Service to Others
1Corinthians 9:19: "For though I be free from all (men), yet have I made
myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more."
Dear brothers and sisters, I write to you this week to encourage you to serve
one another as unto the Lord. A servant is someone who will disregard his own
interests and wants and devote themselves to any need, great or small. They are
always ready to answer to the call of service to others.
Many people in the church today do not like to be called a servant because to
them it represents lowliness and humility. Unfortunately, serving is one of the
many gifts missing in the body. Too many people are trying to get a good name to
show authority or those who do serve are serving to be seen and praised for
their good deeds. Pride has stepped in. Pride will not allow someone to get on
his or her hands and knees to scrub the toilet or clean the floor. Pride will
not feed the hungry, clothe the naked or visit the sick and elderly. Pride will
not pick up after someone else. Ask yourself - when was the last time you stayed
back after a service to clean up so that someone else didn't have to or when was
the last time you saw rubbish on the street and out of love (for others) bent
down and picked it up.
Unless there is a dollar sign or something that gratifies ourselves there
seems to be no interest. Jesus came as a servant. He served you and me by laying
down His own life for us. If we are to be Christ like and claim to be His, then
we too are to lay down our lives for one another whether it be through looking
after children, washing dishes, scrubbing toilets, prayer, smiling or even
feeding someone who comes to our door looking for food.
A servant will always consider others more important than themselves. WE are
to serve one another as if it were Christ himself was before us. If we cannot
see Jesus when we serve one another, then everything we do is done in void.
Servants should never see themselves as being taken advantage of, but as
someone who sees a need and willingly attends to it. The only time we become a
doormat is when we step into man pleasing. Then, we strive to do well and wear
ourselves out. When we start striving on our own to get things done, we will
eventually become tired, cranky and sooner or later step out of the service of
the Lord and into a place of self-pity and "woe is me parties". When we reach
this point the enemy can and will whisper accusations and judgments. It is up to
us to accept or rebuke the lies he speaks. Dear brothers and sisters, rebuke the
enemy for he does not have the things of the Lord in mind. His goal is to divide
the brethren. The Lord tells us nice and plainly not to serve as unto man, but
as unto the Lord.
Ephesians 6:6-7 - "Not with eye service, as men pleasers; but as the
servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing
service, as to the Lord, and not to men."
I believe that one of the greatest forms of service is when it is done
secretly. We take for granted all our brothers and sisters who are standing on
the sideline praying and watching out for us.
Because we are under the service of the King, we must make ourselves
available to be used by God in every area of our lives. We allow God to make us
useful. If we cannot submit and obey the people who are in front of us, how is
it possible to serve those we don't know who are in the mission field or in the
world.
Always be ready to give of yourself whether in song or silence, in prayer or
time. Service to one another can be as simple as giving someone a hug or washing
someone's dishes. When we are in service to our Lord, we expect the unexpected.
Or, in other words, we prepare ourselves in order to change position, direction
or even location as the spirit leads. Jesus was in service to His Father and His
people by moving from town to town to bring salvation. No one else may see your
good works but Jesus sees.
Dear brethren, I encourage you this week to take advantage of every
opportunity to serve one another. What greater joy than to look at service to
Jesus as assistance to the King. The King always gives good gifts and the gifts
that He gives are being stored up for us. These gifts or treasures are far
beyond our imagination and cannot be comprehended. It is not enough that we
profess to have Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We have got to back it up with the
way we live. Jesus backed up every word He said with action. So too must we. So
many people have been saved and given over to our Majesty because someone
offered them lunch. Some people have asked Jesus into there hearts because the
Lord used someone to give them a slap up side the head.
So let us also put into practice what we say and preach. Do something out of
the ordinary this week. Pick up the trash in the parking lot. Pray for your
headship. Go to the nursing homes and sing. Give to the needy and poor. Wash the
dishes for your sister. Clean someone's yard and then mow it. Send bibles to
people who don't have any. Evangelize, preach, sing. Do what ever you have to
that you may be useful for God's Kingdom. Allow the Lord to use you to
accomplish His purpose and will for you this week and serve.
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any questions about this article.
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