Spotlight on Acts of Service

“I Knelt to Pray” by Sterling W. Sill

I knelt to pray as day began

And prayed, "Oh God, bless every man.

Lift from each weary heart some pain

And let the sick be well again."

And then I rose to meet the day

And thoughtlessly went on my way

I didn't try to dry a tear

Or take the time a grief to hear.

I took no steps to ease a load

Of hard-pressed travelers on the road;

I didn't even go to see

The sick friend who lives next to me

But then again when day was done

I prayed "Oh God bless everyone"

But as I prayed a voice rang clear

Instructing me to think and hear

"Consult your own heart as you pray;

What good have you performed today?

God's choicest blessings are bestowed

On those who help him bear the load."

And then I hid my face and cried,

"Forgive me, Lord, For I have lied.

Let me live another day

And I will live it as I pray."

We are in our sermon series: Mirrors to Windows where we have learned that like a mirror’s reflection, God wants us to reflect Jesus – and not just within the four walls of this church- but in the places outside these windows- in the ordinary everyday places of our lives.

To do that we must develop intimacy with God through spiritual discipline.

As we have learned, there are several spiritual disciplines such as experiencing the Bible, prayer, percentage giving, acts of service, and private and cooperate worship. This week we will put a spot light on the discipline of serving others.

Our first point this morning is:

SERMON POINTS

1. Jesus cares about people thus we are required to care for and serve, other people.

John 14 captures a beautiful moment between Jesus and His disciples in which Philip asks, “Lord show us the Father,” (verse 8) and Jesus replies,

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”

Pastor Andy Stanley explains,

“Jesus didn’t claim to have the best explanation of God. He claimed to BE the best explanation of Him. He didn’t come just to teach the ways of God… He came to demonstrate what God is like. In so doing, Jesus did something else that blew the first century follower’s minds. He demonstrated and He illustrated whom God liked. This was shocking to people of the first century. It was certainly shocking to His own people- the Jewish people living in Judea and Galilee in the first century. If you are not a Christian or perhaps you are here, or are watching at home, just because someone invited you- then I hope that what I am about to say sits in your mind for a while. This is something I think many of us miss. Notions like “God is love,” and “God loves everybody,” … or perhaps you have seen a bumper sticker that says, “Everybody matters to God,” you need to know and understand that all three of these ideas, are uniquely Christian ideas.”

Stanley goes on to point out that Jesus introduced these ideas to the world. The Greek and Roman gods that were worshiped during that time did not love anyone. They did only what pleased themselves. They used people like toys with no intrinsic worth or value. The Greek and Roman gods did not care for people and thus did not require people to care about other people either.

More than that, the culture in which Jesus and His first century disciples lived was a slavery culture. There were more slaves than there were free men. This slave culture devalues everyone because everyone is just one bad luck experience away from slavery. If you didn’t pay your debts- you could become a slave, if you lost a fight- you could become a slave, if your country was invaded- you could become a slave, if you angered the wrong person in power- you could become a slave, if your parents couldn’t afford to feed you- you could become a slave. This diminished a person’s worth to a transaction, to property.

Even the religious leaders of the Jewish community had devolved into their own version of karma. The Jewish law that originally presented people as valuable to God was taught in such a way as to imply that anyone who was poor, sick, or just down on their luck- were under God’s judgement, because, they believed God only blesses the righteous. So, if you were suffering- then you must not be righteous. If you are sick than God must be punishing you. If you are poor then your parents must have displeased God. They misapplied the law to keep women, and children, leapers, the sick, sinners, and Samaritans in (pause) their (pause) place. Because according to the Jewish religious leaders of that day- God favored powerful- prosperous- healthy- men (pause). In that world, compassion was not necessary because people got what was owed to them. If they were suffering it was because they were getting what they deserved (long pause).

So, Jesus’ teaching about caring for others was a brand new idea. The way He treated women, and children, the sick, outcasts, and the poor- was completely revolutionary.

As Stanley explains,

“Everywhere Jesus went He raised everybody’s dignity.”

In Jesus’ sermon on the mount He declared the worth and intrinsic value of everyone,

“blessed are the poor…, blessed are the meek…, blessed are the persecuted...”

But Jesus was more than His words. He demonstrated a new ethic with His actions. For Him, everyone was worthy of compassion, love, and attention.

He touched the sick- something that was simply not done in that day. The sick were morally unclean. You didn’t go and touch them.

He called lowly fishermen to be His disciples

He taught women and showed them respect.

He ministered to a Samaritan and a woman too boot.

He healed poor and wealthy alike.

He said, “let the children come to me.”

