).png)
God’s kingdom operates differently from ours. Jesus came as a servant, providing a living, breathing example for us to follow of how we are to treat others. A servant’s heart arises from the innermost parts of a person, the place where the Spirit is planted deep inside. The root begins in the spiritual and emotional place of the person long before actions begin to emerge. In this way, serving is kept holy, as it is an intimate exchange between the Spirit and the person to stir up works of love throughout the process of sanctification. The majority of people are not naturally in love with the idea of “serving.” Thoughts of various abuses often emerge, especially within those who have been under the thumb of a person who forced “submission” from another, rather than a submission of self that was given with intention. To have a servant’s heart means to do kind acts for the goodness of others from a genuine place of love and generosity. Whenever “obligation” enters the picture, the servant’s heart gets muddied up and twisted into something that it is not. "And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as theSon of Man did not come to be served,but to serve, andto give His life a ransomfor many"Matthew 20:27-28 (NKJV).
Ideal sense of the term a person who lives with a servant’s heart will be willing to subdue their own wants and sometimes needs in order to meet someone else in the midst of theirs. In God’s economy, if we want to be great, having a servant heart is key. Greatness in God’s kingdom does not come from being powerful or praised by men. We must be willing to be a servant of all. It’s a heart issue. It’s not the norm for everyone. They bring meals to new moms, write cards to the sick, give their neighbor a ride and so much else. Today we will see that serving others is a natural overflow of a Christian who is abiding in Christ. Learning to Be Still and Know God more leads to abiding in Him. Abiding in God’s Love fills our hearts so much that the old selfish heart grows into a Servant’s Heart. This is what we desired and hoped to have cover over the last two weeks how to possess and maintain this servant's heart.
There are so many opportunities in our day to day lives to serve when we open our hearts and listen to the holy spirit! We were created to walk alongside God and participate with him in his plans. Serving gives us purpose and direction and encourages us to branch out and walk in our spiritual gifts. Lastly, to have a servant heart is to be like Jesus, constantly looking for ways you can give to others. Constantly seeking the need and providing the help. Now this isn’t to say that you should poor yourself out haphazardly, a huge part of serving others is to be in communion with God. That is to be walking with him closely and allow him to guide you to those who he has equipped you to help.
"And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed" Joshua 24:15-17 (NKJV).
Comments