2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Friends,
No doubt you have heard before people saying that you should serve the Lord and, through that, other people. When we hear this kind of message, sometimes our human nature kicks in with rationalizations why it doesn?t apply to us. "I'm ill and can't." "I'm too busy." "I'll do it later." If my experience is any teacher, when you choose not to serve, you deny yourself the opportunity to move closer to God and enjoy the blessings that come from service to Him and others. I once had a friend who was struggling with a second onset of breast cancer. She was going through a pretty bad time while she was having chemotherapy, and yet, even with her suffering, she found a way to serve others. The Lord eventually called her home, but my warmest memory of her was the day she came to our Sunday school class and read excerpts from the journal she kept of her experience battling this disease. By doing this, she helped us to look at physical suffering and death very differently than we ever had before, from a perspective much closer to the Lord's. She also revealed the grace and courage that are products of faithful obedience to the Lord that loves us all. That legacy of Kay Nelson will stay with me for the rest of my life. She was a true servant of the Lord.
I am led this morning to share a Scripture search our Lord wanted me to do on the issue of serving. Serving Him is one way we can obey God and thus demonstrate our love for Him. There is nothing new about God's will that we should serve Him. In DT 10: 12-13 when Moses gets the commandments for a second time, he tells the people God's message, "Listen to what the Lord your God's demands of you. Have reverence for the Lord and do all He commands. Love Him, serve him with all your heart, and obey all His laws." The theme is repeated in Joshua 24: 14 when he is speaking to the people of Shechem, "Honor the Lord and serve Him sincerely and faithfully. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshipped in Mesopotamia and Egypt, and serve only the Lord." At the time the prophet and judge, Samuel, was coming to the end of his time of service, the people of Israel had rejected God as their political leader and replaced Him with a human king. In his farewell message in 1 SAM 12: 30, he said, "Do not be afraid. Even though you have done such an evil thing, do not turn away from the Lord, but serve Him with all your heart." PS 22 is a cry of anguish and a song of praise also known as the "Song of the Lamb." In PS 22: 30 the following prophecy is made, "Future generations will serve Him; men will speak of the Lord to the coming generation."
No greater example of a heart of service has ever come along than our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. MT 20: 26 & 28 [also Mark 10: 43-45] reveal the nature of His attitude in His comments to His disciples, "If one of you wants to be great, he must be a servant of the rest... like the Son of Man Who did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life to redeem many people." We learn more about it in MT 25: 40, "In as much as you serve the least of your brothers, you serve Me." Christ's humility and His dedication are wonderful examples for us. I spent some time praying for a real understanding of John 12: 25-26 and urge you to do this too. It's implications for our lives are profound. "Whoever loves his own life will lose it; whoever hates his own life in this world will keep it for life eternal. Whoever wants to serve me must follow me, so that my servant will be with me where I am. And My Father will honor anyone who serves me." Nowhere is Christ's example clearer than in His prayer for His disciples in JN 17: 18-19, "I sent them into the world just as You sent Me into the world. And, for their sake I dedicate Myself to You, in order that they too may be dedicated to You."
I mentioned yesterday that Paul identified himself as a "bondservant of Christ called by God to preach the Gospel." (RO 1:1). RO 12: 1 urges us to "offer our lives as a living sacrifice of service pleasing and acceptable to the Lord." The rest of this amazing book (RO 12-16) discusses what is involved in doing this. It is no accident or coincidence that the Lord wants us to serve him. Two citations reveal that we are chosen and equipped to serve him before we were ever born. Paul reveals this in Galatians 1: 15, "But God in His grace chose me even before I was born and called me to serve Him." This reminded me of Jeremiah's commission to be a prophet. He was a mere youth at the time and complained that he was too young. In JER 1: 4, God responds, "I chose you before you were born to be a prophet to the nations." In another message, I will take up the issue of talents, but for now just remember that God never asks us to serve Him without equipping us to do so.
When we are serving human masters (like our bosses at work, leaders at church, or a family member who needs your help at home), we might not always agree with them or like what we are being asked to do, but we are given clear instruction on what our attitude should be. EPH 6: 6-7, "Do this not only when your human masters are watching you, because you want to gain their approval, but with all your heart do what God wants of slaves of Christ. Do your work as slaves cheerfully as though you served the Lord and not merely men." Be reminded of EPH 2: 10, "God made us what we are, and in union with Christ Jesus, He created us for a life of good deeds, which He has already prepared for us to do."
All of this service is truly worth it. REV 14: 13 shows us from the Spirit's words to the apostle John what we can anticipate in a life of good service, "Happy are those who die serving the Lord. They will enjoy rest from their hard work, because the results of their service go with them." God invites you to join Him in His work. We are blessed that this invitation goes out to us, because it means we will have the opportunity to reveal to God the content of our minds, our words, and our hearts. By letting God use your hands for His purposes, you are helping others as well as yourself. In JN 14: 6 we are told by Christ, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except by Me." Serving God is a way to live 'in Christ.' It brings satisfaction, accomplishment, and helps to further the process of sanctification in preparation for glorification. What greater purpose can there be than God's?
PRAYER: O Lord, help us to know Your will for us to serve and to recognize that You have equipped us to do that. Allow us to use our hands for Your righteous and holy purpose. We dedicate ourselves to serving others and serving You. Amen.
May God richly bless your lives through service to Him today and always. Peter and I sent you our love.
Grace Be With You,
Lynn