Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000047
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00:03 Music...
00:20 Hello Friends and welcome to another 00:22 Wednesday Night Bible Study here in Thompsonville 00:25 at the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:27 We thank you for tuning in tonight and for joining us 00:30 for our continued study on how to live a spiritual life 00:33 in a natural body and so, get your Bibles 00:35 and invite your friends and family members 00:37 to sit down and enjoy the study with us 00:39 as we continue on the topic, "A Servant's Life. " 00:42 A lot of people want to serve the Lord 00:44 but we must have a servant's life in order to serve the Lord 00:49 so, tonight in our study, 00:50 we're going to cover what the Bible says 00:52 about living a servant's life. 00:55 If you'd like a copy of the lesson, 00:56 here is the website you can go to... to follow with us, 00:59 it's Lesson Number 15, go to ASF.3abn. org 01:04 and download the lesson for tonight, 01:06 we call it Syllabus but it really is a lesson 01:09 and with that you can follow along 01:11 and answer the questions with us 01:13 so invite your family members and those who are with you 01:15 to enjoy this study, all you need is a Bible, 01:17 a willing heart... a pen... and hopefully a lesson 01:21 to make the lesson interesting and a blessing to you 01:25 but right now, bow your heads with me 01:26 as we invite the Lord's presence to be with us tonight. 01:29 "Our heavenly Father, we thank you 01:31 that your blessings are always available to us. 01:34 We thank you that your Holy Spirit will teach us, 01:36 guide us, open our hearts and minds 01:39 and strengthen our resolve to look to Christ. 01:42 We thank you that tonight as we open the Word 01:45 that you will be our teacher, 01:48 that you will strengthen our resolve 01:51 to not only understand 01:52 but also to walk in the footsteps of a servant 01:56 so Lord, send your Holy Spirit tonight 01:58 to empower our hearts and minds 02:00 and give us that willing heart that each of us needs 02:04 in Jesus' name we pray, amen. " 02:07 Now, this lesson is interesting to me for a number of reasons, 02:11 one in particular is, 02:13 we find there is a warning the Bible gives 02:16 in the book of Matthew and not everyone who serves the Lord 02:21 is serving the Lord. 02:24 Or maybe I should say it a different way, 02:26 not everyone that's involved in service 02:28 that impacts God's kingdom is in essence serving the Lord. 02:33 It sounds kind of strange to say that, 02:36 but what I like to begin tonight by doing is 02:39 going to the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter 7, 02:42 Jesus warns us in... in the area of getting connected 02:48 to just doing things for God. 02:50 There's something vitally important 02:52 that each of us must experience in order for our actions 02:56 to be connected to our relationship. 02:58 Now, I remember years ago when I was working in New York City, 03:02 my dad... that is before he passed away... 03:05 he was involved in the Music Industry for many, many years 03:09 Jazz musician... 03:10 but he was also sometimes involved in photography, 03:13 he was involved in politics, 03:16 he worked as a campaign manager 03:19 for one of the congressman in Brooklyn 03:21 and I remember being hired one summer for a summer job 03:25 to... to lead out in a campaign. 03:28 My job was to lead out in a particular area of Brooklyn 03:31 and get all these young people with me 03:33 I was one of them at that time, I was a teenager 03:36 but I was supposed to make sure that every one of them 03:38 covered an entire neighborhood, 03:40 there were buildings... maybe 12... 13 stories 03:43 and we had to go to every floor and every apartment 03:46 to pass out campaign flyers. 03:48 Now, I didn't know who I was working for, 03:51 I just knew his name 03:52 and I could... I could remember the name... 03:54 I don't want to mention it over the air 03:55 because somebody may know exactly who I'm talking about, 03:57 but... I was... 03:59 I was doing service for someone that I didn't even know 04:03 and... at that point to me it was a job, you know, 04:07 get these flyers out... pass out the information... 04:10 make sure that we impact the campaign... 04:12 we had a lot of fun... 04:14 young people like to have fun together 04:15 but the point I want to make is, 04:17 I didn't know the person I was working for 04:19 so it really didn't make a difference 04:21 but one evening, my dad said, "Hey, we've got an invitation" 04:24 and he told me that we were going over to the home 04:27 of the person that was running for congressman 04:29 in that particular section of Brooklyn 04:31 and I said, "Well, whose house are we going to?" 04:33 And he told me, "It was the guy you're working for" 04:35 and when I went over there 04:37 and met the congressman and his family and his children... 04:41 when I went out on that following Monday, 04:43 it made a huge difference 04:45 because I now knew the person that I was working for... 04:48 I now understood a lot about him, 04:50 I was able to look him in the eye... 04:51 and... still a teenager... 04:53 I didn't understand a whole lot about politics 04:54 it didn't really make that much of a difference to me, 04:58 but I was now excited about putting flyers under doors 05:01 and in apartment buildings 05:02 and wherever we were allowed to put them 05:04 for this individual because now I had a personal... 05:08 what's the next word? 05:09 I had a personal connection 05:11 and a relationship with this individual... 05:13 I knew now exactly who I wanted to win the next campaign 05:17 so it really empowered me to get behind those who are in my... 05:22 on my team and say, 05:23 "Guys, let's make sure we cover our whole area" 05:25 and for those of you who may be watching from Brooklyn, 05:28 I was covering Ocean Parkway all the way by Sheepshead Bay 05:31 on the way to Coney Island 05:33 and many of you that are here may not know where that is 05:35 but that was my area of work 05:38 but what made the difference was 05:41 I knew the person I was working for 05:43 and when you look at Matthew chapter 7, 05:44 go there with me, I think you're already there, 05:47 I told you to go there and you guys beat me there, 05:50 but in Matthew chapter 7, we find these words of Jesus, 05:56 Matthew 7 verse 21 and we are going to look together 06:01 to verse 23... 06:05 Matthew 7 verses 21 to 23 06:09 and notice what the word of the Lord says, 06:11 what are the first two words we read... 06:13 let's say that together, what? 06:14 Audience and Pastor: Not everyone... 06:17 that means, not everyone who is passing out campaign flyers 06:21 for Jesus... knows Jesus. 06:23 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' 06:28 shall enter the kingdom of heaven" 06:30 but what's the qualification? 06:32 "but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. " 06:37 So, let's say the campaign ends, 06:39 let's go ahead and use this text, 06:41 the campaign ends and it says, 06:43 "Many will say to Me in that day, 06:45 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, 06:47 and cast out demons in Your name, 06:50 and done many wonders in Your name?' 06:52 And then I will declare to them... " 06:54 what are the four words? 06:56 "I never knew you; 06:58 depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" 07:02 or as the King James Version says, "who work iniquity" 07:05 and as I was going on, 07:07 I remember something really important about our meetings. 