 Served But to Serve |
 Phase Six of Our Model |
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Mtt.25:34-36;40-45 (CORPORAL) “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ . . . . “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ (And to those on His left) “Then they will reply, ‘Lord,
when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or
in prison, and not help you?’ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth,
when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were
refusing to help me.’ * * * LUKE 6:27 (SPIRITUAL) But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 32If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Mark 10:35 (SERVANTS) Then James and John,
the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and declared, “Teacher, we want You to do
for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want Me to do for you?” He inquired. They
answered, “Grant that one of us may sit at Your right hand and the other at
Your left in Your glory.” “You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus
replied. “Can you drink the cup I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism
I will undergo?” “We can,” the brothers answered. . . When the ten heard
about this, they became indignant with James and John. So Jesus called them
together and said, “You know that those regarded as rulers of the Gentiles
lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. But it
shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among
you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of
all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give His life as a ransom for many.” |
CORPORAL
WORKS OF MERCY To
feed the hungry; To
give drink to the thirsty; To
clothe the naked; To
harbour the homeless. To
visit the sick; To
ransom the captive; To bury the dead. SPIRITUAL
WORKS OF MERCY To
instruct the ignorant; To
counsel the doubtful; To
admonish sinners; To
bear wrongs patiently; To
forgive offences willingly; To
comfort the afflicted; To pray for the living and the dead. We are very familiar with the Corporal Works of Mercy, but less so perhaps of the Spiritual Works of Mercy. We as a Men’s Fellowship are called to have a deeper understanding and insight into the Lord’s purposes for both. Our spiritual formation here in the Men’s Group includes study and learning so that we may bring inspiration and leadership to the works ongoing in the name of the Church. We already come from a variety of service groups. Therefore we are not about being a service group ourselves, rather that we go from our spiritual formation here in the Men’s Group back into the groups in which we already serve to bring an ever deeper understanding of the Lord’s will and purpose for each of them. Servant of the servants . . . This familiar title was first linked to the Papacy
(Pope Gregory 590 AD) but it has a much broader application today. In Matt.
20:26 – “whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant … just
as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His
life as a ransom for many.” The cross of Jesus is not the sign of weakness,
failure, and defeat, it is the sign of victory over all the destructive forces
waring against the gospel. Formed by the wisdom of the gospel and motivated
by the love that is in Christ we go forth to serve the cause of truth –
dispelling the shadows of darkness and falsehood wherever they appear. Then
returning to our fellowship partners we pass through the
elements of our formation to be renewed and prepared for what comes next. |
