11.19.23 Willisburg Bulletin
A Servant’s Heart
Do you have a servant’s heart? We’d all like to say we do, but most the times our attitude is I serve because I have to. How many times do you see the chance to serve, and you think about all you have to do, and you are just too busy… or I already did my time serving the classes… or I just can’t do it, I don’t know or have enough experience. These three responses are the result of a mindset issue. Usually, our problem is not the work but it’s our approach. We stop looking for opportunities and create hinderances for ourselves and then it seems too difficult for us to serve, right? It’s time to have a mindset reset – from saying “I have to -> I get to. from saying I have already done it -> what more can I do? from I’m not enough -> God is enough. It’s a simple change to positively approaching the chance to serve.
Obligation –> Opportunity
Service is a gift of love. Love is defined as actively seeking the good will of others, which is what Jesus’ purpose was on earth – seek (Lk19:10) & serve (Mt 20:28). He knew He was going back to the Father after a terrible death, still He served, even knowing some people would rebel (Jn 13:3-35). If we are called to imitate Christ (1 Cor 11;1) and His purpose was to serve, that makes our purpose to serve. We want other people to know God through our service done in love (1 Pet 4:8). This means we MUST look for and take the opportunities, but how? Heb 12:8 – we change our thinking! We remember who we were before Christ, what He has given us, and then we see who we are in Christ. We will understand gratitude and be willing to see that not only did Christ’s sacrifice forgive our sins when we obeyed the gospel, but He continually does – FOREVER. When we grasp the fact that we have been liberated, unshackled, and redeemed, we start realizing it’s a chance “I get to give back to Him (the ultimate servant of love).
Served –> Service
Sometimes we get into this checklist mentality, where we pack our day with everything we have to do and then once it’s all been checked off, we are done and we aren’t doing anymore, right? Which puts us in the mindset of “I’ve already done this and that” so we don’t take any opportunities, especially if they’re disrupting our routine. This is quantifying how much we give back to God. Can we ever give enough? Definitely not because service should not be just a part of our day, but rather is our day, it’s what we do, it’s our identity as Christians – we’re God’s servants. In Acts 2:44-47 the Christians didn’t wait until after completing their checklist or at the end of the day; they gave what they had and had the mindset: “What more can I do to serve?” We must see interruptions in our day as a chance to help God. Have you ever thought that maybe God needed you to do this certain thing so someone would see Him? When you’ve picked up the same toys multiple times that day, or when you’re teaching Bible class for the second week in a row, or when you’re kids have invited their friends over for the third time this week, it’s a chance to serve. TAKE IT! Do it as to the Lord (Col 3:23) because people will see what they thought only existed on TV/ social media in us because we have the love of Christ. Service is inconvenient, it’s messy, it’s imperfect, and it’s hard, but it’s also the way to grow! Guard against that martyrdom mindset of “I have to teach again…I already have” and change to say, “I get to the opportunity to teach God’s children about His love.”
Disbelief –> Confidence
We are all busy, especially this time of year so sometimes when we are given the opportunity to serve, we feel overwhelmed and think “I just can’t do it all, I’m not enough” and honestly, we aren’t enough, but neither were the fishermen or the hated tax collector or the murderer of Christians. However, with Christ, we all are enough, and we can do it (Phil 4:8)! Remember Moses and all the excuses he gave God, but every time God knew Moses would think he wasn’t enough, but He equipped Moses with all he needed to serve the people, and He does the same thing to us. We must also remember that our service is required by ability (Mat 25:22-23) and we can serve even if we have limitations. Limits do not stop us; the push you even more! Service is a way to cleanse and refine us, as we learn to decrease as Christ increases (Jn 3:30; 2 Cor 15:9).
Fulfill God’s Purpose
We must focus on growing our light, which will in turn remove those excuses that we usually disguise as reasons. The good Samaritan is not known for the exact acts, rather for his service. He saw the opportunity and took it, even at his own expense of being inconvenienced in time and money. Be sure we are fueling our zeal of service with the right fuel (the Bible – 2 Cor 12:9-10) or we’ll become burnt out. The world will never fill us up. Must empty ourselves and be filled with the love of Christ (Eph 3:8-13).