Serve One Another

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Brother Mike and I go through these one another's that there is again.
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There's a lot of overlap There's a lot of interweaving of the one another's and and and it should be that way, right? in other words, it should be it should be something that that It's so predominant in the scriptures That we would see it in a lot of different angles in a lot of different ways and they kind of cross paths and tie Knots together, but this morning I do want to look at and for rather than read the whole chapter because we've read it a couple of times I just want to read verse 13 for now and Then I wrote every verse on the boy that I'm going to try to reference this morning on the left side and then on the right Side, I'm gonna try to go through those eight points if we get to great if not We'll see how it goes, but anyway, I want to do read verse 13 it says for you brethren have been Called to Liberty only do not use your Liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another Do love serve one another I kind of want to focus on that again I will read a bunch of scriptures to you You won't have to turn to him, but that's why I wrote him down in case you wanted to reference him at a later point but uh it's interesting the word that's used is the Long ago when I first tried to understand some Greek one of the first words that I looked at was doulas and Does anybody know what doulas means? But I know my wife does sister Slave right and the word that's used for serve comes out of that root word for doulas I Remember even when I first, you know, I thought I was a Greek scholar I had this word down anyway, and I used to call candy my doulas And I assure you Yeah, I went over really I even had that in my notes that it didn't go over.
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Well But it didn't go over.
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Well, especially in public so I Shied away from that because I do like to eat so But that's where this word comes from and in the way the word is used It's used as a verb and again a verb does what? Denotes action right something that's has an activity attached to it.
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So when we think about this whole idea of How we are through love to serve one another that's the idea that if we were to consider this rightly brothers and sisters that so When you think of a slave, what do you think about? Servitude okay Anything else any other word come to your mind? Bondage, okay Anything else debt sure Ministering right? That's what a servant does.
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He ministers.
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He's in debt.
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He's he's kind of he's bound to whoever is His or her master, right? So when we think about this whole idea of serving one another I want to try to carry that through as we begin to consider This that as we are told that through love we are to serve one another That we have to think about that reality that we are indebted to serve And again, if you look on this side of what I wrote everything and I wrote one in blue one in green and the last one Up, I'll say it now and I'll probably say again later Serving is not optional for the Christian Serving one another and and serving in in large is not optional and I wonder sometimes if we have Not let that settle in our minds that we think that if we do something if we serve someone That that they're indebted to us in the reality is we're indebted to serve and I hope to show you that a little bit more But I mean, let me ask you to remember this scripture.
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You remember when? When the Lord Jesus said no servant can serve two masters Right for you that he will hate the one and love the other or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other You cannot serve God and man so when you think about that, he's he's drawing a Distinction and a comparison you you can't do both so if you're going to serve one if you're gonna be indebted to one then you have to be indebted to that one and that one becomes your Your master that one becomes the one to whom you pledge allegiance that and the one that you enact out that allegiance and that idea of serving It's really contrary Because and that's exactly what the Lord Jesus says, right? He says what either you will what hate the one and love the other or else you will be loyal to one and despise the other So we have to begin to think about that and this whole idea of serving one another that not only is it not optional But there's really either we we will or we won't And if we won't it's because we're serving something else and that could very well be serving ourselves which Many times becomes the case but but I wanted to bring that scripture But I also wanted to bring up what Paul says in Colossians He says this knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ So again, one of the reasons why come on one of the reasons why we most need to serve one another is What would you what would you think? What's the what's behind us serving one another? What what? Brings us to that point Okay, love and we're gonna carry that along.
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But is it not the fact that The Savior came into the world to do that very thing that he came ever He said I didn't come to be ministered to but to Minister.
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So again if we're going to serve one another and We think about it in a right way What he's really teaching us is that we have to be Christ-like because again, that's who he was That was what he did And you and I must understand also that we it wasn't always that way with us Well Let me read this to you Paul says in Galatians chapter 4 says when when you did not know God You served those which by nature are not God.
