Our theme for the Leadership Weekend this year is the same as the theme for the Feast of Tabernacles. "Let This Mind be in You", taken from Philippians 2:5. However, there is a different emphasis on that particular verse. For the Feast video and the Feast of Tabernacles, for that matter, the theme is more for the side of education and the fact that in order to have the mind of Christ we have to be educated. We have to have knowledge put into our mind in order to have that mind of Jesus Christ.

An important aspect of salvation is education. How do you know what you must do in order to be saved? Again, you don't just happen to be saved without any knowledge. You have to be educated. And so that's the theme of the Feast. However, if you take a look at Philippians 2:5, it talks about the mind of Christ who thought that being on the same level as His Father in Heaven, He proceeded from Him, however, He didn't think that was something that He absolutely had to cling to. He came as a human being, and He stooped to become like we are so He could serve mankind in the greatest way. So that aspect of the mind of Christ is service.

I've had, in the last couple of years, two presentations at the Leadership Weekend dealing with service. One presentation has to do with the attitude of service, which is what my sermon will be this afternoon. The other one is actual practicality which was my first presentation this morning. So the two really go hand-in-hand. And I'm giving part one, I felt part one is really apropos for giving the sermon and I gave part two as the lecture this morning.

Service is recognized as a noble trait. In the world, in society people realize that service as a concept is very, very noble. It's a wonderful attribute and quality. There are what are called 'service clubs' such as Kiwanis and Lions Club that provides millions of pairs of glasses for people around the world. The Kiwanis which works with children, vulnerable children, around the world. Rotary, which is the largest of the service clubs, has as it's motto: 'Service Above Self'. And it has other service mottos, as well.

Well, all of us here are here because somebody served in order to make it possible for us to become part of the church. If it wasn't for the service of Jesus Christ we wouldn't have the status that we do. And service, and love, are a part of the nature of God Himself. God is love, and God is the one who serves mankind.

One difference between Christianity and if you take a look at almost any other Pagan faith, I don't have to call it that way, but the biggest difference is we have a God who gave Himself for mankind. We have a God who serves mankind. In almost every other religion you have people, you have constituents, you have those who are worshipping the god who serve him, not a god who serves us. Of course we serve God as well, but God has given Himself in service to us.

I want to talk about service and the attitude of service because God wants to educate us to become servants because it is a part of His nature. Very much a part of what He is and the way He thinks. And something that we'll be doing forever. And the first things that are asked of us when we come out of the resurrection is what have we done to help and support the needs of the less fortunate, we'll get to that passage later in Matthew 25.

People see what we do. God sees why we do what we do. And to us, and to God, it's very important for Him to know why we do the things that we do. And that's why Godly service, Christ-centered service, is so very important to God.

We have talked, we have had a discussion, in fact I'll use the word debate, within the United Church of God over the years as to what we should call this spirit of serving. We've tried different things, but the one that I feel that we've settled into and feel comfortable with, and that is most descriptive of the service, that is most desirable, is Christ Centered Servant Leadership. Because it embodies all the aspects of God being a leader, God being a servant, God putting Himself into the service arena and being all around Jesus Christ. Which, again, we will talk some as we move along in this sermon.

Now the word service does not come across perhaps as clearly as it does in our English language. I believe the word 'service' as we understand it is very, very correct in what we think. A person who gives himself for others in a way that has a hint of sacrificialness to it, where you go above and beyond just service for pay, but you really want to serve because you want to give to someone, and you go above and beyond, even of your own earnings, of your own living, help others.

The word service does not come across that way, even in some Biblical references, or in some languages like it does in the English. For example, in the Russian language the word service did not exist. Surprise, surprise. In the way that we think of it. The word service, the closest word to it, is servitude. When you're talking about a servant, you're not talking about somebody who is a public servant and does wonderful things. You're talking about somebody who is under somebody's thumb. And a person who is in a state of servitude towards someone else. In fact, in post-Communist times, the Russians actually had to develop a new word of the kind of service that we think of. Perhaps in the latter part of Communism it developed, but it's what we think of as automotive service, for example, or when you go to getting your car serviced. That word honestly did not exist in the Russian language. And so they developed a new word which is, surprise, servis, a transliterated English word. I think it's interesting because of the mindset of that nation of service being done by something like a slave-like or bondage-like state. For that matter, when the apostle Paul spoke about servants in the Roman arena, he spoke about people that were, perhaps at best, indentured servants. They were owned by the owner that had them. And even when the Onesimus Philemon stories about a person that had a certain claim to that person's life and use of that person.

