Sermon Series: Jesus: Everything We Need 

Our Model for Service 

Philippians 2:5-11 

CBC Bishop, 5/4/03

In a nutshell: Today's section of verses tell us that when it comes to a model for our actions, we need look no farther than Jesus.

I. Introduction

A. Describe Yourself

If I were to ask you to describe yourself in one word…or ask you what one adjective would best sum up your identity, what would you say? Can you think of a single term that would accurately describe who you are? Well, let's see… -You could respond in terms of your vocation. A lot of people get their identify from the work they do. So you could say, "I'm an engineer;" "I'm a homemaker;" "I'm a business owner;" "I'm a pastor." -Or, you could use a term having to do with your family status. "I'm a father," or "I'm the mother of three children." -Or, you could use your religious affiliation: "I'm a Catholic," or "I'm a Presbyterian", or "I'm Baptist", or "I'm a Christian". -Or, you could use your ethnic heritage: "I'm an African-American", or "I'm part Paiute," or "I'm an American". -Or, you could use your political affiliation: "I'm a Democrat," or "I'm a Republican.", or "I'm a Libertarian" -You could use your family or clan to identify yourself, "I'm a Rietveld.", or I'm a McKinley." -Or you could use your gender: "I'm a man." Or "I'm a woman."

B. This is important

Now, the reason I ask this question about how you'd identify yourself is very important. It's important because your answer tells what you consider most important to your identity. In other words, your answer describes what's at the center of your life?

In this regard, it's interesting to see how the different authors of the New Testament, identified themselves. Most of them did it, using just one key word? What do you think that word was? It's not "Christian," and it's not "disciple," and it's not "teacher." Just about everyone of them used the term "servant" to identify themselves...

Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus…,

James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ…,

2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ…,

Jude 1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ…

C. What does this tell us?

So, what does this tell us? I think it tells us a couple of important things… -First, that each one of those early church leaders considered servanthood to be at the core of their identity as Christians. And … -Second, in the beginning years of the church, being a servant was about the most significant thing you could be.

Being a follower of Jesus Christ, and being a servant are synonymous. So, how do you like that label - "servant"? Does it fit? Is it the kind of thing that makes you want to get out of bed in the morning, and think, Wow! I get to be a servant, today!

Let's face it…the natural reaction to being called a servant - or worse, being treated like a servant - isn't usually a positive one, is it?.

Illustration: I read a story once about a training program for employees at one of New York's finest hotels. At this hotel, they emphasized their history of outstanding service provided to each guest by every member of the staff - the front desk, the maids, the bellhops, etc. But at the beginning of every one of their training sessions, they used one key phrase. They told them, "You are not servants. You are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen."

In their minds, to be a "servant" meant having no dignity, no sense of self-worth. A servant was someone to be looked down upon, someone not to be respected. So, even though these people were being trained to do the work of servants, they didn't want the title.

Illustration: Two years ago, a brand new Lowes Home Center came to Palm Springs. If you've ever been to a Lowes, you know that they have just about any hardware item you'd ever want, and they have those things at very low prices. They and Home Depot are notorious for putting little mom and pop hardware stores out of business.

Well, about a mile down the street from this new Lowes, was a little Ace hardware store that had been in their location for years. And they were losing business, like crazy to the new Lowes.

Well, one day, I was working on the irrigation system in my yard, and I needed a 90 degree plastic pipe elbow. So, instead of traveling the extra mile to Lowes, to save some time, I decided to go into the little mom and pop Ace Hardware store. As soon as I walked through the door, the gal working the cash register said, "Hi, welcome to Ace." I got no farther than six feet in the door, and a young man came up to me and said, "How can I help you?"

I told him what I needed, and he immediately ran and got it for me. I was impressed. After he returned with my 90 degree elbow, I thanked him, and said, "You guys are so friendly and helpful here. You don't see that much anymore." To which he replied, "Yeah, well, the boss says we have to, because we want to be different than Lowes."

Whether He realized it or not, by that statement, the young man was implying two things. First, the people working at Lowes weren't eager to serve; and second, he wouldn't be eager to serve, either, if it wasn't for the competition with Lowes.

-Let's face it, naturally, we don't want to be the ones serving; we want to be the ones being served. -We want to be the ones giving the orders! -We want to be the ones whose needs are being cared for!

According to the world's value system, no one in their right mind would ever choose to be a servant if they could do something else.

II. Jesus-the Model of a Servant

With that in mind, I'd invite you to turn to Philippians 2, where today we'll be looking at the section that starts with verse 5.

