OIntroduction: For the past three weeks we have been learning about our core values: unity of faith, evangelism, discipleship, and finally today we confront our forth core value: service.
I. Serving is Essential for the Function of the Church (1 Corinthians 12:7)
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.”
The Apostle Paul is writing the book of 1 Corinthians to a group of believers in Corinth. He speaks here in chapter twelve about many of the gifts given to believers by the Holy Spirit. From verse seven we learn two things: 1. the gifts which are given to the believer comes directly from the Living God Himself. Whether it is the gift of knowledge, discernment, faith, prophecy, healing, serving, or any of the others listed here, it was given by God to the individual. 2. The gift was given for it to be used in edification and the building of the church – “for the profit of all.” If I am given the gift of preaching (exhortation) but do not preach, what good is the gift? If you are given the gift of leadership but you only follow rather than charge ahead in the work of the Kingdom, what good is it for the Lord? Similarly, if you are given the gift of serving, yet do not serve the Lord and your fellow Christians, what good is the gift you have received from God?
As we learn from the words of Paul, each Christian has at least one spiritual gift. That means that each of us has something that the Lord Himself specifically designed and gave to us to use for His glory. Is it not an awesome thought knowing that God wants and expects to use you in His plan for the function of the Church?
Using the gifts God has given you is serving Him and others. Serving the Church (the body of believers, not just the building and our programs) is to be done by all Christians, not just those with the specific gift of serving. Ephesians 4:12 specifically says the gifts are “…for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…” Whether we are given the gift of giving or not, we are still required and expected to give; giving of the church’s financial resources is to be done by the entire body of believers. Similarly, serving, the application of our God-given spiritual gifts, is expected from all Christians.
Illustration: The human body is made up of so many parts: skeletal, cardiovascular, neurological, digestive, etc., yet each part serves its function to and within the body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us have been gifted to preach, minister, give, heal, lead, be merciful and hospitable, or have faith. The body of Christ, the Church, has many different parts but we are all one in the Lord (Ephesians 4:5-6). If the spleen were to decide to stop working because it is not the spine and therefore thought it was not an important part of the body, the person would suffer greatly. If the cerebral cortex decided it was not an important part of the body because it is not the heart, again, the person would have extremely serious issues. So it is with us as the Church when we think that we are not an important part of its functioning and when we are not using the gifts God has given us.
II. Serving is Done in a Variety of Ways (Matthew 25:37-40)
“37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”
Here in Matthew 25, Matthew records the words of Jesus as He displays many opportunities to serve Him by serving others. Often people think serving requires displacing themselves from their comfort zone for days on end so that they can “serve” those who are experiencing hard times. Yes, that is one way to serve, and we here at Bethel have done a tremendous job serving those whose lives have been turned upside down by natural disasters. In the past fifteen months representatives from our church have participated in eight one-week long service projects rebuilding the homes of those destroyed in March, 2012, by a devastating tornado in Henryville, Indiana. Also, in the past eighteen months, we have commissioned and sent parishioners to the gulf coast of Alabama and Louisiana where families are still rebuilding from recent hurricanes. On the international mission field, we support the Love in Action Center, an orphanage in Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. In fact, one of our members spends five months per year serving in the orphanage. I am confident we have glorified the Lord and His kingdom by obeying and following His lead to serve others in these capacities. As your pastor and brother in Christ, I am so proud of each of you who have served; you have represented our church well, but most importantly, you have represented Christ, proclaimed Him, and made Him known!
