For Those Who Serve

Why We’re Here

This Is For You

I want to say thank you for being here, because these moments are so important to the Church.

We need people who are willing to serve. It’s absolutely essential.

And if you’re here, it’s because you either serve in the church already (from greeting at the front door, to singing, to teaching Sunday School), or you are interested in it.

The things that I’m about to say and talk about… this is for you.

There is a pull at your heart to do something for God. And that pull came directly from Him. Maybe you’re not even sure what it is you are to do yet, but you know that you’ve been given a purpose that is beyond working a 40-hour work week at a local business. Wouldn’t it be horrible if my only purpose on this earth was to be involved with the producing of railcars?!

But that’s not the case - God made me for ETERNAL things!

I can remember feeling the first pulls at my heart to work for God at a young age. Seeing Youth Workers, seeing preachers and seeing how churches functioned. I felt interested in how I could help to make things better and improve what was happening.

So this training we’re doing today is for you...

But It’s Also For Them

…but it’s also for them! And when I say them, I mean anyone who can be served or ministered to, including those inside and outside of our church. It’s really all for them.

And so that means a couple of things:

We need to make people our focus.

We need to allow God to form us in such a way that we can serve Him and serve people best.

Pastor said it best:

“The Lord is not about exalting you. He's about raising you up to be an effective tool in His hands.”

Phil LaRue

When we have a Halloween event, a Pancake Breakfast, a Ladies Outing… whatever it is we are working on… it’s actually about serving people and moving them toward God.

And here’s the thing: Pastor is unable to do it all. That is entirely impossible. It’s also not biblical.

Acts 6:1–7 NKJV

1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 6 whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. 7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

When a church starts, the Pastor and family are almost certainly required to do everything. Home Missions churches all over experience this. But as things grow, and people are added, it becomes impossible. Something has to change. The saints - the disciples - who are submitted to that Pastor (all of us) have to grow into serving in capacities so that the Pastor can oversee it and focus on the spiritual growth of the church.

And so we are in need of people who will serve - in many areas in the church.

And we need to prepare ourselves to serve well.

Keys To Serving

I’m going to talk about doing the work well and serving in the church, but first I want to make some points about what is needed to sustain being a good servant of the Lord.

Personal Relationship

I mean, you probably guessed this one. But let’s not belittle it. It’s crucial. If I am going to have hand in pushing someone toward God and having a relationship with Him, I want to have tasted and seen for myself, and also be partaking of His bread daily!

Important scripture:

John 12:26 NKJV

26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

If we’re going to serve Him, we need to follow Him.

This involves being faithful. Faithful to God and being faithful in God’s Church.

If you’re going to serve and work in the Church, you need to be living out Acts 2:38 in your life, or be striving to accomplish that. Let me just say, if you are seeking the Holy Ghost, you will receive the Holy Ghost. It will happen.

Personal relationship means striving to live a life of holiness before God. It means personal devotion in prayer and your bible. What we want for the people we’re ministering to needs to be at work in our own lives, right?!

Committed To Souls

The work we’re doing involves souls. God is interested in souls. Therefore, I should be interested in souls.

Part of being at work in the Church is that STRANGE people who do STRANGE things will sometimes enter the picture. Sometimes it may seem that they are completely opposite of you. But our mentality should be: they have a soul that is precious to God. Our actions should reflect that.

Let me tell you how someone can be a servant, committed to souls. If a lady walks in off the street, no one knows her. And in the duration of our Sunday Morning service - or, let’s make it even more awkward - during our Wednesday Night… she comes down to the altar alone, sobbing and praying. And Sis. {name of someone here} comes down to pray with her.

That is the action of a servant who is committed to souls. Jesus would go out of His way to look foolish in eating with tax collectors and sinners. Criticized for it.

Mark 2:17 NKJV

17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

You know what they need? They need someone to escort them to the Great Physician. A servant.

Some of this work in the church is about getting close to people. And sometimes when you get close to people, they begin to reveal their struggles and weaknesses. It becomes dirty. You may end up getting a little grime and things on you. And I’m not talking about working on church property. I’m talking about personal issues that people need to have someone who they can talk to about, someone who can help guide them to God. Got to be okay with getting your hands dirty!

Bought Into The Vision

Another great trait of someone who is going to serve in the Church is for them to be bought into the vision.

God has given us a Pastor to lead the growth of this church. God has given Him a certain vision for what He wants. Not unlike Noah was given instruction for the ark. And we need to be on board with that vision, and say, “Pastor, just give me a hammer and a nail… and let’s do this!”

Questions that are good to keep in mind:

“How can I help to make my Pastor’s vision come about?”

“Is what I am doing in this area of the church aligned with what Pastor is wanting for this work?”

And you don’t necessarily have to go and ask him that yourself, but it’s a great way to stay within the vision that God has given.

So, to recap, three important Keys to Serving:

Personal Relationship

Committed to Souls

Bought into the Vision

Working In The Church

Right Motivation

I talked a lot this morning about the issue of pride. And if we’re going to work for the Lord, we definitely need to have right motives behind it.

Proverbs 16:2 NKJV

2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the spirits.

