GET TOGETHER- THE BLESSING OF SERVING
Mt 20:26-28 “Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. “And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave– “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
This past Saturday at lunch I felt like the Holy Spirit gave me the topic and the illustrations for this week’s message. I double checked it because my wife J.J. absolutely never seeks glory for herself and does not crave attention for anything that the Lord has her to do. I also made sure that I was not doing a make up call for Sunday night after she had gone to sleep in her recliner for turning up Johnny Cash and his mother singing Uncloudy Day a little loud on my cell phone and waking her up. She is not big on being woken up prematurely. She normally can sleep through some pretty strong stuff. But she didn’t Sunday night.
This past Saturday she prepared this awesome tomato pie out of fresh vine ripened tomatoes. She prepared this along with several other outstanding dishes for lunch for me, and for Jessye , Shaun, Judah, Micah, and Eden. For those that don’t know that is our daughter, son-in-love, and three of our grandchildren.
Here is what the Holy Spirit impressed upon me through the tomato pie. For right now, and I say for right now because I believe that J.J.’s healing will manifest. The Dr has told J.J. that she cannot eat tomatoes. I thought about how unselfish that was. She always enjoyed tomato pies, but for now she can’t eat them. What an act of unselfishness and servant hood for her to do that for us. She had already cooked squash, fried green tomatoes which she could not eat and several other wonderful dishes. Yet she did that to bless us. But she got the blessing out of blessings and serving us.
That reminds me of the example that Jesus has given us. He left the perfect place. He veiled His glory to come to earth to serve. The Apostle Paul says it like this in Php 2:2-8 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
We often hear of how that consumerism has become prevalent in the church. Many times, people may have the attitude of how can I be served in the church rather than having the attitude of how can God use me to serve Him and others.
Jesus came and gave His life as a ransom so that you and I can one day live in the glorious place that He voluntarily left. He came and lived on this earth as a bondservant. He came also that we might experience life and life more abundantly (See John 10:10). Part of abundant life is the blessing of serving others.
He suffered and died for us on the cross at Calvary. He left a place where He was adored and worshipped to come to the earth where He was mocked and scorned by men and women. But because He humbled Himself and became a servant look how He has been blessed! When one sinner turns from sin and puts their faith and trust in Him He is blessed. Isaiah prophesied this over seven hundred years before He came to the earth! Isa 53:11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.(NKJV) . Think about how many have done this since His death and his resurrection from the dead! He is blessed when one of His servants is healed in our physical bodies “ Isa 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (NKJV) He is blessed when we serve one another out of love for Him and out of love for one another. Joh 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
Well I took a lunch break while I was writing this. I had the last piece of that tomato pie. It was still real good today. So not only did J.J. get to bless her family Saturday, but I was still being blessed by her sacrifice today. On the other hand, as I just said I ate the last piece. That tomato pie is gone for good. But the good news for you and I is that God’s blessings are eternal. We begin eternal life when we come to Christ. And we will experience the blessings of eternal life forever. And what great joy it will be to one day be with the King who became a slave so that you and I could live and reign with Him forever. He tells us how to serve and to also receive the blessings. Mt 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (NKJV)
Let Us Pray
Lord Jesus we thank You that you left the throne room of Heaven and took the form of a humble servant. You did this not only to redeem us from Hell and the snare of the devil, but also to model for us what true servanthood is like. Today we ask You to bless those servants who have sacrificed so much. Help us while we are here on this earth and forever to serve You and others with great joy.
In Jesus Name
Amen
Thanks for your prayers for the Tabernacle services. Please keep our upcoming trip to Guatemala in your prayers as well.
Your Friend/Kinfolk
Preston
Real Party Ministry 