Shaped for Serving God
Shaped for Serving God
Purpose driven Life # 5
October 23, 2004 and October 24, 2004
(Hand outs while showing clip-“success”)
Introduction
This is part five of the purpose driven life. Last week we talked about discipleship. Before that fellowship and worship. Remember I said that you probably won’t encounter new information as much as getting what you know deeper into your heart. The conclusion of the matter is to gain a strong sense that you have a purpose from God, in eternity but also in this life.
In the clip we saw the people were giving their definition or their idea of success. Elvis Presley is still as famous as ever if not more so. According to worldly standards he was very successful. He died at age 42 of drug abuse and obesity. His wife Priscilla said this about him: “Elvis never came to terms with who he was meant to be. Or what his purpose in life was. He thought he was here for a reason, maybe to preach, maybe to serve, maybe to save, maybe to care for people. That agonizing desire was always with him and he knew he wasn’t fulfilling it. So he’d go on stage and he wouldn’t have to think about it.”
If you knew anything about Elvis he was always giving away cars and stuff. He had a deep desire to serve but never got to really do it.
We all have that deep desire. That is what we are talking about today. We get a chance to discover what Elvis never did.
“We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good
works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph. 2:10 (NIV)
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (NLT)
-We are the work of a master craftsman.
-I love to see people do things with wood or something where they really do a good job. Ronnie did this platform and it was great to watch him do it.
-I can barely whittle a whistle.
-The word for masterpiece/workmanship is the word:
4161 ποίημα [poiema /poy·ay·mah/] “thing that is made” once, and “workmanship” once. 1 that which has been made. 2 a work. 2a of the works of God as creator.[1]
-That is the root word for poem and poetry.
-God designed that into you.
Example
In addition to Mt. Rushmore, one of Gutzin Borglum's great works as a sculptor is the head of Lincoln in the Capitol at Washington. He cut it from a large, square block of stone in his studio. One day, when the face of Lincoln was just becoming recognizable out of the stone, a young girl was visiting the studio with her parents. She looked at the half-done face of Lincoln, her eyes registering wonder and astonishment. She stared at the piece for a moment then ran to the sculptor. "Is that Abraham Lincoln?" she asked. "Yes." "Well," said the little girl, "how in the world did you know he was inside there?"
Bits & Pieces, June 23, 1994, p. 23.
“Your hands shaped me and made me.” Job 10:8 (NIV)
-This message talks about 5 unique things that God put in you to determine your uniqueness. Why are you who you are?
Spiritual Gifts Heart Abilities Personality Experiences
-Dave Embrey taught something similar and he used the acrostic: DESIGN
Desires/Experiences/Skills/Individual personal style/Gifts/Niche
-The real key is discovering and recognizing your uniqueness.
-When I was a teenager there was a song by Peter Frampton that said; “I love your way”. I think that is a good word to use for YOU. Your way. Who you are as a sum of all of the things God put in you.
-To go through life without unwrapping the package isn’t good.
-You and I need to discover, develop and use our God given gifts to bless others.
“Each one should use whatever gift he’s received to serve others.”
1 Pet. 4:10 (NIV)
(slide)
MY 4th PURPOSE IS TO
SERVE GOD BY SERVING OTHERS
-The word for this is ministry.
-I don’t like to use that word much because it is pregnant with all sorts of religious connotations.
-When we say ministry we think preaching and singing and being admired by others. That is just Charismatic show business.
-There is a difference between what is prominent and what is essential. Your nose is prominent but you can live without it. Your liver is hidden but it is essential.
-We need the wisdom to rightly prioritize.
-The world may never applaud you while you are here. Are you ok with that or is insecurity driving you to have the acceptance of others.
-The world works to be served. Jesus showed us the opposite.
Jesus: “Your attitude must be like My Own, for I did not come to be
served, but to serve...” Matt. 20:28 (LB)
LEARNING TO SERVE LIKE JESUS
-Rick Warren brings out that we are practicing here on the earth to serve in eternity.
-You were created to serve at the very core of your being.
-Jesus of course is our model and example.
(slide)
1. SERVING LIKE JESUS MEANS BEING AVAILABLE.
“Two blind men... shouted, ‘Lord, have mercy on us!’ ... Jesus
stopped and called them. ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’
He asked.” Matt. 20:30-32 (NIV)
“Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can
help them now.” Prov. 3:28 (TEV)
-Notice when the blind men shouted to Jesus He STOPPED.
-In order to be used by the Lord you must be willing to be interrupted.
-Think of all of the “STOPS” Jesus made in His ministry.
-Jesus was interrupted at a wedding. He was interrupted on His way to Galilee for His second miracle.
-Study the stops in Jesus’ ministry. Almost all of them have a miracle.
-This doesn’t mean you don’t have and keep plans.
-Just remember your life is not your own.
-What are some of the barriers to service?
(slide)
1st Barrier: SELF-CENTEREDNESS
-This just means we are more self conscious than God and people conscious.
-There are three types of people:
· God Conscious
· Self Conscious
· Unconscious
-Remember that when Adam and Eve sinned the immediate result was that their focus was turned to themselves.
“Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.”
Phil. 2:4 (MSG)
(slide)
2nd Barrier: PERFECTIONISM
-I’ll get involved with I am not so busy or when circumstances are different.
-The only way to walk in wisdom is to do the most important things in life.