You see friends, one man did willingly accept the role of a servant. That man was Jesus Christ. He served, not out of necessity, but out of love. He was the Son of God, who could have demanded that the whole world serve Him,…but He chose instead to become the servant of all.

He was a man who was willing to perform even the most menial, and unpleasant tasks. One time He even washed the dirty, smelly, feet of his own students. And at age 33, He was a man who was willing to serve even at the cost of His own life. Listen to what the apostle Paul tells writes, starting at verse 5…

Philippians 2:5-8 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross!

And listen to what Jesus says about what is required of those who would follow him:

Matthew 20:25-28 25 Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- 28 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."

This sermon series, that's taking us through the book of Philippians, I'm calling Jesus: Everything We Need. Throughout this letter, Paul is showing us that Jesus is all we need, in every part of our lives, to live those lives in a way that's pleasing to God. Today's section of verses tell us that when it comes to a model for our actions, we need look no farther than Jesus.

Jesus Christ reflects servanthood. And He does it radically. We're talking about... -Service that is willing to humble itself. -Service that is self-denying. -Service that is inconvenient. -Service that is costly. -Service that finds its roots in love, rather than duty or obligation. -Service that magnifies the glory of God when people look at our actions.

This morning, my goal is to show you from God's Word, the example of Jesus-and highlight some specific ways you and I can magnify God's glory by living the life of a servant.

Pastor and theologian, Warren Wiersbe's statement on the front of your worship folders this morning, sets the tone for what we'll be looking at…

If life is to have meaning, and if God's will is to be done, all of us have to accept who we are and what we are, give it back to God, and thank Him for the way He made us. What I am is God's gift to me; what I do with it is my gift to Him. (Warren W. Wiersbe in his autobiography, Be Myself. Christianity Today, Vol. 38, no. 8.)

So, let's explore God's answer to two questions during the rest of our time this morning. In doing so, we'll find out how we can be more faithful servants to Him, and magnify His glory to the people of the Owens Valley…

A. Who do we serve?

The first question is a very logical one… Who do we serve? In answer to this, Paul writes in Galatians chapter 6,

Galatians 6:9-10 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

That verse is saying that the primary focus of our servant actions should be to other believers-our fellow Christians.

It also says that as the opportunity presents itself, we must reach out to serve the community at large, but our number on priority for serving are those within the church. At first glance, that might seem pretty narrow and selfish, but when you think about it, it really isn't. Think about your own family.

Illustration: What would people think if you spent all your time with the other children in the neighborhood, but you own children never saw you? -What if you spent all your money providing for the needs of other people's kids, while your own children just got what was left over? People would think you were shirking your responsibility toward your family. They'd think you didn't have your priorities straight. And they'd be right.

It is very appropriate and totally expected that we take care of our own family's needs, first. In fact, when we focus on serving other believers first, we are following Christ's example. Listen to Jesus' words in…

Mark 7:25-30 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. 27 "First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." 28 "Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29 Then he told her, "For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter." 30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Friends, Jesus was focused. Jesus had priorities. Even though He was willing to meet this Greek woman's need, His focus was always on God's chosen people-the Jews. So, if we're following Jesus example, then our servanthood should focus on the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ-the people in the church, first.

Now, I don't want you to think that that's an exclusionary or selfish position. It's not. We are merely following the example of Christ. So, if you're spending the bulk of your time and resources on the needs of those outside the body of Christ, then you need to re-check your priorities. You may need to re-think what you're doing and why. I'm not saying you shouldn't serve anyone but Christians. Because Paul specifically says that we should do good to "all people." But your first priority should be on serving those who are of the "family of faith," the people in our church.

B. How do we do that?

So, with that as a priority, the question now is, how do we do that? How do we go about serving one another? In other words, what does service, modeled after Jesus, look like?

Well, the answer to that would take the rest of the morning to answer specifically. Because there are so many needs and so many ways of meeting the needs of the believers in our church. So I'm not even going to try. Instead, I'm going to give you a couple of important principles for serving.

1. Inconvenient

First of all, servanthood, modeled after Jesus is inconvenient. Or, to put it another way… …If we are going to follow Jesus' model of servanthood, then we can't insist that the needs of others fit into our schedule.

I've seen a lot of folks who are very happy to do whatever they can to help their fellow believes-as long as it doesn't conflict with their plans.

