S Is For Serve Series

Introduction

1. I shared this story before...but let me share it again to illustrate my sermon for this evening...

In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10.

According to Leon Jaroff in Time,...

the satellite’s primary mission was to reach Jupiter,...

photograph the planet and its moons, ...

and beam data to earth about Jupiter’s magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere.

Scientists regarded this as a bold plan,...

because at that time, no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars,

they were afraid that the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target.

But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more.

Swinging past Jupiter in November 1973, Jupiter’s immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system.

At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn.

At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus;

Neptune at nearly three billion miles;

Pluto at almost four billion miles.

By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, ...

Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun.

And despite that incredible distance,...

Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth.

"Perhaps most remarkable," writes Jaroff, "those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter,...

which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light,...

and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth...

Pioneer 10 was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just 21 months...

But it kept going and going for more than 30 years...

Dr. Colleen Hartman from NASA said, “Pioneer 10 was a pioneer in the true sense of the word. After it passed Mars on its long journey into deep space, it was venturing into places where nothing built by humanity had ever gone before, it ranks among the most historic as well as the most scientifically rich exploration missions ever undertaken"1

2. As we continue to learn our Biblical ABCs...

We come to the letter S...

S is for Serve, serving, & Service...

But I also plan to bring in some other “S’s” to help us out tonight...

S is also for Suffering...

S is for the Spirit...

and S is for Steadfast...

3. In our text, we see that Paul serves as an excellent example of how to serve the Lord in the midst of suffering...

Read Text: Acts 20:19-24

1. First of all, I want you to see that Paul was Steadfast in Service vv. 19-21

A. Paul says, “I served the Lord”...

And, he’s not bragging about it either...

He served the Lord with great humility...

and with brokenness...

Paul was very heartfelt in his service...

so much so that tears would easily come to his eyes...

as he saw the spiritual need around him...

as he saw the stubbornness of those who refused to repent...

it broke his heart...

he served with tenderness and compassion...

he didn’t allow that “holier than thou” attitude creep into his voice as he witnessed to people...

he knew that Jesus was the answer for them...

and he shared what he knew without apology...

and with all compassion and concern...

B. and he didn’t give up...

he was steadfast...

he persisted...

The word that Paul uses to describe serving the Lord...

is a form of the word that is used to describe a slave...

in fact, Paul often referred to himself as a slave unto the Lord...

But, he wasn’t just a servant to the Lord...

he was a servant to all people...

he didn’t just go to the Jews...

he preached to Romans, Gentiles,...

He preached to anyone anywhere that needed the Lord...

it didn’t matter if they were rich or poor...

He would present Jesus Christ to any and all...

C. Paul serves as an example for Christians today...

may we be steadfast in our service to the Lord...

may we serve the Lord out of a heart burdened for a lost and dying world...

and may we serve others without regard to who they are...

2. Secondly, I want you to see that Paul was Steadfast in the Face of Suffering vv. 22-23

A. Paul was basically stepping into the Lion’s den...

Some people in authority were not all that excited about what Paul was preaching...

Paul had seen his share of suffering for his faith...

but he continued on...

In our text, he says that he didn’t know what would happen to him in Jerusalem...

He even tells us that the Holy Spirit tells him that he will face trials and troubles...

He will face imprisonment and punishment...

Most people, if the Holy Spirit were to tell them that they would face those kinds of things in their service to the Lord...