Becoming Like Jesus: What Difference Do I Make?Sample

Your King has called you to serve.

Over the last two days, we looked at the first two translations of the word abad. Work and worship. We looked at what it means for us to work with and for our Creator in His plans to put our broken world back together. We learned what it means to worship our Redeemer with every part of our lives as a response to the grace He’s given us. Today, we are looking at what it means to serve our King as He rules over His creation.

What kind of King is God? He’s a good King. A loving King. A King who is patient and kind. A King who did the opposite of what you’d expect. Instead of using His power and position to privilege Himself, He willingly sacrificed Himself to save His people.

Here’s how the Apostle Paul describes our King, Jesus:

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges ; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:6-11 NLT

This is the King we serve. A King humble enough to step down from His throne in heaven and step into the brokenness and messiness of our world so that we could be rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of light.

As citizens of His heavenly kingdom, we are called to serve. How? By learning to have the same attitude and way of life that Jesus had.

Right before that beautiful description of our glorious King, the Apostle Paul wrote these words:

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Philippians 2:3-5 NLT

This is what serving well looks like in the Kingdom of God. It looks like not being selfish or trying to impress others. Because, at the end of the day, our value and worth doesn’t come from what other people think or say, it comes from what our King has already said and done. He calls you His masterpiece and He sacrificed Himself so our relationship with God could be fixed.

Serving looks like being humble. What is humility? It’s not thinking you’re bad at things or making fun of yourself. Humility is seeing yourself and others honestly. Humility isn’t thinking you’re worse than you are or better than you are, it’s seeing yourself as you really are. So, who are you? You’re made in the image of God. You’ve been infected by the disease of sin and redeemed by the grace of God. And you’re invited to become a citizen of heaven; the kingdom ruled by our gracious and humble King.

Instead, he gave up his divine privileges ; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Philippians 2:7-8 NLT

Would you like to know the secret to spotting true humility? The key is in this question: when God asks you to do something, do you do it?

Jesus humbled Himself in obedience to God. True humility responds to God in obedience. Pride looks for any excuse not to obey God. We come up with reasons and justifications that sound good in our own minds instead of simply trusting what God says about us and obeying what God asks.

Humility and obedience are not easy. But there is really good news. Because of what our King Jesus accomplished through His death and resurrection, we have been filled with the Spirit of God that transforms us from the inside out so we can actually become the kind of people who humbly trust and obey what God says about us and what God asks of us.

Your King has called you to serve.

And we’ve been called to serve God and others with the same attitude Jesus had. An attitude defined by humility.

So, how do we become humble? Start by spending time with Jesus. He is our King and He serves humbly. Then, let Him show you who you really are. Not who you think you are or who others say you are, but who He says you are. Finally, start doing the things that humble people do:

Apologize first. Admit when you’re wrong. Ask questions. Listen more than you talk. Let other people go first. Hold the door for someone else. Pick up trash when you see it. Pray for God to bless other people. When someone gets something you wanted, celebrate them.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 NLT

Pray:King Jesus, help me to be humble. I want to believe what you say and do what you ask even more than I want to do things my way. Help me to see myself and others truly, and to love you and others fully. I want to work, worship, and serve in a way that makes a difference and honors you. In Jesus’ name, amen.