"No Strings Allowed"
Pastor Albert Almore
📝 FOUNDATION #6
SERVING is our beliefs IN MOTION.
📝 We don’t serve for others to SEE US, we serve for others to SEE JESUS.
When it comes to our actions when it comes to serving, the main thing we must remember is THERE ARE….
NO STRINGS ALLOWED
There are no strings allowed in our hearts. There are no strings allowed in our minds. There are no strings allowed in our words. There are no strings allowed in our actions. THIS IS A STRING FREE CHURCH. We don’t serve for others to see us. We don’t serve just for people to come Motion Church. If God sends them, that’s a bonus, we’d praise God, and gladly accept them, but that’s not our ammo. We serve for others to see Jesus. Jesus didn’t come to earth with any strings attached. Jesus came to earth from a place of AGAPE, selfless love. This is why I say to you when it comes to our serving, NO STRINGS ALLOWED!
📝 We serve from a place of DISCIPLESHIP.
“The wife of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons, Jacob and John. She knelt before him and asked him for a favor. He said to her, “What is it that you want?” She answered, “Make the decree that these, my sons, will rule with you in your kingdom—one sitting on your right hand, one on your left.””
Matthew 20:20-21
“But Jesus answered by saying to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?” “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!””
Matthew 20:22
Yeah right! They had NO IDEA what they were asking for. They wanted position, power, importance. The other ten were upset about this conversation. They wanted to be viewed as great and significant too! To this, Matthew 20:25 says,
“Jesus, knowing their thoughts, called them to his side and said, “Kings and those with great authority in this world rule oppressively over their subjects, like tyrants.”
Matthew 20:25
“BUT THIS IS NOT YOUR CALLING. YOU WILL LEAD BY A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MODEL. The greatest one among you will LIVE AS THE ONE WHO IS CALLED TO SERVE OTHERS,”
Matthew 20:26
BUT THIS IS NOT YOUR CALLING. YOU WILL LEAD BY A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MODEL….
Jesus was essentially saying, "They’re aren’t any strings allowed in the Kingdom of God.”
📝 "because the greatest honor and authority is reserved for the one with THE HEART OF A SERVANT.”
Matthew 20:27
“For even the Son of Man did not come expecting to be served but to serve and give his life in exchange for the salvation of many.””
Matthew 20:28
We serve from a place of discipleship. As a follower, imitator of Jesus Christ, since even the Son of Man did not come expecting to be served but to serve, we too imitate His examples and serve others.
Just a couple of chapters later, Jesus doubles down on this statement in Matthew 23:11 and says,
📝 The greatest among you MUST BE A SERVANT.
Matthew 23:11
The greatest among you MUST BE A SERVANT without any strings.
📝 We serve from a place of REMEMBRANCE.
“But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?””
Luke 10:29
“Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.”
Luke 10:30
“Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.”
Luke 10:31
“So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.”
Luke 10:32
“But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.”
Luke 10:33
“He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.”
Luke 10:34
“And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’”
Luke 10:35
“Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?””
Luke 10:36
“He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You GO, and DO LIKEWISE.””
Luke 10:37
Jesus said in Luke 10:30,
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.”
Luke 10:30
We serve from a place of REMEMBRANCE.
We remember what it’s like to fall among this world. We remember what it’s like to be robbed of our peace, of our joy, and our sense of worth. We remember what it’s like to be stripped of all hope and to be left for half dead by darkness. We remember that at one point we were all that individual going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. We remember what it was like to be in their shoes. We were left for half dead, until one day Jesus journeyed and came to where we were.
Jesus didn’t just cross the street to get to us. He crossed over eternity, stepped into time to SERVE US love, forgiveness, grace, and mercy. Jesus saw us and was moved with compassion to do something about it. Similar to the Good Samaritan, Jesus placed our sins on His back and paid our sin debt in full by way of the cross!
📝 We serve because HE FIRST SERVED US.
This is why we GO AND DO LIKEWISE.
📝 We serve from a place of GRATITUDE.
“Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. But Simon’s wife’s mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.”
Luke 4:38
“So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and SERVED them.”
Luke 4:39
You weren’t there when Jesus stood over me and rebuked fear from my life. You weren’t there when Jesus stood over me and rebuked confusion from my life. You weren’t there when Jesus stood over me and rebuked lack of self worth, misplaced identity, pain, and rejection from my life! The moment that it happened, I didn’t delay. Immediately I arose and began to serve Him, from a place of THANKSGIVING, from a place of PRAISE, from a place of GRATITUDE, WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED! We’re called for others to experience what we’ve experienced. This is why we say NO STRINGS ALLOWED. Jesus did it with no strings attached!
We serve from a place of DISCIPLESHIP.
We serve from a place of REMEMBRANCE.
We serve from a place of GRATITUDE.
HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR PLACE IN SERVING?
Have you yet to follow Jesus’s lead when it comes to serving?
📝 When it comes to serving opportunities, you can’t MAKE THEM ALL, just don’t MISS THEM ALL.
I’ll ask you again, Have you yet to follow Jesus’s lead when it comes to serving?
When’s the last time you took time to remember ALL that Jesus served you?
“So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And IMMEDIATELY she arose and SERVED them.”
Luke 4:39
Have you taken the time lately to show gratitude to Jesus for all He’s been to you?
Invitation Song: Gratitude
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