Five Forks Today

January 13

Sermon: "A Model of Servanthood"

When you think of the Apostle Paul, what word comes to your mind?  I asked that question to various people in the office and received the following answers:

Teacher

Fearless witness

Zealous

Missionary

Radical conversion

            They are all good descriptions of Paul and they tell us a lot about how he lived his life.

            Do you want to know how Paul often described himself.  Listen …

            ROMANS 1:1a – Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus.

            PHILIPPIANS 1:1a – Paul and Timothy, servants of  Christ Jesus.

            TITUS 1:1a – Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.

            The Greek word that Paul used for servant in all three of those passages is the same word used to describe Jesus in the following passage …

            PHILIPPIANS 2:5-7 – 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,  7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 

            In the Greek language the word translated as servant means:

            Servant … Involuntarily or voluntarily – being a slave

            Just as Jesus gave up his rights, Paul gave up his rights.  Jesus and Paul both voluntarily became slaves.

            Most of us who are Christians understand that we also should voluntarily become a slave for Jesus.  The Bible tells us that our reasonable service is to offer our bodies to God as a living sacrifice.  In other words, we are to willingly become his slave.

            Last week as we studied the first chapter of I Thessalonians, we discovered a model that would be good for us as a church at Five Forks to follow.  If we follow their example we will be …

            We know that for our church to be like that we must be like that as individuals.  The next four chapters in I Thessalonians can help us get to that point in our individual lives.  It starts with learning to be a servant.

            We can learn a lot about being a servant for God by following Paul’s example.

            So let’s look at … Paul, a model for servanthood.    First we see …

I.         PAUL THE PERSECUTED

            I THESSALONIANS 2:1-2 – 1You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure.  2We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.

            Some of you know that Paul and Silas were shamefully treated at Philippi.  Listen to just a little of the account as recorded in the book of Acts.

            ACTS 16:12, 16-24 – 12From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia.  And we stayed there several days.

            16Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future.  She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune telling.  17This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”  18She kept this up for many days.  Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!”  At that moment the spirit left her.

            19When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.  20They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar  21by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

            22The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten.  23After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.  24Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

            Notice that Paul didn’t make a big deal out of this.  He simply said …

            I THESSALONIANS 2:2a – We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi.

            If you voluntarily become a slave for Jesus, you must be prepared to deal with persecution.  Normally in our country it will not include being beaten and put in stocks, but you will suffer.  You will be insulted, misunderstood, criticized, and in some instances, mocked.  People will say nasty things about your spouse and children.  Sometimes behind your back and sometimes to your face.

            Remember, you have willingly become a slave, thus giving up your rights.  So how does a slave react to suffering and insults?

            Here is what Paul and Silas did.

            ACTS 16:25a – About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.

            Jesus also set a good example for us to follow.  The passage I am about to share with you has become a foundational passage for me.  It is one of those passages that will help you stay strong in your faith and show you how to act when you or your loved ones are attacked.  Sometimes the attack will come from other Christians.  Here is the passage.

            I PETER 2:21-23 – 21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.  22”He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”  23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.  Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

            Isn’t that great!   Jesus gave up his rights.  He became a slave and so when he was insulted he didn’t retaliate.  When he suffered he didn’t try to get even.  Instead he entrusted himself to his Heavenly Father’s care.

            That’s the kind of slave for God that I want to be.  I don’t always come up to that example, but I keep striving.

            If you are going to willingly be a slave for God you must expect persecution and you must learn to handle it like Paul, Silas and Jesus.

            As we continue looking at Paul as our model for servanthood we see …

II.         PAUL THE PATTERN (POSITIVE ROLE MODEL)

            Today in our society, most people do not want the responsibility of being a positive role model.  Many professional athletes come right out and say that very thing.  They want to do what they want when they aren’t on the playing field or court.  They don’t want the pressure and responsibility of setting a good example for others to follow.  It is sad to say that many parents and many Christians are just like those professional athletes.  They do not want to have people look to them as positive role models for how a Christian should live.

            Paul was willing to accept that responsibility.  He was a slave for God and so he gave up his rights as an individual.  He was a positive role model in two important areas.   First …

A.        HIS WORDS

            I THESSALONIANS 2:3-6a – 3For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.  4On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.  We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.  5You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed - God is our witness.  6aWe were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. 

            Let’s examine how Paul spoke.

1.         He spoke with authority – “We speak as men approved by God.”

            We, too, can speak with authority when we allow God’s Spirit to control our tongues.  This is not an easy thing to do.  Far too often I speak what I want to say instead of allowing God’s Spirit to speak through me.

2.         He spoke to please God not men – “We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.  You know we never used flattery.”

            Psychologists tell us that ninety-seven out of every hundred people want other people to like them.  This in turn makes it very difficult for most people to not get caught up in trying to please others.  As a slave for God we must speak the truth of his word even when people don’t like what we have to say.  Remember, we must be sure God is in control of our tongues as we speak.  It is very easy for us to speak our own thoughts and ideas which may not be God’s thoughts and ideas.

