Introduction:
During World War II, England needed to increase its production of coal if it was going to have any hope of winning the war.
Winston Churchill called together labor leaders to enlist their support. And at the end of his presentation he asked them to stand with him and picture in their minds a grand parade, which he knew would be held in Piccadilly Circus after the war.
First, he said, would come the sailors who had kept the vital sea-lanes open. Then would come the soldiers who had come home from Dunkirk and then gone on to defeat Rommel in Africa.
Then would come the pilots, those brave men who had driven the Luftwaffe from the sky.
Last of all, he said, would come a long line of sweat-stained, soot-streaked men in miner’s caps.
Someone would cry from the crowd, ’And where were you during the critical days of our struggle?’
And from ten thousand throats would come the answer, ’We were deep in the earth with our faces to the coal.”
When I read this story it really touched my heart. It stirred in me a desire to be one of those coal workers. It inspired me to believe that I could be a part of something bigger than myself. That I was relative that I was needed that no matter what my position I was an important part of the great scheme of things.
It is the same way I feel when I read Mathew 25:31:
"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.
"All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, "Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
It gives me that feeling that everything I do counts. Everything matters to God. That no matter how small or insignificant a task is - it matters to Him.
The Bile uses a word to describe someone who God is pleased with in this way. Repeatedly, when Jesus was asked what pleased God or how to please God, His reply was the same:
If you want to be great in the kingdom, you must become the servant of all.
So what does it mean to be a servant?
The word servant, as it is used here, comes from the word diakonos or deacon.
It denotes work that is done in freedom and dignity.
It is not to be mistaken for the word doulos, which means “a bond servant or slave”
The main difference being that you have chosen to do the work presented before you not because you are obligated to or fear punishment.
In fact it is quit possible for you to be a slave to God, being that the blood of Jesus purchased you, but never actually become a servant.
We have a word today for someone who chooses to work for free and that is a masochist - I mean a volunteer.
True servanthood, as is depicted in the Bible is more then just a desire to do what is right. It is dying to ones own desires and attending to the needs of our God and others.
It is born not out of our desire to appease God, but to please Him.
It is very easy for us as Americans to fall into the trap of calling our good works, which are usually done to make our selves feel better, servanthood.
When in fact God calls these things dead works, or as I like to call them - attempts buy our way into heaven.
So how do we differentiate between dead works and Godly Service? After all if we desire to please God at all we are going to have to know the difference.
While for the most part the difference is judged in the heart, based on ones attitude, motives and intensions.
There are some fairly clear ways we can distinguish the two.
I have come up with nine.
A little aside here: in just a minute here I am going to go from preaching to meddling. I just wanted to warn you.
Ok: Nine ways we can distinguish between Dead Works and Godly Service:
#1:
Dead works draws its power from human effort.
Godly service draws its power from the Holy Spirit
I have experienced this first hand over the last few weeks. I have been so wrapped up in being everyone’s computer savior, that I feel dead tired. I can’t get up in the morning, I feel like I need a nap in the afternoon and I find myself wanting to fall asleep at the dinner table.
Hey, it’s hard being a techno messiah.
And that is preciously the point. There is only one messiah. His name is Jesus and He died to give us access to the answer to all our problems.
Just as I have set myself up to save the world from technological disaster and impending doom in the last few weeks.
Many of you feel it is your job to save everyone else from their troubles and hardships.
Now some of you might say, Are you saying we shouldn’t help people out when they are in need, where is the compassion in that, where does Godly service come into play?
The answer is this: we are to be available to others as a friend, a brother, sister, mom or dad. We can help them get through there trouble by listening them and loving on them. But it is not our job to fix their problem – that needs to be left to God.
The minute we step in and try to become the solution to anybodies problem, is the minute we rely on our own strength and not the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit power is there to help us better love and care for that person as a fellow believer, subsequently, pointing them to God as the answer.
Human effort sets oneself up to be the answer, placing ourselves in-between the problem and the afflicted in order that we might feel like a hero. I like to call this the super man syndrome.
#2
The second way to distinguish between dead works and Godly service is:
Dead works is impressed with position and rank
Godly service finds it almost impossible to distinguish the small from the large service.
During the American Revolution a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of soldiers repairing a small defensive barrier.