Proverbs 21:2 NKJV

2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.

1 Thessalonians 2:4 NKJV

4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.

Ultimately, God does know what’s in our heart. And He blesses those who are working for His kingdom and not their own.

When we’re placed over a project in the Church, or given responsibilities in this area, it’s not so that I can exercise authority. It’s not so I can get recognized or be admired. It’s for His kingdom!

Being An Example

Now, let me talk about being an example.

When I am put into these places/situations/roles, I am actually acting as a representative of the Church. And of God. So how should the Church and God be represented?

I have to be an example!

“If everyone in my church were just like me, what kind of church would my church be?”

Anonymous

Now, if everyone in the church was just like some people, you’d walk in and no one would be there.

So here’s a question: what kind of church do you want to be a part of?

Something we require of our staff is to be at pre-service prayer. Because we know that in order to create a culture of prayer in the church, the rest of the saints need to see leadership and those who are the core active in pre-service prayer.

I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m actually revealing just how important you all are - in this room - to our growth.

So, we need to set the example in:

Prayer

Praise + Worship

Giving

Going to the Altar

Attendance

People who come in will pay attention to what you do in these areas, and follow suit.

Priorities, Excellence, + Being Prepared

When we’re doing work for the Lord, we want to do it well. It’s for Him!

Colossians 3:23 NIV

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

I want to go back to some scripture that I’ve already read today.

John 12:25 NKJV

25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

The phrase loves his life describes those who serve only themselves. They work the job. They gather for themselves. They only do the things that benefit them and their household. But hates his life involves serving Christ.

And so what this means is that every believer has to establish his or her priorities. We cannot give ourselves fully to this life and yet also be committed to the life to come!

John 12:26 NKJV

26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

Follow me in this context means to follow Jesus’ example of self-sacrifice. It’s interesting, what we’re talking about involves sacrifice. If you’re going to be a greeter, that means that you’re going to have to get up 30 minutes to an hour earlier on Sunday to do that. If you’re going to be a Sunday School teacher, not only will you need to get here early, you’ll do some work throughout the week to be ready.

Sacrifice.

But why did Jesus sacrifice? Why did He set the example of “hating” His life in this world? So that He could accomplish eternal purposes.

Philippians 2:5–11 NKJV

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Oh, don’t you want to accomplish eternal purposes???

I’ll sacrifice throughout the week. Personally, I put at the very least - bare minimum - 3 hours of prayer, study, and preparation into every sermon I preach. Many times much more. This isn’t me trying to brag about it. I’m trying to illustrate some time that has to be sacrificed. Why would I do this? For what purpose? For ETERNAL purpose!

Outside of what we have going in the church, Sis. Kierstin and I work for Section 9 Youth to hold events for students in the area. And we’ll be spending our weekend in Little Rock in a couple of weeks to help plan events for youth in the state of Arkansas. In between Christmas and New Years, we will travel to Holiday Youth Convention to help work at the event we helped plan. Sacrificing great time, vacation days, and finances. For what purpose? For ETERNAL purpose!

Now, I know not everyone has all of that kind of responsibility. But to serve, to work in the church, requires these sorts of sacrifices. You’ll have some of your own. And it will also mean that we have to get our priorities straight.

We’ve got to have time for our family. We’ve got to have time for our job to provide for that family. We’ve got responsibilities at our home. And we also have to have time to work for God. This all can be really difficult to juggle.

How many will be honest in saying you’ve struggled with priorities before??? DEFINITELY ME! I’ve had to seriously improve in this area.

But it’s much like finding time to read your bible or pray. It CAN be done. It’s just us actually carving out the time and forcing our schedule and routines to obey. Just say you’re making a poster for some event we’re having, or you’re teaching a bible study to someone, or you’re learning a song for a special. Simply answer these questions:

How much time do I need in the week to do this?

When is the best time for me to get it done?

And then pencil it into your calendar like any other thing you make time for. “THIS IS WHEN I’M MAKING IT HAPPEN.”

Working With Others

God has made it so that many sorts of people, personalities, nationalities, and races should work together in His Church. We are to be multi-cultural!

But we’re also to be multi-personality.

And so that means that there are going to be people of personalities that are totally different from you. It also means opinions which may be totally different from yours. That’s okay, we need all of them in order to function well. We need other perspectives. We need other life experiences to glean from.

Sometimes there may be disagreements in the course of working with others. That’s okay. We need to work through them to a solution. But there should never be friction between us when we’re working for the Kingdom. If there is, it needs to be resolved.

We should never yell at one another or be hateful to one another. Even when we disagree. Remember, we are being representatives.

But, inevitably, times will come when there may be disagreements. I’ve been there. Use discernment, godly wisdom, and if necessary, take it to leadership for help. It’s not about us getting our way, it’s about going the right way.

Taking Ownership

Take ownership of what you are responsible for.

Conclusion

All Hands On Deck

You are part of the growth of this church. You are crucial to it and God intends to bless your commitment.

And as we continue to improve and have more opportunities and more training, I'm confident that there are some leaders in this room that God is raising up.

Q&A