And on the cross He granted salvation to a convicted criminal

Going back to John 14:9 where Jesus said,

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” …

We know that the disciples “saw” Father God through Jesus- they learned about God by listening to Jesus’ teaching and watching what He did. This demonstrated to them that people have intrinsic value simply because they are human.

And so,

Jesus told His disciples to care for and to serve others even if they could not do anything for them in return. Jesus taught them that compassion and mercy, humility and selfless service, were God’s way and the new virtues of His kingdom.

That brings us to our second point this morning which is a bold one. Here it is…

2. You cannot be a Christian if you do not serve others.

In other words, you can not follow Jesus if you do not serve others.

I know, I know, that right about now you are coming up with all kinds of objections to that statement like, “Isn’t salvation Jesus’ free gift, a gift that can not be earned with good works.” True. I completely agree with you.

We do not serve to be saved, but because we are saved we serve.

Friends, the only way you can be saved is to put your faith and trust in Jesus and accept His free gift of forgiveness for your sins. However, Jesus doesn’t just want to be your savior, He wants to be Lord of your life. As we learned Jesus instructs His followers to care for and to serve others just as He cared for and served others. He said that the world would know that we are His followers by how well we love and care for one another.

Thus, you cannot be a follower of Jesus if you do not serve others.

But don’t take my word for it. Listen to what Jesus says in

Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV)

Matthew 25:31–46 NIV

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (The Word of the Lord)

The meaning of this parable is clear. Christians serve the least of these. If you do not serve them, then you are not following Jesus. Friends, is there anything more terrifying then to hear Jesus say, “I never knew you?” (shudder- long pause)

That brings us to our final point this morning,

3. To best reflect Jesus in our own frontlines we must commit to the spiritual discipline of serving others.

When we serve others it may be as public as preaching or leading a small group or as unglorified as changing diapers in the nursery. It may be as visible as singing on the worship team or behind the scenes like running sound. It may be publicly appreciated as sharing your testimony in a church service or as thankless as washing dishes after a church social. Outside the church walls, you may serve by caring for a another’s children, bring meals to shut-ins or the sick, giving someone a ride, shoveling snow for an elderly neighbor, or most difficult of all- modeling a servant’s heart within your own home. There are as many ways to serve as there are needs. But serving other should not only be a fly by experience. True, we should be available to help others as needs arise, however, we should make serving a spiritual discipline by committing in advance to serve others.

Author Donald Whitney explains,

“Serving must become a Spiritual Discipline... Two of the deadliest of our sins—sloth and pride—loathe serving. They paint glazes on our eyes and put chains on our hands and feet so that we don’t serve as we know we should or even as we want. If we don’t discipline ourselves to serve for the sake of Christ and His kingdom and for the purpose of godliness, we’ll “serve” only occasionally or when it’s convenient or self-serving. The result will be a quantity and quality of service we’ll regret when the Day of Accountability for our service comes. Not every act of service will, or even should, be disciplined serving. Most of the time our service should spring simply from our love for God and love for others. Like our worship and evangelism, so also our service should often flow from within—without any need of discipline—as a result of the life-transforming presence and work of the Holy Spirit. But because the Spirit of Jesus within us causes us to yearn to be more like Jesus, and also because of the persistent gravitational tendencies toward selfishness in our hearts, we must also discipline ourselves to serve. And those who do will find serving one of the most sure and practical means of growth in grace.”

Let us commit to the spiritual discipline of acts of service. Here are a few tips to do so well.

A Few Tips to Help Us Commit to the Spiritual Discipline of Acts of Service

A. Look out for ways in which you can serve your church family.

Volunteer at Bridge Bargains

Clean the church one Saturday a month

Help out with Game Changers Youth Ministry

Volunteer at Grace Café

Put some sweat equity into the wood ministry

Join the Buildings and Grounds Crew

Tip two

B. Look our for ways to serve your community

Shovel snow

Visit the sick

Help at a food bank

Volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club

Volunteer for SPIN (Single Parents In Need) to prepare food or to help with children

Offer to provide care for an elderly person so their loved one can have an evening out

Etc. etc.

Tip three

C. Once you have found a way to serve in both of those arenas, make a verbal commitment to serve.

Tip four

D. Make room on your schedule to serve.

E. Next, follow through and serve gladly.

F. If your serving opportunity ends- go and find another.

G. Find areas of service that match your unique abilities.

It is so much easier to serve gladly when you are well suited for the task.

In closing, consider the prophet Isaiah’s experience in Isaiah 6:8,

Isaiah 6:8 NIV

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’”

The famous evangelist D.L Moody wrote next to that verse the following,

“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do, and what I ought to do, by the grace of God I will do.”

Let us pray.