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So as we say often either is he ain't That's high theological terms, but either you are in Christ Serving Christ serving Christ people or you are not And the reason why you're not is because you're serving something else and someone else, right? And if you're not serving God, who are you serving? So but but who's who's who's that which controls you? The devil right the evil one.
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That's what it that's not what Paul says in Timothy that God would grant them repentance So today come to the knowledge of the truth and and and what be released from the bondage of the devil Who's taking him captive at his will? So again, that's a that's something that we have to settle So many people will try to serve others But if we do not serve with that mindset, then is it really serves it might be service in in a worldly way But we're never really called to serve in just worldly ways.
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We're called to serve in light of Christ serving us.
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So if that's true if I'm at least Somewhere on the right road and I want to begin to take a couple minutes and just consider eight different things from This whole idea of serving one another eight observations.
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And and again, I'm not sure we'll get through all of them So with this Lord in mind number one in order to serve one another there must be a great amount of Selflessness on our part rather than self ishness That if you and I are truly going to serve one another as Christ served us as He commands us to serve then we are first going to have to settle in our minds Am I going to be selfish or? selfless And and again, that's again something that you and I that's a basic truth, right? And you and I really have to dig into our own hearts again much of these one another's They really are things that we really have to think about we got to get down to the root of it am I Well, I'll put it to you this way did I come here this morning with a selfless attitude or a selfish attitude Something to think about right? Did I come here to serve or did I come here to be served? Or did I come here to be both? I think we have to ask that question but again if you and I are not really sure of our Motivation and we'll talk a little bit more about motivation That someone else's welfare is your priority rather than your own and again, I'm not discarding the fact that we have to serve ourselves, right because Every man loves his own flesh But the idea is that you and I if we're really going to follow the one another's in the idea of serving in the idea of putting ourselves into servitude or indebtedness to someone else and then Allowing that to manifest itself.
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We're going to have to be selfless And sometimes what happens when you're selfless just think about that.
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What sometimes when you go out on a You go out I'll use the term I don't know if it's a good time you go out on a limb What do you do you put yourself what sometimes Vulnerable why why why do we why do we why do we feel vulnerable, right? And really that goes back to us not what Walking that I mean not wanted to be vulnerable not wanting to be confused not wanting to be Stepped on right? So again, these these things are they're not um, just Real quick hits.
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These are things that we really have to think about and then we have to Look at our own lives and say is that working out? again, we see it in so many of the relationships that god has put us in whether it be a parent to a child or a husband to a wife or Brother to a sister where that the idea of serving or putting ourselves in in um in service to the other Is fairly easy, but even in that it's not always the easiest is it? There are many things that we all do that Rather than being selfless, even though we want to serve selfishness and desire and again, that's something that has to be Eradicated from us And let me read this scripture to you and I thought about this how this in in many ways in my mind at least uh relates to it and it's from mark and remember what jesus said he said, you know that those who Are considered rulers over the gentiles lorded over them And their great ones exercise authority over them yet.
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It shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you Shall be your servant whoever desires to be First shall be slave of all for even the son of man did not come to be served But to serve and to give his life a ransom for many This idea of selflessness brothers and sisters um These are the you know, but I think brother mike mentioned the the book last week about respectable sins right in in There's a lot of secret sins that we all carry Um, and people might not even see them but but those are the I believe those are the ones that we need to work on Um in a great way because they will manifest themselves in our lives.
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So again, uh think of it that way Are you serving one another with the thought of selflessness or you're serving because many people will serve another person Put the idea of selfishness won't they? In other words, i'll do this for you because what? I'm gonna get something out of it, right? It's it's not really selfless.
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It's it's selfish.
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It's motivated by moi, right What will what success will I have in getting? Um this so that whole idea of selflessness I think is important in the idea of serving one another number two Uh that serving one another must be motivated by love And if you remember the first one another that we did was what? Huh Right on bro, right and brother mike brought up though that that That if you will that fountain or I would say an ocean of truth that that all these one another's All our lives have to be motivated um no matter what it is that we do with the reality that we Love one another why? Because god so Loved us Right.
