YOU WERE FASHIONED FOR SERVING GOD Eph. 2:20
Did you know that in 1977 Elvis Presley died of obesity and drug dependency at 42? An interview with his wife, Priscilla, she said: “Elvis never came to terms with who he was meant to be or what his purpose in life was. He thought he was here for a reason, maybe to preach, maybe to serve, maybe to save, maybe to care for people. That agonizing desire was always with him and he knew he wasn’t fulfilling it. So he’d go on stage and he wouldn’t have to think about it.” In spite of enormous success, Elvis was, according to friends, an unfulfilled and unhappy man.
What about you, have you ever felt there was something more that God intended for your life? God made you to make a contribution, not just to consume but to make a difference. It doesn’t matter how long you live, but how much are you putting into the life you are living. What the contribution you give of your life is more important than how long your life lasts. You are here to serve. “Each of us should use whatever gift he’s received to serve others.” 1PT 4:10 You were shaped for serving God. Ministry simply means helping somebody in the name of God. Did you know the Bible says “service” and “ministry” is the same word? All of us are called to serve. Remember that life is preparation for eternity! God put us on earth to practice and practice! The good news is that God gave us a model. Jesus Christ, “I did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.” MT 20:28 Listen your abilities determine your ministry, but your attitude determines your maturity. God wants you to serve with maturity – a good attitude. How many spend much of their time searching for self-worth and significance? But they look in the wrong place! The Bible says you get your self-esteem from service. Jesus said to give your life away in order to find it. The greatest thrill in the world is to be used by God. What does it take to serve like Jesus? Three characteristics to look at.
1. IT MEANS BEING AVAILABLE.
“Two blind men were sitting by the roadside. And they shouted, ‘Lord, have mercy on us!’ Jesus stopped and called them. ‘What do you want me to do for you? He asked’.” MT 20:30-32 Notice the word “stopped”. Jesus was willing to be interrupted. Most of Jesus’ ministry and miracles were interruptions. Pro. 3:28 “Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now.” Servant-hearted people are natural and responsive. They say “OK, let’s do it!” There are hurting people all around us and the wounded will not wait. God gives us his power when we are willing to serve. John Wesley’s said: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, by all the ways you can, in all the places you can, and at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.” What might make us unavailable?
a. Feeling of Self-importance. LK 10:30-37 The first attitude we see here is “keep your distance.” Do not get to close to people or you might have to help them. We live in a world where people do not want to be bothered. We have what is called a cocoon people. We drive through our neighborhood push the garage door opener. Climb out of our cars and go directly into our homes without having to talk with any one. Many can do their banking right from home or direct deposit. We talk to each other through e-mail. When we eat out we can go to drive up window and be alone. Many times when we use our phones we talk to an automated system or answering machine. All of these keep us at a distance and as the saying goes, “out of sight out of mind.” Another attitude is you can look but do not get involved. We see the need like the Levite and even know what has happened but fail to take action to help. We are like t hat if we are stuck in a traffic jam and get impatient but when we get to the scene of what has happened we drive by not giving any help. These two men felt too important to help one in need. The third man stopped and helped and his attitude was to treat this person as he would want to be treated.
b. Feeling of Idealism. “If you wait for perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything done.” Eccl. 11:4 In America, we have a made an idol out of excellence. There are some Christians who say, “If you can’t do it first class, don’t even try.” Everything doesn’t have to be perfect for God to bless. If God only used perfect people would you be used? We all have weakness, faults, failures and limitations. God can use us all. He used a donkey that talked to keep a man from sure death. He used a big fish to turn a man around to speak His word.
c. Materialism is another barrier that keeps us from being available to serve. Jesus said, “You can’t serve two masters.” LK 16:13. “Am I going to be a kingdom-builder or am I going to be a wealth-builder?” It is a decision to only gain riches or to be blessed with What God entrusts to us. If God wants to give you wealth then it is your decision what to do with what he has given. Some are so busy taking care of things; they don’t have time to take care of their spiritual life or care for others. How available are you to be of service for Jesus. “I have no hands but your hands, not feet but your feet, no mouth but your mouth.”
2. IT MEANS BEING THANKFUL.
Jesus and Lazarus. “Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me.” JN 11:41 Jesus had an attitude of thankfulness in everything that He did. He started with thankfulness, then he performed ministry. Jesus was thankful in the tough times. Jesus was thankful when He was criticized. Jesus was thankful when things were not easy in ministry. Ministry and miracles always happened with an attitude of thankfulness.
