OUTLINE:

Charles Spurgeon
Jesus Christ deserves the best men to preach His gospel, and not the empty-headed and the shiftless.

1Chr 28:10
“Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be courageous and act.” ["Real Men DO!"…because true humility understands it is a PRIVILEGE to do so!]

Real Men (and Women) Do!
Why? Not because there's anything extraordinary about them (consider "Why Are the Apostles So Encouraging"), but rather because they are humble. They aren't interested in self-glorification, only God's glory, by grace.

Eph 6:7
With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men.

2Co 5:16
Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.

Deacon Johnson
"Pastor, the more faithful you are, the more familiar this congregation will become." And he's absolutely correct. (2Co 12:15)

Curing Familiarity’s Plague
A shepherd cannot cure familiarity, for it is his person who others have become dull-of-hearing with. He can, at best, help sharpen another's perspective. Only God can cure this plague.

Lk 17:10
“So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”

Serving From the Heart
The proper perspective on serving is that it's a pure privilege.  It's nothing less than a privilege, a grace gift, and an opportunity to honor the Lord from the heart.

A Servant’s Heart
Asks not "what", but rather "when/how/where." It is not concerned with estimation of one's own abilities, rather it rests in God's.

Recognizing Privilege
With the Lord's perspective, you will see how much you've been blessed. While you get familiar, Christ never does (Heb 13:8). If you've lost sight of your privilege to serve, you've lost sight of Christ!

Remembering Where You Came From
If you remember that you didn't have the privilege to serve the Lord until He chose to save you, maybe, just maybe, you'll be more grateful for your current opportunity to do so.

We Are What We Are To God’s Glory!
- "O LORD, for Your servant’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have wrought all this greatness, to make known all these great things" (1Chr 17:19).
- "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1Co 15:10).

Servanthood Defines Our Lot
We are slaves for obedience (Ro 6:16-18). Our perspective needs to be: “But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You" (1Chr. 29:14).

“that we should be able”
By grace alone, we have been given the ability to offer ourselves, our whole selves, to God, as "living sacrifices" (Ro 12:1). The ability becomes the blessing, not the crowns or the rewards awarded for doing so.

Who am I???

The Value of Pressure
Pressure proves the mettle of a person's heart.  Under pressure, true faith emits humility; pseudo-faith emits arrogance. God reminds us of our arrogance by pressing us to this latter point and then saying, "See?…you're still arrogant."