MY
PLEASURE – THE JOY OF SERVICE
BREAD
2 The
evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas
Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had
put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning
to God; 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…..12 When he had finished washing
their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked
them. 13 “You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that
is what I am. 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.”
John
13:2-5, 12-17 (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)
38 “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed
down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with
the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 (NIV)
1 “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before
men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in
heaven. 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with
trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be
honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand
know what your right hand is doing, 4 so
that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in
secret, will reward you.” Matthew
6:1-4 (NIV)
13 You,
my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the
sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13 (NIV)
7 Serve
wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men. Ephesians 6:7 (NIV)
38 “I am
the Lord's servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then
the angel left her. Luke 1:38 (NIV)
7 The
end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so
that you can pray. 8 Above
all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one
another without grumbling. 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to
serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, he should do
it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it
with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised
through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.
Amen. 1 Peter 4:7-11 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Nothing
disciplines the inordinate desires of the flesh like service, and nothing
transforms the desires of the flesh like serving in hiddenness. The flesh whines against service but screams
against hidden service.” Richard J.
Foster
“In
the kingdom of God, service is not a stepping-stone to nobility. It is nobility.” T. W.
Manson
“Learn
the lesson that, if you are to do the work of a prophet, what you need is not a
scepter but a hoe.” Bernard of Clairvaux
“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
“Gathered
at the Passover feast, the disciples were keenly aware that someone needed to wash
the others’ feet. The problem was that
the only people who washed feet were the least.
So there they sat, feet cake with dirt.
It was such a sore point that they were not even going to talk about it. No one wanted to be considered the least. Then Jesus took a towel and a basin and
redefined greatness. Having lived out
servanthood before them, He called them to the way of service.” Richard J. Foster
“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can
take with you nothing that you have received -- only what you have given: a
full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.” St.
Francis of Assisi
“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, saith 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
HEART
SAVOR
- · God desires for us to serve Him with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind. Our motivation is love - as was His.
- · There are countless blessings in serving.
- · The servant will never out give the Master. God’s eye is on every act of kindness and sacrifice and He blesses the doer exceedingly, abundantly above what is done. God is in debt to no one. We live our lives for an audience of One, Whose eye constantly searches throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.
