“WE WERE SHAPED FOR SERVING GOD”
Sunday, May 23, 2004
40 Days of Purpose – week 5
We are in the fifth week of 40 Days of Purpose answering the question “What on earth am I here for?” I have asked Karen Yarnall to be a living demonstration of last week’s message, but also this week’s message, as she is going to do some pottery. (Pay attention up here though, not over there.)
Last week we talked about the third purpose that God has in our lives, that we were created to become like Christ. God has this image in his mind, like right now in Karen’s mind there is an image of what she wants to create. Now it is going to happen as the clay yields to her molding and making and remains on the wheel. If the clay should jump off the wheel and no longer cooperate with her or it dries out, it is not going to form. The same thing is true with our lives. God has an end in mind. The end in mind is to restore his image in our lives; to build the character of Christ, and this is progress. When the world talks about progress, it really means regressive acts. We have already been to Babylon. We have already experienced Sodom and Gomorrrah in Rome. We need to progress as a culture and a people and to progress is to be reformed in God’s image; to have the character of God instilled in our lives - that is the third purpose.
The fourth purpose for our lives is that we were shaped for God’s service. Karen is going to shape something. God is doing something in our lives as well and he has already shaped us for some form of service but before we talk about that, let’s pray. [says prayer]
We were shaped for God’s service. Now you may want to look at the outline because I will be referring to a lot of the verses in the outline. Ephesians 2:10: “We are God’s workmanship” like that clay, “created in Christ Jesus” for what “to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” God has already prepared you for certain things. God has a purpose for your life. That purpose is to do good works. He has already prepared what those things are; he has already shaped you for this.
We are going to talk about what that shaping means. 1 Peter 4:10 says this: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others.” That’s God purpose. God didn’t create us for the acquisition of wealth. There is nothing wrong with it, if God blesses you with it; but he has created us for the purpose of serving others. John 13:12-14 says this: “When Jesus finished washing” (Jesus was a model of this) “their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. Do you understand what I have done for you?” I think he asks us as well, Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me “Teacher” and “Lord,” (and we have worshiped him this morning under that same theme) and you are right, that’s what I am and yet I, your Teacher and Lord, have washed your feet. You should wash one another’s feet as well.
That metaphor -washing one another’s feet -is what’s behind the word service. The word “service” in Greek also means the word “ministry.” Ministry equals service, service equals ministry. When we think of the word ministry, though, so often we think of the person up front, the person with a collar or a robe but that’s not what the word ministry means or a minister is. It’s not just one person, it’s all of us. All of us wear robes. All of us are called to have a collar. All of us are called to service.
Now unfortunately I can’t give you the tax break for a minister, but you are still called to be a minister. You are still called to service. Matthew 20:28 says this: Jesus says, “For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served, but to serve others and give his life as a ransom for many.” It’s imperative for our life; it’s imperative for our health; it’s imperative for our experience of meaning and purpose and significance to be involved in some form of service for others apart from ourselves.
The job will not bring you joy. It’s not enough to bring joy. A salary is not enough to impart significance. Money will not ultimately bring meaning to your life. There are a lot of people who have a lot to live on, but very little or nothing to live for, and God wants us to have something to live for. This comes very counter to our culture because our culture tells us that if you want to be happy you have to take care of me, myself and I, old number one. We are taught as people to seek to attain the ‘good life’. The problem is the people who have attained the ‘good life’ aren’t satisfied. Why? Because once you attain the ‘good life’ you look around and you discover that there is someone else who has a bigger home, who has a nicer car, who has a higher salary, who has a higher standard of living, who has a better looking spouse, so it is an endless pursuit. You will never be satisfied. That is why Jesus said, and he said it five times - he warned us over and over and over again. He made this one statement five times; it’s in Mark 8:34-35. Here is what it says: “If anyone would come after me he must deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it and whoever will lose his life for my sake and the good news will save it.”
What is Jesus saying there? He is saying that the self-absorbed lifestyle is caustic. It is destructive. Why? Because we were not created to live selfishly, to live only for ourselves. It is like (using an illustration from the first week) taking a hand mixer and mixing cement with it. It just doesn’t work. We will never experience satisfaction in life trying to live just for ourselves. We were not created for that purpose. We were created to make a contribution, not simply to consume.
