Serve the Lord with Gladness!
Romans 12:1-8
CHCC: January 18, 2009
INTRODUCTION:
We’re starting out the New Year with a sermon series called “I’m In!” Ronnie Morgan preached the first 2 sermons about being IN for weekly Worship and Bible Study. It makes sense that being IN means being THERE … along with the rest of the group …
We have already learned, from Ronnie’s messages that being “IN” involves a weekly participation with others in worship and in private and corporate study of God’s word. Today we will go a step further by talking about what it means to serve God in the church.
You can’t find a better passage about serving God than Romans chapter 12. This is where we find the Apostle Paul turning a corner in a very theologically-centered book. In Romans 1 – 11 the Paul wrote about how we are Justified through our faith, NOT through our own good WORKS.
Then in Chapter 12, Paul turns a corner and talks about how we do our good WORKS … not to try to earn God’s approval ... but out of GRATITUDE to God for the Grace and Mercy He has already given us.
Look at the way Romans 12 starts …Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1
1. Sacrifice: The Heart of Worship
We are MOTIVATED to serve in view of God’s mercy. Because Jesus sacrificed HIS life for us, we want to give OUR lives for Him. This is more than just doing a good deed a day … it means giving ourselves completely.
We give ourselves as living sacrifices. Of course, the problem with living sacrifices is that they keep trying to crawl down off the altar! But the point is this: Service is more than “something we do.” It is WHO WE ARE. And service is more than “what we do” it is “HOW WE DO IT”
Psalm 100:2 declares, SERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS! Our service must flow out of a HEART of gratitude … or it is worthless in God’s eyes. Friends, we can’t effectively serve God while we’re moaning and groaning and complaining.
Years back when I was a Youth Minister, we did a lot of Youth Musicals. Some of them had funny skits that took a kind of “tongue-in-cheek” look at how churches worked. They had that kind of “ha-ha … ouch!” effect. I remember one featured a church that had this slogan: “Our love is built on the foundation of guilt.”
When it comes to offering your life as a living sacrifice, guilt motivation won’t cut it! We may serve out of guilt or duty for a while … but that kind of motivation wears thin in the long haul!
Another ineffective motivation is serving God so we “look good” to the other folks around us. When we are really serving God with gladness, we always draw attention to God --- not to ourselves.
Last week we attended our niece’s wedding. Our little 2 year-old granddaughter Lydia was the Flower Girl and our 5-year-old grandson David was Ring-Bearer. Susan was talking to David after the wedding about what a great job he did coming up that aisle. She told him, “Charis said you were an important part of her wedding.” David replied, “I know! I was the MAIN part!”
When Susan told David’s mom about the conversation, Kaysha asked, “Well, I hope you explained to him that he was NOT really the main part!” Susan said, “No, I don’t have to explain things like that --- I’m the Grandma!” (Besides, to his Grandma and Grandpa, David and Lydia WERE the main part!)
I’m sure that later on Kaysha explained to David that the wedding was for the bride and groom and not all about HIM. But how many of us fall into that same misunderstanding of thinking WE are the “main part” of the church?
The “it’s all about me” attitude may be kind of cute in a five year old … but not so much for a grown-up Christian! We need to remember we are never the MAIN part of any service we give in the church. It’s all about the GROOM and His BRIDE (Jesus and His Church).
Romans 12:2 tells us: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
2. The Mind of Service
Serving the Lord with Gladness means having the right HEART … and having the MIND of a servant. And I must say that the Mind of Service is the OPPOSITE of most people’s way of thinking these days.
We Americans are CONSUMED with the CONSUMER mentality! We’re used to choosing whatever gives us the most “perks and bennies” at any given time.
* We look for a Restaurant with the best Price and Menu and Atmosphere and Location. (By the way, in case you want to give any gift certificates, Hoohots is what our church staff prefers, … at least the males on staff!)
* We go to the Clothing Store that carries our size, has our taste in clothes, and has the best sales. And if we can’t find that in town, we shop on line!
* We want to get our Groceries at the place that’s close to home … with the best prices, best selection … and that’s not crowded. (good luck with that)
A lot of people take that same mentality with them when it comes to choosing a church. In fact, we even call it “church shopping.”
* If we have little kids, we look for a church with a great kids program. If we don’t have kids, we find a church that doesn’t have a bunch of noisy kids disturbing us.
