Monday, September 26, 2011

Service Before Self

September 11, 2011

Sermon: Service Before Self

Sermon Text: Mark 9:35 (NIV)

35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Context:
When we look at the text we believe it is obvious that the disciples would have decided to follow Jesus because they wanted to serve. You would think it would be obvious to them that they were called for service. Perhaps they joined for the wrong reasons. Jesus had to remind them of why they were with Him. In order to be with Jesus, service before self was required.

Point 1: Stronger than Yesterday (vs. 33b)
“What were you arguing about on the road?”
Jesus did not have to ask the question because He knows all but He forced them to answer the question. He reached into the past in order to show them what would be required in the future.
In order to be the servant leaders the disciples had to be:
1. They had to be stronger than their previous understanding about service.
2. They had to be stronger than any bruised feelings about past events.
3. They had to be stronger than the past.

Point 2: Stronger than Excuses (vs. 35a)
In this part of the text Jesus does not allow them time to come up with any excuses. Often times we do not serve due to a plethora of excuses. We must remember that we make time for what we want to. The Kingdom deserves our best; God deserves our best.
3 Common Barriers to Service:
1. Self-Centeredness: Phil. 2:4 (MSG)
a. “Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.”
2. Perfectionism: Eccl. 11:4
a. “If you wait for perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything done.”
3. Materialism: Matt 6:24
a. “No servant can serve two masters... You cannot serve both God and money."

Point 3: Stronger than Ordinary (vs. 35)
We must be willing to do what others will not do. We must be willing to serve and to go beyond what is ordinary to achieve great things for God’s Kingdom.

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