"Come as you are - be changed"
Who is the greatest musician / actor / athelete of all time?
Who is the greatest President of your lifetime?
WHY?
The Power of Identity
Symptoms of Selfishness
• A habit of putting my own schedule before the needs of others.
• A desire to make sure others see me in the best light.
• A inability to forget or get past the wrongs others have done to me.
• Whispers in my mind that I deserve something better.
• A decision-making process what decides how to use my resources based on what makes me happy.
• A demand that the church serves all of the needs of me and my family.
• An inability to apologize.
Who is the greatest teacher you have ever known?
Who is the greatest friend you have ever had?
Who is the greatest co-worker you have worked with?
WHY?
Matthew 20:20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21 “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. 23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
CONNECT
because of Jesus
Matthew 19:27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
LIVING AS A SERVANT IS GOD’S GATEWAY TO HAPPINESS AND SIGNIFICANCE.
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 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 20:17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
“Those who devote themselves to themselves will ultimately have but themselves to show for themselves.” (Andy Stanley)
I. Being a servant is an attitude rather than a position.
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them"
Make a practice of seeing everyone you meet as important as you are and then act like this is true.
II. A servant puts other’s needs first when they have the power not to.
III. A servant is active for someone else’s good, even at risk to their own.
We serve when our lives are based on love.
Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them"
"their high officials exercise authority over them"
Take time to think about what would serve another person.
1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Take time to think about what would serve another person.
• Think small
• Think immediate
• Consider your capabilities
• Put yourself in their shoes
We serve most readily when we realize who we really serve.
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
“If you want to know if you are functioning as a servant, see how you react when people treat you like one.” (Lorne Sanny)
Make a point of regularly serving.
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