Notes from a sermon I heard:
Maturity and Success
Success = Service
As we mature, we develop in:
- Precision
- Power
This takes:
- Discipline
- Focus
How did Jesus Serve?
Mk 10:35-45 (NIV):
35Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
38“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
39“We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
41When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Characteristics of a True Servant
- Willing to be anonymous
- Committed to God: once and for all
- Rights given up
- It comes from the gut: Jesus *wanted* to wash the disciple’s feet.
Becoming a Servant
If you don’t want to serve, you have an impure heart: but Jesus can purify our hearts. Be truthful. Repent.
The question is not ‘do you want to serve?’, but ‘do you want to change?’
Talent / intellect / training / money / success / maturity are not required to make a start.
