sermon

Serve Others

Brad DeLong

February 6, 2022 · Apostolic Pentecostal Church (St. Louis, MO)

Transcript of a published sermon by Brad DeLong, transcribed from YouTube. An attributed primary source — not Acts 2:38 Life doctrine text.

View the original source →

Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.

The Text and the Call: Serve Others

He opens with two passages he has been reading for weeks — Philippians 2 and Mark 10 — and urges the church to memorize them.
Philippians 2 calls believers to do nothing from selfish ambition, to esteem others better than themselves, and to look to the interests of others.
The same chapter points to the mind of Christ, who made himself of no reputation, took the form of a bondservant, and humbled himself to death on a cross.
In Mark 10 Jesus reverses worldly greatness: rulers lord it over others, but among his followers the great one is the servant and the first is the slave of all, for the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom.
The whole message is summed up in two words — serve others — and he leads the congregation to pray for God's help to do it.

Scriptures: Philippians 2; Mark 10

A Front-Row Seat to a Servant's Mindset

He tells of a chapel service from his student days whose preacher and title he cannot recall, but whose impact he has never forgotten.
After burying his face in the altar, he watched Dr. David Norris — a leading scholar with books, academic success, and a ministry reaching thousands — kneel in a suit and tie and crawl across the altar space, praying over one college student after another.
That observation forever changed his life: a front-row seat to the posture, tears, humility, and mindset of serving others.
He has seen the same mindset in his bishop, who was out shoveling the church sidewalks on a cold morning so others could enter safely and would not hand over the shovel, and in the men who set up tables and chairs, tend the building, write letters, and encourage others week after week.
All of them share one common denominator: they serve the King and they serve others — it is their calling, posture, disposition, mindset, and mission.

Created and Gifted for Good Works

The calling is universal: everyone in the kingdom, whether present thirty minutes or thirty years, is called to serve others.
Ephesians 2:10 says believers are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand for them to walk in.
Galatians 5 warns against using liberty to serve the flesh; through love, believers are to serve one another, and the law is fulfilled in loving your neighbor as yourself.
First Peter joins fervent love to hospitality without grumbling and to using every received gift to minister to one another as good stewards of God's grace.
Ephesians 4 teaches that the offices of the church were given to equip the saints for the work of ministry, and that every part of the body doing its share causes the body's growth — the opposite of the Pareto principle, where twenty percent do eighty percent of the work.

Scriptures: Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5; 1 Peter 4:8; Ephesians 4

The Essence of Ministry Is Serving

Ministry, peeled back to its root, is simply serving God by serving others; one common New Testament word for it means to be a servant, an attendant, one who waits on someone else.
That is why waiting on tables, feeding widows, teaching, helping, giving to the poor, showing hospitality, praying for the sick, and visiting prisoners are all called ministry in Scripture.
Paul's charge stands over it all: let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Paul summed up his own ministry in 2 Corinthians 12:15 — he would very gladly spend and be spent for their souls, pouring himself out like a drink offering even if the more he loved, the less he was loved.
The further a person progresses in the kingdom, the more of themselves they are required to give and the more people they are required to serve.

Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 12:15

The Higher the Calling, the More You Give

He recounts a young youth minister congratulating him on being exalted to a high level of service, and the learning moment it became: whatever role or title a person receives, it is all about serving God and others.
The moment serving others leaves the equation, ministry stops — and the closer a person gets to Jesus, the more compelled they are to serve and prefer others.
Jesus said in John 12 that whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever serves him must follow him, and where he is, his servant will be also.
Paul points to the grace behind it in 2 Corinthians 8:9: though he was rich, for our sakes Christ became poor, so that through his poverty we might become rich.

Scriptures: John 12; 2 Corinthians 8:9

Jesus, the One Who Serves

Jesus asked in Luke 22:27 who is greater — the one who sits at the table or the one who serves — and declared that he was among them as the one who serves: he did not come to just sit, but to serve.
To the twelve he said in Mark 9:35 that whoever desires to be first shall be last and servant of all, and in Matthew 23:11 that the greatest shall be your servant, for the exalted will be humbled and the humbled exalted.
It is all encapsulated in Philippians 2:5 — let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
No one could make the King of kings a servant; he did it himself, making himself of no reputation and taking the form of a bondservant — in the text's terms, a slave with no rights, entirely at another's disposal — and becoming obedient to death.
The call runs against the culture of climbing over others to the top: it is a descent, esteeming others as better than ourselves — not an inferiority complex, but considering others more significant.
Paul followed the same pattern in 1 Corinthians 9:19: though free from all men, he made himself a servant to all, that he might win the more.

