“Less Is More”
Matthew 23:1-12
Objective Statement: Every person should
become a servant for the following reasons:
Reasons: 1)
Service is the method to Follow Jesus’
Example 2)
Service is the way to Find Life 3)
Service is the means to Greatness 4) Service is the
path to Build Others Up
<
Open: If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to
Matthew 23:1-12 Then Jesus said to the
crowds and to his disciples, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit
on Moses’ seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you— but not what
they do. For they preach, but
do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay
them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them
with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen
by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes
long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the
synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.
But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all
brothers. And call no man your father on
earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be
called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among
you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever
humbles himself will be exalted.
<This is the word of God and we believe it.>
Disclaimer: I’m going to be sharing a
number of thoughts that Rod Handley, our speaker at the Men’s Advance put
before us last weekend, so for 17 guys here today, this might sound a little
familiar.
You’ve
probably heard the saying, “Great minds
think alike.”
Well, this
saying is just as true: “Remedial minds often borrow.” J
We’re
currently in the middle of a series of messages entitled,
It’s the idea that we
live in a world, including the church, which increasingly gets more complex.
It is necessary, but
hard work to keep things simple.
Our series entitled “Simple Church”
is designed to communicate the basics of what we’re about at Alliance
Fellowship.
<Circle of Life Slide>
“Transforming hearts that
transform the world”
describes a growth process that we would love to see happen in the lives of
people as they become followers of Jesus and grow in Him – process known as
“discipleship”.
We would love to see
people Connect,
Grow, Serve and Reach
Connect is
about: -
Connecting with God -
Connecting with Each Other –
Connecting with God with
Each Other
Connecting
with God –
Responding to God’s invitation to relationship through his Son, Jesus Christ
Connecting
with Each Other
– Recognition that we’re not meant to be alone
Connecting
with God with Each Other –
Understanding that God wants us to worship him together, in community.
Grow
is a passive, active and interactive pursuit.
We understand that we
are to exert effort working out
our salvation (not earning our
salvation), knowing that it is God who works in us both to will and to do his
good pleasure.
It is the Lord who
sanctifies us (makes us holy).
So today, we want to
look at the next stage in the Circle of Life:
Serve
“Serve” is a verb often found in the
context of a character trait… ?
Humility
Jesus walked into a
world where religious men were full of
themselves, doing all they could to jockey for status, notoriety, and position.
Matthew 23
Jesus
said: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat.” -
This was the place in the synagogue where the main teacher for the week’s
gathering would sit, read the scriptures and espouse his teaching and
commentary.
Moses’
Seat was a
place of status.
“They do all their deeds to be seen by others” – The motive behind their
religious action was notoriety –
they wanted to be seen – to be noticed.
“For they make their phylacteries broad and their
fringes long,”
– A phylactery was a leather box
tied to someone’s forehead or wrist that contained scriptures, in obedience to
Deuteronomy 6. In obedience to Numbers
15, they made long tassels to the four corners of their outer garment. (The tassels would swirl about as they
walked, reminding them of the Lord’s commandments.)
They love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the
synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. – The religious men of enjoyed position in their communities.
The scribes and
Pharisees were poster children for those who had ascended Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, in that they were seeking self-actualization.
The
Scribes and Pharisees were:
Using
religion as a way
to
Exalt
themselves, to
Achieve
greatness and
Find
a full life -
often
At the expense of others.
“More of Me” would have been a fine and
happy tune to sing on the way to the market place.
The pervasiveness of
this “More
of Me” Philosophy is evidenced by the multitude of times that Jesus
confronted it in the thinking, attitudes and actions of his disciples.
Matthew 18:1-5 / Matthew 20:25-28 / John 13
Jesus confronted this “More
of Me” Philosophy with the character trait: Humility and the action
word: Serve
As we go through the
process of discipleship, we Connect,
we Grow and then we begin to Serve
Service
is a sign of maturity, even in the secular world:
-
Lions Club – “We Serve”
-
Rotary Club – “Service Before Self”
Jesus was telling his
disciples:
“Less is More”
At its root, the Greek
word for humility came from a term used to describe the Nile River when
it would reach it’s lowest level – when almost all the
water would be gone and the river bed of rich humus would be exposed.
