Serving Basics

January 23rd 2022

Series: Basics of the Faith

Sermon Title: Serving Basics

Topic: A message on what the Bible says about how to serve.

Key Passages: Various

Sermon Blurb: It is rare to meet someone how would say, “I have extra time, how can I serve you?” We all think we are too busy, and maybe we are. But the Bible has something to say about serving and in this message, we learn what that is.

Sermon:

Family Moment

Hello Family Church!!!

Welcome back to week four of our sermon series called Basics of the Faith.

PAUSE

If you are new, or newer, to Family Church you probably do not know what we do EVERY January around here….so let me explain.

Every January we spend the month talking about things HEALTHY followers of Jesus do.

Because it is our goal for everyone at Family Church to be a healthy follower of Jesus.

So maybe, just maybe, you will walk away from church every week this month with some additional ideas of things you can put into practice in 2022 to become a healthier follower of Jesus.

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This month we will be talking about Basics of the Faith.

Let me explain what we have been doing….

In week #1 we talked about Bible Basics. What is the Bible? How did God give us the Bible. How do we study the Bible? And so forth.

In week #2 we talked about everyone’s FAVORITE thing!!! MONEY!!!

In week #3 we talked about Prayer Basics. What is prayer? How did God teach us to pray? How do we pray? And so forth.

And this week we are going to talk about Serving Basics. What is biblical serving? How did God teach us to serve? And so forth.

It is rare to meet someone who would say, “I have extra time, how can I serve you?”

We all think we are too busy, and maybe we are.

But the Bible has something to say about serving and in this message, we learn what that is.

Then we will wrap this month up next weekend talking about Fasting Basics. What is Biblical fasting. How did God teach us to fast? And so forth.

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If you missed any of the prior weeks I would encourage you to go back and listen to them online.

Let’s not let another year go by without growing closer to Jesus.

Let’s not let another year go by without becoming a more committed disciple of Jesus.

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This whole series is to help us as a church understand what we should do as followers of Jesus.

See as your Pastor I want Family Church to be known for what we stand FOR……I have no desire as your pastor for our church to be known for what we stand against.

And if we are honest today….when people think about churches…they know far more about what they are against but they know very little about what they are actually for…..

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As a church we want to be SUPER CLEAR…..what we stand FOR. We have no desire to be known for what we stand against…..we want to be known for what we stand for.

Far too often non-Christians in communities know 1 of 2 things about churches:

1. What they are against…..

a. That is the anti-gay church

b. That is the church you’re not welcome in if you don’t wear a suit

c. That is the church that hates whatever….

d. That is the church that is all rock band or all traditional

e. And so on…..

2. Or people have no idea anything about them….because they are doing nothing in the community and few people know they even exist!!

And if you don’t think I am right; I would challenge you to go walk around any store and ask people what they know about churches in the area.

Go ask random people what they know about Family Church.

Ask the teller at the gas station or the clerk at your shopping store.

Ask them what churches stand for the community….and see what they say!!

You might be surprised….I have been doing that with people I meet in this community….and it is enlightening!

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So today…..Let me unpack another Biblical ideal…..and we have said this before……

Saved People Serve People.

Did you know that God even said it is NOT enough to just love Him?

Let that sink in…..

Some of you I know are like….ummmmm I am not sure I agree with that Pastor Adam……

Let me show you in the Bible…. Because this not my personal opinion….open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 22 and we will begin reading at verse 34……

New Person Bible Talk

App Talk

Let me explain one thing before we dive into verse 34.

I know, we have spent some time on this passage over the years; but today we are going to unpeel some additional layers to this onion.

For those who are new here, Jesus is talking with the GOOD CHURCH going folks of his day. He is talking with the Sadducees and Pharisees.

They were the group of people that back in Jesus’ time were the church leaders.

And on this day these church leaders, these GOOD CHURCH going folks…..

They are trying to trap Jesus with Biblical questions.

The GOOD CHURCH going folks are trying to get Jesus to say something that goes against what the church taught.

These church people are willfully trying to trap Jesus in theology!

And I lead out with that because we can all get trapped in this mentality.

We might NOT like what a person is saying….

So, we try to TRAP them to show everyone around why they should not listen to that person….

That is EXACTLY what these church leaders are trying to do to Jesus….

So, question after question and finally Jesus says this:

Matthew 22:

The Greatest Commandment

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

So let me continue to paint the picture….

Both these groups, Sadducees, and Pharisees, were Jewish leaders.

Sadducees were a socio-political group who were characterized by its elite and priestly class. Sadducees enjoyed authority because they were the priestly class that also included the aristocrats.

The members of this group often held important and powerful positions in the society, and they also had a majority in the ruling council.