Scriptures: Luke 22:27; Mark 9:35; Matthew 23:11; Philippians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 9:19

He Stopped for Others — Even at His Lowest

Jesus' whole life screams the message: he stopped processions for a desperate blind man, paused on the way to a dying girl for the woman with the issue of blood, stooped in the dirt for a wayward woman and for a man born blind, and broke protocol for the woman at the well.
Even in his agony and final breaths on the cross he was serving others — praying for the men gambling for his garments and pardoning the thief who had ridiculed him.
Someone in a low point has not disqualified themselves: if Jesus could serve at his lowest, he can use anyone to serve someone even in a low season.
The church embodies the mindset in ordinary acts — crawling through altar spaces in prayer, shoveling sidewalks, setting up tables and chairs, visiting the sick, opening doors, paying for a coworker's meal, sending an encouraging text.
Matthew 25:40 seals it: inasmuch as you serve one of the least of these, you do it to him.

Scriptures: Matthew 25:40

The Footwashing: Serving Even Those Who Hurt You

He closes with John 13, setting the stage just after the Last Supper, in the final hours before Gethsemane and the cross — Jesus was not wasting time; what he did in those hours was intentional.
Knowing all things were in his hands, Jesus rose from supper, laid aside his garments, girded himself with a towel, poured water in a basin, and washed the disciples' feet — work reserved for the lowest servant.
Peter resisted, but Jesus answered that what he was doing would be understood later, and that without the washing Peter would have no part with him; afterward he set the example: the servant is not greater than his master, and those who know these things are blessed if they do them.
Jesus washed the feet of all of them — including Judas, the man about to betray him for thirty pieces of silver — so his followers ought to serve and love even the person who hurt them, serving them at least by praying for them and forgiving them.
During the message he had men come forward so he could serve them himself, as a picture of the lengths the Lord goes to serve others.

Scriptures: John 13

The Response: Commit to Serve Others

He calls the church to stand and respond — to step out, find a place to pray, assume a posture of humility, and commit to serve others.
The commitment is concrete: serve the one on the pew next to you and the one in your neighborhood.
No one should discount themselves because of their stage of life, brokenness, pain, or season — God wants to use us, and he wants to use us to serve.

Scripture index: Philippians 2; Mark 10; Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5; 1 Peter 4:8; Ephesians 4; 2 Corinthians 12:15; John 12; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Luke 22:27; Mark 9:35; Matthew 23:11; Philippians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 9:19; Matthew 25:40; John 13.

i'm going to invite you to stand with me this morning for the reading of the word we're going to turn to the book of philippians chapter 2 and then we'll turn to the book of mark chapter 10 and verse 42. philippians 2 and mark 10. i've read these two passages that i'm about to read more in the last several weeks than i have in quite some time but they are the direction for where we're headed this morning and beyond i hope someone memorizes these scriptures like those young ladies memorized 63 verses i thought if they could do that i can memorize some scripture too so if you're gonna commit something to memory let it be these philippians two verse three let nothing be done the selfish ambition or conceit but in lowliness mind let each esteem others better than himself let each of you look not only for his own interests but also to the interests and for the interests of others verse 5 let this mind be in you which was also in christ jesus who being in the form of god did not consider it robbery to be equal with god but made himself of no reputation taking the form of a bond servant coming in the likeness of men did he give up some things absolutely did he surrender absolutely and being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even the death of the cross that mind of that mindset that we're called to share with jesus is reflected in this other passage mark 10 and 42 but jesus called the disciples to himself he said to them you know that those who are considered rulers over the gentiles they lord it over them and the great ones exercise authority over them yet it shall not be so among you but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant and whoever you desires to be first shall be the slave of all for even the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many this morning the premise and the title of when i believe the lord is speaking to us they're both very straightforward and they are summed up in two compelling words those words are very simply this serve others serve others today i feel the lord drawing us to follow him a little further on this journey this mission for others and i feel him calling us to this end serve others i wonder before we go any further if you lift your voices again in your hands this is more than a protocol prayer but would you ask for the lord to help you if you don't mind ask for him to help me as well can we take a season here and in my god to move and the rest of the service we know that you have plans we know lord you've got to plan for this day i'm asking for your help and i'm asking that you would help each and every one of us whether lord they're young or older or whether they've been here for a couple minutes today or they've been here all their life and you would call and compel all of us to this end that we would serve others help us by your word and by your power today in the name of jesus we pray amen you may be seated

