Serving – Expression of Gods life in us

Inductive

What is servant leadership?

PPT- What words come to mind when you think of leadership?

PPT- How would you describe a servant leader?

PPT- How is serving an Expression of Gods life in us

Servant mindset

PPT- In chapter 1 of Improving Our Serve, there is a quote from Henry Blackaby’s book, Spiritual Leadership. Blackaby writes, “When God finds men and women willing to be molded into his servants, the possibilities are limitless. People are looking for someone to lead them into God’s purposes God’s way.

What do you think about Blackaby’s statement

Blackaby speaks of God molding us into a servant. The molding of a piece of clay into a pot can be a messy process. Friday we are heading to Bilbil with the e2 class to watch them demonstrate how they take a pile of clay and make it into a pot. It involves getting your hands dirty, shaping, molding the clay into what you want. Then when you are all done molding it, you put it in the fire to make sure it stays that way.

PPT- How do you picture God’s process of molding us into a servant?

PPT- Blackaby says God is looking for people willing to be molded. What kind of mindset do we need to be willing for God to do that to us

(getting your hands dirty, shaping, molding you into what He wants you to be. Then putting you through the fire to solidify his work)…

humble – not holding on to my own agenda – willing to be spent for Him – Sometimes being mistreated, or misunderstood…

What are some scriptures that come to mind to support this idea?

James 1, Romans 5, 2 Peter 1

Phil 2

Intersting those are all the passages that revolve around trials and suffering and how God uses those in our lives.

What does that tell us about servanthood?

PPT- What will help us develop that mindset?

experience of serving

Just doing it…

sometimes our thinking and feelings take longer to catch up… but just doing it will help that along

PPT- What will hinder us from developing that mindset?

The times I find it hardest to serve others, is when serving gets in the way of what I already had planned. Being center manager here, there has been a number of times over the past month, that I had my day all planned out, then I’ll get a WhatsApp message from an e2er describing something that has broken in their house.

• The kitchen faucet is spraying all over the place
• The cabinet door hinge broke and is just hanging by one hinge
• The stove won’t stay lite
• The frig is leaking all over the floor…

These are the times I find it hardest to maintain a servants mindset.

What thoughts does that generate for you?

To truly be the servant of God, our will, our plans, our agenda needs to die. (You guys mentioned Phil 2 already) We see Paul expressing this attitude often throughout the book of Philippians.

In fact we can find this idea in every chapter. Let’s read these verses and talk about how these verses express Paul’s mindset as a servant of God?

Could I have someone look up and read:

• Phil 1:20-24 For me, living means, living for God… not living for anything of my own…
• Phil 2:3-8 Have the same attitude as Christ.
• Phil 3:7-11 Whatever was to my profit, I consider as loss for the sake of Christ… to be found IN HIM, not having a righteousness of my own.. I want to know Christ…
• Phil 4:6-7; 11-13 Don’t worry about anything, pray about everything then you will experience God’s peace… I have learned the secret of being content… I can do all things through Christ

“When God finds men and women willing to be molded into his servants, the possibilities are limitless.”

What have we learned so far about servanthood and servant leadership?

Where do you feel you are at in your mindset?

Input

my story… dream of CP since high school… e2, partner dance… support… first meeting with FLT… 10 years behind a desk… serving… God’s molding process… came to do CP e2… I’m spending most of my days managing employees and fixing houses… I’m still learning.

We started with talking about leadership and servant leadership, and the fact that servant hood is an expression of God’s life in us.

Let’s go back to that thought again. (Highlight some of what they came up with in answering the question, How is serving an Expression of Gods life in us”

How does God’s life live out through us?

Ian Thomas asked the question, “What is the work of God?” How would you answer that?

He answered it very simply. The work of God is God Himself at work. If God Himself is not the source, it is not a work of God.“ Another way to say that is, “If it is not God Himself, God doing the work, then it is without God… which can also be stated as “god-less.” Work that is done without God. It’s either God Himself working through us, or He is not… and the work is therefore god-less.

