Welcome, and thank you once again for listening to the Cultivating Growth podcast, where each and every week we talk about some aspect of our Christian life and the importance of growing in that aspect,  mainly growing in our relationship with God. And so this week we're going to talk about cultivating our growth when it comes to being a servant, a word that is used throughout Scripture, especially in the New Testament, over and over and over again.

A word that, you know, commonly in our culture here in 2024 in the United States, is not a word that we love to use, servant or slave, but certainly a concept and a principle that is used throughout scripture to talk about our relationship with God and ultimately with others. So I'm looking forward to this conversation and this discussion.

once again for listening. Let's get right to it. 

Jeremy, you mentioned in the outset that being a servant is not necessarily something that is highly regarded in our culture today. We like to be the ones who are in charge and we like to be the ones that others look up to. And, and that's just kind of been ingrained in us. over time, especially in the United States and the American mindset and culture.

But as we look into scripture, it's very evident that God is calling his people to be servants and to have servant like mentalities, so much so that it's even pointed out multiple times that that's how Jesus viewed himself. The greatest of, of all men, the son of God, the Messiah, he came to serve and he saw himself as a servant.

And so certainly if he was a servant and recognize the importance of that, certainly that's something that we would be called to do as well and should take great joy in the opportunity to serve. And so let's talk a little bit about just the idea of. Being a servant and kind of what that means biblically, because I think some things we may, we may picture certain things in our mind when that term comes up, but I think it's important to kind of center us on biblically speaking, what it really means to be a servant.

Yeah, I mean, at the basis, you're dealing with, I think in a lot of ways, three very Bible y words that really dig into that idea of being a servant. One is humility the other is obedience, and the other is submission. I mean, in a lot of ways, those three words, you know, really kind of line up. You know, what the idea of being a servant is, you know, Paul uses a lot of those same words of Philippians chapter two, you made mention of Jesus, and he is the greatest example of this, and and we're reminded of it over and over before Philippians chapter two, you know, the very simple passage of Mark chapter 10 verse 45, you know, that says that Jesus, who was God, Didn't come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many and so that you know that reality is given They're in the Gospels, but in flipping chapter 2  Where Paul is reminding it's talking about humility And he turns to Jesus in this example, and he makes the point in verse 6 that you know he was equal with God, but yet he still left heaven, verse seven, to be in the form of a servant.

And then a verse eight, it says he humbled himself and became obedient. And so we still have those same principles imply or in play.  And so I think when we, When we think about servant it has such negative connotations a lot of times it number one it shouldn't right, but in Instead you need to you start focusing on humility if you live a life focused on humility and obedience and submission You're going to live the life of a servant And so understanding the importance of those things, I think, helps in seeing God in the sense that it makes with him calling us to a life of service.

Yeah, and I think as he calls us to that life of servitude, what he's doing is he's asking us to use everything that's at our disposal to help or to serve. Someone else, that's the, that's the message in first Peter chapter four and verse 10 verses 10 and 11. Peter talks about anyone that has a gift you use that to serve other people That's why it's been given to you all these wonderful and amazing gifts gifts that God has given to each of us.

He's, he's blessed all of us differently and with unique gifts and abilities. Those have been given so that we can help and serve other people. And so we look at the great blessings that God has given to us and we should take a step back and think, how can I be a servant to others? Using the gifts and the abilities that I have to lift them up and to help them in some capacity.

I think that needs to be the mindset that we as Christians have and if we all have that mindset I mean the sky is the limit as to How the church can grow and how we can edify one another and strengthen each other and build each other up Because we're all using our gifts. We're all using our abilities to serve one another in different areas and walks of life That's that's such a beautiful picture of the way God has kind of designed and created the Lord's church and his people to be there to help one another and to serve one another.

And that's, that's the life he's called us to, those things that he's given to us aren't meant to be used for selfish desires. They're meant to be used in such a way as to bless other people and to serve them. Yeah, you know, when we think about service, you know, sometimes the easy part is understanding  service to God, right?

That's the easy part, and certainly we can grab hold of that. But it is the passages  that are all over the place that talks about not just our service to God, but our service to others. And listen, that should make sense to us because that's what love is. And we can understand that. Those that we love, we usually have no trouble doing things for them. 

That just isn't the case. And so, we're called to love God, so we'll serve Him. But we're also called to love others. And so we should be willing to serve them. And again, when we're able to point to Jesus and to see his propensity for service, I mean, it's remarkable. I mean, it is a remarkable picture of the amount of times where he had  opportunities to think of himself.

He just simply never does that. I mean, whether it's  on the cross or whether it's at a time that he should have been eating or sleeping or at a time that he was traveling from one place to the next, or, you know, whether he was tired or he's,  you know, walking and surrounded by lots of people. He always had time.

time to serve, always had time to serve. And I think that's why you have throughout the epistles, especially so often those writers pointing us back to Jesus to say, listen, this is how he was. And so it's certainly how we need to be. You know, I've thought as I was kind of just preparing for this podcast, I was thinking about why is it?

That, you know, we don't necessarily love the idea of, of being a servant. You know, you look at Jesus as an example, and it seems obvious that, okay, well, this is the life we're called to, right? Why, why is it that there's still friction there? And, and I think the answer is because in our minds, anyway, we can, can convince ourselves that it goes against our own freedoms that we as Americans embrace.