despite the fact that i cannot remember what the actual message title was or what was preached that day in this chapel service i do remember my life being impacted on several levels on this particular day i had my face buried in the altar at the gateway ursion campus the old campus some of you have anyone ever been to the old campus oh yeah it's got a soft spot in our hearts i had my face buried in that altar the lord was dealing with me as i tried to align my heart and my mind with his and eventually i got up from that altar and i sat against the wall on the left side of the chapel still praying i was looking out over the altar space i could see my peers and my classmates kneel and laying before the lord praying like some of you were at this altar today it's a it's a very vivid memory it's a vivid moment in my life because i remember what i saw next that morning my peers and my classmates were kneeled over they were praying in that altar space and right alongside them was an older man with a suit and a tie on i observed him for a couple of moments as he knelt down on his hands and knees praying over those young adults and those young aspiring ministers and then i watched him crawl on his hands and his knees and his suit jacket over to another young adult to pray with him and then he did it for another one he crawled across that altar space several times laying hands on young men and women for several minutes and that moment that observation forever changed my life it might seem insignificant at face value but the truth of the matter is i got a front row seat to the posture the disposition the tears of prayer the humility and the mindset of service to others from a man who is widely regarded as one of the leading scholars in our movement from a man who is highly respected both within our movement and well beyond it as well he's written plenty of books he's taught and preached all over the nation and even beyond the nation he has more academic success than over 97 percent of the population he has a ministry that has touched and reached thousands on thousands but here is dr david norris in a tuesday morning chapel service crawling around in altar space in a suit and tie pouring himself out on behalf of college students and demonstrating what ministry and what his mindset is truly all about that ministry that mindset is simply serving others and esteeming others as more than you would yourself and that moment greatly affected me i shared it with bishop wilford several days later and it resonated with him as well you see he has a similar mindset and he has a similar ministry i've observed it on countless occasions too many to count but the one i thought of this week was pulling up on a very cold weekday morning like this morning like the mornings we've had of late and i saw our pastor out with a shovel on that sidewalk out there and he's shoveling the sidewalks so that others could get into the house of the lord safely i tried to go over and take the shovel from it said hey pastor let me do that he said no no brad i'll take care of it i'll do it so i just went and grabbed another shovel i was overruled but i was going to serve alongside him and this man who's pastured us and served for over 40 years beyond was out there shoveling sidewalks so that we could get into the house of god that's his mindset and his ministry he's been aided by another man who i've observed shares the same mindset consistently i watch him work around the building setting up tables and chairs from ministry resetting the thermostat so we're all comfortable like we are today he's prepared the building for services overseas the general maintenance of the building along with brother dennis chambers who's another servant of the kingdom i thank god for you but the chambers as well and all the serving that you do around here but specifically brother river preaches and teaches he writes letters to others prolifically he encourages and implodes applause on a regular basis and he serves the kingdom and others consistently and along with the rest of our staff and our leadership team and our team leaders and every other man and woman in the kingdom who has been used by god on any level they share a common denominator with the other individuals i've just listed those individuals and others share and carry a mindset and a mission that i'm trying to get across this morning to the very best of my ability they simply serve the king of kings and they serve others it's their calling it's their posture it's their disposition it's their mindset and it is their mission and they along with many others exemplify what i'm preaching today and also what i feel the lord stirring and calling me to do on a personal level and when i feel him calling all of us to do on a corporate level and that is simply to serve others it is a universal calling for all who enter the kingdom of god for everyone under the sound of my voice today whether you have been here for 30 minutes or you've been here for 30 years we are all called to serve others ephesians 2 and 10 tells us for his workmanship created in christ jesus for good works which god prepared beforehand that we should walk in them we were created by him and for him in four good works galatians 5 says for you brethren are you people of god you've been called to liberty only don't use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh or to serve yourself but through love serve one another for all the law is fulfilled in one word even in this you shall love your neighbor as yourself serving and loving your neighbor just go hand in hand over and over again in scripture first peter 4 8 talks about that love we just read about it says and above all things have fervent love for one another for love will cover a multitude of sins be hospitable to one another without grumbling as each one has received a gift minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of god in other words if you've got a gift you've got a talent you've got the ability you have you have the wherewithal and we all do you want to use whatever gift that is to serve someone else to serve him and to serve his kingdom by serving others ephesians 4 reflects the same principle talks about the body of christ how the lord has given spiritual gifts to each and every one that's in the body and of course he's given the offices of the church the apostles prophets evangelists pastors teachers but he gave even them according to verse 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry for the edifying of the body of christ he gave them to equip the people of god so they could perform the work of ministry the same work in which we were created in christ jesus from the first place he gave each spiritual gifts so that each part of the body could do its share causing growth of the body and the edifying of itself in love he gave us all gifts and talents and he gave them so things like the pareto principle would never surface or even being considered in his church for those who aren't familiar this principle this theory surmises that in many and it says in most if not all organizations and even in churches this is what he says that 20 of the people typically do 80 of the work this is the pareto principle and i thank god that we do not adhere to that principle here at apostolic pentecostal church and we are on a mission to serve others a mission that shatters that notion and that theory unequivocally that is not how god designed his church but he designed it with each part doing its share and that's why he's blessed us with spiritual gifts and talents that surpass her only and he gave those giftings those talents those offices of ministry in order to equip every man and every woman who enters the kingdom of god for the work of ministry i know the counter can be said today wow i don't feel called to ministry i i haven't felt called to do that and i'll get to what that means