"Not to be Served, But To Serve"                               Pentecost 20         10/18/2009

Text: Mark 10:35-45       Cicero United Methodist Church         Jack Keating

Our scriptures define success much differently than we do in our everyday lives. And I think that if we really want to take Jesus seriously, then we need to listen to what he has to say about success and how we should spend our lives. If we really want him in our lives and we really want what he offers.... then we need to look at the guide book for the Christian life.

In Mark 10 Jesus defines success. He tells his disciples that whoever wants to be great, whoever wants to be a success, will be the one who is the greatest servant. And then he added, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Our culture says that if we want to make it to the top we need to step on a few heads. If we're going to be number one ... then we've got to push and shove our way in. We've got to prove we are important and acquire and succeed and have all the things that say that about us. But Jesus comes along and says success is not about stepping on people, it's about helping them up.

It's about serving, without expecting in return. He says, "Look at my example. I had the kingdom of heaven at my feet. But I gave up heaven and became a man. I became a servant. And that's what I want you to do, too."

I read a story about a man who went to his doctor after several weeks of symptoms. The doctor examined him carefully and then asked him to wait in the examining room. He went to talk to the man's wife and told her, "Your husband is suffering from a rare form of anemia. Without treatment he'll be dead in a few weeks. The good news is, it can be treated with proper nutrition."

"You will need to get up early every morning and fix your husband a hot breakfast - pancakes, bacon and eggs, the works. He'll need a home-cooked lunch every day, and then an old fashioned meat and potatoes dinner every evening. It would be especially helpful if you could bake frequently. Cakes, pies, homemade bread - these are the things that will allow your husband to live. And one more thing-­--- his immune system is pretty weak, so it's important that your home be kept spotless at all times.

Do you have any questions?" The wife had none.

"Do you want to break the news, or shall I?" asked the doctor. "I will" the wife replied.

She walked into the examining room and the husband, sensing the seriousness of his illness, asked her, "It's bad, isn't it?"

She nodded. "What's going to happen to me?" he asked. With a sob, the wife blurted out, "The doctor says you're gonna die!"

You see ... there is something about many of us that resists being a servant. We know we should ... but we don't want to. So, this morning I'd like to try to give you 5 reasons why we should all serve somewhere.

THE FIRST REASON ---- Serving says I love others.

You see, when we serve; it is the ultimate expression of love for one another. John 13: verse 34 says, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Years ago, the Salvation Army, which is known for its servant attitude, held a big convention in the Midwest and the founder, General William Booth, was to speak. But because of an illness he could not be there. He promised that he would send a telegram with his message that would set the direction for the next decade of where the Salvation Army was heading. The people were all excited. The Convention Center was packed with Salvation Army people, waiting in anticipation. This was the telegram that would cast the vision for their entire organization for the next 10 years. They opened the telegram on the podium and it simply read - "Others". Servanthood is a selfless act and it says "love" like no other act.

THE SECOND REASON ---- Serving says I love God

In 2 Corinthians 9:12 we are reminded "this service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God."

Now the first part of that scripture says, "This service that you perform ..... Is an expression of thanks to God."

There comes a time in every Christ-follower's life where they become fully aware of the sacrifice that Christ made for each of us and we can't help but become servants.

And in response to that awareness Paul reminds each of us in his letter to the Romans "Because of God's great mercy to us, offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him."

The reason why we should serve is because of what God's done for us. When we think of what Jesus Christ has done for us, the sacrifice that He's made for us, there is no sacrifice that we can make for him that will ever compare to that which He's already done for us.

THE THIRD REASON - - - - Serving meets the needs of the Church

The second part of that scripture on 2 Corinthians reminds us that "This service that you perform supplies the needs of God's people ....• Serving meets the needs of the church.

Think about when you came in this morning. Do you know who made your coffee? 'Or who set out the rest of the refreshments you will soon enjoy? Do you know who's holding your baby right now so you can come to church to worship this morning? Who waved to you as you came into the parking lot?

Who greeted you in the hallway? Who handed you your bulletin? These are the nameless heroes sometimes. Heroes who do what they do on a Sunday morning because they've taken the Bible seriously when it says to love people.

There are people who work in the Welcome Center and make the coffee and they don't even drink coffee. There are people who help out with the children's ministry and they don't have children. Why do they do this? They do it because they want you to be able to experience a meaningful worship experience. Because collectively we all make up what the Bible calls "The body of Christ" the church.

2 Corinthians reminds us that "Now all of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it."

Rick Warren is the pastor of the Saddleback Church in California. He's written several best sellers, including The Purpose Driven Life. I know many of you have read that book and I love how he explains this concept.

"What happens when one part of your body falls to function? You get sick. The rest of your body suffers. Imagine if your liver decided to start living for itself. Tm tired! I don't want to serve the body anymore! I want a year off just to be fed. I've got to do what's best for me. Let some other part take over.' What would happen? Your body would die." Then he ends by saying, "Thousands of local churches are dying because of Christians who are unwilling to serve. They sit on the sidelines as spectators... and the body suffers."

God has given each of us a gift. The spiritual gift he gives each of us isn't for us ... it's for others ... it's for the church.

Every role here at Cicero is equally important. There is no difference. Worship leaders, preachers, coffee makers, children's workers, ushers and greeters ..... we all work together to make Cicero God's Church. Because we are all members of one body. Together we can accomplish great things and do the work God intended for the church today.

