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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