07:09 We didn't sing... you guys want to sing? 07:11 Audience: Yes. 07:13 I know our viewing audience and our listening audience 07:15 looks forward to the song, "Victory in Jesus" 07:18 and if I go any further without that, 07:19 I am going to get e-mails that say, 07:21 "How come you didn't sing my song... 07:22 I was waiting for you to say the word, 'Key Change'" 07:24 so tonight, we're going to join with your hearts and your voices 07:29 around the world as we sing our theme song tonight, 07:31 "Victory in Jesus" Let's sing that song. 07:34 Music... 07:41 I heard an old, old story, 07:44 How the Savior came from glory, 07:48 How He gave His life on Calvary 07:52 To save a wretch like me, 07:56 I heard about His groaning, 07:59 of His precious blood's atoning 08:03 Then I repented of my sins, 08:07 And won the victory. 08:11 O victory in Jesus, 08:15 My Savior, forever. 08:18 He sought me and bought me 08:22 With His redeeming blood, 08:26 He loved me ere I knew Him, 08:30 And all my love is due Him, 08:33 He plunged me to victory, 08:37 Beneath the cleansing flood 08:41 I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory 08:49 And I heard about the streets of gold 08:52 Beyond the crystal sea, 08:56 About the angels singing, 09:00 and the old redemption story, 09:04 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 09:08 The song of victory. 09:10 Key change... 09:11 O victory in Jesus, 09:15 My Savior, forever 09:19 He sought me and bought me 09:23 With His redeeming blood, 09:26 He loved me ere I knew Him, 09:30 And all my love is due Him, 09:34 He plunged me to victory, 09:38 Beneath the cleansing flood 09:42 He plunged me to victory, 09:47 Beneath the cleansing flood. 09:52 Amen. 09:53 Now, we got started... 09:55 just a moment ago, I was wondering, 09:57 "What was missing?" 09:58 There was something about the meeting 10:01 that was lacking and... 10:03 in fact, I know what it was, it was singing. 10:05 It does our hearts well to warm up to singing for the Lord. 10:10 Our topic tonight is entitled, "How to live a servant's life. " 10:16 Say that with me together, "How to live a Servant's Life. " 10:21 As I mentioned just a moment ago, 10:23 one of the most important variables 10:26 or I should say... not variables 10:28 or one of the most parameters to working for the Lord 10:31 is knowing Him... is what? 10:34 Audience: Knowing Him. 10:35 He said, "Many will say to me" 10:37 and you know, when you think about 10:38 what He is associating service with, 10:40 He said, "Many will say they cast out demons... " 10:43 so you got to thinking about, 10:44 "It's possible to cast out demons 10:46 and not work for the Lord. " 10:48 Many will do wonderful works in the name of the Lord 10:53 and He'll say to them at the end of all their work schedule, 10:56 "I didn't know who you are... I didn't know you" 10:58 and so, one of the most important things 11:00 is it's important to know the Lord 11:02 in order for our work for God to be effective 11:05 but now I want to go back to the book of Exodus. 11:07 What book did I say? Audience: Exodus. 11:09 Go with me to Exodus chapter 7, 11:11 I want to see something very important 11:12 about the parameters of service. 11:15 There's another aspect that we learned last week 11:18 and it is reflected in... it is reflected in Question Number 1 11:24 and I want to lay the foundation by reading this question 11:28 and then elaborating it on... 11:30 elaborating on it a little further. 11:32 First of all we said, 11:34 "Knowing the Lord" is the first parameter 11:36 but there's something else that precedes serving God. 11:40 There's something else that precedes... 11:42 in other words, this is important to come 11:44 before you serve God. 11:46 So, unless... unless the Lord has done this for you, 11:49 then, serving God pretty much doesn't have the right context 11:55 and you may impact 11:57 or do good things for the kingdom of God 11:59 but there's something that is a prerequisite to serving God. 12:03 Let's go ahead and read Question Number 1 12:05 and then we'll spend some time in the book of Exodus 12:07 but let's, Question Number 1 goes as follows 12:10 and I know we covered this last week 12:11 but I want to cover in its entirety... I kind of cut it off 12:15 because we transitioned from one lesson to this one 12:17 tonight we're going to cover that in its entirety. 12:19 Here's Question Number 1. 12:21 "What request did God make of the Pharaoh of Egypt?" 12:31 And this is in Exodus chapter 9 and verse 1 12:33 and the Bible says, "Then the Lord said to Moses, 12:39 'Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, 12:43 "Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews" 12:48 let's read the next part together... you ready? 12:52 "Let my people go, that they may serve Me. " 12:56 "That they may serve me... " 12:58 so what's the prerequisite to serving God? 13:00 One of the prerequisites is, being set free... 13:02 is being set free. 13:04 If the Lord doesn't set you free, 13:06 that is, if you don't have a freeing relationship, 13:09 then you're still bound to something. 13:11 The Lord did not want the children of Israel 13:13 to serve Him in Egypt. 13:15 It was a foreign land 13:16 and the service for God in Egypt was hindered 13:19 because they were under task masters... they were slaves 13:22 and so, here's the point, anybody who is a slave to sin... 13:25 as a matter of fact, go with me to John chapter 8, 13:28 go there with me... I want to show you the context, 13:30 anyone who's a slave to sin, cannot serve the Lord. 13:33 Somebody once said to me, 13:35 and maybe you've heard this before, 13:37 pause... 13:40 and I don't want to give this as a blanket statement 13:42 but sometimes... sometimes when people are drunk 13:45 they talk about God. 13:46 Audience: Smiling. 13:48 I was raised in New York City 13:49 and so that's giving some context to it, 13:51 ah... some of the most fever-pitched conversations 13:55 I witnessed in my home 13:58 and I... I... I've known people that smoke... that drink... 14:02 and I've even seen family members getting inebriated 14:06 that's a... that's a very esoteric word for drunk. 14:09 Audience: Laughter. 14:11 And... and when they get drunk, 14:13 when they get alcohol in their blood 14:15 they talk about God... 14:16 and they sometimes even argue Bible topics 14:19 but I know they're not serving the Lord 14:22 because they're bound by the very thing that they are... 14:25 that they are consumed by their alcoholism in their lifestyle 14:28 so what Jesus made it very clear 14:31 that in order for us... 14:32 in order for us to be able to serve Him, 14:35 in the proper way, 14:37 that freedom is connected to something. 14:40 They were not just set free because they wanted to be free 14:43 but there's something that the Lord gives to us, 14:45 that causes our relationship to be now a free relationship 14:49 look at John 8 and verse... 14:52 my wife knows exactly where I'm going, 14:53 that's what happens when you're married 29 years. 