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So again, um I look at my life and I say, okay.
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Am I selfless? Selfless or selfish? I look at my life and say am I motivated? Am I driven? Am I carried along by love? Or is there something else that's pushing the train down the tracks? This whole idea of love is extremely important paul said if you remember what he said in romans 13, he said oh no, man, what? You can do anything But to love one another right and so again you and I have to think about it And that's what I read to you.
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Remember what jesus said? He said either you will love the one And hate the other right or you'll be loyal to one and disloyal to the other So you and I have to think about this in this idea of serving.
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Did you come here this morning? Did I come here this morning? Do we? Live our lives in a selfless way where I so love others That I am looking forward and looking for opportunities to serve rather than to be served and again, um I really trust that That we are serious about examining ourselves in the light.
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Is it really love and that's what paul said here in romans I mean galatians 5 13 right brethren.
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You have been called to liberty only do not use your liberty as an opportunity to flesh.
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But what? through love Serve one another for all the law is fulfilled and when wordy even in this you shall love your neighbor as yourself And then he contrasted but if you bite and devour one another beware lest you be consumed by one another I was thinking about that.
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I was thinking about the contrast between love and biting and I remember brother mike's Study on biting and devouring one another I'm going to tell you what I think he said He could correct me, but maybe something you remember Do you remember brother mike when he's talking about biting and devouring one another he was trying to describe what the meaning of the words Were and and if I remember right brother mike said he liked to watch shows like planet earth And the animal shows because he used to like to watch the leopard Chase the little deer down the road and hit its back legs out and bite and devour it You did say something like that brother, right? Yeah Now let me ask you a question.
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Do you think the little lamb thinks that's an act of love? No Why because it's it's destructive it's all based on selfishness, even though it's driven by By the desire to take care of yourself But I remembered when brother mike said that and I thought about it I thought such a vivid example and how it's contrasted with this idea that we are to um Really serve one another by love We are to be those And it has to be true love, right? Um And and here's something I wanted to ask us to think about Well, let me pose it as a question.
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Would you agree with me? that serving is um vitally attached to love And that love is vitally attached to forgiveness Would I be off if I if I said that please raise your hand because I can't listen everybody at once Come on think about it Would you agree with me that there is a vital connection between Serving love and forgiveness.
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If not, tell me why if so, tell me what? And can you get to the point where you want to do that Okay Um, yes, and somebody asked you a question.
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Why do we want to serve god? Ah Thank you And and that forgiveness produces what Love And that love produces should produce what? service right so and I thought about you remember when jesus said and he was speaking about the uh, one of the women that he healed he said I I and they will argue As they always wanted to argue with with the lord jesus and he said I say to you her sins which are many are forgiven For she loved much but to whom little is forgiven The same loves little My thought is that not teaching us that there's a connection um between serving loving and forgiving And and I agree with you sister.
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I was trying to get us to think Why we would even want to serve and the reality is Or maybe i'll put it to you this way And I put it to myself this way Maybe one of the reasons why we struggle serving each other As we ought to and I don't just mean us here, but I mean serving others Maybe one of the reasons is because we really don't realize what we've been forgiven something to think about Right to whom much Is forgiven the same I didn't say it.
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So i'm very comfortable saying what jesus said He said to whom much is forgiven the same loves much So maybe go ahead brian First instead of serving because without forgiveness, you don't know about love or you don't know about service because like I said until you realize and truly ponder the thing of forgiveness Once you get past that then it comes to love because of what was given to you and then through love But you want to serve the one That forgiveness has come.
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I agree.
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I mean I was if I had to do it, I would I would do it this way forgiveness This way it goes to love And that that goes to serve I think that is the order Right to whom much is forgiven the same loves much That one who loves much.
