SERVE
Good morning MGCC!... Welcome to His Church!
Welcome to the family of God, the body and bride of Christ!
Welcome to the temple of God, the promised messianic Kingdom and the hope of the not only the world but the hope of every single person drawing breath in this room this morning.
UNDERSTAND – you are here, you exist.
The Sovereign King of the Universe created you and breathed life into for a reason and a purpose.
SO – lean in to this passages that speak truth about who God says you are.
So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. – Genesis 1:27
For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well.
15 My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began. 17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! - Psalm 139:13-17
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord… - Jeremiah 29:11-14
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10
OKAY – listen up, HERE’S – what I know about you,
I KNOW THAT…
• You are made in the very image of God
• God the creator and sustainer of the universe with great care and intentionality knot in your mother’s womb.
• You are remarkably and wonderfully made
• God’s thoughts about you are precious
• HE has a plan to prosper you and to give you both a hope ad a future.
• God wants to be found by YOU, you just have to go after Him with all of your heart
• You are God’s workmanship
• There are God works that has prepared in advance for you to do and that he wants to walk in them, to live them out.
UNDERSTAND – because of who God is and How He chose to see shape and create you… I know that you are pretty stinking awesome and amazing… And I know that there is a life the you were created to live…
And I know that my passion and The Grove’s passion is for you to pursue and live that life before you take your final breath on this planet.
NOW – we are in this series… and we have been in it for quite some time… I MEAN – like this is our 16th conversation in this series.
AND THAT – is okay because what we are pursuing is of extreme importance…
AND – the reason we are pursuing it has eternal consequences.
There are eternal destinies that are tied to Maple Grove becoming the church that Jesus intended.
B/S – here the deal…
Whether some people send their forever’s in heaven or hell is tied to us both individually and collectively becoming the Church (the people) that he intends.
NOW – in this series we have talked about a lot of important biblical truths about becoming the church that Jesus intends.
(If you missed any check them out online or listen to them again)
AND FOR – the last several weeks we have been talking about how the church that Jesus intends is full men and women (young and old) who are living their lives on MISSION…
(seeking the lost, making disciples and showing compassion)
AND THIS MORNING – 9/15/19… WE ARE - going to unpack the truth, THAT - those who live their lives on mission, that they SERVE. THAT THEY SERVE – His church using the gifts, talents and abilities that God has given them to help the church GROW…
In love, in strength, in unity, in purpose… thereby enabling the church to more effectively and more fully accomplish her mission.
OKAY – let’s do this…. SERVE
AND – here is how I want to attack SERVE by answering 2 simple and important questions….
• Why should you SERVE
• How should you SERVE
NOW – let me be clear right out of the gates.
My intent this morning is not to feel this room with a bunch of GUILT that makes you feel obligated to SERVE.
RATHER – my goal is for the Power of The Holy Spirit to fall and both convict and excite us about the incredible opportunity we have to SERVE in the Kingdom of God, His church – the hope of the world.
I. Why Should You SERVE
NOW BEFORE – I give some biblical reasons why you should serve… let’s just get real and acknowledge the fact that not everybody serves.
I am sure you have the term ‘80-20’ before
You know 20% of the people do 80% of the work
NOW – I am not sure of what our percentage is at MGCC, but I think we do much better than that.
HOWEVER – I am sure that everyone in here knows whether or not they are part of the 20% serving on a regular basis or the 80% simply consuming.
YEAH – that may be uncomfortable to hear for some people.
BUT – remember I said when we started this series, that for us to really become the church He intends
It will require us
• to be open to what God has to say about His church (and listen there is a very high likelihood that God is going to say some things we may not like, agree with and that make us feel uncomfortable)
• to be honest about where we really are (collectively and individually) in regards to His Church
• to be humble and admit where we have been wrong, and to spend more time looking at ourselves rather than at others and how they need to change or fall short.
• to not make this about ourselves and our opinions and preferences, but about Him
• to be willing to change and do whatever it takes
• to be ready – ready for what? For the enemy to come at us in order to stop us.
In His book ‘Letters To The Church’ in a chapter called ‘SERVANTS’ Francis Chan writes…
It’s no secret that most people who attend church services come as consumers rather than servants. We see the foolishness in this, but it feels as if we have resign ourselves to it.
We have learned to accept it as though there’s nothing we can do about it.
People put money in the offering basket, which pays for the staff salaries, so the staff should do their jobs and minister to the people. It sounds like a fair and efficient system, and it works pretty well in some places.
It’s not what God wanted, but it works.