14:56 John 8 and verse 32, 14:58 notice what the freedom is connected to. 15:00 "Let my people go, that they may serve me" 15:02 Hebrews 9... I mean, Exodus 9:1 15:04 but now, what is that freedom based on? 15:06 John 8:32, the Bible says, 15:10 "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall... " what? 15:14 "make you free" 15:17 and a lot of people say, "set" 15:20 but you've heard me argue the point, 15:22 there's a difference between being "set free" and "made free" 15:25 being "made free" is a mind... is an attitude of the mind... 15:27 if I set a bird free, 15:29 if the bird is so used to me feeding it, 15:32 it's going to come back 15:33 but unless the bird has a... 15:36 a source of food and nourishment from somewhere else, 15:38 it's going to come back. 15:39 A lot of people have been set free from prison 15:42 or incarceration but they've come back 15:44 because their minds have not been "made free. " 15:46 So the truth doesn't just set you free, 15:49 the truth does what? It makes you free 15:52 and I... and I know about that 15:53 because a lot of people have been 15:54 raised in different churches 15:57 and sometimes different denominations 16:00 and different belief systems and when they discover the truth, 16:03 I've asked... I asked the family once, 16:05 I said, "Have you ever thought about going back?" 16:08 And they said to me, "My mind won't let me. " 16:12 Why? Because they've been made free 16:14 not only in what they understood 16:16 but they've been made free, where? 16:18 In their mind... the truth which is embedded in our minds 16:21 and our hearts makes us free. 16:24 So, one of the first answers you're going to put down tonight 16:26 is, "What request did God make of the Pharaoh of Egypt?" 16:30 "Let me people do... " what? 16:32 "Let them go that they may serve me. " 16:34 And you'll discover that when a person is set free... 16:37 when the truth sets a person free, 16:39 as you see the statement made, 16:42 the Lord made it very, very clear in John 8 and verse 36, 16:47 "If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. " 16:52 So, the One who sets us free is Christ. 16:54 What does He use to set us free? 16:56 He sets us free by His blood and by the truth. 16:59 As a matter of fact, John... go with me to John... 17:03 we're in the book of John, let me turn to the chapter 17:06 and I'll tell you exactly where to go, 17:07 okay, here we are... 17:12 John 17:17... some of you know exactly what text that is. 17:15 How many of you know just by the raising of hands... 17:18 don't shout it out... John 17:17, 17:21 it's a beautiful text, okay, 17:23 set... what... when a person is set free, 17:26 there's something else that is involved in that, 17:29 they're not just set free in the physical sense, 17:31 but the Lord does something, 17:33 let's read this together, John 17:17, 17:35 in the Bible says, together, 17:37 "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. " 17:42 So when a person is set free, 17:43 they're not just set free physically, 17:45 because if a person is set free 17:46 and doesn't have a new connection... 17:48 they're going to go back 17:49 but when they're set free 17:50 and the word of truth is their connection, 17:52 they're not going back, 17:53 they're connected not just to a creed, "I'm free" 17:56 but something is keeping them free 17:58 and that's sanctifying. 18:00 By the way, the word "sanctify" means to set apart... 18:02 to separate from... 18:04 so when God sets us free by His Word and by the truth, 18:07 he's not setting us free just to hang around and say, "I'm free" 18:11 that's why this lesson is so vitally important, 18:13 He doesn't just want us as Christians to say, 18:15 "Hey, guess what? I'm free. " 18:17 "So, what are you going to do?" 18:18 "Nothing... I'm free. " 18:19 There's something God has to do... 18:21 there's something that God has 18:23 for everyone He has set free, 18:25 there's a work that God has for us to do. 18:28 Now let me ask you the question before I turn to the next text, 18:30 are we set free by work? Yes or no? 18:34 Pause. 18:36 Let me... I'm trying to... I'm trying to... 18:39 I know you answered the question already, 18:42 didn't hear you... but are we set free by our work? 18:45 Okay, I didn't... I know some of you think very, very deeply 18:49 are hesitant to answer the question, 18:50 we're set free by the work that Jesus has done 18:54 but the word "work" is continued in our... 18:58 in that action of freedom. 19:00 Go with me to the book of Ephesians... 19:02 what book did I say? Ephesians. 19:07 Pause. 19:10 And by-the-way, Ephesians 2 verse 10. 19:17 Pause. 19:23 When you read that word in verse 10 19:24 and I'll go back and elaborate on that, 19:27 the Bible says, "For we are His... " 19:29 what's the next word? 19:30 Audience and Pastor: Workmanship. 19:32 You know what "workmanship" is? 19:33 Have you ever seen something made out of wood? 19:35 Pause. 19:37 We use the word "Craftsmanship" 19:39 but work... workmanship is... really good. 19:41 We say, "Wow! what a good job?" 19:43 Whatever is made and now-a-days 19:45 things are pressed together by molds and machines 19:47 and plastic molds and... 19:49 so, they all look the same... 19:51 but if somebody takes the time to do something by hand, 19:54 we say, "Wow! what good workmanship 19:57 has gone into this. " 19:59 I was talking to somebody today that's making baskets now. 20:01 Amazing! wonderful skill... 20:04 and what makes it more amazing is... the person said, 20:06 "I don't like making baskets, 20:08 I don't even know what I'm doing" 20:10 wonderful... 20:11 and I said, "Look at the workmanship" 20:13 because God has put that... 20:14 that gift and that desire in that person's heart 20:17 but it says, "We are His workmanship 20:19 created in Christ Jesus" 20:21 what are we created for? 20:22 Verse 10, we are created for what? 20:25 For good works which God prepared beforehand 20:30 that we should walk in them. 20:31 So... so God sets us free by His workmanship 20:34 pause 20:36 but He sets us free for work. 20:38 He works to set us free so that we can work 20:42 and set others free. 20:44 So, you've seen that commercial years ago... 20:47 I mentioned commercials... some of you are too young. 20:50 Years ago there was a commercial where it says, 20:52 "You tell two friends and they tell two friends 20:54 and so on and so on and so on and so on... 20:56 and it kept multiplying exponentially 20:58 until the screen was too... 20:59 the pictures were too small to even count. 21:01 That's how the work of God is... He sets us free... 21:04 that we could lead someone else to that freeing relationship 21:07 that they can lead someone else to the freeing relationship, 21:09 thus we go to the second question. 21:11 Pause. 21:13 The relationship is one that sets us free 21:16 by the work that God has done 21:18 through Jesus Christ. 21:20 Look at Question Number 2, 21:22 "What was the message that Jesus delivered to Satan 21:28 in the wilderness?" 21:30 Matthew 4 and verse 10, what was the message? 21:33 Okay, 21:40 got it? I like that, 21:42 we even have that text on the screen 21:44 but everybody has a Bible, wonderful! 21:46 Here it is, "Then Jesus said to him... " 21:48 that is... to Satan, "Away with you, Satan! 21:51 For it is written, 21:52 'You shall worship the LORD your God, 21:56 and Him only you shall serve. " 22:01 Have you ever had a challenge during the week 22:04 between what you want to do and what you do? 22:08 Raising hand... all right, 22:10 so, if it's what you want to do, you're serving yourself. 22:13 If it's what God wants you to do you're serving the Lord. 22:16 In this context, what Jesus was laying out is, 22:19 there... there's more than one kind of service. 22:23 That's why He says, "Him only shall you serve" 22:27 and you'll discover as we go further on, 22:29 the answer to the question, 22:30 "What was the message that Jesus delivered to Satan?" 22:33 And you can put it in your own words 22:35 but in fact it's this. 22:36 Only serve God. 22:38 When we are set free... we are set free to be servants of God. 22:44 We're serving Him. 22:46 As a matter of fact, 22:48 go with me to Revelation chapter 7 verse 13 to 15. 