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I mean that one to whom much was forgiven That one will serve much And if i'm not wrong, jesus said the opposite Also, he drew this distinction.
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He said but to whom little is forgiven the same loves little maybe one of the reasons why we don't serve as much as as we ought to or in the way we ought to is because We just don't understand what took place on calvary's cross You see friends all these one another's go back to the cross Because all truth goes back to the cross All truth comes out of what jesus Who he was the person and work of the savior So we have to ask ourselves and again, I know these things are They're big thoughts, but I do believe it's important for us.
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Um To consider it that we really have to serve in the spirit of um Knowing that we who owed so much Were forgiven so much right I wonder if the thief on the cross If it were possible and he wasn't put to death at that point I wonder how he would have served christ after that To be at that point and to be so guilty and be so forgiven for so much what a demonstration of and how that would have uh Transformed him and we see it in the gospels, don't you? of the of the ones that The ones that were healed the ones that were made whole the ones who were given Uh great miracles to them in body and soul and restoration in so many ways Almost all of them said what i'm going to follow you and many times you said no you go back there or follow me So again, we have to ask ourselves.
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Are we really? Those who realize That we have been forgiven much and in that way, I believe We will learn to serve much also All right.
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Let me just try to get through a couple more thoughts and again I don't have to get through this.
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So if you want to take this And bring up some different thoughts, that's fine but um Also, I want to bring up this idea that serving has to be without legalism And again, I think brother mike has done really good helping us understand the context of relations five And and and the issues that were there and the legalism and and and all that that tended towards what What what's really behind legalism? What would what did you get from what brother mike and what do you think what's really what really drives legalism to to keep on going Huh Yeah, it's selfishness, but what does it do it puts people in? Yeah, well, yeah and it puts other people in bondage Right, that's what happens so again, um, you and I have to really begin to think that trying to um Serve one another with a whole list of requirements really is not serving one another It it's tends more towards legalism and it tends more towards uh bondage then Uh, because that's if I got this, right, that's what he said in verse 13 for you brethren have been called what? To liberty But don't use your liberty as an opportunity for the flesh but through love serve one another in contrast to that Because you you can develop whole system and again, i'll go back to my thought of many people serve someone else because um, they're trying to to Corral them or or Cause them to become their servants That ought to not be us.
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We ought to be able to uh, look at this thing in a way that it's We are We were in bondage to sin We have been made free In order that we might be put in bondage again Is that is that correct? Theologically, okay We have been freed from one master to what serve another because even as bob dylan said You're gonna serve somebody Hey Hey Some of you don't have any idea what I just said and that's okay and you're probably better off So so again this whole idea that our service to one another has to be really born out of it has to Again, I say it this way.
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It has to flow out of us it it ought to not be it ought to not have to be pulled or pushed or Um any of those things and that leads me to the next point I just wanted to mention this that um And i'll say it this way and that's the way I thought about serving one another Means that in many ways our service has to be blind It has to be blind and what any man? Sister I ain't having two wives I got one due loss and that's plenty You do have your own card, don't you baby? Uh, I didn't give you my keys did I know I got my keys, okay.
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Um, yeah, I mean could you imagine you know, I don't When it comes to polygamy for a thousand different reasons, but I But anyway Let me get back to my thought that in many ways love has to observing one that has to be blind What I mean by that it cannot be based on externals It has to be something that's residing in our heart that we desire to do without seeking um All the other things that we so often like to package up uh It's easy for me to serve people that are like me It's easy to serve people who are in the same position of life in the same age in the same uh Status group and you know, I love I enjoy serving ball-headed men Why Well bearded men are fine, too And even those that are clean-cut But we get my idea that we we really have to think about what what's really driving the train Are we really desired and you know what? I thought about I thought about the good samaritan And there's a lot of things that we can talk about with the good samaritan But he wasn't really guided by externals was he I mean the priest He did his thing, right Looked away Levi crossed the street um, it's the good samaritan, I mean He had compassion on him.