in just a moment what ministry really means but can i tell you to help someone today if that's is that your disposition or that's your thought this morning we are called to be like him and jesus came to serve and to live on behalf of and to die on behalf of others who at the very least were called to be like jesus and jesus came to serve others our tax recalls his mindset for even the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many and maybe we're not here given our life as a ransom or for someone else but like him we're here to serve others do good works in christ jesus use our giftings in order to benefit others and fulfill the work of the minister we are called to serve others everyone say serve others with me especially when you consider what the essence of ministry actually is it compels us all the more it's got all kinds of definitions and scriptures different technical meanings and translations but one of the more common usages is used about 32 times in the new testament it's the word diaconne oh hopefully i got that right among other things this is what this word means it means to be a servant to be an attendant to wait upon someone else and almost synonymously to minister to someone else like i said there's other translations there's other meanings but it all points back to the mindset and the mission of jesus christ and for our purposes today it points back to two words into one command and one mission that's to serve others so whether we feel called to ministry or not the truth remains either way we're called to serve god and we're called to serve others this is the essence of ministry in the first place it's simply serving god and doing that by serving others that's why all these things are listed as ministry in the bible waiting on tables serving food to widows teaching and preaching helping others giving to the poor showing hospitality praying for the sick giving a cup of water in his name visiting those in prison distributing to the needs of the saints continuing steadfastly in prayer giving preference to one another so paul says let each of you let each of you let every one of you let every person hearing this everyone included in the body of let each of you look not only for his own interests but also the interests of others this is the mindset of ministry and this is the same mind that was in christ jesus so ministry when you peel it all back and you get to the root in the heart of things it's simply serving the lord and serving the people he came to serve himself the same vein paul summarized his ministry to the corinthians by saying this in second corinthians 12 and 15 he said and i will very gladly very gladly spend and be spent for your souls though the more abundantly i love you the less i am loved he said i will gladly pour myself out on your behalf and on behalf of your well-being and your eternal destiny like a drink offering before the lord i will sacrifice myself on your behalf even if what i pour out in love is not reciprocated and i'm loved even less i thought this week what a picture of what ministry and service to others really looks what a picture of esteeming and considering others more than we do ourselves what an example of what ministry and service to others really looks like because the truth of the matter is the more you're used in ministry and the further you progress in the kingdom of god the more of yourself you're required to give and the more people you're required to serve the more you minister the more you serve the more you want to be like jesus the more you serve others i had a conversation along these lines about 18 months ago and i hesitated to share it but i really felt like this is going to help someone maybe a young man or woman that's aspiring to be in ministry or someone here that wants to be used in the kingdom i had a conversation with a young youth minister called me a while ago he was asking me about some district events some events on a statewide level and he said something that conversation that struck me i'd recently be asked i've been asked to serve in the role that i serve and now in the youth department and what he said really just struck a chord in my heart i don't believe he had a wrong spirit i was just trying to make sure that i had a right one i don't know what he said was necessarily wrong i don't think it was i just wanted to make sure that i was right in my heart as we were talking he stopped and he paused he started to congratulate me and i'm paraphrasing what he said but he said something along these lines man congratulations it must be so awesome to do what you do and to be able to serve or be able to do you know serve on this high level and you you've been exalted in this ministry i took a moment there's a learning moment for me and for him and i'm reminding him what i'm preaching today that the more the more elevated you will you are in the kingdom the more of yourself you give to others the more you're called upon the more of yourself you're giving to others the more of yourself you're required to pour out on behalf of others whatever role or title you would ever gain or receive the reality is it's all about serving him and it's all about serving others and the moment i stop serving others and start lording over others it's the moment i stop ministering and the moment i cease being like him ministry has always been about him and it's always been about others and the moment that it's not it's no longer ministry more to the point the moment that i take serving others out of the equation and out of my personal mission is the moment that i am out of sync with jesus and with his mission and his mindset but the inverse is also the case the closer i get to jesus the more like him i want to be the more i am compelled and required to serve to minister and prefer others the more like jesus i strive to be the more of myself i will be required to give jesus paid it all for others jesus gave everything to others so if i'm going to be like him the logical conclusion is i am called to serve others jesus himself said this to his disciples in john 12. he who loves his life will lose it he who hates his life and this world will keep it for eternal life if anyone serves me let them follow me and where i am there my servant will be also we're called to be like him we're called to follow him the same one that paul talks about in ii corinthians 8 9 for you know the grace of our lord jesus christ that though he was rich yet for your sakes yet for my sake yet for the sake of others he became poor that you through his poverty might become rich this is the god we're called to emulate this is his mindset which is demonstrated over and over again in scripture luke 22 27 jesus says this for who is greater he who sits at the table or he who serves he's not the one who sits at the table greater he's greater yet i am among you as the one who serves in other words i didn't come to just sit i came to serve i didn't come to just sit at the table i came to serve others more to our vernacular and i said i didn't come to just sit on a pew and occupy a chair i came to serve others i didn't walk in these doors just to get a blessing for myself i came to be a blessing i thank god i've got a seat at the table but i didn't come to just park myself i came to go get someone else and say you can come to the table too and while you're there why don't you let me serve you i didn't come to sit i came to sir and if anyone could just sit and be served it's him but he wouldn't i came to serve and with that in mind he commands his disciples in mark 9 35. so he sat down and called the 12. he said to them if anyone desires to be first he'll be last and servant of all said to the same of the pharisees in matthew 23 and 11 but he was greatest among you he'll be your servant whoever exalts himself will be humbled he who humbles himself will be exalted this is the mindset of jesus this