Romaine Park Church Service – 13/02/2022, Nick Booth:- Serve the Lord with Gladness – Luke 12:31-48.
Well, last week I spoke on the topic of Loving God and Seeking Him first before anything else. Our vision Statement has it right there at the very start. It notes that we see a church needs to be a place where we are Loving God, Serving Faithfully , Reaching People Together. Each of those 4 lines are not only to be seen as individual statements but we believe they interweave, overlap and integrate with every other line. It is impossible to love God with out loving people and reaching out to them! It is impossible to Love God without serving – And we need to be faithful in that. It is impossible to Reach out to others with the Love of God without doing life together with them and helping them to do life together with us.
We should go where people are and we should invite them to our homes, our activities and our church services.
Today I want to continue in the series on Priorities with one of ‘Serving Faithfully and with Gladness’.
I have noticed throughout my years as a Christian, that people who focus on their own lives, their worries and their own concerns can often end up quite depressed and struggling personally as well as in their Christian walk. I have also noticed, that people who get busy caring for the needs of others and get busy loving and serving God seem to do better. Their problems (and they can be just as numerous and just as big as other peoples) don’t get on top of them and sometimes don’t even weigh then down as much as we might expect them to.
I am glad to have known many people like that and even benefitted from their help and support as a Christian and as a pastor throughout the years. Some people just get what the scripture says
Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Psalms 100:2
They don’t let life get on top of them but they get about loving God and happily serving God. Yes, serving God is not and should not be a chore. Can I stress that Serving God is not just a job for a select few! Church, we thoroughly endorse the priesthood of all believers, and we also recognise that there can be distinction in the call of God upon different people. We are a body of believers that needs each part of the body to be doing its part for the health and effectiveness.
Maybe you are new here and you would like to get involved but you are not sure where you could help. We will be handing out a form that we call our BaiGL form. There are so many ways to serve the Lord that we should not be limited to one certain way of doing things. Many people get involved in a number of areas but honestly, we can’t survive, let alone thrive as a church without the fantastic help that so many of our volunteers give. And I know that they are not doing it to serve the Pastor, they are doing to serve the Lord and to serve one another.
I would encourage everyone to take one of these forms and fill it out either today before you leave or bring it back next Sunday. We have uploaded a copy on our Church Facebook community group and people watching online that are part of Romaine, we’d love to have you fill it in and return it also. It can be returned via email if that is the easiest way to do so.
I want to look at today’s text as we continue with our series on Priorities and see where they connect and intersect with our Vision and our Values. We will see where Jesus continued with his teaching about seeking God in Luke’s text from chapter 12
31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
41 Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”
42 The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43 It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk.
46 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
47 “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.
48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
In my sermon last week, I spoke about how our seeking and trusting in God is a great remedy for anxiety. Today I want to give these additional points from Luke’s account of the same passage. Remember God knows that we want and need stuff! But our greatest need is Him!
So, can I start by saying that Loving God and Loving others (the 2 greatest commands) requires that we serve God and others.
This passage that we have just read through gives us a couple of reasons to serve faithfully. The first is reward and the second is in the negative. The fear of Judgement. Both these aspects combined with the call to Love, are the factors that motivate us and this is Jesus’ telling us.
Teacher and writer Bruce Wilkinson, the author of the book ‘the prayer of Jabez’ did a study of Scripture to see what kind of motivation God uses to motivate people to obey and serve him. As he studied the Old Testament, he found God uses 3 kinds of motivation and they are the following in roughly these percentages: it may surprise you –
1. Reward 80%
2. Fear 15%
3. Love 5%
After doing this, he then he looked the New Testament for God’s method of motivating us to obey and serve Him and in the New Testament was almost exactly the same.
As Christians, we can be so down on the thought of reward – but Jesus talks about it often. The apostle Paul also spoke of the crowns and the rewards that we are to seek.
The Truth is that God has wired people to be motivated by reward. Jesus’ teachings often demonstrate a reward and not just a temporal reward but there are also some that start in the present age.
Jesus said give and it will be given – Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened. He even promised that we receive according to the measure that we use. Can I be so daring as to critique a popular Christian Myth that we sow – but God decides what we receive back!
Jesus preached to a rural community who knew that if you wanted wheat – the seed that you planted was wheat seed. Most of us also know this in our world, yet when it comes to God – we think that it makes us more holy if we sow without wanting or expecting a harvest! That is crazy! It is not biblical, and it is non-sensical. It is even contrary to the desire of God and the pattern that he has set up for this world – let alone for the renewed heaven and earth that is our ultimate destination.
However- there are some rewards that are biproducts that are additional.