Humility can accurately be defined as one who chooses to go low and that
often is demonstrated through a person’s willingness to serve.
Humility
means: Less of Me
And Less of Me really
means More:
1) Less of Me
really means More - Christ-likeness
Philippians 2:5-7 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality
with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a
servant,
You see that! Jesus had the character of humility and the
actions of a servant.
We see that in the way
he served people through healing miracles, through the provision of food and
through the washing of the disciples’ feet in the Upper Room.
Even among pagans,
atheists, and agnostics Jesus is the ultimate example of someone whose
character and actions we can emulate.
1) Less of Me
means More - Christ-likeness
2) Less of Me
means More – Life
One of the things that
keeps us from serving is that we’ll somehow lose something.
But Jesus pointed out
the truth – that we gain life by giving it away.
John 12:24-25 Truly, truly, I say to
you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone;
but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it
for eternal life.
Eg: Trying to
squeeze water
One of the ways that
I’m asked to serve in the community is by speaking at Campus Crusade once /
semester. About a month ago I was asked to
speak and really looked at it as an opportunity to serve:
“Lord, what do these
students need to hear?”
I was able to speak on
friendship and as I thought about the topic, prepared my thoughts, reflected on
the richness of the friendships I have, went to Crusade, enjoyed the
conversations with students before and after – it was a very fulfilling
experience.
Did it cost me?
Yes – it cost me the
time to prepare and the evening away from home, but it brought me life! (And I
hope it brought life to the hearers!!) J
That’s what dying to
self does – it brings life to those who are served and it brings life to those
who do the serving.
2) Less of Me means
More – Life
3) Less of Me
really means More – Greatness
A mother came to
request seats of honor for her sons, James and John…
Matthew 20:25-28 But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the
rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise
authority over them. 26It shall not be so among you. But
whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Jesus said that it’s a
sign of true greatness when those who could wield their authority and boss
other people around, choose to do the menial tasks.
Jesus taught that true
leaders – great leaders serve their followers.
They truly understand that they are servants.
Eg: Todd
Catlin – sweeping
and cleaning trash out of the parking lot
Eg: Dr. Chase – shaking out the floor mat at
Edman Chapel
Eg: Kathy
Pust – putting out
the food and being the last one to sit down
1) Less of Me means More - Christ-likeness
2) Less of Me means
More – Life
3) Less of Me
really means More – Greatness
4) Less of Me
means More – Joy for Others
Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing from
rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than
yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the
interests of others.
Eg:
-
YMCA
Hoops practice
-
Hanging
out with Travis and Zach, talking about small towns
-
Going
to Home Page
-
Riding
home, listening to Relient K
My boys like Relient K because they’re a
goofy band, with album titles such as:
-
“The
Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek”
-
“Two
Lefts Don’t Make a Right, But Three Do”
-
“Deck
the Halls and Bruise Your Hand”
The song, “Less Is
More” started to play. It’s a slow song
that starts out with: Jesus, I pray, Take all my mistakes, Throw them away, Destroy them for my sake…
“Hey Dad, this is a
Jesus song!”
All that I have, I lay before, With my
pride on the floor, Cause to you less is more, All that I have, I lay
before, With my pride on the floor, Cause to you less is more
Story of the widow and
her offering…
“Jackson, who taught
you that?”
“Kaija.”
How
‘bout that! I’m getting blessed because
a 19-year-old girl takes the time to humble herself and serve and teach every
fourth
Sunday!
“Less of Kaija” sure meant a lot of joy
for me!
Application: “So how can I
serve?
-
Family – Dishes, clothes,
shoveling, taking out the trash…
-
Work – A lot of the same!
-
Church – There are many
places to serve
<Video Clip>
Sunday
Morning –
Transport Team, Praise Team, Greeter, Information Host/ess,
Usher, Meet-er
Children’s
Ministry –
Nursery, Teachers for Kids’ Club
Youth
Ministry -
Help as a Youth Ministry Volunteer
Missions
Mobilization Team –
Help support our Missions endeavors
Building
Maintenance –
Help keep the building repaired and attractive
Ministry
Meals – For
Praise Team, for times of sickness
Close: As we close our
message and prepare for Communion, let’s reflect on the words of this song as a
prayer:
Celebration of Communion
Benevolent Offering
Benediction