A Servant’s Heart

The Path to Christ-Like Service

A Devotional Study of
1 Peter 4: 7 – 11

By Kara H. Duckworth

Week 1: The Servant/Leader Example

 Week 1: The Servant/Leader Example
{Day 1} Would You Like to Serve?
Read: Luke 5: 1 – 11.
“… but because you say so, I will …”

You’ve said “yes.”

Your life is no calmer, your calendar no emptier, your mind no more tranquil than anyone else’s.

But maybe you’ve learned this truth about God’s economy: when you step forward and say, “yes,” somehow,
everything else in your life falls into proper order. Not that any of your problems and responsibilities go away. It’s
just that God replaces all the space in your mind that was filled with stress and anxiety with the joy and wonder of
His Kingdom work. Your focus is changed.

Jesus stepped into the middle of Simon Peter’s busy life and promptly interrupted it. First, he showed up at Peter’s
house and resolved the anxiety of his home life. (Luke 4: 38 – 39) Then, he showed up at Peter’s workplace and
demonstrated his sovereign ability to provide. (Luke 5: 5 – 7) Jesus asked Peter to put Kingdom work first. And
what did Peter say to this interruption? He said, “yes.”

For all of us who’ve said, “yes,” let’s unite our hearts and minds for the task ahead. Jesus calls us to follow. Jesus
calls us to fish for men. Jesus calls us to be servants.

And we’ve said, “yes!”

Ponder: Make a list of three things that Simon Peter witnessed because he said
yes to Jesus.

Dream a Little: What are three things you’d like to witness in your ministry because
you said yes?

Pray: Ask God that you might see those three things come to pass.
 Week 1: The Servant/Leader Example
{Day 2} Becoming A Servant
Read: Matthew 20: 20 -28
“… just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve …”

He could have come with power. After all, it was expected. He could have spent every moment consulting with
world leaders, making laws, strategic alliances, and long-term plans. Entertaining ambassadors and kings.
Accumulating wealth. Raising an army.

Or, he could have established himself on a throne and let people come to him to pay homage, to pay tribute, or to
worship. He would have been well within his rights.

Instead, Jesus became the picture of the servant/leader – a revolutionary concept. Handpicking a cohort of interns,
He poured himself into them for three years. They had round-the-clock access to him. They observed as he
eschewed power, glory, and material possessions. They shadowed as he consorted with the uneducated, the poor,
and the sinful. They travelled with him as he traversed the countryside, healing, meeting needs, and restoring
broken relationships. Jesus didn’t just tell them to serve others, he lived it in front of them.

Apparently, they just didn’t get it. James’ and John’s Mom came to ask Jesus to share some glory with his closest
followers. Even after having watched the daily demonstration of his meek servitude, everyone around him still
expected Jesus to exhibit more “normal” kingly behavior. And these guys who had dropped everything to follow
Jesus should presume to be elevated above all. Jesus’ comeback to this awkward request was a golden nugget at
the core of his Kingdom philosophy: This is not an act; I’m showing you very openly how I operate. My expectation
is to serve, not to be served.

Not until after his resurrection did Jesus’ followers truly grasp what he was trying to instill in them. They finally
became the leaders who formed the first churches through their teaching and through their daily demonstration of
Jesus’ brand of service.

Ponder: What are some of the acts of service you’ve experienced?

What effects of your own daily kingdom might you need to lay aside in order
to concentrate on serving others?

Pray: Ask God to help you scale back your expectations of being served and to
replace those with a heart to serve.
 Week 1: The Servant/Leader Example
{Day 3} Followers
Read: Matthew 9: 35 – 38
“… he had compassion on them…”

Almost nothing Jesus did during his years of ministry went unnoticed. He had avid followers. We are so familiar
with these guys – the disciples, the Twelve – and with Jesus’ teachings and miracles because of their eyewitness
accounts. We know the characters, major and minor, that people these timeless stories; but there is a background
character or group of characters we don’t often think about. If you were to skim the chapters of the gospels and
highlight these words (and I recommend that you do), you would see how prominent these characters are … “the
crowds.”

From the first day of Jesus’ ministry, they were there. You could think of them as camp followers or groupies, I
suppose. But they were a constant presence, because Jesus was meeting their needs. News spread faster than his
progression through the towns and the countryside about a healer, a teacher with unparalleled authority, a
messenger obviously sent by God.

