A Passion To Serve

If one were to take a survey and ask Christians the question “Do you love the Lord” the results of the survey would probably indicate that 99.9% of all surveyed "loved the Lord." Most would even say they "loved the Lord a lot."

If one were to survey these same people and ask the question "Do you serve the Lord?" I would guess the result would be lower. If you were to ask the question, "Do you serve the Lord a lot?" (if truth be told) the percentages would be even lower.

Why is there a big disconnect between loving the Lord and serving Him?

The first reason is that it is easy to offer up lip service when it comes to answering questions like “Do you love the Lord.”

I was thinking about all the songs that have the words, "I love you Lord" in them.

I love you, I love you; I love you Lord today

I really love the Lord…

I love you Lord, and I lift my voice…

We can get away with using words like these because if anyone would have the audacity to challenge us in this area and accuse us of not loving the Lord we can respond, "You don't know my heart…":

But while it is true that one cannot see into a person's heart (like God can) God has given us a way of discerning whether or not a person loves the Lord.

In 1 John 3:18, John writes, "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."

Love is expressed in action.

John 3:16 tells us that “God so loved the world that He gave.”

Roman 5:8 says “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Ephesians 5 teaches the same principal,

(Eph 5:25 NKJV) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

(Eph 5:28 NKJV) So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.

(Eph 5:29 NKJV) For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.

In John 14:15, Jesus says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments."

It is like the husband who says “I love you” to his wife and won’t even open the car door for her. Or the wife who says to her husband, “I love you” but expects him to fend for himself when it comes to dinner.

There is a big disconnect between loving the Lord and serving Him because many say they love Jesus but do not follow-up their words with actions to validate their love.

The second reason why there is this big disconnect between loving the Lord and serving Him is that many who say they love the Lord really don’t love Him. We will learn today that Jesus links together love and service. “If you really love Me you will serve Me” Jesus says.

God calls his children to be servants. Jesus says that He came to serve and a servant is not greater than his master. Mark 10:45 says, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." If He came to serve, who are we not to serve?

Seven Reasons Why Christians Serve

1.) We serve to glorify God

(1 Cor 10:31 NKJV) Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

The context here is Christian liberty. The early Christian church was composed of both Jews and Gentiles. The Jews were being offended because the Gentiles were serving ribs and pig feet at the Agape Dinner.

Paul was saying that while the food was ok if received with thanksgiving the best way to keep from offending your brother was to glorify God in all that you eat, drink or do.

The word glory is doxa, dox'-ah; from which we get our English word doxology. It means glory (as very apparent), dignity, glory (-ious), honor, praise, and worship.

The verb thus often comes to mean, “give weight to, honor”

In 1 Pet 4:10-11 the Apostle Peter writes, "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."

It is like a person who works for several hours on his car. He washes it; vacuums it; details it; simonizes it; buffs it and sprays that good smelling stuff in it. When you and I walk past it we look at it and say, "Look how that car shines!" That’s a nice car! He really loves that car! I want a car like that!