Tag: Romans

Key scripture passages: Romans 12:1-2, Mark 10:43-44

The secret to greatness:
great = servant
first = slave of all
If you want to be great, serve.

Test of a servants heart? How you react when someone treats you like a servant.

We follow the example of Jesus in his servant-hood (Mk 10:45)

Have you died to self? Some tests:
1) No longer wanting to have MY way
2) No longer concerned about what other people think about you (but this lack of concern is different than ignoring social graces)
3) No longer thinking “I know best”
4) No longer obsessed with or preoccupied with self (the sin of pride is involved here, and its usually hard to see through our own eyes)

Result of not dying to self = perpetual unrest. Our society has a preoccupation with wanting having and doing.

Disciplines that can help you:
1) Simplicity – keep your life simple, affluence makes this tricky sometimes
2) fasting – denying the flesh
3) solitude – Jesus took time to withdraw from the crowds

– Start small on developing the disciplines and work your way up
– If you’re burning out from serving, you haven’t died to self
– Do not store up treasure on earth where moths and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal… (Matt 6:20, Luke 12:33)