Serving Is a Team Effort

We are continuing a sermon series called the wisdom of one another and this morning were talking about serving and I want to propose an idea we do not serve God or his purposes directly. We serve him his purposes by serving other people now, I don't mean that and kind of a hippy dippy feel good kind of way God is left out of the equation but I do mean it in kind of a startling sort of way because when you think of the difference between the old Covenant and the New Covenant and in Broad again, I'm not making this kind of legalistic new doctor and then I'm introducing but in terms of broad Strokes up theology one of the big differences between the old Covenant in the New Covenant is in the old Covenant there were lots of ways in which we serve God directly and we strive to make everything right with him. Go to the temple get all of the rules right cross every T. Every I and the New Testament Jesus comes and says all That has changed. There's a new covenant in my blood is poured out. My body is broken for you. So are holding us our righteousness what the vast majority of all the rules and regulations and temples and worship and that sort of thing was all about under the old Covenant that is supplied for us under the New Covenant through the work of Christ. He provides that so all of that energy that used to be spent. I got to make sure that I'm wearing the right cloth and I'm not mixing up two times and father for that. I've got the animal in the right section on my Farmer that eating the right food when I go to I celebrate all the rights festivals in the days and I'm making myself. Holy Jesus that supplies all that through his work on the cross and so in some ways there's this big boy that's created then what do we do to serve God? If we're not going to the temple if it's not about land and geography if it's not about rules and regulations if it's not about somehow separating ourselves as if it's through our own worker effort that we make our self in the Christian and Pat ourselves on the back. If all of that is done through Christ, then what does he ask us to do and I suggest that we no longer in dominant form serve God directly or serve his purposes directly, but we serve him by serving others. When Jesus was asked teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest. Okay, Jesus, you're the prophet. You've come speaking. You've come performing Miracles. You come healing few for claims yourself here in God's name your his spokesperson. Okay there 613 laws. Going to tricky on this one, which one's the greatest. Is there a way to take one wall and have it Encompass 613 and Jesus gives this answer. He said to him you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind and this is the greatest and first commandment and the second is like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself on these two Commandments hang all the law and the prophets. And so Jesus made a dramatic shift from this 613 down to two you love God with all your heart with all of your soul with all of your strength with all of your mind if we did that summon worship this morning. So there is still that element again. I'm talking in broad-stroke, but then he says it can't be left there alone. The second command is like it you love your neighbor and upon these two commands all of the law. Thanks, these two trans can bear the weight of the entire old Covenant. These two commands can hold all 613 laws that you would love God and you would love others that becomes the essence of what Jesus preaches has Christianity. So I want us to read a passage here from Paul and I'm going to do something unorthodox here. I'm going to read a long passage. So take a deep breath.

Relax, and then follow along on the screen. I'll look at the screen on the back and read you follow along its from the message translation. It's Romans chapter 12 or Paul finishes talking about all the doctrine of what God has done through Christ. And since this great work has been accomplished through Christ on the cross. What should we do? And you probably know it in NIV or KJV. Therefore in light of God's Great mercies. Let's present ourselves. That's this passage, but I'm reading it from the message which is a very contemporary paraphrase and I want to read a large portion so that so that you see this thing that I see in Scripture that there's this in Broad paintbrushes. There's this shift the saying here's what I want you to do in relation to serving God. I want you to serve others. Look at how Paul talks about it in this passage. She says so here is what I want you to do God helping you take your everyday ordinary life. You're sleeping eating going to work and walking around life and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking instead fix your attention on God, you'll be changed from the inside out readily recognize what he wants from you and quickly respond to it. Unlock the culture around you always dragging you down to its level of immaturity. God brings the best out of you develops well-formed maturity in you My clicker work at area I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that. God has given me and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you living then as every one of you does in pure grace. It's important that you not misinterpret yourself as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No God brings it all to you. The only accurate way of understanding ourselves is by what God is and by what God by what he does for us not by what we are and what we do for him. And this way we are like various parts of the human body each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole and not the other way around. The body were talking about is Christ's body of chosen people each of us finds our meaning and function as part of his body. But as a chopped off finger or cut off toll we wouldn't amount to much would we so since we find ourselves fashion into all these accidentally formed and marvelously funk. functioning parts of Christ's body He's getting ready to get to this point. He's a preacher in that he's long-winded. He has said in light of what God has done for us through Christ. And by the way, that's the only way to see ourselves. Anyway, as people who have been saved and redeemed and blessed and Grace covered by the work of Christ. That's our identity. Not as people who have somehow pulled ourselves up by your own bootstraps and brought ourselves to God to be declared his people we've been declared his people through the grace of Christ in light of that. He says since we didn't do a couple things one, we're one body together Christ has redeemed us has saved us we can't say I'm going to do my own thinks. I'm going to pull aside here. It'd be like a cut off toe. It just wouldn't amount to much would it and so he says with all of that in mind with what God has done for us. So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvellously function Parts in Christ body hears what he says.