22:52 Revelation chapter 7, verse... just to show you... 22:57 just to... just to affirm that very thought 23:00 and I... I tell you what? If we're not... 23:03 if we don't become accustomed to serving the Lord down here, 23:08 then, there's really no place for us in the kingdom 23:10 based on this text... 23:13 Revelation 7 verse 13 to verse 15. 23:17 Okay, verse 13: 23:19 "And then one of the elders... " speaking of the great multitude: 23:25 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, 23:28 "Who are these arrayed in white robes, 23:31 and where did they come from?" 23:32 And I said to him, "Sir, you know. " 23:34 So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of... " 23:37 what? "out of the great tribulation, 23:40 and washed their robes and made them white 23:42 in the blood of the lamb. " 23:44 And this is the verse, 23:45 "Therefore they are before the throne of God, 23:50 and served Him monthly... " 23:51 Audience: Day and night. 23:53 Pastor: "And serve Him occasionally... " 23:56 what does it say, let's read it... 23:58 "And serve Him... " what? 24:00 "Day and night in His temple. 24:03 And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. " 24:06 So, how... how often should we serve the Lord as Christians? 24:10 Our life is a life of service. 24:13 As a matter of fact, Paul the apostle understood it, 24:17 not only did John understand it 24:18 but Paul the apostle made that very, very clear. 24:20 In other words, here's my point. 24:22 If you want to give your life to the Lord, 24:25 please include in that, "I want to serve the Lord, 24:28 I just don't want to just join the church" 24:31 because God doesn't need people that don't do anything. 24:35 Right? 24:37 Anybody could buy a football jersey 24:39 but that doesn't mean they're playing on the team. 24:41 Anybody can say, "I'm a Christian" 24:43 and not even impact at all the kingdom of darkness. 24:47 Romans chapter 12 24:49 just to verify this point, 24:51 they serve the Lord day and night... 24:53 they serve the Lord day and night. 24:55 Look at Romans 12, this... this concept... 24:58 this teaching... this... 25:00 this life is affirmed over and over in the Bible. 25:04 Romans 12 verse 1 and 2, 25:07 notice how Paul... he even puts this in a... 25:10 in a sense where he's saying, 25:12 "There is an altar that we've got to go to" 25:14 there's an altar that we are taken to 25:17 so service can begin in our lives. 25:21 Romans 12 verse 1, he says, 25:23 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, 25:24 by the mercies of God, 25:25 that you present your... " what? 25:27 "bodies a living sacrifice" 25:30 the altar... he's talking about right here. 25:32 You've got to die to self 25:34 in order for you to be able to decide to serve God, 25:36 a living sacrifice... how? 25:38 "Holy, acceptable to God, which is your... " what? 25:42 "reasonable service. " 25:44 NIV says, "spiritual act of worship" 25:46 your reasonable service 25:48 and then he says, "And do not be conformed to this world 25:51 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, 25:55 that you may prove what is that good and acceptable 25:59 and... " what else? 26:00 "perfect will of God. " 26:02 So, in other words he says, 26:03 "He wants us to be a living sacrifice that we may prove 26:06 what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. " 26:10 But how is that done? Through reasonable service. 26:13 So when a person says, "What are you doing?" 26:15 "Oh, I'm... I'm working for the Lord" 26:18 oh really? What does that mean? 26:21 "I'm serving the Lord. " 26:22 Let me ask you the question, 26:24 if a police officer is off duty, is he still a police officer? 26:27 Audience: Yes. 26:28 I heard a terrible story once on the news 26:31 about some Emergency Medical Technicians 26:34 that were having lunch 26:36 and a lady in a restaurant was under cardiac arrest 26:42 or some terrible condition and it made the news 26:48 and they appealed... 26:49 they saw the EMTs sitting and having lunch 26:52 and they said, "This lady needs help!" 26:55 they said, "We're on lunch... we're having lunch... 26:58 we need... we need some... " 27:00 they refused to help her. 27:02 So they had to flag down... 27:04 they had to call the police... 9-1-1 27:07 and do you think they got reprimanded? 27:09 Because in the Hippocratic Oath in the medical field, 27:13 you are on the job how often? 27:16 24... 7... 27:18 you are always a medical professional... 27:20 you are always a police officer... 27:22 you are always a Christian... 27:25 you are always serving the Lord... 27:29 because you're living a life... a living sacrifice. 27:33 So everything you do 27:35 should leave an impression for somebody. 27:36 "Wow! man... " 27:38 our lives are like... as the Bible says, 27:40 "We are the salt of the earth... if the salt loses its savor, 27:44 then what use is it?" 27:46 Just throw it out on the street... 27:48 so, would you keep salt in your cabinet 27:51 if it doesn't taste like salt? 27:52 "What is that?" 27:54 "I don't know but I don't... " 27:55 it's in the salt shaker... it doesn't have any use... 27:56 you get rid of it. 27:58 So in essence, when the Christian comes to Christ, 28:00 he or she is now... dedicated themselves to a life of service. 28:05 Look at Number 3, look at Number 3... 28:07 David the Psalmist... 28:08 we're going to get to where we started last week 28:10 and then again fly... fly down to Number 9 28:13 but let's not rush, all right, 28:15 "How does David the... 28:18 the patriarch describe the service of God?" 28:21 He was also the Psalmist but David the Patriarch... 28:24 how does he describe the service of God? 28:26 Psalm 100 and verse 3. 28:28 Pause. 28:30 Audience: Our service to God. 28:34 Pastor: Yeah, well, you'll find it... 28:36 am I correct? It's verse 3. 28:39 Yeah, I know it's on the question, it says... 28:41 but on the screen it is correct. 28:43 that's correct? On the screen right, okay good. 28:46 Here it is, yeah, okay well, let's read it together, 28:52 it should be "to" right? 28:53 Psalm 100 verse 2, it's correct on the Syllabus. 28:56 Let's read it together. 28:57 "Serve the LORD with... " what? 28:59 Audience and Pastor: gladness... 29:01 "come before His presence with... " what? 29:03 singing. 29:04 Now, don't forget, we like to sing 29:06 but he's saying, "Don't just like to sing... 29:09 be glad to serve. " 29:12 You know... 29:15 we have a Retirement Plan that's out of this world... 29:17 until the Retirement Plan is in effect, 29:19 we are all hired to labor for the Lord, isn't that right? 29:22 The Retirement Plan is out of this world. 29:25 I tell people, "I sell life insurance and fire insurance" 29:28 when people ask what I... "What do you do?" 29:30 "I sell life insurance and fire insurance... " 29:33 well, we do right? 29:35 Save people from the fire and give them life eternal. 29:39 Right, now, I do say, "I'm a Pastor" 29:41 I don't try to cop out and say, 29:43 "I sell Life Insurance and Fire Insurance. " 29:46 But in fact... so what does a pastor do? 29:48 "He sells life insurance and fire insurance. " 29:50 It's the best plan, it's out of this world 29:52 but we've got to serve the Lord with what? 29:54 Gladness... we've got to be glad to serve the Lord 29:57 and if you saw Jesus... if you saw Him face to face 30:01 and He asked you to do something, 30:03 would you say, "I mean, really? 30:04 Really Jesus, like right now? 30:06 My favorite Show is coming on" 30:08 Would you say that? We absolutely wouldn't do that, 30:12 we've got to keep the mindset that He's always with us. 30:16 Our lives should be a continual life of service. 