We
are slowly coming to the end of our Spiritual Growth Campaign, 40 Days of
Purpose.
On
this journey, we have been asking and answering the most important question of
life: “What
on earth am I here for?”
This
is a question that I have asked, and this is a question that I am sure most of
you have asked at one time or another.
Because
we did not create ourselves, we cannot tell ourselves what we were created for;
so we must look to Someone other than us.
The Bible says
us that God created us for a purpose. And we have spent the last 28 days
looking at what those purposes are.
The first
purpose of life is: Worship: we were planned for God’s pleasure. The
second purpose of life is Fellowship: we were formed for God’s family.
And the 3rd
purpose of life, the 3rd reason we created is to become Like
Jesus Christ. This process is called Discipleship. God wants us to
become like His Son.
If we were
created to become like Jesus Christ, then while we are on this earth, we must
do what Jesus did. “What did Jesus do?” you ask.
Well, this is
the 4th purpose of life.
The Bible says: “…we are God's
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in
advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10,
NIV)
You see dear
friend, “We
were made to make a contribution, not just to consume. God made us to make a
difference. What matters is not how long you live, but how you live. What
matters is not the duration of your life, but the donation of your life.”
(Warren, PDL. Sermon #5)
The Bible
reminds us that we were created for a purpose; we were meant to make a contribution.
1 Peter 4:10
says: “Each one
should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully
administering God's grace in its various forms.” (NIV) We are here to serve one another.
This is the
fourth purpose of life. We were created to Serve God and to Serve others. We
are not here just to take up space. If we were created to become like Jesus
Christ, then we will follow His example and serve.
The Bible has a
name for this and it’s called Ministry, and like worship, fellowship, and
even discipleship, ministry has often been misunderstood.
Many people
think that ministry is just for Pastors. Only Pastors are called to do
ministry. But that’s simply not true.
The Bible
reminds us that each person who is saved by the Blood of the Lamb is a
minister; not a pastor, but a minister.
Paul wrote in 2
Corinthians 5: “…anyone
who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life
has begun!
18 (And) all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to
himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to
him.
19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no
longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful
message of reconciliation.
20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal
through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (2
Cor. 5:18b-20, NLT2)
Those who have
given our lives over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ are ministers. We have a
message to proclaim, and we are all ministers of the Gospel of Jesus. Not
everyone is a pastor, but everyone is a minister.
God has given
each person special abilities and experiences to serve the church. And anytime
you use your time, talent and treasure to help someone in the church, you are
ministering to that person.
Each person who
claims to follow Jesus is a minister, and we are all called
to serve.
Shortly after
Jesus had talked to His disciples about His impending death, James and John
came and spoke to Jesus.
“Teacher,” they
said, “we want you to do us a favor.”
36 “What is your request?” he asked.
37 They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want
to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your
left.”
38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking!
Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are
you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”
39 “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”
Then Jesus told
them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism
of suffering. 40 But I have no right to say who will sit on my right
or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”
41 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had
asked, they were indignant.
42 So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the
rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their
authority over
those under them.
43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a
leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be
first among you must be the slave of everyone else.
45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve
others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:35-45,
NLT2)
Jesus reminded
His disciples that the way to greatness is not by “lording it over other
people’; nor is it by exercising your authority, but the way to greatness is by
serving other people.
As a great
example of this truth, Jesus told His disciples that He came to this earth not
to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom.
Jesus came to
this earth to serve. In our purist of Jesus, we must follow His example, and we
do so in at least 2 ways:
#1. Serving like
Jesus means being available.
One day, (not
too long after this lesson on serving) Jesus and His disciples were leaving
Jericho when all of a sudden: “two blind men…shouted, “Lord have mercy on us!’…Jesus stopped
and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?’ He asked.” (Matthew
20:30-32, NIV)
I want to you to
notice what Jesus did in this account.
He didn’t walk
right on by. He didn’t pretend He was too busy. I’ll have you notice that Jesus
stopped.
In fact, most of
Jesus’ miracles were interruptions. Of all the things Jesus did, of all the
people Jesus healed, most of them were interruptions. He was on His way to do
something else. But because Jesus stopped, lives were changed.
If we are going
to be used by God, we must be willing to be interrupted.
ILLUSTRATION- There was a day that I would
be bothered by interruptions. I used to hate hearing the phone ring, or hearing
a knock at my door, as I was working on a message—about interruptions.
But
more and more, I’m convinced that God can, does, and wants to speak during the
interruptions of life. If I want to be used by God, I must be available.
Someone
wise once said: “God
doesn’t want your ability; He wants your availability.”
John
Wesley said: “Do
all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, To all
the people you can, As long as ever you can.”