So servants were more than just nice people doing good things for people. They had a certain contractual obligation, a lifetime obligation, certain payback obligation to people who owned them. And so the apostle Paul referred to people who were servants. But those were different times and different means.

What we will be talking about is putting much of what we are accustomed to and comfortable with, with servants. People who want to do things for people, and want to do things in a very big way. And leaders who have a mindset of leading through service. In fact, in Matthew 20 Jesus Christ speaks of this kind of service. Makes it important for us to mark this passage down right at the get-go, at the very beginning of the sermon.
In Matthew 20:25, and this was something that came up as a result of the mother of Zebedee's son's coming and wanting to place her two sons in very, very important roles in Jesus Christ's Kingdom. And Jesus Christ, who masterfully used incidents that came up like this to teach eternal lessons, does so right here. Matthew 20:25. Jesus called them to Himself and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them and those who are great exercise authority over them. That's a very big aspect, important aspect, of Gentiles. That leadership means oppression. And if we take a look at various governments, and people who have lived under various systems around the world, we see a hierarchy of oppression. I have had experience in international areas, from communism, to black Africa, to other places, and I'm appalled as to how people have abused one another. There is no place like the United States for having respect for people's rights. And in spite of the fact that these people's rights lead to lawlessness and immorality and so forth, as one side of things, we do have respect for people and their dignity. Which is not so under communism.

Frankly, when my wife and I traveled under the era of communism we felt more comfortable then, than we have under full democracy. Under communism because of the totalitarian aspect of government, the people were so oppressed that certain violent crimes were unknown. We could walk the streets of St. Petersburg with no lights at two o'clock in the morning and feel safe. Not so now, with people having the right to do a lot more things. What's been taken away was people's ability to conduct themselves properly.

Anyway, here in Matthew 20:25. The Gentiles are people who ruled through brute force. Matthew 20:26, yet it shall not be so among you. Christ teaching an eternal lesson to us. But whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. So, He's teaching this lesson to the mother of Zebedee's sons, who said, hey, put my boy here, one on the right and one on the left side. And Christ said, unh uh. If you want to be great, let him be your servant. Because what you're doing is following a Gentile model. I want you to follow the model of Jesus Christ and God Himself. He who desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever,  Matthew 20:27, desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life for ransom for many. Here he goes beyond just being a servant as a nice person, to becoming a slave. And Jesus Christ became a slave of mankind. And He put Himself in a first, primary position, not through saying, look, I am great, which He is, and we are to honor and worship God as the great Eternal God, but as one who gave Himself completely and fully and sacrificially for mankind.

Are we prepared to follow that model? That's the kind of model that we are talking about in service, and talking about church service, and talking about pastoral service, and talking about service in all these arenas.

In my Rotary Club, about a month ago here in Batavia, it was interesting that the teachers of the year were honored, both male and female, in the Batavia High School. And what was interesting is what was brought forth as to why this woman was so honored is because not so much that she was a great teacher, which she probably still was, but what was really brought out as to how much of her own money she put in to helping children. To helping the students in her class. She was known that when she didn't have budget, she didn't have whatever supplies they needed for a class, she went above and beyond and spent a certain large amount of money, I think it was, I don't know, four or five hundred dollars, but, she spent that money out of her own money, her own earnings to help students. And that's why she was honored. That's why she was a teacher of the year, and called a true public servant. So service involves a sacrificial aspect. It involves a giving aspect. It involves an aspect of personalizing your giving to other people.

I'd like you turn to Numbers 14:22. This is a story, or a description of Caleb. Joshua and Caleb were two individuals that were allowed entry from the wanderings of Israel into the promised land because they were special people. Numbers 14:22. They had returned from the spy expedition of the promised land and they had a good report. They were courageous and they spoke about going forward. Because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and have put Me to the test now these ten times have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land which I have swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. God was upset with the negative report from the ten spies who said, "unh uh, it's too daunting, it's too much a bother." Especially the men who had seen the waters part in the Red Sea. Who had seen the Egyptians killed, who had seen a massive migration of people from Egypt into the wilderness, and now they're balking. Now they feel for some reason that God is not going to continue to lead them into the promised land. Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, were different. But My servant, Caleb, this is the one brought up here, will go into the promised land. Why? Because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully. I will bring him, I will bring him into the land where he went and his descendents shall inherit it. He said Caleb thinks differently. He's a different kind of person. He's a different kind of guy and that's why I regard him. And you know, when we talk about people who become servants in the church culture, we're talking about people who are different, in a good way different. People who are special. People who go above and beyond. People above the average, people above the general fears and extra cautions and why this and why that. But people who are willing to step out. People who are willing to do things. People who are willing to exhibit courage and leadership. People who have a different spirit and Caleb was one of those people. There weren't many. There was only Caleb and Joshua. They are the only two that were allowed to go in otherwise God pretty much let the other generation die out. He started with these two people who were allowed to go from that original generation.