Their leader was shouting instructions, but making no attempt to help them. Asked why by the rider, he retorted with great dignity, "Sir, I am a corporal!"
The stranger apologized, dismounted, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers. The job done, he turned to the corporal and said, "Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your commander-in-chief, and I will come and help you again."
You see George Washington understood what true Godly Service was. As president he didn’t even have to stop, let alone get down and help rebuild that wall.
But he had a servant’s heart, and at that moment he did not see rank or position. He only saw that there was work that needed to be done and more hands were needed.
It was once said: Most people wish to serve God -- but in an advisory capacity only. What God needs today are people who long to be used in any capacity, no matter how big or small.
#3
Dead works requires external rewards.
Godly service rests contented in hidden ness.
We need to be careful here because notice I said external rewards. Being that dead works requires there to be a big thank you ceremony or a trip to Hawaii every time help is extended.
While Godly service is often done in secret I want to draw you attention to the fact that there are rewards for our service.
Turn to Matthew chapter 6 verse 1-21
Matthew 6:1 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 "Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
3 "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.
Skip on down to verse 19
19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
20 "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Notice there are two types of reward here. The first is in verse 4 where it says
“your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”
The word reward here is the same as the word “render” which means to give what is due, to pay ones wages for work done or compensate.
And the word openly means “in plain sight”, apparent or evident
That in mind we see that when we do something as an act of Godly Service, God promises he will compensate us in plain sight where it will be evident who paid us and why.
The second reward is the eternal reward or the treasure in heaven.
The implication here being that God reward us with some kind of measurable reward for the things that we do here on earth and store them in heaven for us
The point being that dead works is looking for the million dollar check or public pat on the back. While Godly Service is confident in the fact that God has a better and more suitable reward laid out for us already.
#4
Dead works is highly concerned about results.
Godly service is free of the need to calculate results.
This is an important one because it has the greatest opportunity to hurt or help accomplish God’s plan through the local church.
You see many times in ministry results are not seen immediately
That is why I like to iron so much. At first the shirt is wrinkly, when I am done it is not. Walla! Immediate results that I can see.
But with church work it is not always that easy.
Sometimes we have to be ready to not see results until years down the line -if even at all.
In fact, most of the time the results we get are not desirable because it’s Gods way of telling us that we just found another way we shouldn’t do things.
This can be very discouraging if we approach church work with a dead works attitude.
But Godly Service puts everything into the scope of eternity. A Godly Servant knows
Romans 8:28 that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
#5
Dead works picks and chooses whom to serve based on how it will benefit itself.
Godly service is indiscriminate in its ministry.
This is a toughie. I mean, let’s face it some people are just plain annoying. And for me to subjugate myself to anyone like that would be out of this world.
And out of this world is precisely what it is. Jesus set the greatest example for us.
First when he washed the disciples feet, a custom usually left to slaves and next when he died on the cross for you and me.
In both cases the people he was serving could give him nothing in return. And yet with humility and grace he still chose to serve.
Could you imagine what kind of world this would be if we all followed Christ’s example.
#6
Dead works is affected by moods and whims.
Godly service ministers simply and faithfully because there is a need.
In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite’s primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter’s magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere.
Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target. But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more.
Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter’s immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of
speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn.
At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun.
And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth.
"Perhaps most remarkable," writes Jaroff, "those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth.’"
The Little Satellite That Could was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just three years. But it kept going and going. By simple longevity, its tiny 8-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible.
In the worldly realm of Dead works we are unable to continue working past the three-years of usefulness we were designed for.
Our feelings dictate to us what we can, can’t and will do.
Godly Service takes our little 8-watt abilities and uses them to accomplish more then we ever thought possible.
#7
Dead works is temporary.
Godly service is a life-style.
Dead works finds its solace in things that will make me feel better about myself right now.
It is looking for the right place to be at the right time in order to fulfill a need in my life not the life of those I serve.
When the need to feel important, needed or wanted is fulfilled, dead works says great, now on with my life and my goals.
But, Godly service is walked out over an entire life. It finds joy in just being a part, no matter the level in which it participates.
Godly Service is committed to being a part through out the whole process whether it has an official position or not.
Consequently, you rarely have to find a Godly Servant; they usually find you when a need arrives.
#8
Dead works are based in tradition and conformity.
