Respond with Service

 Over the past few weeks we've talked about how to Biblically respond to all of the national events and chaos happening all around us. It certainly appears that we, individually, have very little control over any of this. But we can control how we respond. We've talked about how our first response should be in prayer. We've talked about responding to evil with personal holiness. We've talked about responding to the great division we see around us with fellowship - coming together as believers despite our differences.

And some might say, "But preacher, I want to do more than pray! You said 'holiness' is what you are not what you do. And then you said respond in fellowship - which I'm doing, but I want something more, something tangible - what do I do!" Well, this morning I want to look at responding in service - being a true servant.

I'm sure you've heard the term 'public servant'? It's a term that was first used back in 1671 to describe a government official or employee. I'm relatively sure that term probably describes some government employees - but I have doubts that term can accurately describe all career politicians. It seems many 'public servants' seek first to serve themselves...

When we use the term 'servant', I don't want to look to our modern culture to define this idea of service, but to God's Word. And Jesus always looked at things very differently than the rest of the culture. We find this, when Jesus was addressing His first disciples...

Matthew 20:25-28 (NIV)

Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. (26) Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, (27) and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - (28) just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

I thumbed through some of Jesus' sermons that He preached when His biggest crowds were gathered. One may have expected that He might have tried to soften His words or use vague, nonspecific ideas to gently interest the curious crowds - but it was actually the opposite. When Jesus had the largest audience, He seemed to be the most outspoken and direct.

Jesus didn't 'water down' His message to appeal to as many people as possible, He told it flat out like it was in order to actually discourage those who weren't serious. Jesus wanted to let people know exactly what He expected so there'd be no confusion. Jesus didn't desire nominal followers – He wanted those who were willing to give Him everything to follow Him.

Now - it's not my intention to drive anyone away today, but I do want to be very clear – using the name Christian to describe yourself by definition means that you desire to be a servant. If you don't want to learn to serve, in some way, shape or form - you aren't really following Jesus. In God's perfect design, we were...

I. Created to serve

And to be clear – not all Christian service occurs here in this building, nor should it. I absolutely believe that you should be 'plugged into a ministry' somewhere here at Deep River, but Christian service is a lifestyle that should be lived out every day. We were created to serve! The Apostle Paul says this in Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)...

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - (9) not by works, so that no one can boast. (10) For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Christians serve. Christians do 'good works'. That's our purpose. If you're not seeking to serve, if you're not doing any good works – you're not being a Christian. I've heard people talk about membership in the Church; someone is an active or an inactive member. There's really no such thing as an inactive member of the Body of Christ. There's no such thing as an inactive Christian! Christians serve with the gifts that God has given them until they physically can't serve anymore. And even then, they will still pray and worship and encourage until they are called home!

Christians aren't called to serve as an acknowledgement of their lower worth or value - as if they can't do anything else. They serve out of love and gratitude for what Jesus has done for them! And Christians are able to serve far beyond what they think they can because they serve through…

A. God's power

One of the last things Jesus said to His followers before He returned to Heaven was this from Acts 1:8 (NIV)...

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Christians can humbly serve in great ways because they have God's Holy Spirit in them! God's Spirit helps them to be sensitive to the needs of others. That Spirit motivates them to reach out. That Spirit gives them power to be Jesus' hands and feet. That Spirit gives them the ability to look beyond their own needs to the needs of others.

If you're a baptized believer, you have God's Spirit in you! (If you're listening to me today and you're not a baptized believer – you and I probably need to talk.) But, for those of you who have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have been baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and you have the Holy Spirit of God in you! With that power, you have amazing potential to serve! However...

B. Potential is great, but…

Potential is great, but actually serving is better. Church buildings are full of people who have great potential to serve, to make a real difference for God's Kingdom, to really help meet some genuine needs! - But many don't. Remember the very first passage we read from Matthew, where it said, "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave"? Jesus didn't say, "Whoever wants to be great among you must think about, maybe becoming a servant." No! He told His first disciples they must become servants!

Let me show you something. This is a replica of a .50 caliber cartridge. The .50 caliber round can produce between 10,000 and 15,000 foot-pounds of force. Under ideal circumstances, when fired from a rifle, the bullet can travel around 5 miles! It has the potential to travel 5 miles! It has the potential to penetrate most commercial brick walls. It has the potential to disable a light armored vehicle when fired into the engine block. But if I just set it down here - it doesn't go anywhere. It just sits there - does nothing. It's only when it's properly used that it then realizes that potential.

You have God's Spirit in you; you have God's Word in you – the power to change lives for eternity! What will you do with that potential? It only makes a difference when we put it into action. We were created to serve, given the power to serve – but many choose to never utilize that power to serve others.

