11th September 2022 All Age Service - To Serve With Love

We've been doing a series and we're looking at a series on washing, but

just because of the circumstances, I'm going to step slightly aside from that,

and I want to talk today about serving with love. And I want you

to, first of all, think about yourself and think about the last time

you served somebody. Think about the last time you've served somebody. And I'm

going to pray, and then we're going to gather around the world. But

I just want you to picture sometime when you've served somebody recently. Father,

I thank you. We can gather around your word today. Father. I

pray that you'd speak to us. Father, I pray you'd speak through me,

Lord, that we grasp something fresh from the throne room of heaven.

We'd lay hold of something that would change us and move us of God and

Father, we'd come to a place where Lord, we want to serve you

more, love you more in Jesus' name. Amen. So let's start by

looking at Matthew chapter twenty, verses twenty to twenty eight. Then the mother

of Zebede's sons came to him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something

from him, And he said to her, what do you wish, And

she said to him, grant these two sons of mine may sit one on

your right hand and the other on your left in your kingdom. But Jesus

answered and said, you do not know what you ask. Are you able

to drink the cup that I am about to drink and be baptized with the

baptism that I am baptized with? They said to him, we are able.

So he said to them, you will indeed drink my cup and be

baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. But to sit on my

right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it is

for those to whom it is prepared by my father. And when the ten

heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. But Jesus call

hit them to himself and said, you know that the rulers of the gentiles

lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.

Yet it shall not be so amongst you. But whoever desires to become great

amongst you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first

amongst you, let him be your slave. Just as the son a man

did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his

life as a ransom for many the disciples, they wanted some place of authority.

That the mum say, let them sit on your and you're left.

And how did Jesus answer? He said, not my place to give.

But let's not judge the world as the world judges itself. Let's allow people

to be great when they are little. For the son of Man did not

come to be served, but to serve, and gave his life as a

ransom for many. Think about that time that I encourage you just to think

about in those few moments, when was the last time you served? Maybe

you carried something to somebody, maybe you gave something, maybe you prepared something

for somebody. Just let you to think for a few moments. Did they

say thank you? Did they acknowledge you? What was your response once you

had served them, as you stepped away from them, as you've done the

task that you were called to do, what was your response? Because we'd

live in a world where there's not a lot of thanks. One of the

times, it's not the most recent time, but one of the times that

I served somebody was I held the door open to a shop you know,

there was a crowd of people, crowd four or five people behind me,

and so instead of walking through, I pulled the door open and I stood

there and I held the door. First person walked through, didn't even notice

that I was standing there. Second person walked through, third person actually smiled

at me, and then the fourth and fifth people walked through. And when

the fourth and fifth people walked through, by which time four people who walked

through and just not acknowledged me, I went thank you. One or two

people looked up, and I just realized that I was looking for thanks,

but actually I was wanting to bless them, and actually it did not matter

whether they said thank you or not. I had served anyway. And I

want to encourage you even whether you don't get a thank you, even if

you don't even get an acknowledgment, or maybe even you get a grumpy huh

like sometimes like teenagers, are you cooked a meal for your teenage nieces and

nephews or children, and you put it in front of them and they eat

it, and then they get down and there's no thanks, and you think,

why did I do all that hard work? Maybe you've cooked an extra

special mail all that hard work and they didn't even notice. He notices.

And I'm absolutely sure as we celebrate the life of Queen Elizabeth, there would

be many, many, many times when she would be in a quiet place

on her own, struggling with thoughts and things that needed to be done,

things she had to wrestle with, and it would be really easy in the

natural to go, huh, throw all our toys out of the friend and

say I had enough, I give up. And maybe she even felt like

doing that sometimes. Do you know what I sense? And for everything I

read about her, I sense in those moments God strengthened her, God enabled

her, and God enabled her then to serve with such grace and humility that

we can now say she was a brick She was a faithful lady. You

know, all the words that come out now come from that place of testing,

They come from that place of service, They come from that willingness.

And if you go back to the video recording of her making that declaration to

say I will serve to my dying days this nation and this commonwealth, she

meant it, and she lived it, and she did it. And I

wonder how many people we can genuinely say who set out on a race,

and then when they crossed the finish line, they've done what they intend to

do. You know, whether we come first or last, we need to

cross the finish line, and we need to finish well. And so as

I'm challenging you about serving this morning, I want to say, Okay,

well, we're not queens and kings, but we can act like queens and

kings. We can give all that we have and more. How can I

give more than I have? Well, because we're tapped into a source that

is supernatural. We're tapped into a God is able to give immeasurably more than

we ask or imagine. And I think it's good sometimes to put that kind

of truth into practice. If we only give out of what we have in

our pockets, then we limit God by what we have in our pockets.

The moment when we have to give beyond ourselves of time, of energy,

of money, of ideas, of whatever it is that's been called, we're

acting in faith. And when we act in faith, God steps up.

And when God steps up, he's glorified. And so in serving, sometimes

we need to go beyond ourselves to give immeasurably more than we have. And

then our eyes are not just on the need, then, but they're on

the God, our God too, our God who is able to give to

us and through us. Let me read on now as we look at a

different scripture. Now, thanks Anny. In Romans chapter eight, verse twenty

nine, it says this God knew what he was doing from the very beginning.

