1 Timothy 4:14: “Do not neglect the gift that is in you.” Using our gifts to serve God and serve others is something that goes against our natural desire for popularity, influence, and prominence. Our corrupt flesh only wants to oblige itself and it only wants to help others only if it gains something by it. I hear people quite often saying, “I do this and do that and help so and so with this and that”. Our flesh has the inclination to help others if it brings us reward or limelight, not because we want to lift them up and push us down. We want all of the accolades for ourselves.
But, the Savior told us in Matthew 6:3-4: “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” It is very tough for us to become servants when all that our flesh wants is to be served. You have to serve the Lord God with all that you have without expectation; serve with only love for Him. We have to have the heart of Christ because we have been redeemed; to serve as He served and to love as He loves. We as Christian brothers and sisters are called to be one body of Christ. We are called to be one church family in Jesus our Lord.
1 Corinthians 12:4-6: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” If a member of the body struggles, we must (not we should), we must help them. If a member of the body is hurt, we are to use the rest of the body to help them heal. We must love as Christ loves and do as Christ does. How easy it is for us to forget that we must imitate Jesus Christ; He must be at the heart of everything.
US Navy Rear Admiral Grace Hopper said of spiritual gifts: "A ship in port is safe, but this is not what ships are built for. To hide in the safety of a pew when the Holy Spirit is calling you to use your gifts for the Kingdom, is as ludicrous as a battle ship perpetually sitting in the harbor.”
So this means that you will be coaxed or even ripped out of your comfort zone and you have to be OK with that. That means that we have to be all things for all people as the Apostle Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 9:22. We have to find common ground so that some may come to Christ! That means as a church you have to be willing to try new things and be all things for all people so they come to know about God! And if we are torn out of our comfort zone for that cause; that some may be saved, Hallelujah - that is fantastic – Praise God Almighty that He uses us for that cause! God does not want you to come to church or serve Him in the view of it as an obligation. God wants you to serve Him with all of the love in your heart knowing that you want to do it to please Him.
Billy Graham once said, “Some people have a warped idea of living the Christian life. Seeing talented, successful Christians, they attempt to imitate them. For them, the grass on the other side of the fence is always greener. But when they discover that their own gifts are different or their contributions are more modest (or even invisible), they collapse in discouragement and overlook genuine opportunities that are open to them. They have forgotten that they are here to serve Christ, not themselves.”
We are not meant to “keep up with the Jones’s.” We visited a church onetime and in a bible study a woman was being hard on herself because she did not do visitations like so and so and just felt like she had to do more. That is an obligated view not a serving one. Visitation is not her gift. Maybe God does not want her doing visitations, maybe God wants her to teach or clean or cook or sing, etc…My gift is not your gift and vice versa. Listen, we don’t develop our gifts until we first learn to serve and then the Holy Spirit will show us our gifts. Serve God and seek God for your gifts then use them!
We have to find our own identity in Christ and learn what our spiritual gifts are. It does not matter if you are 8 or 80; your gifts are meant to be used until you draw your last breath on this earth. But, you cannot do that if you are not willing to try things. If you are not willing to come out of your comfort zone then you will never know what God has intended for you to do for Him.
We also have to help others find their spiritual gifts and theirs will be different from ours. God created all of us uniquely; as true Christians we are all sealed by the Holy Spirit (we all have the same salvation), but all of us have different gifts and different identities and ways of identifying with Christ. And all of us have to be OK that we are different, but brothers and sisters nonetheless. All of us were given gifts by Almighty God to serve others and give Him all glory; none is to be reserved for ourselves.
Turn to John 13:1-17: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And supper being ended, the Devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”
Jesus was on the verge of terrible persecution and death on the cross and look what He did. How many of us here in church today would at the spur of the moment rise and wash one another’s feet?
How many of you would do it with a pure heart, doing something without gain for yourself? Would you do it to be viewed as some great religious person? What if I ask everyone in here to do it??? Some of you are thinking right now, “I hope he is not serious. I do not want to wash anyone’s feet.” Be honest. Did you think that? If that is the case, then where is your heart? Jesus Christ set the example that we are to follow. The God of all creation, the Messiah, the King of Kings, humbly washed the feet of His disciples and most of us would not even wash our own family’s feet; let alone our brothers and sisters in Christ. To have a servant’s heart for Christ you have to imitate Him. When people look at us, they should see Jesus, not us.
Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Christ sacrificed Himself for everyone, everyone; past, present and future. We are not meant to understand the full weight of salvation, we cannot even begin to grasp the depths of the meaning to the cross; we are just to receive it freely as a gift of God. Then we must follow and serve Jesus. John 12:26: “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” You do good works out of obedience to Christ, to please God the Father; not for your own puffing up or personal incentive. Work for God with a servant’s heart and you will be lifted up by Jesus!
Matthew 25:21: “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” How many have you walked away from? How many times have you known in your spirit that you were supposed to say something or do something for someone and you did not? Matthew 10:42: “And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple; truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Have you learned from it or will you continue to turn your back on the good works that the Father has laid before for you to walk in?
Philippians 2:4: “4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. And we get upset when we have to drop whatever we are doing to do something for someone else. How inconvenienced we are! We are to serve God without grumbling, without strife, without the appearance that it is a burden. Every day is a blessing from God; will we make the most of it? Remember that all that we do, we are to do for the Lord.
