Philippians 1:1 - Servant Leadership

Welcometo Pastor’s Chat today. I’m very excited about today’s chat because we’re goingto be talking about what I believe to be the real key to joy in the Christianlife—the true joy in life itself. I believe we find the clue in the very firstverse, where the apostle Paul, in his introduction to the letter he wrote tothe Philippians, said, “Paul and Timothy.” He is referring to bothhimself and his son in the faith, who were ministering there at Philippi whenthe church was founded. He says, “bondservants of Jesus Christ, toall the saints in Christ who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.” Sothe very first word he mentions is bondservants—bondservants of JesusChrist. A slave to Jesus Christ. That is so important, because as you studythrough the Scripture, you find that every great leader was a servant leader.He did not put himself on a pedestal and say, “Look at me. God has made mespecial—more special than you—and you better listen to what I say or you’re introuble.” Moses did have some conflict with people questioning his authority.But when God spoke about Moses, He would always say, “My servant Moses.” Youread this in Numbers 12:7–8 and other passages in the Pentateuch. Also,when God spoke of Abraham, the father of the Israelite nation—the father of ourfaith—we find in Genesis 26:24 that God referred to him as “My servantAbraham.” When God talked about Caleb in Numbers 14:24, He said, “Myservant Caleb.” When speaking of King David, God would refer to him as “Myservant David”. This is really important, because you find it mentioned somany times in the books of 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings and the Chronicles. David isreferred to by God in this way some 13 times in the historical books. Itis also interesting to note that the apostle Peter, when he was speaking of theLord Jesus Christ in prayer, called Him “Your holy servant Jesus.” Thatreminds me of what Jesus Himself said in Mark 10:44–45: “Whoever of youdesires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not cometo be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Jesussaid, “I didn’t come to be served.” Remember, He is the Son of God. Heis God in the flesh. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He is theOne who sustains you and gives you the breath of life every second. Yet Hesays, “I didn’t come to be served, but I came to serve and to give My life aransom.” TheBible tells us in the book of 1 Peter 2:21, that Jesus set an example for us, andthat we should follow in His steps. The great example He gives us is found evenhere in the book of Philippians, where the apostle Paul wrote in Philippianschapter 2:5-7, “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, butmade Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming inthe likeness of men.” Jesusin some of His last words to His disciples in the Gospel of John, said, “Asthe Father has sent Me, even so I also send you” (John 20:21). God did notsend us to be big-shot preachers or big-shot people. He sent us to beservants—servants like His Son, Jesus Christ. “Let this mind be in you whichis also in Christ Jesus.” One of the major issues we have today is thatpeople think they’re entitled. They believe they have a right to a certainsalary or a certain position because they worked for it. But I love what itsays about Jesus in 2 Corinthians 8:9: “Though He was rich, yet for yoursakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” Thatis the way we should live—a life focused on being a servant of Jesus Christ,and a servant to others, serving them. That is servant leadership, and itbrings tremendous joy into your life as you serve and have the mind of Christ. Itrust we will take these words to heart today and live as the Lord would haveus to live. Today,do you have the heart of a “servant leader”?