Loving God with All Your Strength
Mark 12:30
January 24, 2010
NOTE: THE ME/WE/GOD/YOU/WE FORMAT IS FROM ANDY STANLEY'S BOOK, "COMMUNICATING FOR A CHANGE."
Me: This is part one of a two-parter on this whole idea of loving God with all our strength.
Today I want to lay some groundwork, and then next week we’re going to look at some real hands-on kinda stuff to help us love God with all our strength.
My biggest mistakes in ministry and life in general when it comes to relationships stems from the fact that I have, over my life, neglected the principle I’ve been wanting God to burn into our hearts over these last 3 weeks:
We love others best when we love God the most.
Remember, love is not primarily an emotion, but an action (1 John 3:18).
And one of the hardest things for me to grasp early in my Christian life was the idea that God had something for me to accomplish.
I’m obviously not the most athletic guy in the world. I’m not the smartest guy I know. I’m not the best-looking guy around.
What did I have to offer to God – I mean other than the fact that I like to talk a lot?
We: My guess is that I’m not the only one who has struggled with those thoughts from time to time.
Or you’ve come across the passage of Scripture that we’ve been using as the foundation for this series and wondered, “Just what does it mean to love God with all my strength?”
Or maybe you’ve tried serving God in one way or another and it hasn’t worked for whatever reason, so you’ve quit trying and you’re wondering if God can really use you.
Well let me tell you something: God not only can use you, He wants to use you. And as we go through the message, you’ll find that this is exactly what Jesus is talking about when He talks about loving God with all your strength.
God: We’re going to look at a couple passages to help us get a handle on that, but before we look at those, I want us to take another look at our foundational passage for today.
This was Jesus’ response to the question of what was the greatest commandment in all the law.
Mark 12:30 –
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
Two weeks ago I said we need to love God passionately.
Last week I said we need to love God rationally.
This week I want to tell you that we need to love God PRACTICALLY.
This is loving God with our talents, abilities, and spiritual gifts. In other words, loving God with the tools He has given you.
Today I want to lay a groundwork for why this is so important – besides the idea that it’s important that we love God this way.
Loving God practically is wrapped up on one word: service. And I don’t mean the Sunday morning church service. I mean serving Christ by serving His people, and helping other people become His people.
By being available to be used by God in the local church and around the world.
We love God practically by serving Him.
I’ve already given you a key sentence for this message, that we are to love God practically.
But here’s where the rubber meets the road with this deal, and the main point I want you to grasp today:
“Sideline service” is not an option for the Christian.
Christ expects all of His followers to be involved in serving his Kingdom.
There is no place in Scripture that lends itself to the idea that it’s okay to just be a Christian and sit on the sidelines while others do the work of the Kingdom.
Loving God with all our strength by serving Christ and His Kingdom is not reserved for those who would be considered “professionals” like pastors, missionaries, and such.
It’s for every believer and follower of Jesus.
I want to be totally clear about something here:
The main place for service to Christ is the local church.
The local church is Christ’s main vehicle for spreading the gospel around the world as well as for worship, discipleship, fellowship, and ministry.
Obviously you can serve God outside the church. I love para-church groups like InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Campus Crusade for Christ, the Navigators, or places like Aberdeen Christian School.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t be involved with that stuff as God allows.
But if you consider this to be your church home, and especially if you are a covenant member of this church, you are expected by God to serve His kingdom through the local church.
Let’s look very quickly at two reasons why you should serve Christ and His Kingdom through the local church
1. God has things for His people to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10 –
Many of us are familiar with verses 8-9 of this passage, because it’s used quite often to discuss the fact that we can do nothing on our own to earn salvation.
8 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.
And then we come to verse 10 –
10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
If you’re a believer and follower of Jesus, then you are still on this earth to serve Christ through good works.
Not just good intentions, not just good thoughts, not just good ideas. Good works.
God expects His people to love Him with their strengths by doing good works that He has prepared for us to do.
A second for serving Christ and His Kingdom is that…
2. It reflects the attitude of Christ.
Mark 10:45 –
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus served. He fed hungry people, healed sick and injured people, raised the dead, ministered to those in error, invited people to believe and follow Him, taught anyone who would listen, and even washed stinky feet.
Jesus, the holy Son of God, the only person on earth who was completely pure and sinless, the only person ever to walk the earth who was worthy of worship and service, served.
