Attitudes of a Transformed Heart: A Servant's Heart

This weekend I had the privilege of speaking at a girl's workshop. I was asked to speak on a topic that I think every Christian struggles with...this idea of possessing the attitude of a servant. This is definitely not something that comes naturally to us as sinful human beings and it is something that we have to rely on the Lord's strength for to posses. Yet as Christians, true disciples, we are being transformed more and more into Christ's image as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:18, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit".

What does it mean to have a servant’s heart? We first need to understand what a servant is:If you had to define a servant how might you do that? Someone who serves in ministry? Someone who is unselfish? Someone who gives of their time for others?
The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines servant as: “one that serves others”
But then that begs the question: what does it mean to serve? There are countless definitions on this but lets for times sake define it is “to provide benefit to someone else in act”. We all have our heroes of the faith: David, Job, Esther, Paul, Peter, Ruth, and the list could go on. If we ask ourselves honestly why we admire these characters of the faith all of them share one distinct feature, they were servants in fact countless times through the epistles Paul refers to himself as a “bondservant” of Christ, this idea of him being bound to service without payment
Lets look at Paul for example:The Greek word for bondservant is DOULOS which means a slave, a bondman of servile condition, one who gives himself up to another's will those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men, devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests ...Martha Peace defines a person with a servant’s heart well, ““A person with a servant’s heart is someone who has the desire to be a voluntary servant to the Lord Jesus Christ and it shows in their actions and attitudes.”

PASSAGE: John 13:12-17
12When 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. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things you will be blessed if you do them.

1. See Yourself as Christ's Servant (v 12-13)
-Do you see yourself as Christ’s servant?
-In order to be Christ’s servant we must first make sure we are part of Christ’s family. That we are saved.
-How do we see ourselves as Christ’s servant? What does that look like or mean?
-This looks like a daily denial of ourselves. When Christ called us to Himself as one of His disciples He asked us to pick up our crosses and to follow him…no matter what the cost
-That means that every day we wake up we need to refocus our minds on him…prayer and in the word
-Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
-That means that our mindset needs to change right when we wake up from this is all about me to this is all about Christ
-We spend hours in the morning getting ready, doing homework or whatever it might be…but do we even spend five minutes with our Lord?

2.Look to Christ’s Example (v 14-15)
-In this passage we see a call from Christ for the disciples to mimic His behavior.
-We see the God of the Universe serving those around Him, washing their feet
-Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
-Christ came by His own will being sent by the Father in order that He might save those who are saved from utter destruction , in this we see sacrifice
-We need to realize that service is not always going to be easy or something that we “feel” like doing, many times we are going to have to sacrifice our time, our desires, and our wants in order to serve
-What is being self sacrificial…denying one self?
-We don’t ever have to make ourselves care for ourselves…we naturally are inclined to worry about our own needs. We have to ACTIVELY train ourselves to thinking of others before ourselves.
-This involves humility…
-What is humility? The quality or state of being of little significance, the opposite of pride
-God hates pride in fact all sin stems from an attitude of pride
-The Bible has a lot to say about pride...for example in Psalm 10:4 we read about the fact that there is no room for God in the heart of the pride
-Our perfect example of humility is found in the person of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2)
-How do we gain this ability to be humble?
oThe best way to humble yourself is to study who God is in regards to who you are
oPray for God to give you a spirit of humility like that of Christ’s
oDeny yourself and pick up your cross daily, it takes an active daily choice to deny yourself.

3. Do For Others What Christ Has Done For YOU (v 16-17)
-Christ lived a life that reflected what He preached.
-We see Christ hear in this passage remind the disciples that they are not only to look at the example that He has set forth but then He commands them to go and DO it.
-James 1:22-25 reminds us we must be DOERS of the Word and not merely hearers
-It is easy to sit through a message and intake everything the preacher says, or to read your Bible and take in the Truth and then we fail to apply it to our daily lives
-Here in this specific passage we see Jesus even add that no servant is greater than his master and that we will be BLESSED if you do these things. What kind of blessing is Jesus referring to. An eternal blessing most assuredly but also it is more blessed to give than to receive. We read in Acts 20:35, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”

I truly believe that in order for God to start working mightily in your lives you must surrender to Him fully, being a bondservant to Him. We must pray for a transformed heart. We must pray to be more transformed in His image. We have to learn to love others, to put on a spirit of humility and what better way to learn these things and find strength to do these things then in Christ and His PERFECT example as we are doers of the Word and not just hearers.