            We can sum up how Paul spoke with four words – BOLD, TRUTHFUL, STRAIGHT-FORWARD and SINCERE.

            Let’s move now to the second area where Paul was a positive role model.

B.        HIS LIFE-STYLE

1.         Paul was willing to work.

            I THESSALONIANS 2:9 – Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.

            Paul was a hard worker.  He wasn’t afraid of manual labor and he didn’t shy away from long hours.

            I have to be very careful on this point because I know I can get off base in this area.  I respect, and to some extent value, people who can get things done; who aren’t afraid to work.  That can be okay, but it can also set me in conflict with Jesus.

            Most of you know the story of Martha and her sister Mary.  They had a house full of people, including Jesus.  These people needed to eat.  Martha was in the kitchen slaving away and thought Mary should be helping her, but Jesus disagreed.

The reason I must be so careful when I talk about working hard is because I would have felt exactly like Martha, but I know I would have been wrong because Jesus said so.

So, yes, we must work long and hard, but we must not allow our work to stop us from having a relationship with the one we are serving.

For some of us … that is easy to say, but hard to do.

2.         Paul walked the talk

            I THESSALONIANS 2:10 – You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.

            All of us who are Christians should strive to be able to describe ourselves as holy, righteous and blameless, for that is God’s goal for each of us.  As his servants we should desire to please him.

            So as a servant of God we should expect and accept persecution, and be a positive role model with our words and life-style.

            Next we want to look at ….

III.         PAUL THE PARENT

            For those of you who enjoyed Paul’s speech being described as bold, truthful, straightforward and sincere, you may struggle with this next part of being a servant.

            List to what Paul wrote.

            I THESSALONIANS 2:6b-7 -  6bAs apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you,  7but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.

A.        HE FED AND CARED FOR OTHERS AS A LOVING MOTHER

            Paul was gentle with those he was trying to win to Jesus and with his fellow Christians.

            Here is a little of what Matthew Henry wrote about gentleness in his commentary on I Thessalonians.

            “Such behavior (gentleness) speaks well of Christianity and is in line with how God deals with sinners.  Paul demonstrated the kindness and care of a mother that loves her children.  This is the way to win people rather than to rule with force.

            As a nursing mother bears with the demands of her child (at all hours) and condescends to lowly tasks (cleaning up messes and changing diapers) for its good and provides nourishment from her breast, so in like manner should servants of God treat others.”

            Next we see …

B.        HE ENCOURAGED AND COMFORTED OTHERS AS A LOVING FATHER

            I THESSALONIANS 2:11-12 – 11For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,  12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

            Being a slave for God is a full time, very demanding position.  It means you must take the time to do the following things for other people.

1.            Encourage them – This requires time and effort.  It forces you to get to know people.  It often takes you out of your comfort zone.

2.            Comfort them – This requires, time, effort, compassion and patience.  It may mean you have to listen to their problems, to help them with something or to mourn with them.  To do this we have to defeat that selfish streak that is within all of us.

3.            Exhort them – to live holy lives.  This takes some real effort on our part, because first we realize we aren’t perfect ourselves, and second, we don’t like to directly confront another person about their behavior.

            Of course the key in all of this is to do these things as a loving father would do them.  It is sad to say, but we have far too few examples of loving fathers to use as examples.

            As you can see, being a slave for God is not easy and is very demanding of your time.  Of course, as a slave, and when you offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God you are volunteering to be his slave, your time is not your own.

            The Apostle Paul has given us a good example of servanthood.  Next we will see that ..

IV.         PAUL’S SERVANTHOOD PRODUCED RESULTS

A.        GOD’S WORD WAS ACCEPTED

            I THESSALONIANS 2:13 – And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

            It is a wonderful thing when people receive what is in the Bible as God’s word to them.  When they hunger to know what God has to say and sincerely want to please him with their obedience.  If our being a slave for God can produce that in just a few people, then we can one day stand before God and receive our reward from him.

B.            THOSE WHO ACCEPTED GOD’S WORD REMAINED FAITHFUL

            I THESSALONIANS 2:14-16 – 14For you, brothers, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews,  15who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out.  They displease God and are hostile to all men.  16In their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved.  In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit.  The wrath of God has come upon them at last.

            The Thessalonians suffered because they choose to believe in Jesus, but they remained faithful.  Again as a servant of God it is a great joy to see those you helped come to believe in Jesus remain faithful to him.  Of course, like Paul we need to model servanthood in their presence.

C.            PAUL’S HEART WAS FILLED WITH JOY

            I THESSALONIANS 2:17-20 -  17But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.  18For we wanted to come to you - certainly I, Paul, did, again and again – but Satan stopped us.  19For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes?  Is it not you?  20Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

            You can do a lot of things in this world, but nothing will give you more joy than being a servant for God.  When you allow God to use you, you are truly laying up treasures in heaven.

CONCLUSION

            If you want to please God then volunteer to be a slave for him.  You can do that by following Paul’s example.  That means as – a servant of God.

                        With your words  -  and  -  By your life-style

            If you are that type of servant you can expect to see …

                        and