Now here's another remark about another king of Israel who was, actually, a good king in many ways, but he wasn't of a different spirit. This is King Amaziah. And I won't dwell long on with this story, but this is written in 2 Chronicles 25:1-2. He was actually a cruel king, and he was pretty hard-nosed, and he did some things that were pretty harsh even though he had justification for doing them. He was involved in a civil war with Israel. He was a very prideful person. A very vengeful person. But he did things by the book. Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord. Okay, so far, so good. But not with a loyal heart. His heart really wasn't right. And I won't go into his story here, it's a whole story in itself for you to read. But you can read it yourself in 2 Chronicles 25 how he immediately caused a broad execution of people who killed his dad, which probably was legal and so forth, but we don't have a story of a person who really had a benevolent spirit to him.

Of course, the model that we look to, the model that we associate ourselves with more than anyone is Jesus Christ Himself. I've already given you a little bit from the way that He viewed service and what greatness is and what first means is to be a servant and not one who is a lord over people.

Again, let's go back to Philippians 2:3-8, and within it is embodied in Philippians 2:5, let this mind be in you.

By the way, one special feature that we've added with introducing more and more into the leadership presentations is a presentation for the women. We honor very much the leaders and we oftentimes focus on the men, but we really want to pay special attention to the ladies, as well. And there will be a "Let This Mind be in You" module on Sunday, that's tomorrow, for the ladies.

Philippians 2:3. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. But in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. This is so anti-Gentile. This is actually anti-healing. You know, where we have a spirit and a model that we live with of doing things without conceit or ambition. Do it with lowliness of mind and esteeming others better than ourselves. There's four concepts brought into this one statement by the apostle Paul which are so unnatural to human beings. Of putting yourself down, of not being ambitious to get something out of it. Not being conceited, to be looked upon as some great person and to think of others better than himself. It's really hard for us to do that. We love to compare ourselves and to enhance ourselves we try to find somebody lower than us in our mind to feel better about being what we are.

Philippians 2:4 continues, Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Now that's a true servant. Let this mind, and this follows and this is what was just said, but summarized in Philippians 2:5, let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. Or as a more modern translation reads this verse which I actually like because it modifies it a little bit more, vernacularly, though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to, as something that He absolutely had to have and could always play as His ace. Jesus Christ could at any point could have begged off and said, "I'm not going to put up with this. I can't believe what they're going to be doing to Me." Well, He went through it and I'm so glad He did because that's why we're here. And that's why we're going to live forever, because of the greatest act of service, redemption, which is only possible through what Jesus Christ did. And I'm so very thankful for that.

More, Philippians 2:7, but made Himself of no reputation, and He was despised of all men, He was left hanging all by Himself as He died with just His mother and John below Him. He was rejected and He was God. Taking the form of a bondservant. Here it describes a little bit more of the kind of service, a bondservant, slave, and coming in the likeness of men, which is rock bottom in the creation of what mankind became. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death. We cover humility as an important aspect of service and that was given very aptly by Randy Stiver this morning in the third lecture. And humility and service, humility and the ministry, humility and leadership are extremely important, because frankly, leadership has not done us the best historically. And all the way along where it hasn't done us the best, pride has had it's place in hurting people.

That's why, in my period here, my period of administration, there's one thing that I cherish and that is peace that we have. And I feel very obligated and very responsible to maintain that peace. Not just by talking about it. Not just by mouthing it over and over again, but stressing humility, stressing yieldingness, stressing working things out, stressing reconciliation is vitally important if we're going to get anything done as a church. And down deep in my bowels, I feel like we can do it if we truly are servants and act like Jesus Christ, esteem others better than ourselves, make ourselves bondservants to others. Look out for the interests of others as well as we do for ourselves. We can do it. We can do it! We're going to have a "yes we can, yes we can!" chant going here. We really need it in the church, because yes we can do it with God's help.

