I once read a profound quote, "Am I serving Jesus Christ as Lord of my life or am I serving in order to get my own way?" Allow that to sink in for a moment. What are my motivations when I am serving others? Am I simply seeking to "impress" an all knowing and all powerful God or am I doing it out of true love for the Father? Do you serve out of some desire to be noticed by others or simply happy to serve and only be seen by God?
We must not expect God to do anything for us unless we first have served Him. What are you expecting from God? Do you find yourself thinking, "You know what? I have done quite a lot for you God. When is it my turn?" But the truth is that the Lord is CONSTANTLY doing things for us. I mean if all God ever did for me was save me from an eternity in Hell, how could I not spend the rest of my days serving Him and praising His name.
Deuteronomy 10:20 tells us, "You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve Him and hold fast to Him, and by His name you shall swear."
The problem that I have found is that we have forgotten that we were created to serve and we sit back waiting for others to serve us or for God to serve us. If this really is our thinking we need a serious shift in our priorities and a monumental change of heart. God tells us in Deuteronomy 28:47-48 that if we don't serve Him we will eventually serve our enemies and it will not be a pleasant time of service. He tells us that we will lack in everything and that a "yoke of iron" will rest on our necks. Doesn't sound like much fun to me.
"Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies who the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you." Deuteronomy 28:47-48 ESV
It is easy to sit in the pew on Sunday mornings or for that matter, on the couch at home and believe that we have "done enough." We did our part and now it is time for someone else to pick up the slack. Well, that is exactly the kind of wrong thinking I am talking about.
"Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him." Malachi 3:18 ESV
I had a close friend tell me recently about a time when his family had moved and they were looking for a new home church where they lived. The visited more than a few churches but the story he told me of the difference between two of the churches stuck out in my mind. One, we will call Church A, was a large church, big building, and more than a few prominent members from the community. It was described to me as a church that was impotent and listless. They seemed more worried about what they wore and the "who's who" of their members than they were of reaching the world around them. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with folks wearing their "best" to church on Sunday morning but when it stigmatizes the outside world, something needs to change. They had the potential to use their large numbers and frankly, large bank accounts to positively effect the world around them yet they sit idle, still, and don't reach out into their community to serve their fellow man in a life changing way. Then there is Church B. While they aren't as large as Church A, they are reaching out into their community and changing one life at a time. They don't care what you wear or where you come from. All they care about is that you show up with a willing and open heart. They are serving the people right in their own city and showing the grace that Christ has shown to them. They are fulfilling the great commission right where they live and work through numerous outreach and service opportunities.
Now I am not bashing anyone's chosen church. But what I am asking is this: If you moved to this community, which body would you want to be a part of? Church A or Church B? A church floating along in life, happy with their situation or a church that is reaching out into the darkness day in and day out, trying to fulfill the command that Christ gave us? Would you be happy to sit and stew in one spot or would you rather allow Christ to use you in ways you never could have imagined before?
Man was made to serve. It is in our DNA. It was placed there by God. It is what we were all designed to do. If we are to call ourselves Christians, then we are all called by God to serve and to serve faithfully. As a matter of fact, there will come a day when all will stand before Christ, the ultimate judge, and He will either tell us, "Well done, good and faithful servant" or He will tell us to depart because He never really knew us.
Faithfulness is a pretty simple concept to understand. To be faithful is to be constant in the performance of our duties. So many find it easy to be faithful to their football teams (I live in SEC country and you had better be faithful or they will eat you alive!) but they can't seem to be faithful to what God would have them do. Matthew 6:24 says,
"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."
How can a man be so faithful to something that has no eternal value but can't be faithful to the one that died for him in one of the worst was possible? What about the ones that say they can't serve because their plate is just too full? You aren't exempt either. If your kids baseball (insert whatever you want in place of baseball) is more important that being in God's house on Sunday morning or Wednesday nights then all you are teaching your kids is that when something is personally more important to you that you can place God and service to Him on the back burner. You are showing them your true heart when you allow the world to dictate your schedule and allow it to push God out of His proper place. To be disciplined in service includes serving even when it is inconvenient. We don't stop serving God due to our busy schedules.
"But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, to give His life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:43-45 ESV
Well I have done enough talking. I have no more words to write. All I can do is pray that I never again allow my "schedule" or my own laziness to limit the ways that I serve God and serve others that He made in His image. I was made to serve in His image, it is my duty as a Son of God. I don't write to put myself on some pedestal and shout to the world with a "Hey, Look at me!" attitude. I write as a form of service to my fellow man. I write because it is something that God has gifted me with and given me a desire to use the written word to reach those that might never hear about Him or the things He can do. I look to Jesus for the example every single day. His was the greatest example of authentic servanthood. He didn't pound His chest and tell everyone to look His way and He didn't explain. He just served and continues to do so. And so are we called to be the same way. But we have to start somewhere. When we see a need, we need to fill that need. We need to stand in the gap for those that can't stand on their own. To serve is to be faithful when we are the busiest, when we would much rather be somewhere else, doing something else, when no one notices, or even pays us back for the service we give. Do it anyway.