Jesus is actually our best example of living as an expression of Gods life. A few years ago, I did a study through the book of John looking for this theme. How did Jesus express the image of God? How was Jesus’ life an expression of God’s life within him? I found references to this idea in almost every chapter. We don’t have time to go through every chapter of the Gospel of John, but lets take a look at 3 examples.

How did Jesus model being an expression of God’s life within Him? (our definition of servanthood)

Let’s start in John chapter 1.

Jesus, the Word of God in the flesh

Ask someone to read John 1:1-4 and John 1:14

From the very beginning of Jesus life, God lays out how Jesus would be the expression of Himself.

Why does God use the idea of words with flesh on them? How does that describe the way in which Jesus was going to be the expression of the life of God?

• For 2000 years men had been hearing the written Word, some had heard His audible word, but now Jesus was coming to be more!
• How did Jesus put flesh on to God’s Word?
• (God is love… but Jesus came and wrapped physical arms around people showing them what love feels like)

What does verse 14 say the Word was going to reveal?

“We have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” Jesus revealed God’s glory… made the unseen God seen.. the invisible, visible

Jesus, the light

Ask someone to read John 1:4-13

What does light do when you turn it on?

– Light reveals what is in darkness

– Light enables us to see

– Light is not there to magnify itself, to shine on light itself, No, light shines in darkness to reveal what is hidden.

Why does God use the idea of light to describe Jesus ministry? How does that describe the way in which Jesus was going to be the expression the life of God?

God was declaring the nature of Jesus’ life. -the light that shines in the darkness, revealing God to man.

John 1:9 The true light that gives light to everyone. Jesus was coming to give light to everyone.

Interesting if Jesus Is the light, and He came to give the light to everyone. What was Jesus offering?

• Jesus is offering Himself as the true light. His life, the light, within us!
• We are not the light… we are not what shines in the darkness! He is, the only true light, Jesus within us, that’s the light that will shine in this darkened world.

• The work of God is God Himself at work – the true light is the life of Jesus shining out through our lives.
• The lights will never be turned on in people’s hearts, unless God Himself, the true light shines out through our lives.
  • How did Jesus reveal / turn the lights on so people could see God?
  • As the Word of God in the flesh, how did Jesus declare / express what God was like?

Ask someone to read John 1:18

No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

What do we learn from this verse?

John 1:18 No one has seen the Father, but this Word in the flesh, this true light that gives light to everyone, has made him known. The word took on flesh, embodied God’s word. The light revealed, pushed away the darkness, so all men, all mankind could see the glory of God. Jesus purpose was to reveal the God no one has ever seen!

Jesus was going to be the physical, visible, flesh and blood, expression of God’s life

After laying this foundation in chapter one, it was interesting to look for these 2 pictures as I studied the rest of John.

Let’s jump to chapter 5

John 5:1-13 The healing of the paralytic at the pool on the Sabbath

Read John 5:16-18

As the light, how did Jesus turn the lights on for God to be seen?

Jesus came to do the work of God-and to do His will. He said in Jn 4:34 that His food was to do the will of His Father and to accomplish His work. He is declaring “I am doing the work of God! God doesn’t stop working on the Sabbath, so I am not either..”

What did the religious leaders see and hear?

Calling God his father was the same as declaring himself to be equal to God. They recognized exactly what He was saying. But they didn’t accept it. Instead of believing, they wanted to do away with him.

As the light, He had revealed the unseen God. They had seen God, but they refused to believe or recognize Him.

Read John 5:19-21, 30

After displaying God as the light, as “the Word,” how does Jesus express the life of God , both in His words, and in His actions?

• v19 I can do nothing by myself – I do only what I see the Father doing
• v30 I can do nothing on my own
• I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will

The work of God is God Himself at work. If God Himself is not the source, it is not a work of God.“ This was Jesus MO in everything He did!