He gave us an example for us to follow, and when we love God with our strength by serving Christ and His Kingdom, we bring honor to Him by reflecting Him to those around us.
So we serve because God has things for us to do, and because it reflects the heart of Christ.
So the natural implication of all this is that you should be serving.
But not everybody in any given church is serving in the church. Why is that?
As I was thinking through this, I came to the conclusion that there are six main reasons.
Some of this is going to be very uncomfortable for both you and me, and it’s possible that some of you might just get a bit upset with me over this.
But let me be totally honest here. I’m okay with you being upset with me, if it gets you to get before God and take care of business with Him.
So here are the six main reasons most people don’t serve in churches. And before we get going, I’m not talking about folks who can’t work because they’re physically unable, or they’re working three jobs or something, okay?
And even those folks can at least pray, right?
Here we go. Reason number 1:
o You don’t understand that you should serve.
You were never told that when you become a child of God, that you become a family member and just like in earthly human families, you have responsibilities in God’s family.
Part of that is the fault of people like me. I’m so consumed with helping people get eternal life in heaven and avoid hell, I forget to tell people that part of believing in Jesus and living for Him includes serving Him.
But now you know. God wants you to take part in service for the Kingdom.
How do you do that? Come back next week and you’ll learn more about that.
Another reason people don’t serve in the church is…
o You don’t think you are capable.
You don’t think you have anything to offer the Kingdom in service in the church
But the truth of God’s Word is that God has gifted you with at least one spiritual gift, and probably more than one.
We’re going to look at what they are more next week, but if you want a head start, go to your Bible this week and look at Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4 and look through those lists of spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit gives for service in the church.
He’s given you talents and abilities to use in and through the church.
You are capable because God has equipped you and because He wants you to serve Him.
I want you to be encouraged that God has great things in mind for you in service for Him and I want you to get excited for service for Him.
So make sure you come back next week to hear some stuff that I think is going to bless you.
A third reason you may not be serving is that…
o You’re burned out.
Burn-out in service is a very real deal, especially in a smaller church like this one, where certain families and individuals have been serving from the day you got here.
You did so because you loved Jesus and you loved His church, and you usually did it without complaining, because you trusted that God would not forget and because the Scripture says that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
But let me ask you something: has it been long enough since you left service that maybe you could serve again – either in the same type of capacity as before or in another way, according to the gifts, talents, and abilities He’s given you?
My invitation to you is that you would simply pray about that.
And listen. I don’t want you to get burned out again. So if you’re thinking about getting back in the game, please talk to me about what you think God wants you to do and what we can do to help you avoid getting burned out in the future.
These next two reasons are going to be the hardest for me to talk about, and the hardest for you to hear.
I’ve been praying real hard that you would hear what God wants and not just my opinion on this stuff, and that you’ll hear the heart of God for His church.
If this makes you upset or angry, I’m just going to ask that you get before God and make sure that your anger and upset-ness aren’t based on the Holy Spirit convicting you and not just because Pastor Brian got in your face a little bit, okay?
So here’s the fourth reason:
o You’ve “served your time” and think it’s time for someone else to do the work.
You’re not really burned out. You’re just of the opinion that you’ve done your part and it’s time for someone else to step in.
You think you’re entitled to be served, instead of doing the service.
I hate to tell you this, but that’s a pretty selfish attitude.
Folks, even Jesus didn’t feel entitled to be served while He was on the earth, and He created the world and died for it! If anyone is entitled to be served, it’s Jesus!
You think you’re more deserving than Jesus? I don’t think so…
God has gifted you, and there and nothing in Scripture supports the idea that God says, “Well, you taught Sunday School for ten years – I think I’ll take back that teaching gift now.”
I’ve got news for you. You’ll never find the concept of “retirement” in the Scriptures.
The Scriptural model is that we serve God until we can’t anymore.
Folks, if you’re of the belief that you’ve “served your time,” you are sadly mistaken. You may want to visit with God about that.
Now before I get to the next reason, I want to make something else clear:
I’m not talking about taking a break for a while, and maybe even a long while – a year or two or three.
I’m talking about the idea that you deserve to be served instead of using God’s gifts for serving Christ and His kingdom.
And here’s the hardest of the six reasons for me to talk about: You don’t serve because…
o You don’t agree with the vision or direction of the church.
