The Joy Of Servanthood

July 24, 2016

Morning Worship

Text: Joel 2:28-29

Subject: Dreams, Visions, and Prophecy

Title: The Joy of Servanthood

Last week I spoke to you about how Jesus was both God and man – not just partially one or the other but fully God and fully man.

This week I want to Look at the human side of Jesus, but I want to do so by looking – not at what He came to do on our behalf – but the pattern He established for our life here as the church – His body.

In John chapter 13 Jesus gave us an illustrated sermon of what our lives should be like. As He washed the feet of the disciples He told them that it was the very thing that they should be doing. And they did. In their submission to God’s will for their lives that disciples created an atmosphere for even greater things to happen. And the same can be true for every one of you who are here today or those who might be listening via the Internet. Servanthood has never been meant to be a burden, but to bring joy to you and all those around you. In your faithfulness to the LORD’s will for your life and for this church you will experience grace. The more faithful you are with the grace given you the more grace you will receive.

Now let’s shift gears here a little. Have you ever been stuck in a place in your faith where it seems like you just can’t make any connection with the LORD? I mean, you pray, and you study and you go to church and you pray some more… and it seems like you are going nowhere!

I’ve been there! I’m being the servant like I was called to be. The pastor of Palmyra First Assembly of God… doing all the work of the ministry – teaching and preaching and loving people and making phone calls and hospital visits – all the stuff a pastor is supposed to do! And yet I seem like I am stuck in a rut. And every time I ask myself what is going on I come to the same conclusion. I am spending more time being a servant than I do listening to the voice of the Master. And I realize how much I am missing out on.

Do you know that the Master wants to speak into your life every day? The Master to His servants? And even more so in these perilous times we are living in!

Joel 2:28-29 (NIV2011)

28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.

29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

I believe this is God’s word…

I believe it is for me…

I accept it as mine…

I will appropriate it to my life today…

28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people…

(Spirit Move video)

I will pour out my Spirit on all people…

Joel 2:28 (MSG)

28 "And that's just the beginning: After that— "I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people:

Listen to me! Here is the thing that we have to get. Even people in the world can do good things. They take care of the poor, have compassion on the oppressed, feed the hungry, house the homeless… but they don’t have the Holy Spirit. Does it make any difference as long as people are being taken care of? It does to God. Because if you are going to be His servant then you must be willing to take the time to know what His will is for everything you might do.

Was the apostle Paul a servant of the living God? Sure he was. The most effective evangelist of all time. But in Acts 16 we see Paul making plans to go into areas where it was not God’s will that he should go. He could have gone into Asia or Bythinia… that’s where he wanted to go. But each time the Spirit of the Lord stopped him.

Now look at this. How did Paul end up knowing where the Lord wanted him to go and serve?

Acts 16:9-10 (NIV2011)

9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.