Look at this verse again. We read, “For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.”
GOD SAVES US FOR TWO REASONS:
(1) He does not want us to perish.
John 3:16 makes that clear. We read, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The hyper-Calvinist teaches limited atonement - that Christ did not die for everyone.
It is simply amazing how these people can pick a few verses out of the Bible to support their claim, and walk over hundreds of verses that declare Christ died for all.
The fact is, God is not willing that any should perish. NOT ANY!
(2) But there is another reason He saved us. It was for the purpose of TURNING US FROM THE IDOLS WE ONCE SERVED, THAT WE MIGHT SERVE THE TRUE AND LIVING GOD.
It should be obvious to everyone, that we have turned from the idols we once served. Now we serve the true and living God.
WE HAVE TURNED FROM SOMETHING, TO SOMEONE.
Paul tells these Christians that when they came among them, this was something they noticed about them.
But many professing Christians pledge their allegiance to the Lord, the same way some pledge their allegiance to the American flag.
For some, pledging allegiance to the flag is only a meaningless ritual.
When people started burning the American Flag, it generated one of the dumbest debates they ever had in Washington, D.C.. It was the debate over whether or not it should be a criminal offense to desecrate the American flag.
We actually had politicians who felt that it fell under freedom of speech. That is, they felt our constitution gave people the right to desecrate the flag, if they chose to do so.
A politician who takes such a stand, should be immediately disqualified from serving. Why? Because he has proven he/she is not qualified to serve in that high office.
That topic should never be up for debate. That flag stands for things that men and women have given their lives for. How dare anyone to have the audacity to desecrate it?
BUT THERE ARE OTHERS WHO DO NOT BURN IT, BUT THEY STILL DESECRATE IT. HOW?
We have millions who desecrate it by reciting meaningless pledges. They do not mean a thing they say.
And the same thing goes for many Christians. We have people who will go through a meaningless worship service and not mean a thing they are saying.
God saved us FROM SOMETHING, FOR SOMETHING!
After He saves us, He wants us to turn from our idols and serve the true and living God.
But the fact is, all over this country, we have professing Christians who will come to a worship service, but you cannot get them to serve the Lord.
They have all kinds of excuses.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
It is not difficult to get people to say, “I LOVE GOD!”
The problem is one of two things:
(1) The problem could be, THEY DO NOT LOVE GOD enough to serve Him.
(2) The problem could be they really do not know the Lord. If you do not know Him, how can you love him.
Illus: Sometimes we will hear this Hollywood crowd on television, and when they go off the air, they say, “I love you!”
What is wrong with them saying that?
Because these are only words. Before you love anyone you have to know them.
And before a person can love the Lord, they have to know Him personally.
We have a lot of folks who have joined the church, but they really do not know the Lord Jesus personally, and this is why you cannot get them to serve Him.
This is why you cannot get them TO TURN FROM THEIR FORMER GODS, AND SERVE THE TRUE AND LIVING GOD.
People will not SERVE GOD until they really come to KNOW HIM, and to LOVE HIM.
• You are not going to get a person to witness, until he loves the Lord.
• You are not going to get a person to read his Bible, until he loves the Lord.
• You are not going to get a person to tithe, until he loves the Lord.
• You are not going to get a person to attend church regularly, until he loves the Lord.
Listen, they have more excuses than Carter has little liver pills.
When a man loves the Lord, HE WILL TURN FROM HIS IDOLS, AND HE WILL START TO SERVE THE LORD.
I WANT TO ASK YOU SOMETHING, DO YOU LOVE THE LORD JESUS?
Illus: A girl sent a love letter to her boyfriend, and at the end she put, “ILY” and signed her name. The young man that received this letter did not know what “ILY” stood for, so he asked her what it meant.
She said, “Oh, don’t you know what “ILY” stands for?” He said, “No, I do not have the slightest idea what it means.”
She said, “’ILY’ is an abbreviation for I LOVE YOU!”
Do you love Him enough, to willingly forsake the idols that you once clung to, and SERVE HIM?
