"40 Days of Purpose - Serving"
Dean AngellJanuary 29/30, 2005
So I'm coming home last week from meetings in Denver with a group of pastors and church leaders . . . and late Sunday night I get into Minneapolis to fly home . . . I get off the connector flight and the departure screen says - delayed . . . great - so I go up to the counter to get my seat assignment - (ask a few questions), and this woman just looks at me and says, "We've got no seat for you sir - no room at all - I don't know who did it - but they over booked this plane by 12 people . . ." So . . . I'm tired - long day - it's late - I'm a little hungry . . . my feet are hot. . . and I'm frustrated . . . So I looked back at her and said - I bought this ticket 2 months ago - what do you mean you don't have a seat for me . . . ?" "I'm sorry sir - there's nothing I can do." . . . so I said, "Well maybe there's something I can do . . . can I talk to someone - would you like me to call someone? Can I help get this fixed?" (no comment) . . . and all the while I'm thinking . . . someone should be serving me - isn't this a service industry? Aren't I the customer? . . . Anyway (even with) - bad attitude and everything - it worked out and I got on the plane - a seat way in the back - This is after a 3 hour mechanical delay . . . and as I'm walking to my little seat way in the back - I walk right by first class . . . Big bench seats - reclined - comfy - no stress- sipping wine- giggling- at the front of the plane with a special server . . . I'm thinking - they didn't have to arm wrestle shotgun Annie up at the counter to get their seat did they . . . why can't I get that kinda service . . . And then I see my seat (3 rd to) back row - right by the engines - window seat - scrunched in beside a big guy and he's got bad cologne . . . and I'm hot . . . and I'm thinking - I shoulda walked - I'm not getting anybody to serve me anyway - should a walked . . . (and I sit down) and then I open my file on this weeks message and took one right between the eyes . . . subject - serving others as a key purpose for our lives - verse Mark 10:43
Mark 10:43b-45 (NLT)
Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many."
Anyways - God has His way of working things out in our lives . . .
Today, I'd like to tell you about two stories from Jesus life that give great contrast to how servanthood and our humanity collide . . . Our first story is found in Matthew 20 and it starts with Jesus making known to his disciples a pretty gut- level prediction about his future - actually he kinda drops a bomb . . . . . . as he is walking with them one day . . . He stops and looks them in the eyes and says . . .
Matthew 20:18-19 (NIV)
"We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn me to death and will turn me over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day I will be raised to life!"
Now think of what those words must have sounded like - must have felt surreal - That couldn't happen . . . . not to the leader they loves and trusted and had given their lives . . . . . .
Then - something just a little bit strange happens - seemingly without a thought to what Jesus had just described - that He would suffer betrayal and condemnation . . . and that He would be beaten and killed . . . . . . right at that moment . . . . . .
Salome - this woman who had two sons who were Jesus disciples . . . . . Well in that moment . . . Salome just steps right up to Jesus with a completely self-absorbed question . . . and just seemed to ignore the immensity of what Jesus had just finished saying . . . Now when you read it - it seems kinda rude (Jesus was bearing all) - but I think we gotta cut her a little slack here for being distracted - after all- if you've got connections with someone about to rise to a higher office . . . like Jesus was . . . wouldn't you want to use those higher connections to help the people you love? And Solome loved her boys . . . . .
So the bible says, that their mother, "came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him." Matthew 20:20
So - James and John are the two disciples we're talking about . . . and their mother had raised them right, they were good boys - upstanding young men . . . and their dad had done well in his business - very well . . . and so all of them . . . would have been use to a good life and maybe especially Salome - was used to living a step up . . . and anyways . . . what mother wouldn't want and hope and pray that her kids would rise to an even higher level in life . . . So - she brings her boys to Jesus and says this . . . Matthew 20:21 (NIV)
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." (in heaven)
Basically she was saying - can they have good seats - and sit in first class when you all go to heaven . . .
Now listen to Jesus answer - just real calmly (He answers her) - He didn't say "Lady are you out of your head?" - No . . . He simply said,
"You don't know what you are asking,"
Jesus said to them, "to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father." Matthew 20:22-23 (NIV)
So then - as you can imagine is pretty typical - the rest of the disciples get choked at these guys for asking . . . it's like when one parent wants his kid to get more ice time than the rest of the team in hockey and says it to the coach in front of all the other kids and parents - what do you think the other parents response is gonna be? Well that's exactly what happened - listen . . . Matthew 20:24-28
When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers . . . . . . . and so Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles (in our country) lord it over everybody else . . . and their high officials exercise authority over them (that's how our society works). (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.")
