Rev. David Holwick R Grow Your Faith, #5
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
June 1, 2014
Matthew 20:26-28
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I. Where do you get your values from?
A. Selfishness makes sense.
David Henderson was on Christmas break as a senior in college
when he finished reading Ayn Rand's novel, "Atlas Shrugged."
He was at a point in life where he was seeking truth and the
book made a lot of sense to him.
Ayn Rand's premise was that putting your effort anywhere short
of meeting your own needs is foolish and self-destructive.
Your own happiness is the highest moral purpose; selfishness
is the greatest virtue.
In a moving finale, lead character John Galt argues passionately,
"A doctrine that give you, as an ideal, the role of a
sacrificial animal seeking slaughter on the altar of others
is giving you death as your standard."
David had finished the book just before joining some friends
for dinner.
When he sat down at the table he found they were in the middle
of a discussion.
They were talking about how they, as followers of Jesus,
could become less preoccupied with themselves and more
concerned for others.
Fuses started blowing in David's brain.
He blurted out, "Don't you see what a waste that is?
It's the moral equivalent of suicide, throwing your life
away on other people!"
But his friends knew something that David had yet to learn:
Jesus inverts everything.
He takes all the world's values and turns them on their head.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in his practice of calling
us to self-abasing servants.
#64436
B. Servanthood is where the rubber meets the road.
1) Other spiritual devotions build up our souls - prayer,
fasting, Bible reading, and so on.
2) When we become a servant, we make an impact on someone else.
3) What are you doing with the unlimited possibilities God
is presenting to you?
II. Jesus showed the way.
A. It began with the incarnation.
1) He moved from heaven to earth, from King to lowly servant.
a) By becoming one of us, he gave up his glory, his
freedom, and his will.
b) Most kings demand honor and privilege.
1> Not Jesus -- he gave it all up for us.
2> Paul shares an early Christian poem/hymn about this
in Philippians 2:5-8 --
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ
Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider
equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature
of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled
himself and became obedient to death--even
death on a cross!"
2) Jesus served others throughout his ministry.
a) He healed, fed, and taught people until he was utterly
exhausted.
b) When he was tempted by Satan to put himself first,
Jesus submitted himself to his Father's will.
B. His followers took time to catch on. Matt 20:20-28
1) Even in the last week of Jesus' life, they were arguing
about who of them would get the most prestige.
a) Jesus understood -- this was the world's pattern.
b) But it was not his way of doing things.
1> The greatest must be the best servant.
2> Jesus served even to the point of giving up his life.
2) Jesus reinforced it with action, dressing as a slave and
washing their feet. John 13:4-5,14-17
4 So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing,
and wrapped a towel around his waist.
5 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.
14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your
feet, you also should wash one another's feet.
15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have
done for you.
16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his
master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who
sent him.
17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if
you do them.
a) This was a reenactment of heaven emptying itself for
the sake of earth.
b) If you are a follower of Jesus, you should heed his
example.
III. The nature of a servant.
A. Being intent upon, and bound to, the will and wishes of another.
1) Servants are to simply obey.
2) Typical response of Old Testament characters to God.
a) Psalm 123:2 lays out the proper attitude of believers:
"As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their
master, .... so our eyes look to the Lord our God."
b) The young Samuel responded to God's voice, "Speak, Lord,
for your servant is listening." 1 Samuel 3:9
c) The Virgin Mary responded to the angel, "I am the Lord's
servant." Luke 1:38
3) Typical close in letters in 1700s: "I am, with due respect,
your obedient, humble servant."
a) Later it shriveled to, "I am, etc."
B. Serving doesn't come naturally to humans.
1) We would rather be an "etcetera" than a servant.
a) Servanthood conflicts with our nature.
b) We are not mere robots, like a TV remote.
c) God makes a request of us, and ... we think about it.
2) It is more typical of us to have a sense of entitlement.
a) We deserve to be attended to.
b) Even in ministry, we can be awfully selfish.
