After Listening to the song Hati Hamba, I went to read up on servant heart. =)
-Rick Warren,"Some people can be in church or ministry all their life, but is still not a servant. Because being a servant requires a servant heart."
Senior Pastor, Saddleback Church, south C.A
Author of 'The Purpose Driven Life"
Servant's Heart by Rick Warren
2 Timothy 2:4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday
life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
Servants don’t fill up their time with other pursuits that could limit their availability. We
can say in general that servants make themselves available to their masters.They want to be
ready to jump into service when called on. A soldier is always ready, even ready to get up at
2am at boot camp.
If you only serve when it’s convenient for you, you’re not a real servant. Real servants do
what’s needed, even when it’s inconvenient.
A good test: Are you available to God any time? Can he mess up your plans without you
becoming resentful?
2 Being a servant means giving up the right to control your schedule and allowing
God to interrupt it whenever He needs to.
If you will remind yourself at the start of every day that you are God’s servant, interruptions
won’t frustrate you as much, because your agenda will be whatever God wants to bring into
your life. Remember all your time, every moment, belongs to God. It is all right to have
plans but be ready and willing for God to upset them. Servants see interruptions as divine
appointments for ministry and are happy for the opportunity to practice serving.
2. Real Servants Pay Attention To Needs.
Servants are always on the lookout for ways to help others and always sensitive to others’ cries.
When they see a need, they seize the moment to meet it, just as the Bible commands us:
Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people,
especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
When God puts someone in need right in front of you, He is giving you the opportunity to grow
in servanthood. Opportunity comes – and goes. We can soon lose it if we don’t seize it.
We miss many occasions for serving because we lack sensitivity and spontaneity. Great
opportunities to serve never last long. They pass quickly, sometimes never to return. You may
only get one chance to serve that person, so take advantage of the moment. Think about last
week: were there opportunities to help which you did not seize?
3. Real Servants Do Their Best With What They Have.
Servants don’t make excuses, procrastinate, or wait for better circumstances. Servants never
say, “One of these days” or “When the time is right.” They just do what needs to be done.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds
will not reap.(NIV)
Ecclesiastes 11:4 If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything
done.(TLB)
God expects you to do what you can, with what you have, wherever you are. Less-than-
perfect service is always better than the best intention.
One reason many people never serve is that they fear they are not good enough to serve. They
have believed the lie that serving God is only for superstars. “We haven’t done the course!”
they say. “We aren’t as good at it as X.”
You may have heard it said, “If it can’t be done with excellence, don’t do it.” Well, Jesus never
said that! The truth is, almost everything we do is done poorly when we first start doing it -
that’s how we learn. None of us can do a perfect job. If you want to wait until you are perfect
you’ll never start.
You may not have much, but offer what you have. Grow with it as you do it, whether it be
praying for the sick, leading in prayer, preaching or whatever. As God’s call is there, His hand
is there.
4. Real Servants Do Every Task With Equal Dedication.
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,
not for men
Whatever they do, servants “do it with all their heart” The size of the task is irrelevant. The
only issue is, does it need to be done?
You will never arrive at the state in life where you’re too important to help with menial
tasks. God will never exempt you from the mundane. It’s a vital part of your character
building. “If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling
yourself. You are really a nobody” (Galatians 6:3, NLT).
It is in these small services that we grow like Christ.
Jesus specialized in menial tasks that everyone else tried to avoid: washing feet,
helping children, fixing breakfast, and serving lepers. Nothing was beneath him,
because he came to serve. It wasn’t in spite of his greatness that he did these things,
but because of it, and he expects us to follow his example (John 13:15). If we are not
willing it means we do not have a servant’s heart.
Small tasks often show a big heart.
Your servant’s heart is revealed in little acts that others don’t think of doing. Here is
an example - Paul gathered brushwood for a fire to warm everyone after a shipwreck
(Acts 28:3). He was just as exhausted as everyone else. No task is beneath you when
you have a servant’s heart.
Great opportunities often disguise themselves in small tasks.
The little things in life determine the big things. Don’t look for great tasks to do for
God. Just do the not-so-great stuff, and God will assign you whatever he wants you
to do. Before attempting the extraordinary, try serving in ordinary ways (Luke
16:10-12). There will always be more people willing to do “great” things for God
than there are people willing to do the little things. It is God who will promote you when you can do the small things willingly. When you can do the small things He can trust you with more.
5. Real Servants Are Faithful To Their Ministry.
Servants finish their tasks, fulfil their responsibilities, keep their promises and complete their
commitments. They don’t leave a job half undone. They don’t quit when they get discouraged. They are trustworthy and dependable.
Many people don’t know the meaning of commitment. These days, commitments are often too
lightly made. People make commitments casually, then break them for the slightest reason without any hesitation, remorse or regret. Every week, churches and other organizations must improvise because volunteers didn’t prepare, didn’t show up, or didn’t even call to say they weren’t coming.
Can you be counted on by others? Are there promises you need to keep, vows you need to fulfil, or commitments you need to honor? This is a test. God is testing your faithfulness.
Small things are important. Being faithful in them is important. Maybe you only really enjoy 20% of what you do in ministry but never mind, still be faithful. Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, Daniel, Timothy and Paul were all called “faithful” servants of
God. If you pass the test, you’re in good company.
Your reward is in eternity. Imagine God saying to you, as in Matthew 25:23 "His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
6. Real Servants Maintain A Low Profile.
Servants don’t promote or call attention to themselves. Instead of acting to impress and dressing for success, they “put on the apron of humility, to serve one another” (1 Peter 5:5, TEV). If recognized for their service, they humbly accept it but don’t allow the recognition to distract them from their work.
Eye service is serving in order to impress people with how spiritual we are.
This was a sin of the Pharisees. They turned helping others, giving, and even prayer into a
performance for others. Jesus hated this attitude and warned, “When you do good deeds, don’t
try to show off. If you do, you won’t get a reward from your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1,
CEV).
Self-promotion and servanthood don’t mix.
Real servants don’t serve for the approval or applause of others. They live for an audience of
One. Paul said: “If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ”
(Galatians 1:10).
Real servants are content with quietly serving in the shadows.
Joseph is a great example. He didn’t draw attention to himself, but quietly served Potiphar, then his jailer, then Pharaoh’s baker and wine taster, and God blessed that attitude.
Many leaders today start off as servants but end up as celebrities. Even pastors starting off with a servant’s heart can go through a change and end up losing that heart.
If you are serving in obscurity in some small place, feeling unknown and unappreciated - God knows you. You are where you are for a purpose! He has every hair on your head numbered. He knows what you do.
In heaven God is going to openly reward some of his most obscure and unknown servants - people
we never heard of on earth - who taught emotionally disturbed children, nursed AIDS patients, and served in thousands of other unnoticed ways. They are the real heroes. And some we may expect to
have a ‘big crown’ may have nothing.
Woa! Totally blown away. Must pray and repent. God give me this heart
He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'
-Acts 13:22b
Actsh
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