-Often we are waiting for perfect conditions to begin.
-Someday I’m gonna……..!
“If you wait for perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything
done.” Eccl. 11:4 (NLT)
-We are ordinary normal people living in a fallen world.
-Nothing in life is perfect except Jesus Christ.
-Some of us by nature are perfectionists. This is the wrong age for that. Wait until Jesus returns. “When that which is perfect comes….”
(slide)
3rd Barrier: MATERIALISM
“No servant can serve two masters... You cannot serve both
God and money." Luke 16:13 (NIV)
-Notice how many of those people in the beginning clip said money would make them happy and successful.
MONEY JUST MAKES YOU MORE OF WHAT YOU ALREADY ARE!
-We all need money. It takes wisdom to show restraint. The eyes of man are never satisfied.
Ecclesiastes 5 NIV
10 Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. [2]
-Thank God for money. Use them as tools. Don’t see them as a report card.
(slide)
2. SERVING LIKE JESUS MEANS BEING GRATEFUL.
“Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have
heard Me. I knew that you always hear Me, but I said this for the
benefit of the people standing here...’" John 11:41-42 (NIV)
“Serve the Lord with gladness.” Ps. 100:2 (KJV)
“It is He who saved us and chose us for His holy work not because
we deserved it but because that was His plan...” 2 Tim. 1:9 (LB)
-In view of God’s mercy……
-If you are glad for what Jesus has done for you…use your gifts to serve others.
(slide)
1st Barrier: COMPARING & CRITICIZING
“Who are you to criticize someone else's servant? The Lord will
determine whether His servant has been successful.”
Rom. 14:4 (GW)
-I think of Jesus with John and Peter on the beach.
John 21 NIV
19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
/22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” [3]/
-What difference does someone else’s life make to you?
Example
Several people have given mega bucks at a friend of mine’s church. Our biggest offering has probably been less than $30,000 at any one time. It is easy to compare. The Lord spoke to me-corrected me about that.
(slide)
2nd Barrier: WRONG MOTIVATIONS
-In view of God’s mercy……
-We focus on what God did for us and then out of that gratefulness we serve others and love Him.
-When we step into judgment in eternity we will be judged for WHY we did things more than WHAT we did.
“When you do good deeds, don't try to show off. If you do, you
won't get a reward from your Father in heaven.” Matt. 6:1 (CEV)
-Try doing your work, even on the job as though you were working for the Lord.
-Just set your heart and tell the Lord that no matter what they pay you or how they treat you….He is your boss.
-Then do extra with a good attitude and see if He rewards you.
(slide)
3. SERVING LIKE JESUS MEANS BEING FAITHFUL.
“I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You
gave me to do.” John 17:4 (NIV)
“The one thing required of servants is that they be faithful...”
1 Cor. 4:2 (TEV)
“Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that
nothing you do for Him is a waste of time or effort.”
1 Cor. 15:58 (MSG)
“He will not forget how hard you have worked for Him and how
you have shown your love to Him by caring for other
Christians.” Heb. 6:10 (NLT)
“'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful
with a few things so; I will put you in charge of many things.
Come and share your master's happiness!” Matt. 25:21 (NIV)
-When you are looking for people in ministry you always look for people who are FAT.
FAITHFUL (someone you can rely on)
AVAILABLE (hard workers willing to sacrifice)
TEACHABLE (attitude)
Proverbs 25
19 /Like a bad tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in times of trouble. [4] /
-An unfaithful person is like a toothache or a stumped toe.
-The world is desperately searching for people they can pay $100,000 plus to. They are looking for people who will accept responsibility and be faithful.
Example
Several years ago two teenage boys tried to come into a church service at night only it was packed out and they couldn’t find any seats. So they turned around and decided to leave because they couldn’t find a seat. But one usher said, “Come on, guys. I’ll find you a seat.” And that usher personally escorted them down to the center and set them in the middle and found them two seats. That night both of those boys accepted Christ and became Christians. One of them was Billy Graham who has now led millions and tens of millions of people to Christ. Do you think that usher is going to get any credit in heaven? I’ll say! We have no idea of the significance of small acts. So never, you know, belittle the little because it’s all important. Real servants do every task with equal dedication because they know it all matters. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing something important that is well known or if you’re doing something important that’s not well known. It’s all important. Would you write this down? Don’t mistake anonymous with insignificant. Don’t mistake anonymous with insignificant or even unnecessary. Just because it’s not known doesn’t mean it’s unnecessary.
-There are so many people who have dedicated themselves to work at the church.
-Sometimes it is within your gift and sometimes it is just work. When you live in a house you are responsible to help with the dishes and take out the trash.
-When revival was stopped in Acts 6 they appointed workers to work and organize and the revival began again.
-Sometimes it doesn’t require more prayer just some blood sweat and tears.
-Jesus is building His Church. I make no apology in telling you that one of the most important things you can do with your life is to serve God in your ministry. Ministry is spelled WORK.
-We need you! Get involved!
MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES IN THE REAR OF THE SANCTUARY ON THE TABLES
The staff will be back there. Sign up for something!
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[1]Strong, J. (1996). The exhaustive concordance of the Bible : Showing every word of the test of the common English version of the canonical books, and every occurence of each word in regular order. (electronic ed.) (G4161). Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship.
[2]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Ec 5:10). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[3]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Jn 21:19). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[4]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Pr 25:19). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.