Being a servant means that I act at the behest of someone else. And the American dream says, no, I do whatever I want to do,  but true freedom, or as the new King James is going to say liberty in Galatians chapter five, that's not something that goes in conflict with being a servant. In fact, when Paul writes Galatians in Galatians chapter five, beginning in verse 13, he's going to say for you, brethren have been called to liberty.

That's what we've been called to. We've been called to freedom. We've been called to liberty. But don't use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. What Paul is saying is, you don't have to reject freedom and liberty. That's not what he's asking us to do. What he's asking us to do is to embrace that liberty that we have been blessed with, and then use that in love to serve other people.

And so I think that's just a shift in our mindset, really, as we think about how we approach being a servant, it's not giving up freedom or liberty, it's actually living into the freedom that God called us to, and then using that freedom through love to serve other people. And so it really is just a challenge for each of us, I think, to change our mindset a little bit about how we think about it.

And once we do that, I think it's really going to open the door for us to embrace this life of servitude that we've been called to. I think one of the biggest reasons why it's such a big challenge is we're battling against one of the strongest desires that man has, and that's selfishness and pride. And so, when you're battling against that, there's always going to be a challenge.

And that's where humility comes in. And so, we battle against that. And you're right, I think, In this country and in our culture, maybe we battle against it even harder because it, that it is elevated so much in our culture, but we're, we're battling against pride or we're battling against ego. We're battling against selfishness.

That's what, that's what a life of servanthood is all about. And, and because of that, it, it makes it difficult because of that, it feels weird and it feels different and feels awkward. You know? It, it, it.  It throws people off. I mean, sometimes even it threw off the disciples when Jesus would, would, would talk about it or certainly when he would do, you know, acts of service, if you will.

I mean, the, you know, the best example of that is in John chapter 13 when, you know, Jesus is there with his disciples and he's having a very  serious and timely discussion with them that, that spans multiple chapters here in the gospel of John. Thank you.  And they're having a discussion and it and John seems to tell the story and he would be able to because he was there But he seems to tell the story like in the middle of a conversation That you know, they're just at a table and Jesus just gets up and he doesn't say anything or he does it He's not making a big, you know, a point about what's about to happen.

He just gets up and he girds himself with the towel and he, he leans down at the feet of his disciples and with a basin of water. And he just goes to start washing feet. And we know that that was bothersome to people because Peter says, so it says, Whoa, let's, he puts a stop to it very, very quickly.

But yet we know as we read that passage, that the point that Jesus is making is that It, it's, it's not above any of us. It's not above even me to live the life of a service. And here was something that, that needed to be done. It's something that I can do, and it's not, I'm not, it's not beneath me to wash your feet.

And then he, you know, he lays on them that, you know, that application or principle that this is the kind of mindset that you need to have. But it really shows us not just the story and the application, but I think it also shows us. How out of place a life of service can be. And so we're battling against that as well.

Not just battling against pride and ego. That's hard in and of itself, but we're also battling against how different this life is and that's challenging as well. Yeah. I do think, you know, just listening to you recount that story of Jesus washing the disciples feet. I think what it made me think of.  We struggle sometimes with how to apply our desire to serve other people. 

If I walked up to you today and I said, Jeremy, how can I serve you today?  Well, number one, you're going to think that's a weird question, but number two, you're probably not going to really have an answer for me. Right. I'm going to say, I don't, I don't need anything. Right. Yeah. I don't, I'm good. I don't need anything.

Right. And so we can't necessarily just start walking up to people and asking that question, we're not really going to get  heartfelt answers and responses that are helpful to us,  but that's not what Jesus did. He just saw something, saw an opportunity to serve. And I think that's more the mindset that we're being called to embrace is I don't necessarily need to just start asking people how I can serve them.

I need to just be more observant. And when I observe an opportunity, I act on it. And that's, that's the way it works in my mind. Observe, act, observe, act. And that is really the, the style of servitude that we see Jesus emulating and what we're being called to. And so what that means is I have to train myself to be observant about other people's needs.

I have to be watching for opportunities to serve, and then I need to be quick to act on those opportunities. And so that, that's what we see Jesus doing. And I think that's where sometimes I know for me, I've struggled with that at times because I haven't trained myself to be a really good observer and to recognize opportunities.

But when I do that and I begin to really pay attention to the lives of other people and maybe what they're going through or what they're doing, then those opportunities to stir, to serve, start popping up more and more frequently. And it gives me an opportunity to then act on that. Yeah. I mean, we've got to be a good listener, which we're.

Yeah. Usually not great at, you know, as well, you know, in this kind of couples with, you know, what we were talking about last week with self control is, you know, we've got it, we've got to be able to then control ourself on the action side of things that once I've listened, once I've observed, now I'm ready to take action.

And usually taking that action in these acts of service is pushing pride away and being humble. And it's. It's where Jesus was, it's who he was, and if we want to be like him, if we want to be a part of his life and we want him to be a part of our life, it has to be the attitude that we take on as well.

Well, since we've talked so much about Jesus and what he demonstrated as a servant and what he said as a servant, it's only appropriate to close our time on this topic with the words of Jesus. So Mark Chapter nine, he's speaking to his disciples and says that he, he sat down and he called the 12 to him.

And he said this, if anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.  Thank you for listening this week. If you haven't already done so, we'd appreciate it. If you would take just a second to subscribe to the podcast, whatever platform you're listening, Rate and review the show so we can continue to spread the good news of Jesus as widely and effectively as possible Thanks again for joining us this week, and we'll talk again next week