Illustration: (mock phone conversation) Hello. Oh, Hi John. You say you need someone to help you fix that leak in your bathroom sink? No problem! I'd love to help you out! Let's see . . . no, Sunday night isn't good for me, cuz there are "Law and Order" back to back episodes on NBC. . . . Monday? No, that's no good because that's when I was planning on changing the oil in my motorcycle . . . Tuesday I could help between 6:30 and 7:45, but you'll have to pick me up, because I don't want to get my bike dusty going down your street. Wednesday . . . no, that's Prayer Meeting night . . . Thursday, well that's Diane and my date night, can't do it then. . . . and Friday is my only night home this week. And I really don't want to go out, then. Saturday? No, I have a ride planned. So it looks like Tuesday night is the only time I have available. Will that work for you?"

And of course, if your schedule doesn't work for John, then you become convinced that he is demanding and ungrateful. Afterall, I offered to help, but he wasn't interested.

Or I've seen folks who are very willing to help as long as it fits into the scope of what they are willing to do. I've known a lot of people who are more than happy to serve, as long as it doesn't involve carpentry, painting, cleaning toilets, working with children, lawn work, heavy lifting, getting up early in the morning, working outside in the heat, getting dirty, or taking care of pets.

Friends, serving, following the example of Jesus, means being willing to do even the stuff you don't want to do, in order to help others.

That's the normal way that opportunities to serve usually come to us. They seldom fit into our plans. They don't involve doing the kind of things we prefer to do. Why? Because if they were convenient, and fun, and enjoyable, someone else would have already done it!

Look at how Jesus reacts right after He is given the news that His friend, John the Baptist had been beheaded by King Herod. Now, understand, He is emotionally down, dejected, sad, and grieving…

Matthew 14:13-14 13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Was it convenient for Jesus to serve the needs of the crowd? Of course it wasn't. He was grieving at the loss of his friend and relative. This was also the beginning of His public ministry. So, He was preparing himself, mentally and spiritually, for the most important three years of His life…in fact, the most important three years of human history. He needed time to reflect, to think, to rest, to pray. But here were all these needy people.

So what did He do? Did he send them away? Did he rebuke them? Did he complain about how busy he was? No. He just served them. He put their needs ahead of his own. Our attitude toward serving has got to reflect the attitude of Jesus Christ. Realize that serving like Jesus did, will usually be inconvenient

2. Serving should come from a heart of (agape) love

The second principle is this…serving like Jesus comes from a heart of (agape) love.

In the Greek language of the New Testament, there are four words that are used for love. -Eros means erotic love; -Storge is the love between parents and their children and children and their parents; -Phileo is friendship love. -But agape is the kind of love that gives without wanting or seeking anything in return.

And friends, true servanthood is only accomplished through agape love. It must be characterized by willingness, joyfulness, and happiness. Servanthood in the name of Jesus isn't something that can be done grudgingly or with resentment. -It can't be accompanied by a mental list of all the things you're giving up in order to serve. -It doesn't involve a long recitation of how much it's costing you to serve. -And it doesn't keep track of all you're doing, just to make sure you're appreciated.

Service modeled after Jesus is service that's given gladly, and without reservation. It's service that comes from a desire to show thankfulness for what Christ has done for me. In other words, it is a privilege to serve God's people because it lets me show in a tangible way how much I appreciate God's love for me, when He took the punishment for my sin.

1 John 4:19 19 We love because he first loved us.

III. Conclusion

But friends, I'd be less than honest with you if I didn't tell you that there is something in it for you, when you serve. You're not asked to serve without compensation. If Jesus is our model in the way we serve one another, then His reward is a prediction of what is ours because of our obedience.

Philippians 2:9-11 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

-Jesus was exalted as Lord of all. -He rules in the highest place of heaven. -His name has been exalted above every other name. -There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved. -Every knee will bow before the name of Jesus. -Every tongue will one day confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Now you and I will not be exalted in the same way Jesus was. Obviously, we are not the Son of God.

But if we will humble ourselves, become servants, God will exalt us in his own way. We read in…

James 4:10 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

The principle is this: If you exalt yourself, God will humble you; but if you humble yourself, God will exalt you.

So, which do you want to do? Do you want to do the exalting and let God do the humbling, or do you want to do the humbling and let God do the exalting? I don't know about you, but I would rather humble myself than have God do it. And I would rather have God do the exalting as well.

The bottom line is that God wants what is best for us and he knows what is best for us. He knows that the only way for us to experience the fullness of what this life has to offer is for us to become more and more like His Son, Jesus Christ. Because following that model is the only way we will ever experience real fulfillment in our lives.

There simply is no other way to experience real joy, peace, and contentment. That is why he tells us in verse 5…to have the same attitude in ourselves as we see in Christ.

And as we become more like Christ, we will experience more of the blessing of God, which he delights and desires to give us.

Amen.