Give of Yourself

Fundamentals for Following

Give Of Yourself

Philippians 2:5-8

“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”  Winston Churchill

The Heart Of A Servant

• Jesus was committed to Downward Mobility

• We are called to serve People

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13)

“and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”” (Matthew 20:27–28)

• Serving people is actually serving Christ

“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:40)

• Serving is a form of Worship

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)

• Sustained servanthood flows from Spiritual Fullness

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

The Place Of Service

Key Principle:  My Ministry is determined by my Makeup

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

“But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.” (1 Corinthians 12:18)

Spiritual Gifts

Heart

Abilities

Personality

Experiences

3 Spheres Of Service:

1. Ongoing Ministry

2. Short Term Projects

3. Spontaneous Situations

Your primary place of ministry should be in line with your Makeup; your secondary places of ministry will be according to the Need

The Payoff of Service

• Fruitfulness

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide,” (John 15:16)

“so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;” (Colossians 1:10)

• Fulfillment

“For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption,” (Acts 13:36)

• Rewards

“He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.” (1 Corinthians 3:8)

“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Matthew 19:29–30)

Who Could I Serve?

Key Question: Who needs to be reminded that God loves them?

As A Part of My Daily Time With God Ask:

• Who needs to be reminded that God loves them? (Live, work, play)
• What can I do to serve them with God’s love?
• When will I do this?
• Where will this take place?

A Lesson From The Early Church – Acts 6:1-7

• The result of a properly functioning Body of Christ: lives are Changed – eternal destinies are altered!

• There are no Meaningless parts! We come together to do together what we cannot do alone.

Do we really understand what is at stake?

Am I willing to do whatever it takes in light of what is at stake?

Making It Personal:

• How am I serving Christ by serving others at this season of my life? (Ongoing, short-term, spontaneous)

• What areas of service may God be calling me to and stretching me toward?

• Am I willing to ask God on a daily basis who needs to be reminded that God loves them and see what God leads me to do?

• Who can you share these truths with?