What’s more important is the donation of our lives rather than the duration. It is vital that we make a difference and that we give something back. I think as a culture we are catching on to this. It has always, more or less, been part of the American culture. There is a deep sense that people have that they need to do something for others. There are a lot of examples. There are hundreds of thousands of charitable organizations and volunteer groups. I think of the newer ones, the “Make-A-Difference Day” promoted in the weekend magazine section, Thousand Points of Light, the American Way, the Red Cross, and the Kiwanas Club. There is something in us, put there by God, that cries out - we need to make a contribution. We need to make a difference in this life. That is what we are called to do.
When we surveyed you, the congregation, during the cottage meetings, the number one need expressed, the number one hunger was the hunger to do hands-on ministry at the local level. It’s a human need and interestingly enough, to make his point, God has instilled this principle in everything. In the very creative order it’s instilled to make this very point. To really experience life we have to give, we have to have an outlet. The same thing is true when we think of water, water that is fresh, water that tastes the best, flows. It has an inlet and it has an outlet. Water that is stagnant sits in a pool and does nothing; it goes nowhere, it gives nothing back. The same thing is true in our lives.
Think of human tissue. If healthy human tissue consumes more than it gives, if it grows beyond its creative function and purpose, it becomes destructive to the human body. We call this a tumor or cancer. Cancer is healthy tissue that has consumed too much and is not giving back to the body. The same thing is true in our lives. Psychology Today reported that self-absorbed people have a higher rate of anxiety, a greater rate of depression; they are lonely and they are dissatisfied with their life.
Look at people in our culture who are totally self-absorbed. Describe their life. What do they look like? I think of Michael Jackson, who is extremely self-absorbed. As a result, his humanity is so disfigured, I can’t decide if he is a man or a woman. Why? That is what happens when you are self-absorbed. You become self-destructive and it robs you of your very humanity. Elvis Presley experienced the same thing. He died from being overweight and from drug addiction. Priscilla, his wife, said that the problem that Elvis was agonizing over was that he never came to terms with who he was and who he was meant to be or what his purpose in life was . . . interesting, that is why we are talking about it as a church. Elvis agonized over his purpose for life. She goes on. . . He thought he was here for a reason, maybe to preach (interesting), 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.
How about you? Is that something that is agonizing in you; are you fulfilling God’s purpose in your life to make a difference, to make a contribution? Don’t make the same mistake, because when you do, you cut yourself off from one of the sources of life that God has provided for us. You are cutting yourself off from your very created self that God has made. Meaning comes when we make a difference.
When I think of meaning, I think of two parables that Jesus taught. One is the parable of the talents and one is the parable of the sheep and goats. Both are in Matthew 25 and it’s interesting that Jesus makes these two same speeches at the end of his ministry just before he leaves. He gives these two stories, almost as a warning for us.
The first story is the story of the talents. In the parable of the talents, basically God says that he has given every one of us talents or abilities. Now, we have different numbers of talents and abilities, some are more gifted than others; but we all have talents which is important for us to realize because one of the reasons why people do not volunteer, or say they do not volunteer, to serve is they feel they have no skills to give in service of the church, and that is not true. God has already said he has already given you talents. Someone analyzed it and they discovered that every one of us has between 500 and 700 skills or abilities that can be used in the church, used in God’s service.
There are some things that anyone can do. Anyone can pass out bulletins, anyone can greet! Anyone can set up before the service and clean up afterwards. That is something that all of us have the ability to do. That is something that God has gifted all of us to do (unless you are grumpy).
So we all have talents, and one day God is going to ask us to give an account of what we have done with what he has given to us. What will we say? It is interesting in the parable that God never asked for the balance on our bank account. God never asked what our career is or was. God never asked to look at our portfolio. God never asked to look at our house. God never asked to look at our position. He only asked this question, what have you done with the gifts and abilities I have given you in service of others. What is your answer?
Some people say, I would volunteer, I would do something, but unless I can do it right, I just don’t feel comfortable doing it. Well, we are all imperfect people. None of us is perfect. All of us do an imperfect job. Doing something better happens when you do it for a while and you learn the process. Again, in the parable, the one who got in trouble, got in trouble not because he couldn’t do the job perfectly; he got in trouble because he didn’t do anything with the talent. It was disuse, not misuse, that got the one person in trouble. Well, Pastor, you have talked about money a lot here lately. I see the church doesn’t refuse my money. Again, there is nothing wrong with money. If God blesses you with money, great. The question about money is does money own you or do you own money? Do you use your money in service of God, and put it to good use? Ultimately being a servant involves settling this issue - the issue of money.