• One of our first rewards is Joy in this Life
One of my pastoral observations is this – and it has rung true for years – people who have an outward focus, people who care for the needs of others, people who share the Love of God with others seem to manage their own problems and their own issues better or with more ease than those who only care for themselves. And they often do it with a smile on their face. Jesus said “It is more blessed to give than to receive!”
J O Y Jesus first, Others second, Yourself next is almost always better than the mantra/question of WIFM What’s In It For Me
• WIIFM – What’s in it for me? Lets be clear though not all self-interest is wrong. self-interest =/= being self-absorbed/ self-seeking
It is right to seek a reward for sacrifice and service – But never forget that our primary reward is an Eternal Reward
• Our biggest motivator for reward should be God’s presence in this life and in the life to come, along with this, I also long for God’s affirmation of our Earthly service within Eternity.
His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ Matt 25:23
Can I just take a moment to make sure that you hear me correctly on this. The reward is for our service but we don’t earn eternal life. Please hear me on this – Forgiveness of Sin is a gift and not a reward for what we do. Eternal Life is God’s gift and never a reward! The rewards are given for our service, for our giving, for our living and our sacrifice.
Randy Alcorn notes these different kinds rewards
What kind of life does God reward? For what sort of works will believers be rewarded when they stand before the judgment seat of Christ? The simplest answer to this question, and the most general, is that we will be rewarded for everything we’ve done that was motivated by our love for the Lord and empowered by His Spirit. Indeed, Jesus said that we would even be rewarded for simply giving a cup of cold water to someone because he is a follower of Christ (Matt. 10:42).
But the Bible specifically mentions many other things for which we can also be rewarded. The New Testament describes as many as five different crowns which will be given to believers for various works of faithfulness, obedience, discipline, and love. For example, there is the imperishable crown (1 Cor. 9:25), which appears to be rewarded for “determination, discipline, and victory in the Christian life.”{8} There is the crown of righteousness which, according to Paul, will be awarded by the Lord “to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8). There is the crown of life, “given for faithfulness to Christ in persecution or martyrdom.”{9} In the book of Revelation, Jesus tells the church in Smyrna, “the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” (2:10; see also James 1:12). Additionally, there is the crown of rejoicing (1 Thess. 2:19; Phil. 4:1), “given for pouring oneself into others in evangelism and discipleship.”{10} And finally, there is the crown of glory (1 Pet. 5:4), “given for faithfully representing Christ in a position of leadership.”{11}
When God Judges the righteous at the Bema seat – we do not want to be left with our best efforts being found to be wood hay and stubble, being found to be of no value and being burnt up.
Let me tell you, according to scripture, our sacrifice brings great reward greater sacrifice brings greater reward
• Don’t serve alone – T E A M – Together Each Achieves More
There is addition al benefit in serving together with others. When we work with others, we can do so much more than when we work on our own and for our own agenda.
John Maxwell told the story of Draught Horses doing a Log pull at a country fair.
Teamwork can be illustrated by thinking of the combined strength of draft horses. A single draft horse can pull a load up to 8,000 pounds. So, we would expect that two draft horses linked together should be able to pull 16,000 pounds.
But here’s the surprise! Two draft horses pulling together can pull three times as much – 24,000 pounds!
But there’s more – If the two horses have trained with one another and have worked together before they can actually pull 32,000 pounds – double what 2 individual horses can pull. That’s the value of teamwork!
We are meant to serve with one another, and we are meant to serve one another. Ultimately We are actually meant to serve God by serving one another.
• I have one last question – and it is the question and I want to make it quite direct. Will you be there to receive the reward?
41 Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”
Are you solely part of the crowd or are you a disciple (a follower of Christ)? Truthfully, we are as close to Jesus as we want to be! God has done everything for us from His part that needs to be done – what keeps us away and leaves us unfruitful, unfulfilled and according to Jesus’ word will leave us unrewarded. Our response is totally up to us!
Can I humbly and soberly tell you that Jesus actually finishes this parable with the promise of punishment for those who don’t serve Him and who remain careless of his right to their service and devotion. Christ calls us to serve Him & follow. What will U do? Will you receive God’s free gift of Salvation?
I wonder if you would join me today in this prayer for salvation? It is a simple prayer. Why not pray as we come to Christ today.
Dear Lord,
I admit that I am a sinner. I have done many things that don’t please you. I have lived my life for myself only. I am sorry, and I repent. I ask you to forgive me.
I believe that you died on the cross to save me. You did what I could not do for myself. I come to you now and I give my life to you. From this day forward, help me to live every day for you and in a way that pleases you.
I love you, Lord, and I thank you that I will spend all eternity with you.
Amen.
