LOOK OUT FOR THE OTHER GUY!
Romans 12:3-11
S: Service & Lighthouse Lifestyle
Th: Seeing the Unseen Christ: How His Presence Transforms Life
Pr: WE ARE TO EAGERLY SERVE JESUS.
?: How? How do we do it?
KW: factors
TS: We will find in our study three factors we must work with in order to eagerly serve Jesus
The ____ factor we must work with in order to eagerly serve Jesus we are…
I. COMMONPLACE (3)
II. CONSOLIDATED (4-5)
III. CONTRASTING (6-8)
Application (9-13)
RMBC 3/18/01 AM
INTRODUCTION:
Notebook: Inefficient (Cadillac)
Many years ago, a make-up artist was applying makeup on Red Skelton, the famous comedian, and he said to him, “Mr. Skelton, I understand you have a new Cadillac. What kind if mileage do you get?” Skelton replied, “Well, it’s this way. The other day I was filling up, the boy came to my window (there was no self-service then) and said, ‘Would you mind shutting down the engine, Mr. Skelton? You’re getting ahead of me.’”
1. Do you ever feel that you are falling behind?
I confess that sometimes I feel that way in ministry.
I grieve that I am not more effective.
Like when a marriage partner decides to leave his/her spouse and I am unable to persuade them out of it.
Or like when I couple comes into my office and asks me to marry them, and I discuss with the importance of following God’s design in order to receive God’s blessing, I get the blank stare because the couple is already living together.
Or like when I am trying to persuade an officer of children and family services that they are making it worse because they believe an accusation with no basis in truth.
Or like when I witness to someone, but I am observing no result.
I feel ineffective.
You know…
2. Feeling ineffective is very draining.
The truth is, is that in the church, there are more problems than one person can handle.
I can’t personally meet all the needs of everybody.
I can’t be everybody’s best friend.
I can’t be the substitute parent, or the personal confidant in every situation.
Now, don’t misunderstand.
My point is not to evoke sympathy.
This is not my purpose.
I just want to say that the church is not designed to work around one person.
TRANSITION:
The truth is…
1. When the church is not functioning properly, people problems are aggravated.
Have you ever noticed that what seems like a happy marriage will disintegrate almost overnight, and you didn’t even know the couple was having problems?
Or somebody leaves the church and you don’t notice in time, nor did you even know there was a problem?
Or there is someone so depressed about his inability to support his family, and is thinking of ending it all?
I am sure that there is within our fellowship hurting and struggling people falling through the cracks, and nobody, including me, is even seeing it.
But, this is not how it is supposed to be.
2. The church is designed to be a safety net in which people’s needs are met.
For people like we have described, help is found in those of us that make up the body of Christ.
We are to be the help.
It is not for someone else to handle.
It is for you and me.
This is how God has designed it to be.
Though he spoke this 100 years ago, I like how D. L. Moody describes this dilemma in the church:
ILL Moody quote
“A great many people have a false idea about the Church. They have the idea that the Church is a place to rest in… To get into a nicely cushioned pew, and contribute to the charities, listen to the minister, and do their share to keep the Church out of bankruptcy, is all they want. The idea of work for them—actual work in the Church—never enters their mind.”
His point is that every Christian is to be a minister.
The work of the church, or meeting the needs of people, is the responsibility of all believers.
Now…
3. When we practice the Presence of Jesus, we discover that the service we do for others is really service to Him (Matthew 25:40).
In Matthew 25:40, Jesus tells in parable form, a story about Himself as the King who judges; and He says…
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”
Now, let me ask you, what difference do you suppose it would make in our attitudes, yours and mine, if we imagined Jesus being the recipient of our service?
What would be different in our minds if we believed Jesus would personally benefit from whatever ministry we did?
I have to believe, that if any of us had the opportunity to directly serve Jesus, we wouldn’t want anybody else to do it.
We would jealously guard our chance to serve Him.
ILL Personal
This week I was behind an accident as I was heading to a Pastors meeting in Oakfield. Of course, I was in a hurry and I was the speaker at the meeting, so I kept on going trusting that help would be on the way. You understand, right? No, that’s not what I did. I pulled around the accident, got out my cell phone, called 911 and then went to see what I could do. Since the other people that had stopped to help seemed a little bit dazed themselves, I found that I was the one that was helping the lady that was injured the worst and applying pressure to her bleeding hands and face.
And do you know who I served? Jesus… And I was glad that I had the opportunity, even though I was late for the meeting.
You see…
4. WE ARE TO EAGERLY SERVE JESUS.
We need to be willing to get involved in others’ lives.
We must not be afraid to get our hands a little dirty and jump into a messy situation.
And when we do, Jesus personally benefits.
So far, during our 50-day adventure, we have learned to worship Jesus with genuine enthusiasm, lavish His love on others, and embrace righteousness and renounce evil.
As we continue in the adventure today…
5. We will find in our study three factors we must work with in order to serve Jesus eagerly.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first factor we must work with in order to eagerly serve Jesus we are COMMONPLACE (3).
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
ILL Notebook: Pride (locked keys)
Carol Simons was doing an errand and accidentally locked her keys in her car. She called her husband at work, but he was out of the office, so she left a message. After a while, Carol called her mother for a ride and then waited in the store for help. Impatient, she went outside and tested the driver-side door. To her surprise, it opened. And feeling foolish, she quickly locked the door so she wouldn’t be found out. Just then, the store manager walked out and called to her, “Your husband came by and unlocked your door.”
We like to protect our reputations, don’t we?
Even when we know that we have been wrong, we still try to save our reputation.
This happens because…
1. We tend to have high opinions about ourselves.
Do you know what we have a tendency to do?
We say to ourselves, “At least I’m not like them!”
