This morning is the third message in our five-part series on Seeking God. Just to review, on December 31st, I suggested to the church that we each make one resolution for the coming year: that in the year 2001, we would seek to know Christ more deeply than ever before. Why is this important? Because the Christian life is not just an intellectual exercise. It’s not just some kind of self-improvement program. Nor is it a set of rules and regulations. The essence of the Christian life is knowing God; having a vital, living relationship with Him; experiencing His presence and activity in our lives. And this series is designed to give you specific things you can do, specific habits you can develop, to make that a reality in your life.
Our topic today is "Seeking God Through Service," but before we begin, I’d like to review quickly a couple of the promises that God has made to those who seek Him. I’m repeating these because I want you to be absolutely convinced, in your heart of hearts, that seeking after God is worth the effort.
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." -- Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)
"The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him" -- Lamentations 3:25 (NIV)
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." -- Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)
God is not hiding from us. He wants nothing more than for us to know Him. He promises good things, and rewards, to those who seek Him. But He is not going to be found by anyone with only a casual, passing interest. The half-hearted may as well not waste their time. The merely curious can find something else to tickle their fancy. Because God is found only by those who seek Him earnestly, who seek Him with "all their heart". God is known by those willing to persevere, those willing to keep asking, and keep knocking, and keep seeking.
Some people have the idea that knowing God should be easy. That developing a relationship with the creator and sovereign Lord of the universe should require nothing more strenuous than listening to an occasional sermon or reading a book or two. Why is that? Why is it that we will study for years in college to get a degree, we’ll labor nights and weekends to get ahead in our careers, and yet we think that knowing God should be effortless? We’ll exercise for hours to improve our physical health. We’ll insist that our children do their homework, and practice their piano every day. In other areas of life, we understand that having things of value require work and dedication. Yet in the realm of the spirit, we expect good things just to drop into our laps. But that’s not the way it works. Like anything else of great worth, knowing God requires diligence and sustained effort. Is it worth it? Yes, the reward of seeking God far exceeds the cost. But there is a cost.
" . . . Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe." -- 1 Timothy 4:7-10 (NIV)
Knowing God isn’t something that just happens. It requires that we "train ourselves" (NIV), "discipline yourself" (NAS); "exercise yourself toward Godliness" (NKJV).
Does this mean that we’re somehow earning something, that by working hard we merit God’s love and His blessings? Absolutely not. Our relationship with God is all based on grace, from beginning to end. Every good thing we receive from Him comes as a gift. Knowing Him is a gift. It’s not something we do, it’s something he does in us and for us. But at the same time, there are appointed means, which God has established, by which we receive His gifts, and those means include the five spiritual habits we’re now studying.
So with that as the backdrop, let’s look at the spiritual habit of "service". Imagine that you’re an actor preparing for a role, and you want to know what makes your character tick -- you want to understand how they think, what they feel, how they view the world -- what would you do? For instance, let’s say you’re playing the role of an emergency room physician. You might read a doctor’s biography, or a book of stories about the ER. You could watch the TV show "ER". You might interview a doctor. But if you really wanted to get inside the head of your character, the best kind of research would be to actually live that life. Go through the day with an emergency room physician. Experience for yourself what it’s like -- see what she sees, hear what she hears, watch what she does, feel the pressure and stress of her work. To really know someone, you have to enter their world and walk a mile in their shoes. In the same way, if we want to know Christ, we have to do what He did. We have to imitate Him. And we are never more like Christ than when we are serving others.
"Jesus called them together and said, ’You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them . . . Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’" -- Matthew 20:25-28 (NIV)
Why did Jesus come? For two reasons. Everything He did can be summarized under these two headings. First, he came to die -- to give his life in exchange for ours, to pay the penalty for our sin so that we could be forgiven. The crucifixion wasn’t something bad that just happened to him; it was in his plan from the very beginning. The other thing Jesus came to do was serve. He served people by healing them, he served people by teaching them, he served people by feeding them. And he served his disciples by washing their dirty, smelly feet.
"Jesus . . . got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. . . When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ’Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. ’You call me "Teacher" and "Lord," and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.’" -- John 13:3-5, 12-16 (NIV)
[Foot-washing was a menial task, usually done by a household servant, and none of the disciples wanted to do it]. That’s the kind of service Jesus calls us to. If you are not serving, you are not living like Christ. And to know Him, you have to be like Him. You have to follow His example. Christ came to serve, and unless we think we are greater than Him, we should be serving one another also.
