A Call To Reasonable Service HHM Pastor Jim Parisi June 1, 2003
Ro 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
What should we considered to be reasonable service for the Lord?
I’m not talking of being overzealous, fanatical off the wall Holy Ghost.
…. I am asking here what is reasonable. Reasonable service.
If we could Plot this on a graph it would be somewhere between doing the minimal and doing our best.
The norm the status quo the average the middle of the road
Life has become to many in this land as a path of least resistance.
Not to buck the system but flow with “it”
I call this reasonable service
How many times in our daily lives do we hear when someone is asking for a pledge or money the next words out of their mouth are “just do your part”
Reasonable service the place where you can feel comfortable and still feel you did your part.
Every time there’s a great need or crisis we stand in line and line up to do our part, please do not get me wrong I think it’s wonderful that we as Americans have the power to complete this task.
But if you looked at the situation with 9 11 you’ll notice that after a short span of time the fire and stimulus was lost
We sat back and are easy chairs and continued in our old ways until the next time someone heightened or Threaten our sense of security.
The point I am making today is that in the kingdom of God reasonable service has a different understanding.
Reasonable service in the kingdom of God May get you into heaven, but will guarantee you to lose many blessings here on this earth.
The day of sitting on the fence in getting the job done with the lease Resistance is over.
We did see this from our economy where unions once were for the benefit of the people protecting them from harmful work environments.
Where today that the same unions have become the parlor room couches of the workplace today
We demand more dollars per hour to produce less products of inferior quality to what was made just 10 years ago.
Have we stopped to even look at the quality of what we produce today?
Manybe this is why your always looking back to obtain something from years ago. Old and better made
I don’t know how many times and have picked up an old Object examined it and said to a friend look at how well this is made.
Again this is all fine for the world BUT when you are called to Gods service
This way of judging and valuing things is no longer acceptable.
In Rom 12:1 God speaks, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Is it is unfair to what god is asking us to do? … I think not
Is it not our responsibility to make sure that we are doing our best for him?
Are we doing our best at?
Prayer
Reading the word
Fellowship
Relationships
Many generations before our births of us here were Christians too’ they have given their time, wealth, effort, blood and to the point of their lives for this worthy cause.
Sometimes we forget this great responsibility we carry and our hearts that the Lord has placed there.
We Forget is great and precious gift that has driven men to proclaim this gospel for almost 2000 years now.
Frequently we easily boast about our walks and commitments to the Lord.
Drawing attention to ourselves instead of directing attention to the cross.
Look at me I am Super Christian. I can do it all.
Our goals become so high that they become unreasonable, consuming us to the point of the destruction.
Then we just fade away, burning out like a great Roman candle.
A lot of fizz, a little pop, then gone into oblivion
How many times have we asked the same question, what happened to sister or brother so and so?
I believe it is not only a Tragedy that a soul it is no longer serving the Lord but………..The Worst thing about this scenario is we fail to be effective in fulfilling our call in the Lord
And our lives and communities hurt from the loss of just one life serving God let alone a multitude.
Our attitude should be…
I have freely given my life to the cause, and have accepted the price of its Fellowship, the cross.
I have given my life freely and have accepted the loss my life here in the natural only to foresee the greater Blessing of living by faith.
Ga 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Yes I Desiree to be crucified with Christ.
Confessing his gospel, now willing to Proclaim, that is not I who live,
But Christ whom lives within me.
Did we forget that serving him wouldn’t be easy if I live a godly life?
2Ti 3:12 - Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
The Scripture is true you will suffer persecution
You will suffer heartache
There will be times in a life that you will think that adversity is your new best friend.
YES… you would shout out at this time what a blessing to be a Christian
I know it is hard sometimes to walk the walk God has called this to
But what I can tell you today that there is a joy it set forth ahead of us to give us the power to overcome
And endure even the heaviest cross cqn this life can bless us with
Heb 12:2 - looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
What the writer of Hebrews is saying here is
We are to keep our eyes focused on the Lord, by embracing the joy set before us even unto the cross
Conclusion:
So what is reasonable service for the Lord?
This is a place where you give all
Even the point of your life.
So free live by our best example ………. Jesus Christ
He gave it all and endured the shame of the cross so that you and I May become acceptable to the Father.
Let us today start living our lives in Reasonable Service.
Amen.
