Our Service for God

Text

John 9:1–5 KJV 1900

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Introduction

We see a transition in John chapter 9 from John chapter 8.

In John 8 Jesus is dealing with Pharisees who refuse to see though they have eyes

In John 9 Jesus is dealing with a man blind from birth who obeys the Lord and therefore receives sight

But before the Lord turns his attention to the blind man he teaches his disciples a lesson about service.

Transition: as we look at the example of Christ I want us to notice 6 important truths about our service to God.

I. The Sight of our Service

“he saw a man which was blind from his birth”

Jesus noticed this man and he noticed his condition

We find a similar example in Matthew 9 :

Matthew 9:36 KJV 1900

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

What do you see when you look at people? What do we see when we look at our lost family? lost friends? lost neighbors?

John 4:35 KJV 1900

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

Illustration: Talking to Eli about Soul Winning

Eli asked me “are we going soul winning tomorrow?” I said yes sir we are .. he said “auuggghhh...” I asked him “don’t you want to go soul winning?” He said... “yeah but my feet get tired and its hot” I said “I know buddy…but think about something for a minute…what happens to a person if they trust Jesus as their savior?” .... He thought for a moment and said “they live with Jesus forever” and I said “what happens to a person if they dont trust Jesus as their savior?”…He thought for a moment again and said “they go to hell”…I said “well I think it’s worth some soar feet and getting a little hot don’t you?”…He said “yeah your right”

The Sight of our service and also the:

II. The Significance of our Service

“I must work the works of him”

This verse emphasizes the importance of our service IT IS A MUST!

We live in a busy age- everyone is busy! You ask someone how they are doing …answer …BUSY!

Illustration: We are Busy - But busy doing what?

The Disease of Being Busy - Omid Safi

I saw a dear friend a few days ago. I stopped by to ask her how she was doing, how her family was. She looked up, voice lowered, and just whimpered: “I’m so busy… I am so busy… have so much going on.”

Almost immediately after, I ran into another friend and asked him how he was. Again, same tone, same response: “I’m just so busy… got so much to do.”

The tone was exacerbated, tired, even overwhelmed.

And it’s not just adults. When we moved to North Carolina about ten years ago, we were thrilled to be moving to a city with a great school system. We found a diverse neighborhood, filled with families. Everything felt good, felt right.

After we settled in, we went to one of the friendly neighbors, asking if their daughter and our daughter could get together and play. The mother, a really lovely person, reached for her phone and pulled out the calendar function. She scrolled… and scrolled… and scrolled. She finally said: “She has a 45-minute opening two and half weeks from now. The rest of the time it’s gymnastics, piano, and voice lessons. She’s just…. so busy.”

Horribly destructive habits start early, really early.

How did we end up living like this? Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we do this to our children? When did we forget that we are human beings, not human doings?

(Nov 16, 2014 Article for On Being)

I am afraid as a whole Christians are busy doing things that dont matter. We are to busy for church, to busy to read our Bibles, to busy to study our Bibles, to busy to pray TO BUSY FOR GOD!

Luke 2:49 KJV 1900

And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?

Why are some Christians busy about the work of God and some are not? We do what we want!

Is serving God a priority to you?

The Sight of our Service, the Significance of our Service and the:

III. The Steadfastness of our Service

“I must work the works of him that sent me”

Jesus was being stoned out of town

If we compare what Christ is doing here with what is taking place in the end of John chapter 8 we can see that Jesus didn't let the circumstances of the moment prevent him from serving/working!

But many times this is not the case for us in our service for God.

Quote: Your character is what it takes to stop you - Bob Jones Sr.

The Sight of our Service, the Significance of our Service, the Steadfastness of our Service and the:

IV. The Sweat of our Service

“I must work the works of him”

Serving God is not a lazy man’s job - it takes diligence and dedication

Matthew 9:37 KJV 1900

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

Illustration: Breaking up soil in the backyard with Alex -

The soil was hard, packed and dense. I was teaching him to use a pick to loosen it. Before he went to bed he said “dad, my hands hurt..my forearms hurt”, I said “yep, that’s why its called work”!

The work of the ministry is very similar - it takes sweat!

Are we willing to sweat for the Lord?

The Sight , the Significance, the Steadfastness, the Sweat, and then the:

V. The Stewardship of our Service

“I must work…while it is day”

We cannot wait for a better season to serve - it is day now we must take advantage of the time we are given

Ephesians 5:16 KJV 1900

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Illustration: Getting a gift card and letting it expire

The Sight , the Significance, the Steadfastness, the Sweat, the Stewardship and finally the:

VI. The Submission of our Service

“the works of him that sent me”

Jesus was in total submission to his heavenly father

Who’s calling the shots in your life?

James 4:7 KJV 1900

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Definition: Submit- it means to sub - ordinate - to order ourselves underneath God!

God sent Christ and Christ sends us!

John 20:21 KJV 1900

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

It always boils down to the heart does it not? We serve God because we have a submissive heart!

Conclusion:

We have looked at the

The Sight of our Service

The Significance of our Service

The Steadfastness of our Service

The Sweat of our Service

The Stewardship of our Service

The Submission of our Service