30:18 Let's go to Number 4, go to Number 4 30:21 and now there's a flipside to that 30:23 because the Bible talks about the liability... 30:26 what word did I use? The liability... 30:29 in other words, the downside of not serving the Lord. 30:32 Here's the question, "How does the Bible describe 30:36 the liability of not serving God?" 30:38 Pause... 30:40 This very text by-the-way reveals the fact 30:44 that service to God for a Christian 30:47 is not an optional thing. 30:49 So, when a person is called on to serve, 30:53 they said, "Well, do I have to?" 30:55 No you don't... no you don't have to do anything 30:58 but remember this, 31:01 what you don't do, is how you will be rewarded 31:06 and what you do is how you will be rewarded, 31:10 didn't Jesus say that in Revelation 22 verse 12? 31:13 "Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, 31:16 to give to every man according as his work shall be. " 31:20 So, no you don't have to do anything 31:22 but... but pay day comes, don't look for a check. 31:25 Right and I heard one person say, 31:28 "People stop looking for work when they find a job. " 31:31 You'll get it tomorrow. 31:33 A job and work are not the same thing. 31:37 Some people want a check but they don't want to work. 31:40 Work and a job is not the same thing 31:42 but look at this text, 31:43 the liability of not serving God. 31:46 Starting in Deuteronomy 28 verses 47 and 48. 31:50 here's how it reads, 31:52 "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with... " what? 31:56 "joy" and what else? 31:58 "gladness of heart" 32:00 in other words, they served Him but it was drudgery, 32:02 "for the abundance of everything, 32:05 therefore you shall... " do what? 32:08 "Serve your enemies, 32:10 whom the LORD will send against you, 32:13 in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, 32:16 and in need of everything, 32:18 and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until... " what? 32:23 "until He has destroyed you. " 32:25 Is that sad? 32:27 You know, the Lord is in essence saying to the Israelites, 32:29 He was saying, "I've called you to serve 32:31 but you don't want to... you're not even glad to serve me, 32:33 as a matter of fact, you're serving 32:34 but it's not even a joy, okay, I'll tell you what, 32:35 since you don't want to serve me, 32:37 you go and serve the enemy. " 32:38 That's one of the reasons why the Israelites 32:41 ended up in Babylon. 32:42 That's one of the reasons 32:43 why that city was burned to the ground 32:45 because they did not want to serve God and He said, 32:47 "If you're going to live like the Babylonians 32:48 and serve the Babylonians, 32:49 you're not going to serve the Babylonians in Jerusalem. 32:52 Serve them in Babylon 32:53 and that was one of the reasons why 32:56 the Israelites were led into captivity. 32:58 They serve... they served... 33:00 and many of them were destroyed during the time of service. 33:03 You find in the book of Exodus, it begins, 33:05 "There arose a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph" 33:08 and boy! the taskmasters of Egypt 33:11 are not like God. 33:14 See God will discipline us 33:16 but He does it with love, doesn't he? 33:18 But your enemies will not discipline you with love. 33:21 It's a fearful thing to fall into the hand of a... 33:24 an almighty God 33:26 but I'd rather be in God's hands 33:28 than in the hands of the enemy 33:30 so what's the answer here? 33:31 How does the Bible describe the liability of not serving God? 33:35 It will destroy you... 33:37 just simply... it will destroy you. 33:39 There are those individuals that... they live a double life. 33:44 During the week, six days or seven days 33:47 or five days a week, 33:48 they're living a completely different life, 33:50 they're serving the enemy 33:51 and then they try to come to church on Sabbath 33:53 and "serve" God 33:55 and they get it mixed up 33:56 thinking that in the bulletin where it says, "Church Service" 33:59 they think that means you're serving God... 34:02 no... that's just Church Service. 34:04 That's the order of the service but that's not service 34:07 any more than the... 34:08 any more than seeing the sign "Gas Station" 34:11 means your car is filled up you see, 34:13 then you got to connect. 34:15 You got to get that in-filling you got to... 34:19 but you don't fill your car up and just drive it home 34:21 and leave it in the garage. 34:22 For us to come to church on Sabbath 34:24 and be filled with the Holy Spirit 34:25 and be filled by the message, 34:27 it's a travesty to just go home and just park ourselves. 34:29 He says, "This is the place where... 34:32 the... the... the coaching... 34:34 this is where the... where the Lord is encouraging you 34:36 and empowering you, 34:37 you got to do something beyond this moment 34:39 in order for your life to be enhanced 34:41 and so, that's how it is 34:43 when people get something or buy something new, 34:45 I've... I've seen a lot of the young people around here 34:47 when they get a new gadget 34:49 and I must say... I'm not in the category of young people, 34:52 but I do get excited when I get a new gadget, 34:54 we all know what that's all about, right? 34:56 What do we do? We talk about it, 34:58 we describe it, we demonstrate it, 35:00 if the Lord has made us new, 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 17, 35:04 "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation... " 35:07 we should live it... we should demonstrate it... 35:09 we should not only talk about it but share it 35:11 and... and you'll discover, more people will be transformed 35:15 by Christians who are not ashamed to let the world know 35:19 that they're connected to Christ 35:21 and I think that's one of the biggest things today 35:23 is that the world has a lot of Christians 35:25 but you can't pick them out. 35:26 You can't pick them out. 35:28 A number of years ago, a pastor said to me, 35:31 "When you go to a restaurant, do you pray 35:34 or do you hide yourself with the menu while you're praying?" 35:36 Audience: Laughter. 35:38 No, we always bow our heads and pray. 35:39 I'm... I'm always impressed too 35:41 when I see people that are at other tables 35:44 and they hold hands together and they pray 35:46 and sometimes I open my eyes and there is the waiter 35:48 or waitress standing right there with our food 35:50 waiting for us to finish praying. 35:52 It's a witness 35:54 and we've had instances in restaurants where we've gone 35:56 and we've frequented the establishment 35:58 and people have said, 35:59 "You know, I'm having surgery next week, 36:01 would you pray for me about that?" 36:03 "Okay, I'll do that. " 36:04 I'm a part of a Flying Club here in southern Illinois 36:08 and a couple of years ago, 36:10 one of the gentlemen was having a surgery in his family 36:13 and he said, "Hey, you know, I... I... I know... 36:17 I mean... you know... " he was trying to work it out... 36:19 "you know, I'm not really a Christian" 36:20 he's trying to fix it... 36:22 I said, "That's... that's okay... " 36:23 he said, "Well, you know, 36:25 could you remember me in prayer?" 36:26 And I said, "Why don't we pray right now?" 36:28 and there we were right there on the... on the... 36:30 on the flying field... 36:31 everybody else in there in their team shirts 36:34 and their... their club shirts... 36:36 and we just bowed our heads and prayed together. 36:38 I went to my car... gave him a... gave him a CD 36:40 and gave him a booklet and... that... 36:43 that puts a seed there but how ready should we be 36:47 in order to be servants of God? 36:49 Huh... 36:51 be ready in season and what else? 36:54 out of season... 