37. Serving

Serving God and serving other people is the mark of a spiritually mature Christian Disciple. Did you know that? For it is through serving, that the Christian Disciple reflects the greatest servant of all - Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came to serve and to give his life for others.

Mark 10:45 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.

Philippians 2:5-8 - In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!

As followers and partakers of Jesus, Christian Disciples are to be as Jesus Christ and to serve. Yet if we are honest, we sometimes feel incapable. That is because we forget that God the Holy Spirit is within us to empower us to obediently serve God and serve others.

Go Serve!

As a Christian Disciple, a partaker of Jesus Christ, you are called to a life of service: serving God and other people. Your church is to be a body of people, where each person is to have a serving function – serving God and serving others. Why serve others? By serving others as a church, a group of people, it shows unity and solidarity to those outside of the church who frequently accuse the church of infighting and “devouring one another”.

The Christian life is not to be static or inactive, but rather it is to be dynamic and active. The word ‘servant’ is key in Scripture. It is used at least 500 times in its various derivations. Spiritual growth comes from serving, rather than being served. This is because what ever is given in service of God and others, faith grows and Jesus Christ gives back even more. Jesus speaking in Matthew 25:15-30 tells of the rewards for faithful service and the penalties for being faithless. Serving others is a sign that you, as a Christian Disciple, trust God and are having faith in Him.

In serving others, you fulfil the command that Jesus gave to love God and love others. Showing love and serving each other through your Spiritual Gifts and giving, achieves this aim of obedience to Jesus. As the church, we are dependent upon each other, just as one part of the human body has dependence on another part. That is why we serve each other and use the gifts generously given by God.

When you, as a disciple and partaker of Jesus Christ, serve in any capacity, then God’s honour is released. This is done because service shows the beauty and glory of Jesus Christ to those being served and to those watching. That is to be our motive for service. Serving is never about what you can get out of it. When that is the motive, God is patently not glorified. God’s glory and supremacy is the goal of all those who would call themselves a Christian Disciple.

So go … serve. How’s that for a WOW Word?

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Psalm 83

A song. A Psalm by Asaph.

83:1 God, don’t keep silent. Don’t keep silent, and don’t be still, God.
83:2 For, behold, your enemies are stirred up. Those who hate you have lifted up their heads.
83:3 They conspire with cunning against your people. They plot against your cherished ones.
83:4 “Come,” they say, “and let’s destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
83:5 For they have conspired together with one mind. They form an alliance against you.
83:6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab, and the Hagrites;
83:7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
83:8 Assyria also is joined with them. They have helped the children of Lot.

Selah.

83:9 Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the river Kishon;
83:10 who perished at Endor, who became as dung for the earth.
83:11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb; yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna;
83:12 who said, “Let us take possession of God’s pasturelands.”
83:13 My God, make them like tumbleweed; like chaff before the wind.
83:14 As the fire that burns the forest, as the flame that sets the mountains on fire,
83:15 so pursue them with your tempest, and terrify them with your storm.
83:16 Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek your name, Yahweh.
83:17 Let them be disappointed and dismayed forever. Yes, let them be confounded and perish;
83:18 that they may know that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth.

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Think Spot - 18th February, 2019

"If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."

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Investigating Jesus Part 19
Who did Jesus say that He was?
  "Light of the World"

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I AM the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’" (John 8:12).

Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles. One of the great symbols of that feast was Light. At the end of the feast, when the lights are extinguished, Jesus said that he was the light of the world. Throughout the Old Testament, light is an important symbol. There is the pillar of fire and cloud leading the nation of Israel on their journey (Exodus 13). In Psalm 27:1, the psalmist describes God as “my light”. The nation of Israel was to be God’s light to all the world.

This is clearly seen in Isaiah 49:6. Why was this to be? Israel was to be God’s light to the world), so that God would be revealed as the world’s light (Isaiah 60:19-22). By referring to Himself as the light of the world, Jesus is saying it is he who shines light into people’s spiritual eyes and gives them understanding, which in turn leads to them seeing their need of God and his ability to satisfy their spiritual needs.

We continue next week looking at who Jesus said that he was.

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Friday Prayers

  Prayer from the Vanuatu Churches

Today on Partakers we are praying a prayer from the Vanuatu group of islands. The origins are unknown. 

O Jesus,
Be the canoe that holds me up
in the sea of life;
Be the rudder that keeps me
in the straight road;
Be the outrigger that supports me
in times of temptation.

Let your Spirit be my sail
that carries me through each day.
Keep my body strong
so I can paddle steadfastly
on in the longvoyage of life.

Amen

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Thursday Story

People meeting Jesus

 The story of Jenny from Taiwan...

We continue apace into the twentieth century and hear the story of a friend of mine. Her name is Jenny and she is from Taiwan. Let's look together at how and why she started her Christian journey and the relevancy of Jesus Christ to her life! Come and listen to her story of faith...

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WOW Word - Love

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Today Alphy shares about the WOW Word - Love!

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Mark 12:28-34: One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’ ‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these.’ ‘Well said, teacher,’ the man replied. ‘You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions."

What is the response of a Christian to be to these words of Jesus? Play the audio, download the video or audio, to see what Alphy has to offer about this!

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Psalm 97

(as read by Mary)

97:1 Yahweh reigns! Let the earth rejoice! Let the multitude of islands be glad!
97:2 Clouds and darkness are around him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
97:3 A fire goes before him, and burns up his adversaries on every side.
97:4 His lightning lights up the world. The earth sees, and trembles.
97:5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Yahweh, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
97:6 The heavens declare his righteousness. All the peoples have seen his glory.

