Purpose Series #4
(Six Sessions on God’s Purpose for Your Life)
Created to Serve
Matthew 25:14-29
SCRIPTURE READING: Ephesians 2:8-10
INTRODUCTION:
Today we’re going to talk about what it means to be God’s servant. What comes to mind when you hear the word servant? What comes to my mind is the picture of a finely dressed butler with an English accent standing at the door of an old, spacious mansion. He should have an English name like Clive or Percy. Other than that kind of picture, most of us in America have a kind of nebulous concept of what it means to be a servant.
Rick Warren put it this way in his book, The Purpose Driven Life:
“You were put on earth to make a contribution. God designed you to make a difference with your life.” Most self-help books tell you how to get more out of life. But the Bible tells us how to put more INTO life. God made you so that you can add to life on earth, not take away from it. You were CREATED TO SERVE.
1. Created to Serve
Ephesians 2:10 explains it this way: For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. God created us to give, not just to take. And furthermore, God has specific plans for how we are to serve others.
It kind of reminds me of an old Danish proverb that says, “What you are is God’s gift to you; what you do is your gift to God.” You see, God placed each of us on this planet for a special handpicked assignment Have you ever thought of it that way? Think of someone you helped this last week. Can you recall a “good work” you performed? Did you encourage someone? Did you clean up a mess someone else made? Did you give something to a person in need? Those good works were prepared in advance by God Himself. You were living out the words of Ephesians 2:10.
Not only were we created to serve; we were also SAVED TO SERVE.
2. Saved to Serve
II Timothy 1:9 reminds us: It is he who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. When God saved you, he called you to live a holy life and to do holy work. You were not saved by doing good deeds, but you were saved in order to do good deeds. In fact, Jesus paid a tremendous price for your salvation.
The apostle Paul had that in mind when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:20 You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. We owe Jesus our very lives, and so we have every reason to serve Him with our very lives.
The truth is that a saved heart is a heart that wants to serve. In First John we read, “Our love for each other proves that we have gone from death to life.” I John 3:14 It is impossible for a saved person to go through life with no love for others and no desire to serve. You see, truly saved people are not self-absorbed.
With salvation comes a heart-felt commitment to do what God wants done. God wants you to accomplish His goals. He has a ministry for you in the church, and a mission for you in the world. You are a part of God’s kingdom. You have a function to fulfill. This gives your life great significance and value.
Not only has God created you to serve and saved you to serve, you are also CALLED TO SERVE.
3. Called to Serve
Most people think only ministers and missionaries receive a “calling.” In fact, a lady recently told me, “I don’t want to go on any spiritual retreats because if I go, God might “call” me to some foreign mission field. I’m too busy trying to raise my family to get some kind of “call.”
What that lady didn’t realize is that she has already been “called.” For one thing, she’s been called to the important job of raising her children. But an even more important calling is the one we all share. Look at how the Apostle Paul put it in Romans 1:6: You also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. Along with the calling to belong to Christ is a calling to serve Christ. The Bible says that every Christian is called to service. Romans 7:4 says, now you belong to Him… in order that you might be useful in the service of God.
In China, some churches welcome new believers by saying, “Jesus now has a new pair of eyes to see with, new ears to listen with, new hands to help with, and a new heart to love others with.” There are people who will never experience the love of God unless it comes to them THROUGH YOU.
One important reason why you need to be involved with a church family is so that you can fulfill your calling. God calls us to serve other believers in practical ways. And whether you realize it or not, your service is desperately needed. All you have to do is ask our director of ministries, Sonja Russell, what needs to be done. I can guarantee that there is a ministry for you in the church. In fact, there is probably something God wants to do that won’t happen unless YOU fulfill the good works which he has planned in advance for you to do. Because, you see, God does not just wish we would serve Him, we are all COMMANDED TO SERVE.
4. Commanded to Serve
Jesus made this clear in a story called the Parable of the Talents. It’s found in Matthew chapter 25, and the Pueblo groups will be studying this Parable this week. The Parable of the Talents is actually an investment story. In fact, this story is about a Capitalist who trusted 3 of his servants as investment advisors. He gave the 3 servants control over a total of 8 “Talents.”
Now, a talent may have been between 50 to 80 pounds of some precious metal. This could be as high as $300,000 per talent by today’s standards. One servant was given 5 Talents. Another got 2 Talents. And the third got 1 Talent. The text lets us know it was doled out according to what the Master knew about their abilities. The point is, the Master trusted even the 1-Talent servant with a substantial amount of capital.