You know folks - our lives are so caught up in things like position and power and prominence and the effort and energy to get there . . . . . . that often we don't even realize what we're doing . . . I mean I don't think Salome was a bad person - and I don't think she meant to be that self-oriented or misguided . . . and I doubt if she really knew that by asking her request for her boys . . . that she was putting the other 10 disciples and their families down. I doubt if she even thought about it because it just came natural for her to want more power and prominence and position for her and her family . . . . . . . and you know what? We . . . . . . all want it too - more power - more position - more prominence - a nicer seat . . . at the front of the airplane . . . every time - that just come natural to us . . . . . .
That's all to often just who we are - we want bigger SUV's and nicer homes with bigger couches and the best of the best of all things for our kids - in teams and clothes and education - I mean . . . . how could that be bad . . . ? Well . . . I love the way Jesus drives home his point He just hammers it. He says , "the way I'm calling you to live is different . . . He just drives it home to his boys (the 12) . . . and says, if you want real success and real position and real status and genuine significance then follow my example . . . He said, I'm the one who could have any seat I want - any position I want . . . I'm God . . . and He said - "I did not come (to this earth) to be served - but to serve and give (up) my life . . . " Matthew 20:28
Jesus said . . . fellas . . . there's 2 ways to live your life - you can live for yourself - or you can live for others . . . You can be constantly looking for a bigger seat and jostling for a better position in line - and keep looking around all day, every day . . . for people to serve you . . . and you can focus on sitting in the biggest seat you can possibly get yourself into . . . and you can lord all your power over everybody you can . . . . . . or you can live another way Jesus said . . . He said . . . Don't be like that . . .
Not so with you - (that's what Jesus said) . . . it won't be like that with you . . . it won't be like that with you who understand the purpose for your life It just isn't gonna be like that for anyone who is a follower of me . . . . . .no . . . you were put here on earth to make a contribution - you were placed here to make a difference - you weren't sent here just to consume - God designed you to make a difference with your life . . . so that you can add to life on this earth (not take away . . . ) and the best way . . . Jesus said . . . to add to life on this earth . . . is by serving other people.
That's what Jesus says . . . and it's upside down thinking to the culture and the world we live in . . . and I just wanted to remind you of that upside down Jesus stuff today. It's not about us - It's about everybody else . . .
D.L. Moody said it like this . . . "The measure of a (person) is not how many servants they have, but how many people they serve."
So here's what I think . . . I think there is a basic premise that Jesus constantly spoke about, not just in this situation, but in 100's of other circumstances as well . . . . . . I just think there's a principle that His life teaches us . . . that says this . . . ready? . . . . Here's the principle . . .
If we think of ourselves less - we will automatically think of others more.
Rick Warren - put it like this . . . "God doesn't want us to think less of ourselves . . . He simply wants us to think of ourselves less." And as we do that we will begin to serve at a deeper level . . . and we will begin to understand who God is and what His purpose is for our lives . . . Because it's not about us - it's about everybody else . . .
So . . . what I really wanted to do is help us get practical with this today and here's the question that helped me personally with this whole servanthood thing this week.
(How can I think less often about myself?) Not how can I think more about others - no . . . how can I think less about me - cause when I do . . . I automatically think more about others . . .
3 - 4 Ideas
• Tonight - look at your day timers for the week coming up - How much is about you and how much is about others . . . just do a little analysis . . . what could change to make that a little less self-oriented. Because as your life becomes less about you - it will become more about serving others . . .
• I'm a big list guy, (this works for me . . . ) - what if you make a list for yourself of 7 things for the week ahead (7 serving kinda things . . . ) - one practical serving deal for each day this week. What if you just made a list - checked it twice and then checked it off when you completed it - 7 simple serving things
• shovel somebody else's walk
• start someone else's car
• take someone else for lunch
• spend some time or money or energy on somebody else
• Go to Lakeview's Basic - 3 class called Ministry - offered this Monday and Wednesday at 7pm.
Gloria Reimer teaches this class with passion and it will not only help you understand yourself better - but will help you serve at a whole different level. (Sign up)
4. Ryan McVicar - help out this new start up "Covenant Men's Ministry."
Now, those are pretty basic things to do . . . to start serving more - that's a place to start - your list might look different . . . but any way you slice it folks . . . we've just gotta get better at serving . . . and it's gotta be a growing thing . . . and it's gonna take continuous education and practice and effort . . . so . . . start with small things . . . every day . . . and watch what God does with that . . . You know what - if you take even just a small bit of the energy it takes to be self-oriented and try to get out of that space - even a little bit you will find yourself serving others and changing the world around you in huge ways little effort gives huge rewards.
Helen Keller said this . . . "I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."
John Wesley said it like this . . . "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 can . . ." Just SERVE - Get it Done! . . .
See folks, in the end, . . . our lives will be defined by what we believed our purpose was and Jesus said . . . we need to be clear about what we are chasing in life . . . . . . it's either (lst class) seats or serving . . . and there isn't a whole lot in-between . . . Got it? It isn't about us - it's about everybody else.