C. How do you stack up as a servant? [2]
1) Are you a servant of all, or some?
a) It is easy to serve some people: family, friends.
b) It is harder to serve those who don't "deserve" it.
2) Do you keep a low profile, or expect praise?
a) If we serve for praise, that's all the reward we get.
b) The quieter you serve, the more genuine it is.
3) Do you serve with a sense of joy, or obligation?
a) A sense of duty can push us a long way.
1> It can also produce a grim, hard servant.
b) We are not really serving till we do so out of love.
1> Loving service always produces joy.
IV. Kill your will.
A. Self-denial can be harsh.
1) "Deny yourself and take up your cross." Luke 9:23-24
a) States aren't sure how to properly execute criminals
these days.
b) Christians have a similar problem: we don't really
want to die to the self.
2) Ayn Rand was wiser than she realized when she identified
death as the central posture of the Christian faith.
a) But she missed the big surprise - real life is found
on the far side of death.
b) Rand felt that true life was found in protecting,
nourishing, feeding and serving the self.
1> She was dead wrong.
2> Jesus says real life is found in losing your life.
B. Keep your eyes on Jesus.
1) In the classic movie "The Princess Bride" the fair maiden
Buttercup has a servant named Wesley.
Whenever she asks him to do something for her, his reply is
always the same: "As you wish."
But one day she discovers that when Wesley says, "As you
wish," what he really means is "I love you."
2) We must be motivated by love for the Master.
a) Paul said in 2 Cor 5:14, "the love of Christ compels me."
b) Serve for God's sake, and credit, praise and results
won't matter anymore.
V. You have been drafted.
A. In the church.
1) The summer is a great time to contribute your talent to the
church -- Vacation Bible School, Peach Festival...
2) Don't do it because we pressure you to; only do it if you
feel God is leading you to, then you'll be blessed.
B. In your family.
1) What is one chore that makes everyone in the family groan?
Volunteer to do it yourself.
2) Do something secretly that only God will see.
C. In your neighborhood.
1) I am getting great feedback on a proposal to do a mission
trip ... to Newark.
a) Specifically, the World Impact ministry there.
b) They need help with the thrift shop, a VBS, some
renovation work. Everyone has a skill that would fit.
c) We may spend several days there.
2) Sarah McCoy was engaged to be married when her fiancé was
hit by a car and left paralyzed in a wheelchair.
They got married anyway, but were overwhelmed with all
the challenges of daily life.
A lady at her work asked if she could help them with their
laundry.
Sarah said that would be too big a job, but the woman said
someone had done it for her for year when she was a
newlywed and struggling.
That woman had asked her angel how she could repay her,
and she said, "Someday, return the favor to someone else."
And that is what she did for Sarah and her husband. [1]
3) A Christian named Joan has four crockpots.
a) She is ready at a moment's notice to bring a meal to
someone in need, and has a list of one-pot dinners.
(Celeste has seven crockpots!)
b) A wonderful attribute of a servant is to be ready
ahead of time.
VI. Jesus gave until nothing was left.
A. He gave his life as a ransom.
1) He gave it - the cross was not forced on him, but he
submitted voluntarily.
2) Ransom - he paid what we owed (and could not pay).
a) There is a clear idea of substitution here.
b) Jesus is consciously comparing himself to a sacrifice.
3) "For many" is a Hebrew expression.
a) It doesn't mean "for a lot of people," but "for the
whole group."
B. Do you serve this Servant?
1) Someday you will stand before him and your work will be
assessed.
2) Will he say to you, "Well done, good and faithful servant"?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] Servant Stories, by Sarah McCoy of Greenville, South Carolina;
Discipleship Journal magazine, #117, May/June 2000, page 68.
[2] Adapted from my sermon “Jockeying For Position,” March 19, 2000.
#64436 “Death Is Our Standard,” David W. Henderson, derived from his
article “The King Who Came to Serve,” Discipleship Journal
magazine, #117, May/June 2000, pages 60-61. This sermon
follows the main points of his article.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
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