Godly Service looks for new ways to better accomplish its work.
David Watson author of the book “Called and Committed: World Changing Discipleship” said it this way “Christian work is constantly crippled by clinging to blessings and traditions of the past. God is not the God of yesterday. He is the God of today. Heaven forbid that we should go on playing religious games in one corner when the cloud and fire of God’s presence have moved to another.”
I can’t even begin to tell you how many stories I have heard of churches where people will continue a certain program just because it always has been done that way.
Regardless of its relativity or usefulness it keeps on perpetuating without regard to who or what it might be damaging
A great example is a little Free Methodist Church I in Oregon.
50 people in the congregation, most of which were children and one of the founding members insisted that the senior pastor fill every board and committee position that the free Methodist handbook specified there should be.
There were 45 in all, most of which were not used by any Free Methodist churches anymore.
But the man insisted and threatened to leave the church taking his family which consisted of his wife, there three sons, their wives and 8 grand children. Almost half the congregation.
Fearing the church would die if the man left the pastor filled every position except one and at the mans request began holding the required meetings for each.
Because of the size of the church the man ended up being on almost every committee and would make sure that they stayed very strict to Robert’s rule of order.
With in six months everyone, including the pastor was sick of meetings, bi-laws and procedures.
They called a meeting of the whole church and voted 18 to 1 to close the church.
A Godly Servant is concerned about people and relationship, not about rules and procedure.
#9
Dead works fractures community.
Godly service builds community.
Once again Dead works is built on self-satisfaction and self-fulfillment.
It looks for ways to please its self and make its self feel good.
Godly service was best summed up by on of the greatest philosophers of the20th Century, in the movie the wrath of Kahn, Spock said
“The good of the many out ways the good of the few or the one”
He said it after laying down his life so the rest of the crew could survive.
As I have said before, if Christ is our example.
His death brought us into unity with the father and with each other.
Godly Service, done in humility and grace ill unite people. It will bring people together under the banner of love and hope in Christ and it will hold them together during tough times.
Godly service is based on a relationship with the father and with each other.
It is fueled by brotherly love and our willingness to please God.
Where can I serve?
Today, I feel a lot like Winston Churchill did so many years ago. We too are in the midst of a great war.
Commissioned by God almighty to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Our enemy the devil will stop at nothing to control as many lives as possible.
Our culture is a breading ground for everything that is un-Godly.
While we have had some major victories in the past year, like Autumn renewal, the Christmas program, VBS and Easter all of which brought many people into the faith and into the church.
We are still in need of those precious resources that will help us drive the enemy back and win this war.
So the call has come up:
“Shawn, we need more coal if we’re going to win this thing”
And I have come before you with this challenge:
From now on there is going to be a listing in our bulletin called Opportunities for Service. I’m not afraid of the word service and I don’t want to pad or make it sound better by calling it ministry.
The simple fact is that not all the jobs in a church are prominent and glamorous.
We need some coal diggers.
But it is the people with their "faces to the coal" that help the church accomplish its mission.
So today I am here to enlist your support.
Will you please stand with me.
I want us to sing this song but as we do I want you prayerfully consider where you are at in your service to the Lord. I want you to ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate your heart and show you exactly where you’re at.
Some of you have been working in the mines most of your life and have every intention of continuing on doing so.
In fact you have been our example of what Godly service is.
But there are those of you who right now have special burning desire in your heart to become the kind of Godly servant I’ve talked about today,
I mean you are ready to start digging coal today, you just want to ask Jesus where your pick and shovel are.
I want to come forward and stand up front her.
I especially want to address the young people. Here is your chance to be part of something great. Your opportunity to say, sign me up! I want to make a difference.
If you feel that is you I want you to come forward also.
Now, picture in your minds a grand parade, and before you is Jesus on His throne surrounded by all His angels.
First, will come the evangelists who preached the gospel to all who would listen.
Then would come the pastors who had fought intensely to Shepard there people in the faith.
Then would come the Sunday School teachers, those brave men and women who had discipled the next generation.
Last of all, he said, would come a long line of sweat-stained, soot-streaked men and women in miner’s caps.
Someone would cry from the crowd, ’And where were you during the critical days of our struggle?’
And from ten thousand throats would come the answer, ’We were deep in the earth with our faces to the coal.”