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And what did that compassion do? Caused him to pick him up and carry him And it caused him not only to carry him to the end, but then to to seek his welfare even when he was gone It was blind It was a need And that's the way our service should be should be based on um, nothing other than Indebtedness to serve.
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Oh, no man anything but to love one another Now granted i'm not saying blind in that we're fools Uh, you know We we have to be discerning But as far as what motivates us, it really has to be blind friends It cannot carry a whole lot of uh baggage Andy I think the question we have to ask ourselves are are we willing to serve someone who Is going to treat us like a servant? Yeah You know, we're we're happy to serve somebody who you know Won't make us feel like Serving them yeah, it's I think that's a really good point because again Um, we put so many We create so many fences and and Walls around things that we do or don't do that are not really scriptural fences or scriptural walls We just do them and then once we do them, we make sure nobody touches them because again we built that little wall around our our our thoughts and no one's going to take it down because i'm the captain of my own ship and I and I do think that Uh many times we have to ask ourselves, uh, are we really doing this out of uh, A desire to be compassionate a desire to to see someone else if you will even rise up ahead of us You come out on top Even if it means we come out on bottom or as brother mike was saying even if we become vulnerable Will we become uncomfortable? Because I would I would ask you to think about this um It's hard to serve somebody that you're not comfortable with Agree or disagree and I'm going to ask you for specifics.
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I'm just saying in general.
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It's easy to serve somebody that you're comfortable with Right.
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It's not easy to serve somebody you're uncomfortable with And again why you're uncomfortable with them There might be legitimate reasons but even over and beyond that if we're really driven by love and and the whole idea of forgiveness That should be able to help us even work through that to make us grow I agree, brother.
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I agree that that's where we have to go, right? And that's the whole thing with all these one another's these one another's are not just facts These are things that have to be in us and they have to what? Be growing right? Why what do we think that means when peter says growing the grace? And in the knowledge of the son of god who so loved us that he gave himself for us You think that's just a statement? You think that's just a doctrinal, uh sentence? No To your point we have to learn to overcome The biggest person that I need to overcome Is me Do you think about yourself that way? and again We need to work.
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We need to work on our own souls Yeah, and the reasons why some of them we don't even know why right some of them almost like Some of it I think is really because we have prejudices Whatever would they be right? Yeah again, um this whole idea of serving and to your point, I think it's a really good point is that Even when we sense these things we got to overcome them, right? Oh, we're not growing in grace And and i'll be honest with you brothers and sisters and you would probably be honest You know some people that have been in christ for for Long periods of time and you don't see that graces manifest themselves Maybe it's partly Because some of those real issues of the heart have never really been dealt with right i'm not talking about outwardly and knowing the the jargon of the christian faith But it's it Again it goes back to this whole idea to whom much is forgiven the same loves much It is hard to love a bully sister Sample size, right? Yeah, but didn't you marry a big man sister? I don't blame you one bit sister I've never forgotten sister when I first met you you told me that that they called you sample size And I think that's I guess that but you still carried around in your mind That's funny but again Uh It is hard to serve someone who's a bully.
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It is hard to serve someone when you don't believe that their interest is to serve you Again, this is something these are things we have to work through It's easy to serve someone when you know that they're willing to serve you It's very hard to serve someone when you know, they're not really they're not really in it for you.
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They're in it for self Again issues of the heart.
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Okay Let me ask you to think about this, um It's that serving ought to be a delight rather than a burden serving ought to be a delight Rather than a burden I'm going to read this to you.
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It's and I wrote on the boards in deuteronomy 28 It says because you did not serve the lord your god with joy and gladness of heart In all your abundance you will serve your enemies.
