34 Thinking Like a Servant

 

 

 

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 

 

 

34 Thinking Like a Servant

 

 

My servant Caleb thinks differently

and follows me completely.

Numbers 14:24

 

Think of yourselves the way

Christ Jesus thought of himself.

Philippians 2:5

 

 

Service starts in your mind.

To be a servant requires a mental shift, a change in your attitudes.

God is always more interested in why we do something than in what we do.

Attitudes count more than achievements.

King Amaziah lost God's favor because

"he did what was right

in the sight of the LORD,

yet not with a true heart."

2 Chronicles 25:2

Real servants serve God with a mindset of five attitudes.

 

Servants think more about others than about themselves.

Servants focus on others, not themselves.

This is true humility:

not thinking less of ourselves but thinking of ourselves less.

They are self-forgetful.

"Forget yourselves long enough

to lend a helping hand."

Philippians 2:4

This is what it means to "lose your life"—

forgetting yourself in service to others.

When we stop focusing on our own needs,

we become aware of the needs around us.

 

Jesus "emptied himself

by taking on the form of a servant."

Philippians 2:7

Real servants don't  try to use God for their purposes.

They let God use them for his purposes.

Out of all the people Paul knew,

Timothy was the only example he could point to.

Philippians 2;20-21

 

Thinking like a servant is difficult

because it challenges the basic problem of my life:

I am, by nature, selfish.

I think most about me.

That's why humility is daily struggle,

 a lesson I must relearn over and over.

The opportunity to be a servant confronts me dozens of times a day,

in which I'm given the choice to decide

between meeting my needs or the needs of others.

Self-denial is the core of servanthood.

"If someone takes unfair advantage of you,

use the occasion to practice the servant life."

Matthew 5:41

 

Servants think like stewards, not owners.

Servants remember that God owns it all.

In the Bible, a steward was a servant entrusted to manage an estate.

Servanthood and stewardship go together,

1 Corinthians 4:1

since God expects us to be trustworthy in both.

"The one thing required of such servants is

that they be faithful to their master."

1 Corinthians 4:2

How are you handling the resources God has entrusted to you?

 

"No servant can serve two masters...

You cannot serve both God and Money."

Luke 16:13

He didn't say, "You should not," but "You cannot."

Living for ministry and living for money are mutually exclusive goals.

If you're servant of God, you can't moonlight for yourself.

All your time belongs to God.

He insists on exclusive allegiance,

not part-time faithfulness.

 

When Jesus is your Master, money serves you,

but if money is your master, you become its slave.

"If you have not been trustworthy

in handling worldly wealth,

who will trust you with true riches?"

Luke 16:11

How you manage your money affects

how much God can bless your life.

 

Servants think about their work, not what others are doing.

They don't compare, criticize, or compete with other servants or ministries.

They're too busy doing the work God has given them.

"We will not compare ourselves with each other

as if one of us were better and another worse.

We have far more interesting things

to do with our lives.

Each of us is an original."

Galatians 5;26

 

Any time spent criticizing others is time that could be spent ministering.

"Who are you to criticize someone else's servant?

The Lord will determine

whether his servant has been succeeful."

Romans 14:4

It is also not our job to defend ourselves against criticism.

Let your Master handle it.

Follow the example of Moses, who showed true humility in the face of opposition,

as did Nehemiah, whose response to critics was simply,

"My work is too important to stop now and...

visit with you."

Nehemiah 6:3

 

One of the most beautiful acts of love shown to Jesus was

criticized by the disciples.

Mary took the most valuable thing she owned,

expensive perfume, and poured it over Jesus.

Her lavish service was called "a waste" by the disciples,

but Jesus called it "significant,"

Matthew 26:10

and that's all that mattered.

Your service for Christ is never wasted regardless of what others say.

 

Servants base their identity in Christ.

Because they remember they are loved and accepted by grace,

servants don't have to prove their worth.

"Jesus knew that

the Father had put all things under his power,

and that he had come form God...

so he got up from the meal,

took off his outer clothing,

and wrapped a towel around his waist."

John 13:3-4

 

If you're going to be a servant, you must settle your identity in Christ.

Only secure people can serve.

The more insecure you are, the more you will want people to serve you,

and the more you will need their approval.

 

Henri Nouwen said,

"In order to be of service to others we have to die to them;

that is, we have to give up measuring

our meaning and value with the yardstick of thers...

thus we become free to be compassionate."

When you base your worth and identity on your relationship to Christ,

you are freed from the expectations of others,

and that allows you to really serve them best.

 

Servants find status symbols unnecessary,

and they don't measure their worth by their achievements.

"You may brag about yourself,

but the only approval

that count is the Lord's approval."

2 Corinthians 10:18

 

If anyone had the chance of a lifetime to flaunt his connections

and "name-drop," it was James, the half-brother of Jesus.

He had the credentials of growing up with Jesus as his brother.

Yet, in introducing his letter, he simply referred to himself as

 "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ."

James 1:1

The closer you get to Jesus,

the less you need to promote yourself.

 

Servants think of ministry as on opportunity, not an obligation.

They enjoy helping people, meeting needs, and doing ministry.

They "serve the LORD with gladness."

Psalm 100:2

Because they love the Lord, they're grateful for his grace,

they know serving is the highest use of life,

and they know God has promised a reward.

 

Jesus promised,

"The Father will honor

and reward anyone who serve me."

John 12:26

Paul said,

"He will not forget

how hard you have worked for him

and how you have shown your love to him

by caring for other Christians."

Hebrews 6;10

 

Imagine what could happen if just 10 percent of all christians in the world

got serious about their role as real servants.

Imagine all the good that could be done.

God will use you if you will begin to act and think like a servant.

Albert Schweitzer said,

"The only really happy people are those

who have learned how to serve."

 

 

 

 

DAY THIRTY-FOUR

Thinking About My Purpose

 

 Point to Ponder: To be a servant I must think like a servant.

 

Verse to Remember: "Your attitude should be the same

as that of Christ Jesus."

Philippians 2:5

 

Question to Consider: Am I usually more concerned about

being served or finding ways to serve others?

 

 

p 265~271

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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