Serve Well

Intro

Service is the call of Christ on the lives of us all. We are called to serve God, others, our families, our church, ourselves at times. We are a people called to sacrificial service, something modeled best by our Savior Jesus Christ.

In Christ, we receive the ultimate model of service. We see the best way to serve well. Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

However, I believe that there are others in Scripture who can teach us a thing or two about how to serve and how to serve well.

When we look to the New Testament there is not surprise that Paul works diligently to teach the churches what a servants heart is supposed to look like.

From the very moment Paul accepted Christ as Savior, he served the Lord and those around him. This is the call that we are given in Scripture. To serve. To serve God above all else, and to serve each other with the love that the Lord gives us.

How do we do this though? This is not the natural response of mankind. This is not what secularism teaches. Secularism teaches a selfish life that does not worry itself with other people.

When we look at the life and ministry of Paul, we can see at least four ways in which the Lord calls us to serve, and to do so well.

Start Well

For any who do not know, Paul was not always the great apostle and preacher, he was the one who would condemn followers of Christ to death!

So, really until he was about 29 or 30, he did not serve the Lord well… but he thought he was!

So often, we think that we are serving the Lord well when in reality we are serving ourselves, our church, or even some commandments well, but all out of obligation, not out of a loving service.

Service must start well, and it must start with a heart that serves God and others because we love God and others.

Paul didn’t begin serving well until the Lord converted him. Once he was saved, he began serving immediately.

Acts 9:17–20 KJV 1900

And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

What re just read is the account in Acts of what happened right after Paul accepted Christ. He was saved, and went to work!

He started well.

You may be here today and think that you are too old or sinful to start well.

Look at Paul! Already lived half of his life, a chief Christian-killer. Yet, used by God.

And, the most important aspect that we see here is that he didn’t wait around, he got to work immediately!

He started well but simply preaching Christ and serving people around him.

Service to the Lord has to start somewhere and at some time. You cannot expect to be a good servant until you are born again. But the moment you are born again, you must serve God and you must serve others. You must start well.

The only way to start well is to give your life to Jesus and trust Him.

Paul had to do some major trusting. If you keep reading Acts you will find immediate plots to kill Paul and even Christian concerned with whether this was a real change or just a plot to get close to Christians to kill them.

He had to rely on Jesus. He had to trust in the Spirit. He had to lean on the Father. He had to be fully trusting in the Triune God in order to start serving God well.

You must do the same. Start serving the Lord well by giving your life to Jesus and trusting in Him.

Give Well

Then focus on giving.

All Christianity is giving. All service is giving.

It is giving of everything you have to God.

It is giving your time to serve, your talents, and yes even your money to God.

Paul did this.

All throughout Paul’s ministry he gave. He gave of his time when he was penning Scripture even in prison. His talents as he made way with his tent making business. And his money as he facilitated and participated in the collection of money to send to Jerusalem.

Paul was a giver!

This is personified most in Jesus. Jesus who gave all He had, even His life on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.

Don’t believe for one moment that walking with Christ is a selfish act.

The old saying that “me and Jesus have our own thing going” is the most unbiblical thing we can believe.,

Giving is what it is all about.

Modeling Christ. Modeling Paul.

2 Corinthians 9:7 “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

This particular passage speaks to giving financially, something we are all called to! Do so, however God leads. Start with your small ten percent, and follow the Spirit’s leading to give above and beyond.

Can I challenge you that this concept goes far beyond your money?

James 1:27 “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

This passage, and so many others, speaks to the reality that we are to give of everything we have to help those in need, in doing so, we are serving God and giving to God well.

Visiting, or ministering to widows and orphans, and many others, is impossible without giving of your time, money, and talent to do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”

Giving is about your time, it is about your money, it is about all that God has given you.

So, comfort one another, edify one another, give encouragement to one another. Giving of yourself well is serving God well.

There are too many passages in Paul’s letters about giving well to include in one message.

But, know this morning that giving is necessary.

In Scripture, Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek. Melchizedek who had no beginning and no end. The prince of Salem (peace). In other words, Jesus in the flesh.

Don’t think for a moment that we are not called to give just beacuse we live in the New Covenant.

Jesus has always been the recipient of your giving. So, give! Give of all you have, and do so on faith, love, and obedience to the Spirit of God.

When you do, you will serve God well.

Rest Well

One that we are the most uncomfortable with in America is the call to rest well.

We don’t rest because we don’t trust God to pick up our slack.

Doesn’t that sound backwards?

We don’t rest because we don’t trust that God will pick up where we left off. That things will fall apart without us. How prideful!

I struggle with it. You struggle with it.

The old school American dream has taught us NOT to rest.

The Scriptures command that we do.

Exodus 20:8–11 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

This is listed as one of the 10 commandments given to Moses in the Old Testament on Mount Sinai.

We don’t observe a traditional Orthodox Jewish Sabbath, the Church never has.

So, what does resting look like for the Church?

It means following God’s example in Genesis and truly resting.

Pick a day of the week, and rest.

This could be your Sunday, it could be any day of the week.

Rest well.

This is not a recommendation, this is a command.

Pick a day and rest, take a hike, read a book, watch a movie. Do whatever it is that you do that helps you to rest. You need it. God commands it.

Paul takes a second approach on rest that we need to see as well.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks of all the hardships that he went through as he served well. But he encourages us with a thought.

2 Corinthians 12:7–10 “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

As we work, through our 6 days of hard work throughout the week, even in our one day of rest if we should take it, we need the grace of Christ Jesus to help us to rest.

We rest physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, but only in Christ.

When life is kicking us, when ministry is hard, when family is tough, when work is miserable. Whatever it is that we do, when we are serving Christ well, we can find rest for our souls when we trust in Christ.

In our weakness, in our absence, in our stress, in our faults and failures, He is made strong, His grace is sufficient to bring us through the worst of the worst.

Get rid of the pride that says “I can’t rest because I am needed” and realize that you are commanded to rest because in your rest you learn that God is still in control. He will take care of you. He will take care of your problems. He will take care of what you are afraid to mess up because of your rest.

His grace is sufficient for your weakness. Trust in His strength to take control.

End Well

Finally, when you serve well, no matter when you start, you can end well.

2 Timothy 4:7–8 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

Paul was nearing the end as he penned this letter to Timothy and he recognized a few things.

He started well.

He gave well.

He rested well.

And now he is finishing well.

Paul understood God’s grace enough to not bring up his past in this monologue, but only what Christ has used him for.

This is how we end well, we keep our eyes set on Christ and His work.

We don’t look to our flaws, we don’t look to our past, we don’t retire from service to the Lord. We keep on serving in whatever capacity until the very end.

We fight a good fight everyday and give God glory.

We finish the course that God has set before us, and we do so well.

We keep the faith

We look to the hope of eternity with the Lord.

We keep on serving God and others.

The only way to do this though is to recognize what God has done when we started well. It is only possible if we continually give of ourselves well. We will only make it through the course if we abandon our American dream and rest well.

Jesus did

Paul did

Why can’t we?

SONG

Conclusion

Service is the call of Christ on the lives of us all. We are called to serve God, others, our families, our church, ourselves at times. We are a people called to sacrificial service, something modeled best by our Savior Jesus Christ.

Start today. Start with Christ.

*Salvation plea*

Many of us struggle to trust God enough to give well. We struggle to rest well. We worry about ending well.

Church, it is as simple as trusting that God will do what He says He will do. He will provide when we give. He will take care when we rest. He will hold to His promise so that we can finish our course well.

Start today. Start trusting, giving, resting, and serving the Lord.