How to Serve Like Jesus

What was the attitude of Jesus? Recently, someone said they thought Jesus’ vibe was 100%. Jesus’ attitude or vibe comes down to service. The Bible tells us in Matthew 20:28 that “The Son of Man didn’t come to be served but to serve others.” Everything Jesus did was in an attitude of service. You were made to serve God. But how do you do that? Well, it really comes down to our attitude.

Philippians 2:6-8

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though he was God,

he did not think of equality with God

as something to cling to.

Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;

he took the humble position of a slave

and was born as a human being.

When he appeared in human form,

he humbled himself in obedience to God

and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Jesus shows us what an attitude or vibe of servanthood looks like. When we serve people, that’s when they feel the most loved. Jesus demonstrated the ultimate act of service by coming to meet us where we are and laying his life down for us. When we serve, we want others to come to know and experience His love. But ultimately, we serve because we want to be like Jesus.

When I was a kid, I remember pulling up to church with my mom to see my dad wearing a fluorescent vest and glow stick in hand. He had arrived at church early to help in the parking lot. I was observing my big-strong dad serving people left an impression on me that I will never forget. My dad had humbled himself from being a leader in his career field to wearing a vest and becoming a parking lot attendant.

If you’re too big to serve, you’re too small to lead.

If you want to lead, you first need to check your attitude and see if it aligns with the humble attitude of Christ.

Luke 8:40-48

On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him. Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him. His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying.

As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.

“Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.”

But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

1. Serving like Jesus means being FAITHFUL

If you want to have the attitude of Christ, you have to be faithful like Jesus. I’m not talking about being faithful to just the work or the assignment God has for you. I’m talking about being faithful to the people. Jesus demonstrates being faithful to the woman that needed healing. Everyone expects Jesus to move on, but that is not how He works. He doesn’t do anonymous miracles. Jesus is a personal Savior who wants an intimate relationship. Jesus knew that this woman did not only need to be healed of her physical situation, but she also needed healing for her heart. She needed a spiritual leader to look at her and say, “Sweetheart, you are a daughter in the family of God. You’re in my family now. I know you’ve been treated like an outcast and a reject. You’ve been treated like you’re unclean and cursed by God. But, I want you to know, you’re in God’s family.” God doesn’t just want to change your circumstances; He wants to change you. He wants you to know that you’re completely whole now that you’re born again.

If you want to have the attitude of a servant like Jesus, you’ve got to be faithful to the one. People matter the most to God over everything. That’s what it means to serve like Jesus and to keep your eye on people. Sometimes our eyes are on purpose, but if you put your eyes on people, you’ll find your way there.

2. Serving like Jesus means being AVAILABLE

If you want to serve like Jesus, you’ve got to be available like Jesus. Do you think Jesus had a lot of extra time? Jesus was on his way to do a miracle and help Jairus’ daughter when he was interrupted by another miracle. Jesus was a busy guy; He wasn’t exactly available. But somehow, he made himself available. He stopped what He was doing so that He could focus on the woman that touched him.

You might be reading this and want to serve God. You want to make sacrifices and find your purpose. The problem is you have this lie in your head that your purpose will just find you. You might be thinking that there’s going to be an opportunity that jumps out and presents itself to you that will change your life. Unfortunately, that’s not the story of your life. The story of your life is to start serving God somewhere.

You might be thinking, “I’m too busy. Man, I got all this going on in my life. I got this job that I run and this big project. And you know, I got the kids that keep me extra busy.”

The Lord is not looking for bored people to serve Him.

He’s looking for busy people to make Him a priority.

He’s looking for people who have something going on, but they’re willing to make a sacrifice to put Him first in their life. Do you know who makes really great servants for the kingdom of God? The busiest people. Busy people are the hustlers, the grinders, and they know how to make the most out of a little bit of time. I believe the Lord is calling some busy people at this church to get to work. I don’t care if you’re the CEO of Amazon. You gotta serve, dude. You need it. I don’t know how much God needs it, but I know you need it. Your heart needs it. You need to find a way to start serving Him so that you can become more like Jesus.

3. Serving like Jesus means being TEACHABLE

Are you faithful? Can you make yourself available to serve? Are you teachable? Jesus didn’t heal everyone in the area in one big swoop. He took time with each person. Jesus set aside time not only to heal people but to make it a one-on-one teachable moment. Jesus looked at the woman in the story, spent a few moments with her, and demonstrated to others that caring for the individual is essential.

Hebrews 5:8

Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.

All of us are growing in our obedience. Being obedient can sometimes be a difficult attitude to take on. Let’s look to Jesus to see how He learned obedience. It says in Hebrews that He learned obedience through His suffering. Maybe what is stopping you from serving is that you don’t feel qualified to serve because you don’t have everything together in your life. “When I have been sober for over a year, I will start serving.” “When I am done healing from my broken heart, I will start serving.” Can I tell you that you are most effective amid your suffering? Don’t waste your suffering; start serving. Once you start serving somewhere, you will gain momentum in your life as God directs you. God has given you gifts to be used in the kingdom of God. Are you teachable and humble enough to use your gifts to join a team?

Serving like Jesus means to be GENEROUS

The last attitude of Christ is generosity. He’s generous with everything. Jesus doesn’t need your money. He wants your heart.

Luke 12:34

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

If you want to trust God with your life, your finances and time are the most personal way to start. There are opportunities to give of your time by joining any of our teams. No roles are more important than the other; we all work together as a family. If you are generous with your finances, you might be helping provide groceries for a family in need this week. If you are helping in the parking lot, you are generous with your time to ensure a new family knows where to go. If you are generous with your time to help make coffee and serve it, you might be helping a tired young adult that had a late night but still made it to church. If you are generous with your time to serve in the kid’s department, you will not only make a difference in the next generation but also bless the parents by caring for their children.

Stop believing the lie that you aren’t mature enough to serve or that you are too busy. Start by being faithful with what you have, make time available, be humble enough to be teachable and be generous with the gifts God has given you.