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The lord will set against you In famine thirst nakedness and destitution he will place an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed Because you did not serve the lord your god With joy and gladness of heart Is it a joy to serve each other? Or is it too much is it a burden Maybe it's a burden because we are burdened We have burdens in our own heart that we can't get rid of and so everything that we look at seems like just another burden for us Again, um, you think of the lord jesus christ There's never been someone who was as in that sense free as he was Why was he so free to serve because he was free from sin? He didn't have Those thoughts that you and I have in that way Where he was, uh, he it didn't matter He knew he was vulnerable He knew he would be abused he knew that he would turn against him he knew it and yet he did it why out of love again He served the father and that the father had sent him Remember what it says in psalm 40 says in the value of the book is written me of me.
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I delight To do your will it was a delight to the serving of the lord.
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Jesus christ not only to his father but to us so again, um I wanted you to think about that and to ask us and I was going to read from first kings and and well Yeah, let me let me ask us to do that real quick And the only scripture i'll ask you to turn to go to first kings chapter 9 for a minute.
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I want to show you something about solomon First kings is right before second kings I want you to see this in first kings.
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Um If I can get to the right reference Okay, i'm going to read these these verses to you First kings chapter 9 verse 1 It came to pass.
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This is the solomon built the temple came to pass when solomon had finished building the house of the lord And the king's house and all solomon's desires which he wanted to do that The lord appeared to solomon a second time as he appeared to him in gibbon The lord said to him I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you've made before me.
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I've sanctified This house which you have built to put my name there forever and my eyes and my heart will be there perpetually now If you walk before me as your father david walked in integrity of heart in uprightness to do according that all that I have commanded you And if you keep my statutes and my judgments, I will establish your throne the throne of your kingdom over israel forever as I promised david your father saying you shall not fail to have a man on the throne of israel, but If you and your sons at all turn from following me and do not keep my commandments and my statutes Which I have sent before you but go and serve other gods and worship them I will cut off israel from the land which I have given him and this house Which I have sanctified for my name and I will cast them Out of my sight israel will be a proverb and a byword among the nations and this house And this house will be Exalted yet.
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Everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say why has the lord? done this Why has the lord done this to this land and to? His house then they will answer because they forsook the lord their god Who brought their fathers out of the land of egypt and have embraced? Other gods worshiped them served them.
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Therefore the lord has brought all this calamity on them something to think about Are we really those who uh Serve god with delight Because many people in this world serve their master with delight Well, I don't care what that delight is I don't care if it's power.
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I don't care if it's money I don't care what it is.
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There's a delight to it.
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There's a reward to it.
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Otherwise, I wouldn't do it How about us and then and finally before we close or as we close I wanted to remind us all this Again, when I said in the beginning serving is not optional Serving is not for the super christian Because there is no super christians Serving is for all of us I'll just read this to you what jesus said This is luke 17.
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He says which of you Whose servant comes in from plowing or shepherding in the field will say to him come at once and sit down and eat Instead won't he tell him prepare my meal and dress yourself to serve me while I eat and drink And afterward you may eat and drink does he thank that servant because he did what he was told So you also when you have done everything commanded of you should say We are unworthy servants we have only done our duty Brothers and sisters if we are going to um grow into one another's Then there's a lot of um, there's a lot of groundwork that has to be done Okay not easy but Loving god in in one sense is so easy and yet in another sense.
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It's not And i'll tell you why and as we close And I said this wednesday night and i'll say it again One of the reasons why I believe we don't love god that much is because we don't look to god that much And the reason why we don't look to god that much is because if we look to god we have to look at ourselves And looking at ourselves is disturbing but if you really are going to know god you're going to have to know yourself And so again, I hope these one another's will help us as we go through our lives.
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Um in in every area at every station Okay, let's just close them Our father in god again, we thank you for your great love to us For your great work in us for us both now and for all eternity bless us this morning maybe maybe sing lord, uh Because we want to sing May we pray because we want to pray maybe Maybe open your word because we want and we delight in it.
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May you be pleased to do A great work in us this morning bless us now.
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We pray in christ's name.