I'd like to turn to Matthew 25:31. Some people get tired of this passage. I don't. I'm pumped about it every time I read it. And I can see why it's there and why it's so important. Matthew 25:31. When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of glory. All nations will be gathered before Him, Matthew 25:32, and He will separate them one from another, as the shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand but the goats on the left. Matthew 25:34, then the king will say to those on His right hand, come you those blessed of My Father,  inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. One reason why I get so excited about this passage is because it really spells out what that Kingdom is. First of all, it's not here now. When we pray 'Thy Kingdom come' it means it's not here. And we pray everyday, at the very top of our prayers, that we praise God's name and we say that Thy Kingdom come. It's not here, that's why we pray for it to come. And now the Kingdom does come when Jesus Christ returns to this earth. And He's telling a group of people that except this Kingdom has been prepared from the foundation of the world for you. And here's what He talks about as far as some of the basis for this statement. Does He praise them for what they knew? Does He praise them for what ranks and achievements they've had in this life? Here's what He praises them for: I was hungry and you gave Me food. I was thirsty and you gave Me drink. I was a stranger, you took Me in. I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me. And this seems to bewilder the recipients in Matthew 25:37. Then the righteous will answer him saying Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see you a stranger and take You in, or naked, and clothed You?  Honestly, Jesus, when did that happen? Or when did we see You sick or in prison and came to You? The King answered and said to them in Matthew 25:40, Assuredly I say unto you as much as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me. You served their needs.

And you know why this is so important? This is on the eve of the rebuilding of a world that's been destroyed. On the brink of extinction, that needs to be rebuilt from the very bottom. And what Christ will need, what the King of the universe is needing, is not a lot of puppets and kings saying "Where's my territory?". Rather, they're going to be looking to people that say "What can I do to help restore this earth? What can I do to bring food and clothing and healing to the people of the nations? What can I do to rebuild this earth?". Because that's what's going to have to be done. A great project of restoration. The restoration of all things, not only in knowledge, but the restoration of all things in the rebuilding. And this is a Kingdom that will not ever pass, and a Kingdom that will grow, and grow ad infinitum into the future.

These are the kinds of people that are needed in God's Kingdom. Not professors. Not knowledgeable people, yes, we do need those people as well, but we need people who deeply care and who deeply are concerned about serving their fellow human beings.

I have taken a view, and I'm a master 'do-gooder'. If anyone wants to call me a 'do-gooder' I say, "Thank you, that was a compliment." There are people that I have admired in my life, such as Mother Teresa, Albert Schweitzer. Did they change the world? You know something? They didn't. In fact, the areas where they have served have gotten worse after their comings and goings. Albert Schweitzer gave up a career in medicine in Germany, and moved to what now is the Democratic Republic of the Congo and set up a clinic where he served ignorant, sick people for the years that he did. His colleagues said "You're crazy. Why are you going down there when you are so well known in Germany?". But he served them. And he served them for the decades that he did, and after he left you know what happened? The area grew up into weeds again. It really didn't make any difference.

Mother Teresa, working in the hell-holes of India. When she was interviewed in one of her rare interviews, said "Why are you doing this? Why are you bringing all these people in here?". She said, "I'm being faithful to God." You know, we may not agree with her religion or anything else, I am faithful. Did she bring about any change as far as long term in those areas of, I can't remember, Bombay or the other side of India? She said, I'm just being faithful to what I'm supposed to be doing.

Have we, what we have done as a church or individually or through Good Works, or LifeNets, really brought about lasting change to where we perform society on this earth? Not really. But we have made changes to people at that time. And we're so happy to see graduates, and people get jobs. We're happy to see water wells develop. We're happy to see people make changes. But you know this is going to mean a lot what we do in this spirit when we have to rebuild the earth, when it's going to be going on a massive scale to really rebuilding the earth where we have God's resources, and help, and government, and knowledge covering the earth as the waters cover the sea. At that point it will make a big difference. But right now we are learning these things. I feel that almost everything that I'm doing in this lifetime right now is preparing for something much greater. What I'm living right now is not reality, it's only a training period. Our church, of 7500 attendees in the US every week, is only the beginnings, a nucleus of something much greater, and bigger. And we need to have that vision of seeing that we are training, we are preparing. God is more interested in why we do the things that we do, than the actual things that we do, because we are going to be able to be pioneers and be rebuilding this world in a much greater way. I don't know how much more passionately I can say that. But that's why we're here on this earth.

