Joe White Drive Time Podcast

"We are all to be servants just as our Lord Jesus Christ was a servant."

Family Discussion:

• In the body of Christ, do you see yourself as a lead climber or as a cleaner?
• Think of one servant leader that you know and list things that make you admire that servant leader and things that distinguish his server code.
• Discuss the ways you and your family can be servants to each other, servants in the church, and servants in your community.

Transcription:

00:13 Man, I will never forget the first time I stepped off the back of a 40 foot tower, doing a repelling thing in our camp, and I did it because there was about a 275 pound football player on the other end holding the rope. Well, today you're going to be encouraged because somebody is holding the rope for you. First Corinthians chapter 4, verses 10 through 16; you're going to love this. Paul says, "we are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored. We are dishonored to this very hour. We go hungry and thirsty, but we're in rags. We are brutally treated. We're homeless. We work hard with our hands. When we are cursed, we bless. When we are persecuted, we endure it. When we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment, we have become the scum of the earth, the refuge of men.

01:15 "I'm not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear brothers, even though you have 10,000 guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I became your father through the Gospel. Therefore, I urge you to imitate me." What a passage of sacrifice. You know, in the world of technical climbing, there's one who leads and there's one who follows. The one who leads has the job of getting the team of climbers up the cliff or up the mountain safely. He does this by setting protection along the way. Into one crevasse he places a cam, in another, a chalk or a wedge, and into each of these devices the lead climber fastens the climbing rope, and thus the wellbeing of his comrades who climb behind him, hangs on to how well he has done his job.

02:12 If the climb is successful, the lead climber gets the glory. On the other hand, the climber who follows, known as the cleaner, rarely gets acknowledged. He has the kind of unheralded job of un-fastening or cleaning the protective devices set by the lead climber so the team can advance up the cliff. There's nothing flashy about the role he plays. Consequently, he often goes unremembered. Hey, the role of a Christian servant is like that of the cleaner on a treacherous mountain climb. If he does his job well, the whole team advances, but if he's negligent, disaster can happen. You know, I knew a man who broke his leg on an ice climb, snapped the bone clean into because his cleaner had not paid attention to his job. Paul wanted so badly for the Corinthians to take sermon hoods seriously, that he highlighted his own service in verses 10 through 13 in this passage, and even admonishes his readers to be imitators of him.

03:14 You know, whether one is a lead climber or a cleaner, there is no place for arrogance in the body of Christ. We are all to be servants just as our Lord Jesus Christ was a servant. You know, when we get this point straight, our journey upward will be a glorious mountain climb. And here's my questions. In the body of Christ, do you see yourself as a lead climber or as a cleaner; and more practically, when there's dirty dishes in the sink who washes, when there's laundry to be folded, whose job is it to fold it? Hey, let me ask you a last question. Think of one servant leader that you know and list things that make you admire that servant leader and things that distinguish his server code. And here's the lifeline for the day. Discuss the ways you and your family can be servants to each other, servants in the church, and servants in your community.