God wants you to resemble His Son, especially when you gather with your church family. Do you show up to gatherings looking to serve?
As some of you read that question, you feel burdened–like a weight was just placed on you.
You already live a busy life, and you want the church gathering to be a place of rest where you can be fed.
But if you think that’s sitting back and letting the church staff feed you, will bring you the most fulfillment, you are so wrong.
Takers are the most miserable people on earth. It is are inability to take Our eyes off ourselves and put them onto others that destroys us. This is what Jesus saves us from. This is what the Holy Spirit wants to do in us.
Imagine gathering with a group of people who are trying to outserve one another.
Have you ever been in a room filled with humble people you Count others more significant than themselves?
It’s anything but burdensome.
When servants gather together, everyone is built up.
No one hates consumerism more than God, because that mentality keeps the church from having the vibrancy He intended.
Don’t give up on the dream. The church does not have to remain a group of needy people complaining that they haven’t been fed well enough.
It really can become a group of servants who thrive in serving…
Don’t you see the weirdness and calling people CHRISTian when they aren’t servants. I know we can’t force people to serve, but there has to be something we can do.
No team puts up with players who refuse to contribute.
No army puts up with soldiers who don’t carry their own weight. So why do churches continue to put up with Christian who refuse to serve?
Why don’t we treat selfishness as a sin that needs to be confronted? If Scripture commands us to serve one another, isn’t a bit strange that we get people a free pass?
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. – 1 Peter 4:10
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. – James 4:17
We confront sexual morality in our churches because we’re commanded to live holy lives. The adulterous person does not represent Christ well.
But neither does the consumer.
It’s a sin that has been confronted if we want to give the world and accurate representation of the body of Christ.
And if we really love their brothers and sisters shouldn’t we be encouraging them to repent?
It’s time to put some loving pressure on ourselves and those around us. This is everyone’s responsibility. Only when we become servants will experience the Holy Spirit as Jesus intended. Only then Will the church resemble the Christ they worship.
Why should you serve…
A) To live out His image
To live out His image, in which you are made of.
In other words to be like Jesus, who said in Luke 22:27… I am among you as the One who serves.
CHECKOUT - these God breathed words…Let them refresh you… challenge you…
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phil 2:5-11
THAT PASSAGE – says that you and I are to have the same attitude or the same mindset as Christ, ”Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant…”
NOW – let me tell you how I used to read this passage.
I read it this way - ‘despite the fact that Jesus was God he took on the nature of a servant..’
BUT – that is not what Paul is saying here,
YOU SEE – the word ‘being’ in Greek is called a circumstantial participle.
AND HOW – we translate it depends on the context or the circumstances surrounding it…. AND – when we do that, a more accurate reading of the point Paul was trying to get across is this, ‘precisely because Jesus was in very nature God, he took on the very nature of a servant…”
In ancient Greek myth, Zeus and Hermes came down to earth for a brief period of time disguised as poor slaves. They did this to fool human beings, and to get an up close reading of the level of devotion people pay to the gods. AND – once Zeus and Hermes found out what they wanted to know, the threw off their rags and revealed themselves in all of their Olympian splendor. It was Clark Kent and Superman all over again, They took on the outward form of a servant, but that was just a disguise….
UNDERSTAND – Jesus did not simply take on the ‘outward form’ of a servant. In Philippians 2 Paul uses the same term to describe both Jesus’ servanthood and Godhood. When Jesus came in the form of a servant, he was not disguising who God is – RATHER he was revealing who God is.. a servant.
God is the Infinite Servant. AND - Jesus did not SERVE in spite of the fact that he is God… NO – Jesus came to this earth as a servant precisely because of the fact that he is God.
Check out how Jesus put in to His guys while on His final journey to Jerusalem.
whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 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. – Mark 10:43-45
Why should you serve…
B) To fulfill your purpose
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10
Workmanship – Greek (poiema)
QUESTION – you were created for what? Good works
Good works that God planned in advance…
• He gave you a unique personality
• He gave you talents and abilities
• Put you in this particular place – in this particular time in history…
And it is His desire that you would live that life, walk in this purpose…
LIKE – what a tragedy to not live out His (Your Creator’s) purpose for your life.
Why should you serve…
C) To be obedient to God’s command
QUESTION – is obeying God a big deal. LIKE – does it really matter if you do?
Of course it does – and among many other things about obedience Jesus said the following on the night of His arrest…
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. – John 14:23,24
SO – do you love Jesus?