is the mission that he not only preached but the one that he lived out and the one that he exemplified and it's all encapsulated in our text philippians 2 and verse 5. let this mind be in you which was also in christ jesus who being in the form of god did not consider it robbery to be equal with god but he made himself of no reputation take in the form of a bond servant coming the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself became obedient to the point of death even the death of the cross the language here is so gripping and stark you dive into it a little deeper and you recognize this passage is talking about the king of kings the creator of the universe himself it's all the more compelling jesus christ the eternal god the almighty one made himself of no reputation humbled himself and he speak loudly to us today he made himself a servant because no one else could no one else could make him subservient no one else could subject him to servitude and humility no one had the authority and the wherewithal to make him a servant he did it himself and i thank god that he did it and i thank god that he taught us a lesson in the process he did it himself and humbled himself and we don't have his authority and we're prone to weakness someone else could subject me but the lesson is in obedience in discipleship to him i ought to humble myself and make myself a servant to him and to others with my free will and limited autonomy and mine i ought to follow his example take on the form of a servant esteeming others is better than myself i know that this requires a heavy dosage of humility and meekness and neither of those are all that celebrated and applaud in our modern culture and society it seems like the opposite is the case and if you just climb over on top of others and you push through others to get to the top that's what's celebrated that's what's lauded i know what i'm preaching today is counter cultural and i know it's counter flesh but it's the mind that was in christ jesus instead of the climb it's a descent it's a descent to esteem others as being better than i am i know i'm taking a little time to to dig this out but this is the mind that he had and the one that he calls us to share the mindset that we're called to share with him please understand this doesn't mean we walk around with an inferiority complex or or we feel like we've got no self-esteem it just means we esteem others more than we do ourselves with jesus as our god and our example we consider others as being greater or more significant than ourselves with his words and his lifestyle and mind we look to the interests of others and we humble ourselves and take on the form of a servant like he did and consider this also that word servant there in our vernacular we picture something different than what this text was pointing to some translation is called a bond servant others call it a slave which is what that word actually denotes the word they are usually referred to a slave or someone who served in permanent servitude someone who had no rights who is entirely at the disposal of someone else i wonder this morning if we're truly getting the picture of what jesus did on behalf of others the length that he'd go to serve and to save others including you and me he made himself of no reputation humbled himself became obedient to death the very one who was obedient to him he became subservient to death he took on the form of a bond servant or a slave he did it all on behalf of others and paul following in the footsteps of jesus he writes this in first corinthians 9 19 he said for though i'm free from all men i i've got freedom i've got liberty no one's forcing me to be a servant no one's subjecting me but paul says i have made myself a servant that i might win the more for the sake of eternity for the sake of souls for the sake of their salvation for the sake of others i make myself a servant to all it's counter-cultural it's uncomfortable it's awkward it's a little humiliating at times it's the exact opposite of what my flesh wants to do but even still i'm urged to serve others this morning because it's what jesus did and the more i want to be like him the more i'm compelled to do the same and to serve this was his mission his focus his purpose he wanted to reveal to us who he who he is he wanted to glorify the father and coupled with that he he came for others he was all about others that's why he'd stop entire processions for a desperate blind man jesus have mercy on me quiet no who said that and he says what do you want me to do for you imagine the king of kings what can i do for you you know our greeters wear that neck bend how can i help that's being like jesus what can i do for you stops the entire procession that's why he paused on the way to a dying young woman to meet with the woman with the issue of blood that's why he'd stoop in the dirt save the life of a wayward woman and to make some mud for the eyes of the man born blind that's why he'd break protocol brother maguire for just one more the woman at the well in samaria that's why he came in the first place to fulfill the promise of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world and in his agony and his final breaths on that cross he's praying for the men gambling for his garments and he's looking to the thief who just ridiculed him pardoning his sins in his lowest moments jesus is serving others and i feel a word for someone today who's in a low moment in a low point you feel like you're at your lowest and you have disqualified yourself from serving others because you think what good am i if jesus could do it in its lowest he can use you to serve someone even in a low point even faces who knows what jesus can do through you even in a low point you can serve others and if the word and these scriptural commands aren't compelling enough for us to serve this morning the life of jesus the example that he gave screams this message i am among you as one who serves i didn't come to be sir but to serve if anyone wants to be my disciple let him take up his cross and follow me and the second commandment is like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself this is the mindset of jesus it's embodied by his church his people as they crawl through altar spaces praying for others as a shovel the sidewalks at the church thank you garrett spreading saul serving the kingdom doing ministry that's what ministry looks like many times as they set up tables and chairs in the fellowship pause they visit the sick and pray for them in the altars they open the door for an elder as they sing and play on a wednesday night and they lead in worship in a midweek bible study as they pay for a co-worker's meal prefer others in the office and on the job as they send a text to a friend to encourage them as they pray steadfastly for others let this mind be in you which was also in christ jesus the servant of all who said this in matthew 25 40. and in as much as you do these things as you serve one of the least of these you do it to me so as you serve others including the least of these you're serving him and you're aligning your heart and your mission your mind with his the one who served lepers sick the dying the broken the desperate and the destitute the one who went out of his way to find that demoniac and the one who was manifested in flesh to seek and to save you and me and if i'm going to follow and emulate anybody i pray and hope that it's jesus that i serve others like he did in fact i'm going to ask these men to help me this morning musicians you can come i asked them to help me today to allow me to serve them i felt this distinct direction to do this today and a call on these men specifically not for my own sake but in order to showcase the links that our lord jesus would go to serve others as they come and they're going to get ready if you wouldn't mind just directing your attention here

