Intro
As we continue to discuss serving here at Midtown, I was tempted to take the easy way out and talk about serving the way that it is often discussed in churches.
A message on serving usually is focused on activity – things that you do.
But, I want to take time discuss motives and motivation. The ‘why’ behind serving.
Because the motivation behind an action is much more significant than the action itself.
As a husband, I know that doing something stupid but having good motives can actually get you points! And on the same token, doing something that appears to be kind but is done for the wrong reasons is very hurtful.
Making Fun of Misbeliefs
What I love to do during this time, is to identify mis-beliefs that we’ve picked up along the way about Jesus – lies that come from this world.
And then I like to poke holes and fun at the mis-beliefs!
Because as we look at truth together – truth that is contained in the Bible and spoken through these new hearts of flesh that God has given us we can get deeper insight into the great love that God has for us.
The Component View
Along those lines, there is this thing that I call a ‘component’ view of the Christian life. It is a view that the Christian life is made up of a number of activities (or components) that, all require practice and attention. The components are prayer, evangelism, praise, service, giving. The point is that if you want to improve your walk with God, then you work at improving one of the components.
It’s kind of like the computer. That computer is just a sum of many components. If I take a component like the 40 GIG HDD, and replace it with a 100 GIG HDD, I’ve upgraded the component – and the computer itself has been upgraded to be a better computer.
Maybe you’ve heard it said at some point, “Do you want a closer relationship with God? Then improve the way that you pray. Maybe Christian life was explained this way when you became a Christian.
This view would consider serving to be a component of the Christian life and implied is that your motivation to serve is to be a better Christian, or get closer to God, or …however your group likes to phrase it.
Obviously, the Christian life does not have any components. It was not designed by a bunch of engineers at GA Tech! It’s not nearly that boring! It’s too mysterious!
You can increase how much you serve and get good –n- busy, but it won’t give you a better Christian life! Some of you know from experience that Christian business doesn’t necessarily bring you closer to Jesus.
But it’s a strong motivation for some people – like that bumper sticker.
Motives and the Heart
I want to get us thinking about motives because motives have to do with the heart. I want to talk about the heart.
Churches need Servants
Now, obviously all church (from St. Peters Basilica to a home church) need motivated people in order to – whatever their motivation. And Midtown is no different.
Two Big Weapons
Many churches have two big weapons in order to get stuff done (aka getting people to serve): 1. a large paid staff, and 2. putting pressure on people.
Money and peer pressure are surely good motivators. But not everyone is called to be a full time minister and putting pressure (although it works very well) on people is something that we try not to do here.
That’s why it’s important to talk about our motives!
So many times well-meaning church leaders are so thankful that someone is willing to take on responsibility at the church that they don’t want to think about the motive. We are so glad that someone is willing to do it, that we don’t want to risk it by asking them ‘why’! The motive becomes a secondary thought….
Motive is Primary
But motive is not secondary. To God its primary. The heart is always primary to God. You may know these scriptures
“Above all things guard your heart.” “Man looks at outward appearances, God looks at the heart.”
When we see someone serve out of motivations that are deep in their heart, it is inspiring isn’t it. Like the Jazz minister at St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church in NYC.
LEISURE & ARTS (from The Wall Street Journal)
Faith-Based Jazz
This pastor tended bar to tend to his flock.
BY NAT HENTOFF
Wednesday, April 27, 2005 12:01 a.m.
For one hundred years, St. Peter's
The church's choice of the first jazz minister, John Gensel, immediately assured the trust of jazz musicians, who already knew him from his frequent attendance at jazz clubs. And once he could fully combine his love of the music with his religious calling, as I wrote in Jazz Times: "Pastor Gensel was seemingly everywhere in the jazz community. He conducted wedding services, and when some of the marriages hit clinkers, he was a patient, extraordinarily attentive family counselor and sometimes he paid a musician's rent."
Duke Ellington wrote a tone poem dedicated to John Gensel, "The Shepherd Who Watches Over the Night Flock," for his "Special Reverend." I've been to the church over the years for some of the jazz sessions there, but especially for a number of the memorial services. By now, nearly 500 of those memorials have been conducted for, among others, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins and Thelonious Monk. At the service for Count Basie's longtime resident drummer, Jo Jones (known as "the man who plays like the wind"), in the front rows was a galaxy of most of the leading jazz drummers.
Mr. Gensel was an extraordinary listener--not only to the music. I once wrote that "I never had any doubt that if religion ever became central to my life, John would be my pastor. He was a Lutheran, but the denomination wouldn't matter to me."