Again, if I get my clicker to cooperate, let's just go ahead and be what we what we were made to be without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves of each other or trying to be something we aren't if we preach just preach God's message. Nothing else. If you help just help don't take over if you teach stick to your teaching now don't get zoomed in on each particular example notice what the theme is the broad theme of everything he's telling us to do in light of God's mercies telling us what it means to be Christians what it means to be a church and light of what God has done look for the theme that you see in this. So if you please just preach God's message nothing else to help just help don't take over if you teach just stick to your teaching if you give encouraging guy, that's be careful that you don't get bossy. If you put in charge don't manipulate if you're called to give to people in distress keep your eyes open and be quick to respond. If you work with a disadvantage don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. He continues to give example after example. Love from the center of who you are. Don't fake it run for dear life from Evil. Hold on for dear life too. Good be good friends who love deeply practice playing second fiddle. Don't burn out. Keep yourself fueled and aflame be alert Servants of the master cheerfully expect it. Don't quit in hard times. Pray all the harder help needed Christians be inventive in Hospitality bless your enemies. No cursing under your breath laugh when you're with your happy friends when they're happy and share tears when they're down get along with each other. Don't be stuck up make friends with nobody's don't be the great. Somebody don't hit back. That sounds like something I would say to my kids over and over and over don't hit back. We talked about that couple of weeks ago trying to create the discipline of looking in the God's words regularly and looking into him toward him in prayer and bible study so that we're striving to react to the world around us. In reaction to God not to other so when someone hits me either if you don't get back, even though that's the human Temptation you try to say, who should I be enlightened out of what how I've been treated by others. Who should I be in light of how God has treated me and is treated me with forgiveness and Grace again. And again until we strive to be this kind of people and this is what Paul is unfolding light of what God has done. Here's how we should live don't hit back discover Beauty and everyone if you got it in you get along with everybody in that wonderful other translation say it's as much as possible. I love the fact that Grace is always in there. He doesn't say look just do it get along with everybody look as much as you strive toward that goal because they're always difficulties and challenges don't insist on getting even that's not for you to do. I'll do the judging says God I will take care of it are scriptures. Tell us that if you see your enemy hungry go by that person lie or PCM Thursday get him a drink your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you get the best of Evil by doing good. Now I suggest that the theme that runs through every bit of that huge chapter in Romans is that Paul is saying fundamentally what Jesus said when he said they said what's the greatest commandment? He said you can summarize it all this way. Love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself love God and love others and Sao Paulo saying in light of all the doctrine in light of all the theology that have unfolded in the first five chapters of Romans. Here's what you do present yourself to God as a servant and here's what that looks like you end up serving one another your inventive in your hospitality your gracious to one another you care for others, you pray for others. It's this constant serving of others that runs of the theme through that entire chapter if your gift is preaching if your if your gift is helping then help and don't take over if your gift is this you see how he went through that whole list and the theme the thread that ties it all together is the way we serve God Is by serving others Serving one another so what's the currency of relationship?

An easy answer, you know the old joke where the high school teacher was teaching Sunday school and she said to the kids in her class what's brown has a furry tail and he's nuts and one little kids said that sounds an awful lot like a lot like a squirrel. But since it's a Sunday school, I'm going to say Jesus.