36:55 in season... out of season... 36:58 a police is a police officer when he's on duty 37:01 and when he's not on... in season and out of season. 37:03 We're never not a Christian. 37:05 All right... 37:06 Number 5... Number 5 37:08 we're diving into a new area now. 37:10 Here it is. 37:12 "How is the transition made from inactivity to service?" 37:18 From inactivity to service, how is the transition made? 37:23 Pause. 37:26 We can simply say it's a decision... and that's true 37:29 but you have to decide between one thing or the other. 37:34 There's always more than one thing to decide. 37:37 When you come to the place where you decide 37:40 there's something really you have to decide against 37:43 and there's something you have to decide in favor of. 37:46 Joshua 24:15... 37:49 this is a wonderful text because it was at a point where 37:52 there was a lot behind the Israelites 37:54 but there was so much more ahead of them 37:57 and the challenge came to the one 37:59 to whom the mantle had been passed 38:02 and the decision had to be made 38:04 and there's a reason why the text reads the way it does. 38:08 Let's look at this text in Joshua 24:15 38:10 because for whatever reason, 38:12 some people felt serving God was a laborious thing. 38:15 That's why we read just a moment ago 38:17 in Deuteronomy 28. 38:19 He had to get into the minds of the Israelites 38:20 that serving God is not a labor 38:22 but look at the text, 38:24 that's why it begins the way it does, 38:26 he says, "And if it seems... " what? 38:28 "evil to you to serve the LORD... " 38:31 can you imagine that? 38:32 "and if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, 38:36 choose for yourselves this day whom you will... " what? 38:40 "serve... " and look at the two categories, 38:43 "whether the gods which your fathers served 38:45 that were on the other side of the River, 38:48 or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell... " 38:54 let's read the rest of it together... 38:56 the personal commitment is, 38:58 "But as for me and my house, we will do... " what? 39:02 "serve the LORD." 39:04 You've got to make that decision. 39:05 One of the things I liked about the patriarch's lives 39:07 and I read about... you know, Job and Abraham 39:10 and many of the patriarchs of old... 39:13 they served the Lord not just for themselves 39:16 but they made provision for their families to serve the Lord 39:18 and what God has called... 39:20 that's called not only being a patriarch 39:22 but that's called being a priest of a person's home 39:24 so the priest... the head of the household 39:25 must make the decision... 39:27 must make the stand that all of those under my roof... 39:31 if you have guests in your house for example, 39:35 we just say, "Well, you know, normally we have family worship 39:38 but let's not do it tonight, we may upset our guests. " 39:40 No... I'm talking about the practicality of it, 39:44 lead your guest into... "Well tonight, 39:46 you know, right after dinner we usually have family worship, 39:48 you can join us... " 39:50 "What's family worship?" 39:51 Plant a seed and they'll discover 39:54 that what makes your family different 39:56 from other families that they have probably visited 39:59 is that the Lord is the Head of your household. 40:01 The Lord is the one that's in the midst of your household 40:03 and it's enjoyable 40:05 and some people that have visited us have said, 40:07 "Wow! I like that... I mean, that was nice" 40:09 and sometimes, we've had a guest that will say, 40:12 "Can I read something tonight?" or "Can I sing a song?" 40:15 But we have to make up our own minds 40:18 because there's the two categories... 40:21 the gods that were on the other side of the river 40:24 or the gods in whose land we dwell. 40:26 Now, the reason why this is so significant 40:28 is they didn't make it into Canaan yet. 40:31 They were in the land of the Amorites 40:32 and so there was a lot of them... 40:34 they were surrounded by a lot of things 40:36 that they could decide to do 40:38 so Joshua said, "If it seems evil to serve God, 40:43 you can decide to serve those in whose land you dwell, 40:46 but as for me and my house, I'm going to serve the Lord. " 40:49 Amen. 40:51 And that was the difference between Joshua and Caleb. 40:53 They always had their minds set... 40:55 there was nothing impossible... 40:56 once we are servants of God, 40:58 there's nothing that we should turn down 41:00 when it comes to serving the Lord. 41:02 They made up their minds. 41:03 Go with me to 1st Timothy chapter 3, 41:06 I want to show you something here, 41:08 very important... the category of service. 41:12 You'll discover that when a person goes from 41:16 just being a follower of Christ 41:18 to being involved in service for Christ, 41:24 I've often said, 41:29 "Everybody can't do everything 41:31 but everybody can do something. " 41:33 All right. 41:34 God hasn't given everybody every gift 41:37 but everybody can do something. 41:39 It was interesting how... how Paul the apostle 41:42 in his letter to Timothy talks about service 41:45 and... and bear with me 41:46 because we're talking about the qualifications of a Deacon here 41:50 but the principles really do apply in the sense of service. 41:54 1st Timothy chapter 3, I want to look to verse... 41:57 Verse 10 to 13 all right and actually I want 42:02 to go ahead and read just verse 10 42:04 because I want to apply that principle to all genders. 42:09 It says, "But let these also first be... " what? 42:15 "tested... then let them serve. " 42:20 A person... when the Lord is about to put somebody in service 42:24 He allows them to be tested. 42:28 The word there is also proved. 42:31 So the word that is being applied here... 42:34 when a person is being chosen for service, 42:36 one of the things we do as a church... 42:39 we have what's called Nominating Committee, right, 42:42 we try to make decisions to put people in positions 42:45 where we say, "Now, I've watched that person, 42:47 I've seen them in difficult situations, 42:49 I've seen them in comfortable situations, 42:52 I think that person can be in that difficult position. " 42:55 And so, if we feel that they're not ready for that position, 42:59 we say, "Well, now they could do that 43:00 without losing their Christianity. 43:01 We can put them in that particular area... 43:03 let's get them involved in something 43:05 that's not going to put them too... 43:07 too severely in a position to be tested 43:08 where they may lose their Christianity... " 43:10 because not everyone is able to be in every position. 43:13 Huh... see... even... 43:16 even... even before a person is baptized 43:18 we look at that person's life 43:20 and the commitment is made on the basis of test... try... 43:24 see where they are. 43:25 Don't just throw them into a category 43:27 or throw them into a scenario 43:29 that they are not at that point willing 43:30 to be able to live up to the requirements of. 43:33 So, one of the things that you'll find in serving the Lord 43:37 is that people will sometimes be tested 43:39 and so when the test comes, 43:41 what do you think God is preparing you for? 43:44 I just told you, say it together... service. 43:49 See... who brings the tests your way? 43:52 Huh... no He allows them, 43:57 "Let no man say when he's tempted... 43:59 he's tempted by God" okay... 44:04 where do most of your tests as Christians come from? 44:07 Pause. 