"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms." --1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature ; rather, serve one another in love." -- Galatians 5:13 (NIV)
So how do we go about serving one another? What do we do? When do we do it? I’ll give some practical suggestions in a moment. But the most important "how" question doesn’t concern our method of serving. The most important thing about how we serve is our heart attitude.
Not everything that you do that benefits someone else is truly serving. There is such a thing as self-centered serving, which isn’t really serving at all, because it’s motivated by pride, and has self at the center, rather than being motivated by humility and love. Listen to this quote from Richard Foster,
"Self-righteous service requires external rewards. It needs to know that people see and appreciate the effort. It seeks human applause -- with proper religious modesty of course. Self-righteous service is highly concerned about results. It eagerly waits to see if the person served will reciprocate in kind.
The flesh whines against service but screams against hidden service. It strains and pulls for honor and recognition. It will devise subtle, religiously acceptable means to call attention to the service rendered." [Foster, "Celebration of Discipline", pp. 112, 114]
Does any of that sound familiar? Why is the phrase "government service" a contradiction in terms? Because for many so-called "public servants", the motivation for seeking office isn’t truly a desire to serve; the motivation is power, or prestige, or career advancement. Sadly, that is often true in churches as well, among both the pastors and the people. Here’s what I’m trying to say: the issue isn’t what we do, it’s why. The issue is our heart motivation. Genuine service, service that imitates Christ, comes from humility. It is motivated by a genuine love for others.
Do you want to know what kind of service you are performing? Here are some questions to help you discern what’s in your own heart:
* How do you respond when no one acknowledges what you did? Are you disappointed? Angry? Or are you content to be a blessing to others, even if they don’t thank you? If they don’t even know what you did?
* How do you react when others take your service for granted, or order you around? "The key determiner of whether you truly have the heart of a servant is how you react when someone treats you like one."
* How do you feel when someone criticizes something you did for them? Or criticizes you for trying to help? Do you get angry? Do you say, "That’s the last time I’ll help them!"
* What’s if the service you’re being asked to render is something inconvenient or unpleasant?
True service is humble service. It delights in being a blessing to others, and is not concerned with receiving praise, or recognition, or thanks. It’s only goal is the welfare of the one being served.
Finally, let me give you some practical principles for serving: First, plan to serve, but also be available to serve on the spur of the moment. Include both scheduled service and impromptu service.
* For instance, you could offer to help out one of the mothers in the church by babysitting once a week so that she can spend an hour or two without the kids -- shopping, running errands, etc. That’s planned service. But you can also be available when a family needs help on short notice. Are you the kind of person that people call when they have a need? Do you have a history of service that would cause them to think of you?
Often, a need arises, or an opportunity to serve presents itself, but we can’t respond because we’re too busy. Part of being available to help others is simplifying your life so that you have free time to serve when you’re needed.
"We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be constantly crossing our paths and cancelling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions. We may pass them by, preoccupied with our more important tasks, as the priest passed by the man who had fallen among thieves, perhaps -- reading the Bible. . . . . it is part of the discipline of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can perform a service and we do not assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God." --Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together
Second, look for opportunities to serve. Don’t wait to be asked. Jesus responded to requests for help, but he also took the initiative to serve when he saw a need. A true servant always has their "radar" up. They stay alert for anything someone might say or do that indicates an opportunity to serve.
Third, don’t be too particular about how you serve. God has uniquely gifted each of us, but we shouldn’t be so concerned about only serving within our "specialty" that we pass up anything that doesn’t fit. If there’s a genuine need, and you can meet it, don’t be too concerned with whether it’s one of your "gifts". Just do it.
Fourth, be willing to serve in the small things as well as in the large. Don’t wait for a big project to come along, but seek out opportunities for everyday acts of generosity and helpfulness.
"The service that one should perform for another in Christian community is that of active helpfulness. This means, initially, simple assistance in trifling, external matters. There is a multitude of these things wherever people live together. Nobody is too good for the meanest (lowest) service. One who worries about the loss of time that such petty, outward acts of helpfulness entail is usually taking the importance of his own career too seriously." --Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together
The key to a deep knowledge of Christ, and a deep experience of God, is to do the things that Christ did. The more we follow the example of Christ, by serving one another in humility and love, the more we will be like Him. The more we are like Him, the better we will know Him. And that is worth any price, any service, any sacrifice, any suffering.
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