i want to i want to talk about the links he'd go to from john chapter 13. to set the stage i remind you that this event happened just after the last supper and just before jesus would enter the garden of gethsemane to eventually be executed these were critical moments he spent the last hours before he'd be obedient to death on the cross and what he did in those hours was important jesus was not wasting time on that day serving others he was intentional about what he was doing this is what he did in john 13 now before the feast of the passover when jesus knew that his hour had come he should depart from this world to the father having loved his own who in the world he loved them to the end we'll see how he loved them suffer being into the devil having already put into the heart of judas iscariot simon's son to betray him jesus knowing the father had given all things into his hand he had come from god and was going to god he rose from supper he laid aside his garments he took a towel and he girded himself after that he poured water into a basin began to wash the disciples feet and wiped them with the towel which which he was guarding he came to simon peter and peter said to him he said lord you're washing my feet see this was a job for the longest of servants this was a job reserved for a bond servant and a slave this was a place that only those who were subservient occupy this was not a place for the king of kings the lord of lords but in this moment those two were one and the same the king became a servant which is why peter reacted so strongly and it shows how serious jesus is about serving others verse seven he answered and said then what i'm doing you don't understand now but you will know after this peter said you'll never wash my feet and he answered him if i don't wash you have no part with me simon typical fashion says lord than not just my feet my hands and my head jesus said whose bathed needs only to wash his feet was completely clean and you are clean but not all of you for he knew who would betray him therefore he said you're not all clean so we had washed their feet taken his garments and sat down again he said to them do you know what i've done to you you call me teacher and lord and you say well for so i am if i then your lord and your teacher have washed your feet you also ought to wash one another's feet serve one another for i've given you an example that you should do as i've done to you most assuredly i say to you a servant is not greater than his master nor is he sin greater than he who sent him if you know these things blessed are you if you do them if you know them blessed are you if you do them church i don't want to just know to do them and i don't want to just preach about doing them i want to do it i want to serve others like he did you know those men were so diverse there were tax collectors and fishermen all different walks of life it didn't matter to jesus i got my brother in my flesh and blood i've got a friend that i've had for 10 years i've got a young man with a call of god in this life i got my elder i want to be like jesus you know it didn't matter who those men were what mattered was that he served served others you know it's uncomfortable to serve others not what we prefer to do church oh but this is what jesus did i might as well do what he did if i'm going to emulate him in any way i'd like it to be as i serve the people he's put in my life you know we're not wasting time serving others i don't think this is wasted time today we never waste time doing what jesus did i love you men thank you for letting me serve you i looked it up and i looked over the timeline and i realized this was before judas left judas got his feet washed that day jesus in verse 21 says he was troubled in his heart over what judas was about to do to him but he looks at judas as he washes his feet the man who's about to betray him for 30 pieces of silver he washed even the feet of his enemy somebody hear me today you ought to serve and love that person who hurt you and wronged you i'd be able to tell someone the holy ghost if jesus can watch the man who was fully on tent of walking out of there and selling his entire life you can serve the person who hurt you and maybe you're just serving by praying for them but you definitely serve them by forgiving them