WELL – here are couple of commands about SERVING…
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. – 1 Peter 4:10
Serve one another humbly in love. – Galatians 5:13
14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. – John 13:14-17
Know what things… that you need to serve each other, even doing the lowest of jobs…
AND MGCC – understand blessings from God always follow our obedience.
As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”
28 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” - Luke 11:27,28
Why should you serve…
D) Because you will be held accountable
During the final week before the cross, Jesus told many parables… And He told one on Matthew 25 that speaks to this truth of one day being held accountable for what we did with what God gave us…
14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. – Matthew 25:14-19
AND – we see 2 dramatically different responses when the day to settle accounts came…
‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ – Matthew 25:23
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!... 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ - Matthew 25:26,30
NOW B/S – I am not try to scare you…
BUT – it would be pastoral malpractice not to prepare you for that day…
Because when the day of settle accounts comes for you I want you to hear…
‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ – Matthew 25:23
Why should you serve…
E) To love and serve Jesus
There is a Hassidic legend about a community of Jewish monks that had deteriorated into factions, divisions, gossip, and suspicion. A wise man visited the abbey, and the abbot told him about the terrible condition among the monks. “It is so bad, that I do not believe that we will survive as a community”
The wise man said, “I am so surprised, for it is widely rumored that the Messiah is in your midst.”
The abbot went back and reported to the monks the conversation. It entirely transformed the place. Each man treated all the others with deep love and high regard – because this one just might be the Messiah.”
LISTEN – it is widely reported that the Messiah is in our midst’s. How do I know? Checkout the words of Jesus…
I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared or me. I was in prison, and you visited me.'
"Then these righteous ones will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing?
When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' And the King will tell them, `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!' - Matthew 25:35-40
By serving others – we are loving on Jesus… pretty cool, huh?
Why should you serve…
F) To help His Church grow and be stronger
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up… 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
No one hates consumerism more than God, because that mentality keeps the church from having the vibrancy He intended. Don’t give up on the dream. The church does not have to remain a group of needy people complaining that they haven’t been fed well enough. It really can become a group of servants who thrive in serving… - Francis Chan
UNDERSTAND – each of us has a part to play, has a work, has a job to do… and when we all…
Just do our job, Great things will happen!
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. – 1 Corinthians 12:7
14 So the body is not one part but many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” in spite of this it still belongs to the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” in spite of this it still belongs to the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has placed each one of the parts in one body just as He wanted. 19 And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? 20 Now there are many parts, yet one body. 21 So the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”...27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. – 1 Corinthians 12:27
MGCC – when I look at in this room do you know what I see?
I see a room just ‘teeming’ with talent and ability.
LIKE – you are some incredibly gifted people.
Why should you serve…
G) So that you will be blessed and happier
It is more blessed to give then to receive. – Acts 20:35
People who serve like and for Jesus are just happier people.
II How Should You Serve?
You should serve…
A) Willingly
Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under pressure, for God loves a cheerful giver. - 1 Cor. 9:7
I know this verse is talking about giving of our financial resources, but the principle most certainly applies to serving God as well.
Each one should SERVE… not reluctantly or under compulsion (because some guilted them into it), because God loves a cheerful server.
LIKE – if I serve my wife, but I do not doing it willingly, how much do you think it means to her.
UNDERSTAND – to me serving my wife is not a have to – it’s a get to… of course I want to SERVE her! I love her. She loves me. She puts up with me.
How much more so – should I willing serve God.
You should serve…
B) Humbly
Paul put it this way in Philippians chapter…
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to, rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
- Philippians 2:5-7
MGCC…
The aim, the goal of a life lived on mission is not to simply do acts of service, BUT to develop the Christ-like attitude of servant hood…
UNDERSTAND - anyone can do acts of service.
ANYONE - can teach a class, keep the nursery, give blankets to the homeless, food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, money to a missionary… and it all could be done just to exalt self…
How you could tell if you really have a servant’s heart? When you don’t mind being treated like one. – Roger Chambers
NOW - you may be thinking, “Wait a minute Steve, If I do that (if I serve like Jesus) people will take advantage of me and walk all over me.”
AND LISTEN – it is right here, that we come to the crossroads of choosing to simply serve and choosing to SERVE like Jesus (who knew that every single person he ever served during those 3 years would either deny him or betray him, or shout crucify Him!).
UNDERSTAND - when we choose to simply serve, we are still in charge. THEREFORE - we decide who we will serve and when and how and where we will serve.
AND - If we are in charge, we will worry about someone taking advantage of us or stepping all over us.
HOWEVER - when we choose to be a servant, we give up being in charge. We surrender the right to choose who and how and where we serve.
