The Going Of The Servant

INTRO.- ILL.- The preacher was called to hear the reading of the will of a wealthy member of his church who had died. The preacher and the man’s family members were all very disappointed to hear the will which read, "BEING OF SOUND MIND AND BODY, I SPENT ALL MY MONEY ON MYSELF."

ILL.- A man and his wife went to a fair. The man was fascinated by the airplane rides, but he balked at the price of the tickets, which were $20 each.

"Let’s make a deal," said the pilot, "If you and your wife can ride without making a single sound, I won’t charge you anything. Otherwise, you pay the full price."

"Good deal," said the man. So they went for a plane ride. And when they got back the pilot said, "If I hadn’t been there I never would have believed it. YOU NEVER MADE A SOUND."

"It wasn’t easy either," said the man, "I ALMOST YELLED WHEN MY WIFE FELL OUT OF THE PLANE."

That man was more concerned about saving his money than saving his wife.

Brethren, one of the biggest problems that most of us face in life is selfishness or self-centeredness!

We’re generally more concerned about our likes and dislikes and our wants than anybody else’s. Even more than those of our mate and our family members and often, MORE THAN THE LORD!

The world constantly pushes self, saying things like, “It’s a dog eat dog world. Watch out for yourself. Take care of yourself, no one else will.”

ILL.- I noticed an article on the Internet some time ago entitled, "9 WAYS TO GET YOUR WAY MORE OFTEN." What is that? It’s nothing but teaching people to be self-centered!

ILL.- I saw a book advertised for sale: “THE VIRTUE OF SELFISHNESS.”

Brothers and sisters, there is no virtue in selfishness! Not from the Christian perspective, there isn’t!

While selfishness is the way of the world and the way most people think and live, IT SHOULD NOT BE FOR THE CHRISTIAN!

Jesus didn’t live for self! He lived for others! His whole life revolved around ministering to others!

Peter characterized Jesus in Acts 10:38 as one who "went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil."

Matt. 20:28 Jesus said of himself, "The son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

We need to think more like Jesus! We need to think more of others and less of self! I want us to think about reaching out to others and ministering to them. What is the greatest thing we can do for others?

I believe it is to give them the gospel of Jesus Christ, because if they come to believe in Jesus as the Christ and trust in Him and surrender to Him they will someday go to heaven.

AND THAT’S THE GREATEST GIFT WE COULD GIVE TO ANYBODY! Or the greatest thing we could do for anybody.

PROP.- Our text in Ps. 126:6 tells the story about what it takes to share Christ with others.

1- The going of the servant

2- The flowing of the tears

3- The sowing of the seed

4- The mowing of the harvest

I. THE GOING OF THE SERVANT

ILL.- Let’s talk fishing. I have two largemouth bass hanging on the wall in my office. NO, I DIDN’T BUY THEM SOMEWHERE. I caught one of them in the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri. The other one, 8 lbs. 6 oz., I caught in a small lake in southern Illinois called Cedar Lake. I WENT fishing. I WENT after them. They didn’t come to me.

And so it is with people who have not claimed Christ as their Savior. They often don’t come to us, but we certainly have to go to them.

"He who goes out..." The "going" is the starting place for the work of sharing Christ with others.

Mark 16:15 "Go into all the world..."

Luke 19:10 "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save the lost." The "seeking" has to come before the "saving."

ILL.- Preacher John Wesley once said, "The church must go to the lost or go to oblivion."

ILL.- Someone else put it this way: "Any church which is satisfied to hold her own is on the way to the cemetery."

ILL.- I worked as the Asst. Manager for the Silk Tree Factory (Trees ‘n Trends now) in Cape G., MO, for about 3 years. The last year I was there the manager said to me, "I’m not looking forward to next year because we have some big sales to beat." AND GUESS WHAT? They didn’t beat those sales that next year.

That young manager was worried. Why? Because stores that don’t continue to increase in business generally go out of business. AND THE SAME IS TRUE OF CHURCHES. Many churches across the US are dying because they are not reaching out to anyone!