So what did these 3 servants do with what they were given? Well, the 5-Talent guy and the 2-Talent guy each put the money to work --- and they succeed in doubling their investments.
The Master gave the same commendation to each of these investors: “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: 21& 23
But the real focus of the parable is on the 1-Talent guy. This guy had an interesting investment strategy. As soon as he got the Talent, he promptly dug a hole in the dirt and buried it. So when the Master returned all he had to offer was that same 1 talent … only now the precious metal was covered with dirt and grime.
And look at the whiney, ungrateful excuse he gave: ’Master,’ he said, ’I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ Matthew 25:24-25
When you look at the master’s response, keep in mind that the master is a representation of God himself. He took the 1-Talent guy’s excuse at face value. In essence he said, If what you said about me is true, then you should have known well enough to at least deposit the talent in the bank so I could get interest from it.
The Master summed up this 1-Talent servant in 2 words: “Wicked and lazy” Then he took the 1 talent from him and gave it to the guy with 10 talents.
I can see some really important lessons we can learn from this story:
· You have been given something. In other words, God has given you some talent, some finances, some ability, some interests and ideas. You are not responsible for the things you were not given, but God has given you at least 1 Talent. And for that, you ARE responsible.
· You can DO something. Think of the lame excuses of the wicked servant who buried his one talent. Now, keep in mind that back then there was no FDIC or FSLIC to insure investments. Investments were risky. But this guy was afraid to take ANY risk. He was afraid to do anything. Which leads us to the next lesson.
· Doing anything is better than doing nothing. It would be better to FAIL trying to serve God than to sit around playing it safe and doing nothing.
The Master told the 1-Talent servant, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. In other words, You could have at least done the obvious. It’s not rocket-science to know money could be put in a bank.
But too often Christians are like the 1-Talent servant. They are waiting to serve God … someday … someway … when that perfect time and that perfect job comes along. After all, they don’t want to jump into something too soon. They want to be 120% sure that this is the ministry for them. Meanwhile their Talent gets covered over with dust --- and they accomplish absolutely NOTHING for their Master.
Do you know what would be better? Just look around you. Does something need doing? Then DO it! The truth is, if you’ve noticed it needs doing, you’re probably the one who should do it. And if you take some risks and work hard for the Master, you can be sure that …
· You WILL be rewarded. If you serve in even small ways, God will reward you in big ways. One reward will be increased effectiveness and deep, lasting happiness. On the other hand, if you sit around doing nothing for God’s Kingdom, you will lose all effectiveness and will end up making miserable, whiney excuses like the 1-Talent servant.
This Parable of the Talents kind of reminds me of that T.V. show called The Apprentice. I haven’t seen it, but I understand Donald Trump gives assignments to these aspiring young executives. Then he judges them on the basis of what they did. And every week someone hears those dreaded words, You’re fired.
Well, even though it’s called a “reality show” that’s not reality. What Jesus tells us in the Parable of the Talents IS ultimate reality. Someday each of us will stand before our Master. When that day comes, what words do you want to hear: good & faithful --- or wicked and lazy?
We need to realize that a day of settling our accounts will come. Romans 14:12 says: So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. We love to hear about God’s love and mercy, but when Jesus told this Parable, he didn’t mince words. The story ends with these sobering words, “And throw the worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
When it comes to service, you were born for it, saved for it, called to it, and commanded to do it. For the real good and faithful servant, service is not an option. As Mother Teresa said, “Holy living consists in doing God’s work…with a smile.”
CONCLUSION:
Before we close, I want to help you see what a real servant looks like. In The Purpose driven Life, Rick Warren gave a list of qualities that typify the true servant. I liked his list and want to repeat it here.
· Real servants make themselves available to serve
· Real servants pay attention to needs
· Real servants do their best with what they have
· Real servants do every task with equal dedication
· Real servants remain faithful to their ministry
· Real servants maintain a low profile
· Real Servants think more about others than themselves
· Real Servants think like stewards, not owners
· Real Servants think about their work, not what others are doing
· Real Servants base their identity on Christ
These are the qualities are found in Jesus Christ. Anyone who wants to serve the Lord, needs to remember the attitude of Jesus Christ, who said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matt.20:28)
