What Does it Mean to Serve the Lord -I

Lord Jesus said, “Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.” (John 12:26 NLT)

#1 Anyone who wants to Serve Me (Jesus)
Anyone can serve the Lord. It does not matter whether you are rich or poor, educated or uneducated. Very often, I receive letters and emails telling me that, “Pastor, I cannot speak English; therefore I am not serving the Lord.” It does not matter. You can serve the Lord even if you do not know to speak English.

Wherever I go, I see one big problem today, people like to be served but they do not want to serve.

However, when we look at the life of Jesus, there is no doubt that He was a servant. He Himself said, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)

On the night of His arrest, Lord Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, leaving them with a final teaching to serve one another: “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (see John 13:12–17). So then, if Jesus is all about serving, and God wants to make us like Him, then it’s pretty obvious that we too should be serving.

Only a small minority of people use their lives to serve the Lord and His people. Lord Jesus said, “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” (Mark 8:35)

#2 Anyone who wants to serve Me must follow Me
Those intending to serve the Lord must be followers of Jesus and not only fans of Jesus. In other words, they must be disciples of Jesus. I never recruit people on the basis of their qualifications, looks, etc. (of course these are not bad). I always see whether a person is a follower of Jesus or not.

Also, if you want to truly serve the Lord, then you must be a person who reads and studies the Word of God regularly. Only such a person can effectively serve the Lord.

All Scripture (the Word of God) is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses the Word of God to prepare and equip His people to do every good work. (1 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT)

(to be continued)

Father, forgive me for not serving You as I should. Birth in me the right attitude of service through Your Spirit.

Father, prepare me through Word. Teach me Your ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen