What have you done for HIM lately?
James 2:14-17 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
The beginning of my junior year, I began a new area. I was starting a new school, a Christian school, the first of its kind in the state of WV. There was a thing called, “The book protest”. My sophomore year, I can remember missing a lot of school as part of that protest. So my dad who was a pastor had the God given vision of starting a Christian School. I didn’t want to go there. I had finally found a sport that I was good at. (Wrestling) They didn’t offer that at the Christian School. But after a few days of brutal beatings, I decided that it would be in my best interest to go.
We had kids from all around. I made many new friends. But the first day of English class, the teacher (Ms. McMillian) had us write an essay on what we had done that summer. I had had a pretty eventful summer that year so my pen was moving quickly with ease. Then the next day she read the essays out loud to the class. When she got to mine, she stood there in shock. You see that summer I had spent a lot of my time volunteering at the church camp and I would perform magic shows for the kids. The main trick that I did was that I could show you an empty top hat and with the wave of a wand, I would produce a rabbit. Quite the feat for a 16 year old in that day. The problem in the teacher’s eyes was not the trick, but the spelling. She could not believe that an 11th grader could not spell rabbit correctly. I wrote that I would pull a rabbite out of my hat. She was in shock over me and had the whole class laughing at my stupidity.
But I can say that I ended up learning more in the two years of Christian School then I did in the 11 years in public. No joke, I had one teacher who told me that they did not want me in their class again so they was going to pass me with a D-, so they would not have me as a repeat attender.
My point is that we have told stories about what we have done this past summer. How would you rate your time spent? The title of tonight’s message is, “What have you done for HIM, GOD, lately?” In 1986, Janet Jackson come out with a song, “What have you done for me lately?” In this song she talks about her boyfriend and all the things that he used to do for her, but then she goes back and ask him, “What have you done for me lately?” Sounds like her boyfriend has gotten complacent in their relationship. I believe the same thing happens in the lives of a lot of Christians. When they first get saved they are excited it and want to share with others, but in time, our relationship with God becomes a routine and we just go through the motions.
In a relationship, it should be about give and take. If you have one person who is doing all the giving while the other is just doing all the taking. That is not a healthy relationship. And that should be true with our relationship with God. It is not just what He has done for you, but what are going to do for HIM? Let me remind you of a few things that Jesus has done for you so that you can answer the question of what you are going to do for HIM.
HE was born for you!
We celebrate His birth each year with Christmas, (Even though he was actually born in the spring). Christmas, for sure, is my favorite Holiday. Now other than the fact that His birth was miraculous by the virgin birth, what other ways make His birth so special. First of all was where he was born. The Jews were looking for a king. You would think a king would be born in a palace with servants to answer His beaconing cries. But instead he was born in a stinky smelly barn.
Have you ever been to the State Fair? I enjoy walking around and looking at all the animals. I do not enjoy the smell that comes with it. He was not born and placed in fine linens, but was wrapped swaddling clothes. I used to think that was some rags laying around but an interesting fact I found out when I was studying for this was that swaddling clothes was like a bandage that they would wrap around a lamb that the Priest was getting ready to sacrifice to protect it and keep it unblemished and unharmed. So it’s not like it was some rages they had found on the ground, but it was the symbolism of the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus was born to give.
He never had the designer cloths, he was at best lower mid class. That should tell us that money or material things were not important to Him and should not be to us as well. He still could have served His purpose by being born by a Queen and raised in a palace, but He chose to be born in a place that gave Him no supremacy.
What makes that so special, is think about the place He left. He left Heaven and all of its glory. He left a place where he was praised and worshiped. He left a place where everything was perfect.
I have a friend of mine who lost her only child, her son at 17 years old. He was on his way to school and died due to a car wreck. When I saw her she was crying so hard and I felt so bad for her. I don’t know how she felt. I have two boys and I too would be devastated if I lost either one. So to try to give her some comfort. She had told me that he was a Christian and loved his youth group, so I assured her that as much as it hurts, even if he was giving the chance to come back, he never would want to leave the place where he was.
Jesus gave up all of that to come to a world where He was not welcomed or praised, but where He was prosecuted and persecuted. He did that for you! He did that for me! He could have had the best cloths, the best education, the best of everything but He chose to be born in the lowest of places. He was born with a purpose. He was born to die. That leads me to the next point.
HE died for you!
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 9 For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. 10 Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.
