The Servant Heart

Text: Mathew20:25-28

Quote: Albert Schweitzer says there are two kinds of people. There are the helpers, and the non-helpers. I thank God that He allowed me to become a helper, and in helping, I found everything."

Check Your Motives

First of all, if you are going to be a servant-hearted person, you have to be aware of your motives. A motive is simply the reason you do what you do. What's behind your action?

This is the thing we must fight within ourselves. If you are going to improve your ability to serve, check your motives. Do you really want to make a positive difference and contribution to the others in your world because of your love for Jesus Christ?

2. Look to your Model

A second key to improving your serve is to look to your model. Jesus calls his disciples together and gives them a principle. In the world, he says, this is the natural way of things: authority, power, glory, honour. In the world's system we should be expending as much energy as we possibly can to get to the top. But among us, the followers of Jesus, he says, a different value

should be at work. We should be people who serve. In verse 26 Jesus says, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.” Interesting word, isn't it? Slave? A slave is someone who really has no rights and no honour. The whole purpose of the life of a slave is to serve his or her master. In other words, our purpose is to serve Jesus. Our whole being should be directed to the cause of Christ, and the way we do that is by serving other people. Our primary mission is to minister to people, not be admired by them.

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross."

3. EXPECT SOME MISERY

This almost goes back to examining your motives again. When the mother of James and John expressed her desire for her sons, Jesus said, "You don't know what you are asking…Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" The cup that Jesus was going to drink was his death

on the cross. He prayed about that painful experience in the Garden of Gethsemane,

"Lord, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours." What Jesus was saying here is that this attitude and action of servant hood will not always be easy, nor will it always be the cause of joy in our lives. It costs something to become obedient even until death. You'll serve someone, and they won't appreciate it. Instead, they will push you away or take advantage of you.

Conclusion: You are most likely in that category of someone who has been blessed by God enough that you will need to seek opportunities to serve. As you do, remember when you choose to serve someone, not thinking about what you will get out of it, you are living out your purpose, fulfilling God’s destiny for you.

1corithians15:58. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.

Mr Kunle Okeowo

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