Romans 12:11 – Being a Slave of Jesus
Last Saturday a good man died. Oh, lots of people died that day, but this man was different. This man left behind him a legacy of faith and Christ-followers. He will be remembered for Campus Crusade for Christ, a Christian evangelism ministry with its 26,000 full-time employees around the world. He will be remembered for the Four Spiritual Laws, a tract that tells the gospel story in 45 words: "God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life./Man is sinful and separated from God, thus cannot know and experience God’s love and plan./Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin./We must individually receive Jesus as Savior and Lord." This tract has had 2.5 billion copies distributed worldwide. And he will be remembered for the "JESUS" film, which has been seen around the world by more than 4.2 billion people in 660 languages around the world. This man’s name was Bill Bright.
William R. Bright was born in October1921. He grew up in a church where the pastor was a womanizer and an adulterer. So he assumed that Christianity was all a farce, and he lived as what he called a “happy pagan”. He went to Hollywood to start a candy company, and found the Lord at a Presbyterian church in Hollywood through the influence of a good friend there, a Sunday school pioneer named Henrietta Miers. Soon his fiancee Vonette found the Lord too. This was 1945.
By the end of his life, he had developed pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable lung disease. Yet, even though his health was failing, he said that his “spirit was soaring.” He said this about his death: "The most important moment in anyone’s life as a believer is the last breath, because the next breath is in heaven." And he also said this about the death of any Christian: "For a believer, death should be a time of great celebration, not of sorrow. It is sad only for those who have no hope, no God and no Savior. For loved ones left behind, following the death of a believer, Jesus left a special message: ’... If you really love me, you will be very happy for me, for now I can go to the Father.’ (John 14:28, TLB)"
So what made this man different? How did he accomplish such great things for God? How could he live and die with such confidence? And is there anything we can learn from his example?
This is his testimony: “In my early 20’s - through the influence of the First Christian Church of Hollywood and Dr. Henrietta Miers - I received Christ. I fell in love with Him.
I immediately enrolled in seminary at Princeton, later at Fuller. I really loved the Lord from the very beginning. I was overwhelmed with His love. That I - a sinner - while I was yet in my sins, He died for me. My wife and I were growing together and very busy in serving the Lord. One Sunday afternoon (I’ll not go into details why), God led us to sign a contract - literally to write out a contract of total surrender of our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ - to become His slave. We wrote it out one Sunday afternoon. At the time, I was in business, going to seminary, and had great dreams of serving the Lord Jesus - even though I didn’t know for sure where or how.
About 24 hours later - after we had signed the contract – God, in a special way which words can never describe, gave me a vision we call Campus Crusade for Christ. Had there been no contract, in my opinion, there would never have been a vision. The vision followed the total, absolute surrender of our lives to the Lordship of Christ.
And, of course, He is our example, our model - Philippians 2:7 speaks of Him becoming a slave. The creator of a couple hundred billion galaxies became a man, the God-man. Paul refers to himself in Romans 1:1 “a slave of Jesus Christ”. We felt the most important thing we could do was to become as slaves of Jesus - signing a contract to that effect laid everything we owned or ever would own on the altar, and we’ve been slaves now for 50 some years, and I must tell you it is the most liberating thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Today I want to look at that truth: being a slave of Jesus. Serving Him in all we do. Romans 12:11 says: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Paul called himself the Lord’s servant, as did, John, James, Jude and Peter. Paul also called Epaphras, Tychicus, Phoebe and Timothy all servants of the Lord. The early church writers used the concept of slavery, and its nature of service, to describe what being a Christian was. Today, as we continue thru our summer sermon series on why we do what we do in our worship service, we land squarely on serving God and serving others.
Serving others can be seen in many areas on Sunday mornings: ushering, greeting, special singing, leading worship, playing an instrument, nursery, Jr.church, scripture reading and so on. In fact, if it weren’t for people serving others, the church could not run.
But I think there’s a difference between serving and being a servant. There’s a difference between slaving away and being a slave. I’ll give you 3 truths from the Bible about being a slave of Jesus.
1) You have no choice but to be a slave. This truth is not all that appealing to our enlightened, 21st-century minds. But the truth is clear. You are a slave to someone or something. Titus 3:3 says: “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.” Each one of us was enslaved, or still is, to our lusts and cravings, doing only what we wanted to do. Romans 6:16 says: “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Whoever who obey, whoever we listen to, whatever decides for us what we will say or do or think, that’s our master. We are its slaves.
Think about it. We may think we are in control, but we soon find ourselves out of control. Whoever is addicted to spending soon finds themselves up to their ears in debt. Whoever is addicted to food finds themselves unable to control themselves at buffets. What started off as fun becomes: “I couldn’t help myself…I can’t stop…I don’t know what came over me.”
Peter talks of false teachers with convincing words and many followers when he writes these words: “They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity--for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.”
Folks, whether you admit it or not, something or someone has you. You may have started out having it, but now it has you. But, the second truth of the scriptures about slavery is 2) you can choose who your master is.
Paul, in his letter to the church in a town called Thessalonica mentioned how others had commented on the Thessalonians’ faith: “They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” A turning from serving idols to serving God. No middle ground. Either you serve Him, or you serve something else.
After all, Jesus said Himself: “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” The choice is yours whom you follow.
But beware of not choosing. I remember a skit at camp several years ago. There was a fence that one girl sat on. Someone tried to convince her to be saved, but she wouldn’t go. Someone else tried to lead her to open, indulgent, flagrant sin, and she wouldn’t do that either. She was content to sit on the fence.
But when the judgement came, Satan came for the fence sitter. She tried to explain how she hadn’t gone on Satan’s side. Then he said, “No you didn’t choose me or choose Jesus. But you see, I own the fence.” Because of our sins, hell is our default. If we are not serving Jesus, we are serving someone or something else.
But most of you today would say you serve Jesus. Well, I’ve got one more truth from the scriptures about slavery. You have no choice but to be slave. But you can choose who your master is. 3) Therefore, serve Jesus wholeheartedly. Colossians 3:23-24 says: “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Ephesians 6:7, also written to slaves, says: “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.” And Rom.6:17 says: “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.”
Probably most of you would say you serve Jesus. But are you whole-hearted? They say double-minded is half-hearted. To try to please yourself or others is impossible; you need to fully embrace Jesus. Some of you need to decide who you want to make happy. Yourself, or others, or Jesus? Are you living to please Him or someone else? And whoever you live for you will be a slave to. Best choose wisely who is most fit to run your life.
Bill Bright only wanted 3 words on his tombstone: “Slave for Jesus.” Let me ask you, would people say that about you? Would they say you loved Him above all things? Would they say you put Him first? Would they say God’s priorities were yours? What would an honest preacher say at your funeral?
These are Bill Bright’s words to us: “My life’s message is be a slave of Jesus. And all that involves. Love your master, trust your master, and obey your master. Obviously, I’m a son of God, heir of God, joint-heir with Christ, and if He was described as a slave - Paul and Peter and the other apostles were slaves - this to me is the highest privilege any one could know. I evaluate everything I do in light of what He wants me to do. I try to relate every move, every day, in light of how I can help fulfill His great commission and fulfill His commandments.”