SURE - the fear of being taken advantage of is justified and is a real concern. It may happen.
BUT - what I see in the Scripture, is that a Christian is a person who chooses to be stepped on.
AND – if you think about it, who can hurt someone who has chosen to be stepped on?
Who can hurt someone who knows that the ultimate and most important reward and applause for their service comes from God? Well done good and faithful servant!
You should serve…
C) Thankfully
The apostle Paul put it this way…
I thank Jesus Christ because He trusted me. He gave me this work of serving Him. – 1 Timothy 1:12
QUESTION - why do we serve God with thankfulness?
What do we have to be grateful for?
Why do we serve God…
• Not with a sense of duty, but with a sense of delight?
• Not out of a sense of obligation, but out of - a sense of opportunity?
ANSWER - we serve Him with thankfulness because…
#1 – Because He saved us (and listen even if He never did anything else for us, that is enough to be thankful for the rest of our lives to serve Him).
• He paid our debt
• And guarantees our forever
#2 – Because we get to be a part of something so awesome (His Church)!
R U kidding me
I get to be a part of the ultimate championship team ever.
A team that…
• Brings hope to the hopeless
• Salvation to the lost
You should serve…
D) Availably
ONE DAY - Jesus was walking down the road to go to Jericho and some blind men start yelling at him. And Matthew writes…
“Two blind men shouted ‘Lord, have mercy on us!… Jesus stopped and called them. ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ – Mt 20:30-32
(great question btw and one He still asks today)
Jesus stopped and called them.
CIRCLE - the word “stopped”. Jesus stopped.
LISTEN - If you want to be used by God, if you want to serve God, you must be willing to stop, you must be willing to be interrupted and inconvenienced.
YOU KNOW - as you read through the gospels you see that nearly all of Jesus’ ministry and most of Jesus’ miracles were interruptions.
I MEAN – think about it…
All the people he healed – the blind, the lame, the sick, the paralyzed, the dead – all of them were interruptions. His first miracle? An interruption at a wedding. He second miracle? An interruption on the way to Galilee. It says, “Jesus stopped”.
YOU KNOW – people talk a lot about following in the steps of Jesus, which is a great and awesome idea…
BUT – what about following in the stops of Jesus.
The Bible says this: Prov. 3:28…
Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now.
UNDERSTAND…
SERVE-hearted people don’t procrastinate.
They’re spontaneous, they’re sensitive, They say “OK (and after a slight pause to fight off selfishness, say) let’s do this!”
You should serve…
E) Wholeheartedly
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. – Colossians 3:23,24
Whatever you do…. However you are SERVING...
Give it all you got
There was a baseball player when I was growing whose nickname was ‘Charlie Hustle…’
Anybody know who that is?
You should serve…
F) Joyfully
Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. – Psalm 100:2
We are not to serve God grudgingly or grimly but joyfully.
In the courts of ancient kings, servants were often executed for nothing more than looking sad in the service of the king. Nehemiah in Nehemiah 2:2 was grieving over the news he’d heard that Jerusalem was still in ruins despite the return of many Jews from the Babylonian exile.
As he was serving food to King Artaxerxes one day, the king said to him, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”
Because of what it could mean for him, Nehemiah writes, “I was very much afraid.”
You don’t mope or sulk when you serve a king. Not only does it give the appearance that you don’t want to serve the king but it is a statement of dissatisfaction with the way he’s running things.
LISTEN - something is wrong if you can’t serve the Lord with joy.
NOW - I understand why the person who serves God only out of obligation doesn’t serve with gladness.
I can understand why the person who serves God in an attempt to earn his way to Heaven doesn’t serve with gladness.
HOWEVER - the Christian who gratefully acknowledges what God has done for him for eternity should be able to serve God cheerfully and with joy.
You should serve…
Faithfully
Now what does that mean? IT MEANS - we don’t give up.
WE - keep on going.
WE - don’t quit in the middle of our assignment.
At the end of Jesus’ ministry on earth, Jesus said this in John 17:4, He said, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work that You gave me to do.”
I want you to be able to say that when you get to heaven.
THAT - you completed the work that God gave you to do. Jesus was faithful in fulfilling His service. He didn’t give up. He didn’t give in. He was persistent. And if you’re going to be like Jesus it means you’re going to serve as long as you’re alive.
You should serve…
G) Expectantly
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation… - 1 Peter 1:3
We need to serve expectantly
Expecting that our serving will bring our lives
• Joy
• Meaning
• satisfaction
• growth
• Impact
