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Gospel
The Challenge of Servanthood
We are continuing our series at Cityview through the New Testament Challenge with this week’s message, The Challenge of Servanthood. My published outline is below.
New Testament Challenge: The Challenge of Servanthood
“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, being made in human likeness.” Philippians 2:5-7
The Big Idea: God’s servants serve without demanding special status.
Text: Philippians 2:1-30
1. Humility and engagement are characteristics of the Christian servant.
Humility
A. Our walk with Jesus begins with humility.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:7-10
B. Our fellowship with each other requires humility.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3
Engagement
A. Hopeful, obedient activity in response to God. “If you have any…”
B. Hopeful activity in response to the interests of others.
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also the interests of others.” 2:4
Jesus perfectly models the combination of humility and engagement God desires to bring out in His people.
See Philippians 2:5-8
Jesus did not strive or compete for domination. Vs. 6
Jesus pursued the way of a servant. Vs. 7
Jesus humbled himself accepting the world’s contempt. Vs. 8
Jesus acted in obedience to His Heavenly Father. Vs. 8
Jesus served even unto death. Vs. 8
2. Christian servanthood cooperates with the Holy Spirit to lift up Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father.
We serve under our exalted King. See Philippians 2:9-11
“…it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his
good purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13
3. Christian servants work together to infiltrate our generation with the word of life.
“…so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life…” Philippians 2:15-16
Our Cityview’s Olympic Plan:
Pray————————Serve————————Speak
Today, let’s commit to pray, serve, speak for and with those in
our circle of influence who are lost without the life of Jesus Christ. On the ALPHA sheet write down their names. At the end of the service turn this in and our team of intercessors will serve by praying for them.
4. Complaining and arguing destroys the effectiveness of our service in a world separated from God.
Do everything without complaining and arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault…” 2:14-15
The New Testament Challenge: Forgiveness
Here are the notes from Sunday’s talk at Cityview. You can listen to the audio later in the week. I have included in the notes the song Forgiven, by Jacob Favela, that we watched and the link for the interview with Kim Phuc that I referenced.
New Testament Challenge: The Challenge of Forgiveness
“Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins
against us.” Luke 11:4
The Big Idea: When I forgive someone I decide that they don’t owe me anything anymore.
1. Admit the debt pain/hurt creates in your heart.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23
“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.”
Proverbs 28:13-14
After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”) He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.'” Mark 7:17-23
2. Turn to Jesus who has paid it all and forgiven you.
“Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34
“In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” Ephesians 1:7-8
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 2 Peter 1:5-9
3. Choose to forgive the one who sinned against you.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 5:32
Matthew 18:21-27
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
4. Make yourself available to God for His redemptive work.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:26-29
when everything is not enough
A wealthy, influential man came to see Jesus to ask about the good life, eternal life (Luke 18:18-30). He asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He likely had everything his context could offer him: wealth, a good reputation, a growing family, comfort, influence, respect, and servants. When confronted with God’s commands–do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother–this big-name-family-business-man, revealed his desire for a principled and ordered life. “All these I have kept since I was a child.” And yet, even though he was living out their local vision of being good, even though he was living the “good life” that others coveted, this man could not escape the dis-ease in his heart, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
If you have ever noticed that you get no lasting satisfaction from the stuff of this world, you may understand the darkness and emptiness that was in this man’s heart. He had it all, but was not satisfied. Perhaps, he was uncomfortable with the temporary nature of all that he was investing his life in and began to contemplate what was really out there in the future and what could really fill his heart, and if there was a really meaningful life to be had.
Please don’t miss the profound nature of the spiritual life contained in the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” A big-name-family-business-man in Jesus’ day would understand the two realities required to be the beneficiary of an inheritance. It requires that you are born into a family of some means and second, that somebody dies. The Christian view of the good life believes that Jesus makes both of these requirements possible.
When a person receives Jesus as the central commanding and provisionary figure of life, s/he is born into or adopted into the family of God. Therefore the person now is part of a household of faith that shares the rich provisions, blessings, influence of our Heavenly Father. You become a child of God with the full rights and privileges of His household not via creation but through spiritual rebirth. (See the related verses below.)