Let’s look at one more chapter. Turn with me to chapter 14

In John 14:1-4 Jesus tells his disciples that he is going away to prepare a place for them. When everything is ready, Jesus says, I will come and get you… and you will know the way to where I am going. (John 14:1-4)

But, Thomas objects. John 14:5 “But Jesus we don’t know where you are going, nor how to get there.”

John 14:6 Jesus says,” Thomas you do know the way! I am the way! No one gets to the Father except through me.”

John 14:7 Then Jesus says something really interesting in verse 7. “If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and HAVE SEEN HIM!”

This is what Jesus’ whole purpose was. Remember back to chapter 1? John 1:18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

Thomas, I am the expression of God’s life! I am the physical, visible expression of God!

The disciples were struggling to understand what Jesus was really saying here. So, Philip asks plainly. Jesus, show us the Father.

read John 14:9-14

How was He the light?

• Have I been with you all this time and you still don’t know who I am
• Whoever has seen me has seen the Father
• at least believe because of the work you have seen me do

How was He The Living Word?

• the words I speak are not my own… believe by what I am saying… but at least believe because of the work you have seen me do

How was Jesus the expression of God’s life to His disciples?

What was His mindset and How did He live that out?

After modeling this in his life, what does He encourage His disciples to do? (v12-14)

John 14:9-11 “listen guys, this is what I have been doing all along. I am the light. From the very beginning my purpose was always to reveal the Father so you can see Him. Haven’t you noticed? Whoever has seen me has seen the father! Let me be clear. I Am in the Father and the Father is in me! Everything I have been doing and saying has been the Father, in me, doing His work. If you have a hard time believing what i am saying, let my works convince you!

John 14:11-14 But guys, heres the best part. whoever believes in me will do greater things than these.

I think it’s really interesting that after this whole discussion, Jesus reveals the work of the Holy Spirit, then He goes into the John 15 instructions.

He modeled it for them. He declared it… then He said, “What you have seen in me, now you need to do. Just as I did nothing apart from my father… Everything I have been doing and saying has been the Father, in me, doing His work. Now that’s how I want you to live. Apart from me you can do nothing!

I started this discussion in the book of John by saying, Jesus is our best example of living as an expression of Gods life. What can we learn from Jesus example?

How does His example help us to develop our mindset to be willing for Him to mold us into being His servants?

Back to Improving our Serve:

“Growing in understanding of how God accomplishes His purposes through us, each of us brings different gifts and abilities to the task of leading, but all of us must continually grow in our understanding of how God intends to work through us.”

Being willing to submit to His agenda, His plan, His will. Willing to lay mine down for His sake and the sake of His plan!

• “Spiritual Leadership is moving people on to God’s agenda.” (not pursuing my own agenda) Spiritual Leadership by Blackaby
• “The central task of leadership is influencing God’s people toward God’s purposes.” The Making of a Leader by Robert Clinton

How do these thoughts contribute to your picture of servant leaders?

Even Jesus struggled getting his disciples to live this way.

Read Luke 22:20-30

Luke 22:20-30 After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you. “But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me. For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.” The disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing. Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves. “You have stayed with me in my time of trial. And just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

What does this reveal about what hinders us from being molded into servants of God?

Implement

OK, so what do we need to do with all this information?

1. PPT- What relationships need you to have a mindset of a servant?
2. In which of these relationships do you need to work on your servant mindset the most?
3. How do you need to develop in your mindset?
   1. something I have seen as a weakness in my life is empathy. in e2, part of my job is to evaluate, and write a report at the end of how these guys measure up to the elder qualifications. But, in order for people to not just feel like we are just listening to evaluate, first I need to listen to understand! I want to learn to really enter their world, before I make any kind of judgement or evaluation. I know I have not been doing that very well.
   2. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.
4. From the hindrances you identified, which do you need to work on?

Integrate

What is one thing you can begin doing as a result of our discussion today?