SELFLESSNESS
BREAD
14 For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced
that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he
died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for
him who died for them and was raised again. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NIV)
21 God
made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians
5:21 (NIV)
3 Do
nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider
others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own
interests, but also to the interests of others. 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! 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. Philippians 2:3-11 (NIV)
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! 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. Philippians 2:3-11 (NIV)
23 Then
he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he
must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For
whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me
will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet
lose or forfeit his very self?” Luke
9:23-25 (NIV)
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.” Matthew
20:25-28 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Remember
Whose you are and Whom you serve.” Oswald
Chambers
“Maturity is for ministry! We grow up in order to give out. It is not
enough to keep learning more and more. We must act on what we know and practice
what we claim to believe. Impression without expression causes depression.
Study without service leads to spiritual stagnation. Most of the time we’re
more interested in ‘serve us’ than service. We say, ‘I’m looking for a church
that meets my needs and blesses me,’ not ‘I’m looking for a place to serve and
be a blessing.’ We expect others to serve us, not vice versa. But as we mature
in Christ, the focus of our lives should increasingly shift to living a life of
service. The mature follower of Jesus stops asking, ‘Who’s going to meet my
needs?’ and starts asking, ‘Whose needs can I meet?’” Rick
Warren
“A
primary qualification for serving God with any amount of success, and for doing
God’s work well and triumphantly, is a sense of our own weakness. When God’s warrior marches forth to battle,
strong in his own might, when he boasts, ‘I know that I shall conquer, my own
right arm and my conquering sword shall get unto me the victory’, defeat is not
far distant. God will not go forth with
that man who marches in his own strength.
He who reckoneth on victory thus has reckoned wrongly, for ‘it is not by
might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, satin the Lord of hosts’. They who go forth to fight, boasting of their
prowess, shall return with their gay banners trailed in the dust, and their
armour stained with disgrace. Those who
serve God must serve Him in His own way, and in His strength, or He will never
accept their service. That which man
doth, unaided by divine strength, God can never own. The mere fruits of the earth He casteth away;
He will only reap that corn, the seed of which was sown from heaven, watered by
grace, and ripened by the sun of divine love.
God will empty out all that thou hast before He will put His own into
thee; He will first clean out the granaries before He will fill them with the
finest of the wheat……Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being
filled, and your casting down is but the making ready for your lifting up.” C. H. Spurgeon
“To
love God, to serve Him because we love Him, is…our highest happiness…Love makes
all labor light. We serve with
enthusiasm where we love with sincerity.”
Hannah More
“From God, great
and small, rich and poor, draw living water from a living spring, and those who
serve Him freely and gladly will receive grace answering to grace.” Thomas
a Kempis
“We are taught from the Word of
God and from the church creeds that the chief end of man is to glorify God. And
how do we do this? We do so by making sure our actions reflect well on our
Savior. When people gain a taste of heaven by sampling the righteous deeds and
attitudes we serve up, Jesus is glorified.” David
Jeremiah
“The person who serves selflessly, lovingly,
without complaint, and without seeking recognition is highly regarded in the
kingdom of God. The world will estimate your importance by the number of people
serving you. God is more concerned with the number of people you are serving.” Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby
HEART SAVOR
- · Jesus came to serve and as His follower, I am to serve as well. “This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” 1 John 2:5-6 (NIV)
- · The Christian posture stoops rather than elevates self.
- · As a Christian I am to no longer live for myself but for Him Who died for me.