“The great violinist, Paganini, in his will he gave his marvelous violin to Genoa, Italy -- the city of his birth -- but only on the condition that the instrument is never to be played upon. It was an unfortunate condition, for it is a peculiarity of wood that as long as it is used and handled, it shows little wear. As soon as it is discarded, it begins to decay. The exquisite, mellow-toned violin has become worm-eaten in its beautiful case, valueless except as a relic. The decomposing instrument is a reminder that a life withdrawn from all service to others loses its meaning.”
Acts 20:35: “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
A few summers ago I helped my dad build a shelter out at his place. The shelter we built is rain-proof and has electricity; it is by no means a Taj Mahal, but it is a nice shelter none the less. My dad did not need my help building it, but I wanted to help him. Just as our Father in heaven wants us to serve Him, not needing our help, but we give Him joy by spreading His gospel; by showing the love of His blessed Son Jesus. I was not serving my dad because I wanted to gain anything by it or that he owed my anything; quite the contrary, I owe him much. But how much more do I owe to God, which I could never repay, but Christ paid for me upon the cross? Our urgency should be so great that we cannot contain the wanting to jump at any opportunity to bring God glory and honor by presenting the love of Jesus.
But, you cannot truly serve with bitter or unforgiving hearts. 1 John 3:17-18: “But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” Part of using gifts and serving is to truly forgive and let go, to be kind and to love. A servant of Jesus Christ is a total servant, not a fake show pony seeking their own exaltation. If you are saved and are not doing good works for God but for false gain then they are nothing and will be burnt up when you stand before the Bema Seat of Christ. If you are not saved by Christ, then all of the works that you do seeking to earn favor or salvation will be the evidence by which you are judged when you stand before the Great White Throne.
Ephesians 6:7-8: “Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.” That is the problem with many Christians, false religions and false converts. They are doing works, trying to lift themselves up to God, trying to earn or buy fabricated salvation or respect from men. When you are truly serving God with the heart like quality of His Son, His Holy Spirit is lifted up to help you function in a manner that will honor the Father in Heaven. Romans 12:1-2: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
We are to serve with obedience and meekness before the Lord; pushing ourselves down to lift up and provide for the needs of others. Selfishness is sinful and brings no glory to God because it focuses on what we want and not what others need. Galatians 5:13: “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” If we love as Christ loves then serving others should come easy. But it does not. Why?
Listen. Because the toughest challenge to becoming a servant is that we have to die to ourselves which cannot be accomplished by our own power or discernment. God, through His mercy and abundant grace, has provided Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and Scripture to allow a believer to mature spiritually. God’s supply is more than abundant.
Romans 12:3-8: “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
The issue of dying to self is a believer’s willingness to rely on God’s plan to become a fruitful and faithful servant of Christ. We are a new creation, conformed to the image of Christ. To grow, we have to focus on Jesus, the perfect servant. We learn to love because He is love. So when we learn true love, we learn who He is. The Holy Spirit will work in us a Christ-centeredness that comes from the inside out; as that inward growth progresses, a believer will react more and more in a Christ-like manner to life’s situations and personal relationships.
Matthew Henry said, “That, whatever we do in the service of Christ, we must be very humble, and not imagine that we can merit any favor at His hand…God does not gain by our services, and therefore cannot be made a debtor by them. He has no need of us, nor can our services make any addition to His perfections. It becomes us therefore to call ourselves unprofitable servants, but to call his service a profitable service, for God is happy without us, but we are undone without him.” It is great to serve, but if that service sacrifices your walk with God, then you need to re-gather yourself and maybe drop a few things. Do not let your deeds become an obsession or an obligation.
Being a busybody can take you away from God, not bring you closer. Doing things can become an idol if the focus is solely on what you are doing and not why and who you are doing them for. If you do not want to do it or do not feel led to do it, then stop doing it. It is OK to tell people no. Seek God’s perfect will and do what He wants you to do. 1 Peter 4:10: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” You do not have to do it all. The term “getting burned out” means exactly what it says. We are one body of believers and we all need to share the load and help carry the weight of brothers and sisters in Christ. Galatians 6:10: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do well to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
We are also called to serve the lost. We have to share what we have and to offer them the gift of our beautiful Savior. 1 Corinthians 9:22-23: “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings.” This does not mean that we live as and do things as others do.
We use the situations and their life choices to present the gospel by a means of which they can understand it. Matthew 5:16: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” We are called to give our God-given gifts, talents, time and money; but only give them with pure intentions. Luke 21:1-4: “Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
She gave all that she had out of love for God because she trusted God. She knew that God was there for her. In man's eyes her small work was nothing, but to the Lord it was a beautiful precious stone to be rewarded greatly in Heaven. She may have assumed that she was meaningless to them, that no one saw the paltry offering (in a human perspective) that she gave. God saw it and proclaimed that her offering was greater than all of the others! Hebrews 13:16: “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
Listen. John 21:10-14: “Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish. 14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.” Did you see that!? The risen Christ, glorified in His immortal state, the Creator God of all, made His disciples breakfast and served them all. How powerful is that???
1 Corinthians 10:31: “…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
When you serve Christ and use the gifts He has given you with a pure and unselfish heart you build up treasures for yourself in heaven. Remember that our works, all of our works are accounted for. God does not need your good works or deeds or words, but He is pleased in rewarding you for them because you do them to bring glory and honor to Him. The Lord
Christ will return for His faithful servants at any time and as good servants we must be ready.
