Lose Yourself in Service

This is a sermon I was blessed enough to deliver at my church. I served as an elder there and would fill in for the pastor sometimes. I only say this because some of it makes more sense knowing that. There are also 2 video clips. I posted so they should start at the correct time, however you will need to stop it yourself. Sorry!

Ezekiel 22:30 – “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge,

And stand in the GAP before me for the land,

That I should not destroy it…but I found none”

“Is Your Halo Slipping Down”

I imagine any God fearing man,…who stands at a pulpit to deliver the Message, has to be thinking…..

I shouldn’t be up here,

I am a sinner after all, working through my own personal struggles…..

…but then I remember, we are ALL sinners……

Mothers…Fathers…Uncles and aunts, nieces and nephews,

And even our own children…. Can you imagine?!?!?

My point being that we are all sinners…. we already know that

A lot of us out there are going through struggles…. We know that too, but all too often we do not reach out, we don’t stop to serve that person.

For whatever reason.

I try, yet I often fall short, but I continue to try because I WANT Gods blessing on my home, and my on my family.

My 4 sons need me to teach them what it is to be a good man, father, and Husband. My Daughter will have her perception of a good man molded by my actions, by my love, and by the way I treat her mother.

When we used to do the Carpenters Sons men group, and go out to serve people in the community, my children all noticed. Other people noticed, and that can make more servants.

Everyone has those days when the pressures of life are weighing you down, draining away your time, your energy,

and sometimes even your faith. It can be a lot to handle at times, you barely have enough left in your tank to take care of yourself, let alone to serve another person. As the saying goes, “you cannot pour from an empty cup”.

However, serving others rejuvenates our spirit. It brings us joy, and that is the way God planned for it to work.

Peter 4:10 reads

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one-another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace”

In Galatians 5:13 Paul writes “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.”

I believe Paul is referring to our “Christian Freedom”, addressing how it is not meant for self-fulfillment. It is for serving others in Christ.

Forget your own needs, insecurities, doubts, and anxieties, and lose yourself in service. It does us all good!

And do not forget, God tends to provide for your needs when you provide for others.

Mark 10:43-45 reads “but it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.”

Shouldn’t that have us clamoring to serve people? To reach past our comfort zone, find those talents that God has blessed you with, and to use them for His glory?

Shortly after Billy Graham passed away, I heard an interview he once did. He was speaking about when he realized he was being called into ministry. He mentioned that a mentor he had once told him, “Every Christian is called to the ministry”

Every Christian? All of us? To the ministry?

Yes, it is true…

The dictionary defines, Ministration as the act of ministering care, aid, and RELIGIOUS SERVICE

In Adrian Rogers sermon, “Saved to Serve” he goes over 6 ministries that we are ALL called to.

The first one he mentions is the “Ministry of Encouragement”

I was going to attempt to read what he said, however, I wouldn’t do him justice so we will play the clip.

(1st Clip 9:26 - 9:49) Stop at 9:49 minutes

What would happen if YOU decided to influence lives on purpose? The challenge is to become more intentional about how we influence others. Not because we have to, or even because we want to, but because it is our Christian Obligation, and it doesn’t hurt that it also will bring us great joy.

There are estimated to be 2.3 BILLION Christian in the world……….2.3 BILLION

Could you imagine if we all took even 10 minutes a day of our time, every day, serving someone in some way.

That would be 23 BILLION minutes of serving in 1 single day.

So when that time comes, those moments in the day when you have the opportunity to serve someone with

An ear… a meal…a smile…a hug.

A showing of compassion. A few short words of Encouragement. Anything…… It doesn’t matter What you serve to others. It matters IN WHOS NAME you serve others.

EVERY CHRISTIAN is called to ministry, to service. Just as the way the church should welcome and greet a stranger. Whether he is wearing $1,000 cufflinks, or he is a smelly homeless wanderer.

That person is in the church for a reason. God may have set him on a path, and this may be their first time in a church, or their first time BACK in years. Depending on our willingness to serve, to minister, that can send them on the path to one day hear those words.

“Good and faithful servant” or if they stay on the path of being separated from God for eternity.

Now, don’t get me wrong, it wouldn’t be you fault their soul would burn, but when the opportunity presented itself, did you help to pull him back from the abyss?

God has blessed us all with ways to serve others, and in doing that, serving Him. We can’t all do that from a pulpit,

And that’s just fine. When you think about it, it is just a podium in a building with a cross on the top, however still, just an earthly building.

The church, the REAL church should reside in our hearts…. Not in bricks and mortar. I could build a building, put a cross on top, and call it Gods house…. but it really isn’t, this building, is not Gods house.

It is where Gods house congregates!God’s house is in our hearts. And our hearts can make a much bigger difference that this building can.

This after all is a church built by men, your Christian heart is built by God

We all minister to people, if not with our words, then with our actions, with our behavior, or with our smile.

Do you use that smile enough?

Smile at strangers because they might be trying to smile at you!

Try it right now, give me your best smile!

Pretty good, some of you may be a bit rusty 😊

“On a side note, next time you are mad about something. Make yourself smile for 10 seconds in a row. You will feel better, you can’t stay angry when you’re smiling.

How many of us have experienced a dark place in our life? All of us at one time or another I’m sure. Was there someone in that time that reached out, that helped you, in whatever way. How big or small. Do you remember them? Did they impact your life?

I can clearly remember having quite a few moments like that

where I needed help, encouragement. That encouragement came from many different people, but I REMEMBER THEM ALL. ALL left a positive and lasting impact on my life.

So very much of that is because of the service of other people. Their time, love, and encouragement. I believe life is about relationships and the effect we have on other people. I wanted to slip another audio cut of Aaron Rogers sermon “Saved to Serve”

He is speaking her about the second ministry he spoke about, the ministry of evangelism

I think it is important because real evangelism is almost always successful through Godly service.

2nd cut (11:38 – 12:34) Stop video at 12:34 minutes

Smile at a stranger, hold a door open, have that late night talk with a friend who is hurting, or just LISTEN to someone. Would you ask God with me,

“LORD, lay some soul upon my heart, and win that soul through me!”

Go out into the world in peace. Have courage! Hold fast to what is good. Return no one evil for evil.

Strengthen the faint-hearted,

support the weak,

help the suffering.

Honor all people.

Love and serve the Lord your God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.

May the Lord Bless you and keep you

Amen