A Call To Reasonable Service

A Call To Reasonable Service HHM Pastor Jim Parisi June 1, 2003

Ro 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

What should we considered to be reasonable service for the Lord?

I’m not talking of being overzealous, fanatical off the wall Holy Ghost.

…. I am asking here what is reasonable. Reasonable service.

If we could Plot this on a graph it would be somewhere between doing the minimal and doing our best.

The norm the status quo the average the middle of the road

Life has become to many in this land as a path of least resistance.

Not to buck the system but flow with “it”

I call this reasonable service

How many times in our daily lives do we hear when someone is asking for a pledge or money the next words out of their mouth are “just do your part”

Reasonable service the place where you can feel comfortable and still feel you did your part.

Every time there’s a great need or crisis we stand in line and line up to do our part, please do not get me wrong I think it’s wonderful that we as Americans have the power to complete this task.

But if you looked at the situation with 9 11 you’ll notice that after a short span of time the fire and stimulus was lost

We sat back and are easy chairs and continued in our old ways until the next time someone heightened or Threaten our sense of security.

The point I am making today is that in the kingdom of God reasonable service has a different understanding.

Reasonable service in the kingdom of God May get you into heaven, but will guarantee you to lose many blessings here on this earth.

The day of sitting on the fence in getting the job done with the lease Resistance is over.

We did see this from our economy where unions once were for the benefit of the people protecting them from harmful work environments.

Where today that the same unions have become the parlor room couches of the workplace today

We demand more dollars per hour to produce less products of inferior quality to what was made just 10 years ago.

Have we stopped to even look at the quality of what we produce today?

Manybe this is why your always looking back to obtain something from years ago. Old and better made

I don’t know how many times and have picked up an old Object examined it and said to a friend look at how well this is made.

Again this is all fine for the world BUT when you are called to Gods service

This way of judging and valuing things is no longer acceptable.

In Rom 12:1 God speaks, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

Is it is unfair to what god is asking us to do? … I think not

Is it not our responsibility to make sure that we are doing our best for him?

Are we doing our best at?

Prayer

Reading the word

Fellowship

Relationships

Many generations before our births of us here were Christians too’ they have given their time, wealth, effort, blood and to the point of their lives for this worthy cause.

Sometimes we forget this great responsibility we carry and our hearts that the Lord has placed there.

We Forget is great and precious gift that has driven men to proclaim this gospel for almost 2000 years now.

Frequently we easily boast about our walks and commitments to the Lord.

Drawing attention to ourselves instead of directing attention to the cross.

Look at me I am Super Christian. I can do it all.

Our goals become so high that they become unreasonable, consuming us to the point of the destruction.

Then we just fade away, burning out like a great Roman candle.

A lot of fizz, a little pop, then gone into oblivion

How many times have we asked the same question, what happened to sister or brother so and so?

I believe it is not only a Tragedy that a soul it is no longer serving the Lord but………..The Worst thing about this scenario is we fail to be effective in fulfilling our call in the Lord

And our lives and communities hurt from the loss of just one life serving God let alone a multitude.

Our attitude should be…

I have freely given my life to the cause, and have accepted the price of its Fellowship, the cross.

I have given my life freely and have accepted the loss my life here in the natural only to foresee the greater Blessing of living by faith.