16, January 2004
Dakota Community Church
Remembering the Perks
Introduction:
We have spent a lot of time the last little while going over things like soldiering and depression and other Christian responsibility type issues.
Every now and again we need to be reminded that there are many benefits to being Christians; it is not only about discipline.
Psalm 103: 1-2
Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits
What are some of the benefits of serving God?
1. He will enable you to become the person you really want to be.
Philippians 1: 4-6
I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
The phrase, “until the day of Christ Jesus” implies an on going work.
2Peter 1: 3-4
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
- He has given us all we need
- To participate in the divine
- To escape the corrupt
You do not have to be who society says you will be.
You do not have to be who doubting authority’s say you will be.
You do not have to be who your own evil desires say you will be.
You can become who you want to become – Who God says you will be!
If you faithfully serve God you won’t be the same person you are now in 10 – 15 years.
You won’t be battling the same problem your whole life.
2. He will give your life purpose and direction.
Psalm 16: 11
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Proverbs 2: 1-9
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright; he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair-every good path.
I have always felt confident that my life matters and that I am doing what I am supposed to do.
- In my life as a husband and father
- In my ministry
These discoveries did not come through receiving “words” or through sermons or through dreams. They came through walking in relationship with God.
Psalm 119: 105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
Nothing compares with knowing you are at the right point on the right path and now is the right time!
Have you gotten off track? Simply repent and get back on.
3. He will give you peace and security.
Proverbs 14: 26
He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.
Psalm 91: 1-10
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling- even the LORD, who is my refuge- then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
Psychologists tell us that people have three basic needs to live a healthy mental life; to be loved, to feel safe and secure, and to be needed or useful.
1Corinthians 15: 54-57
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death is your victory?
Where, O death is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
These promises do not mean you will never face opposition.
Do not confuse an abundant life with an easy life.
Adversity is required to gain strength.
Consider a tree planted in a rain forest. Because water is readily available it does not have to extend its root system more than a few feet below the surface. As a result, it is often toppled by a minor wind storm. Sometimes water is not available in many areas of Texas. It is in these areas where the mesquite tree proves the point I’m making. It has to send its roots thirty or more feet in search of water. At that depth, not even a hurricane is going to blow that tree over.
People who are raised in meager circumstances and have to work for everything they acquire end up with much more than those to whom it is handed on a silver platter. We grow strong in our struggles. We all know the story of the boy, who saw the butterfly struggling to get out of the cocoon and, in a misguided effort to help, cut away the remaining portion of the cocoon and let the butterfly out. The problem was that in the struggle the butterfly develops the wings and strength necessary to fly. Without the struggle, the little boy freed the butterfly only to have it die on the ground. It never fulfilled its destiny.
Look at what Paul said about the great open door he had to minister in Asia.
1Corinthians 16: 7-9
I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
4. He will give you a long and satisfying life.
In the line at Safeway I heard a lady say she had won $500 and that it was the best day of her life. Hopefully the best day of your life is better than that!
Psalm 91: 16
With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."
Proverbs 3: 1-2
My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.
Proverbs 3: 13-18
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.
Proverbs 4: 10
Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many.
Is it possible to be satisfied in this life? I believe there is always going to be a part of us that longs for the life we will someday have in eternity.
For now if we are being used to our full potential we can come close.
Are you living a life that you will be able to look back on without regrets?
- If only I had done such and such.
- I wish I had gone sky diving.
- I wish I had learned to play guitar.
- I wish I wish I hadn’t caught that that fish.
5. He will make you a success (If you don’t quit).
Does that apply to everything or only to spiritual issues?
Ministry:
1Thessalonians 5: 23-24
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
Business:
Deuteronomy 28: 8
The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
Intellectually:
James 1: 5
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
Scholastically:
Daniel 1: 18-20
At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
Marriage and family:
Proverbs 18: 22
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.
Illustration:
At a three-day retreat for pastors and their wives, one session consisted of testimonies about how the Lord had blessed our lives and ministries. One young preacher’s wife stood up and began nervously, "The Bible promises, ’No good thing does the Lord withhold from them that walk uprightly.’ Well," she said sincerely, "my husband is one of those ’no good things’!"
Ephesians 5: 31-33
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery–but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Finally, even if you doubt and whine and complain and miss every promise and ignore every benefit of serving God, but you still claim Jesus as Lord and identify with His sacrifice:
6. He will welcome you into heaven.
1Corinthians 15: 49-57
And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed– in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death is your victory?
Where, O death is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion:
If you serve God you simply cannot lose!
PowerPoint Available on Request - dcormie@mts.net
