“5 STAR SERVICE” – “Becoming A Servant Of God”
John 12:26 & Matthew 25:14-40 & 31-46 + Various
If I were to ask you this morning; “Give me the simplest definition
of a Christian that you could think of?
What would you say?” (What I am seeking is “A follower of Christ.”)
A simple definition of “Christian” is to be “A Follower of Christ.”
In Matthew 4:19-22 (NLT) – Jesus is walking by the sea Galilee & He
sees Simon Peter & his brother Andrew & he says to them.
Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me,
& I will show you how to fish for people!”
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And they left their nets at once & followed Him.
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A little farther up the shore He saw two other brothers, James
& John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing
their nets. And He called them to come, too. 22 They immediately
followed Him, leaving the boat & their father behind.
A simple definition of a Christian is: “A follower of Christ.”
Jesus also said in Matthew 16:24 (NLT); …“If any of you wants to
be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up
your cross, & follow Me.”
What does following Christ involve?
Following Christ involves becoming a servant of Christ.
Look at John 12:26 (NIV) with me.
“Whoever serves Me must follow Me; & where I am, My servant
also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves Me.
Notice that Jesus called His followers “servants.”
If we are truly striving to be a follower of Jesus – if you we are
striving to be a successful follower of Christ – we must become a
servant. As Christians or ‘Christ-followers’ we should all want to be
successful servants of God.
So, how do you become a successful servant?
Here are 4 steps to becoming a successful servant.
1. Develop a SERVANT MENTALITY.
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This is the 1st step in becoming a successful servant. You must have
a mentality that says, “My purpose on this earth is to serve God.”
 You must realize that God is in charge.
 You must realize your position in life.
 You must change your way of thinking
from “Me” centered thinking to “Him” centered thinking.
This world does not revolve around us!
Everything that happens in the world is not about us!
We are here to serve God – not the other way around!
Our pattern of thinking should reflect a servant mentality.
Follow along with me in Matthew 10:24 (NIV).
“The student [or disciple] is not above the teacher, nor a servant
above his master.”
Better yet, look at the way ”The Message” puts it.
(Matthew 10:24) "A student doesn’t get a better desk than her
teacher. A laborer doesn’t make more money than his boss.”
The question is, “Who do you think you are?’ You are not the
boss of the universe. You are not the master of the world.
Our thinking should say, “I am a servant of the king.”
Jesus is “King of kings & Lord of lords.” He is the creator of the
universe. He set the stars in place & controls the universe by His
power. He is above all – & in all – & at the end of time – the
beginning of eternity (Scripture says) – “every knee will bow, every
tongue will confess – that He IS LORD.”
A successful servant will reflect this fact in their thinking.
A successful servant will give of their time, resources, energy,
money, expertise, etc. – WHY? -- to Glorify God.
Jesus becomes the center of a servant’s actions –
& the center of their motives.
The servant’s sole purpose for living is to please Him.
A successful servant gives all that they have – for the glory of God.
The 2nd step to becoming a successful servant is:
2. Have a DETERMINATION to Serve.
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It is not enough just to have a servant’s mentality – you must be
determined to serve –you must be determined to help.
Look at 2 Corinthians 8:1-4
(NIV)
“And now, brothers & sisters, we want you to know about the
grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.
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In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy & their
extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that
they gave as much as they were able, & even beyond their
ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for
the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.”
The churches in Macedonia had an awesome determination to help.
Nothing was going to keep these churches from helping. Not the
affliction they were suffering, nor the poverty they found
themselves in. They were determined to help.
Do you know what I have found?
I have found that there are 3 types of givers:
A. The 1st type of giver are those who give because they can.
They have an abundance & they give out of their abundance.
B. The 2nd type of giver are those who are able to give – but
don’t. They have the enough to give yet for whatever reason they
don’t give. Perhaps it is because they have not taken the first step
of a servant. They still have a “Me” centered mentality –
rather than a “Christ” centered mentality.
C. But the 3rd type of giver are those givers who have very little
but give of what they have. They give sacrificially.
Look at what Jesus says in Mark 12:41-44
(HCSB):
“Sitting across from the temple treasury, He (Jesus) watched
how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich
people were putting in large sums. And a poor widow came &
dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. Summoning His
disciples, He said to them, “ I assure you: This poor widow has
put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury.
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For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty
has put in everything she possessed—all she had to live on.”
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Jesus recognizes sacrificial givers.
If you want to be a successful servant of God you must develop a
determination to be of help & service.
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Give of your TIME.
Give of your ENERGY.
Give of your RESOURCES.
Give of YOURSELF.
The scripture says, “God loves a cheerful giver.”
 Have a determination to Help & to Serve
The 3rd step to becoming a successful servant of God is:
3. Commit to FOLLOWING GOD.
Every one of us sitting here today is following someone or something.
 Some of us listen to friend’s advice.
 Other’s listen to the opinions of the so called “experts”.
 Some follow the ideology of a particular political group.
 Some of us follow family customs.