Let me give you a few mindsets that we should have in becoming real servants of God. I have four. Awfully late in my sermon to have the SPS, but better late than never. It's kind of on purpose, though. I wanted to give you this preparation first.

Servants, number one, base their identity in Christ, not in themselves. You take a look at what Jesus Christ did in Matthew 20 where He described what greatness was. Greatness was not looking at yourself, greatness was in giving of yourself. We've already read Philippians 2:5, where we discussed this, but also John 13 in the foot washing service. Jesus Christ instituted a service that most Christians have dropped. Some for sanitary reasons, some for it's too much bother, for being odd, whatever. I'm so thankful that we still do this, but we do it because it's commanded for us. But, in it, we learn, year by year, to wash one another's feet.

This last Passover was very meaningful to me because I didn't conduct it. I really had a chance to really think through it, as I hadn't in probably 40 years. I wasn't able to go to Africa because of the death of Denny Luker, in fact, the person whose feet I washed, I made a big mistake, I dropped his sock into the water, met him out in the parking lot afterwards, he said it at least helped him stay awake during the reading of the passages! I don't even know why I brought that up.

But the foot washing service is a symbol that shows really the mind and heart of Jesus Christ when He was so preoccupied with the fact that He would be dying for mankind the next day. It was the fullness of His being transmitted into 'I want you to learn a lesson happy are ye if you do these things. If I have washed your feet, you wash one another's feet.' Showing this lowliness of mind and this service of your fellow human beings. Again, some regard this as being disgusting and even unsanitary. I regard it as something which is extremely beautiful of representing an attitude of washing one another's feet. Of showing absolute love towards them. John 13:13. You call Me teacher and Lord, and you say well for so I am. If I then your Lord and Teacher, which was His title as well, have washed your feet, you see God washes our feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. You perpetuate this ordinance. John 13:15. For I have given you an example for you should do as I have done to you. John 13:17. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. Not pontificate about them. Not allegorize them. Not use them as some type of metaphor. But, happy are you if you do them. That is what's important to God. We serve because Jesus Christ served. We serve how He served and we serve with His mindset.

Number two. Servants think more about others than about themselves. Okay, we've somewhat covered this but we ought to put these in bulleted points that you can mark down on a card and perhaps review easily. We did read the first part of Philippians about looking out for the interests of others. I will not repeat that, in Philippians 2:3-4. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition but each one of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. So whatever we do, wherever we work, we're not just trying to make a name for ourselves and trying to enhance ourselves. We look out for the interests of others.

Here's one of my favorite scriptures coming up. 1 Thessalonians 2:8. Because it showed the mindset of the apostle Paul who to me is one of the most remarkable people of all history. I am just, to me, if I could get just a half hour with the apostle Paul in the resurrection, it'll be one of the finest moments that I could possibly have. Because I admire his life so much. He was educated, he went through some type of formal training to become what he was as a Pharisee. He knew the scriptures. He quoted scriptures ably. He quoted dozens and dozens and dozens of references in the Old Testament prophets. And has really bound together the Old Testament scriptures was a new testament. He was also a person had intellectual. He had compassion and heart for the people that he served. He was born in a Jewish, or Hebrew, Israeli, Israelite environment but also in a Gentile country and had Roman citizenship. Very well suited for the job. His cv, his came through very well for the job he had to accomplish.

But here he writes to the Thessalonians now, in Greece, affectionately, 1 Thessalonians 2:8, longing for you. He was affectionate towards them. He wasn't afraid to say "I love you. I really love you." He wasn't a professor that couldn't say these things because it was just not the thing to say. No. I love you. Affectionately longing for you. I missed you! We were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives because you have become dear to us. Now this is service. You were there not only to teach the people, but you truly, truly love them. You're not doing it as a hireling for the job, as a career move. But it's something that is a part of your passion and compassion towards these people. That's one thing I talk to our ministry about. The ministry is not a job that you can choose. It's a job that your peers have to say, "Look, he's okay." And if your peers say, "I think there's something missing there." You can't have that job. You can't have that particular position. Because it's something which represents a very personal mindset, and a very personal spirit how you relate to people. Not only being educated and being one who is able to convict the gainsayer, or being one who is apt to teach, but one who is really compassionate and loving towards the people you work with. And that's what the apostle Paul was. He was very compassionate and loving towards the people. Not only in Thessalonica, but also in Ephesus where they all gave big hugs when they said goodbye, and they will see his face no more. Which is what happened as he left one of his favorite churches because he spent so much time there. Probably they sobbed and cried because they wouldn't see each other for a long time.

