Servant Series: Serving God by Serving Others

Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Mark 10:43 (MSG)

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.

Jesus, however, measured greatness in terms of service, not status. God determines your greatness by how many people you serve, not how many people serve you.

This is so contrary to the world's idea of greatness that we have a hard time understanding it, much less practicing it. The disciples argued about who deserved the most prominent position, and 2,000 years later, Christian leaders still jockey for position and prominence in churches, denominations, and parachurch ministries.

Thousands of books have been written on leadership, but few on servanthood. Everyone wants to lead; no one wants to be a servant. We would rather be generals than privates. Even Christians want to be "servant-leaders," not just plain servants. But to be like Jesus is to be a servant. That's what he called himself.

God created us for service, not for self-centeredness. Without a servant's heart, you will be tempted to misuse your gift for personal gain or even tempted to use it as an excuse to exempt yourself from meeting some needs.

God often tests our hearts by asking us to serve in ways we're not gifted. If you see a man fall into a ditch, God expects you to help him out, not say, "I don't have the gift of mercy or service."

While you may not be gifted for a particular task, you may be called to do it if no one who is gifted at it is around. Your primary ministry should be in the area of your giftedness, but your secondary service is wherever you're needed at the moment.

Your gift reveals your ministry, but your servant's heart will reveal your maturity. 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...the character that comes from maturing walk with Christ...the suffering servant.

It is possible to serve in church for a lifetime without ever being a servant. You must have a servant's heart.

How can you know if you have the heart of a servant?

Jesus said, "You can tell what they are by what they do" (Matthew 7:16 CEV).

Servant Series: Servants Make Themselves Available

"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" (2 Timothy 2:4 NASB).

Real servants make themselves available to serve. Servants don't fill up their time with other pursuits that could limit their availability. They want to be ready to jump into service when called on.

Much like a soldier, a servant must always be standing by for duty: "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" (2 Timothy 2:4 NASB).

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.

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. Servants see interruptions as divine appointments for ministry and are happy for the opportunity to practice serving.

The Mystery of Grace

"I do not at all understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us." - Anne Lamot

Faith is Something We Do

“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16 NIV).

Faith is more than something you just feel. Many people confuse emotions and feelings with faith. They come to church and they’re moved emotionally, they're inspired, and they're stimulated. But that doesn’t mean they’re walking in faith.

The Bible says faith is something we do, not just what we feel: “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16 NIV).

In other words, faith is not mere sentimentality. Let’s say I go out on the street and I see someone who is homeless and destitute. I see that person is hungry, cold, in need of clothing and shelter or in need in some other way. Would I be showing great faith if I walked up and said, “Cheer up! Don't worry, be happy! Feel good! Put on a happy face?”

It doesn’t take much faith to do that. Faith carries compassion and compassion is love in action! Faith says, “I’ll do anything I can to stop your hurt.” Throughout the New Testament, the witnesses say Jesus was moved with compassion for people. Jesus showed us that faith is practical.

When we see a need, we do something about it. We don't just toss out a quick --“Well, I'll pray for you.” Faith also doesn't judge. Jesus never commanded us to "evaluate" the situation before showing compassion. We are commanded to be faithful and God is responsible for the results. The Bible says, “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.” If we see a Christian in need, we respond because that brother or sister is part of our family.

When you become a believer, you became part of God’s family. And as a result, you have some family responsibilities: You care when other Christians are hurt, or in pain, or in grief, or in sorrow, or in need. You show your faith by what you do.

It’s easy to think, ‘But I can't meet everybody's needs!’ That’s right. None of us can. But we can meet some. What we can do may not make a difference to everybody, but it will make a difference to those we help.

Think of it like this: When the tide went out, hundreds of starfish were stranded on the beach. A little boy began to pick them up and throw the starfish back into the ocean.

A man came along and asked, “What are you doing?” The boy said, “I’m putting the starfish back in the ocean.”

The man said, “But there's too many! You can’t make a difference for all of them!”

The boy tossed another starfish into the water, and said, “I bet it makes a difference for that one.”

One-by-one. Great opportunities to serve God often come as small opportunities to serve those right here in the greater Granbury area who are in need.

Love Is...

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. ~ Luke 6:32-35

"To say that I am made in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for my existence, for God is love. Love is my true identity. Selflessness is my true self. Love is my true character. Love is my name." - Thomas Merton

All that and a Bag of Chips!

We had a great time this weekend with our first Love Granbury servant evangelism project of the fall. We had a great turnout and it was a huge success. We had hot dog cookouts at three different locations yesterday...two at the Granbury City Park and one at the Granbury Middle School football stadium.

We were able to give away over 700 free hot lunches to people who were out at soccer, baseball and football games at those locations on Saturday. With every free lunch, each person was given a "kindness card" expressing to that individual that just as the hot dog lunches were absolutely free, so is God's love! How awesome that a hot dog, a bag of chips and a bottle of water can be such a tangible expression of God's love! So more than 700 people were told yesterday that God loves them freely and without condition.

Pray with us that the seeds that were planted yesterday will be be watered and nurtured and that they will take root in the lives of these folks!

We now look forward to next months Love Granbury Fall Festivals in Indian Harbor, Canyon Creek and Comanche Harbor! Make plans now to join us for the fun and excitement of sharing God's love in such a simple and natural, yet profound way!

Neighborly Love

"The second most important command is this: 'You must love other people the same as you love yourself.' These two commands are the most important."

-- Mark 12:31 (ERV)

The second great commandment also deals with love. This time, however, Jesus focuses our attention on our love for other people -- our neighbors. In giving these two commandments -- love God and love neighbor -- Jesus has summed up the heart of the Ten Commandments Exodus 20), God's blueprint for morality. The first four commandments focus on honoring God. The remaining six focus upon treating our
neighbors fairly.

However, Jesus takes them a step deeper and makes them simpler to remember. More than honoring God and treating others honorably, we are called to love them. Our motivation and passion are suddenly at issue and not just our behavior. God made us for relationship with him and with others. Our relationships are to all be marked by our love, the same type of love that sent Jesus to the cross for us.