If somebody were to describe you with the word "always," what would they say? "He's always doing this" or "She's always doing that." What would others say you are always doing?
Our series is about being Self-less, being less about ourselves, and more about God and others.
I think you would probably agree that we live in an incredibly selfish, self-centred, self-gratifying, self-promoting culture. Many of you will haveheard the terminology GOAT used in recent years. Do you know where this term originated? The world-renowned boxer, Muhammad Ali was popularly nicknamed “The Greatest.” And in the 1990’s his wife turned it into G.O.A.T. for publicity…the Greatest Of All Times.
It seems crazy that someone would be confident enough that they would give themselves that name, but I guess that’s the world we live in.
The problem is that if we want to follow Jesus, His teaching is completely opposite to a self-centred, selfish, self-promoting culture. He said:
If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.
Matt 16:24 (NLT)
You’ll sometimes here the Kingdom of God referred to as an upside-down kingdom, the opposite of what we think it should be. If you want to be great in God’s kingdom, forget about vying for the best position,demanding your own way or promoting yourself. You don’t need to show that you’re more important, more popular or better than others. Greatness in God’s Kingdom is about dying to our own selfish nature and followingHim.
When the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest among them, I love the way the Passion Translation describes the conversation that took place. Jesus called them together and said:
Kings and those with great authority in this world rule oppressively over their subjects, like tyrants. But this is not your calling. You will lead by a completely different model. The greatest one among you will live as the one who is called to serve others, because the greatest honor and authority is reserved for the one with the heart of a servant. For even the Son of Man did not come expecting to be served but to serve and give His life in exchange for the salvation of many.
Matt 20:26-28 (The Passion Translation)
If we are a follower of Christ, we are not called to self-promote or to live selfish, self-centred lives, but instead, He asks us to be selfless, to deny our self and take on the very nature of a servant. In other words, as someone who chooses to follow Jesus and become more like Him, serving is not just something that we do….at our core we are to have the heart of a servant, the mindset of a servant, we are called to be a servant to all.
General Bruce C. Clarke was a highly decorated officer who served in the US Army during the First and Second World Wars and the Korean war. He said,
“Rank is given you to enable you to better serve those above and below you. It is not given for you to practice your idiosyncrasies” (General Bruce C Clarke)
People can view ranking systems like we see in the defence forces, in the public service, and in the corporate world, as an indication that people of a higher rank are better or more important than others. And there are certainly a lot of people that believe this. They can make demands of people and use positions of power to manipulate situations for personal or financial gain. But being a leader of anything doesn’t make us more important than anyone else. It means we’ve been tasked with different responsibilities because of God-given gifts, personalities, skills and experiences that enable us to take on a particular role.
Some people put the word ‘pastor’ in front of their name, but that doesn’t make them more important than anyone else. With this gifting comes a responsibility to serve the people of this faith community and beyond, to the best of their ability.
No matter what our rank or position is within our workplaces, within our families, within our sporting clubs or within the church, Jesus urges us to have the heart of a servant.
The world tells us that we become great, we become successful, we make a difference when we get a promotion, when we achieve something significant, or when we do something important…but God’s word says we become great by being less about ourselves, and more about Him, which means being more about other people.
In Acts 9 (v36) we see a powerful reminder of the impact of someone who was always ‘doing’. In Joppa, there was a believer named Tabitha or Dorcas in the Greek language. The text said she was always doing kind things and helping the poor. But then one day she became sick and died. As they prepared her body for burial, the believers heard that Peter was nearby and begged him to come. When he went into the upstairs room to see the body, the widows crowded around him and shared story after story of the coats and clothes that Tabitha had made for them. After he tells them to leave the room, God used Peter in this moment to perform a miracle and raised her back from the dead. Because she was known as someone who lived out her faith by serving others, the news travelled throughout the region, and many came to believe in the Jesus that she knew. Not only was she known for doing kind things and helping the poor, but there was a connection to the fact that she was a believer. Instead of always being self-promoting in attitude, she was always selfless, using what she had to make a difference in other people's lives, serving, because she knew who she was and who she served - the Most High God. This doesn’t mean we should all get busy making clothes. We don’t just ‘do’ something for the sake of looking busy. Tabitha knew what her gifts and talents were and served faithfully.
Serving isn't just what we do, we are called to have the heart of a servant…if we are a disciple of Jesus, if we are wanting to be more like Him, then part of our faith journey is to learn how to be a servant to all.
Learning to be less self-absorbed and more selfless, makes a difference…it matters.
What difference do we make when we enter a room?
What do people say you ‘always’ do…what are you known for? Do people want to know more about the Jesus you serve when they encounter you?