So the answer to the question, what is the currency of relationships is the sunday-school answer it is love that is the currency of relationships and solve. God says the best way you can serve me in response to what I've done for you through Christ on the cross is to give yourself to me as a servant to love me. And the first thing I ask is that you love others that you serve others. Love God love your neighbor that you serve others. That's the expression of Love by serving others. I don't love somebody if I'm unwilling to serve them.

That sound like a legitimate assumption. Try that out in your household. Okay? Your spouse need you to do something for them and honey. I love you, but I am not getting up off this couch. Try that out see if that expresses love. Love expressed is serving one another so if we refuse to serve somebody. Refusing to love them and if we're refusing to love them we're refusing to love God. Because he says here's hot sauce sound up. Love me. Love your neighbor. We've got to have that sort of heart in order to be in line with God and the currency of serving is love. So you get these amazing versus like these only had this question. Could it be that God is as concerned even more concerned with the love. We show people as he is the task to which we are faithful think about it. We slipped kind of in the old Covenant thinking sometimes where we think what God wants from me is the task. I need to read my Bible every day. I need to go to church every Sunday. I need to do these things. If I do these things and check them off my list then I'm good with God look at for not sure we create a list of tasks that are completely isolated from other human beings. And we somehow give the devil a victory in our life when we think we are good with God, even though we have no loving interactions with other human beings. I get up early by myself and isolation and I do my devotions. I mind my business all week. I keep my nose clean. I stay out of trouble I go to church I come in I sit down I get out of go back home. If we're not careful. The adversary will rob us of the deep. Joy and the transformation of our very lives that God anxiously wants to pour into us when we trust him and Trust what he says when he says if you lose your life. If you give it away, you will find it and I know the human part of us says that's ridiculous. That is preposterous. There's no way I want to hold on to my life. I want my life to be just what I want it to be. I want to be ordered the way I wanted to be. I want others to serve me. But listen, I'm pleading with you as a pastor. God knows better.

And when he invites us to open up to his word and open up his truth and give our lives away and serving and loving others. It is deeply for our own good because he's working in our hearts in that very obedient. The very change that we long for that. We will never get through being faithful to a list of tasks. I don't misunderstand me. There are many tasks that are good to be faithful to. but if they become the ultimate hope for our transformation then we're missing out. So could it be that God is more interested in the love that goes on in between our relationships and is the things we're trying to get done. That is so hard for Americans to understand so hard for me as a man to understand because I just think in terms of tasket to do and get things done. And sometimes I go into the word of God and I think there's no way that's right because the way you do is you can you make it to do list to get things done. And I find God saying the way in which you do with the spirit what you do it the love that exists in the midst of doing it is as may be even more important than what it is. You're trying to get done and check off your to-do list. No, I say all that to give a little context to wipe all can say things. Like he says In this passage, he says if I speak with human eloquence and Angelic Ecstasy, but don't love I'm nothing but the creaking of a Rusty Gate this isn't a wedding Paul's teaching at this is a church. He's writing these words to in the midst of conflict over spiritual gifts and how they're going to shine or not shine and Sir. Paul says you guys have missed it. You've missed it. They write these words to him. Look. I could speak with human eloquence and Angelic Ecstasy. But if I don't love I am nothing but the creaking of a Rusty Gate I could speak God's word with power revealing all his Mysteries and making everything plain as day. And if I have the faith that says Mountain jump and it jumps all that's pretty impressive in it. I think I could line up a crowd if I could say to a mountain jump and it jumps. I think people would line up I could probably charge admission we could sell tickets if I could say to a mountain jump and it jumps and Paul says nothing that's nothing if you don't laugh, Crazy how radical these verses are if I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love I've gotten nowhere. So no matter what I say what I believe or what I do. I'm bankrupt without love sometimes if you just hear those words are fresher just stunned at how radical it was. He pronounce that sort of dramatic. It's almost like Jesus saying, you know those 613 laws that you treasure they can all be summed up in two commands. Love God. Love your neighbor. You can't say all I just want to do one. I just want to be good to people and not have anything to do with gone. I just want to have this kind of list of things I do to write my relationship God and I really don't want to deal with people. I don't know about you guys. People can be messy. Can't thing.

