Notes - 24th September 06

Bible passages:
Isaiah 42: 1-10
John 13: 1-17

The world defines greatness in terms of status, power, position over others. Jesus, however, measured greatness in terms of service of others.

What is your reaction to the word 'servant'? Everyone wants to lead, no one wants to be a servant. One of Jesus' memorable sayings is Mark 10: 45: 'The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many'.

How did that turn every expectation of God's Messiah upside down for people? The roots of this idea of the Deliverer coming as a lowly servant are found in Isaiah.

Six characteristics of real servants are:

*1: Real servants make themselves available to serve

(Read Isaiah 42:1- 4) What positive and negative phrases are used to describe God's servant in v1-4? How much do you think it cost Jesus to leave the glory of heaven to become a servant like this for us? Are you willing to serve anyone, anytime, even if it puts you out or interrupts your life?

*2: Real servants pay attention to needs

(Read Isaiah 42: 5-9) What has God done for His servant and what were the needs of humanity for which Jesus came to help? Notice that despite the honour given to Jesus, he willingly came to spend himself on behalf of the needs of others. Warren suggests that often we miss opportunities to serve others, because we lack sensitivity and spontaneity. We don't see the needs of others, even when they are right in front of us, and we put off acting right away in response to them. Is this true in your experience? 'Great opportunities to serve never last long.They pass quickly, sometimes never to return again. You may only get one chance to serve that person, so take advantage of the moment.'

How readily do you act on the impulse of the Spirit in such a moment?

*3: Real servants do their best with what they have

John Wesley: 'Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.' Is this possible for us to do? Do you tend to make excuses or procrastinate? Do you sometimes stop from doing something, because you think you can never be good enough at it to serve? Remember, our service doesn't have to be perfect for God to use and bless it. Can you think of something where God is challenging you to simply offer the service you can to him?

*4: Real servants do every task with equal dedication

(Read John 13:1-5) The scene is the upper room, where Jesus ate the last supper with the disciples. Amazingly, John doesn't give any details of the meal, but recounts the washing of the disciples feet by Jesus. Why do you think he thought this was so significant? It is clear from the way the story is told, that the job of washing the feet of others was regarded as the lowest task you could imagine. Can you think why this was so? Jesus says later (v15) that he had set his disciples 'an example'. Notice, he did not just do a token washing of one or two of them, he washed the feet of all of them (including Judas Iscariot!). What does this say about dedication to the task of service? What does it say about how wholehearted we should be in our service of all?

*5: Real servants are faithful to their ministry

(Read John 13: 6-11) How would you explain Peter's reaction from amongst all the disciples? You see, for some of us, it is at least as difficult to receive service from another, as it is to give service to another. Is that true of you? Why?

How would you explain Peter's reversal of response to Jesus wanting to wash him, when he realised the importance of it? Peter was later to write, 'Put on the apron of humility, to serve one another' (1 Peter 5:5 TEV) Is that hard for you to do?

*6: Real servants maintain a low profile

(Read John 13:12-17) Do you think Peter had an inflated ego at the start of this incident? How do you think he felt by the end of it? Jesus calls his disciples not only to receive his cleansing, but to serve other people. How should we follow his 'example' today?

Is Gorgie church a 'servant' church? If not, how can we set about putting things right?