Representing??

This weekend at Compass I heard a powerful message from the Word of God that really got me thinking. We as Christians are here for a purpose...God could take us up to be with Him on the moment of conversion that we might be made perfect and glorified instantaneously but He doesn't do that. Why? Yes we know the answer but it is one thing to know something and another to put it into practice. Paul said in Philippians 1:23-25, "I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith..." Paul had compassion for the lost and knew that despite the hardships and the pain he endured staying here (and the fact that he would much rather be in heaven with His Creator) it was more important and beneficial for OTHERS that He continue on in his ministry. Do we have this attitude?

I think we have one of three possible problems.
1. We are scared and timid thinking we may not know what to say or how to present the Gospel etc. But this is NOT an excuse. We are commanded to be able to give a reason for the hope that we have. We need to be prepared to share the Gospel and Christ with those in this lost world.
2. We are apathetic and have no compassion towards the lost. If we really love someone we will be willing to risk relationship and all for this person and give them the truth. This is a matter of life and death.
3. We use theological truths in un-biblical ways. Yes it is God who does the calling and the saving but He uses US, these earthen vessels to carry the message to the lost of the cross.

We need to step back for a moment and evaluate ourselves and the progress we are making in advancing the kingdom of Christ. Are we taking every opportunity to bring Him glory through sharing the Gospel? Do we really love the people we rub shoulders with on a day to day, week to week, or month to month basis? Are we willing to risk it all for the Gospel of Christ? The disciples were and did. Paul was and did. Are you? Are you representing Christ? Or are you living as a silent salesman so to speak hoping that somehow the lost will come to salvation. How will the know the truth without hearing the truth?? Think about how you came to know the Lord...each of us came because we heard the truth from someone...someone loved us enough to tell us like it is...are we willing to do the same?? Be bold in God's strength and watch Him use you!

Walking WORTHY of the Calling...

I have recently been doing a lot of thinking about what it means to as Ephesians 4 says, "live a life worthy of the calling you have been called to". I have been a Christian for 7 years and what have I done for the furthering of the Kingdom of Christ and to bring glory to His name? If He were to take me home right now would I be able to stand before Him satisfied in the life I had lived for Him or would I have wished I would have done more? What does it mean to walk worthy of the calling?

So as I have been thinking about this I have realized some key things, and although this is not the kind of blog I usually write I thought I would share with each of you what's been on my heart in hopes that it may encourage you and promote prayer...

1. Missions- We have all been commanded in Matthew 28 to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout all the world. This could mean you have been called to Zimbabwe or to the neighborhood right down the street, but are we faithful to this? Are we taking every opportunity to promote the Gospel and glorify Him?

2. Giving- Is it more blessed to give than to receive? The answer is simply yes as we read in Acts 20:35, but the question than comes to, do we believe that? What does it mean to give? Do we give of not only our wealth but of our time and of our very lives?

3. Justice- In Micah 6:8 we read about a call to love justice. God loves justice...we are to as well. Do we have a heart for the poor and the oppressed? Do we show compassion to the sick and the needy? Are we willing to fight for truth in this lost world?

4. Trial/Tribulation- How do we respond in time of hardship in our lives? Are we responding with joy and with hope in the sovereign Lord or do we respond like it calls us to in James, realizing we are blessed.

5. Living Examples of Christ- Do we realize that we are living and breathing examples of Christ in this lost and fallen world? The world is watching and waiting to see if the way we interact with them, the way we respond to hardships, the way we show compassion, the way we talk, the way we live is different then the culture...is it? Do we take this serious that we are examples of Christ and we MUST be to everyone we come in contact with??

These are just some of the things that I have been wrestling with lately. I struggle to comprehend the weight of the responsibility that I've been given. Without Christ's strength daily it is impossible for me to live a life that is worthy of His calling but with Him it is possible (Philippians 4:13). I want to as Paul said, finish the race with endurance and fight the good fight. My prayer is that one day when I enter into the kingdom of heaven the Lord will look at me and I will hear the words..."Well done good and faithful servant I am well pleased!"