97:7 Let all them be shamed who serve engraved images, who boast in their idols. Worship him, all you gods!
97:8 Zion heard and was glad. The daughters of Judah rejoiced, because of your judgments, Yahweh.
97:9 For you, Yahweh, are most high above all the earth. You are exalted far above all gods.
97:10 You who love Yahweh, hate evil. He preserves the souls of his saints. He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
97:11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
97:12 Be glad in Yahweh, you righteous people! Give thanks to his holy Name.

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Think Spot - 11th February 2019

Matthew 11:28-30 records these words of Jesus Christ. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Are not those amazing words? Not just anybody could say them. If the person who said them couldn't actually fulfil that promise, that would be one of the biggest hoaxes in all of history. But Jesus Christ is no hoax and he is able to fulfil those words and live up to the promises he makes. He is totally trustworthy.

We don't like to ask for help.  We are trained as children to be independent and not to rely on anybody else for anything ever.  But this is contrary to what Jesus is about.  To rely fully on ourselves for all things is to walk by sight and commit the sin of pride. To rely on Jesus and ask Him for help in all things is to walk by faith and with humility. True independence and freedom comes from being dependent on Jesus Christ and not being held back by anything or anyone else, such as family and our own wealth and possessions.

How are you doing at the start of this new week? Maybe you are feeling desolation and regret caused by decisions made sometime in your past. Give them up willingly to Jesus and don't keep trying to take it back like a security blanket!

Are you feeling abandoned and lonely? Let Jesus encompass you in an embrace of compassion and let the Holy Spirit comfort and counsel you.. Or perhaps are you feeling tired, burnt out and burdened?. Let Jesus give you the strength to endure! Give the burden to Jesus and let Him take the weight for you. Maybe you need to make a major decision and don't know what to do. Seek the wisdom of Jesus in making that decision. He will help if you ask. That's all part of Jesus being Jesus.

It may well be that you are being overwhelmingly tempted to sin against God, another person or even yourself? You cant resist for too long if you do it in your own strength, because you will eventually succumb to it. But if you ask God to help you overcome the temptation, He will do it - if you allow Him control and use your own self-control! After all, self-control is one of the evidences of the Holy Spirit working in you!

We all get those feelings of regret, desolation, abandonment, loneliness, despair, burdened and temptation. Feelings are important, because they are part of the human experience and if we didn't have them, we would be merely mindless androids. But feelings can also be very misleading.  As Christians, we have to take it by faith that Jesus is there for us through those times. Because you are lonely, doesn't mean you are alone.  Because you are tempted, doesn't meant that you have already committed the sin. Take it by faith that Jesus is answering desperate cries for help and is helping you. Take a few seconds now in this short silence to hand over these things to Jesus and ask him to help you.

Or it may just be that you are starting the week and you are feeling great and enjoying your dynamic relationship with God! Then keep going and letting Jesus be your strength, your wisdom and your help.  But don't keep it to yourself - that would be selfish! Go to others you know who are in need, helping them where you can with an encouraging word or helping to supply their need. Be the practical and imaginative answer to their prayers. Go into this new week, confident that Jesus is able to help you in every situation you face. Ask him to come to you, and He will - just as He has done for countless millions.

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Investigating Jesus Part 18
Who did Jesus say that He was?

We are now in Episode 18. In our last episode, we looked at who Jesus taught, and we have also seen previously what it was that he taught. Today, we start to look in more detail what Jesus taught others about Himself, and who he really was.

13 But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”
14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.[d] Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” 1 Exodus 3:13-14 (New Living Translation)

Who has done such mighty deeds,
summoning each new generation from the beginning of time?
It is I, the LORD, the First and the Last.
I alone am he.” Isaiah 41:4 (New Living Translation)

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.”
57 The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM![k]” 59 At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple. john 8:56-59 (New Living Translation)

In John’s Gospel, John records separate statements where Jesus said “I AM”. These written statements are completely unique to the historical account written by John and they are not recorded in the three other Gospels. With these statements, Jesus is reinforcing his claims to be God. How so? Because, when he says “I AM”. Jesus is deliberately referring into Jewish history, to the time when God revealed Himself as the ‘I AM’ to Moses in Exodus 3:14 and through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 41:4. That’s why in John 8:59, they picked up stones to kill Him for blasphemy. This was in accordance, so they thought, with Deuteronomy 13, which dictates that anyone who tries to turn people away from the living God was to be stoned to death. They knew Jesus was claiming to be the very God they thought they worshipped.

I AM the Living Bread

"I AM the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; this bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:35, 48, and 51 (New International Version).

Three times here, Jesus refers to Himself as the living bread. By this he meant that he was the only one who could gratify the appetite and yearning of every person’s spirit. For those he was speaking to, bread was a basic staple food for living, just as it is for millions of people today. Jesus indicates when saying he is the bread of life, that he will supply all needs.

When Jesus referred to the manna in the desert (John 6:49) he talked of it being merely temporary, despite being a gift from God. He however, as the true bread of life, would give permanent satisfaction and life everlasting to all those who believe and follow Him (John 6:51). But this bread he offers, must be eaten and it must be taken up by the person wanting spiritual life. Note the inference to his impending sacrifice on the cross at the end of John 6:51. Jesus was fully focussed on His mission – the purpose of His being here.

We continue next week looking at who Jesus said that he was.
 

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