During this period, Israel was ruled by the Roman Empire and Sadducees agreed to whatever decisions were tagreed on by Rome.

This attitude was not liked by the common people, and the common people did not think highly of the Sadducees.

Sadducees believed only in the written Law of Moses and did not approve the Oral Torah. They did not believe in the afterlife and opposed priesthood to be given to any other class of people other than themselves.

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The Pharisees were a socio-political group among the Jews that was made up of common people.

This class of people directly opposed the Sadducees because of differences in social and political status.

Pharisees gave equal respect to the Oral Torah and believed in after life, resurrection and the existence of angels.

This group was made up of the masses, and it represented the views of the common man.

This group had business people among its members who were in touch with the common man.

So to put it in modern terms they would be like Republicans and Democrats….two groups with common roots; but differing beliefs.

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FYI Modern Judaism traces its roots more towards the Pharisees.

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It is important to note that BOTH these groups opposed Jesus.

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So, let’s see what Jesus says is the GREATEST commandment. And bear in mind this is a trap…. Because God had given Moses 10 commandments.

And since God already Gave us 10….they can trap Jesus by forcing him to pick one…..

So what does Jesus say….and how does this tie to serving….let’s see…

Verse 37

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

Right there Jesus quoted what Moses said in Deuteronomy 6:5; right after God gave Moses the 10 commandments.

But remember what I said a few minutes ago…..it is not enough to love God alone….. Well Jesus goes on to say:

39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Right here Jesus quotes Leviticus 19:18 and Jesus wraps up His response with:

40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

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Jesus said EVERYTHING is based on Loving God with everything you have and everything you are…. And when you do that it naturally leads to something else…..called loving those around you as you love yourself!

He doesn’t say Love God and let everyone else burn…… He says…..IF you LOVE God how can you NOT love other people?

How can you NOT serve other people?

If you are saved by the grace of God, how can you not serve other people?

Jesus demonstrated this for us throughout His life right up to the end where Jesus gave up his life for us!

How can you not serve other people?

LONG PAUSE

Let me ask you something….

Would your neighbors, coworkers, friends, or family say you’re a servant to others? Why or why not?

I want to encourage you to ponder that.

How do others view you?

Even if you are the boss….do you still serve your employees?

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Let me give you a REAL example from our church of how a boss did this….

So, one of the many amazing business owners in our church reached out to Pastor Keith and I many months ago because someone who worked for him was pondering taking his life….

And this business owner was like I have NO IDEA what to say or do….so he reached out to us and we said “ we are on our way!”

And we went and hopefully helped out!

But that is not the point…..

The point is this….

The employee knew his boss would try to help him!

The employee knew his boss loved him.

The employee knew his boss would serve him.

And I have to admit I was SO PROUD of this business owner when he openly said he wanted the best for his employee…

That he was willing to meet with him ON THE CLOCK and study God’s word and help him!

That is serving others…..

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Do the people around you KNOW you love them and you will serve them…..

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Move in your Bibles to Ephesians 2.

Study Bible 2401

I want to spend a few moments talking about one of the more difficult and sensitive parts of being a follower of Jesus.

And as we walk through his passage I will unpack what I mean.

Ephesians 2: 8-10

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Right here states probably the greatest argument Christian people give behind why they do NOT need to do anything.

We are saved by grace we are NOT saved by works….which is accurate.

Which is true.

Which I will not argue about for a minute.

We are saved by our faith through the grace of Jesus.

Let me say this right here….if you are here today and you do not know Jesus as your savior….if you give your life to Jesus in faith…..you are saved by His grace.

There is no better promise in the world!

No better gift!

You will receive freedom from your sin, by the grace of Jesus!

And while that is wonderful….. I want all the Christians in the room to hear what is said next……

(mom keep together)

10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to

to do what church……

do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Pause right here…..

What does it meant to be created in Christ Jesus TO DO good works?

What this means is that when we become disciples of Jesus, a follower of Jesus, that we are literally made NEW!

That we become a NEW creation and I want you to see the really important part right here!!!!!

And you can see a note about this in your study Bibles!!!!

The scope of this creation is MORE than just as an individual!

It also includes people outside!

It includes people in our community!

And what God is saying right here is that these “good works” that flow out of us are not what lead to us being saved but they are the evidence of being God’s children!

The “good works” you do are evidence that you are a follower of Jesus!!!!

So you are right…..doing good stuff is not required to be saved…..

BUT understand that God tells us that we can look at the kind of life you are living, and we can see if you are saved……

Because if you are walking with God……you will look like Jesus!

This passage says we are MADE NEW in the image of Jesus….and what did Jesus do? Jesus served like no person has ever served in human history!

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I mean think about it…Jesus was and is God. Jesus left the perfection of heaven and gave up everything to become a human.

