10-23-11 Serve: Slave

Big Idea: For many of us the idea of being someone’s slave is repulsive, even subhuman. Yet Jesus calls us to be slaves to everyone. The idea of slavery that repulses us is brought about when people fear their value, their significance, and their greatness. In fear they use their power to push people down and oppress them. In God’s kingdom, Jesus calls us to know that we are valuable, significant, and secure in who we are. Then we can serve one another in love, using our power to lift others up, helping them to understand their their value, significance, and greatness is secure in God,  just Jesus did.

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Video Clip: Amistad Trailer – youtube

What comes to mind when I say the word servant or slave? For most of us, we understand the word servant or slave as a negative, derogatory term. We view the term servant or slave as a put down, as a way of demeaning a human being and making them into something subhuman, something lowly.

When we talk about such words they denote a hierarchy, with a master up here (hands up) and the servant or slave being down here (hands lower). When we use the words servant or slave, we’re talking about power – who has it and who doesn’t. Right? The master has all the power and the servant or slave really has none.

In this way of thinking where do you want to be? Do you want to have the power or not have the power? Do you want to be on the top of the hierarchy or the bottom? Do you want to be the master or the slave?

So . . . you and I have these ideas in our minds and they often influence how we act. In our world, we are taught conflicting things that we often struggle to make sense of. We’re taught that we want the power, that we want to be on top, that we want to be in charge, because when we’re at the bottom, people often times use their power to control us and oppress us and make us feel small, even subhuman, right?

When we’re at the bottom, the ones at the top try to elevate themselves and make themselves look good. They take all the credit, stealing it from us and others to make themselves look better. Have you ever worked with or for someone like that?

But then there’s a conflicting point of view and for many people they oscillate between these two points of view, never really realizing what they’re doing or why.

We also understand that when someone does something nice for us, we feel good, and when we do something nice for someone else, we feel good and the person we served feels good, right? We understand that serving others is a lot about what love is all about.

So often times we get confused with who we are and how we should act. On one hand we feel like we want to be on top, we want to be the person with power, we want to be in control, we don’t want to be someone else’s servant or slave, because that feels subhuman. On the other hand, we, at some level, understand that being served feels good and that it can feel good to serve other people by doing something nice for them.

We often live in a conflicted world where we don’t want to be someone’s servant, but we’re called to serve.

Often times, because we are only aware of these things subconsciously, but haven’t really thought them through, we get confused about which role we should be playing and why.

It’s interesting that Jesus and the authors of the New Testament talk a lot about the right use of power and how we often times get these things messed up. Listen to what the gospel writer Mark tells us about Jesus.

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory. . .

What are James and John asking for? They are asking for the seats of power. They want the big seats. They are seeking to rule over people. They want to be on the top of the hierarchical chart, because they’ve seen what happens when you’re at the bottom. They want to be the master not the slave. Who can blame them right?

When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Why, because who would be on the bottom then? Yeah, the other ten. So they’re upset and rightly so.

So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers (those who rule; those who have the power, those who are on top) of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. He’s saying, you know how all the Gentiles – that is, all the people who don’t believe in God, you know how they use power, right? They use their power to rule over other people. They use their power to set themselves up as lord, and then they rule over people and make them their servants. They control other people and make them powerless. These rulers typically use their power to inflict fear into the hearts of the people whom they rule over. They control them and punish them when they don’t do what they’re supposed to do. That’s the way the world often works isn’t it.

So Jesus says, “There’s this group of people over here. Jesus calls them the Gentiles. In Jesus’ day those people were considered spiritual, but they served false gods, not God. So the Israelites called them the Gentiles or non-God people. They weren’t following God. The Gentiles use power to rule over people and make others their servants or slaves.

Then he points back toward the disciples and says, Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you . . .

Because this people over here, they all tend to think of themselves as great, because they have all the power. They think to themselves, I’m great because I’m at the top of the power ladder. I’m at the top of the hierarchical chart, and in those days there were only two levels on the hierarchical chart; the top and the bottom, the master and the slave.

If you were on the bottom, you were powerless and you were treated like an animal; you were treated as subhuman. If you were at the top, you were great because you could do whatever you wanted because you had all the power. You could force people to do anything you wanted and they couldn’t do anything about it. At some level, those people who were at the top were playing God.