44:11 That's not what I hear, 44:14 okay... I'm... I'm trying to draw it out of them, 44:16 you just follow along, 44:17 where do most of our tests come from as Christians? 44:21 Doesn't it come from other Christians? 44:24 Huh... 44:26 Do you come to church by yourself? 44:27 Do you... do you serve... 44:29 do you worship in a place where there are people 44:32 of different temperaments? 44:33 Different likes and dislikes, am I getting close here? 44:37 People that may agree with you or may not agree with you, 44:40 are we all growing together? 44:41 So, the reason I use the question... 44:44 the reason I phrase the question... 44:46 as Christians, where do most of our tests come from? 44:50 That is... in the house of worship... 44:52 I... maybe I should have put that in the question, 44:54 sometimes it comes from those who are in our own households. 44:58 Sometimes it comes from those that we worship with 45:01 and those we sing with 45:03 and those that we work with during the week. 45:05 If you're involved in that kind of ministry. 45:07 So, when those tests come, 45:09 we have to always think of ourselves 45:12 in a position where we're being tried and proven 45:15 to see whether or not we are worthy or fit 45:17 to be put into a position of responsibility, 45:20 where we can be trusted to represent Christ 45:23 because when you serve, you're not serving yourself. 45:26 That's why I've heard people say, 45:27 "Oh... I... I... I think I've gotten over this now, 45:30 but two years ago... 45:31 I think I've dispelled the idea of the... of the fallacy. " 45:34 Some people have said 45:36 when I've asked them to do certain things as a Pastor, 45:38 they say, "But you get paid for that. " 45:39 And I said, "Really... " 45:42 we all get paid, right? 45:44 And what is the payment? 45:46 Audience: Eternal life. 45:48 Pastor: Eternal life. 45:49 If you read Matthew when the... 45:51 when the owner of the vineyard came, 45:53 how much did he give everybody? 45:55 How much did He give everybody? 45:57 Audience and Pastor: Same amount... a penny... 45:59 which means that the gift of eternal life is for everyone. 46:04 Never serve thinking that you're serving the Pastor 46:08 but you always serve the Lord 46:11 but look at some of the categories, 46:13 look at Number 6. 46:14 Look at some of the barriers to service. 46:16 Number 6... Number 6... 46:20 I've got to go a little faster here now, 46:21 "What does the Bible list as a barrier to serving God?" 46:25 What does the Bible list as a barrier to serving God? 46:28 And this is very real. 46:30 I... I sometimes think if we paid... 46:32 if our church operated differently 46:35 and people were paid to serve, we'd have a larger... 46:37 we have a lot of service in this church right? 46:39 Am I telling the truth Dan, 46:42 if people got like $12 an hour to go pass out tracts, 46:44 how many people will be passing out tracts? 46:47 "Pastor, you have any more neighborhoods 46:48 for me to go into?" 46:50 Man! we'd be paying out money like left and right 46:52 but notice this, 46:54 service should never be based on 46:57 what Dr. Luke describes here. 46:59 Okay, here's the question, 47:01 what does the Bible list as a barrier to serving God? 47:05 Luke 16 beginning with verse 13 47:07 and it says, "No servant can serve... " what? 47:11 "two masters... " why? 47:14 "for either he will hate the one and love the other, 47:20 or else he will be loyal to the one 47:23 and despise the other. 47:25 You cannot serve God and... " what? 47:27 "mammon. " What's mammon? 47:29 Mammon's money... huh... 47:31 earthly things... 47:33 some people say, "Mammon" 47:35 but it's earthly things 47:36 and money was one of those significant categorical areas, 47:41 serving... some people say, 47:42 "Hey, how much does it pay?" 47:44 Pause. 47:46 "Well, if we think about it... it pays really well, 47:48 it pays eternal life... 47:50 that's the end result, eternal life... 47:52 but notice what's happening here, 47:54 the battle is, "What is it going to do for me?" 47:57 And that's the category here 47:59 that the Lord wants to make very clear to us, 48:00 "What am I going to get out of it?" 48:02 It should never be self-centered, 48:04 it should be what? Christ centered. 48:06 Everything we do should be focused beyond ourselves 48:11 and focused to Christ. 48:12 You never really get the blessing 48:14 if you're thinking about just what is going to benefit you, 48:17 how it's going to benefit you. 48:18 If you're thinking about blessing somebody else, 48:20 you have to keep that principal in mind 48:22 it's more blessed to give than to receive. 48:24 If we're thinking about enhancing somebody else's life, 48:27 then the servant's heart is there... 48:28 if we're living the servants life, 48:29 but if we're thinking about what just to get out of it for us, 48:32 then we're not at the place where the servant's life 48:34 is being lived 48:36 and we don't have the servant's heart. 48:37 Don't make a choice between 48:39 whether or not it's of benefit to you 48:41 and don't allow money to sway you from serving the Lord. 48:45 I know people that will work on Sabbath 48:48 in a... in a viable position, 48:51 they may be nurses or doctors in the medical field, 48:53 but they'll make the decision based on the fact that, 48:55 "Hey, I get time-and-a-half, 48:57 I get double time if I work on the Sabbath... " 48:59 and I know of somebody that left the medical field 49:02 and went into private in-home medical work 49:04 because they said, "You know, after a while, 49:06 even though I wasn't violating the Sabbath 49:09 by working as a nurse, 49:10 after a while, I lost the significance of the Sabbath, 49:14 it just became any other day 49:16 because I was serving man... " 49:18 and then they said, "But... " 49:20 So I said, "Well, what happened before you quit?" 49:22 They said, "You know what happened? 49:24 Whatever I made on Sabbath, 49:25 I dedicated it to some ministry in the church. " 49:28 How many people would work in the medical field 49:31 and say, "It's not about money, it's about service" 49:34 and give what they make on the Sabbath 49:36 to some ministry in the church? 49:38 Not very many people would do that. 49:39 But then, once again, people that would get to that place, 49:42 have a servant's heart. 49:44 Look at Number... where are we now? 49:46 Number 7... Number 7, 49:48 "How does the Bible describe those that know, 49:52 but choose not to serve God?" 49:56 How does the Bible describe those that know, 49:59 but choose not to serve God?" 50:03 Pause. 50:05 Okay, by the way, Question Number 6, 50:10 the answer there was... 50:12 what does the Bible list as a barrier to serving God? 50:14 Earthly things because if you just put money 50:19 it's more than money that tempts people from serving God, 50:22 it's more than money that's a barrier. 50:23 They have interests that may steal their hearts 50:28 from the time that God wants to spend time with them in study, 50:31 I know a lot of times on Wednesday night 50:33 I remember somebody... years... this is years ago 50:36 we used to have a challenge, I was pastoring a church 50:40 and that's way back in the days when they had this Show 50:44 it was in Texas... this big old wealthy family 50:47 huh... it was called Dallas, right, Dallas 50:51 and I remember one Wednesday night, I was like, 50:54 "Man! where is everybody?" 50:55 And on Sabbath, I said, "Where was everybody?" 50:59 And they said, "Didn't you know that Wednesday night 51:01 was a finale in the Dallas Series?" 51:03 Because the big question was, "Who shot JR?" 51:08 Well, nobody... he's right here... 51:10 Audience: Laughter. 