Part Iv: You Are Good To Go For Ministry Series

Gladys Dunn recently moved into a retirement community in a small town. One beautiful Sunday morning she walked down the street to a church not far from her apartment. Gladys was in awe of the big beautiful church building as she stepped inside to attend the worship service.

Gladys however, wasn’t too impressed with the sermon. She thought it was kind of boring and, as she looked around the church, she noticed that many of the members were nodding off.

When the preacher finished his sermon he encouraged the congregation to greet those

sitting close by.

Gladys turned toward the man sitting on her left. He, too, had fallen asleep and was yawning and stretching trying to wake up. He smiled at her, and Gladys returned the smile.

She politely offered her hand and said, I’m Gladys Dunn." "You and me both!" the man replied.

This morning, if you have been with us the last few weeks you might be saying how glad you are to know that this is the last of this series of Having a Servant’s heart. But my prayer is that over the last three weeks you and I have discovered that as believers you and I have been given spiritual gifts by God. And these gifts have been divinely given to us based not on anything we have done but on God’s mercy and grace because he loves us. And each of us can do different things for the glory of God and to build up the body of believers. And so today, as we finish this series of messages I want us to all feel comfortable in knowing that you and I are good to go for ministry.

In our passage this morning, we have looked at verses 10-12 but I want to back up a moment and share with you why it is so important for us to be good to go with our ministry. In verse 7 Paul is pretty blunt about what is about to happen. He says that “the end of all things is near.” So be clear minded and self controlled so that you can pray.”

Let’s be honest. There is going to come a day in which this world will be no more. Paul tells us that the end is near and we need to pray. The shortness of time remaining should motivate believers to be earnest and disciplined in their prayers. The meaning for today calls for self-discipline when we pray. Rather than merely a quick blessing on our food or a three-minute devotional, we should reserve extended times for sober, direct communication with God. Lack of prayer will render us unprepared for the end times:

I am sure that I don’t have to ask anyone what is so significant about this Tuesday. It’s not just September 11th but its 9/11 a day in which we remember the tragedy that took place in this country. Anyone that is old enough to remember will never forget the numbers 9/11 nor will we forget where we were or what we were doing that day. Many believed that the end of the world had come. And though the world did not end on September 11 it is a reminder to us that there will come a day in which the world will cease and the shortness of the time remaining is motivation to live for and serve Jesus Christ

And so this coming Tuesday will be another time for us to pause and to remember the events of that day. Yet, it is not just a day remember because of the sadness that it brings us but it is a day in which we remember how, even in the midst of the worst of all evil, we could become the best of who we could possibly be.

So what can we do to be good to go for Ministry?

1) Realize that above all Love should show in everything we do

In verse 8 Peter tells us that above all, love each other deeply.’

The power of love is an amazing thing. If we are good to go for ministry then are love should know no boundaries. It should be focused on what Christ has commanded us to do with the 2 greatest commandments: 1: To love the Lord your God with All Your Heart with all your strength, with all your soul and with your entire mind. And the second one is like it love your neighbor as yourself. I love the way the Message translation puts the first part of verse 8 it says “Most of all love each other as if your life depended on it.”

That’s what the Bible teachers us. It wants us to love God above all, to love neighbors as ourselves with the intention of trying to model the generous love that God has for us. As we ponder September 11th we are taken back to that day and to the generous acts of love that emergency personnel gave as they went up the stairs to help those coming down the stairs. What a perfect example of a sacrificial Godly love that you and I have the opportunity to watch everyday.