Service
Notes
Transcript
Last week - Living for Jesus - part of that is doing things for those around us!
Crawl - Walk - Run
Jesus sent the 72 to spread the news.
He healed, cast out demons, fed the hungry, and so much more.
The apostles were empowered by the HS and performed many miracles.
Today God sends people and empowers people in many different ways. Missionaries, pastors, ministry leaders, speaking love at work...
God doing things for His creation is throughout the entire Bible - OT to New!
IN FACT - in the OT when God had issue with Israel it often had to do with their lack of compassion and care for others, including those less fortunate. - WHO SHOULD WE SERVE? THOSE WHO CAN HELP US, OR THOSE WE CAN HELP WHO CAN’T REPAY?
God sent prophets to explain to His people how He wanted them to treat each other. Zechariah was sent with this message.
“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.
Judge fairly - it was easy to take advantage of people and have others lie on your behalf to use and abuse those who had less wealth and power.
And one of the more common scriptures quoted is Micah 6:8
What can we bring to the Lord? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah spoke out and prophesied against the way the rich and powerful oppressed the poor and those in need.
He starts by listing extravagant and costly sacrifices.
He moves to sacrificing their own children. (Which some ancient cultures did - including some that Israel had brought and married in…) He was mocking this.
He ends with NO! God wants us to do what He has told us is good.
God has a heart for those who are in need and in bad situations. If God has a heart for them, so should we.
A great author from the late 2000’s to early 2010’s is Francis Chan.
He had an interesting way of doing life and ministry, and he took some of the concepts to the extreme.
To the point that he and his wife didn’t lock the doors to their home, and they would often show up to other people in their home doing things.
He wrote - Crazy Love, Forgotten God, Erasing Hell - combating the idea that everyone goes to heaven, Multiply, Until Unity, and more.
When I was training for ministry, one of the early books I read, which was brand new at the time, was Crazy Love. And it was sadly and shockingly revolutionary in the US.
Crazy Love - If reading the Bible doesn’t prompt you to action, there’s a problem.
“But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through.”
Francis Chan - Crazy Love
“It is true that God may have called you to be exactly where you are. But, it is absolutely vital to grasp that he didn’t call you there so you could settle in and live your life in comfort and superficial peace.”
Francis Chan - Forgotten God
The way Francis Chan ministered and lived was real, authentic, and full of passion and care. It changed the way people viewed living ministry.
I keep encouraging Ria that she has just as much to teach here in the States as she has to learn.
The US is a major mission field, and the Pakistani love and passion is something that the western Church could really use!
A few things I can say about service are: - SLIDES
Not all service is physical
Holistic - Mind, Body, Soul
Not all service is evangelical
We are called to love our neighbors and our community, simply because we are called to do so.
They don’t care what you know until they know that you care!!!
Unwanted help isn’t really help
Can’t stress this enough!
Don’t force your idea of help on people.
Beggars CAN be choosers
Hospitality IS service
Welcome your neighbors
Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.
And don’t forget those who are in prison. This is primarily about those who are persecuted for their faith.
Derek Murphy - church member got arrested right after feeding the homeless. She was breaking bread to feed the birds and an officer assumed she was homeless. When he pulled out his cuffs, she turned to walk away and he arrested her for littering (feeding the birds) and resisting an officer - because she was profiled as homeless.
She wasn’t arrested for doing the good towards people, she had done that. But she was arrested for feeding other parts of God’s creation - which we were commanded to take care of as well.
In the OT God scolded the nation of Israel because they neglected the needy. The widows, orphans, and sojourners.
Was God serious about that? Did that charge change in the NT? Has it changed today?
But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
Head knowledge ISN’T enough! It must get to your heart and change you.
Bite your tongue! - I struggle with this too at times, and I’m not proud of it.
Pure religion (word also means worship!) =
Caring for orphans (children who don’t have those to can care for them in a certain way).
Caring for widows (those who have lost and are not in a place or way to help themselves fully). BTW, widowers count here too, especially if they have kids!
I remember getting looks and feeling quite alone and in need.
Sojourners, or those out of their homeland aren’t in this list, but God’s compassion and call for compassion to them are all over the scriptures. (It’s devastating difficult to change cultures. M’s go through extensive training, and many still wash out).
Refusal to let the wold corrupt!
We must hold on to God. - Jesus “abide in me”
Speaking of Jesus, how did he discuss these matters?
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
Jesus is saying that following the letter of the law while ignoring the meaning of the law is wrong!
Yes obey, but the why matters.
The love of God is meant to be shared. We are meant to be the love of God in the world.
How are you being the love of God to your neighbors?
PRAY -
Father God,
Thank you for today and for the love, passion, and work that this family does. God we thank you for Rolla and for having us here. We ask that you give us direction to serve our neighbors the way you want, not the way we want. And we ask that you give us motivation to serve, knowing that success isn’t about waiting to feel the desire, but rather doing because it’s the right thing to do. Help us to know where we are in the crawl, walk, run levels of serving. And help us to embrace where we’re at. Be with us, bless us, and help us bless those that you send us to.
In Jesus’s name,
Amen
