dog world'. This basically means that everyone is doing what they can do to get to the top of the ladder with no regard for anyone else. The teaching of the kingdom is quite different. Jesus said, you’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. I have to say that’s a pretty radical message for the narcissistic culture that we experience everyday.
In today’s culture it's about my feelings, my wants, my desires and my needs.
As disciples of Christ we have been called to take up the cross, which cuts across the grain of self and a me centered culture. The cruciform life is to be no longer us living, but us living our lives by faith working through love. It’s this message that revolutionizes our lives to live from the inside out. The mystery is that you can’t do it, but God did it for us all we have to do is surrender, die and let the resurrection power of Christ live in us. Laying down our lives for others is the example Jesus set for us to follow.
Paul the apostle talks about Christ's example in the book of Philippians chapter 2 verse 3 thru 7. In verses 1 and 2 he is talking about the unity of the body then proceeds to tell us how that unity is accomplished and maintained. He says to do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant. I tell you every time I read this text I’m convicted, challenged and honestly feel completely inadequate because I know how self-centered I can be.
I am incapable of living like Christ in my own strength. It doesn’t come natural for me to regard others as better than myself. However, to truly serve others we have to first pour out our lives, surrender our hearts and allow the cross to cut across those selfish areas of our lives.
Humility is a trait I don't think many of us understand today and it doesn’t come naturally. I am not talking about self-humiliation or false humility since they are just non-authentic and really nothing more than pride. True humility is both transparent and authentic because it’s simply about being who you are in the hands of God. Moses is a good example of true humility. He was obedient to leave everything behind and suffer the ridicule of that decision. It was on the backside of the desert that Moses came to terms with himself and the burning bush was the turning point. It was testified about Moses that he was willing to endure affliction with the people of God rather than the passing pleasures of sin.
Moses surrendered to the call of God and was willing to do whatever it took to get himself into the place of purpose.
However, the burning bush was the commissioning and filling of that surrendered heart. If you don't have your burning bush experience before you begin to use your gifts then you will follow the fate of so many other fake and fallen leaders. It’s the fire of God that produces holiness, transparency and authenticity, which are the traits that will keep you kneeling in humility when the winds of trials come your way and trust me the trials will come your way.
If you don't build on the foundation of humility, then you will eventually crack under the pressure of keeping it all together in your own strength.
I am going to be teaching you about gifts as we progress so let me talk to you about the prophetic gift in this context of going off track. Prophets experience high altitude revelation, but if their lives are not tempered with humility they can become false very easily. It has been my experience that those with a prophetic gift must be tempered with much humility or the use of their gift will lead to abuse.
A true prophet will be one who understands the humility of submitting to one another in the fear of the Lord and serving others.
A prophet who does not mingle with the sheep in humility will become a predator who feeds on the sheep. Humility realizes that without the grace of God, then nothing stands. It’s the place where we bear fruit bowing down in complete surrender to the Father’s heart. A disciple is one who learns to live his life abiding and laboring in the grace of God because no matter what gifting we have we are first disciples of Christ. We always have to recognize that apart from Christ we can do nothing of any true eternal value.
The pathway of humility is a pathway of brokenness.
I am not speaking of destruction, but of a heart that has been humbled, surrendered and dedicated to the throne of grace.
Just after the upper room of fellowship with His disciples, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. It was here in the garden where he completely surrendered to the will of the Father.
Just as the first Adam was separated because of selfishness and disobedience in the garden as the sacrificial lamb, the last Adam surrendered and poured out his life in complete surrender to the Father’s will. Luke records this time of prayer as Jesus saying: Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done. And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. As Jesus prayed in the garden fully submitting His life to the will of the Father he was pouring out his self-life.
The book of Leviticus says that our self life is in the blood. In the garden Jesus was surrendering his self life completely to the point of death.
It’s interesting to note that this is the same night in which Jesus partook of His last Passover with His disciples. Just as they finished the Passover and right before they entered the Garden, there arose a heated discussion about who was the greatest among them. On the night of the Passover, Jesus gave a clear discourse on the difference between selfish ambition and laying down our lives to serve. It’s not the self-serving who are great in the kingdom, but it’s those who pour out their self lives to serve others.
James describes the one who has selfish ambition as someone who has given him or herself over to what he actually called demonic wisdom.
