We are all believers, but today I would be talking about believers of the way, believers of Jesus Christ. If you have so believed God and believe in Jesus Christ the Lord and Saviour, you have become a believer of the way. Jesus said “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes the Father except through me”, So if you are a believer of the way, the way of the kingdom, the truth of the kingdom which is Jesus Christ, then there is a service that is compulsory for you. Let us begin our observation from the book of Matthew 23:8-13.
"8 But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in."
Matthew 23:8-13.(NKJV)
This is Jesus speaking to the multitude and to the disciples and He was saying to them certain things that they must not do and certain things they must start doing. After talking about the Pharisees, He said ''but you…'' and that is the same word that Jesus is saying to you. “What I say to one I say to all.”
There are three things that Jesus is saying in this Scripture. In Verse 8, He started talking about ''don't be called '' don't look for titles and this is very instructive for us at this time where God is looking for men, true men that will bear His power and His wisdom in our generation, God is not looking for title, God is not concerned about titles ''don't let people call you Rabbi'' the one that is called Rabbi is Christ, your teacher. Don't call anyone on earth your Father, for your Father is the one that is in heaven. What is Jesus saying here? Don't look for titles, don't be carried away by titles. He didn’t stop there, He went further to say in verse 11 "but he who is greatest among you shall be your servant." He who is greatest among you will be the one that is serving. This is what Jesus is saying in essence, don't look for titles but look for service, look for responsibilities.
From the beginning of time, God has been using the foolish things of this world to confound the wise and the based things of this world to confound the mighty. God will bring title-less, ambitionless people from the back side of the desert and give them responsibility. God is always looking for a heart of service. As believers, we must understand this and work in the reality of it. Don't look for titles, look for responsibility because the Kingdom of God is not concerned with titles. That was why Jesus said “In the last days, many will call me Lord, Lord and I will say I don't know you. You workers of iniquity.” Even though you have titles, once the act of service is missing, you are not entitled because the Kingdom of God is looking for servants, men and women with servant heart. Because those are the ones that are the greatest. In verse 11, “but he who I'd greatest among you, shall be your servant,” and When God calls you, He doesn't give you a title, he gives you a responsibility.
The heart of God is service oriented not title oriented. I have not seen in the Scripture where God calls a man and says I have called you now you be an Arch Bishop. God calls men and gives them responsibility to serve. When God calls a man from Adam to Abraham, to Moses, to Elijah, to Jeremiah, all the people that God has called in time past, God called them and gave them responsibility and opportunity to serve and we must not miss this because this is missing out among believers. Believers are looking for titles, they are not looking for responsibilities and God wants us to focus on it this year. Look for opportunity to serve and not titles or to be served, don't be faithful because you want to be given a title, be faithful because you have a heart for service. As a believer, your service is a life time. You don't serve God only with your time, you serve God with your life.
Listen to Podcast: Kingdom Responsibility: Discover How to Serve God Acceptably
The nature of service in the kingdom is a service of life and that's why when you become born again, the first thing you lay on the altar is your life. Don't serve and grumble or murmur. The service of the kingdom has code and conducts. God does not just accept any kind of service. He is not just looking for responsibilities and not just filling the gap. There is a procedure. Let us look at the procedures for the service of the kingdom from the book of Romans 12:1-8.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness."
Romans 12:1-8 (NKJV)
Before you can serve God;
1. You must lay your life on the altar
You must present your body to God as a living sacrifice. You must present your entirety to God as a living sacrifice. Not as a dead sacrifice but living, that means every day you are bearing that sacrifice. You must not sacrifice yourself for a season. It is perpetual. It’s a life time sacrifice. So service for the kingdom of God is for a life time. You don't retire, you don't say ‘I have tried, I have been serving God since when I was ten now am seventy I want to retire’ No! you don’t. You don't go on leave whatever kind it is, be it sick or sabbatical or even casual. It’s a life time sacrifice. Every day you are bearing sacrifice in your body to God as service
2. Holy without spot wrinkle or blemish
It’s not just enough to be a living sacrifice you must be a Holy sacrifice. The nature of your sacrifice that God demands is Holy, without spot wrinkle or blemish and we must note it.
3. Acceptable to God
The service must be God’s standard not men's standard. You must not serve God to please men. Serve God to please God. It’s not about anybody whether the person is looking. The bible says it is “God that sees in the secret that will reward in the open.” It’s not because people are there you do service. Whether people are looking or not looking, your service must be acceptable to God, it must be Gods standard. God is the number one audience that must be pleased in your service. He said “when you have fulfilled a reasonable service,” so it’s a lifelong service, we don't retire from it. From the day Samuel was given to the lord till the day he was going to die he was serving so much so that they even conjured his spirit, He was still serving. That's the nature of service. Abraham served God. That beggar sat under the bosom of Abraham so that means Abraham was still serving. It is a lifelong call. The call of the Kingdom is the call of service. It is life long and it has criteria.
In Verse 2, He said “Do not be conformed to this world.” In your service, it should not be world’s standard. Don't conform to the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so you won't say you have attained. Apostle Paul said “I do not count myself to have apprehended. I forget the things that are behind.” I forget my yesterday's service. I don't hold on to my yesterday's service. I am pressing forward every day. Have the proper mindset of service. Don't look at other people to judge your service. Your service is to God and God alone is the one that will weigh your service. When Samuel was leaving he said to the people, “is there any one of you come out now that I borrowed anything and I did not return it, that I took something from unlawfully?” and the Bible said “nobody.” His service was without blemish, without wrinkle, without spots. That's the kind of service God is demanding from us. When God instructs you, do it the way He wants you to do it. don't use internet to replace it. Don't be conformed to this world.
From Verse 3, “Don't think of yourself highly.” That was Jesus rebuking the Scribes and Pharisees, you are not entering the kingdom, you don't have plans to enter but those that want to enter you block the gate, you stop them from entering with your nature and with your attitude. Don't think of yourself highly. Some people are looking at you and they want to pattern their service according to your own but you are not even serving. So what would they pattern after? Don't think of yourself highly, humble yourself for we have many members in one body and all members do not have the same function. This is very essential. Just like you have in a house and you have different servants in a house. If you go to a big house or kingdom, you will see different servants doing different things, it does not mean that one servant is better than the other.
Their roles and their responsibilities differ and we must understand this. In the Kingdom, if God has called you to serve in the toilet, don't think yourself less than somebody serving in the kitchen because after they are done in the kitchen they have to come and use the toilet but what happens if the toilet is not clean and it’s not accessible, it pollutes the house, the whole house becomes a mess. That's why every responsibility handed to us by God in the Kingdom carries the same weight of relevance, our functions may differ but we are members of the same body and if you don't function in our individual placement we cannot all achieve the common goal of expanding and pushing forward the Kingdom of God. We must understand this, what God is asking you to do is not of less importance.
