Philemon 1:6 That the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
This is Paul’s prayer.
That a believers communication of their faith will become effective.
That this will happen as they ‘acknowledge’, (confess, meditate on, accept, embrace, believe, receive) every good thing that is in them in Christ.
We need to orient people to every good thing that is in them in Christ, and if we address any negative areas it is to set them free from them, heal them or release them.
Both Paul and Jesus regularly speak of the positive, good things in their lives. ‘I and the Father are one’. ‘I am the door’. ‘I am the vine’. ‘I have come that you may have life’. Paul stated, ‘we are seated with Christ’, ‘we have forgiveness, righteousness, justification, redemption, new covenant, hope, faith, love…’
People need constant reminding of the positives. The devil spends all week reminding them of the negatives. Our job is to remind and revive people to what God has placed within them.
When we become a team operating like this we begin to function like Christ.
Phil 2:5 Let this attitude be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,… made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, …He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Greatness is an aspiration all of us desire in some form, whether it is simple recognition for something we’ve done, or just the acknowledgment that we exist, by someone mentioning our name. However, how we achieve greatness and firsts in life is not by seeking to dominate others but by actually seeking to help them with their advancement.
Mk 10:43 ‘.. but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Servant hood is good for every area of your life, personal and business;
Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart knew that if he could serve fellow Americans this would result in great success – In his biography, he says, ‘We’re all working together; that’s the secret. And we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone, not just in America, but we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better lifestyle, a better life for all. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished; we’ve just begun.’
Today, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., employs more than 1.2 million associates worldwide. The company has more than 3,000 stores and offices across the United States and more than 1,000 stores internationally.
In the business world the company doesn’t provide job security. Only customers can do that! If customers are well served they come back, if not, they don’t.
Serving people means solving their problems. Research from Wharton Business School shows that 95% of customers who have a complaint handled efficiently and promptly will not only continue to do business with an organization but will become even more brand loyal. Service focused companies go out of their way to hear customer complaints. Most customers don’t bother to complain and simply take their business elsewhere. 96% of customers won’t complain to the goods or service provider.
1 Corinthians 9:19 ‘…I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more.’
Instead of selling Jesus, we should try serving Him to people. Instead of just witnessing to people, we need to be a witness. Serving is helping people, at personal cost, at sacrifice.
Francis of Assisi says, ‘Witness all the time, and if necessary, use words’.
Those who have understood the power of serving people can tell this story repeatedly. When we serve others, meet their needs and heal their hurts, we are effective in connecting them with God. Visible love opens invisible hearts.
A life without service is doomed to decay. Serving is the highest level of meaningfulness for anyone. The meaning of life is easy to find if we simply serve others. The great violinist, Nicolo Paganini, willed his marvelous violin to Genoa – the city of his birth – but only on condition that the instrument never be played upon. It was an unfortunate condition, for it is a peculiarity of wood that as long as it is used and handled, it shows little wear. As soon as it is discarded, it begins to decay. The exquisite, mellow-toned violin has become worm-eaten in its beautiful case, valueless except as a relic. The moldering instrument is a reminder that a life withdrawn from all service to others loses its meaning.
Six Qualities of Helpfulness
Let me identify at least six qualities of a servant. These are easily found in Rebekah, Abraham’s son, Isaac’s wife of the Old Testament, a beautiful life of servant hood. She never dreamed how her serving heart would open the greatest doors of her life. She discovers that serving opens doors of destiny.
- Helpfulness is Willing
Genesis 24:18-20 ‘Drink, my lord,’ she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, ‘I’LL DRAW WATER FOR YOUR CAMELS TOO, UNTIL THEY HAVE FINISHED DRINKING.’ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.
Rebekah doesn’t complain that she has just been down the well to get water for herself. The well is deep. Around fifty steps descend to the water. Rebekah offers to get the man some water but she also offers to water his camels. One camel can drink twenty-five gallons in one sitting. Ten camels raise the possibility of two hundred and fifty gallons. Even if she manages to carry five gallons up the steps each time, it could be fifty trips up and down the steps. Notwithstanding, she’s keen! ‘Drink’. Eliezer has just prayed that the woman who offers to not just satisfy his request for water but also offers to water the camels will be the answer to his prayers. This will be the woman destined for his master Abraham’s son, Isaac.
Serving is an issue of the heart. She wants to bless the man. She has no idea there is any reward for her efforts. Money easily steals heart. Once we receive money for what we once did from the heart, our willingness and enthusiasm can be compromised. In 1 Peter 5:2 Peter calls on us to serve the Lord with our heart, not for money. Serving is its own pleasure. It serves regardless of the reward.