What we need is an honest evaluation that does not overrate self.
We need to be reasonable and sensible, for there is no basis for prideful thinking, because it is God who has given us what we have.
2. The cross is the great equalizer.
You know, we all have a common place that makes us commonplace.
It is the foot of the cross.
By His death on the cross, Jesus demonstrates His love for each one who has caused this death.
So we cannot be dominated by pride.
Who we are and what we have been given are gifts from God and we cannot take credit.
Sometimes I believe that there is an exaggerated distinction between clergy and laity.
And I humbly submit to you we are the same, with the same calling.
Each one of us is to eagerly serve Jesus.
ILL Rayburn
The story is told about Sam Rayburn who was Speaker of the House of Representatives longer than any other man. One of his friends lost a teenage daughter, and early the next morning, Rayburn knocked on his door. “I just came by to see what I could do to help.” The father replied that there was nothing to do. “Well,” Rayburn said, “have you had your coffee this morning?” The man replied that they had not taken the time for breakfast. While Rayburn was working in the kitchen, the man came in, and said, “Mr. Speaker, I thought you were supposed to be having breakfast at the White House this morning.” “Well, I was, but I called the President and told him I had a friend who was in trouble and I couldn’t come.”
When people are hurting, it is not time to hide behind our supposed importance, but to love as Jesus loved, and so eagerly serve Jesus.
II. The second factor we must work with in order to eagerly serve Jesus we are CONSOLIDATED (4-5).
(4) Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, (5) so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
1. We are united together as one body.
We are the body of Christ.
And though there is great diversity in the body, there is in effect, one body.
We are like a team that works as one.
So…
2. We belong to each other.
We are not in this for ourselves.
And we cannot work independently.
We must work in harmony, for when we do, we profit from each other.
Together, we make a whole.
We work uniquely and harmoniously as His body to be His hands, His feet, and His voice.
Since we belong together, we share a common life, a common ministry, and a common power.
And as a consolidated whole, we eagerly serve Jesus.
III. The third factor we must work with in order to eagerly serve Jesus we are CONTRASTING (6-8).
(6) We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. (7) If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; (8) if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
1. We are all different according to how God has graced us.
We all have spiritual gifts with differing abilities.
But these gifts are not native to us.
They find their source in God.
It is because of His favor toward us that we have roles to fulfill and abilities that are to be used in service to one another.
Since He has graced us with these abilities, we are to use them.
ILL Notebook: Exercise (exercise machine pick up)
Enticed by a television promotion, a woman ordered a popular exercise machine on a 30-day trial offer. Two weeks later, she decided not to buy it, and called UPS to arrange for a pickup. The next day the UPS driver arrived at the house. “Oh no, not another one of these,” he said. “All I’ve been doing is delivering these machines, then picking them up. The only person getting exercise from these things is me!”
Well, we all need the exercise.
And…
2. We are all to be participators.
The way the text reads is that we are to be continually using these contrasting gifts.
We are to be exercising them.
And when we do, we honor and serve Jesus.
APPLICATION:
(9) Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (10) Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. (11) Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (12) Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (13) Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
DRAMA: “The New Guys”
Well, we all have a lot to learn.
We all have room to improve.
So, let us…
1. Lavish His love on others.
I want to encourage it again…
Look for opportunities to offer a kind word of affirmation that serve you.
Call someone you have missed, or send an e-mail.
When you offer to get together someday, remember that someday doesn’t make it.
Someday isn’t a day of the week!
Put it on the schedule.
Be a listening ear.
It is liable to be an encouragement to both of you.
One of our action steps during our adventure is to show Christ’s love through secret acts.
It can be groceries for an older person or an unexpected gift of cash to someone.
You can even set chocolate chip cookies at the door of the pastor’s office, and he’ll never know who did it!
We can practice hospitality and have people for dinner.
I like how my wife puts it.
She says, “Come and see us anytime, but if you are coming to see the house, make an appointment.”
Show an open heart by having an open home that is not dependent on being meticulously clean.
To go along with this, I want to encourage you to do an action step that is a repeat from last year.
That is…
2. Live a “Lighthouse Lifestyle.”
We are to eagerly serve Jesus.
But perhaps where we really see this is in how we live outside the church.
Do you serve Jesus in your neighborhood?
Do you serve Jesus at your school?
Do you serve Jesus at the workplace?
We want to encourage you to live a lighthouse lifestyle by doing these three steps.
The first is…
2.1 Prayer
We are to bathe all our relationships, or potential relationships, with prayer.
The neat thing about this is that as you get accustomed to praying for coworkers, neighbors and friends, you begin to listen for their needs.
You listen for their needs because God, through prayer, is making you more sensitive to them.
As a result, you become a tool to make sure that these people are not ones that fall through the cracks of unconcern.
The second step is…
2.2 Care
These people that you are praying for have needs.
Where you are employed are people with needs.
Living around you are hurting people.
At your school are people that are distressed.
So, look for opportunities to serve Jesus by caring for them.
The third step is…
2.3 Share
You know, the best way of rescuing someone form falling through the cracks is sharing with them their ultimate need.
They need Christ and they will never be whole without them.
For their sake, their eternal sake, speak and live the gospel boldly.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Eagerly serve Jesus and pray…pray for those you know and meet; cover and bathe their house and their person with the blessing of God; be an intercessor and ask God to intervene on their behalf.
Eagerly serve Jesus and care…care for those you know and meet; be attentive to needs that come up and do what you can to meet them; let the love God has shone you flow out of you so that they too can experience God’s love.
Eagerly serve Jesus and share…share with those you know and meet; boldly live for Jesus and let it be evident in the way you live; boldly speak for Jesus and let it be evident in the way you speak.
Now may the God of peace equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