We must not expect God to do anything for us unless we first have served Him. What are you expecting from God? Do you find yourself thinking, "You know what? I have done quite a lot for you God. When is it my turn?" But the truth is that the Lord is CONSTANTLY doing things for us. I mean if all God ever did for me was save me from an eternity in Hell, how could I not spend the rest of my days serving Him and praising His name.
Deuteronomy 10:20 tells us, "You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve Him and hold fast to Him, and by His name you shall swear."
The problem that I have found is that we have forgotten that we were created to serve and we sit back waiting for others to serve us or for God to serve us. If this really is our thinking we need a serious shift in our priorities and a monumental change of heart. God tells us in Deuteronomy 28:47-48 that if we don't serve Him we will eventually serve our enemies and it will not be a pleasant time of service. He tells us that we will lack in everything and that a "yoke of iron" will rest on our necks. Doesn't sound like much fun to me.
"Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies who the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you." Deuteronomy 28:47-48 ESV
It is easy to sit in the pew on Sunday mornings or for that matter, on the couch at home and believe that we have "done enough." We did our part and now it is time for someone else to pick up the slack. Well, that is exactly the kind of wrong thinking I am talking about.
"Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him." Malachi 3:18 ESV
I had a close friend tell me recently about a time when his family had moved and they were looking for a new home church where they lived. The visited more than a few churches but the story he told me of the difference between two of the churches stuck out in my mind. One, we will call Church A, was a large church, big building, and more than a few prominent members from the community. It was described to me as a church that was impotent and listless. They seemed more worried about what they wore and the "who's who" of their members than they were of reaching the world around them. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with folks wearing their "best" to church on Sunday morning but when it stigmatizes the outside world, something needs to change. They had the potential to use their large numbers and frankly, large bank accounts to positively effect the world around them yet they sit idle, still, and don't reach out into their community to serve their fellow man in a life changing way. Then there is Church B. While they aren't as large as Church A, they are reaching out into their community and changing one life at a time. They don't care what you wear or where you come from. All they care about is that you show up with a willing and open heart. They are serving the people right in their own city and showing the grace that Christ has shown to them. They are fulfilling the great commission right where they live and work through numerous outreach and service opportunities.
Now I am not bashing anyone's chosen church. But what I am asking is this: If you moved to this community, which body would you want to be a part of? Church A or Church B? A church floating along in life, happy with their situation or a church that is reaching out into the darkness day in and day out, trying to fulfill the command that Christ gave us? Would you be happy to sit and stew in one spot or would you rather allow Christ to use you in ways you never could have imagined before?
Man was made to serve. It is in our DNA. It was placed there by God. It is what we were all designed to do. If we are to call ourselves Christians, then we are all called by God to serve and to serve faithfully. As a matter of fact, there will come a day when all will stand before Christ, the ultimate judge, and He will either tell us, "Well done, good and faithful servant" or He will tell us to depart because He never really knew us.
Faithfulness is a pretty simple concept to understand. To be faithful is to be constant in the performance of our duties. So many find it easy to be faithful to their football teams (I live in SEC country and you had better be faithful or they will eat you alive!) but they can't seem to be faithful to what God would have them do. Matthew 6:24 says,
"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."
How can a man be so faithful to something that has no eternal value but can't be faithful to the one that died for him in one of the worst was possible? What about the ones that say they can't serve because their plate is just too full? You aren't exempt either. If your kids baseball (insert whatever you want in place of baseball) is more important that being in God's house on Sunday morning or Wednesday nights then all you are teaching your kids is that when something is personally more important to you that you can place God and service to Him on the back burner. You are showing them your true heart when you allow the world to dictate your schedule and allow it to push God out of His proper place. To be disciplined in service includes serving even when it is inconvenient. We don't stop serving God due to our busy schedules.
"But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, to give His life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:43-45 ESV
Well I have done enough talking. I have no more words to write. All I can do is pray that I never again allow my "schedule" or my own laziness to limit the ways that I serve God and serve others that He made in His image. I was made to serve in His image, it is my duty as a Son of God. I don't write to put myself on some pedestal and shout to the world with a "Hey, Look at me!" attitude. I write as a form of service to my fellow man. I write because it is something that God has gifted me with and given me a desire to use the written word to reach those that might never hear about Him or the things He can do. I look to Jesus for the example every single day. His was the greatest example of authentic servanthood. He didn't pound His chest and tell everyone to look His way and He didn't explain. He just served and continues to do so. And so are we called to be the same way. But we have to start somewhere. When we see a need, we need to fill that need. We need to stand in the gap for those that can't stand on their own. To serve is to be faithful when we are the busiest, when we would much rather be somewhere else, doing something else, when no one notices, or even pays us back for the service we give. Do it anyway.
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