If You Love God:
You must Learn To Love To Service
Christians are "saved to serve." Their service is a result of their salvation. Service should be an expression of gratitude that others should experience salvation but not all the saved serve as they ought. Paul uses the Isthmian Games to illustrate his point.
KERUSSO - to ____________ or ____________
1. The proclamation of an event
2. The call to worship
The _____________________ of Service:
1. It requires _______________________
2. It requires _______________________
3. It requires _______________________
The Guiding ___________________ of Service:
1. Like the runner keep the goal in sight
2. Like the athlete maintain self-control
3. Like the boxer condition your body
The _______________________ for Service:
1. Join the Team
2. Train with the Team
The _______________________ you can Serve:
1. Inside the Church
2. Outside in the World
1 Corinthians 9:19-27 NASB
19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. 20 And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the Law, that I might win those who are under the Law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. 23 And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it. 24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.
If You Love God:
You must Learn To Love To Service
Christians are "saved to serve." Their service is a result of their salvation. Service should be an expression of gratitude that others should experience salvation but not all the saved serve as they ought. Paul uses the Isthmian Games to illustrate his point.
KERUSSO - to HERALD or PREACH
1. The proclamation of an event
2. The call to worship
The PRESSURES of Service:
1. It requires PERSISTENCE
2. It requires PATIENCE
3. It requires PREPARATION
The Guiding PRINCIPLES of Service:
1. Like the runner keep the goal in sight
2. Like the athlete maintain self-control
3. Like the boxer condition your body
The PREPARATION for Service:
1. Join the Team
2. Train with the Team
The PLACES You can Serve:
1. Within the Church
2. Outside in the World
1 Corinthians 9:19-27 NASB
19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. 20 And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the Law, that I might win those who are under the Law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. 23 And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it. 24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.
OPEN: Back in 1963 there was a movie starring Marlon Brando called “The Ugly American”. It was a fictional story, but it dealt with the very real perception of Americans overseas. We were seen by many as “Ugly Americans”. As I researched this sermon I read more than one source that said that many of the people in other countries have viewed American tourists and American businesspeople as being loud, arrogant, demanding, thoughtless, ignorant, and intolerant of people who weren’t like
ILLUS: Rubel Shelly told of an incident surrounding the death of a man named Christopher Hitchens. Hitchens had been militant atheist who died a couple of years ago of cancer. And you might have referred to him as an “ugly atheist.” He hated Christianity and often used demeaning and insulting language with believers. He engaged in many debates a number of Christian apologists, and he wrote a book called "God Is Not Great" which was a best-seller a few years back.
Then Hitchens developed throat cancer.
Shelly said that he happened to follow some of the online comments made by Church goers about it online. He said there were a wide range of responses.
Several were from believers expressing concern.
Some offered hope for his recovery.
And some said they were praying for him.
But then, there were also comments like these:
• "How apropos, losing the throat with which he used to blaspheme"
• "This foul reprobate in the end, knowing he shall die, will beg for forgiveness";
• And "I can't wait until the last little breath in his miserable body starts to fade, and then he will know if there is a God or not."
And Shelly wrote: “Others were even worse!”
ILLUS: One survey found that 70% of Americans say they prayed every day.
But a scholar named Albert Mohler read the study that said that and observed:
“The impression left by the total package is of a nation that increasingly embraces soft and self-centered forms of spirituality even as it rejects more demanding forms of belief…they see spirituality as a means of self-development…they want to get in touch with the universe and with their inner selves, but are not particularly concerned to know what the Creator would demand of them”
In other words, these folks prayed to have God do things for them… not the other way around.
CLOSE: Rochester, NY has a unique reputation. Back in 1940, when the award was first given, Rochester was named “the Friendliest City in America.” Then they won the contest again in 1994. As recently as 2010, Forbes.com rated 100 of the largest cities in the US and found Rochester to be a friendly city and one of the best places to raise a family.
A researcher was impressed by that and wondered why the city had such a long history of friendliness. What he discovered took him back to the year 1829.
In 1829 Rochester NY was known as "gateway to the west”, a boisterous, rough town of the time. And in 1829, a daredevil named Sam Patch arrived in Rochester and announced that he would be diving from the heights of the local falls into the foaming waters beneath. In a day when there were no movies, TV or internet, this was big stuff.
The great day arrived and 1000s of the local citizenry assembled to watch this man defy death.
But he didn’t defy death.
He dove from the cliffs, as advertised, but apparently lost his balance. His arms twirling madly he struck the churning waters below. Minutes passed… and he didn't resurface.
The audience waited in silence as they watched for him to come out on the shores below. But he never appeared. In time the crowd began to break up as the people went in shock to their homes. The man's body was discovered in the ice the following spring.
Sunday morning, 2 days after Patch's fatal jump, a prominent businessman named Josiah Bissell, arose in the 3rd Presbyterian Church and declared that all "who by their presence encouraged that soul to leap into eternity will be held accountable on the Judgment Day."
Grief swept through the church as people wept openly.
But Bissell wasn’t finished. A wealthy man, Bissell sent for Charles Finney, a prominent evangelist of that day and promised to pay his expenses for six months to come to Rochester and change the heart of the city. Finney met with or confronted various groups within the community, convicting them of their need for Jesus and His forgiveness and the importance of reaching out to others for the sake of God's love for them.
The result was an entirely convicted community and a city determined to dedicate itself to good deeds and charity. That decision still influences their children and grandchildren and great grand children to this day.
Amongst the outcomes:
• The city experienced a boom in churches being built.
• They establishment of a University.
• They set up a public school system.
• Numerous charities sprung up.
• The prison system received a major transformation
• And the city became central in the fight to abolish slavery (Rochester was a station on the Underground Railroad).
My point is this. A people who are driven by nothing more than entertaining themselves and attempting to avoid being bored may feel grief, but remain unchanged in the midst of tragedy. But once confronted by the message of Jesus and the power of loving and caring for others, a society is transformed and can shake their world.