As I taught in Lesson 2 What is Man? If you remember the lower nature is Satan’s food. Man was made from the dust of the earth and God breathed His Spirit into this clay jar causing us to become a living soul. The reason spiritual darkness wants us to walk in the lower nature is because it’s where the kingdom of darkness gets its power. Like vultures, demons feed off of the lower nature of man and when we allow that to happen by living in the flesh then spiritual darkness eats our lunch.
Just like God, Satan and demons are spiritual beings and need an interface to connect to this physical world.
According To Ephesians chapter 2 verse 11 the lower nature influences the soul to walk according to the course of this world. Paul defined the course of this world inspired by the lower nature in Galatians chapter 5 showing us what Satan’s food looks like. It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time. Repetitive, loveless and cheap sex. A stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage. Frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness. Idolatry, sorcery, paranoid loneliness, cutthroat competition and all consuming yet never-satisfied wants. A brutal temper, an impotence to love or be loved, divided homes and divided lives. Small-minded and lopsided pursuits, the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival. Uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions and ugly parodies of community. I could go on.
If we yield to the lower nature then spiritual darkness can be displayed through the interface of our souls giving it an avenue to the physical world.
However, if we learn to live in a lifestyle of repentance keeping our hearts humble, adaptable and changeable we will continually grow in the grace of God and not be taken captive to demonic wisdom. James chapter 3 verses 13 thru 16 says who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.
As I said in the last lesson, our first calling is to Christ likeness. It’s bearing the fruit of the Spirit that can only come as we yield ourselves in surrender like Christ did in the garden. James goes on to say that if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. When we are driven by demonic wisdom, it will always result in jealousy and strife.
The wisdom flowing down from the Holy Spirit will bring unity of heart. This will produce an overflow of peace and the ability to work as a team member to create something you could not create on your own. It will create a servant's heart of humility that counts others as more significant than yourself. It will cause you to look out for not only your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
We all begin the Christian life absorbed within ourselves, but the goal of our lives should be emulating our master for even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. Live your life as He did not to be ministered unto, but to minister to pour out. This is just what we find Jesus doing in the Garden which was pouring out His life for others.
Service has to be the foundation of whatever we are building since it is the way of the kingdom.
We are not to think only about our own affairs, but are to be interested in helping others. Celebrating others' success is important if we truly want to work as a team and not let selfish ambition control us. The mark of true greatness in the kingdom is not to ask what others can do for you, but what you can do for them.
It’s an oxymoron that we actually advance in the kingdom by serving.
Honestly I have always struggled in this area because of the seeming contradictions I’ve found in scripture. We are supposed to make ourselves no reputation while at the same time, we are to be seekers of our purpose and to expand our gifts. I’ve found the way to accomplish these two opposite approaches and seeming contradictions is to merge them into one. We should always have the attitude of helping others even while we are fulfilling our purpose. We can actually serve our way to the top because in the kingdom, the bottom is the top.
We are not to use our gifts to exploit others, but we are to use our gifts to help and serve others.
Let me use myself as an example. Right now you are watching this school of discipleship that I’ve provided free of charge. I’m doing this as a labor of love because it’s my gift and I want to serve you with it. I literally have hundreds of hours of my personal time dedicated to producing these videos.
If you send an email on my website www.foundationpub.org then I will send you a free copy of Section I of my book Building Your Spiritual House. I wrote this first book over 20 years ago and I have 100’s of hours writing, correcting and printing what was my first book. Why would I do this for free? It’s simple. I want to serve you and help you succeed in your faith. I have one passion and that’s to see disciples made. I am successful when you mature in your faith and if my first book is an asset to you, then hopefully you’re going to want to buy some of my other books. You may even want to buy a hard copy at Amazon of my free book and teach others in small groups or start a discipleship class of your own. You might reach out to me and ask me for advice and help.
I advance my purpose by serving you free material.
You know I lived in Central Texas for many years and I loved this Mexican food restaurant in Brownwood, TX. On Sunday's they served a buffet. The food was great, but throughout the meal, servers would walk around the restaurant handing out freshly grilled steaks, shrimp and chicken. The serving attitude that goes above and beyond what you are looking for is what makes you want to come back. The good food you pay for is what you expect, but when you are served beyond what you expect then that venture is sure to expand.