Nothing has robbed people of being active in service more than being so busy in their careers they have nothing else to give. Ultimately, if we are going to serve God in some fashion, we need to settle this issue, what on earth are we here for? Who created us? Jesus said more about money than he did in Heaven and Hell combined. Luke 16:13 says this: “No servant can serve two masters . . . You cannot serve both God and money.” If you have a job that consumes every ounce of your time and energy so that you have nothing to give back, than it may be time to get a new job (but don’t quit your job before you get a new one), because the job is robbing you of a source of life and contribution and meaning.
The second parable is the parable of the sheep and goats. Sheep, again, is a metaphor for believers. What differentiates the goats from the sheep, those who are God’s people and those who are not? What does the story say? Well, God spoke and he says: “I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was in prison and you visited me.” All are acts of service, in service of other people. What was the excuse of the goats? What differentiated the goats from the sheep? What determined the difference is that one served themselves and the others served others. Which one do you want to be? Do you want to be a sheep, or do you want to be a goat? Do you want to hear “I never knew you” at the end of your life or do you want to hear things like Matthew 25:21: “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Note the words - we are servants. “You have been faithful with a few things, so I will put you in charge of many things,” your life doesn’t end here, there is more responsibility afterwards. “Come and share your master’s happiness!”
Paul says this and I think it really defines this purpose of God in our lives. He describes it this way, “for we do not preach ourselves.” Note our lives aren’t about ourselves. It is about Jesus Christ as Lord; and ourselves, your servants, for Jesus’ sake. Life is not about us, but it’s about being in service to others; and particularly in Paul’s case, in service to God’s church and the people of the church, and that is God’s call in our lives as well. We were shaped, as Karen is shaping that clay, we too are shaped for ministry. Do you have any outlet in service of other people through the church. We are going to talk about service in the community next week but we are talking about being in service within the church. That is God’s call and purpose. That is what is called ministry. If not, I encourage you to attend the ministry fair.
We have gone to a lot of effort for you to go out and just look. We are not going to twist your arm. All we are doing is giving you an opportunity, to make it convenient for you to go and look and see perhaps where God has called you to serve, and to apply what you have heard here. Not simply to just hear it but to apply it, to begin to experience this fourth purpose. Plus, there is free food out there. So if you are a volunteer for the fair you can go now, but for the rest of you, in preparation you might be asking the question what should I sign up for? If I go out there, what should I look for?
Well, God has shaped you. I like what Rick Warren does with the word “shape.” Look for first something that fits your spiritual gifts. There are a lot of tests I know on spiritual gifts - you take the test, you learn your spiritual gifts and you find your service. I actually am against that. I say I think you find your spiritual gifts not by taking a test, but I think you find your spiritual gifts by trying a form of service, and in service you discover your gifts. I say go find some form of service and then if it works out great, you have discovered your gifts. If it doesn’t work out, it is not a failure, it is just an experiment, try another one. God has given you a passion, H – heart. What is in your heart? What is your passion? Look for something that you have a passion for. Look for something that you have abilities for, you already have skills and God has given those for a reason, to be used. Find something that fits your personality, P. If you are gregarious, you may want to be a greeter. If you are gregarious and you are a night owl, you may not want to volunteer for the 8:30 service. You will want to do the 11:00 service. Find something that fits your personality and E- experience, God has given you certain experiences for a reason, and your greatest hurt, your greatest wound, will be your greatest ministry. Who can help those who have lost a husband or wife? Those who already have lost a husband or wife. Who can help those go through cancer? Those who have experienced cancer. Your greatest ministry will come from, spring from, your deepest wound. If you are afraid you can’t do it, we offer training, and after you sign up, we will contact you.
I am going to close with this. Napoleon said, as he was looking at a map of the world, he looks at China and he said “There is a sleeping giant. If it were to awaken, it would shake the world.” I see White Clay like that. I see White Clay as a sleeping giant. If it were to awaken and every member of the church got involved in ministry, it would shake the White Clay area for the gospel of Christ.
[Let’s pray.]
