 | Take three servants |
Fri, 13 Dec 1996
Clergy/Leaders' Mail-list No. 329
A challenging sermon on an important subject, 'Servanthood'.
Shalom! Rowland Croucher
Director, John Mark Ministries - resources for pastors/leaders.
(Bookroom, library, and worldwide F.W.Boreham Trading Post)
Home Page: http://www.pastornet.net.au/jmm
Take Three Servants (3 John 1-14)
by Steve Pearman
Tonight I want to pick out three Servants in the bible to use as
examples for our attitude to servanthood. I read last week a quote
from someone who said, "God did not save you to be a sensation; He
saved you to be a servant." I like that. I don't know who said it, but
I wish a man called Diotrephes had heard it. You see, you can carry
out ministry in two ways: you can reason, God called me to lead or
heal or pray or pastor; and I'm going to show God and everyone else
how good I can do it. Now doing your best for God is laudable. In
deed, I would encourage every Christian to minister to the best of
his/her ability, but there is a thin line that can easily be crossed;
and Diotrephes crossed it.
In John's third letter, Diotrephes is not commended! Why? Because he
refused to give hospitality and told others not to be hospitable. If
they did - he would turf them out of the church! What's going on here?
Well, in the early stages of the church. An Apostle would start a
church in an area, teach them for a while, set them up and then move
on. They did not have full-time teachers, so itinerant preachers would
go from one church to another. Of course, these would require
hospitality during their stay.
Why, then is Diotrephes refusing to give hospitality to visiting
teachers? Verse 9, I think, gives us the answer. John speaks of
Diotrephes "who loves to be first.....and will have nothing to do with
us." The visiting speakers were viewed by Diotrephes as a threat to his
leadership. Maybe they didn't teach the things he wanted, perhaps they
were better speakers than him, it could have been that he felt that
they stole the limelight. But that's not what ministry is all about.
Ministry in Christ's church is about servanthood. Some people think
that a good leader in a church is one who takes the helm and says to
the rest, "we're going this way - and you are coming with me." Some
people think that a good church leader is one who throws himself or
herself into everything - taking all the meetings, planning every
activity, being a one-man/woman ministry. But that's not being a
biblically-based leader. A good leader will encourage others to get
involved. He will train up others to lead. A good leader will quite
often appear to be putting himself out of a job, because he is serving
Christ and His people.
What does John say he will do to Diotrephes? He will expose him for
what he is if he comes. You know, it only takes one person to stop a
church from doing the Lord's bidding. One man. One woman. I have
experienced the harm one man can do in a church. The work, witness, and
worship of a church can be bound up because of a Diotrephes in the
congregation. And I say, if we discover such a person in our church, we
need to expose them for the sake of our heavenly Father. We are called
to be servants not masters. Christ is the head, our Master.
In contrast, we note that John is writing to a man named Gaius. This
man is an outstanding servant. He IS showing hospitality to travelling
teachers (verse 5). He is welcoming strangers; and John describes him
as walking in the truth. I think Gaius was a humble, gentle man who
just wanted to serve Christ and His cause.
Jesus spoke often about putting yourself last. When you serve - don't
make some big song and dance over it. Don't boast about what you've
done because, in truth, it's not you that have done it - it's Christ
who has worked through you. God knows what you do. You don't have to
wave your arms to attract His attention. He will see your acts and will
reward you.
Col 4v14. Paul talks about Demas as a fellow worker with him and with
Dr. Luke. But later on in Paul's life, Demas did something that must
have broke the heart of Paul. In 2 Timothy 4v10 we read Paul's words:
"for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone
to Thessalonica." He worked with Paul - the great church planter, the
apostle to the Gentiles. He could have done marvellous things for the
sake of God's kingdom; but he abandoned it all. Why? Because he fell
in love with the world.