One more story - In the book of John, chapters 13 - 17 mark the most detailed account of Jesus' last 24 hours on this earth - nearly 1/3 of the book of John is dedicated to Jesus' last day . . . and chapter 13 starts during the last supper Jesus has with his followers . . . the one where communion started (Da Vinci's painting - The Last Supper) - where the tradition of the Eucharist was started . . . Well Jesus and His disciples had done a fair bit of travelling that day by foot with sandals on, on a dry dirty road, . . . and when they got to where they were gonna have supper together . . . . and that's where out story begins . . . now remember - this is the night before Jesus death - it's like the whole thing is in slow motion . . . as you read it . . .
John 13:1-2a-3-5
"It was just before the Passover Feast and Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
( The evening meal was being served. . . ), Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God (He knew His purpose); So He got up from the meal and 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."
So, let me set this up a bit - first of all . . . . . . this washing the feet was normally a servants job . . . . It was someone's responsibility in each home to kneel down and wash feet (after travelling and before a meal) - and all the disciples knew it . . . so they had to have been thinking - well - we'll just sit here until the servant shows up - and then we'll get served - we'll get our feet washed and then we'll eat . . . . See . . . . . . , they didn't use chairs a lot in that culture - they reclined at a lower table - so if you think about it . . . there was a good possibility that someone else's feet would be near your plate . . .
You get the picture? . . . So they had servants who would wash feet. But that servant doesn't show up . . . . . . so Jesus - the Son of God - King of Kings - and the guest of honour at every meal but especially this meal - the last meal before he was to die . . . Jesus . . . trades places with a servant, Why? . . . . . . to show the full extent of His love to His friends . . . and He did it because He knew what his purpose was on the earth - to SERVE - so He got it done . . . and by so doing He connected all of His disciples with their purpose . . . John 13:12-17 (NIV) Listen to this . . .
"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. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."
Have you ever been served like that? Ever been shown the full extent of someone's sacrificial love for you . . . It's crazy isn't it?
This week - I had an experience like that . . . a family from this church called us . . . (actually we've been trying to set this up for about a year). They asked us to be the guest at their restaurant. A very cool little place just off Arlington and Early Drive called Truffles Bistro. Awesome food and environment. Great place . . .
Anyway, the night started with one of their teenage daughters - giving up her whole night to babysit our kids - for free - serving. Then - we went to the restaurant with them and were seated at a special table . . . . and were completely taken care of. The food was awesome - dessert was to die for . . . but the best part wasn't that . . . The best part was the attitude in which they served us . . .They served Pam and I out of love and it showed . . . all night . . . amazing. And you know what? We couldn't stop talking about it when we got home and also . . . I couldn't not connect it with this talk -
Lee and Jackie Helman served us this week . . . they were Jesus to us - they were washing our feet - and they didn't just do it to do something
nice. . . they did it to serve . . . because they know serving is part of the purpose God has for our lives . . . and they knew serving comes from
humility . . . and I knew after being with them that that humility comes from God .
Folks, here's the deal. If you're gonna call yourself a Christ follower then you gotta serve others and you gotta choose to take lower positions and you gotta hit a knee and stoop down and wash feet. That's the stance . . .
that Jesus calls us to . . . . . .
So at the last supper - Jesus washed their feet and by so doing - He showed them the full extent of His love and then . . . . He had communion with them - He made a moment . . . a memory - a reminder of His death and what it means - that His followers would never forget . . .
Listen to Matthew 26:26-28 (these words will serve as our preparation for sharing the Lord's supper together).
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."
Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
At this meal Jesus connected the greatest act of serving He ever showed His disciples, (washing their feet). He connected that act with communion - where we remember His death and where we experience life and forgiveness . . . That's what communion is - it is a time when we humble ourselves before God and when we receive from God. We hit our knees in humility and He pours out forgiveness and rest and healing and peace . . .
These are profound spiritual moments . . . God meets us as we commune with Him . . .
And if you don't fully understand it - that's okay - sit out - watch - pray - or . . . take a step of faith . . ."Jesus come into my life - forgive me - cleanse me - change me - lead me" - and come to the alter and receive from Him.
Just before that happens I wanted to connect for you what Jesus did for his disciples.
Communion is about (humility) it's about humbly kneeling our lives before God. And humility is (also) what drives a main purpose that He has for our lives - (serving). God's purpose for our lives is to serve others. It's not about us . . . so here's what I'm thinking . . . I want you to watch me serve as we start communion. I'm gonna wash someone else's feet (not cause I want to) but as an example to you - this is how we are to live - serving - kneeling - humble.
Connect that to the grace you are now gonna receive and experience from God - come - be served.