I mean, I know that from looking in the mirror, you can ask my wife. She can give a testimony. I suspect anybody in this room before honest. If we just said his testimony time we can stand up and say Amen brother. I can tell you that sometimes people can be messy and is tempted to say I just rather not deal with people and yet God says I'm telling you 613 down to to hear they are love God love people. It's required in the currency of that serving is love itself until Paul says these radical things about love. He says later in that chapter Love Never Dies inspired Beach will be over someday praying in tongues will end understanding will reach its women. How many of us spend more time where to buy those things than we do people? How many preachers are obsessed with their preaching or their speech or to be effective or to build their own little kingdom or their own brand of their own. Com? I know right now. We've got one National preacher suing another nasty Friedrich over damage to his brand.

How many times can preachers fall into that mistake? It's all about my name on a book or my website or my seminar or my teaching and so just like in the early to test my people throw out names while I follow the teaching of John Smith fill in the blank on this particular issue and you really need to read John Smith book. You really need to have his seminar you really need to and somehow Christ. Just just Not at the Forefront of that how many times do we make not only ourselves as preachers are teachers but how many times we make giftedness or understanding that stunning that he says understanding will reach its limit.

We want to be impressive with volumes of books and teaching and resources and passes understanding will reach its limits. And that even giftedness will path. As it is these remain faith hope and love and again, I want that for spaces first. But Paul says as it is these remain faith hope and love the three of them and the greatest of them is love he wasn't writing this for a wedding ceremony. He was riding it for a church. To get its priorities straight and it was full of people just like me and you and the way I look in the mirror every day and realize I need these words to straighten me out. I suspect that which is most personal is most universal that we all can relate to needing to hear from God's word and be directed toward that Proverbs 17:17 and I'm going to invite the worship him to come forward although it feels a little bit like it's going to be with us Sunday where you say we can Ford way too early, but I'm giving you a heads up. It's time to make your way forward really slowly just just a little bit at a time Proverbs. 17:17 says a friend is a friend at all times. It is for Advil adversity that a brother is born. It's interesting in the original language in the Hebrew there it it's it's what it's saying is that a friend is a friend and even deeper that friend is not about blood relationships that friend that brother is born for adversity and the original language. It's that's the purpose of a deep friendship. God created humans and the ability to relate to one another I told you this before Father Son and Holy Spirit in those three chairs enjoying love and fellowship extended between one another and they say this is too good to keep to ourselves. They pull up a couple more chairs and they said let us make beans in our image as they make Adam and Eve so that they can enjoy that Fellowship that relationship God created Humanity to know the sort of love and friendship and fellowship that existed from the all the time between the father Son and Holy Spirit. He created us to join that Circle and know that depth and up The Prado Proverbs those out this Little Gym of wisdom. It says look at the whole reason friendship exists is so that when push comes to shove or foul weather comes its way. That God can work in our lives through those love relationships and it's not just about us saying yeah, I love a friend like that. The right of the proverb is saying no no, no, no, no. No this word of wisdom is to say to you be a friend like that. Have those sort of deep love based relationships of it like Christ when you walk through life, you see somebody in need like the Good Samaritan that he elevated you're willing to look up on them and have compassion and love and reach out and serve them because God has already provided through Christ. If you're a Christian, he's already provided for your salvation. Amen, it is solid. It is sure is complete. Nothing needs to be added to the work of Christ. Amen. Nothing. Not your church attendance. Not your Bible memorization. Nothing has to be added for your salvation. You are safe through the work of Christ. And so God says in that freedom that freedom. I've given you to stop worrying or fretting over your salvation constantly in that freedom. What I want you to do is to serve one another what I want you to do is to love me freely knowing you can approach my Throne boldly Hebrews. 4:16 says no way you're going to get Grace for me and I want you to love each other freely knowing that that's what I'm calling you to do. So wonderful gift that God gives us But he desires that the depth of our life the death of our relationships grow so that we become more and more like Christ more and more loving.