He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him

along the same lines as the life of his son. The Sun stands first

in the line of humanity, he restored. We see the original and the

intended shape of our lives there in him, that model of Christ, that

model of service. We read and I could have gone into the foot washing

serum, I decided not to. But but that place where he washed the

feet of the disciples. And so he's a model and a type, and

we should be more like him. And we're not, are we. If

I look at myself in the mirror and look at and I compare myself to

Christ, I fall short. I'm just being honest with you. I fall

short in many ways, and sometimes that's frustrating to me, and I'm sure

it's frustrating to God. But let's look in the mirror and see some of

the characteristics of Christ in our lives. Let's press into that, and let's

press into that with fullness and hope and with purpose. And as we press

in, let's serve all the more, not looking at what we don't have,

but looking at how we can bless others. Let's go on to our

next scripture. Now, Ephesians chapter two, verse ten. It says this,

for we were, we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good

works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. We're His

workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, works of service, works of

love, works as the spirit. And so as we press into serving one

another, I want to encourage you. Get out your gifts. If you

have nothing in your pockets, get out the gifts that God has given you.

If you're an encourager, then encourage. If you're a prayer, then

pray. If you're a giver, then give. But let's not keep it

in our pockets. Let's not be limited by who we are, but let's

be only limited by what we see God able to do in our lives.

And that's immeasurably more immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, for God has

prepared good works for us to do. Again, I'm absolutely sure there are

times when I walk down the road and maybe you walk down the road,

and we walk past the task that has been prepared for us to do,

and we just missed it. We just miss it. Maybe we're focused on

something else, maybe we're too busy in our thoughts, maybe we're prejudiced in

some way. We see something and go, oh, well, I can't

help them. If you fail a nudge of the spirit. Let me encourage

you at least to stop and to pause and give a moment to allow God

to say, yes, I want you to do something here. I'm sure

there are many jobs that have been missed, and sometimes God has to send

angels because we're not doing the job that He called us to do well.

We are His workmanship. However, you look at yourself in the mirror and

go, I wish my eyebrows were slightly higher, or my cheeks were slightly

flatter, or whatever it is. You look in the mirror and see please

look beyond, Look beyond what you see in the mirror from a facial point

of view, and see what God sees an agent of change, somebody willing

to do something, somebody willing to press in and to be and to do,

a servant of others. Let's go and look at another scripture now,

as we move further on. In look twenty two versus twenty four to twenty

seven. Now there was also a dispute amongst them as to which of them

should be considered the greatest. You might recognize this story. And he said

to them, the kings of the gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those

who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. But not so amongst you.

On the contrary, he who is greatest amongst you, let him be the

younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater

he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not

he who sits at the table. Yet I amongst you, as the one

who serves. And I've seen many many pictures over this last week of people

serving the queen. And one of the great things about true services, you

don't even notice it happening. If you've ever been to one of those restaurants

where they truly deliver fantastic service. I've watched the waiters and waitresses in those

kind of restaurants and it's almost like they disappear into the background. I remember

sitting in a restaurant in London many many years ago, one of those kind

of ones where you don't notice the service because it's so fantastic. And there

was on the side plate where you normally have a knife to spread the butter

on your bread rolls, there was a knife that had been missed, or

maybe it'd been not on the floor, I don't know. And just as

they were bringing the bread rolls round, they put the bread rolls on the

plates next to the various people, and I saw, because I was sitting

on the other side of the table, I saw the person who's serving the

bread rolls attract the attention of someone else and a very gently point. And

then a few moments later, a bread roll arrived on the plate and the

lady who was sitting there didn't even sorry. A knife arrived next to the

bread roll and the lady who was sitting there didn't even notice the knife arrive.

It was just so graciously delivered. One of the things about service,

fantastic service, is we never notice it so that's why sometimes it's so hard

to say thank you because we just don't even notice it. But you know,

one of the things I want to encourage you today serve but also be

thankful for service. There are people in this room, there are people who

are listening online, those at home. And I noticed as I was kind

of preparing for the service this morning, as somebody join us from Egypt,

the first time I think we've had a visitor from Egypt, So welcome to

our service this morning. Another nation in Africa that we've touched for a few

moments. And I want to encourage you give thanks when you get served well.

Use the gifts that you have and use them with a plum use them

with passion, use them with faith. And if you feel maybe some of

your gifts are getting a bit dry and need a bit of fresh life,

ask God to bring life to the gifts that you have. You are a

gift to your family, you are a gift to your community, you are

a gift to the church. Use the gift that you have in glorious and

amazing ways, and let's see how much thankfulness we can generate because we give

Him the glory in the register that One of the things that I remember Rita's

life as we prayed for her earlier on well, she'd always asked, how

are you doing? And sometimes you go, I'm fine, thanks very much,

and she'd grab your hand and she'd ask you again, no, really,

how are you doing. She had such a gracious gift of encouragement,

of care, of love, and of prayer. So this week, let's

learn to serve better, Let's learn to serve more fully. Let's learn to

serve one another. In Jesus name. Let me pray, Father, God,

I thank you for the lives that we've celebrated this morning. And Father,

we pray that we too would lives that are celebrated not for our glory

law, but for yours. Father, we thank you for the opportunities we

have to serve one another. Thank you for the opportunities we have to serve

our community and those in need and those in loss. And Father, we'd

pray that Lord, you'd give us grace, so much grace, to not

look to the natural, but to look to the supernatural, to look to

an economy of the kingdom, where goodness is shared and love is imparted,

where service is given with a smile, and a service that makes a difference,

a service that touches our lives, our hearts, our communities, and

touches even the lost and those who are far from you. And Father,

we pray that in the midst of all this you would be glorified in Jesus'

name. Amen,