A good church will excel at giving out more than it takes in.
Have you ever been to a church where you feel like you are there to serve them? I’ve been in plenty of those churches and it is repulsive which eventually brings decrease not expansion to their congregation. People know when you truly care about them or if you are just out to get something from them. If you want to be successful in the long-term, then serve others because it will lead to your expansion.
As we serve others we need to do it with a willing heart.
Willingness is one of the main keys to ministry. In Philippians chapter 2 verse 14 Paul told us to do all things without grumbling or disputing. In Luke chapter 10 verse 38 thru 40 it tells us the story of Martha and her sister Mary. Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Martha waited on Jesus yet complained that her sister was not helping her. When we serve it should be because we desire to be a blessing no matter what anyone else does.
Peter who was at Martha’s home on that day later said in first epistle chapter 4 verse 9 that when we are serving someone we are to do it willingly and not complain. He then said in verse 10 as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace. Using our gifts is all about serving. We see through the example of Martha one of the pitfalls to serving.
Serving has a pitfall which is that serving can sometimes lead to dead works, frustration and being a man pleaser.
What do I mean by man pleasing? It’s when we serve to get accolades and we are serving to simply get the approval of someone. When serving ceases to come from a heart of faith and love then it has entered into a lifeless ritual. I’m going to be speaking about gifts as we continue in this school, but did you know that service is actually listed as one of the 9 motivational gifts listed in Romans chapter 12? Romans chapter 12 verses 6 thru 7 says having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them if service, in our serving.
Serving should be the attitude of all Christians, but there are those with the gift of service.
If you have this gift, you will be motivated to go to special lengths in helping to meet needs. You are that person who meets needs quickly and is willing to go the extra mile. You might actually be in the hospitality business, a policeman, firefighter or medical worker because your gift motivates you to find and meet needs.
If you let your gift control you then you can also disregard the priorities of your own family. You will many times struggle to say no and you can also tend to look down on others who are not motivated to serve like you do for example Martha. It’s always important to make sure you're not serving to try and please others or trying to gain favors with God. Serving is not just doing, but it’s a heart of love that is serving God and others with your God-given abilities.
We are not to serve others for what we can get out of them, but we are to serve with pure motives.
James the apostle shows us that serving is simply fulfilling the law of our king, which is love. Paul said in Galatians chapter 5 verses 13 thru 14 that you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. When we serve with pure hearts it will not matter how much we get for our service because we are doing it out of a pure heart of love.
God does not measure greatness the way we are taught to measure greatness in this world. Greatness is not having a million dollars and people serving you. Greatness is humbling yourself and serving others. Jesus said it’s more blessed to give than to receive. Whatever calling you have upon your life it is to be done with an attitude of serving. To use your God-given talents to their full potential, then you must use them to serve others.
Jesus loved and had mercy for the people He served and He has called us to do the same.
At the last supper Jesus had with His disciples before His crucifixion He washed their feet just as a humble servant would in those days. He then told them that they also were sent to serve. It’s not the external feet washing that matters, but it’s serving others willingly and with pure hearts. The stronger member takes care of the weaker members just like our bodies. The central theme and main mission of Christ is to redeem that which is lost. We are to be salt and light in a world that has lost its way.
We will discuss the different forms of evangelism as we progress further in this course, but servant evangelism is a powerful testimony of the love of Christ. What are some examples of servant evangelism? Have a free car wash not to raise money, but to just serve others. Mow someone’s grass for free or take them to dinner one night. Help a single mother take care of her kids or help someone move.
I want to end this by reminding you that the gifts God entrusts us with are not to be used to manipulate, dictate or take advantage of others, but to bless them just as Christ has blessed us. 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 10 says as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. Grace isn’t one dimensional, but multifaceted and varies from person to person. Jesus fleshed out what God is like now it’s our responsibility to flesh out what Jesus is like.
Augustine the church father is ascribed as saying that we are to be a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which Christ loves, a voice through which Christ speaks and a hand through which Christ helps. It’s your uniqueness that needs to be displayed because you have the ability to reach people for Christ I could never reach. If you don’t let God use you to serve others then someone is going to miss out on what you have to give.
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Next Lesson: Lesson 41 - Part I Spiritual Warfare
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