You are Free to Serve the Lord!
Hebrews 10:19-25
Hebrews 10:19-25
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
(NIV)
Ty Cobb, all-time baseball great, played 3,033 straight games, and for twelve years led the American League in batting averages. For four years, he batted over 400. He was, arguably, the meanest and most unlikable man ever to play the sport. On his deathbed, July 17, 1961, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. He said, "You tell the boys I’m sorry it was the last part of the ninth that I came to know Christ. I wish it had taken place in the first half of the first.
It is not enough to CONFESS; we must also POSSESS.
Hebrews 10:22
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
(NIV)
vs 22 Growing older is mandatory! From the moment you discover life on Planet Earth, you begin to grow older. Growing up only comes by choice!
There is a great difference between t-ball and Major League Baseball.
The same thing is true spiritually. Professional Baseball managers do not call up players from the T-Ball league. The skill required to play in the big league is far greater the just being able to connect with a ball on the stand and being able to scurry to first base. Big league play requires big league players.
Growing older is mandatory; growing up is optional. But only those who grow up get to play in the Majors! God has no minor league players, no little league players, no T-ball plays. All the players on God’s Team are MAJOR LEAGUE!
1 Peter 2:9-10
9 But you are not like that, for you have been chosen by God himself-- you are priests of the King, you are holy and pure, you are God’s very own-- all this so that you may show to others how God called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
10 Once you were less than nothing; now you are God’s own. Once you knew very little of God’s kindness; now your very lives have been changed by it.
(TLB)
It is not enough to POSSESS; we also must PROFESS.
Hebrews 10:23
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
(NIV)
There are two major bodies of water in the land where Jesus walked. One is the Sea of Galilee, a beautiful lake 13 miles long and 7 ½ miles wide filled with fish and surrounded by lush foliage.
The other body of water is the Dead Sea, 50 miles long and 11 miles wide, the shoreline of which is 1300 feet below sea level. Seven million tons of water evaporate from the Dead Sea every day. The saline or salt content of the water of the Dead Sea ranges from 26-35%, making it 10 times saltier than the oceans of the world. There’s no seaweed or plants of any kind in or around the water. There are no fish or any kind of swimming, squirming creatures living in or near the water. As a matter of fact, what you’ll see on the shores of the Sea is white, crystals of salt covering EVERYTHING. According to extremescience.com, fish accidentally swimming into the waters from one of the several freshwater streams that feed the Sea are killed instantly, their bodies quickly coated with a preserving layer of salt crystals and then tossed onto shore by the wind and waves.
Both the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea are fed by the Jordan River There is really only one difference between these two bodies of water, really only one thing that causes the Sea of Galilee to be beautiful and alive while the Dead Sea is barren and lifeless. The Sea of Galilee has an outlet; the Dead Sea does not! Water flows through the Sea of Galilee. Water flows into the Dead Sea but not out!
It is not enough to POSSESS; we also must PROFESS.
Hebrews 10:23
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
(NIV)
Spiritual input but no spiritual output = Stagnation
If you and I have Spiritual input but no spiritual output, we will become stagnant, lifeless, bitter, and caustic.
Mother Teresa once said, “Holy living consists of doing God’s work with a smile!”
It is not enough to PROFESS; we must also EXPRESS.
Hebrews 10:24
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
(NIV)
Once you are a Christian, God intends to use you for His goals. God has a MINISTRY for you in His Church and a MISSION for you in the world! Regardless of your job of career, you are called by God to FULL-TIME CHRISTIAN SERVICE!
If you are not involved in any service or ministry, what excuse are you using? Let me lift some excuses which could have been used by others:
Abraham was old
Jacob was insecure
Leah was unattractive
Joseph was abused
Moses stuttered
Gideon was poor
Samson was codependent
Rahab was immoral
David had an affair and all kinds of family problems
Elijah was suicidal
Jeremiah was depressed
Jonah was reluctant
Naomi was a widow
John the Baptist was eccentric to say the least
Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered
Martha worried a lot
The Samaritan Woman had several failed marriages
Zacchaeus was unpopular
Thomas had doubts
Paul had poor health
Timothy was timid
Do any of those sound like legitimate excuses to you? Those people could have used those excuses as reasons NOT to serve God. But they each chose to use their FREEDOM to put themselves to use in God’s work. And guess what – God used each one of them, problems and all!
A NON-SERVING Christian is a contradiction in terms.
Mark 8:35
35 If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.
(TLB)
This principle is so important that it is reiterated five times in Scripture.
The way to win everytime is to
LOSE!
Matthew 10:39
39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
(NIV)
There is not a place for you to sit on the bench!
Regular attendance at training practice is required for TEAMWORK.
Hebrews 10:25
25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
(NIV)
Showing up for practice says that you are on the Team, that you are here to do your part to help the team win.