* We look for a building that is simple but not shabby, comfortable but not ostentatious, colorful but subdued, cool in summer and warm in winter, and most of all, already paid for so we don’t have to give to a building fund! (by the way, our building IS paid for, praise the Lord! But don’t get too excited, I’m sure we’ll be starting a building fund soon.)
* We want the music enthusiastic but not too loud, energetic but not too fast, contemporary but traditional, soothing but exciting.
* We want the preacher to be youthful but not too young, relevant but not trendy, spiritual but down-to-earth, funny but full of gravitas … and most of all, able to give a life-changing message in 20 minutes or less!
And if anything stops meeting our expectations, then before you know it, we’re off “church shopping” again!
But the Church was never meant to serve the Consumer Mentality. The church is unique in that it is not about serving US, it’s about us serving OTHERS. In the church, we are more focused on reaching the non-member than the member … with the non-attender than the attender, …the seeker rather than the already found-er, … the newcomer rather than the insider, the desperately lost rather than the comfortably saved.
Consider these words from Romans 12:3: For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
When I was a little kid back at Raymond Elementary school in Ohio we used to play a game called King of the Hill. We didn’t have a lot of playground equipment, but we could play King of the Hill on the chat piles behind the school. It was a simple game. Someone gets up on top of the hill and everyone else tries to knock them off. If you succeed, then YOU’re King of the Hill … until someone else knocks YOU off. It was a “pushy-shovey,” self-centered, winner-take-all. … kind of game. Being King of the Hill meant you were the strongest … the dominant one who could push everyone else down to the lowlands below.
But consider the ironic twist to the game … when Jesus showed up to play … He carried a Cross to the top of a Hill. Then instead of pushing everyone else down, He lifted everyone else up. Jesus carried a cross up Golgotha’s hill and sacrificed His life for us. That’s God’s way of being King of the Hill.
In our niece’s Wedding we attended last week, Charis and Joe washed each other’s feet as part of the ceremony. While doing this, a trio sang special music. The song they chose to sing was “In Christ Alone” – A very appropriate message to accompany the act of humble service. Foot washing is a picture of the kind of service JESUS commands all of us to do for one another.
Serving each other starts with a grateful attitude of the HEART and MIND, but it plays out in PRACTICAL action.
Romans 12:4-6 instructs us: Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.
3. The Hands of Service
It is amazing how the Church survives and thrives in every culture in the world … and throughout all the years of harsh history. Imagine any other Voluntary Organization where people give so much time and energy … week after week … year after year!
Consider what happens here at CHCC just on a typical Sunday morning…
* Ronnie gets here early, opens building, turns on heat
* Luis gets the sound system up and running
* Vicki and Cat check the PowerPoint they prepared earlier
* The Music Team rehearses the music they practiced on Wednesday
* Meanwhile, Richard makes sure all those jobs are also done in the Gym for Youth Service
* Every week a volunteer prepares communion back behind the stage and carries it back so it is ready to serve
* Sumi and Julie set up the nursery
* Judee and Linda prepare coffee and refreshments
* Darlene gets in the Van to pick up the Walnut Manor residents
* The guest services folks put on their red vests and go outside to welcome people as the arrive
* Meanwhile, all over the campus, teachers are preparing classrooms for students …
All of this … and more that I probably don’t even know about … goes on before the Sunday School hour gets started. Dozens are involved in faithful behind the scenes service every week, before most people arrive.
And then, when all of you get here, the most important serving starts as you start ministering to each other in all kinds of ways … encouraging, helping, and loving everyone who comes through our doors.
Along that line we read In Romans 12:6-8 If a man’s gift is prophesying let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Amen, Amen! What ever you can do, do it … generously … diligently … and most of all, GLADLY!!!
If you’re wondering what YOU could be doing, ask yourself these 4 practical questions:
* What are my “gifts?” (the abilities God gave you)
* What are my “abilities” – (the skills you have developed)
* What do I enjoy? What am I passionate about? (What causes my heart to beat faster?)
* What needs do I see that need doing? (Believe me, there are plenty of things out there you could do! And you may see a need that no one else can fill.)
CONCLUSION:
So, friends, if we are “in”, so to speak let us review our commitment as faithful members of the church to:
* Worship together each week
* Study scripture with other believers
* And to Serve the Lord with Gladness --- by meeting needs in His Church
Let’s ask God to show us new and practical ways we can serve … starting today. (prayer)