 Or perhaps we follow the accepted social norm.
But all of us follow something.
Here is a simple rule:
A successful servant of God, follows GOD.
What does it take to follow God? Folks this is not rocket science –
let me tell you what it takes to follow God. “Do what He says.”
Here is a key point. I want you to listen carefully. Folks you will never be
a successful servant of God if you don’t do what He tells you to do.
Scripture tells us in James 1:22 (HCSB):
“Be doers of the word & not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
Listen to how “The Message” Bible states this familiar verse.
“Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when
you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear & out the
other. Act on what you hear!”
“To FOLLOW,” involves 3 things:
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 TRUST –
 OBEDIENCE –
 RISK –
[BIG PAUSE]
Do you remember the story that Jesus told on in Matthew 25:14-30
(MSG) it goes something like this. [The Story may be paraphrased.]
"It’s also like a man going off on an extended trip.
He called his servants together & delegated responsibilities.
To one he gave $5000, to another $2000, to a third one $1000,
depending on their abilities. Then he left.
Right off, the first servant went to work & doubled his master’s
investment. The second did the same.
But the man with the single thousand dug a hole & carefully buried his
master’s money. "After a long absence, the master of those three
servants came back & settled up with them.
The one given $5000 showed him how he had doubled his investment.
His master commended him:
’Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’
"The servant with the $2000 showed how he also had doubled his
master’s investment. His master commended him:
’Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’
"The servant given $1000 said, ’Master, I know you have high
standards & hate careless ways, that you demand the best &
make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint
you, so I found a good hiding place & secured your money.
Here it is, safe & sound down to the last cent.’
"The master was furious. ’That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal
to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why
did you do less than the least? The least you could have done
would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at
least I would have gotten a little interest.
’Take the $1000 & give it to the one who risked the most.
And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won’t go out on a limb.
Throw him out into utter darkness.’”
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This is one of those “Difficult Words of Jesus” sections of Scripture (that
can break our image of the ‘always mild, God Loves you, whatever’, Jesus.) These are
“HARD Words”…& when taken to heart…they can be very convicting.
Therefore in this passage we learn that a successful follower of God will:
a. Trust that God is in charge.
b. Obey God’s Word.
c. Walk in faith (Remembering that Walking in Faith involves RISK!)
So, what is the 4th step in becoming a successful servant of God?
4. Start serving WHERE YOU ARE.
Many people are waiting for the right time & the right place to start
serving. But let me tell you:
 The right time to SERVE is NOW!
 The right place to SERVE is WHERE YOU ARE!!
 The minute you START MEETING THE NEEDS around you –
You Become a Servant!!!
Listen to Matthew 25:31-46 (MSG)
"When He finally arrives, blazing in beauty & all His angels with Him,
the Son of Man will take His place on His glorious throne. Then all the
nations will be arranged before Him & He will sort the people out, much
as a shepherd sorts out sheep & goats, putting sheep to His right &
goats to his left. "Then the King will say to those on His right,
’Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to
you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s
foundation. And here’s why: I was hungry & you fed me, I was
thirsty & you gave me a drink, I was homeless & you gave me a
room, I was shivering & you gave me clothes, I was sick & you
stopped to visit, I was in prison & you came to me.’ "Then those
’sheep’ are going to say, ’Master, what are you talking about?
When did we ever see you hungry & feed you, thirsty & give you
a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison & come
to you?’ Then the King will say, ’I’m telling the solemn truth:
Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or
ignored, that was Me—you did it to Me.’ "Then He will turn to the
’goats,’ the ones on his left, & say, ’Get out, worthless goats! You’re
good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why?...Because— I was
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hungry & you gave me no meal, I was thirsty & you gave me no
drink, I was homeless & you gave me no bed, I was shivering &
you gave me no clothes, Sick & in prison, & you never visited.’
"Then those ’goats’ are going to say, ’Master, what are you talking
about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless
or shivering or sick or in prison & didn’t help?’ "He will answer
them, ’I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do
one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or
ignored, that was Me—you failed to do it to Me.’
"Then those ’goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ’sheep’
to their eternal reward."
Did you notice that one group were successful servants – the other
group weren’t? Successful servants serve.
They serve where they are – because that is their nature.
Here is a simple rule: If you want to find good workers – find
people who are working. Because Good workers – WORK.
The same is true of servants. Good servants – SERVE.
And successful servants serve where they are.
You don’t have to go half way around the world to find people in
need. All you have to do is look at the person next to you.
Jesus is looking for servants who serve!
Someday I want Jesus say these words to me:
“Well done good & faithful servant, you were faithful with a few
things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of
your master.” Don’t you want Jesus to say those words to you too?
If your answer is Yes!...Then today is your starting point, or at the very
least, your day to move to the next step of servant hood.
 Develop a servant’s mentality.
 Have a determination to serve.
 Commit to following God by doing what He says.
 And start serving today right where you are.
When we do this, the world around you will begin to experience the
“5-Star Service” that Jesus desires of His Servants “in this time & place.”
“Let’s Pray…”
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