What Are You Here For?: Sacrifice & Service

Mother’s Day: Honor Moms

Intro: 7 Church Values

1. Jesus is our message.
2. Connection is our culture
3. Generosity is our privilege
4. Excellence is our pursuit
5. Servant Leadership is our calling
6. Love is our motivation
7. Honor is our commitment

Today we are going to talk about our 5th value. At Pinewood Church, we honor, celebrate, and develop a servant leadership culture. It’s not simply a church value, it’s a calling to every believer wherever you go.

We may have an org chart and titles, but at the core we are all servant leaders. You don’t graduate or elevate your way out of your calling. If you’re too big to serve then you are too small to lead. We believe the greatest leadership is service to others. Every leader is a servant first. From the parking lot to the pulpit, everyone has a place where they can live out their gifts to serve others. Every role is different but they are all important.

There is no limit to what can be accomplished when the body of Christ brings what they have collectively together for the purpose of serving one another and building the Kingdom of God. Servant leadership culture taps into the collective potential of the whole, not the giftings of a select few. We love you too much to do it alone. We love you too much to not invite you in!

Servant leader culture is not what I do for you, but we do for others.

• How do we make it better for those that need to hear the good news of the Gospel?
• How can we be creative in serving our community so that they might see the love of Jesus?
• What can we do to serve one another in such a way that the city looks at us and sees a love like they’ve never known?

Jesus links serving and leadership together in a story found in Matthew 20.

Passage: Matthew 20:20-28 CSB

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached him with her sons. She knelt down to ask him for something. 21 “What do you want?” he asked her. “Promise,” she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking.

Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” “We are able,” they said to him. 23 He told them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

24 When the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. 26 It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you 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.”

Title: Sacrifice & Serving

Main Points: Principles on Servant Leadership

1. A Servant Leader seeks the interest of others

   1. “She knelt down to ask him for something. 21 “What do you want?” he asked her. “Promise,” she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

   2. The Mom: The mom came to the right person. She brought her request to Jesus. Then she knelt down and took a posture of submission and worship. Then she brought her kids. She got that much right, even though Jesus is about to correct what she asks for.

      1. Jesus seems to give her a pass by stating that “You have no idea what you’re asking.” They had a great misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God.

      2. Things in God’s Kingdom are upside down. It’s the ultimate paradox. To be first you must be last. To live you must die. To be rich toward God you must give away. And to be great you must be a servant.

         3. The image that the mother of James and John had in her mind was of status, position, and a place of honor. Maybe if they serve faithfully, they’ll achieve this high honor. Maybe they will share your throne. Jesus reminds them that the focus should not be on position, but mission.

      3. A Mother’s Intention: We don’t know her motive or intention, but I’m sure that in her mind her intentions were pure, but God is always calling us to something greater, something more, something bigger than us.

      4. What mother doesn’t want her son or daughter to go to the greatest school, or get the best teacher, or be honored for their achievements?

         4. Think about the people you admire? Think about the people that have inspired you the most? Are they people that look out for their own interest or the interest of others?

      5. Story: My mom

      6. Story #2: My wife

         5. We are designed to flourish when we serve.

      7. “We feel good when we look after other people, that’s not an accident.” Simon Sinek

      8. Oxytocin (Love Hormone or cuddle hormone) - the chemical associated with feelings of love, friendship, and trust.

         1. Simon Sinek points out that when oxytocin is released in our bodies it makes us feel good and strengthens our immune system, and research suggests it can make us more generous.
         2. Serving others releases oxytocin, getting served releases oxytocin, and even seeing someone serve someone else releases that same chemical.
         3. God designed us to flourish when we seek the interest of others and genuinely love and serve one another! It works on both spiritual and biological levels.
            6. True servant leadership is serving others with no expectation of getting anything as a result
         4. A Servant Leader exercises great humility
            1. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” “We are able,” they said to him. 23 He told them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
            2. The cup Jesus speaks of here is His suffering. Here’s how I’d apply that: Great leaders exercise great humility

2. Jesus led by serving, and He loved by serving. He washed the disciples’ feet. He fed thousands. He walked to visit and heal the sick and dead. He stopped to touch and heal a sick woman. He spent time with those no one else cared to spend time with. Jesus lived a life of serving.

3. In traditional leadership you put your best face forward

   1. Traditional leaders create an atmosphere of “fake it till you make it.” You boast in all your accomplishments and spend the majority of the time name dropping. It’s more about climbing over people to get where you want than lifting people up with sincere motives.

   2. In Kingdom leadership you come as you are

   3. Servant leaders create an atmosphere of authenticity. Where people can come just the way they are, wounds, scars, fears, and all. In that authenticity you find genius creativity and genuine community. You find people not ashamed, but people with a story to tell.

   4. “People would rather follow a leader who is real, than one who is always right.” - Craig Groeschel

   5. You can serve and still have ulterior motives.

   6. Maybe you are serving because you know it will give you favor

   7. Maybe you are serving because you hope to get something later
   8. You could also be serving others because it simply makes you feel better about yourself.
   9. True servanthood is grounded in genuine humility, not selfish gain.
   10. Servant leadership is about growing not gaining. Growing people, not gaining clout. Growing personal health, not gaining happiness. Growing in your relationship with God, not gaining glory.

4. A Servant Leader gives themself away

   1. whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you 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.”
   2. At the core of servant leadership is sacrifice. The more I thought of this word sacrifice, the more I kept coming back to the idea of giving yourself away!
   3. Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many

   4. Question: What will your legacy be?

      1. Will you be known as a person that lived your life to better your career, status, and position.
      2. Or will you be known as a person that followed the example set by Christ and be a servant leader to all.

Closing:

The image that the mother of James and John originally had in her mind was of her sons next to Jesus on the glorious throne. Yet Jesus had a different image in mind. When Jesus was on the cross, she was there watching, and so was John. They saw the true image Jesus had in mind of servant leadership. Instead of two sons on a throne, she saw two thieves on a cross. Jesus gave His life as a ransom for those that would hurt him, deny him, and reject him. He gave himself away, literally to the point of death.

We know that this greatly impacted this mother, often identified as Salome, and her sons. Jesus looks down and gives John the greatest honor by asking him to care for his mother.

James goes on to serve the Lord faithfully and ultimately gets martyred for his faith. And John suffers greatly on the Isle of Patmos.

Let’s be a church known for servant leadership. Always seeking the interest of others, exercising great humility, and giving ourselves away.