Christ died for us it states. I think about when they came to arrest Him in the garden. Peter being Peter pull out his sword and whacks the ear of one of the High Priest servants off. Jesus told him to put his sword away then he said in Matthew 26:53 Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?
HE knew the plan. He accepted His purpose.
Just as it was not an ordinary birth, it was also not an ordinary death. How many of you have seen the movie, “The Passion”? The only movie with a foreign language that I have ever been able to watch. But I have only seen the movie in its entirety once. I don’t think when I watched it at the theater there was a dry eye in the place. How could God the Father allow that to happen? Even Jesus Himself, cried out, “My God why have you forsaken me?”
I have two boys. If you do anything to harm them, we are going to have a problem. There have been times in my life that I have been upset and disappointed in them, but never can I imagine in my life that I would let someone wrongfully hurt them.
Both my sons went to those allergy Doctors where they stick all the needles in you to find out what you are allergic to. I can remember my youngest son Seth, was not having anything to do with it and I had to physically restrain him where they stuck those needles in him. The look he gave me of hurt. He begged me to make them stop. I don’t understand how God did that, other than He knew it had to be done to restore the relationship with the ultimate sacrifice. He died for you!
Crucifixion was the cruelest type of punishment known to mankind. It was long, painful beyond imagination. Now He could have been stoned or beheaded and still accomplished what He needed to do but He chose the worst kind of death possible.
We all know John 3:16, but the verse that follows it is just as important. John 3:17 1God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
He died for you so that you could be saved. The more important…
HE rose from the dead for you!
1 Corinthians 15: 14-17 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.
What good does it do to serve a dead God? As it states, “If God has not been raised, then your faith is useless”. We might as well all go Home. Live anyway you want to. Thank God we serve a risen Savior. Not just some graven image, not some carved piece of wood, not some God that there is no interaction with.
Remember the song, “He lives”? “I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today. I know that He is living, what ever men may say. I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer. And just the time I need Him, He’s always near. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives; He lives within my heart.”
Thank God He lives!
HE created you!
Jeremiah 1:5a “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Did you catch that phrase? Before mom and dad got together? It says, before I formed you! He chose when you were to be born. You can go to every fertility Doctor around, take all the shots you want, but you are conceived when God choses for you to be.
But when he created you. You are created for a purpose. Then after He created me, for some reason He chose to let me still let me be here. I can’t tell you the number of times that I should have been dead. With all the stupid mistakes that I have made I should have been dead a long time ago. I used to have people tell me that I would never live past my teens. But here I am. Because every breath you take, ever time your heart beats, it’s only by God’s grace.
Now we are not saved by your works. But it is evidence of your salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
But just as He was born with a purpose, we are as well. Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Once we enter into that relationship with Christ we are empowered to do His will. God will never ask you to do something that He doesn’t equipped you with the means and the method to do what He has for you to do. We are not save to sit. We are saved to serve. Notice I said whatever He has for you to do. Not want you want to do. Sometime people want to serve the Lord, but it is on a consulting basis. They want to tell God what to do, instead of doing what He has for you to do.
So to resort back to the title of our sermon, after all He has done for us. What are you going to do for Him? What good does it do to accept Christ, then do nothing with Him? If you just get saved to keep from going to hell, then He might as well take you now.
So what are some things we can do? I call it the three T’s.
Give Him your TIME!
I am preaching to the choir right now. I appreciate everyone who makes the effort to come here tonight. Spend time talking with Him. Spend time reading His word. Spend time doing His word.
Give Him your TALENT!
We all have been given a talent. God’s masterpiece as we just read. Have you ever taken away something that someone wasn’t using? Maybe it would be your kids or grandkids in my case. They have a toy(s) and they never play with any more so you just get rid of it. What is God worked the same way. We don’t use our talent and He take it from us. He could!
Give Him His TITHE!
Notice I said His Tithe! It’s not your money. Does He need the money? No, but He desires our obedience. I have a friend of mine who was a new Christian who went to Liberty University. Now he was struggling with paying his tuition and thought it was ok to not tithe due to his decision to attend a Christian college. But when he saw that he was not making it, he made the choice to starting tithing again and giving more than 10% and you know that he graduated with a four year degree and didn’t owe a dime on it. He said out of the blue people would call him up for odd jobs and pay him way more then what he deserved. God didn’t need his money, God just wanted his obedience.
What are you going to do for HIM?