serve others i want you to stand with me right now i didn't quite know how to end this service but i feel a call to serve others apostolic pentecostal church serve the one on the pew next to you serve the one in your neighborhood if you want to respond to that call i wonder if you wouldn't hesitate but just step out of where you are and come and pray right now and commit to him i'm going to serve others oh would you come right now those who are intent on making that commitment would you make your way and find a place to pray would you just assume a posture of humility as you do it and ask for god's help as you serve the neighbors that are nearby as you serve that person who hurts you oh god i believe it's a life-changing moment for someone that's committed to serve you and give it all today can use me to give myself aways i give myself away so you can use me give myself away i give myself away so you can use me i give myself away i give myself away so you can use your hands i give myself away so you can use me give myself away so you can use oh my dreams i give myself away so you can use i me myself away so you can use me give myself away so you can use it my life is you my life is i give myself to you my life is my life is away i give myself away so you can use me away so you i give myself away so you can use me to give myself away i give myself away so you can use me so if you don't sing the words would you make it known some other way oh god i hear the caller to king jesus king jesus my savior i with your hands lifted would you let him know it again oh god if i haven't prayed it just yet lord or if i need to pray it again to seal it in my heart i give you all of me oh i'm on a mission to please you and to serve you and to serve others whatever that looks like lord i give you all of me i give you all jesus i use the unbelievable the complexity of the entire human a vessel that was broken but i use what others oh would you offer him something right now oh god we offer everything we offer everything jesus we offer everything oh god thank you jesus yes we've heard the plea of our heavenly father i want to remind someone please do not discount yourself from serving others no matter what stage of your life or walk you are in god can use you please don't disqualify yourself because of your brokenness pain hurt or even the season of life you're in god wants to use us he wants to use us

Scripture references as spoken: Philippians 2; Mark 10; Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5; 1 Peter 4:8; Ephesians 4; 2 Corinthians 12:15; John 12; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Luke 22:27; Mark 9:35; Matthew 23:11; Philippians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 9:19; Matthew 25:40; John 13.