Energy springs from willingness. Ask children to do something they don’t want to, like cleaning their room. Suddenly, nothing happens! They’re like a sloth, cute but slow. Tell them we’re off to McDonalds, they’re streaked lightning, sitting in the car before you finish the sentence. We are energized when our will is engaged. Fatigue follows the unwilling. We’re tired when we’re doing what we don’t want to do. If we’d rather be elsewhere, we’ll never enjoy where we are right now. If we’d rather be doing something else, we won’t have the energy or focus for what we’re doing right now. Aligning our will and our action is basic to successful living.
The willing heart is;
- Impelled, not compelled. Motivation comes from within, rather than some external pressure outside us. ‘People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing; that’s why we recommend it daily.’ Zig Ziglar.
- Agreeable, not disagreeable. All of us think of the ‘other point of view’, in a conversation, but we decide to focus on those points of agreement rather than the points we disagree with. How painful is trying to hold a pleasant conversation with a disagreeable person? It’s just hard work. The willing heart finds ways to agree and flow with people. Beth Laurie says, ‘agreeing to agree is a key to astonishing teamwork’.
- Executing, not excusing. The willing heart finds reasons to do, rather than reasons to not do. People with excuses reveal an unwilling attitude.’ I think it was Billy Sunday who defined an excuse as ‘the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.’
The person who is good at excuses is usually not good at anything else.
- Helpfulness Excels
Rebekah does the job well. She doesn’t do half a job. She finishes what she starts. She does more than is expected. Her service is surprising.
Genesis 24:18-20 ‘… until they have finished drinking.’
She makes sure the camels drink their fill. She doesn’t bring water until she feels she’s done enough. She continues fetching water until the camels have had enough.
The servant from hell does the job when it’s convenient for them. They huff and puff, letting everyone know they’re unhappy about doing this. They never do the job right or complete it properly. They complain how much they’re giving up to do this. They tell you all the sacrifices they have made. They are going to do it for you, but they are determined to make you feel bad at the same time. When you see they’re unhappy about doing it and offer to get it done some other way, they won’t let it go. ‘No, no, I’ll do it!’ (heaving and sighing). Oh, no! You’re going to pay for their service. It isn’t coming free.
The true servant heart cannot do a job badly. They take pride in what they do and only do the best they can to surprise the person they’re serving. Ask yourself. Are people surprised by what I do for them? Are they thankful? Do I bless them?
Albert Einstein said, ‘We have to do the best we can. This is our sacred human responsibility.’
Rebekah sits amongst the matriarchal heads of Israel. History accepts her elevated station because her foundational lifestyle was selfless serving. Besides what the Bible reveals, we have to wonder how many other strangers she had served joyfully as they passed by her well. Serving was a lifestyle to her, not just erratic moments. Sometimes our teaching on servant hood sends a signal that if we are prepared to do menial tasks today (cleaning the lavatories is generally the task referred to), then one day we will graduate beyond serving. The fact is we will never ‘progress’ from serving. Even though I’m the senior minister in our church, I’ll still clean up something if I can right away. It’s not my job, but if I’m in a bathroom and the bowl needs cleaning then I’ll do it right then. I don’t want the next person to come across a dirty bowl! Don’t ever lose the heart of thinking about and serving others.
- Helpfulness is Swift
True servants get the job done swiftly. Slow service is a curse worse than no service at all.
Genesis 24:18-20 ‘Drink, my lord,’ she said, and QUICKLY lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink….QUICKLY emptied her jar into the trough, RAN back to the well to draw more water…’
Rebekah understands speed is of the essence. Keeping people waiting is not serving at all. We surprise people with speed. And we actually deliver before it’s due.
Money is no longer the highest commodity people value today. Time is! Taking more time from people than they are willing to give us incurs resentment and dissatisfaction. This is considered poor service. If we take less time than people anticipated we win favour. How many times have you hung up the phone after the umpteenth transfer from one recorded message to another? How many times have you walked away from a queue knowing that what you wanted is not worth the time it’s going to take to get it. Find every way possible to reduce the amount of time it takes for you to meet people’s need.
Geoff Alford, who has run market research for 20 years specializing in customer satisfaction, says companies fail to understand that customer service is about all the components of timeliness, getting exactly what you ordered, getting it without hassles – and feedback if there are problems later on.
Convenient servant hood doesn’t exist. In fact, servant hood is nearly always going to be inconvenient. A servant serves at all times, not just when it is convenient.
Luke 17:7-14 ‘And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? ‘But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?
- Helpfulness is Honoring.
Servant hood honours rather than despises those it serves. Rebekah calls the stranger, ‘Sir’.
Genesis 24:18-20 ‘Drink, MY LORD,’
She treats the stranger with respect. Serving is serving. It is placing ourselves at the service of another. Serving is honouring and is reflected in our language. We meet others needs, not because we are some patronizing do-gooder, but because we respect people and use whatever we have to serve them.