At 80, Pastor Gensel died in 1998, and he was mourned by hundreds, maybe thousands, in the jazz family of which he had become a full-fledged member.
God serves us
Serving, servanthood, Christian service, whatever you want to call it is actually at the heart of our Grace Walk. Serving is why God put us here. Whether you like it or not, God created us for the purpose of ‘serving’.
Specifically, God put us on this earth so that He could serve us.
God put us here not so that we could serve Him, but so that He could serve us. Sounds heretical doesn’t it? God did not make us to serve Him; rather He made us so that He could serve us.
If hearing me say that God made us so that He could serve us – not that so that we would serve Him makes you mad, you should know that I didn’t make it up. I heard it from a guy named John Piper. If you want to write and angry letter to Piper, you should know that he got it from Jesus.
Listen to this:
Scripture
Matthew 20:28 Jesus said about himself ‘the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life, a ransom for many.’
Phil 2:7 Jesus ‘…made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of man. And being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death…’
Isn’t it interesting that we can say casually that that Jesus’ came to earth to die for us, but it seems radical that His purpose would be to serve us?
I think that’s proof in and of itself our idea of serving is a bit off.
Why does it sound so strange that God would serve us?
The world’s Motivations of Serving
The reason is that what we hear and experience in this world (and even sometimes from Christians) about serving people is 180 degrees from how God views serving.
Think about the dynamics of ‘serving and servants’ in our world. And then imagine God serving us.
It doesn’t make sense. You would never picture God dressed in a tux, with a British accent and answering to the name ‘Jeeves’.
True, few of us have servants that work our homes, but we all engage in serving relationships. Even if it’s going to a restaurant.
There are clear social dynamics as to how serving occurs. Who serves and who gets served in this world is determined by: position, power, in some cultures birth, money…
Lower Positions Serve Higher
Lower positions serve higher positions – you can see that even at church sometimes. Often those who have the most need end up serving those who have the least need.
No wonder this whole topic of serving can be frustrating. 99% of what we hear about serving is in conflict to the way that God invented it!
And that’s why the concept of God serving us can stress us out a little bit.
God’s Motivation for Serving
With God, serving has nothing to do with position, power, or money. God’s motivation to serve is His great love. And thankfully we need His service more than we need anything else on earth.
Can you see that letting God serve us is much more important than us serving God?
If you could walk into churches and ask 100 people what their motivation for serving God is, what do you think they would say? How many would say, “Because God serves me with great love for me.”?
Our motivation to serve God is not:
- He’s counting on me
- No one else will do it
- I’m good at it
- I love the people I’m serving
- Or either because I love God
Our motivation to serve God is:
- God loves me
God’s Motivation to Serve is our Motivation to Serve
God certainly asks us to serve Him, but the motivation behind our serving Him is the same motivation of His serving us.
His sole motivation behind serving each one of us is His great love. In that way our motivation for serving Him is His great love.
Free From Results
When we cease focusing on any other motivation to serve God and get in touch with the great love with which He’s served us, then we are free to serve without worrying about the results.
Its an Outflow
Not only are we free to serve, but we just do it. God’s love in uncontainable. When we get in touch with it, it naturally flows out of us.
We can’t go to a restaurant or good movie without it flowing out of us – we tell 25 people about it.
As we get in touch with His love for us, then we really begin to serve. And we begin to be everything that God has designed us to be. And we begin to do everything that God designed us to do.
Be and Do
And that’s really what it means to serve God. We grow to become everything that God has designed us to be. And we do the things that God has designed us to do.
Sounds good doesn’t it? Who doesn’t want that?
Serving God is simply becoming everything that God designed us to be, and doing the things that He prepared in advance for us to do – in His time. Ephesians 2
Connect with the Great Love
And how you do it is to connect with the great love of God that He served to us. And you don’t have to be strong to serve – rather it comes out of our weakness and realization of our great need.
C.S. Lewis said, “Take care of the depth and God will take care of the breadth.”
God came to earth to serve you and give you His life - so that you can do and be everything that God designed you to do and be.
God receives Honor through the good work that He does in and through our lives.
Midtown
That is my desire here at
The way that we serve God is by totally immersing ourselves in the fact that He came to serve us and give us His life.
God’s great love and service in our lives. That is the true motivation of our service and how we do it is connecting through that love.
True ministry and service comes from the heart and no where else.
