SERVING CHRIST
COLOSSIANS 3:23-24
Introduction: Colossians tells us that as believers we serve Christ. The word for serve is douleuo which means to yield obedience and in submission do service to another. We are to be in subjection to Christ’s authority and to give Him more than lip service. Breaking the fetters of mediocrity we are to serve Christ completely, continually, and cheerfully.
I. We should serve Christ COMPLETELY
A. Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
B. Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
C. Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
D. Many serve Christ only to the extent that it meets only to the extent that it agrees with their own desires.
E. Many like King Saul in the Old Testament do not serve false gods, yet while not serving false gods, they serve and are obedient to the Lord only when it meets their personal needs.
F. A well-known television evangelist once produced a program entitled "What Do You Want God to Do in Your Life?" That’s really the wrong question. The question should be "What does God want me to do with the life he has given me?"
G. We should serve Him completely because he owns us completely. He owns us not only because He is the Sovereign Creator of the universe but also because He has purchased us with His own precious blood.
H. 1 Peter 1:18-19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
I. Redeemed (lutroo) - to release on receipt of ransom, to redeem, liberate by payment of ransom.
J. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit in you, whom you have of God? And you are not your own, for you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
II. We should serve Christ CONTINUALLY
A. Revelation 7:14-15 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who came out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes, and have whitened them in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple. And He sitting on the throne will dwell among them.”
B. The tribulation saints in heaven set the example as they serve continually or constantly. There is nothing that obstructs them or breaks them off from serving Christ.
C. 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
D. Matthew 24:42-46 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
E. Too many have an "on again, off again" Christianity. Their faith is like a water spigot that can be turned on on Sunday mornings and is shut off the rest of the week.
F. It is a religion of convenience not of commitment or conviction.
G. Revelation 3:14-16 And to the angel of the church of the Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Head of the creation of God, says these things: I know your works that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
H. God owns our time and talents, but we are responsible for using them for Him.
I. 1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
J. As stewards we are to be managers of His assets, which He has entrusted to us (time, talent, treasure), not merely for self-serving purposes, but always to glorify Him.
K. We should strive to be available to God at all times, to glorify His name in every possible way. "It’s time we stopped staring up the steps and started steadily stepping up the stairs!" – Heard from Wilbert W. Welch, Chancellor of the Grand Rapids Baptist College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, in a sermon at Stevens Point, WI (1987)
III. We should serve Christ cheerfully.
A. Zwingli said, “You are a tool in the hands of God. He demands your service, not your rest. Yet, how fortunate you are that he lets you take part in his work.”
B. Psalms 100:2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
C. The words glad and gladness are used more than 100 times in the Bible, often to describe God’s people and to tell what they feel when they worship and serve the Lord. The Bible clearly teaches that gladness comes to us when we serve the Lord.
D. Philip Yancey writes, “An accumulation of distractions -- a malfunctioning computer, bills to pay, an upcoming trip, a friend’s wedding, the general busyness of life -- gradually edges God away from the center of my life. Some days I meet people, eat, work, and make decisions, all without giving God a single thought.” [REACHING p. 189]
E. Joy comes when God’s people take their eyes off of themselves, off their circumstances, and off of each other and focus on Christ. True lasting joy comes from Christ and Christ alone.
F. John 15:10-11 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
G. In your worship, in all your acts of obedience, and in all you do let there be joyful service.
H. God’s people should demonstrate a. genuine Spirit-wrought joy as they serve Him
I. Those who serve God with gratitude and praise will be happy people.
J. During a terrible storm at sea that threatened every moment to carry the ship to the bottom, one of the ship’s crew was doing something on the deck when a great sea struck the ship and went fairly over the deck, striking this man with great force, disabling him and carrying him into the mad waters. Although he was a good swimmer, he was so disabled that he could only keep above water. They saw him lifting up his imploring hands through the white foam, signifying his desire for help. But the Captain said, "Don’t lower a boat, for no small boat can live in this sea, in this terrific storm. We cannot save the man. The most we can do is to save the ship." The vessel was bearing farther and farther from the helpless man. Once more they saw his imploring hands come up among the white caps further off, which moved all hearts that witnessed it. Still the Captain said a small boat must not be lowered, as it could not live a moment among these wild billows. But one man who was an expert swimmer, was so moved by the imploring signals of the drowning man, that he threw off his loose garments, saying: "I will save that man, or die with him." So plunging into the surging deep, he struggled so bravely with the mad waters, that he reached the poor man just as his strength had gone; he had given up and was filling with water, and sinking down unconscious. He grasped him, and strange to tell, he brought him so near the ship that a small boat was lowered, and both men were taken up and laid down upon the deck. The one that had been swept overboard was entirely unconscious and his deliverer nearly so. Appliances were used and both were brought to consciousness. As soon as the rescued man opened his eyes and found he was not in the ocean, his first words were: “Who saved me?" He was pointed to his deliverer still lying on the deck in his wet clothes. He crept to his deliverer, and putting his arms around his feet, and in the most tender and heart moving tone of voice cried out: "I’m your servant, I’m your servant." He felt that he could never do enough for him. Let me ask all who read this incident, would you not put your arms about the bleeding feet of your great Deliverer and say from a full heart: "Jesus, I’m your servant, I’m your servant. Ask anything of me, Jesus, and I will do it the best I can." -- A. B. Earle, From: "Incidents Used ... In His Meetings," published in 1888
