33 How Real Servants Act

 

 

 

PURPOSE # 4

 

 

You Were Shaped For Serving God

 

 

We are simply God's servants.... Each one of

us does the work which the Lord gave him to do:

I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant,

but it was God who made the plant grow.

1 Corinthians 3:5-6 

 

 

33 How Real Servants Act

 

 

Whoever wants to be great

must become a servant.

Mark 10:43

 

You can tell what they are

by what they do.

Matthew 7:16

 

 

We serve God by serving others.

The world defines greatness in terms of power,

possessions, prestige, and position.

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.

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.

 

While knowing your shape is important for serving God,

having the heart of a servant is even more important.

Remember, God shaped you for service, not for self-centerdness.

God often tests our hearts

by asking us to serve in ways we're not shaped.

 

Your primary ministry should be in the area of your shape,

but your secondary service is wherever you're needed at the monent.

Your shape reveals your ministry,

but your servant's heart will reveal your maturity.

You must have a servant's heart.

Jesus said,

"You can tell what they are

by what they do."

Matthew 7:16

 

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."

2 Timothy 2:4

Real servants do what's needed, even when it's inconvenient.

 

Are you available to God anytime?

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 everyday

 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.

 

Real servants pay attention to needs.

Servants are always on the lookout for ways to help others.

When they see a need, they seize the moment to meet it,

just as the Bible commands us:

"Whenever we have the opportunity,

we have to do what is good for everyone,

especially for the family of believers."

Galatians 6:10

 

Notice that God says the needs of your church family

are to be given preference,

not put at the bottom of your "things to do" list.

"Never tell your neighbors

 to wait until tomorrow

if you can help them now."

Proverbs 3:28

 

John Wesley was an incredible servant of God.

His motto was

"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can,

in all the ways you can, in all the places you can,

at all the times you can, to all the people you can,

as long as you ever can."

That is greatness.

You can begin by looking for small tasks that no one else wants to do.

Do these things as if they were great things, because God is watching.

 

Real servants do their best with what they have.

Sevants don't make excuses, procrastinate,

or wait for better circumstances.

They just do what needs to be done.

"If you wait for perfect conditions,

you will never get anything done."

Ecclesiastes 11:4

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.

 

You may have heard it said,

"If it can't be done with excellence, don't do it."

Well, Jesus never said that!

The truth is, almost everything we do is done poorly

when we first start doing it—that's how we learn.

It doesn't have to be perfect for God to use and bless it.

We would rather involve thousands of regular folks in ministry

than have a perfect church run by a few elites.

 

Real servants do every task with equal dedication.

Whatever they do, servants "do it with all their heart."

Colossians 3:23

The size of the task is irrelevant.

The only issue is, does it need to be done?

"If you think you are too important

to help someone in need,

you are noly fooling yourself.

You are really a nobody."

Galatians 6:3

It is in these small services that we grow like Christ.

 

Jesus specialized in menial tasks that everyone else tried to avoid:

washing feet, helping children, fixing breakfast, and serving lepers.

Nothing was beneath him, because he came to serve.

It wasn't in spite of his greatness that he did these things,

but because of it, and he expects us to follow his example.

John 13:15

 

Small tasks often show a big heart.

Your servant's heart is revealed in little acts that others don't think of doing,

as when Paul gathered brushwood for a fire to warm everyone after a shipwreck.

Acts 28:3

He was just as exhausted as everyone else,

but he did what everyone needed.

No task is beneath you when you have a servant's heart.

Great opportunities often disguise themselves in small tasks.

The little things in life determine the big things.

 

Don't look for great tasks to do for God.

Just do the not-so-great stuff,

and God will assign you whatever he wants you to do.

But before attempting the extraordinary,

try serving in ordinary ways.

Luke 16;10-12

 

Real servants are faithful to their ministry.

Servants finish their tasks, fulfill their responsibilities,

keep their promises, and complete their commitments.

They are trustworthy and dependable.

Faithfulness has always been a rare quality.

Psalm 12:1; Proverbs 20:6;

Philippians 2:19-22

 

Can you be counted on by others?

Are there promises you need to keep,

vows you need to fulfill,

or commitments you need to honor?

This is a test.

God is testing your faithfulness.

 

Imagine what it will feel like one day to have God say to you,

"Well done, my good and faithful servant.

You have been faithful in handling this small amout,

so now I will give you many more responsibilities.

Let's celebrate together!"

Matthew 25:23

 

Real servants maintain a low profile.

Servants don't promote or call attention to themselves.

Instead of acting to impress and dressing for success,

they "put on the apron of humility,

to serve one another."

1 Peter 5;5

 

Paul exposed a kind of service that appears to be spiritual

but is really just a put-on, a show, an act to get attention.

He called it "eyeservice"—

Ephesians 6:6; Colossians 3:22

seving in order to impress people with how spiritual we are.

This was a sin of the Pharisees.

They turned helping others, giving,

and even prayer into a performance for others.

Jesus hated this attitude and warned,

"When you do good deeds,

don't try to show off.

If you do,

you won't get a reward

from your Father in heaven."

Matthew 6:1

 

Real servants don't serve for the approval or applause of others.

They live for an audience of one.

"If I were still trying to please men,

I would not be a servant of Christ."

Galatians 1:10

You won't find many real servants in the limelight:

in fact, they avoid it when possible.

They are content with quietly serving in the shadows.

Joseph is a great example.

 

You may be serving in obscurity in some small place,

feeling unknown and unappreciated.

Listen: God put you where you are for a purpose!

You had better stay put until he chooses to move you.

He will let you know if he wants you somewhere else.

Your ministry matters to the kingdom of God.

"When Christ... shows up again on this earth,

you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you.

Meanwhile, be content with obscurity."

Colossians 3:4

 

You have several prominent features on your body

that you could live without.

It is the hidden parts of your body that are indispensable.

The same is true in the Body of Christ.

The most significant service is often the service that is unseen.

1 Corinthians 12:22-24

 

In heaven God is going to openly reward

some of his most obscure and unknown servants—

people we have never heard of on earth,

who taught emotionally disturbed children, cleaned up after incontinent elderly,

nursed AIDS patients, and served in thousands of other unnoticed ways.

Knowing this, don't be discouraged

when your service is unnoticed or taken for granted.

Keep on serving God!

 

"Throw yourselves into the work of the Master,

confident that nothing you do for him is

a waste of time or effort."

1 Corinthians 15:58

Even the smallest service is noticed by God and will be rewarded.

Remember the words of Jesus:

"If, as my representatives,

you give even a cup of cold water to a little child,

you will surely be rewareded."

Matthew 10:42

 

 

 

DAY THIRTY-THREE

Thinking About My Purpose

 

 Point to Ponder: I serve God by serving others.

 

Verse to Remember: "If you give even a cup of cold water

to one of the least of my follwers,

you will surely be rewarded."

Matthew 10;42

 

Question to Consider: Which of the six characteristics of real servants

offers the greatest challenge to me?

 

 

p 257~264

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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