Jesus says He was hungry and the disciples fed Him. There are all so many ministries in our area that based on these exact verses. Wheeler Mission Ministries in downtown Indianapolis is a great example. They are a shelter for the homeless – a place where they can get a free meal, clothes, a place to lay their head at night, and enjoy a warm shower. In order to get involved in serving Christ by serving these homeless people, all it takes is a simple phone call. But, my friends, we must understand something important about this passage. Jesus begins by separating the sheep and the goats – the Christians and unbelievers. He then continues by saying that “inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” This means that on judgments day, we will be judged by how we treat “the brethren” – our fellow Christians, not just the homeless in general
Jesus continues by saying He was sick and the disciples visited Him. When President George W. Bush was nearing the competition of his second term as President of the United States, he was asked what he would miss most about being president. He replied by saying he would miss being Commander-in-Chief. Months after his presidency was over, it was released in the news media that President Bush would often travel secretly at night to visit the wounded servicemen returning from the war to which he had sent them. He wanted to keep his excursions a secret because he wanted to visit the wounded American heroes without the normal presidential hype. By visiting in secret in the middle of the night, Bush felt he could spend more time visiting and getting to know the wounded warriors. All politics aside, as President he served those who served us. Although you and I will never be president of the United States and have such privileges as they do, we too can serve Jesus by visiting and caring for the sick. Again, this passage references the sick brethren, therefore we need not refer all visitations of the sick to the pastor, but make time in our lives to visit the sick among us, whether in hospitals or homes.
Jesus said to His disciples that He was in prison and they came to visit. I have been blessed to have been involved a number of times in prison ministry. I have been given the honor numerous times to travel to multiple state prison facilities here in Indiana with the specific purpose of bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the true gospel of hope, through the avenue of basketball. Let me tell you, when you step inside the walls of a prison there truly is a different atmosphere. The sentenced men in Plainfield and Michigan City are seemingly more receptive and hungry for the Gospel as prisoners than many of us are as free citizens. Those men are convicted felons, yet the message of freedom in Christ often resonates in their hearts. While such ministries are important, powerful, and necessary, Jesus specifically references to the “brethren” who are incarcerated. This could be ministering to believers imprisoned for picketing in front of an abortion clinic, believers who refuse to pay for abortifacient pills through an employer subsidized healthcare plans, or other forms of civil disobedience.
Although we are a small, there are numerous ways you can serve and volunteer here within our church. For example, if you stop and listen for a minute you will probably be able to hear the giggling of the precious youth downstairs. They are not down there unsupervised. Who is willing to teach them about Jesus? There is an opportunity to serve. Look out these windows; you will see the damage from the recent straight winds/tornado that destroyed some very large and old trees on our property. That needs to be cleaned up, so there is an opportunity to serve. I could go and on about opportunities to serve, but really we just need to pray and ask the Lord to reveal these opportunities and to give us the desire to serve Him so that others may know Him, too.
III. Serving is the Greatest Act (Mark 10:43-45)
“43 …whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
In the verses that precede these, Jesus was approached by James and John about sitting on the right and left hands of Jesus in heaven. Rather than saying, “Oh, sure guys, even though the ten other disciples can hear you and I love them dearly, I will let you sit up front with me because you asked first.” Jesus seizes the opportunity to teach a valuable truth. “Whoever desires to be great…” I want to do great things for the Lord, and I hope you do, too. Jesus pulls out all of the stops in this passage by making it abundantly clear that serving equals greatness. We can pray and ask the Lord to bless us with a great mansion in heaven, one that is so close to the throne room that we can walk and not fight the traffic, but the fact remains that we must serve to be great and bring Him glory.
Jesus clearly says that He did not come to the earth to have people serve Him, but rather that He may serve. Do you remember the last night of Jesus’ life? Just hours before He would be betrayed, tried and beaten, before being nailed to the cross and having a crown of thorns puncture his head, He committed an unthinkable gesture of humble service – He washed the feet of His disciples, including the one who would betray him (John 13:1-17). He concluded by asking the disciples if they knew what He had just done (v.12). He gives them the answer in verses 15, “For I have given you an example, that you should also do as I have done to you.”
Application: If you want to be a “great” Christian and do “great” things you must be a servant. Simply “doing” good things and “being a good person” is not what gets you into heaven, but only faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and that He alone can forgive and save. We will serve the Lord and our brothers and sisters in Christ (the brethren) in measure of our understanding of what Christ did for us on the cross and what was defeated in His resurrection. We will see that our serving one another with our spiritual gifts is the basis of the functioning of the church. There is no set way of service. God has designed a total ministry for the congregation and each person has been designed to carry a part of the ministry. This means everyone in this building is important and has his or her part. Failure to exercise one’s gifts weakens the body; zeal to exercise one’s gift strengthens it. Therefore, seek to know your gift and serve the body!
