Bible Message/Preaching : Servant of the Lord
21"His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord. (MT 25:21)
15Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15)
'We already seen in "serving the Lord" that every believer is called to full-time service of serving the Lord regardless of careers or jobs! It is not just for missionaries, pastors , priest, nuns or other "full-time" christian workers. We also saw that:
We're shaped by God to serve SHAPE: to use our abilities and gifts in the area where we are passionate about in the way that best suits our personality and experiences for the greater glory of the Lord!
To be a servant of the Lord, we need to evaluate our condition (SHAPE) - about our abilities, gifts, passions and personality then we know what for purpose God has mold us into. We need to accept our condition and enjoy it - because we can trust God that its the best for us!
How do we understand our SHAPE & ministry?
Evaluating our life
Asking others for feedback
Trying out different things - We don't know until we try - experiment with the God given opportunities. It they do not work out do not call ourself a failure, after all it was just an experiment to find our SHAPE!
But, continuing to serve in areas where we do not fit-in is a waste of time, energy and talent!
How does a servant of the Lord differ from that of the world?
Num 14:24 "But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.
Servant of the Lord behaves / lives differently than from the world - not by power/wealth/status....
Jesus said about this - 42But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43"Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44"And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (MK 10:42-45)
Someone of different heart was destroyed - 2And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a loyal heart. 14Now it was so, after Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up to be his gods, and bowed down before them and burned incense to them. (2 Chro 25:2,14)
God's greatness scale is made of service - its about having a servant-heart
What characters are to be seen in a servant of the Lord?
Real servants are:
Willing & Available - They are willing to serve and makes themselves available, they run on God's agenda and not their own!
Faithful - committed to remain faithful to their service / ministry Mt 24:45-46 45"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46"Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.
Openminded & trustworthy - Is 42:19 Who is blind but My servant, Or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, And blind as the Lord's servant? Act 17:11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
Attentive - pay attention to the needs of people around them 1 Jn 3:17-18 17But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
Dedicated - execute every task small/large with same dedication. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.(Col 3:23-24).
Hardworking - do the best regardless of what they have LK 16:10 "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. (parable of the Talents Mt 25: 14-30)
Humble - maintains a low-profile Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
What kind of mentality should we hold when serving?
Servant mentality is to think:
about his/her own work and not of others - Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.(Rom 14:4)
more about others than about self - Jesus said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (Mk 8:34)
themselves as stewards and not masters (owners) - "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Mt 6:24)
of ministry/service as an opportunity but do it as obligation to the Lord and not men! - 17And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Col 3:17)
that their identity is in Christ 10For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. (Col 1:10) 6not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, (Eph 6:6-7)
What can we do as a group to build "the body of Christ"?
Meditation:
- Which of the character poses greatest challenge for me?
- How can I make the best of what God has given me?
- How can we help every member of our group to find a place in ministry
(to be continued...)
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