Read with me 1 John 2v15-17: Loving the world means going after
material pleasures, aiming for human goals, liking earthly things more
than spiritual things. To follow Christ and serve Him and for Him,
you've got to give up loving the world. It's a different way of
living. How do you know whether you are loving the world more than
Christ? I think if you stop for a moment and analyse your
decision-making, you will get a good idea where your priorities lie.
Here's some questions that might come your way:
a) Do I stay in my warm home or do I go to the bible study?
b) Should I attend the worship service or watch this great TV programme?
c) Do I tell my friend that I'm a Christian and risk being rejected,
or do I keep quiet?
d) Should I volunteer to help at Church and give up an hour of my
valuable time?
You can go on.
Do you see what I'm saying? If you are scoring more times on the
worldly side than on the spiritual side, come before the Lord and seek
His help in getting your perspective right. Because it doesn't take
much to become a Demas.
* The world says "grab", God says "be willing to give".
* The world says, "hold on to what you've got", God says "be quick to
share".
* The world says, "Get the best, the most, the greatest you can - no
matter who you step on." God says, "develop your Spiritual gifts,
and trust God with your life."
* The world says, "an eye for an eye - give as good as you get." God
says, "Forgive each other. If someone uses you, it's OK. You don't
have to be their judge - I will."
Sometimes it seems as if the whole world is walking one way and we are
walking in the total opposite direction. And it's a struggle...it
really is a struggle. We get stepped on, hurt, used, abused, while
we're giving, helping, teaching, serving. You and I have all heard
that little voice that says, "Life's a whole lot easier if you turn
around and go with the flow." You've heard that voice, haven't you?
That's the voice Demas heard....and he gave in! And it can happen to
anyone here tonight.
Acts 9v36: Tabitha (Dorcas). If ever you wanted a true example of
servanthood, you should turn to Tabitha. Here is what Luke says about
her in Acts 9: She was always doing good and helping the poor. She
continually poured out goodness to others. Reading between the lines,
we can imagine a lady who gave up her life in order to serve people.
We know she was a follower of Jesus Christ. She wanted to love and
serve others as Christ had loved and served her.
So she is giving great service to people and (verse 37) right in the
middle of this, she dies. Her body was washed and placed in an upper
room. Peter happened to be in a neighbouring town, so they went to him
and urged him to come at once. Tabitha was so loved by the people
there, they could not imagine life without her. So they went to Peter
and he said he would come.
They took him to the upper room where a group of widows stood weeping
and holding the clothes that Tabitha used to make for them. They were
honouring her. These widows were saying, "This lady loved us and
served us. She gave of her time and energy for us. We didn't even own
any clothes before she came, but Tabitha made some for us." Peter was
so moved by this that he prayed and called Tabitha to rise. She sat
up, and the widows were called in. It was as if God was saying, "You
need a servant like this around you; so I'm giving her back to you."
Tabitha made garments for needy widows. She loved and she served in
small acts of kindness. She used her gifts to make them count for the
sake of Christ.
What kind of servant are you - in your home, at work, with friends,
in your street, around the church?
* Are you like Diotrephes - pushing yourself forward too much? If
that's you, turn to God tonight and ask Him to break you, melt you,
mould you, and fill you.
* Are you like a Demas - slowly slipping away from serving because of
the glitter of the world, or because you just want the easy life
that others have? If that's you, come to God right now and say,
"make me strong. Give me the strength and the encouragement I need
to serve you and your people well."
* Are you a Tabitha? How many people would stand round your death bed
and plead for you to be raised because of the contribution you have
made? That thought has certainly been on my mind the last few days.
Would anyone miss my servanthood?
We need to bow before God and seek His help tonight. In a quiet,
reflective moment, we are going to sing a song. Here are the words:
Father, I'm ready to serve You;
I bring my life to Your throne.
And all I have, Lord I give You,
take me and all that I own.
I know I've not been committed
to serve You all of my days;
but now Lord I just want to give You
my best endeavour and praise.
- SJP (1996)
(My thanks to Bill Hybels for inspiring me to write this series.)
Steve Pearman
sjp@zetnet.co.uk
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