As we use our gifts and talents to serve faithfully both inside and outside the walls of this building, it provides opportunity to build trust and relationship, and out of this, in time, our testimony will speak volumes. Just like Tabitha, who was well known and loved within her community, people sat up and paid attention when her God came through for her. They wanted what she had – a relationship with a loving God who cares for His people.
When I think of people in our own church community…
When I think about us as a church…
I can guarantee you that in each of these situations, first and foremost, there are people loving and serving their community. Just like Tabitha, they’re giving of their time and their finances, they’re using their gifts and talents…but I also know that out of these relationships, other people are coming to know that they are loved by our Heavenly Father.
From a worldly perspective, it seems completely normal to make sure wetake care of numero uno first, to make sure we have what we need, and to get what we want. But as believers, the great commission in Matt 28 and our Mission statement here at Life Unlimited Church calls us to go into all the world and make disciples, to ‘Grow lives, connected to Christ, His cause and community.’
And that requires us to be more self-less…to serve faithfully. Does it really matter? If we want our lives here on earth to have eternal significance, then yes, it does matter.
Last week John spoke about 3 mustard seed mentalities:
Who you are matters
Where you are matters
Eternity matters
In Matthew's gospel, chapter 25, Jesus said, "One day, at the end of time, all the people are going to be standing before me, and I'm going to put the sheep on one side, and the GOATS on the other side. The GOATs…the Greatest Of All Time. And I will say to the GOATs, ‘I'm sorry, but we didn't know each other.’ And I’ll say to the sheep, ‘Welcome into the kingdom I have prepared for you. I just wanted to say thank you. Because when I was hungry you fed me, when I was thirsty you gave me a drink. When I was homeless you gave me a room and when I was shivering you gave me clothes. When I was sick you stopped in to visit and when I was in prison you came to see me. And the sheep will say, ‘When did I visit you, when did I give you something to drink?’ And Jesus will say, ‘What you did to the least of these brothers, you actually did to me. When you visited someone else in prison, you were actually showing love to me. When you offered a drink to someone in another country that didn't have access to clean drinking water and you contributed to helping them get a well, you were actually doing that to me. When you welcomed somebody who didn't feel welcome, and you showed them love and grace, you were actually welcoming me."
So what are the characteristics of a servant?
I want to share 3 thoughts around how we can become a faithful servant …
We can bring a lunch
We can offer a ride
We can carry a towel
Bring a lunch - Obedience (David)
In 1 Samuel, a boy named David rose to notoriety when he killed the giant, Goliath. When he came back from battle, he was so admired that the women would actually gather in the street and sing songs about him. It raises the question, ‘Why was this guy so great?’ A lot of people say that he was great because he won the battle. But I want to suggest that he was great because he brought a lunch. David was the youngest of eight brothers, the son of a man named Jesse. The older brothers were on the battlefield preparing to fight and one day Jesse said to David, "Take this basket of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread and carry them quickly to your brothers. See how your brothers are getting along and bring back a report on how they're doing." It may not have seemedimportant, but it was important to God. The first thing David did was bring a lunch. If you look throughout his life, he served as a musician in the King’s court, he went on to be a military leader and eventually becamethe King. David was promoted in God's kingdom because he had a servant's heart. He was willing to do the unseen, humble tasks. True greatness comes through serving, not self-promotion. In order to be greatin God’s kingdom, you need to be willing to serve—to be obedient in the small acts, like bringing a lunch.
Offer a ride - Generosity (owner of donkey)
Another example of a servant heart is to offer a ride. In the Old Testament, 553 years before the event ever took place, the prophet Zechariah prophesied that one day, the King would come riding in on a donkey. People must have thought he was crazy. Surely a King would come in on a white horse with flowing robes and a crown on his head. But instead,Zechariah said he would ride in on a donkey. And 553 years later, as Jesusprepares to enter Jerusalem, he sends his disciples ahead to secure a donkey. Jesus tells them, “If they say, "Why are you untying the donkey?" Just say to them, "The Lord needs it." And sure enough, as they enter Jerusalem, they find a donkey and her colt tied up at the rail, and the bible says that the owner gave them to the disciples without delay or question.
How can you be a faithful servant? You can simply offer somebody a ride, you can be generous with a resource that you have. This is exactly what this businessperson in the New Testament did, and what I love about this story, is we don't know their name, we don't know what they did for a living, we don't know if they owned one donkey, 10 donkeys or 500 donkeys. We do know that it would have been a luxury to be able to afford a donkey, and this guy simply said, "Yes, if the Lord has need of it, then I'm willing to offer what I have.” There’s no indication of a payment, andno strings attached.
How can you make a difference? You can be obedient by bringing a lunchand being faithful in the small things, or you can simply offer a ride bybeing generous with the resources that you have.