God
wants us to be open to the situations that He will put in our path, for every
situation is a way that we can serve God and serve other people.
Instead
of looking for one or two huge areas to be involved in; start looking
for God in the details of your
life, because every opportunity is a way to step up and serve God; but we must
be available.
And
don’t think that you’re too busy to help someone out. The Bible says: “If you can help
your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.” (Pr. 3:28, NLT2)
The
first truth that we need to keep in mind if we are going to serve is we must be
available.
#2 Serving like
Jesus means being faithful.
ILLSUTRATION- The story is told of an old
missionary couple returning to America after years of ministry in Africa.
They were
arriving in New York to retire with no pension, their health broken, very much discouraged
and afraid.
The
couple discovered that they were on the same ship with President Teddy
Roosevelt, who was returning from one of his big-game hunting expeditions.
All through the
journey they observed passengers trying to catch a glimpse of the President,
while no one even knew they existed.
When the ship
docked in New York, the mayor and other dignitaries were there to greet the
President as a brass band played in his honor.
No one noticed
the missionary couple as they slipped quietly off the ship, and settled in to
their new life.
That night the
man's spirit broke. "This is all wrong!" he cried out. "We have
given our lives in service in Africa and no one even cares, but this man comes
back from a hunting trip and everybody makes over him. It isn't right! God
isn't treating us fairly!"
Patiently, his
wife responded, "Why don't you go into the bedroom and tell that to the
Lord?"
After a few
minutes he emerged from his prayer room, with a completely different
expression.
"What
happened?" his wife asked.
"The Lord
settled it with me," he said. "I told Him how bitter I was that the
President should receive this tremendous homecoming, when no one even met us as
we returned home.
And when I
finished, it seemed as though the Lord put His hand on my shoulder and simply
said, 'But you're not home yet'!" (adapted from: http://www.preaching.com/sermon-illustrations/11567153/page-3/)
Not everything
we do will be rewarded while we are here on this earth. We may not receive a
warm reception for each act of service, but we must be faithful
nonetheless.
Jesus said: “I have brought you
glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” (John
17:4, NIV)
Jesus was
faithful in fulfilling His act of service; He didn’t give up, give out, or give
in. He remained faithful.
In our purist of
Jesus, we must remain faithful in our acts of service. The Bible says: “Let us not become
weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not
give up.” (Gal. 6:9, NIV)
It also says: “Always work
enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is
ever useless.” (1 Cor. 15:58b, NLT2)
Nothing that we
for the Lord is ever wasted. God takes notice, even if no one else ever does.
You see church,
each one of us has a part to play in God’s Kingdom; there is a job for
everyone. The Bible says:
“…the body has many different
parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of
the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the
body.
16 And if the ear says, “I am
not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a
part of the body?
17 If the whole body were an
eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell
anything?
18 But our bodies have many
parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How
strange a body would be if it had only one part!
20 Yes, there are many parts,
but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t
need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
22 In fact, some parts of the
body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.
23 And the parts we regard as
less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully
protect those parts that should not be seen, 24 while the more
honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body
together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less
dignity.
25 This makes for harmony
among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26
If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored,
all the parts are glad.
27 All of you together are
Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” (1 Cor. 12:18-27, NLT2)
There is not one
part of our physical bodies that are unimportant, and there is not one part of
Christ’s Body that is unimportant.
Each person has
a part to play in the Body of Christ, and if you do not step up and use your
gift and abilities for the benefit of others, the whole body will suffer.
God has each of
us here in this church, at this time, for a very important reason. There is an
area of ministry just for you.
If you want to
know what you can do, come and talk to me. My list of ministry opportunities is
growing by the hour.
Each person in
this room has something to offer the Body of Christ. The question is: are you
available? Will you use what God has given you to serve His church?
ILLUSTRATION- A minister was approached by a man who wanted to join
the church. “But,” the man said, “I have a very busy schedule. I can’t be
called on for any service, such as committee work, teaching, or singing.
I won’t be available for special projects or to help
with setting up chairs or things like that. And I’m afraid I’ll never be able
to go on visitation, as my evenings are all tied up.”
The minister thought for a moment, and then replied,
“I believe you’re at
the
wrong church. The church you’re looking for is three blocks down the street, on
the right.”
The man followed the preacher’s directions and soon
came to an abandoned, boarded up, closed church building. It was a dead church—it
had gone out of business.” (NCBSIQ,
800)
God is not
looking for your excuses, God is simply looking for you to step up and serve
Him in the church.
Things will
never slow down; there will never be a better time than right now to get
involved and fulfill your 4th purpose in life.
God is looking
to use you; but in order to be used, you must be available and you must be
faithful.
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