He lived a life where he was persecuted to no end.

He lived a life where he was beaten for telling people to seek God.

He lived a life where he was imprisoned for not bending to the will of society and standing tall for God.

And why did Jesus do all of this????? He did it so that he could become the perfect sacrifice for our sins!

Jesus was willing to serve you and me and every person that ever existed so fully that he was willing to give up EVERYTHING…including His life…..so you and I could enter into eternity and be with Him!!!!

Jesus served…..and Jesus said when we are made new in Him we become a reflection of Him and out of that should flow “good works.”

God said we can look at what a person does….and it indicates what is really inside them….what they really believe….

Later today read the rest of Ephesians 2 and you will see that is true.

PAUSE

Have you asked God if He wants you to serve in some way?

What would you do if God invited you to serve today?

You were created on purpose, with a purpose, for a purpose.

What purpose do you think God has in mind for you?

What are you doing to learn more about your God given purpose?

Who is someone you could help?

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I want you all to understand this today:

Your servicecan help others connect with Jesus.

Let me show you one of my favorite stories about this in the Bible turn to Mark 2

As you are getting there in your Bibles, I want you to think about something….and I want you to think about this as you are reading this passage with me.

I want you all to think about one of two things…..I want you to think about the person, or persons, who led youto Jesus or the person that led you here today to hear this message.

How is your relationship with Jesus different because of the way that person served you or guided you?

Think about that and let’s begin reading at verse 1.

Mark 2:1-12

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.

So, these four friends are serving their friend who cannot walk….

4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.

Now that is what I call friends! They are willing to anything to help their friend get close to Jesus!

Are you willing to do anything to help your friends encounter a real and living God?

5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Pause right here…..again these people who would be considered the good church going people…..church leaders do not like what Jesus is doing!!!!

They do not like this change that Jesus is teaching…..because it goes against their tradition….

And look at how Jesus responds to their thoughts:

8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?

Obvious answer…it is easier to say a person is forgiven…..

10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Amazing right?

These friends were not afraid to serve their friend….and their serving their friend not only led to him begin healed…..it also led to countless people to praise God!

Good works will reveal God…..

God said: By your good works people will see you are His.

Everyone there that day clearly saw God…. including the religious people that did NOT want to see God!

Let me ask you this….. When is the last time you have served other people to such an extent that people praised God? When is the last time you have served other people to such an extent that people praised God?

When is the last time you served so selflessly that people saw God in your actions?

PAUSE

Saved People Serve People so that served people would become saved people.

Let me say that again…. Saved People Serve People so that served people would become saved people.

We are not just serving to serve. We are doing it with purpose. We are not just doing church for the sake of doing church. We are doing this for a reason.

We do not just do kids ministry to do kids ministry. We do not just do teen ministry to do teen ministry.

We are not just going to do things because we always have…. We are going to do things that have a purpose and a reason.

And if that purpose or reason is not to lead people closer to Jesus; we are not going to focus on that.

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Let’s bring this into your personal life….I want to go back to an illustration I have used before that I think is powerful…..

Imagine your boss is God and you work for God.

Imagine if tomorrow you walked into your place of work and your boss, who is now God, said, “doing good works is now part of your job”…..

Would your life look different?

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If God said to you……part of your JOB is serving others….

Would your life look different?

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If God said, “I want you to give the BEST of your time, talent and your treasure to God,” which he did by the way…

And if your yearly performance review from God was based on that…..would you invest your TIME, TALENT, and Treasure differently?

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Because God said this in Colossians 3:23

Colossians 3:23, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

There are some key mental shifts some of us need to make based on this verse.

What is the first word in this passage?

WHATEVER

That means everything you do…..

At Home

At Work

At School

At Youth Group

At Church

On the Basketball court, volleyball court, baseball field, track field and so on…

Everything you do….God says you are to be the best…..No

God says you have to be the captain…..NO

God says you have to be a starter…NO

God says you have to get all A’s…NO

God says you have to be the boss…NO

God does not say any of that….he simply says to give it your all. To do it with all your heart.

And the reason is important…..you do not do that for your coach, your parent or your boss. You do it for God. You do it to reflect God!

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Because again……people should see God when they see you! You should look like a reflection of Jesus….. remember it because Jesus gave it all for you and me!

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Saved People Serve People.

Plain and simple.

So here is your life application……

Life Application

Make a commitment today to serve MORE than you have in the past. That could mean you grab a connection card in the seat in front of your right now….fill it out and start serving at our church!

That could mean you start serving in the school system

That could mean you start coaching.

That could mean you start serving at a local food bank.

That could mean you serve a neighbor and help them.

That could mean a lot of things.

I just want to encourage you to do it more…

Take your relationship with Jesus to the next level today.

Let’s Pray…..