There are even some who misunderstand Jesus' call to follow Him. They somehow think it's mostly about what they can get out of a relationship with Jesus. And while we do benefit greatly - as we gather as the Church, are you serving God or looking to…

II. Serve yourself?

I really don't want to push anyone away – but are you here for God, or are you here more just for you? If you're here just for you – you'll probably be the one who gets tired of the preacher talking about commitment. You'll probably be the one who's easily offended if things aren't done the way you'd prefer. You'll probably be the one who extends very little grace to those around you who don't meet up to your expectations or standards...

Why are you here? Does anyone think we're here to 'win points with God' so He'll answer our prayers? Are we here so God will somehow owe us salvation because of our attendance? Are we here because we want God to serve us - or are we here to serve God?

We're not here just so we can 'feel good' about going to Church. We're not here because we're somehow better than anyone else or more deserving of God's favor. We're not here to serve ourselves but to serve God. We're called to…

A. Work for God

Here are some insights that are taking me quite a long while to perfect and put into practice... Servants don't make demands of their master. (Yes, they can make requests but they don't make demands.) Servants don't tell their master what they will and won't do. Servants don't expect their master to wait on them. Servants don't tell their master they're too busy for them to serve. And servants serve others.

I'm not suggesting that you, as a servant, have to do everything to the point of exhaustion. Even Jesus took time away to rest. That's not my point. But are you regularly, intentionally doing something in service to others?

I'm not trying to guilt anyone into emotionally signing up for just any ministry out of obligation. With each of us, there are some areas of ministry that won't really be our strong suits. But since we were created to serve - and given the power to serve, God will also give us the opportunity to serve. Many times we just need to pay attention to the needs around us. God gave you gifts and abilities to use – it's a matter of finding what area of service where those gifts fit. And don't forget…

Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, (24) since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

We're called to work for God, and He wants us to serve Him by serving others. We know there are those here who are very faithful in service. We have some amazingly faithful individuals performing everything from manual tasks, to teaching, to visiting shut ins, to simply inviting a friend. So...

B. How committed are you?

And really that's a question that only you can answer.

I want to look at a passage from Nehemiah, back when he committed to rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. And for those who are reading their Bible reading plans - we just read this a week ago last Friday... Nehemiah and the people ran into a lot of opposition from their enemies with some serious threats. The people were getting discouraged and wanted to quit. But Nehemiah challenged them to finish the task; and we pick up the story in Nehemiah 4:16-18 (NIV)...

From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah (17) who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, (18) and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

They were going to get the task done no matter what threat came. That's the kind of commitment I see in some servants here. It doesn't matter how busy they are, they find time to serve. It doesn't matter what physical problems there're dealing with, they still serve. There are a handful of servants here who work like Nehemiah and his men – no matter what comes, just try and stop them!

But we do need more servants. There's a lot more work to be done; a lot more ministry - both physical and spiritual - here and in your neighborhoods that needs to be accomplished.

But there's one important thing I need to point out here - God doesn't need you... Let me explain. I'm not saying this to be mean in any way - but God doesn't need you. And God doesn't need me. God isn't sitting up in Heaven with His master plan saying, 'Boy when I call today, I sure hope Ron picks up his phone! I just don't know what I'd do without that guy!' It doesn't work that way! God doesn't need me in order to achieve His goals; in order for His plans to prevail!

There's a passage from Isaiah that we usually read around Christmas time. It's a prophecy concerning the coming Messiah found in Isaiah 9:6-7 (NIV)...

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (7) Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

God had this plan from the beginning of time and He didn't need anyone's help or permission to carry it out. Today, God's plans are not contingent on whether I choose to serve Him or not. God will accomplish what He wants to accomplish with or without me.

Service to God is not about the benefit to God. God doesn't need you or me, but He invites us to work alongside Him for our benefit! Your service is primarily to benefit others, but it will also benefit you! We are promised a future reward for our service, but in the present, it also helps to change us; it helps transform us into the people that God intended us to be. Our service to God makes us more like Jesus!

So What?

If you watch the media, the times continue to get darker - there's continuing civil unrest, and the government shutdown, and things in the Middle East seem like they're heading for possible peace (?) - but that's always been uncertain. However, everything is under control! Certainly not our control - but they are under control.

And since I can control very little of the things and situations around me - how do I respond? "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant." What do we do? We serve. And respond like Nehemiah in his service - take action and be alert about what's going on around you - but continue to be about God's service.

You have far greater potential than a .50 caliber bullet. Are you going to be used for God's purposes or are you just going to be decorative...? And at this point, I probably should remind you – you don't answer to me. God created you. Does He consider you a servant?

There are all kinds of servants who can be extremely useful in accomplishing the mission that we have been given here at Deep River – To KNOW God, to KNOW Jesus Christ, to GROW in our relationship with Him and with each other and to GO serve each other and to GO Share the message of the Gospel with everyone we can!

What kind of servant will you be? Do you serve God, or do you sometimes act as if it's His job to serve you? Jesus gave His life for us – serving Him out of gratitude should be our natural response when we fully understand what He has done for us. No matter what the world throws at us - and evil will continue to try to stop us - Go serve!