Thinking Like A Servant
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CHARLES EDWARD CLARK, JR., DMIN
SENIOR PASTOR
Thinking Like A Servant
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Servant – doulos an adjective, signifying "in
bondage," is used as a noun, and as the most
common and general word for "servant,"
frequently indicating subjection without the
idea of bondage.
Free-willed submission
Thinking Like A Servant
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Phil 2:5-7a
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ
Jesus had.
6 Though he was God, he did not think of
equality with God as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he
took the humble position of a slave and was
born as a human being.
Thinking Like A Servant
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“God is always more interested in why we do
something than in what we do. Attitudes count
more than achievements”
~ p.265
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Five attitudes of servants…
1. Think more about others than themselves
2. Think like stewards, not owners
3. Think about their work, not what others are
doing
4. Base their identity in Christ
5. Think of ministry as an opportunity not an
obligation
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1. Think more about others than themselves…
 Does not mean thinking less of ourselves but
thinking of ourselves less
Phil 2:4
Don't be obsessed with getting your own
advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to
lend a helping hand.
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 Full of ourselves – it is only when we forget
ourselves that we do the things that deserve
to be remembered
 Self-service becomes manipulation not
ministry
 Let God use you for His purposes
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 Self-denial is at the core of servanthood
2. Servants think like stewards, not owners
 Steward – entrusted to manage someone
else’s estate or affairs
 Owner – God owns it all
 1 Cor 4:2
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 The confluence of money, materialism, and
ministry
3. Servants think about their work, not what
others are doing
Be too busy about your business to Compare,
criticize or compete
Martha and Mary – Luke 10:38-42
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Rom 14:4 GNT
Who are you to judge the servants of someone
else? It is their own Master who will decide
whether they succeed or fail. And they will
succeed, because the Lord is able to make them
succeed.
Thinking Like A Servant
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Neh 6:3 GNT
I sent messengers to say to them, "I am doing
important work and can't go down there. I am
not going to let the work stop just to go and see
you."
Your work is too important to get side-tracked
on pettiness
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 “The world, and even much of the church,
does not understand what God values”
~p. 269
 Matt 26:7-13
 Expect to be criticized, because people do not
understand God nor your calling
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4. Servants base their identity in Christ
Remember who you are and whose you are.
You do not have to “prove” your worth or
calling to anyone.
Be confident in your calling and secure in your
view of yourself
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Phil 2:5-7
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ
Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider
equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature
of a servant
John 13:3-5
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Secure in Christ – “Only secure people can
serve. Insecure people are always worrying
about how they appear to others.”
~ p. 269
Nouwen quote: bottom of p. 269
5. Servants think of ministry as an opportunity, not an obligation
Thinking Like A Servant
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 Ps 100:2
John 12:26 MSG
"If any of you wants to serve me, then follow
me. Then you'll be where I am, ready to serve
at a moment's notice. The Father will honor
and reward anyone who serves me.
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Point to ponder: To be a servant I must think
like a servant
Verse to remember: “You attitude should be
the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Phil 2:5
Question to consider: Am I usually more
concerned about being served or finding ways
to serve others?”