Luke 9:23. Talking about becoming a Christian. This is not even ministerial or even a leadership matter. This is a matter for everyone. Luke 9:23. If anyone desires to come after Me, Christ speaking. Let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. The one thing about being a Christian, you're never promised an easy ride. In fact, as a Christian, you're promised a more difficult ride. Are you ready to join us? A very difficult ride.

You know, I'm going up to Minneapolis for the fiftieth anniversary of a church that I dearly loved. Dearly love to this very day. Dearly love the people in it. It's been a wild ride. And if you take a look, if you've been in the church for any number of decades, it's been a wild ride. We've had to take up our cross daily. We've had our difficulties with people, we've had where we were despondent to the point of saying "What's the Point?". If God has delivered us. As a Christian you have to take up your cross or your trials daily. Cross meant, sort of, the end of the line for Romans, because that's when you were crucified that was it. And as a Christian we take up our cross daily. But we rely on Christ for deliverance. For redemption. I'm so much looking forward to spending those days up in Minneapolis this week with our family. Talking about our church family. There's only a few left back from the original days fifty years ago. Many have died, many have gone on. Both my parents were members of that church. And many others that we have gotten to know dearly that God has put aside to be resurrected. There's others who have become shipwrecked. There's others who have gone back into the world. There's been a lot of heartache. There's also been a lot of ecstasy in seeing what God has done in the lives of people. And I have been a part of that family 48 out of it's 50 years. I came to my first service in August 1965. Two years after the church started.

Take up his cross daily, follow Me. Luke 9:24, for whoever desires to save his life will lose it. But he who loses his life for My sake will save it. Now how many of us will? I have seen people who have tried to gain through being in the church, and who have lost it. I have seen great minds, I have seen great speakers, I have seen people who look real good. I've seen the great and the lofty. Great names. I've been with all of them. Honestly, I've seen it all. I've worked on 4th floor, 3rd floor, 2nd floor, basement, whatever, of many buildings throughout my experience. I have been appalled. I have been happy. I've seen it all. I've seen people that were there for the wrong reason, at whatever level they were. But I've also seen those who have given themselves completely, whom God has blessed. And whom God has exalted. Whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. That's the algorithm that we go by. If you're here just to save yourself, be careful. If you're here to give yourself and to lose yourself, you will win. You will succeed.

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and is himself destroyed, or lost? You can't be a servant if you are full of yourself. That's why we bring in the humility formula. We talk about it quite often. We gave it it's first shot today with Randy Stiver speaking.

Sometimes service is not understood. It's taken to be self-service. It's something for the purpose of enhancing yourself or to looking good, or to fancy yourself in the ranks of our little aquarium in being important. Some people serve for position. For what people can do for you. Some people cater to the rich who will give them cruises and will give them benefits. I've seen it all. What's important is that we give ourselves to serving all people and giving our heart to them.

Some people serve to be admired. Or to manipulate. Or to control. Servants, number two, which I said already, think more about others than about themselves. So analyze your service. Why are you doing this? Because God is more interested in why you do it rather than in what you do. I want you to think about that. God is more interested in why you do what you're doing than what you do. Because what you do, no matter how great it is in this lifetime, is really very little. But why you do it is eternal and will have eternal consequences.

Some people bargain with God in order to serve. Use it as a bargaining tool. "God, if You do this for me, I will do this for You." Why is God interested in any kind of a bargain? What does He get out of it? Now God, if you give me this position, I'm going to be good. Who cares? It doesn't matter. I've seen all these excuses and manipulations used by people in order to relate to God. They're all wrong and lead nowhere. By nature we're all selfish and think about ourselves. One thing I tell people, sometimes they are so concerned about, I wonder what they're thinking about me. I say, don't worry, they're only thinking about themselves, they're not thinking about you. That's one glorious thing about having people think about you. They don't. They think about themselves.