Carry a towel - Humility (Jesus)
And finally, we come to one of the most powerful examples in the New Testament. Jesus is seated in the upper room with the disciples just before Passover. He’s already talked to them about what is going to happen to Him and wants to share this meal with them before His time of suffering begins. And then, an argument breaks out amongst the disciples. Do you know what they were arguing about? They wanted to know: Who's the GOAT? Who is the Greatest Of All Time? You can almost imagine each of the disciples delivering their sales pitch and defending themselves, andJesus is sitting at the table. He looks around and sees proud hearts and dirty feet. And so, what does Jesus do? The bible says, Jesus 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 he began to wash his disciples' feet. It was a tradition or a custom because people wore sandals and had often walked a long way, so their feet would be dirty and dusty.But the host would never be the one to wash the guests’ feet. When theyinvited people into their home, they would call a servant to kneel down and wash the visitor’s feet. But what does Jesus do? He takes the posture of a servant, gets down on his hands and knees, takes a bowl, and a towel, and starts washing their feet. Jesus is the Greatest Of All Times…He’s the son of God, He’s the King of all kings, He’s the Lord of all lords, and yet he demonstrates this beautiful act of humility by picking up a towel, kneeling down and washing his disciples’ feet. Jesus’ actions speak louder than words. He wants His disciples to know, by a simple but powerful example, that the greatest among them is never a self-promoter. They arealways a servant. Jesus led by a completely different model.
For even the Son of Man did not come expecting to be served but to serve and give His life in exchange for the salvation of many.
Matt 20:26-28 (The Passion Translation)
So, how do we become great in God’s kingdom…we learn to be a servant to all.
We bring a lunch by being obedient and faithful in the small things.
We offer a ride when we show generosity and use our resources with no strings attached to help others.
We carry a towel when we show humility in our service to others.
When I look around our church community, I see so many examples offaithfulness and obedience, of generosity and of humility. Amazing people bringing their gifts, skills, experiences and personality to serve faithfully wherever God places them…not because they’re looking for personal recognition, but because they’re disciples of Jesus, and Jesus teaches us to have the heart of a servant. They do it because people matter to God.
You may think you don’t have a lot to offer but God sees your heart. Serving isn’t just something that we do, a servant is who we are, it’s our heart attitude in everyday life. It’s the things you think are insignificant, it’s the things you do when nobody is looking. When you are faithful in serving in small ways, God trusts you with even more.
We can all make a difference. Turn to the person next to you and say ‘You MAD’.
As we reflect on the question, "What are you always doing?", let’s strive to be known as people who serve with love, humility, and faithfulness. Jesus modeled a life of selfless service, and He calls us to do the same—not for recognition, but because serving is who we are in Him. Whether it’s through small acts of kindness or consistent faithfulness in unseen places, our service reflects His heart to the world. So let’s commit to living as His hands and feet, always ready to love, give, and serve for His glory.
Salvation
If serving is what we are always doing, then the most important question is: Who are we serving? Jesus said, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). He gave His life so that we could be saved from sin and have eternal life with Him. Maybe you’ve been striving, trying to find purpose through good works, but true purpose begins with knowing Jesus. Today, He is inviting you to surrender your life to Him. If you’ve never made that decision, or if you’ve drifted away and need to return, now is the time. Open your heart, receive His grace, and let Him transform you. Will you say yes to Jesus today? If you feel a stirring in your heart to take that first step in knowing Jesus Christ and accepting Him as your Savior, we invite you to join us as we pray a salvation prayer.
SALVATION PRAYER
Dear Lord Jesus,
I am sorry that I have excluded You from my life.
I ask for your forgiveness.
I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead.
I turn from my sins and invite you to come into my heart and life.
Today Jesus, I have decided to follow you as my Lord and Saviour.
If you felt moved to take that first step and prayed that prayer for yourself, to accept His love and forgiveness, can I ask you to raise your hand right where you are.
Call to Action
If you’re here today and you have no idea what God could possibly do with you and your life, I encourage you to take some time to do the SHAPE test to discover your Spiritual Gifts, what moves your Heart, your Abilities, your Personality, and your Experiences. We’ll make sure we include the link in Church News next week as well. www.freeshapetest.com
With our theme of Going Deeper this year, if you already know your strengths, gifts and personality, is God speaking to you about something you could be doing to make a difference? I encourage you to come up into the café after the service for our Make A Difference (MAD) Sunday. There’ll be people there who you can talk to about being a part of the Welcome & Connect team or the Creative Arts and Production team. You can talk to someone about getting involved in KidsLife or our café and catering team. Or you might want to find out more about Life Groups or Prayer ministry opportunities.
If you usually come to one of our in-person services but today you happen to be watching online, we’ll include links for the SHAPE test and also a form you can fill out if you’re interested in serving in one of our teams.
