Power Shift #1 - Attitude
Notes
Transcript
Many of us have heard the phrase, “Attitude is everything.” And when it comes to us thinking about missions attitude is important. Today we want to look at Attitude. This is the first power shift that we will look at.
The Apostle Paul wrote...
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
Our ability to make a lasting change in everything that we do depends largely on our Attitude. We are compelled to develop a commitment to servanthood.
Jesus gave us the greatest example of servanthood that we can find. Look at what Jesus tells us in Matthew 23:11.
11 The greatest among you will be your servant.
Our text today is Jesus giving us an example of service. If you have your Bibles today, go with me to the book of John. I want to read a story to you from chapter 13.
1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”
11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.
13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.
14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
The example Jesus is showing us here is he is a strong individual who chose to serve rather than be served. Look at verses 3 - 5 again.
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
There is a little word in verse 4 that is extremely important. That little word is “so”. “So” is like a hinge on which the rest of this passage hangs. It implies that Jesus’ understanding of His power undergirded His desire and ability to serve. In short, this passage says, “Jesus knew… and so He washed...”
Jesus was the model servant, and he showed his servant attitude to his disciples. Foot washing was a common act in Bible times. People traveled mostly on foot in sandals across the dusty roads of Judea. When entering a home, it was customary to wash one’s feet. To not offer to wash a guest’s feet was considered a breach of hospitality. Washing guests’ feet was a job for a household servant to carry out when guests arrived. It was a subservient task. What was unusual about this act was that Jesus, the Master and Teacher, was doing it for his disciples, as the lowliest slave would do.
Then what did Jesus do. Verses 14 and 15 tells us.
14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
Jesus set us an example. We must choose to serve those who are lost and to disciple and nurture those in the church. The result of that kind of attitude adjustment will unleash a power shift.
When you look at scripture, you will find that there are three kinds of servants from Biblical Greek.
1. Doulos
1. Doulos
The first one I want to mention is doulos. A doulos slave was bound to his master so closely that only death can break the yoke. Romans 6 uses this term to offer a metaphor for our enslavement to sin. The picture here comes from the culture of the day in which a convicted murderer would be bound to his dead victim and sentenced to carry around the body. The resulting decay eventually would kill the murderer as well. Paul challenged us to die to sin, for that is the only release, and to be bound instead to Christ.
16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.
18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
2. Diakanos
2. Diakanos
The English word “deacon” comes from this word. This individual attends to the needs of another. While doulos generally refers to a servant in relationship to his master diakonos stresses the servant’s relationship to his work.
25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
3. Huperetes
3. Huperetes
This word literally translated is “under-oarsmen.” In Roman sailing vessels, there were helmsmen and rowers. The huperetes were the ones who performed the hardest work, for every time they drew their oars, they put them into the very teeth of the waves. Acts 13:36 uses this term.
36 “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed.
David understood God’s will, the king of Israel humbled himself and chose to become an under-oarsman, taking on the hardest and least honored role he could imagine.
When you look at the ministry and life of Jesus you can see that Jesus was a servant in all three ways. He showed Himself as a doulos when He bound Himself to us, taking on human form and experiencing the pain and disappointment of life on earth, dying our death, and rising again for our salvation and God’s glory. He revealed Himself as diakonos when He fed people and when He ministered healing. And, though Paul chose to use a different word, Jesus demonstrated the characteristics of a huperetes when He as Philippians 2:8 puts it...
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
So, our job as believers is to live as Christ lived. The very fact that we call ourselves Christian is for us to live a Christ-like life. Meaning we are to live like Christ. And I have said this before, God loves people. People matter to God and therefore they should matter to us. So, in order for us to live the life of missions, we need to humble ourselves and become servants of God.
So, how does God want us to apply the principle of servanthood in our missions effort. He has given us the overall picture, and now He wants to give us a specific plan that will enable us to multiply the power available in servanthood for an explosive harvest.
There are three ways for us to apply the principle of servanthood in our missions effort.
1. Lose the Holier Than Thou Mindset
1. Lose the Holier Than Thou Mindset
We are not better than any other people group. It doesn’t matter if someone is saved or not saved. It doesn’t matter if someone is red, yellow, black or white. I love what the song says, “they are precious in his sight.” It doesn’t matter if they live in a mansion in Beverly Hills or a shack in the Ozark Mountains. It doesn’t matter if they live in our own back yard or on an island off the coast of Australia. They are people and they matter to God so, they better matter to us. And we are not better than them.
