Part Ii: A Three Step Offering Series

Having a Servant’s Heart Part II: A Three Step Offering Romans 12:1-8 Castalia Baptist August 26, 2007

There seems to be a growing fascination in dancing recently. Shows are on television today focused on dancing. There is Dancing with the Stars which has captivated many Americans. Now, I don’t know anything about dancing, really. My wife will tell you and my kids will really tell you that I’m no Fred Astaire or Michael Jackson. Basically my dancing moves are Thrillers. I was a little disappointed to hear my family say that Big Bird has better dancing moves than me. But I mean Big Bird can’t do the Jive dance. (Illustrate) Now I know that many people especially some religious homes do not approve of dancing, and I would agree that some of the dance moves that are out there today do not bode well and are not proper forms of dancing.

But this morning I want to share with you that as Christians you and I have been made to dance. Regardless if you have two left feet or have no rhythm we have been called to dance. Now first let me identify what the definition of dance is. Webster’s says that dance is “to perform or participate in a particular series of rhythmic steps and movements, usually to music.”

As Christians we have been called to do the Servant dance to the music of Jesus gracious love for us. Think of your favorite song. Now when that song comes into your head or you hear it on the radio what starts to happen. You start to move your head or your lips, you find yourself humming the song, tapping your finger to it, whistling it and wondering where did this come from and why is it in my head.

Serving for Christ should be one of those things that not just sneaks up on us but sneaks inside of us. That somewhere in our journey of life as develop our relationship with Christ, and as the song captures our heart with its melody and glory we should begin moving towards the song. Our whole life should be one of a servant’s dance where as we listen to the music of Christ in our life and allow His rhythm to awaken us and it’s tempo to move us and to share it with others.

This morning as we continue our series on Having a Servant’s heart, I am going to encourage you to join me in the Servants dance as we respond to the music of God’s love resonating within us. To be honest if we are tuned into God and hear the song he is playing in our lives, it should cause us to dance. And by using these three steps it will help us to get ready for something fresh, something new, and something unexpected. But you have to be willing to do the Three Step Servant’s dance. So today let me encourage you to simply surrender yourself to the song that God is playing in our lives and to simply dance to His music.

Now in order to do the servants dance, we must understand that it will take more than our feet to get the dance right. It requires our entire body. In verses 1-2 Paul says Therefore, I urge you, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices. Now let me just hit on two words real quick in that first verse. First, the word therefore. Now whenever we see the word therefore in the Bible, we must always ask what it’s there for. Well it is there for us to take what we have read or heard before this passage and begin to put it into practice. For the first 11 chapters in Romans, Paul has been talking about theology and doctrine. He has been speaking of God’s mercy and how he loves all people that he sent His son to die on the cross for our sins so that we might live. And now the last five chapters explain the obligation that we have to God because of what he has done. If the early message of the letter is the way we all can come to God through Christ, then the closing part of the letter is the way we all can live for God in Christ. In view of all God has done. So Paul is basically saying based on everything that I’ve Just said, this is what you now need to put into practice.

I can sit in a dance studio and watch and listen to people tell me how to dance but if we don’t practice it’s lifeless. So it is with Christianity. If we just listen and watch people serve and do the will of God but don’t do it our self then its cold and lifeless and without meaning. And since Christ has done all of these things for us, then should we not be willing to offer a dance of service with our bodies.