Serving others in an essential piece of Christianity. Because God has a to-do list that he needs our help but because of the work he seeks to do in us as we love and serve others. See the way in which he's going to transform our hearts and our lives is as he calls us to obey the one another passages throughout the New Testament confess your sins to one another for going out into the light. Let God's grace covered let that healing begin so that you're a different person a year from now for 5 years now than you are now because you've been trusting God you've been confessing your sins bear one another's burdens. He says in scripture does it when something comes to you that overwhelms you somebody comes alongside you and says, let me shoulder part of that with you. As we obey the one another's it's not an active will be if I got no God if I need to do these and I'll be a good preacher. You have the righteousness of Christ upon you because of his blood and his work you are as good and as righteous as Jesus Christ because of his work on the cross. It's okay. This relax your salvation is secure and in that freedom. Take the risk of being real take the risk of loving take the risk of. Taking a chance of being a friend and serving somebody else than opening yourself up and loving. And in that very active obedience God transforms our hearts and changes who we are so that we can start to live in reaction to all of life based on what God has done instead of based on life itself because sometimes life will hand you a wonderful ice cream and you'll say this is a good day. It's sunny outside with ice cream and the next day it'll be raining and you have a flat and the journey that God calls us honest to journey and live in response to who he is.

He answered Jesus said Luke 19 that warns you guys that you're going to be up there. Long time at least give you a warning. I'm sorry. I'm wrapping it up and Luke 19:40. Jesus answered those that were critical of those were praising his name. He said I tell you if these were silently Stones would shout out. It's interesting. They're all praising Jesus name Shannon Hosanna, and he says look, That didn't really need that. If they all suddenly were silent if you silence them all the stones would shout out. It's not that God asked us to serve because there's these tasks that need to be done. If I am I going to get that done. I sure hope Jen is obedient does those tasks because if you know, I just don't know what I'm going to do. I'm just frightened and worried and I've got all the stuff you can get it done like that in the snap of a finger. Do you see that God could do it all but he chooses to do it in and through us because that's the path in which he transforms us into the likeness of his son. When you love and serve others, you're not only serving God's purposes in the world around you you're serving. His purpose is in you Bob. Dylan had it right. You got serve somebody. You cannot not serve someone. Okay. I know it's tempting to say look preacher. I just want to be neutral. Okay, that'll be a nice person to mind my own business. Okay, you can't. You are serving someone all the time. You're either starving yourself. And your own vision and direction of what is a good life is what drives everything you decide and it'll be a roller coaster. Sometimes you have good decisions other times you go to a dead-end and think this is heartbreak. Or you serve others which is really another way of serving yourself because when you serve others in a negative sense of that word, what you're doing is you're saying I love the approval of others so much that I'm going to let that be the voice in my life that I follow or I so hate the the disapproval of others that that's going to be the voice in my life that I follow. So even if you say

if you're not serving others as an act in response to God, then you might be serving others as a way of serving yourself.

The challenge is and I and I say this in the context of wisdom not pressure. God has provided salvation already for all who call upon the name of Christ. The wisdom is to say not only do I trust him for my salvation, but I trust him in his wisdom and I trust him when he calls me to serve others and I trust him when he asked me to take risk and to be vulnerable and I trust him when he tells me that in serving others and not insisting on myself first at every point that actually in losing my life. I will find it. And Jesus says that to us with great compassion when he says if you've got burdens come to me if you take my yoke is light and that yoke is giving things over to God. If you've never made that decision this morning on bite you during our song to give everything over to God one thing everyone of us have in common in this room this morning everyone of us whether you were thrilled the Georgia won last night or heartbroken, whether you're going to go to the booth on Tuesday and vote one side of the ballot or the other whether you're happy to be here this morning, or you're not regardless of all the categories that all of us could slip into there's one thing that every one of us has in common we need God everyone of us Need Scott if you've never made that decision to give your life over to Christ. I invite you during the song to do that. If you made that decision, I invite you to say Lord. Give me the wisdom to defer to you. Give me the wisdom to trust you.