All cultures have positive and negative points. Those who live and work in these communities might think that we have moved well beyond a level of elitism, but we need to constantly examine our motives and our strategies to make sure we don’t ever harbor any superior feelings. We must not think that everything we do is perfect, because it is not perfect.
We need to be trained appropriately as ministers so that we can effectively reach the people groups that God is calling us to. Whether it is here in Fort Smith, the rest of the United States or around the World.
Does a doctor become a doctor over night? No. They go to school and then they go to medical school and then they have to pass the test. Isn’t begin trained as a minister in any capacity as important as being trained appropriately as a doctor. After all, serving a person’s spiritual health is at least as important as serving his physical health.
2. Sustainability
2. Sustainability
Some people have a negative attitude about the Great Commission. They tend to ask a question. They say, “we have so many problems in our own community or country, why do we need to send money and some of our best people to other countries? The short answer is, “because Jesus told us to.”
Remember what Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19-20. He said to make disciples of all nations. If you were to look up that word nations in the Greek you would see that it is ethne or “people groups.” There are over 16,000 people groups in the world, and over 7,000 of them are unevangelized. These groups are the main targets of Completing the Great Commission. So, we need to make sure that they are part of our strategy in completing the Great Commission. That means through prayer, giving and sending out missionaries. Not just to our communities but, also to these unreached parts of the world.
When we do this we are serving both the Lord and those who have never heard the gospel.
We have to understand and appreciate that it takes the whole body of Christ working together in cooperation with one another to accomplish completing the Great Commission. We will need to find the strategies and methodologies that will work to complete the Great Commission. Find out what partnerships, using the latest technologies and most important, prayer will help to accomplish this great task. This is a strategic power shift of attitude.
3. Positive Synergism
3. Positive Synergism
We need the whole church in dynamic unity to reach the whole world. We must move from negative synergism to positive synergism. Maybe you are asking, Pastor, what do you mean?
Let me give you a science lesson here today. Synergism occurs when someone puts two chemicals together, and their interaction produces a greater result together than would have happened if either had worked alone.
Kind of like when you take Tylenol by itself it takes care of just aches. But when you take a Tylenol with Benadryl it takes care of aches, sinus congestion and you sleep really well. The two together are better than just the one.
God has a way of releasing new actions in the spiritual realm as well, and the purpose for those actions depends on us.
An example of negative synergism is found in
30 How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?
In this example, God gave up on these people. He quit giving them His wisdom and direction because they wouldn’t listen. Their enemies were able to defeat them because of the synergistic effect of God’s discipline and judgment.
Now look at an example of positive synergism. It is found in Leviticus 26:8
8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
When God’s people unite as a team the results of their efforts are multiplied by the results of positive synergism. Notice the mathematical power shift revealed in this verse.
Solomon understood this as well. Look at Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
There is no way that we will ever be able to complete the Great Commission if our attitudes are not aligned with what God wants us to do and the part he wants us to play. Everything that we do as a church is about people. Why? Because people matter to God and therefore, they should matter to us.
Each of us have to come together to do our part. Two working together is better than one person by themselves. And three is even better than two. All of need to do our part. It takes all of us to accomplish greatness for the kingdom of God.
So today, we have seen that the basic biblical attitude of ministry is a servanthood mentality. Three words in the original Greek highlight this. First, doulos shows that we shou.d be submitted to Christ and loyal to God’s word that nothing can break this relationship. Second, diakonos speaks of the out working of our relationship with Christ by serving the needs of others. And third, huperetes refers to an attitude of obedience to any task, even one of great sacrifice, that we are called by God to do. Let’s be totally submitted to Christ and His word, eager servants to others, and committed to the sacrificial lifestyle modeled by Jesus.
Let me encourage you this week to find ways to get in the Word. Find ways to serve someone this week. Maybe it is fixing a meal for someone. Maybe it is mowing someones lawn. Maybe it is going and getting someones groceries. Whatever it is, find ways to serve those that you can. This week I will be serving at kid’s camp. I promise you this is not a week of vacation. Yes, I enjoy it, but it is definitely not a relaxing time. I am praying that God will do a work in each of the kid’s lives that will be at camp.