51:11 We have our very own JR... 51:13 but everybody wanted to know who shot JR... 51:16 and it was going to be revealed in the finale of Dallas 51:19 and I'm thinking, "You got to be kidding me, 51:21 you wanted to know more about who shot JR 51:24 than who crucified Jesus. " 51:26 You see, that's not... 51:28 that's not the issue but that's what's happening 51:30 so when the Bible uses the word "Maman" 51:32 it's not just finances... it's not just money... 51:34 but all kinds of interests pull us away from our service to God 51:39 and I like it here because in our church, 51:42 I love the fact that our women are involved in ministry, 51:44 they work at the... 51:46 they go to the prisons during the week, 51:48 our men... many of them go to the prisons 51:50 sometimes during the week but on the weekends 51:53 to various Institutions 51:54 and there are a lot of things that can be done 51:56 but the motive should be, "What can I do for you Master, 52:00 because of what you've done for me. " 52:02 Here's what the Bible says, 52:04 "How does the Bible describe those that know God 52:06 but choose not to serve Him?" 52:07 Here it is, Romans 1:25 and it reads as follows, 52:10 what do they do? 52:11 "Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, 52:14 and they worshiped and served the creature 52:17 rather than the Creator, who is blessed... " how long? 52:20 "Forever. " 52:21 We lived in northern California 52:23 and this kind of rings a bell for me 52:24 because we lived up in the area 52:26 where they have some of the most beautiful trees, 52:28 the Redwoods... 52:29 I mean, trees that were in some cases, hundreds of years old 52:33 and in some cases, more than a 1,000 years old. 52:36 I remember there was a tree that had a... a... 52:38 a graft picture showing way back... as far as Egypt 52:42 and I'm thinking to myself, 52:43 "How can a tree be around that long?" 52:45 And... but one of the things that came to me 52:49 as I read this text is, there were those that... they 52:53 we call the... I'm trying to be delicate here 52:56 they were more concerned about the trees... 52:59 preserving the trees than preserving a knowledge of God 53:03 and I know that we who believe in Creation 53:06 and are mindful of our environment, 53:09 don't want to be insensitive 53:12 and just, you know, just start clear cutting 53:14 and killing off Creation, 53:16 but what is being said here 53:18 is they knew God but they chose to worship the... 53:22 worship the creature rather than the Creator. 53:26 There are some people that are environmentalists, 53:29 there are some people that are 53:30 so concerned about the color of the grass, 53:32 there are people that want to have really clean neighborhoods, 53:34 the Lord said, "That's great and fine 53:36 but let's not leave off serving God, 53:38 just to deal with things that are temporary. " 53:41 They understood... 53:43 they exchanged the truth of God for the lie 53:46 and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator 53:49 once again, listing another barrier between serving God 53:53 and just serving and living for our environment. 53:56 Let's try to get to Numbers 8 and 9 before we finish tonight. 53:59 Number 8... I... I just love this one. 54:02 Ah... okay... exactly... the answer is, 54:05 "How does the Bible describe those that know...?" 54:07 They serve creation rather than the Creator. 54:10 they're more concerned about Creation than the Creator 54:13 and right now, there's a big environmental movement... 54:15 there's a whole big thing about global warming, 54:18 it may be true, it may not be true, 54:20 that's not the issue here, 54:21 but I'm more concerned about the Lord that's going to take us 54:23 out of this planet that's falling apart. 54:25 That should be our Number one concern. 54:27 Look at Question Number 8, 54:30 "In what spirit does the Bible describe 54:32 the life of the servant?" 54:34 In what spirit does the Bible describe 54:36 the life of the servant? 54:37 Oh, turn with me to Colossians 3, 54:39 we don't want to miss this one tonight, 54:42 Colossians 3 and verse 23 to verse 24. 54:45 Beautiful text, 54:47 pause 54:49 okay, here we are, it's on the screen. 54:51 And the Bible says, let's read this one together, 54:54 let's make this our own personal testimony, 54:56 "And whatever you do, do it... " how? 55:02 "heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 55:07 knowing that from the Lord you will receive... " what? 55:11 the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. " 55:17 So, when we are called to service, who are we serving? 55:20 Say it together, we're serving the Lord. 55:22 That's why David said, "Serve the Lord with gladness 55:26 come before His presence with singing. " 55:29 We've got to always keep that in mind because if we think, 55:31 "Well, what has God done for me?" 55:33 He's done so much for me that I want to serve Him... 55:36 I want to serve Him joyfully, 55:37 I want to serve Him with a glad heart. 55:40 So here's what you put down, 55:42 "In what spirit does the Bible describe 55:44 the life of the servant?" 55:45 Pause. 55:47 Huh... 55:48 we serve God heartily... 55:50 with our hearts... the seat of affection. 55:53 we do it heartily. 55:54 Have you ever heard somebody laugh heartily? 55:56 That's a hearty laugh, 55:58 it wasn't a "he... he... he... he" 56:00 it was more like a "Pastor-C.A. laugh. " 56:02 Audience: Laughter. 56:03 You know, he laughs heartily, 56:05 I can't even duplicate that, but it's heartily, 56:07 it's got some robust there, 56:08 you know some people laugh so heartily 56:10 that they make you want to laugh when they laugh. 56:12 Well, here's my point, 56:14 some people serve God so heartily 56:16 it makes you want to serve God when you see them serve. 56:19 Other people sneeze and it makes you sneeze 56:23 or people yawn... and it makes you yawn 56:26 let's make our service to God as contagious 56:30 and a lot more exciting than a yawn or sneeze... 56:33 a sneeze and a laugh. 56:34 Last one, very significant, very significant, 56:38 "How does Paul the apostle describe the battle of service?" 56:43 How does he describe the battle of service? 56:46 This is going to be our transitioning point 56:48 we'll pick up on the next time 56:50 and this is Romans 7 verse 25. 56:52 Romans 7 verse 25, our last text for tonight, 56:54 we'll get it in here, it's on the screen, 56:56 he says, "I thank God... through Jesus Christ our Lord! 57:01 So then, with my mind... 57:03 with the mind I myself serve" what? 57:06 "the law of God, but with the flesh... " the what? 57:10 "law of sin. " 57:11 During the week, my Brother and my Sister, 57:13 if you're watching this Program or listening tonight, 57:15 you've got to make a decision 57:16 where your service is going to be 57:18 because during the week, 57:20 you're going to have a battle between the mind... 57:22 that is the spiritual life and the flesh, 57:25 how to live a spiritual life in a natural body 57:28 and whatever decision you make is going to impact 57:31 whether or not you're going to serve the Lord. 57:33 Whatever decision you make on the side of Christ 57:34 will lead you to "heartily service" 57:37 joyful service... glad service... 57:39 but if you make a decision against serving God 57:42 and going down the path that tends to rob you of the joy, 57:46 then you will not be able to experience 57:48 the blessing that God intends for you, 57:51 so when the flesh calls, ignore it... 57:54 when the Spirit calls, respond... 57:56 and whatever doesn't make sense, 57:58 one day we know will come into a sharper focus. 58:01 God bless you. |
Revised 2018-12-05