People anxious about position find it impossible to serve. The servant heart is unconcerned about how they look to others. The most amazing person in history, Jesus Christ, demonstrates this time and again. Even though He is the immortal, sovereign, self-existing God of eternal spirit, He becomes a temporal, mortal, dependent man of flesh. Jesus, who for eternity has given commands, now obeys them. He who had never committed one wrong, now becomes condemned as an evil doer. He is crucified along with thieves, being the Lamb of God slain for the salvation of all people everywhere in all times. This is servant, not grasping to hold position.
In Luke 14:8 Jesus tells us not to choose the most important seats at a function. He tells us not to seek to be the greatest, but rather to be the least and take the lower seat.
This means even though I might be a leading vocalist, if someone is needed in the choir, then I’m there. If pride prevents me being involved at any level then I need to simply just get involved and let pride die. Humility is something we do to ourselves. ‘Humble yourselves’ (James 4:10). All of us are endeared to the humble. They are elevated in our eyes. Exaltation follows abasement.?
- Helpfulness is Work.
Serving is work. The servant attitude keeps working till the job is done. Some people work to fulfil a certain number of hours. The servant heart is here to get the job done, no matter how long it takes. Accomplishing the task ascends considerations of personal comfort.
Genesis 24:18-20 ‘…she said, ‘I’ll draw water for your camels too, UNTIL THEY HAVE FINISHED DRINKING.’ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and DREW ENOUGH FOR ALL HIS CAMELS.’
Of all the animals on earth, camels can be amongst the smelliest. They spit, snort and are can be unusual beasts for a beautiful young woman to care for. However, Rebekah is unconcerned. Her hospitality and desire to serve overwhelm any desire she has for personal comfort. She will do whatever it takes to bless this foreigner asking to drink at their well. Hospitality is the ‘love of strangers’. It’s one thing to welcome, bless and serve people we know, but to do the same for complete strangers, that’s different. Rebekah is Miss Hospitality.
The well is serviced with a flight of around 50 steps spiralling against the wall down to the water. A camel can drink up to twenty-five gallons of water at one sitting. Eliezer has ten camels. They are carrying a large cargo. They are thirsting for their twenty-five gallon drink. What is Rebekah thinking? This is one different kind of lady! Getting Eliezer his cup of water is nothing compared to what she is now offering. He accepts her offer. This means making fifty trips up and down the steps, carrying twenty-five gallons each time up from the well. This is a servant heart. She doesn’t realize it but this is her doorway to destiny. Once she finishes Eliezer knows his prayer has been answered. He has prayed that the woman who gives him a drink, plus offers to water his camels is the one God has chosen for his master Abraham’s son, Isaac. He opens the treasure chests from the camel’s backs and begins showering the young woman with jewellery and gifts. He asks if she is prepared to travel back with him to his land and marry his master’s son. As the story unfolds it is obvious to Rebekah God’s great hand has been guiding this incredible sequence of events. She agrees and returns with Eliezer. The moment she meets Isaac they fall in love. They become central figures in the amazing tapestry of God’s purpose, bringing the Messiah into our world.
Let me share one of the most graphic illustrations I know of regarding the power of servanthood opening the doors of destiny. One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife enter the lobby of a small hotel in Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the rain, the couple approach the front desk hoping to get some shelter for the night.
‘Could you possibly give us a room here?’ the husband asks. The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, looks at the couple and explains that there are three conventions in town. ‘All of our rooms are taken’ the clerk says. ‘But I can’t send a nice couple like you out into the rain at one o-clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly a suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night’.
When the couple decline, the young man presses on. ‘Don’t worry about me; I’ll make out just fine’, the clerk tells them. So the couple agree. As he pays his bill the next morning, the elderly man says to the clerk, ‘You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe one day I’ll build one for you’. The clerk looks at them and smiles. The three of them have a good laugh. As they drive away, the elderly couple agree that the helpful clerk was indeed exceptional, as finding people who are both friendly and helpful isn’t easy.
Two years pass. The clerk has almost forgotten the incident when he receives a letter from the old man. It recalls the stormy night and encloses a round-trip ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay them a visit.
The old man meets him in New York, and leads him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He then points to a great new building there, a palace of reddish stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky. ‘That’ says the older man ‘is the hotel I have just built for you to manage’.
‘You must be joking’ the young man says.
‘I can assure you I am not’ says the older man, a sly smile playing around his mouth. The older man’s name is William Waldorf Astor, and the magnificent structure is the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The young clerk who becomes its first manager is George C Boldt.
The servant does whatever it takes to get the job done. Servant hood opens the door to the fulfillment of promises. Abraham is one of the wealthiest men of his day. Yet this man of amazing wealth and power also understands the nature of serving.
The greatest work we can be engaged in is bringing others to Christ, even when they feel they can’t come.
When we work as teams to bring others to Christ we connect with each other at the deepest level.
See you in church
PHIL PRINGLE | Bible Study 