The Power To Serve

“The Power to Serve"

Acts 6:1-5

Veteran’s Day

A sermon for 11/12/23 by Pastor John Bright

Acts 6:1-4 “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.””

Pause right there. Has God called you beyond where you are right now? It’s not about your ability – nope! It’s all about your AVAILIBILITY!!!!! God called to Samuel who was a child… in the night… by name. Is God calling you? Only you can answer.

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God bless our troops! The young men and women serving in the military around the world deserve our thanks and deserve our prayers for their protection. They fight to preserve what the veterans here and so many others fought to win in the past.

It’s different today. You folks here probably come along in the days of the draft. For the young people here – that is not the NFL or NBA draft. 😊 The military draft sent men into military service during times of war. Back in the 1700s, local militias were formed and each man brought his own weapon. They would march to meet up with a larger group to form an army.

Today, it’s an all-volunteer military, but they still have some minimum standards:

Height – Army men: 5 foot to 6 foot 8 inches, women: 4 foot 10 inches to 6 foot 8 inches

Weight – Navy for women: 5 foot – 141 lbs maximum, men: 6 foot 201 lbs maximum

Age limits – max age to join:

Air Force & Space Force & Navy: 39

Army: 35

Coast Guard: 31

Marine Corps: 28

Education requirements:

You must have a high school or general equivalency diploma (GED) to enlist in the military.

Physical fitness – the Army starts with a timed 2 mile run and it goes up from there.

If it takes all that to get in, makes you wonder why some struggle with the decision to re-enlist every few years. Here are some reasons I found on-line:

1 - How would I live in a world without acronyms?

2 – Here I get to live as an adult that has somebody inspecting me everyday to make sure I put my clothes on properly, and put my shoes on the right feet.

3 – I would miss waking up every morning and going to "staff meeting" where a piece of paper is read to me even though it is posted on the wall and on the internet, both of which I am able to read.

4 – Hey, where else can you pay taxes to fund your own paycheck? 😊

While we honor our veterans this morning, I also want to point you to the similarities between those who serve in the military and those who serve Jesus Christ in the world.

First – both choose to serve:

Joshua 24:15 “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua is a book of military conquests that is hard for some modern-day folks to read. It was written to send a clear message: “Our God is greater and mightier than all other gods.” Back then, there were competing allegiances. Today, our military is dealing with people who have adopted the ideology of the enemy. For them and us – it’s a daily choice. We make lots of decisions every day. I have read estimates that we make over 200 decisions every day. You decided what to wear today and what to eat for breakfast. Most of our daily decisions are like that. Some decisions are conscious and others are unconscious.

Some of these determine who or what you serve. Which god are you serving? What cause will you support?

Have you chosen to serve Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? No? Why? Are you still using the same, worn-out excuses? I’m pleading with you today – DON’T WAIT ANOTHER DAY!

2 Corinthians 6:2 “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”