Paul speaks in 1 Thess. 5:9 about turning from idols to “serve the true and living God.” One of the reasons God saves us is that we might serve Him. “Serve” is the Greek word, which means to “yield obedience to or submit.” We should pledge our allegiance to the Lamb of God and serve Him well in this life. Since we know that we should serve Him, then how should we serve? Service is a matter of some kind of activity. In the English language, action is expressed by verbs and their modifiers, which are called adverbs. Each of my main points end with the three letters “i–l–y”, which are adverb indicators. Adverbs make clearer and more precise the action of a verb. How should we serve our blessed and wonderful Redeemer in this present life?
I. Serve Him Daily.
How often does God let us partake of His divine benefits? According to the Psalmist, every single day (Ps.68:19). Since that is true, then it stands to reason we should serve him every day. That should be the frequency of our service (Cp. Acts 2:26).
II. Serve Him Heartily.
In Col.3:23 we find the words, “Do it heartily.” There should be life and vitality in all that we do for the Lord Jesus Christ in this life. We should not express deadness and dulness as we obey and do the bidding of our Heavenly Master.
III. Serve Him Holily.
2 Thess. 2:10 mentions this kind of service. We should serve the Lord undefiled by sin and separated from all forms of wickedness. By God’s grace we should always maintain integrity of life and insure that our lives cannot be charged with moral flaws.
IV. Serve Him Mightily.
Col.1:29 speaks of laboring according to His working, “Which worketh in me mightily.” Our service should be full of power and divinely anointed by God Almighty (Eph. 5:18). God is not glorified in a weak, sick, anemic, powerless ministry.
V. Serve Him Voluntarily.
Ezek. 46:12 speaks of “voluntary offerings.” We should serve the Lord, not because we feel that we have to, but because we want to, out of gratitude for what He has done.
VI. Serve Him Speedily.
Note how the Psalmist speaks of God doing things speedily for him (Psm.31:2; Psm.69:17; Psm.102:2; Psm.143:7). If he expected that of God, God should be able to expect it of us.
VII. Serve Him Worthily
(Ruth 4:11). We should serve in a way that is complimentary to the character of Christ and His Gospel.
