Walking with God: Serve

March 20, 2022 

We’re in our Walking with God message series, we are learning to walk with God, as Jesus did. In the first week we talked about true worshippers. They don’t keep God at a distance, they open the door of their heart to God. The second week we learned the Bible is alive! As we regularly read it and apply it to our lives, it changes us as God speaks to us. Next week we are talking about giving, the next week about sharing the good news. And on Palm Sunday we’ll talk about how Jesus did all five of these while he was on the cross. 

So today we are talking about serving. You know we all have patterns or rules we tend to follow. Often, God has a different standard. Jesus said, “do unto others as you would have them do to you.” 

Sometimes we like to live by a different rule, like, “Do unto others, then split!” Or there’s, “If someone does something to me, I’ll do it right back to them!” That’s different from what Jesus said. He said, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” Maybe they were not kind to you. But Jesus says, treat them as you wish they would treat you. It doesn’t matter if they are rude. You treat them better; the way you wish they would act towards you. 

How does God act towards you? God unconditionally forgives you, accepts you, and includes you. He wants you to treat others the way he treats you. 

But it’s tough. You might think, “I love you God, but I can’t stand so and so.” Or “I love you God, but I just do not want to do something nice for that person.”  

So why should we serve others?  

Galatians is a book in Scripture that the Apostle Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia. Galatia is an area that today is in the middle of Turkey. It is written by Paul who was a Jewish religious leader but became a Christian. 

For some reason, the Galatians thought following Jesus meant you still had to follow all the Jewish rules and regulations. Paul is telling them, no, you’re free from the law! Becoming right with God used to be like advanced calculus: there’s so much you have to know and do to be right with God. But Paul says: we are not made right by God through following the Law. You don’t have to follow 600 rules. Instead, God through Jesus broke down the barriers. You are saved by God’s forgiveness in Jesus. You are saved by believing in God. 

Now you have freedom! When you get freedom in life, what do you do? When you get a drivers’ license you have freedom! How fast will you go? 

Paul says, “You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature.” Don’t use your freedom as an opportunity to be self-centered.  

Freedom from the law might seem like, now I don’t have to be nice, so I won’t be nice! But that’s not walking with God. Freedom in Christ can mean you have an opportunity to freely do things that the law you were commanded to do.  

I notice at home I don’t mind doing a chore if I do it on my own. If I shovel the snow, I feel good for what I did. And I want my family to know, hey, I shoveled the sidewalk! I wanna blow a trumpet; “Look at what I did!” 

But if someone tells me, “You need to go shovel,” I don’t like it. I don’t like it when someone tells me what to do. We have freedom, and we can use it to willingly do the good we used to be commanded to do. 

In your family, or if you live alone, in a group you are in, or at church, you are free not to do something. 

But Paul says, “rather, serve one another in love.” You don’t have to do things for other people. Do it willingly. So now go serve them. And serve even the people you consider enemies. 

Paul urges the Galatians and us to use our freedom for good. If you see a need meet it. If you see something that needs to be done: do it. Look for opportunities to serve. When you do, it makes such a big difference in your relationships. If you have relationship troubles: which pretty much we all have in our family, at work, with our neighbors or friends, serving makes a huge difference.  

When both spouses in a marriage share in the chores, it’s a happier marriage! When everybody in a family pitches in to help out, it’s a happier family! 

Not only does serving make your relationships go better, it also does something so important inside you.  

Think about it: the best way to deal with greediness is to give. You give and you start to enjoy it. And you realize you can trust God will take care of you when you share and give. 

The opposite of being self-centered is serving. Serving is the cure for being self-centered. You serve and you start to realize, this feels good. And you realize life is better when it’s not all about me. And you get along better with others. It’s hard to stay angry at someone who is serving you. 

The world pressures us to think of ourselves. Serving helps us turn and love God and others. It’s the antidote to the selfishness in me, which can wreck my relationships. 

Paul says the entire law is summed up in a single command, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you’re a Christian, you don’t have to follow lots of rules. It’s simple now, it’s just one command, but it’s not easy. Love your neighbor as yourself. 

Love all the time. Love when I don’t feel like it. If you see a need meet it. If you see something that needs to be done: do it. 

Now you may wonder, how far do I have to go with this serving? When does it not apply to me because someone has been so awful? You’ve got to figure that out for yourself. Let me tell you this incredible things Jesus did. 

At the end of his ministry, Jesus gathered with his 12 disciples for one final meal, we call it the Last Supper. This is in John 13. At that meal, there was Judas, who Jesus knew would betray him. His betrayal would result in Jesus dying on a cross. Also at this meal was Peter, who Jesus knew would deny he ever knew him. Also at this meal were the other disciples, who would all run away when Jesus was on the cross. 

Verse 3 says Jesus knew the father had put all things under his power. Jesus could have done anything! He could have yelled at them or stormed out, because he knew they would betray, deny and desert him. But what did Jesus do? He got up… wrapped a towel around his waist and knelt down and washed their feet.  

If I were Jesus, serving those 12 would be the furthest thing from my mind!  

Jesus washed their feet and then sat down and said, “Do you understand what I have done for you?… Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” The disciples probably said, “Eww.” Jesus says, “I have set an example.” 

Within a day Jesus hung on a cross. Because of Judas’ betrayal, and without the disciples’ support, he died, because they denied they knew Jesus and they ran away. 

Jesus says when people hurt you, recognize a need they have and meet it, because I did that. Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. 

Maybe you are someone who has people in your life who consistently serve you. And you take. But you never return the service. You are nice, but you don’t serve. And the people in your life are this close to saying: “I’ve had it! I have served and served and served you. You have taken and taken. But you won’t serve anybody else!” You take advantage of an absence of rules to be self-absorbed. But you’re destroying your relationships. You have the opportunity to turn things around.  

Paul says in Galatians 5:14, “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 

My challenge for you this week is to bring to mind the people you’ve been too busy to serve. Think of someone you have you been too angry or too hurt to serve. Serve them this week. 

Jesus said the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve. To follow Jesus means to serve. It’s the cure for being self-centered. It’s a positive boost to relationships with other people. It helps make the world a better place. So put on the mindset of a servant. If you see a need meet it. If you see something that needs to be done: do it. Then you’ll be walking in Jesus’ footsteps, serving others. Amen.