The letters “ILY” can be found in certain words that we use to show our love for the Lord, such as, we should-
I. SERVE HIM DAILY
God daILY pours out His blessings on us. And if the Lord is going to daily pour His blessings out on us, then we should daily SERVE HIM.
The thing that keeps us from SERVING HIM DAILY, is that we only have one life, and we have plans for it that are in conflict with the plans of God.
This is why the Bible says in Luke 19:23, “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him DENY HIMSELF, and take up his cross daILY, and follow me.”
The early church showed their love for God by daILY serving him. And God daILY blessed them.
Look at Acts 2:46-47. “And they, continuing DAILY with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church DAILY such as should be saved.”
In Acts 5:42, we read, “And DAILY in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”
Because they serve God daILY, they got daILY results.
Look at Acts 16:5, we read, “And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daILY.”
Since that is true, then it stands to reason we should serve Him daILY. That should be the frequency of our service.
Also the words, I Love you (ILY) can be found in the way we should-
II. SERVE HIM HEARTILY
God told the church of Laodicea that they were lukewarm. God also made it clear that he wanted them to make up their minds as to who they were going to serve.
• If they are going to serve the devil, then serve him heartILY.
• If they are going to serve the Lord, then serve Him heartILY.
• But people need to make up their minds as to which side of the fence they are going to stand on.
Our love for the Lord should be obvious.
Illus: Many Christian’s love for the Lord, reminds me of the man who was married to a woman for fifty years. A friend asked him what he planned to get for his wife for their 50th anniversary. He said, “Well, I really do not know.” He said, “On our 20th anniversary I took her to see her parents, I guess on our 50th I will go and get her.”
God’s Word says, “Whatsoever thy hands findeth to do, do it with all thy might.”
Everything we do for the Lord, should reveal our excitement about the Lord Jesus. We serve Him heartILY.
Also, we should-
III. SERVE HIM MIGHTILY
In Col. 1:29, we read, “Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightILY.”
God is not glorified in a weak, sick, anemic, powerless ministry.
Today, bodybuilding has become a very popular sport.
Illus: Years ago, all the attention was focused on one man by the name of Charles Atlas. He became the icon for bodybuilding. If someone tried to pick up something heavy, it was not unusual to hear some observer say, “Who do you think you are, Charles Atlas!”
Charles Atlas was interviewed, and asked how he got into bodybuilding. He told the interviewer, that when he was in his late teens he was so skinny, that when he went to the beach people would make fun of him. He finally got enough of it, and started exercising, and became famous in the field of bodybuilding.
Listen, God’s Church, that claims to love the Lord, needs to get tired of having the lost world laughing at them.
But they will continue to make fun of God’s people, until Christians learn how to serve the Lord mightILY.
The Church will never render that kind of service, until people truly come to love the Lord.
The Christians in Antioch were not weak, anemic Christians.
Look at Acts 11:26. We read, “…And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”
Also, we should-
IV. SERVE HIM VOLUNTARILY
We should serve the Lord, not because we feel that we have to, but because we want to. We serve to show our gratitude for what He has done.
The book of Ruth is a beautiful book. It is the story of woman named Naomi, who lost both of her sons.
She decided she would return back home, and her two daughters-in-law decided they would return with her.
Naomi tried to discourage them. Look at Ruth 1:11, “And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? Are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?”
As they began to make this journey, one changed her mind and went back to her people.
But Ruth would not go back, even though her mother-in-law tried to discourage her.
She had made up her mind. Look at Ruth 1:15-17. We read, “And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.”
Today, we who claim to love the Lord, need to make up our minds to voluntarILY serve Him.
We need to be like Ruth, and make it clear that NOTHING is going to stop us.
She voluntarILY chose to follow Naomi. No one twisted her arm, it was of her own volition.
Conclusion:
How Should We Serve The Lord?
I. WE SHOULD DO IT DAILY
II. WE SHOULD DO IT HEARTILY
III. WE SHOULD DO IT MIGHTILY
IV. WE SHOULD DO IT VOLUNTARILY
Note: You can hear Dr. Odell Belger preach many of these sermons on Youtube. Just type Youtube Lykesland
