Posted:
Based on “iServe” by Pastor Dean Corns; 7/25-26/09,
Message #DC129;
Daily Devotional #4 - “Serve or Be Served”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction): Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. "What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom." (Matthew 20:20-21) Welcome to the world of important questions. I am sure that you have had thoughts about standing in front of God. We all have a list of questions we want to ask. Well apparently, for John and James’ mother, this was the one she wanted to ask. She only wanted what most mothers want, the best for her boys. Jesus’ response contains one of the most important teachings for the church and for us as individuals. Check it out. Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:25-28)
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): I work for a fairly large company. Every year they pass out an updated command chain. At the top is the owner/president, followed by the 4 vice presidents, the directors, the managers, and so on. This chart illustrates how the authority trickles down to us in the lower levels. It also reveals that those of us near the bottom really have little hope of making big decisions. This is how the “world” does it. Jesus told His followers that they have to do things differently. He contrasted the power of the business and military worlds to God’s way of doing it. For all practical purposes the command chain has just been flipped upside down. The one who is greatest is the one who makes himself lowest. Look at the following passages: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3) Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. (1 Peter 5:5) Throughout the Scriptures we find this characteristic of humility as being critical to our spiritual lives. To be humble literally means to make yourself low. The instant side effect of humility is others instantly are lifted higher. This makes serving natural.
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): I know what some of you are thinking. I like to be served. I can’t argue with you. Sometimes it is nice to have someone do things for you. In spiritual things, what we think will make us happy is actually the opposite. As a matter of fact, we are happiest when we are serving, not being served. Jesus taught many lessons to the disciples, but few of them were as important as when He showed them how a leader should behave. Jesus was eating His last Passover meal when He got up from the table to do something. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (John 13:3-5) 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. "You call me `Teacher' and `Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. (John 13:12-15) Jesus, who just happens to be at the top of EVERY authority chart, bent down to wash the feet of people. He also said that we should wash each other’s feet. This is where we were meant to be. Serving people is one way we can truly identify with Jesus in our lives. We should all strive to make ourselves low so that we may someday be lifted up!
Cultivating (Additional Reading): Philippians 2:5-11
TCH