Jesus says, Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

What in the world are you talking about Jesus? Whoever wants to be great among you, whoever wants to be on top, to be the best among you must be a servant, and whoever wants to be first, must be slave of all??? Come on Jesus! Dude, what are you smoking? Are you smoking dope? That kind of talk is crazy!

Oh . . . I get it, it’s like penance, right. It’s where I have to endure all this pain, because I’ve done all these bad things, so I’m supposed to serve someone else as a way of saying I’m sorry to you God and paying the price of all my wrong doing, that’s what you’re saying, right Jesus. It kind of makes sense that way, I guess.

Jesus says, “No, that’s not what I mean at all. Let me explain it to you a bit.”

For even the Son of Man (who was God) did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:35-37, 41-45 (NIV)

Now, in order for this statement to hit us with its full effect, we must recognize who it is that Jesus is talking about. The Son of Man is Jesus way of talking about himself. He said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve. Now, why is this significant?

It’s significant, because Jesus is God and he has stepped down out of heaven, and he is at the top of every hierarchical chart. He is the one who is above all. He is the one who has all the power . . . all the time. He is the Lord of Lords and he is the King of Kings. He’s it. He’s great!

So when Jesus says, “I did not come to be served”, it’s important for us to realize that he certainly could have come and told everyone to bow before him and told everyone what to do and how they needed to serve him, and what they needed to change and how he was going to make them pay, and if they didn’t he could have just taken them out. Don’t you think that would have made some people afraid? Instead of raising people from the dead, he could have made them dead. Jesus could have done that, but he didn’t. He could have used his power in ways that oppressed people and made them fear, but he didn’t. Instead he served them.

One of the things that I never really thought about was that Jesus had all this power – raising people from the dead, healing people, walking on water, multiplying bread and fish to feed thousands – can you imagine if he had used all that power to rule over people instead of to serve them? Can you imagine how different the gospel might look?

Look at the end of what Jesus says: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Instead of killing all those who opposed him, he died for them. He became their servant, giving them the very thing that they needed to live.

This is a very important distinction. In verse 35, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, ask Jesus to let them have the seats of power, so that they can rule over people, so that they can be on top, so that they can have all the power, so that they can be above everyone else.

Jesus responds, “You don’t know what you’re asking.”  Then he goes on to tell them that to be great means that you must be a servant, to be great you must be a slave of all.

To be a servant is very countercultural. There is a huge part inside of many of us here that says, “No, I don’t want to be a servant, because that person doesn’t have any power. That person is the one who is less valuable, that person is subhuman. To be a servant is the exact opposite of what many of us long for.

How many of you would feel good about being demoted? How many of you would feel good about being promoted. We tend to take our work world and then interpret the rest of the world through that lens, thinking, “It’s better if someone is serving me, rather than me serving someone else.” It’s better because we’ve been around people that have used their power in self serving ways, pushing others down while trying to lift themselves up.

Jesus says “If you want to become great, then you need to become a servant.” Doesn’t that feel wrong to you? Doesn’t that feel messed up? Doesn’t that contradict so much of what you know about how life works?

I want to take a time out for a minute and ask you a few questions. You each have a piece of paper and a pencil.

• · Is there a power differential in your marriage? Is one of the people in your marriage at the top and the other doesn’t have the same level of power?
• · Is there a power differential going on between you and your kids?
• · Is there a power differential between you and someone at work?
• · Is there a power differential between you and your parents?
• · Is there anyone in your life who uses power to regularly get their way in your life?
• · Is there anyone in your life who likes to put you down and do anything they can to elevate themselves?

What I’m about to say is very, very, very important to being a Christian. If you don’t get this one principle, it will be impossible to follow Jesus where he wants to take you.

There are only two ways to live.

The first one is to live in fear. The reason why we live in fear is because our value is threatened. When we don’t feel like we’re valuable, fear fills our soul. When we don’t feel significant and when we don’t feel secure in who we are, fear fill us. When that happens we don’t think that we’re great enough, so we use our power to push others down, so that we become greater.  Subconsciously many of us live our lives thinking that we’re not great enough and so we live in fear, though it may be a subconscious fear.

Emotionally this is what happens. When we feel empty inside we do anything we can to make others feel empty inside. When we feel empty inside, then we use our power to push others down so that they feel empty inside.

Project: When you live in fear, you do not serve others, you serve only yourself.