And in regards to the second requirement of an inheritance–someone must die, the Christian view of reality holds that Jesus’ death was meaningful for the execution of God’s will for the benefit of all who would receive Him. Jesus was going to die for this man on the Cross. Jesus’ death was full of meaning. His death secured an inheritance of forgiveness of sin, fellowship with God, and the gift of the Holy Spirit so that His followers might enjoy the grace of God by faith in Him. (See the related verses below.)
I relate to this man, not because I actual enjoy the status he had, but because I know that the attraction of money, wealth, power, and reputation seem to have death grip on us, even though our devotion to them is so futile. We all seem to want our own kingdoms of comfort. Jesus asked this man to exchange his devotion to wealth and himself for devotion to Jesus and service to others in Jesus’ kingdom. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Give up your rights to it, give it away, and follow me.
Even though his heart was dissatisfied with all this world could offer him, the cost for satisfaction seemed too high and the man went away very sad, “because he was a man of great wealth.” He could not yet see that Jesus far outweighed the value of everything he had. For on the other side of the transaction Jesus called for, this man could have enjoyed life as a child of the King: valuable relationships, meaningful living, and eternal life. Jesus saw into this man and sympathized with the struggle and tells him, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
I hope the man reconsidered the offer. Jesus secured an inheritance for this man. Jesus did die to fulfill the will of the Heavenly Father. Jesus does have a family into which we can be born by His Spirit. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead seals the deal and marks His triumph over death and over the emptiness of living for what the world offers without God. Whatever you are holding onto as “the thing” that will make your life full and meaningful, I urge you to loosen your fatal attraction and grip on the stuff of this world and to embrace Jesus Christ as your Lord–your Provider, Saviour, Redeemer, and your very Life. Through Jesus, God will cleanse you of every shameful and empty thing, and will gracefully fill your life with joy, assurance, meaning, and new confidence as His child. He will give you a new way of living with the stuff and people of this world, so that by His Spirit you may overcome its never-ceasing competition for the allegiance of your heart. When everything is not enough, Jesus is enough.
Jesus fulfills the requirements required so we can inherit eternal life.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shield by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kids of trials. These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:3-9
“I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again….the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:3, 14-16
“…giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:11-14
“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviou. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemishand free from accusation…” Colossians 1:19-22
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that it is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.'” Romans 1:16-17
The Challenge of Generosity
Here are the notes from Sunday’s message at Cityview in our series, The New Testament Challenge. The audio will be available later this week.
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38
The Big Idea: Generosity relies on the abundance of God.
1. Jesus believes you can afford to be generous.
2. Jesus confronts us with an alternative economy.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6:19-24 NIV
See Luke 18:18-33
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!
Common Challenges to Generosity
A. “I’m not sure I have enough.”
“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his posses- sions.” Luke 12:15
Generosity challenges our vision of success.
B. “I’m in too much debt.”
“The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is servant to the
lender.” Proverbs 22:7
Generosity challenges our addiction to stuff and lack of restraint.
C. “I’m not sure the other person deserves it.”
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment! James 2:12-13
Generosity challenges our judgmental nature.
D. “I’m overwhelmed; there are just too many people with needs.”
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:14-17
Generosity challenges us to act now.
E. “I don’t want to be part of the problem.”
“Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.” Galatians 6:1
Generosity challenges us to seek wisdom.
F. “I didn’t know.”
“They will answer, ‘Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you.” Matthew 25:44
Generosity challenges us to see Jesus.
G. “I just need a little bit more.”
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with every thing for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 1 Timothy 6:17-19
Generosity challenges our greed.
4. Beware the temptation to make godliness and generosity a formula for this world’s vision of success. Beware the temptation to make generosity another system of divine credit.
3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:3-10
5. Next Steps
A. __________ Enter the Kingdom of Jesus and His new economy of the Abundant Life.
B. __________ Memorize the verse. “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38
C. __________ Determine to give from what you have.
“Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” Matthew 5:42
D. ___________________________________________
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