Connected In His Service

Intro; Let me refresh your memory of what we have studied so far in this series “My Life in the Church”;

Connected in Christ- Salvation in Him

Connected By God’s Grace- His diamond of favor on the backdrop of our dark sin

Connected For Good Works- Chosen for a purpose in Christ

Connected Through Fellowship- Communion, participation, one mind, one purpose

Connected In Prayer- The believers lifeline to God [like breathing]

Connected in Unity- A walk worthy of our call in Christ

Connected in Growth- Being a team player

Connected through Words- Speech that is edifying not tearing others down

This morning as we come to the last two messages in this series “My Life In The Church”, we’re going to look at how we are “Connected In Service”. Being connected in service means a complete lifestyle change of our attitude. The reason this must take place is, all of us like to be served more than we like serving others.

Text; Eph. 5:15-21

Ephesians 5:15–21 NKJV

15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

1. Walk Circumspectly; 15

Since we are created for good works and connected in growth, serving others is a key part in the life of a believer. Serving others is becoming “Christ-like”

Mark 10:45 NKJV

45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

If we are to serve like Christ then our walk has to be a careful walk.

Circumspectly- carefully, pertaining to strict conformity to a certain standard, involving both detail and completeness— accurately and diligently.

Paul has been talking about our words so I think not only is he talking about our actions but more so about the speech we use concerning the Gospel.

2 Timothy 2:15–18 NKJV

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. 17 And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, 18 who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.

A fool is irresponsible and ignorant in his words concerning the Gospel, but a believer should not be that way. He should study the Word that he can explain it accurately to others.

Gospel- Good News. The good news is that Jesus died for our sin that we wouldn’t have to die in them! But if one will not believe that in faith the Good News will not help them at all.

2. Redeeming the Time; 16

Paul encourages the believers to think carefully and act wisely with our time.

We only have a certain amount of days on this earth and we need to use them wisely in serving the Lord.

Pie chart of daily schedule of time

Job 36%

Honey Do/Misc. activities 20%

Family Time 13%

Sleep 30%

How are we going serve Jesus since we seem to have no time left in our day, and the weekend is the only time I have for myself?

Lifestyle evangelism, is always thinking about how Jesus would respond to or initiate conversation in any situation. [Dealing with religious leaders, sick, wealthy, poor, disciples, he always pointed people to His Father’s will and his mission to save]

Colossians 3:16–17 NKJV

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Every where we go is an opportunity to be a witness to the lost

3. Understand the Lord’s Will; 17

Let me give you three scriptures that I have used before that give us a picture of God’s will for the believers life.

Romans 8:29 (NKJV)

29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

God in salvation predetermined us to be like Jesus

1 Thessalonians 4:3–5 (NKJV)

3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;

4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,

5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

God has set us apart from the world to act like His Son and not like the world

Revelation 4:11 (NKJV)

11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

God will is that in salvation, through sanctification we will give Him the honor and glory due His name for what He has done in us!

We accomplish these things when we serve God by serving others

There is a saying that you never ask a Texan if he is a Texan. If he is a Texan, he’ll let you know it without your asking. He is proud of his heritage and doesn’t mind telling others!

A Christian ought to walk in such a way that you know he is a child of God without asking him. He is thankful of his heritage in Christ and doesn’t mind telling others!

4. Be Spirit Filled; 18-20

Filled with the Spirit- controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. A daily submission of my will to God’s will. Where God’s priorities become our passions!

To be Spirit filled is to be unselfish in service.

Wine drunk- worldly ways, wasteful [dissipation]

Spirit filled- controlled, [profitable]

Which is your priority? Wine or the Spirit

Look at the practice of the early church

Acts 2:42–47 NKJV

42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Spirit filled servants of the Lord prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God by serving others!

5. Submitting; 21

It is impossible to be a servant without submission.

Servant- A male or female person who is under obligation to render obedience to a master. The Eerdmans Bible dictionary (p. 927).

Submission- yielding, surrender unto obedience

Matthew 10:24 (NKJV)

24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

John 14:15 (NKJV)

15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

Romans 12:1 NKJV

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

That’s completely different than saying “I want it this way” or “I’ll submit when they submit”.

Submitting to one another in the fear of God is being thankful that we are part of His family and we get the opportunity to serve him together as his children.

Ephesians 5:1–2 NKJV

1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Close;

We can choose to be holy or worldly in our walk.

We can choose to be wise or foolish with our time.

We can choose to be in or out of God’s will.

We can choose to be filled with the Spirit or the world.

We can choose to be thankful or thankless to God.

We can choose to be givers or takers in the church.

We can choose to submit to each other in Christ or be selfish.

But there’s one thing I can assure you, you will never be a happy believer or a fulfilled believer in the Lord if you choose not to be Connected In Service!