(PPT) When you serve only yourself you use power in corrupt, evil ways. When you are filled with fear, you seek to be at the top, in the position of power, at the top of the hierarchy chart because, in our world, that’s where we think we will be the greatest. In that place we have other people serve us.

People who live in fear seek their sense of worth in their position or their title, in their looks, or by what other people say about them. These people live in reactive living, either attacking or withdrawing when their sense of value or worth feels threatened. People who live in fear struggle with feeling or giving love deeply. They do not know the love of God.

Unfortunately, many of us in this room live lives of fear, because even in the church we’ve rarely understood the truth of Jesus’ message. Thank God there is another way to live.

The second way to live is in love. The reason we live in love is because our sense of value and significance are secure, because they are tied to God who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  In love, we know who we are and we know what our purpose is. Because of this, when we get into conflict with someone we seek to understand them without feeling threatened because they see the world differently than us. These people don’t attack or withdraw because they don’t feel threatened by others who think differently. Even when people say bad things about them, they’re not filled with anxiety, because they know who they are, because God has told them, and they know that they are valuable, because God has told them, and they know what their purpose is because God told them and they believe him. And even if they did something wrong, they know that it’s ok, because God knows that we’re not perfect, he’s forgiven us already, so we’re not troubled by it.

When it comes to power, we already know that we are powerful, because God has called us his sons and daughters; we are the children of the King of Kings.  So when other people who are filled with fear, and they try to use their power to oppress us, they can’t because we have a power inside of us that is greater than their power.

Jesus who laid down all the power of God and stepped down out of heaven says, “I did not come to be served but to serve. What he’s saying is, “My serving is out of love for my people. Sure I could have rained down fire and brimstone and killed off all my advisories, I could have done that, but how does that make the world better? How does that move us toward heaven on earth? Instead I came to serve people, to teach them what it means to love each, and to model how we are to use power, not to rule over people, but to serve them.

When we rule over people and force others to be our servants we create more hellishness in the world. When we serve others in love, we become the servant who helps people become who God created them to be. We become like God. As servants, we are ok with others thinking that we are lowly, because we are certain of our high position as children of the King.

James and John are seeking to serve only themselves when they ask Jesus for positions of power. Jesus then tells them how we become greatest in the kingdom of God by serving others.

Here’s what Jesus is getting at. We all have power, but when we use it in a wrong manner we usually use it to put others down, to oppress their God given value and significance. We make them our slaves. We seek to elevate ourselves to make us feel better about who we are, while trying to make others look small. Jesus says, “That’s all wrong!”

Look at what the Apostle Paul says about Jesus: Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11 (NRSV)

Jesus Christ was willing to lay all the power of God down and step down out of heaven and become a servant to all people. He did not use power to oppress others and make them his slaves, but instead he became a servant to them even to the point of death. Why, because he knew who he was and he knew what he was about and he wasn’t worried about his value. He knew he was well loved and he operated out of that love serving others and lifting them up, so that they could be like him.

He knew that to die was to pay the price for all the sins of the world and when people received that gift, they would be forgiven of their sins and then God could give each person the gift of his Spirit, the Holy Spirit inside of them to teach them how to live in love and not fear, teach them how to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love their neighbor as much as they loved themselves.

God loved you so much that he was willing to give his life for you. Know that you mean so much to God and that you are so valuable to God that you have nothing to fear but fear itself. My question is this: Do you believe that God loves you and that you are significant, no matter what anyone else has ever said about you or will ever say about you. Do you believe that Jesus died for you sins – the ones that you’ve already committed and those that you will commit and as long as you seek to love and follow him, he will always forgive you and so your worth isn’t tied to your mistakes. You’ve been forgiven and it’s unconditional. God loves you no matter what you’ve done, but he loves you so much that he refuses to keep you where you are.

Friends you have nothing to fear because you are significant and you are valuable and  you have lots and lots of power as God’s children. Believe this good news and live in God’s love. Fight against fear. Fight against attacking and withdrawing with others because that only creates more hellishness in your world.

Live as servants of the living God. Grow in your knowledge and love of him and as you grow in your love and connection with him, remember that’s not enough, because we’re called to turn God’s love into action. This week we’re called to serve others in love by becoming their servant, loving and caring and encouraging others, so that they can become God’s best version of them.