There is a little country church I heard about. The church averaged about 50 people or so on a Sunday morning. It was a small church. There were four people who were the most prominent in the church. Their names were Fred Somebody, Thomas Everybody, Susan Anybody, and Joe Nobody. It happened one day that the Pastor needed help in the nursery. He really wanted Anybody to do it. But Anybody thought Somebody would do it. Everybody was oblivious to the whole situation and guess who ended up working in the nursery? Yup, you're right..... Nobody! That is how it usually worked in that little church. Nobody did most of the serving, and that's probably why this little church stayed pretty small. Luckily, Cicero is a little bit different.

Now all the roles around here are important but there may be some that are a little more important.

The most important jobs are the jobs that go unfilled. We want to be the most effective church we can be. We want to be the kind of church that God wants us to be. And there is only one barrier that will ever keep us from doing that ..... that is the lack of enough servants.

If you haven't yet completed your Every Member a Minister form, you'll find copies available on the Visitor's Desk in the Welcome Center. Complete one today and you too can help to meet the needs of the church to serve the world around us.

THE FOURTH REASON ---- Serving brings true fulfillment.

   Here is something that I know about every one of you ........... God designed you exactly the way He did for a reason. Each Christian is given a gift that God wants each of us to use.

Ephesians 2: 10 reminds us that "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works." You are God's handcrafted work of art. You are not some assembly line product created without thought. You are a custom designed, one of a kind masterpiece. When God made you He made you for a reason. God has in mind for you a particular place or way to serve and when you find it, it will come along with a tremendous amount of satisfaction. Because that is the way He made you.

Bill Hybels is the pastor at the Willowcreek Community Church and he tells the story of a note he received from a new believer at his church. The gentleman wrote:

"My life used to be about one thing .... ME. I was a self-serving guy who had neither purpose of passion in his life. I was leading a miserable life - cheap beer and cheap thrills. And then, one day, I wandered into this church. After listening for quite a while, I heard the message of Christ and gave him my life. And then I heard you say, 'Give your life away to others, and you will find your life instead.' I didn't have much to give up, so I said, I'll give it a shot'. And then things changed for me. When I started serving others, my relationship with Christ became much more real. It moved me past just going to church. I found a purpose and reason for my very existence. Today, my life is richer than I ever believed it could be. Serving people has become central in my life. Leaving the spectator stands was one of the best decisions I ever made. "

This is the fringe benefit of serving. We experience fulfillment and satisfaction that is unmatched. The opposite is also true when we try to find satisfaction in accomplishments or possessions.

Solomon was a character in the Bible who had everything. He was the king of Israel when it was at its pinnacle. The Bible tells us that he was the wisest and richest man who ever lived. Solomon wrote several books in the Bible, one of which is Ecclesiastes. Here is what he says in chapter 2. "Then I did great things: I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made gardens and parks ... I had large herds and flocks, more than anyone else in Jerusalem had ever had before. I also gathered silver and gold for myself .... I became famous, even greater than anyone who had lived in Jerusalem before me .... Anything I saw and wanted, I got for myself .... But then I looked at what I had done, and I thought about all the hard work. Suddenly I realized it was useless, like chasing the wind." (Ecclesiastes 2: 4-11)

When we expect to find satisfaction in possessions or power or wealth ... they don't satisfy. A

                                                           college student told his pastor one day "Yeah pastor, I know wealth won't satisfy me. But I just want to be really rich ... so I can show everybody it's true'"

I want to let you know that this church wants to help you find that fulfillment. We offer several discipleship opportunities here each week. Small groups, teams and classes are actively engaged in discovering where God is calling each of us to service. And you can find out more about them on the bulletin boards in the Welcome Center this morning.

THE FIFTH REASON - - - - Serving Glorifies God

Servant hood is so counter cultural, that when you are servant people you can't help but notice and wonder why!! I've shared with you that it is God's desire for you to serve. You can serve inside this church ... but it doesn't end there. Our service must go beyond the walls of this church and into the community as well. Will we remain here in the safe confines of our sanctuary inviting people in or will we go out to our community seeking to be a transforming agent? The church is called to be separate in lifestyle but is never called to be isolated from the people it seeks to influence.

A graduate student majoring in psychology had a love for music. He decided he would study the dynamics of the orchestra for his dissertation project. He focused on the perceptions that each of the individual instrument sections had for each other. And here is what he found         The

percussionists were viewed as insensitive, unintelligent, and hard-of-hearing, yet fun loving. String players were seen as arrogant, stuffy, and un-athletic. The orchestra members overwhelmingly chose "loud" as the primary adjective to describe the brass players. Finally the woodwind players seemed to be held in the highest esteem described as quiet and meticulous, though a bit egotistical. Interesting findings. Here was the conclusion of the psychology student. With such widely divergent personalities and perceptions, how could an orchestra ever come together to make such wonderful music? The answer he found was simple: regardless of how those musicians viewed each other, they subordinate their feelings and biases to the leadership of the conductor. Under his guidance, they play beautiful music.

And in the same way, under the guidance of the master of the church Jesus Christ, we all play an important part and we too can accomplish great things together.

Or, as Jesus reminded us in the Gospel of Matthew: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." That's just what real servants do. And that's the kind of servant I pray we all strive to be. Amen.