Antelope Valley 40 Days Of Purpose

Service starts in your mind…

Being a servant is a mental thing. It is an attitude, and God looks more on the attitude of our heart and why we do things more than what we actually do. In 2 Chronicles 25:2 it says that King Amaziah lost God’s favor “he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not with a true heart.” You mean to say that we can do what is right, but not do it with the right heart? Yes…it all boils down to attitude…

Real servants think more about others than they think about themselves. It’s not that we don’t think about ourselves at all, it’s that we think about ourselves less. When we are exhorted to “lose our lives” for Christ’s sake, that is the process of “forgetting” ourselves in service to others. It’s about focus. When you stop focusing on your own needs, you can begin to see the needs of others.

When we think of Jesus, we see someone who, as our example, “emptied himself taking on the form of a servant.” Philippians 2:7 When was the last time you emptied yourself out on the behalf of someone else? It is a rare quality because we are by nature very self serving people. Most of the time we use our service to get someone to recognize us, be admired, or serve our own goals. If we honestly look at our hearts, our attitudes can be questionable. This is why each day challenges us to humble ourselves as circumstances “de-center” us and change our attitudes towards service. When I am given the choice to meet my own needs, or meet the needs of others, what I choose shows me where I really live. Self-denial is at the core of true servanthood.

Servants think like stewards not owners. Now…this one is a big one for most of us. What we think about what we “own” will affect our choices and how we serve. Here’s the interesting part… we don’t “own” anything. Our Father has entrusted us, as stewards, all of the resources we have. God is the one who “owns” everything and real servants remind themselves of this every day.

With that in mind, we have to ask ourselves how is that working for you? How are you handling the resources that God has entrusted to you? If you are like most people, this is an area of great and needed improvement, and in order to become a true servant of God, you have to settle the issue of money once and for all.

Money, money, money… it can motivate you, hold you, cause fear if you don’t have it, and be your master. It can be the greatest distraction or a great ally. It can be your master, or you can master it. You can use it to build your kingdom, or you can make a lot of it and build the real Kingdom. Jesus spoke more about money that he spoke about heaven or hell. The bottom line is this… ” no servant can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and money.” Luke 16:13

Living for ministry and living for money are mutually exclusive. Wealth is not a sin. It doesn’t mean that God wants you to live in poverty. Failing to use money for God’s glory is a sin. God uses money to test your faithfulness as a servant.

Real servants think about their work, not what others are doing. What you do is important, but comparing what you do with what others do is foolish and a waste of time. Remember the story of Mary and Martha? One of the sisters was busy working in the kitchen, and the other took the most expensive thing she owned, a costly perfume, and poured it on Jesus worshiping Him. Mary was pretty upset about the fact that Mary wasn’t helping, the disciples were upset because they saw dollars signs going down the drain, and Jesus.. well… he said it was “significant” Matt. 26:10. Martha shouldn’t have been criticizing Mary’s act of service. This is not a competition. We are all on the same team. If you find yourself critical of another ministry, perhaps you need to look at what are you doing and think about that…

Servants base their identity in Christ. Servants have nothing to prove and they are not looking for approval. They are not trying to prove their worth by what they do because they have settled their identity in Christ. Only secure people can be true servants. Insecure people are always worried about how they appear to others. They fear the exposure of weaknesses and hide beneath layers and layers of protective pride and pretense. When we give up measuring our meaning by the yardstick of others, we become free to be compassionate and serve. When you base your worth and identity in Christ you are freed from expectations of others and you can see clearly to serve them best.

Servants think of their ministry as an opportunity not an obligation. They enjoy what they do. They serve the Lord with “gladness.” Joy is in their hearts as they reach out to help meet needs. They have hearts full of grace, because they are genuinely thankful for what God has done in their lives. They know that the highest level of worship and the greatest use of their lives is in giving their lives away. The real joy comes from service, not from a place of some sort of duty, or obligation but the love that is shed abroad” in our hearts. God will begin to use us as we change our thinking and act like true servants. It’s never to late, and quite frankly… God is waiting..