The apostle Paul was thankful. He said, “I thank Jesus Christ because He trusted me.” (1 Tim. 1:12) Why should we serve God with thankfulness, with a sense of delight, not a sense of duty? Why should we serve with a sense of opportunity, not out of a sense of obligation? Because He’s given us life, through Jesus Christ. He saved us! If He never did anything else for us, it should make us thankful for the rest of our lives and we should love to serve Him. “It is He who saved us and chose us for His holy work, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan.” 2 Tim. 1:9 What are some things that bring us to not being thankful?
a. Comparing and criticizing. “Who are you to criticize someone else’s servant?” Rom 14:4 We’re on the same team, all His servants. It is His opinion is what matters. We are to live for God’s approval, not people’s approval. Competition in His service is not right. He’s given us each different abilities, different tasks. When we compare what we have, it steals our joy and gratitude. When we are thankful for all God has done, there’s no longer any need to compare and criticize. I personally would pray that Christians would compete on who could serve the best and want to be first with the helping gifts.
b. Wrong motivations. “When you do good deeds, don’t try to show off. If you do, you won’t get a reward from your Father in heaven”. MT 6:1 Self-promotion and servant hood don’t mix. A lot of our service can be self-serving. We serve to get others to like us. We serve to be admired. We serve to achieve our own goals, our own agenda. We serve to feel good about ourselves. We think how noble we are. We serve to manipulate God. We bargain, “God, I’ll serve you if you take care of my need.” When you lose a sense of thankfulness and joy in your service, check your cause for doing what you are doing.
3. IT MEANS BEING FAITHFUL. “The one thing required of servants is that they be faithful.” 1 CO 4:2 When you serve you need never give up. Don’t quit in the middle of your assignment. Jesus said this in JN 17:4, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work that You gave me to do.” Jesus was faithful. He didn’t give up. He didn’t give in. He was determined. We need to be able to say, when we get to heaven, that we completed the work God gave us to do. You may retire from your job, but you never retire from ministry. God wants you to serve all of your life. Any time you serve in Jesus’ name, no matter how small, it matters. “Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for Him is a waste of time or effort” 1 CO 15:58 There is a difference between significance and prominence. They are not the same thing. My nose is prominent. My heart is significant. The parts of your body that you don’t see are often more important than the parts you do see! And the same is true in the Body of Christ. In fact, things behind the scenes are more important. Several years ago two teenage boys tried to come into a church service. Only it was packed out and they couldn’t find any seats. So they turned around to leave because they couldn’t find a seat. But one usher said, “Come on, guys. I’ll find you a seat.” And that usher personally escorted them down to the center and set them in the middle and found them two seats. That night both of those boys accepted Christ and became Christians. One of them was Billy Graham who has now led millions and tens of millions of people to Christ. Do you think that usher is going to get any credit in heaven?
Small acts of ministry can be so significant. Real servants do every task with equal dedication because they know it all matters. Let me ask you some questions. Do you know who put the bulletin together? Do you know the names of the people who folded the bulletin this morning? Do you know cleaned the church this week? Do you know who helped with clean up after the Thanksgiving dinner? Do you know the person who is doing for the sound system? Do you know who teaches each class in Sunday School? Do you know who takes the money you give and uses it to keep the church going? All of these things are done by volunteer ministers. They are all important. Do you know that God has ordained that you be here at this church? He brought you here to serve. He knows that you have something to give that will make a difference. What is your background, talents, skills, contacts, interests, or hobbies that God can use through you?
Con: You can do two things with your life. You can waste it, or you can invest it. Invest your life in something eternal. Not every investment here on earth pays off. One day you’re going to stand before God and He’s going to say to you, “What did you do with what I gave you? How did you invest it? How did you serve? How did you give? God did not put you on earth to live for yourself. HB 6:10 “He will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” Matt. 25:21 “Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things so; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.” We started this sermon talking about Elvis. A curious fact about Elvis…the only Grammy award he won for an album out of 250 million albums sold, was for a religious album that he recorded called, “He Touched Me”. This song expresses a verse. That says this: “After the lightening and thunder, After the last bell has rung, I want to bow down before Jesus and hear Him say, ‘Well done, my son.’ He is my reason for living; He is my King of Kings. I long to be in His possession. He is my everything.”
How do we serve the needs of people?
1. See the needs of those around me. 1 CO. 10:24 “People should be concerned about others and not just about themselves.”
2. Understand people in their pain. When the good Samaritan saw the wounded man he had pity on him. Take time to listen to people. 2 CO. 1:4 “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”
3. Seize the moment and meet the need. Pro. 3:27-28 “Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God’s hand for that person. Don’t tell your neighbor, "Maybe some other time," or, "Try me tomorrow," when the money’s right there in your pocket.” If you are to seize the moment you must be willing to take the risk.
4. Spend what it takes. Gal. 6:10 “Whenever we have the opportunity, we have to do what is good for everyone, especially for the family of believers.” There is always a cost to being kind and serving others.