Nearly every interaction and miracle was witnessed by this audience. Yet, Jesus didn’t see them as a nuisance. No,
they were lost and wandering sheep, desperately searching for a leader to shepherd them. He was filled with
compassion for them; for, in spite of the fact that they lived and worshiped in Israel, they had somehow fallen
through the cracks. Their needs for physical help and spiritual guidance had somehow been neglected. Israel who,
for more than a millennium, had been the recipient of God’s revelation, His law and His prophets, His special
protection, had failed them.

So many needs, so few workers.

Jesus looked at the crowd and taught his disciples one of their first group lessons: pray that the workers match the
needs. In teaching this, He assured not only the shepherding of the crowds, but the growth of the servers.

Ponder: Though we live in the midst of one of the most “churched” areas in our
country, there are crowds of people whose needs are not being met. How might
the crowd you serve have been affected by this?

Pray: Pray that workers match the needs of those God sends. Pray that people
will be ripe for harvest.

Week 1: The Servant/Leader Example

{Day 4} Skin in the Game
Read: Luke 9: 12 – 17
“ You give them something to eat.”

While Jesus had compassion on the crowds, His disciples had worked up to “concern,” at least. They took note of
the crowd size, the remote location, the setting sun, then came to the conclusion that Jesus just needed to dismiss
everyone so they could find their own accommodations. Release them, so they can fend for themselves. We can’t
afford to host this crowd!

The disciples saw a foregone conclusion; but Jesus saw a teachable moment: It’s time for you to take some
responsibility for meeting the needs of my followers. The disciples said, “Send the crowds away;” but Jesus said,
“They don’t need to go away. You give them food.”

Please note that the Master Teacher wasn’t dropping them into the deep end. He didn’t expect them to perform a
miracle. He only asked them to gather the available resources (they could do that) and to organize the crowd (they
could catch on to that). The disciples did what they could do, then observed as Jesus did what he could do. Then,
they served the people.

What were the results of doing it Jesus’ way? Everyone there was satisfied, satiated. Their needs were met. Not
only that, but the blessing was so overflowing that enough was left for sharing later.

Ponder: What do you learn about Jesus’ pattern for service from this example?

Dream a Little: How might this lesson fit in with your ministry?

Pray: Ask God to show you what resources are at your disposal that you can give
for Him to multiply. Ask Him to help you release those in furthering His
Kingdom.

Week 1: The Servant/Leader Example

{Day 5} Knowing
Read: John 13: 1 – 17
“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning
to God, so …”

You’ve seen it. Or perhaps you’ve lived it. Emmy and Katie have a crush on the same super-jock at school. The
pettiness factor goes through the roof. The boss overlooks Barb for a promotion at work. Again. No one can get
past the bitterness to engage her in a decent conversation. Bettie continues to max out her credit card on new
outfits, designer furniture, and weekend trips, trying desperately to keep up with her sorority crowd. And Martha
obsesses over posting photos carefully staged to portray her life to a perfectly crafted image.

What do these women have in common?

Identity crisis. Insecurity. Either they’ve not yet found their identity as a child of God or that sure calling has been
clouded by the exigencies of life.

In contrast, look at how John sets the stage for one of the humblest acts in history, starting with this truth. “Jesus
knew . . . so . . .”

To round out our first week together, I knew I wanted to examine the scene of Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet.
I already had the working title in my head: Utter Humility. But when I turned to the scripture, this verse, that I am
just sure wasn’t there before (*wink*), jumped off the page. Wait! This changes everything! Right here, John
reveals the mind of Jesus in this astonishing act.

Jesus came from glory and would soon return to glory. God had assigned him all power. Because he was so secure
in the knowledge of who he was, he could humble himself to be an example of supreme love. To know that he was
King over all meant there was no one in all the universe he needed to impress, nothing to prove, no reason for
striving. From that position, he freely chose service. Humility. Love.
Love has no room for pettiness or bitterness or pride or egotism. Only someone who is perfectly secure can live
above those. Service freely flows from one such as this. Someone who knows.

Ponder: Do you identify with any of these examples of insecurity? What are some
other manifestations of insecurity in you?

Dream a Little: What insecurities might you encounter among your students or
coworkers? How might you handle these?

Pray: Ask God to fill you with the knowing that you are His. Ask God to help
you discern when people don’t know and to help you gently point them to Him.
Ask Him that your humble acts of service will impact the lives of others.