In Mike Yaconellis's book Dangerous Wonder he tells the story of a young teenage girl who learned the value of serving others. One morning Mike was preaching about the unconditional love of God and he was talking about his church loving outside the lines. After the service was over a 16-year-old girl named Maria walked up to him and said,
"That was a good sermon, Pastor, but I was thinking that if we are supposed to love outside the lines, then I know how we can do it. In three weeks, the County Fair is coming, and with the fair comes the 'carnies. I was thinking that instead of making fun of the carnies like so many people do every year, maybe we should have dinner and welcome them to town."
At 12:30, when the lunch was to begin, only four carnies showed up. By 1:30, however, they hadn't served 50 carnies, 75 carnies, or even 150 carnies. They had served over 200 carnies. They ended up having to buy more food than they even expected.
When the lunch was over, numerous carnies came up to the young girl and thanked her. One older lady who had been working at carnivals for a long time said, "I have been doing carnivals for forty years, and this is the first time I've been welcomed to town." The all-you-can-eat carnie lunch has been going for seven years now, all because a teenage girl was naive enough to believe God could use her to love a group of carnies as much as He loved her.
Wouldn’t it be great if being a servant came as naturally to us as taking our next breath? Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way, does it? We live in a society that has trained us to put our needs ahead of the needs of others. We want to be number one. We would rather be served than be a servant.
We want to be served. We want it our way right here and right now and we want everyone to do what we want them to do. Guess what? As followers of Jesus, we are supposed to be different. We are supposed to put the needs of others ahead of our own. We are called to serve. If you get nothing else from this message, remember this one thing.
If you want to be great, be a servant.
Now if you have a hard time with this, understand the disciples had a hard time with this too. Over and over again Jesus tried to teach them the value of being a servant.
It was Jesus who saidin Mark 10:43,“Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant.”
Jesus knew and was trying to teach his disciples that if you make life all about you, you will have a sad, lonely, and unfulfilling life. God doesn’t call us to elevate ourselves, he calls us to serve others.
It was Jesus who also said,Matthew 20:28 “The son of man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.”
So Jesus is the example for us. Probably the most dramatic teaching moment for Jesus on being a servant is found in John chapter 13. In just a few hours Jesus is going to lay down his life and be crucified for our sins. The disciples gathered with Jesus in the upper room to enjoy one last meal with Jesus. Now, it was customary to have a servant at the door that would wash the feet of each person as they entered the room.
In the first century, there weren’t very many paved roads and there was no sewage system. Much of that was thrown out onto the streets. By the end of the day, a person’s feet would be filthy from the dirt and grime because everyone wore open-toed sandals. On top of all that they didn’t have tables and chairs to sit in and eat at like we do today.
The table they ate at would be about 3 inches off the ground and people would lie down with their feet stuck in someone else’s face. I don’t know about you but I don’t want someone’s feet in my face when I am eating and if they have to be in my face it would be a bonus to me if they were at least clean feet.
All the disciples know of the custom. Each of them comes through the door and sees that there is no servant there to wash their feet using a towel. Certainly, one of them will humble themselves and serve the others but none of them do. We find out why in Luke’s gospel. He tells us in Luke 22:24 that they were fighting once again over which one of them was the greatest. They were arguing over who was the most important.
The disciple’s problem was they were looking for someone else to serve them because they thought they were too good and too important to humble themselves in this way.
Jesus was dependent on these twelve men but they were looking for someone else to do what needed to be done. Instead, we need to learn to:
Take up the towel.
They all fought over the throne but no one fought over the towel to clean everyone's feet.
The disciples had no reason to feel superior. They were nobodies. They were common fishermen who no one would have ever noticed or known about if it wasn’t for Jesus. Aren’t we the same? Apart from Jesus, we are just dust but we brag about what we have done and what we have accomplished.
John 13:1-5 says, "Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 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."
Here is what gets me. He knows the future of the feet that he is washing. In just a few hours all twenty-four feet will run away from him when they come to arrest Him in the garden of Gethsemane. One pair of feet will lead the soldiers of the high priest to where Jesus is.
Jesus knew all of that and still washed their feet. All of their feet. Even the feet of Judas.
Jesus looked at his disciples and said, John 13:12-16“Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
If we truly are fully devoted followers of Jesus then we will take up the towel and look for opportunities to serve one another at home, at work, at school, and even at church.
Everyone needs to pick up the towel and do what needs to be done. Let me ask you a question. Are you a servant? Notice I didn’t ask if you do acts of service from time to time like when you are asked to do something. That isn’t being a servant, I asked, are you truly a servant? We can know this by if we're willing to:
See a need, meet a need.
A servant is a person who sees a need and then meets the need.
What needs are around you every day that you could meet? How could God use you at home? I know this is radical but what if you cleaned more than just your room? I know what I am saying is nuts but what if you made it your mission to lighten the load on your mom and every day you did one nice thing for her?
If you have a brother or a sister what is one act of service you could show them every day? The same goes for your dad. What if we trained ourselves to see a need and then without anyone asking we met the need? It’s crazy.
Do it without being asked. If you did this your mom would pass out on the spot. Your dad would wonder what drugs you are on. No one lives like this.
Every place you go look for a need and meet the need. On your team, in the band, no matter where you are and who you are with; see a need and meet the need.
What if you came to church to serve rather than to be served? You see, as it is right now you show up and enjoy the fruit of everyone else's service. You see a student who is sitting alone, what if you just took it upon yourself and introduced yourself and sat with them? See a need and meet a need.
I want to close by saying again that “acts of service” and “being a servant” are 2 different things. You can try to do more acts of service but that will be short-lived. It’s not going to stick unless you let God change you into being a servant. Being a servant is not an out-here thing, it starts on the inside.
God has things He wants you to do for Him and they don’t start when you are 20 years old. He has things he wants you to do now for him. They may not seem like a big deal to you but whoever you help, I promise you it is a big deal to them. See and need and meet the need. So that’s your challenge. As you serve, ask God to change you from the inside out.
©2024 Sagebrush Church