Point number three. Servants think like stewards and not like owners. Let me say that again, write this down. Servants think like stewards and not like owners. I took a course called "Working with Large Donors" at Wesleyan University in Indianapolis, and we had a specialist come and talk to us about how they talk to people about making large donations. These are people who are already making large donations, they're going to be making a large donation, you just want to be sure they make it to you and to your organization. That's kind of the point of where it's going. But he said that one thing that is very convincing to people who give. I'm surprised what people give to. That day somebody was talking to an individual who gave $175,000 to a local food bank, I thought, boy, there's got to be a lot more glamorous things to donate to than something like that. But there are people that will do that. There are people who do all kinds of things. If they don't give it to that they'll give it to something else because they want to give. But, he said, our instructor said, "we've got to teach people to regard the fact that what they own is not theirs."

What does King Tut own today? How would he like to know that he had been paraded around museums all over the world and people stare at him? What about this property around here? Who was it owned by 200 years ago? Do you know who it was owned by? Nobody knows or cares. People are long gone. Probably not in their family. We own it now. We won't be owning it in X number of years. People say is all I get a ninety nine year lease? Well, isn't that enough? There's no possible way that you have any more control over that. And our instructor said if you think about working with people as stewards that they have the ability to make whatever they call wealth, property, cash, their time, their resources, their life, have some meaning, you'll have somebody who will really make a difference with what he gives.

I would talk to them in the class, I was talking about how we tithe and so forth, he said, you know with rich people, I don't even talk about tithing with them, that's nothing. We want 30%. We want 40%. We want them to give to make a big difference. Bill Gates and others have put virtually all of their assets into a foundation, partially it's selfish because they want to, they either give it to mankind or they give it to the government, but nonetheless they have shielded it in making it meaningful to make some changes. Eradicating polio, building schools, etc., etc. But they realize that what wealth they have you could only eat so much a day, you can't eat 50,000 calories a day just because you have the money. You can't wear more than three suits at a time. You could only wear one dress, one shirt at a time. So, why do you have to have so much?

But we need to be thinking like stewards as to what we have control of. What we have the ability to manage. How could we do, what could we do with it to help others. And he said that a big part of my success is in talking to people about being stewards rather than being owners. Because ownership is not really what we think of ownership as being. It's transitory. Because once people get into the mindset of being stewards they're very desirous to help. You mean that I can, with the resources I have, make this change, build this school, support this cause, whatever it is that would be just wonderful I could do that. You'd be surprised that how many people are that way and he said, the big donors, the big gifts, are never given. The big gifts are always asked for. And one comment was that one person gave $40,000,000 to his former college, and the pastor of his church says, you know something, why didn't you give us some of that money? And he said, well, you never asked for it. But the university did and that's why he gave it to them.

One of the words that's used for a waiter is a steward, you know, in a plane or in a restaurant. He's making sure that what's needed is provided, he's attentive and he really cares. So, are we thinking as stewards? And think of the resources that you have. What resources do you have? You may have the ability to communicate with people. You may have the ability to be one that's really good with people. Are you using it to better a situation? Yes, you might have money that you might be able to give. One of the gifts, among the spiritual gifts listed is one who gives. Who is it? That's somebody who's been blessed with resources to give. Is he hoarding it for himself? Or he's using it to help a broader group of people and serve in that way.

What about the gift of friendship? You could take your influence and use it to become close to people; to help them. Your time. Spending time with people and listening to them. Your connections may be useful. All these things are ways in which you could take the resources of that you have, what you are, what makes your persona, and being a useful person.

And finally, fourth point. Servants think of service as an opportunity and not an obligation. God loves a cheerful giver. He doesn't like just a person who begrudgingly gives, but a person who is a cheerful giver. I like cheerful givers. I like people who really want to participate and do things, and really in one sense, want nothing more for it than just the satisfaction of knowing that they've helped. That they've made a difference. They've helped somebody's life. They enjoy helping people by meeting their needs and they serve the Eternal God with gladness. Psalm 100:1. Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness and come before His presence with singing. Are we that way? Do we come before God with absolute joy and gladness because we love God, we're so grateful for what He's doing for us, we see good outcomes and that makes us happy just all in itself. I know that I get very, very thrilled when I see some success with our students overseas that get a certification or a degree and get a job and they can do something, that gives us so much joy, it makes it all worthwhile. Makes us praise God and thank Him for helping us with the things that we're doing. Seeing good outcomes.

Hebrews 6:9. But the love that we are confident of better things concerning you, things that accompany salvation so we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name. In that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. The word minister here is more a sense of not eldership but in service, public service. And what he talks about as a labor of love and he commends the people in Jerusalem, in that area, for being servants. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end. That you do not become sluggish but imitate those who through faith and promise and patience inherit the promises.