It’s the belief that because the church is going the direction you want or isn’t doing the things you want, you won’t serve.
It’s an attitude of punishing the church by withholding your service from it.
And let me tell you, that’s not just a stinky attitude, it’s a sinful one, because it’s an unscriptural and selfish attempt at a power play.
So just so we’re clear about this church in particular, let’s go over a few things.
The vision of this church is to reach as many people as possible for Jesus and help them live for Him in holiness through the power of the Holy Spirit.
“Well, that’s just YOUR vision, Pastor Brian. Why should that be OUR vision?”
Because it’s the vision of the Wesleyan Church overall.
I said years ago that if this church isn’t willing to reach people for Jesus, then we need to stop calling ourselves a Wesleyan church.
Because to be a Wesleyan Church means to commit to reaching people for Jesus.
And so today I’ll say to you on an individual level that if you’re not concerned with reaching people for Jesus, if you’re more concerned about your Christian comfort and church cliques, then don’t call yourself a Wesleyan.
If you’re part of this church and won’t serve in this church because you disagree with the vision and direction of this church, there’s really only one solution: find another church.
Go somewhere where you can serve Christ and His kingdom joyfully in a context that fits your personal priorities and preferences.
“How dare you tell me to leave! This is my church!”
No, it’s not. Even if you’re a life-long member of this church, it’s not your church.
It’s Jesus’ church. And we’re committed to letting Jesus be the boss and we believe that His priorities should be our priorities. And His main priority is to seek and save the lost.
You’re not helping anything here, except to spread a spirit of division and dissension that are both sinful according to Scripture.
You’ll do more for this church, you’ll do more for your own life in Christ, and you’ll do more for the Kingdom overall by finding a church you can serve in with joy.
I don’t say that lightly. You have no idea how hard it is for me to say that.
But I can also tell you that from the perspective of someone who’s done just that. When I lived in Colorado Springs, we started attending a church in the downtown area.
And it became obvious to Debra and me that we couldn’t stay there and serve, because we disagreed with some of the stuff going on there. So we left.
And when we moved to Florida, we stayed at the church we did because we agreed with the vision and direction of the church and felt we could serve there.
If you’re able, but not willing to serve here, it’s time to find another church.
And if you’re not happy with me, feel free to call, write, or e-mail me with your concern. But do me a favor. Talk to me; don’t just grumble about me behind my back. Scripture calls that sin as well.
Okay. Here’s the last reason most people don’t love God with their strength by serving Christ and His kingdom through the local church:
o You were never asked.
You’ve thought, “I’d love to help out and serve, but they’ve never asked, so I guess I just won’t.”
The only problem with that is that it’s not Scriptural.
God has gifted you and He expects you to serve in the areas He’s gifted you in.
Scripture doesn’t say, “These are God’s gift for service – unless the pastor doesn’t ask. Then you’re okay to just hoard these gifts for yourself.”
So if you haven’t been asked, then find one of the Church Board members or myself and talk to one of us.
We’d love to help you find a place to serve, based on your gifting and abilities.
These six reason I’ve mentioned aren’t the only ones, and I’m sure some of you can think of others.
I understand that. My point isn’t to list out every possible reason or excuse for not serving – only to point out that some reasons are unscriptural and selfish, and are not Christ-centered.
You: Well I’ve already spent a good deal of time talking about how you could respond, at least to some of the issues of the reasons for not serving.
So really all I want to do today is to just encourage you to ask God if any of these six things are in the way of your serving, or if there is anything else that’s in the way that’s not a good, Scriptural reason for not serving.
And if so, ask Him to make you willing to get them out of the way.
Next week we’re going to look at some practical ways to do that as we examine what God’s Word has to say about how He has equipped you for that.
We: Folks, can you imagine a church filled with people who love Jesus and love to serve Him?
Can you imagine a church where people, instead of saying, “What’s in it for me?” say, “Where can I be of help?”
Can you imagine church where the attitude isn’t “It’s all about me,” but instead, “It’s all about Christ and His Kingdom – I’m just here to do my part for both.”
Wouldn’t that be awesome?
Folks, it’s my earnest hope that when people walk through that door or meet you on the street they see Jesus.
And they see the servant attitude of Jesus who came not to be served, but to serve.
That can be you. If you’ll love Him with all your strength in service to Him and His Kingdom.
Let’s pray.
