How Can We Serve the Lord With Gladness of Heart

Transcription

1 How Can We Serve the Lord With Gladness of Heart Intro: Goals for this Sermon 1) Encourage you to use the gifts of your body and mind to serve the Lord Jesus 2) Help You evaluate your current servant Life 3) Help you see the worthiness of Jesus and respond by serving Him by serving His Church 4) Help you find joy in the tasks that seemed to be the most menial. 5) Want to help stop you from being burned-out in your serving of God, but rather create consistency 6) Help you see how it is through the grace of God that we live and serve. Don t Want to Do 1) Guilt Trip you into serving God You could hear this message and even though you are serving as God wills, you still feel guilty We do not want that 2) Do not want to put a heavy burden on you that God has not placed 3) Do not want to give you an excuse for not serving as God has called you to serve How Are We going to do this: 1) Look at Jesus for our Example 2) Serving Jesus is not a burden 3) Look at How Serving affects the spreading of the gospel around the world 4) God has made you in a special way with a special purpose and you are needed 5) How ought we serve (How should) Expositional or Topical Expositional should be the main way the Bible is preached in the Church today Going through the Bible in sections so the people get the whole idea of the book But there are times when you need to be systematic when you need to focus on one topic as it is taught throughout the Bible. This would be a more topical sermon when this is done The Danger of Topical sermons They can be used to twist things into meaning whatever the speaker wants them to say So, it is important, I believe that when we do this That the context of the many verses used be understood by the hearers Today the sermon is about serving And the Bible has a lot to say about this So let s look into God s word today The Example of Jesus Jesus Came to Reveal the Father to Us He came showing us who He is Of all the things He wanted to show us about Himself is how much He Served And how He wanted us to mimic him in this Think about that The number one quality and attribute of Jesus that He made known Is Serving Luke 22: A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 And he said to them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you

2 become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. 27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves. Mark 10: And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Serving Jesus is not a burden Let s Look at this in the Negative way before the positive way Matthew 23:4 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. Jesus is talking about the Pharisees and their laws Not only did the Jews have the law of Moses But the added to it and they interpreted it and made people have to do more And they placed a heavy burden on people to do these things or no be righteous Acts 15: Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will. The Jewish leaders of the Early church began to fall into this trap again Trying to make Gentiles adhere to the Jewish Religious laws Jesus is not a Burden Sometimes it seems like serving God can be such a burden Many have felt it But it should not be this way should it Not if He says this: Matthew 11: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. CONTEXT: Speaking to those whom the law had become a burden and they had been trying to keep it, but it was impossible They were wore out from trying And they thought it was the only way to God So Jesus wants them to know that His way of Faith is better Come All who labor and are heavy laden I will give you rest Take my yoke Learn from me I am gentle and lowly in heart Will find rest for your souls My yoke is easy My burden light

3 1 Peter 5:6-7 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Cast your anxieties or cares on him. He cares for you Jesus is not like False gods He does not need to be carried around He can carry you around Give yourselves to God Coming to Jesus gives you strength and power and wisdom and might to serve He gives you the ability and the energy and then rewards you for it... But you must come to Him... You must fill up on Him... John 6:35 Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. You Must Spend Time With God If not, you will serve with a bad attitude You will not see your serving as serving of God You will be upset for not getting credit You will find not overwhelming joy in serving Spend time with Jesus In prayerful Prayer In Meditating on His Word In various books by trusted authors that encourage you and rebuke you and teach you His ways We are serving God And God rewards His servants It makes no sense for us to be upset and want someone to take our place Because we are giving up our reward Serving Affects the Spreading of the Gospel Around the World Matthew 28: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. To accomplish this We have to have saved people Meaning we need churches With saved people in it In The church We teach Jesus, and baptize people in the name of Jesus This is not in reference only to missionaries Some of these guys stayed more local than others The result in the Church Is that people get saved and they go out to tell others.. I came from Liberty to here They served me and taught me and drew me in and I got saved They helped prepare me And they sent me out My Friend Cory was in a little church called Gillsburg And He went to Africa, then MS, then N.C. and then Ohio You Are a Part of a Global Phenomenon

4 Give Your Body to God: He Made it and you re special You are Fearfully and wonderfully made God knit you together in your mother s womb He knows even the number of hairs on your head You cost a lot! 1 Corinthians 6: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. Romans 12:1 1 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. Reasonable act of worship 1 Peter 4: Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Romans 12:3-8 3 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. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Ephesians 2:10 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Serving God Means You Will Be Rewarded Greatly Colossians 3: Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eyeservice, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. A verse that could be taken out of context slightly But still applies to us Hebrews 6: For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Ephesians 6:6-8 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. How Ought We To Serve

5 With Zeal Romans 12: Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. With Love Galatians 5: For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Invitation THE GOSPEL: Come unto me... Matt Stop fighting God Pray for God s wisdom in how you should serve