Tuesday, September 16, 2008

We Serve God by Serving Others by Rick Warren

Subject: Permission to publish your daily devotions on our blog.
Dear Pastor Rick Warren,
We are writing to ask your permission to publish your daily devotion which we receive in our email.We find your devotion today, "We Serve God by Serving Others" most relevant to what we are facing today in our life.
Thank you and God Bless.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Purpose Driven Life Customer Care" <devotional@purposedrivenlife.com>
To:
Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 2:10 PM
Subject: RE: Permission to publish your daily devotions on our blog. (#8262-111489602-6623)
Greetings,
Thank you for your integrity on checking about that. Yes, you have permission to use all of or part of the Daily Devotional so long as you give credit to the author and refer your members to the Purpose Driven Life website at> http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/en-US/FreeTools/devotional/dailyDevotional.htm
where they can view additional issues of the daily devotional. Blessings, Purpose Driven Life Customer Care

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2008/09/15

We Serve God by Serving Others by Rick Warren

Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Mark 10:43 (MSG)
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We serve God by serving others.

The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. If you can demand service from others, you’ve arrived. In our self-serving culture with its me-first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept.

Jesus, however, measured greatness in terms of service, not status. God determines your greatness by how many people you serve, not how many people serve you.
This is so contrary to the world’s idea of greatness that we have a hard time understanding it, much less practicing it. The disciples argued about who deserved the most prominent position, and 2,000 years later, Christian leaders still jockey for position and prominence in churches, denominations, and parachurch ministries.

Thousands of books have been written on leadership, but few on servanthood. Everyone wants to lead; no one wants to be a servant. We would rather be generals than privates. Even Christians want to be “servant-leaders,” not just plain servants. But to be like Jesus is to be a servant. That’s what he called himself.

While knowing your shape is important for serving God, having the heart of a servant is even more important. Remember, God shaped you for service, not for self-centeredness. Without a servant’s heart, you will be tempted to misuse your shape for personal gain. You will also be tempted to use it as an excuse to exempt yourself from meeting some needs.

God often tests our hearts by asking us to serve in ways we’re not shaped. If you see a man fall into a ditch, God expects you to help him out, not say, “I don’t have the gift of mercy or service.”
While you may not be gifted a particular task, you may be called to do it if no one who is gifted at it is around. Your primary ministry should be in the area of your shape, but your secondary service is wherever you’re needed at the moment.

Your shape reveals your ministry, but your servant’s heart will reveal your maturity. No special talent or gift is required to stay after a meeting to pick up trash or stack chairs. Anyone can be a servant. All it requires is character.

It is possible to serve in church for a lifetime without ever being a servant. You must have a servant’s heart.

How can you know if you have the heart of a servant?
Jesus said, “You can tell what they are by what they do” (Matthew 7:16 CEV).

© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved. Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers. Pastor Jon Walker is a writer for
http://www.gracecreates.com/.
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Was it Rick Warren who graciously declined the salary his church offered him, preferring to be obedient to God and to live by faith?

Please provide some details on this.
Thank you.

Anonymous said...

I remember listening to Rick's Message on this on a Friday night Prayer Meeting last year. Yes, I believe he is the one, but not to live by faith in the way that you and I have in mind.

His books The Purpose Driven Life brought in alot of money for him and as such he could work for God for free. I remember him saying that he counted back all the salaries he received from the church and paid the church back so that he can say he worked for God for free. (or something like that)

To get the real full story, I think it is better for you to write to them at the address provided.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Anonymous, for your feedback!