How Does a
Christian Find a Place of Service?
1
Audio
mp3
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
22 Feb, 2009 AM
I.
Introduction (1Timothy 1:12)
A.
This
B.
Most of us
are busy. Life has a way of keeping us occupied. You actually have to work
very hard to be lazy. There’s normal job work, and house work and school
work, and homework and …
C.
A
Christian’s life is the life of a servant.
D.
The servant
life is not one of a
E.
The
F.
So, How does
a Christian find a place of Ministry? A place of Service?
G.
We have
learned that the Christian is not really doing things just for people, but
serving their Lord by serving those around them.
H.
Jesus said,
when you do kind things to the least, you have done it unto Him!
I.
Let’s see if
we can find some guidance this morning on how to find a place to serve our
Lord.
II.
Message
A.
Summary of the Christian’s Life
(1Cor 9:19,22)
1.
Free
2.
Flexible
3.
Focused
4.
Faithful
B.
To Find a Place of Service
Begins with Being Free from All Men
(1Cor 9:19)
1.
a.
The apostle
Paul was a natural born citizen of
b.
But that
freedom was not the best kind of freedom. It wasn’t worth boasting about at
all.
c.
Paul had
been made free from all men, and from all sins, and from all powers but ONE
on that wonderful day when he humbled himself and turned to trust Jesus
Christ as His Lord and Saviour in Acts 9!!!
d.
To be free
from all men would be the desire of everyone on this planet
e.
How
priceless is this freedom!
2.
If you are
saved this morning, if you are born again, then (according to 1Cor 6:9-11)
you USED to be …
a.
A Slave to
your sins
b.
A Slave to
this world
c.
A Slave to
the devil
d.
A Slave to
debt, to self-image, to fears, to bad habits
e.
f.
It is easy
to act like no one owns you,
when in reality, the bank owns you, and your wife owns you, and your
children own you, and your boss owns you, and your friends own you, and your
fears own you, and your bad habits own you (smoking is a slave driver,
drinking is a cruel master, fear is a tormentor)
3.
But, if you
ARE a born again Christian, you are not just free from those things, but
according to Jesus Christ, you more than free (
4.
No man owns
a Christian now (Rom 6:6, “that
henceforth we should not be slaves to sin”) – only God
owns you now!
5.
So, there is
a freedom that Jesus Christ offers – real freedom!
a.
Not a
religion; not a list of do’s and don’ts; not a bunch of ceremonies and
rituals that are all external
b.
But a
relationship that is liberating – that frees you to serve only God
1)
Like a
marriage – like it should be – not bondage, but awesome freedom to love and
be loved with no bondage
2)
Like a
best-friend relationship – you WANT to hang around them
6.
Most people
have lived all their life as “slaves” and they don’t think there is any
other kind of life than to live addicted to sins, and in bondage to fears,
and under the control of friends, and in trouble with the Garda
7.
God is not
going to show you a place to serve unless you are a free man, or free woman,
or free teenager!
C.
To Find a Place of Service
Requires Me to Be Flexible as a Servant, Not Boss
(1Cor 9:19-22)
1.
This is
powerful! Paul says, “I made myself servant unto all”
a.
No one came
along and put chains around my neck and ankles
b.
No one came
along and whipped me into obedience
c.
No one bound
my hands and forced me to work as a SLAVE
d.
“I” made
myself a servant
e.
“I” chose to
serve, and not just serve people who where easy to please, but just like my
Master, I chose to serve everyone!
2.
The list of
“adaptations” that he made in his life is endless
a.
To the Jew I
became a good Jew (Rom 11:14)
b.
To the
Pharisee, I kept the law
c.
To a
d.
To the weak,
I became weak
1)
I wept with
them that wept
2)
To those who
feared eating meats, I ate only salad
3)
To those who
were discouraged, I was gentle and kind
e.
3.
Basically,
4.
a.
So, God
moulded him into a fearful speaker (1Cor 2:1-5)
b.
God
fashioned him into a powerful prayer warrior – motivating people by prayer
c.
God
completely retrained his theology on the backside of the
d.
God
remoulded
1)
When he was
around Jews, he went head to head with them, and reasoned with them, and
debated with them
2)
When he was
around barbarians, he spake at their level, and loved them, and served them
as if HE was one of them
3)
When he was
around wise people, he confounded their own
4)
And, when he
was around unwise people, he was careful to not show off, and humiliate them
for being “stupid”
5.
6.
But it was
never a life of compromise (2Cor 4:1,2). Not talking about:
a.
Talking like
a DJ, or a Rapper to win a rapper
b.
Dressing
like a whore to win a whore
c.
Acting like
a homosexual to win a homosexual
d.
Flirting
like an adulterer to win an adulterer
e.
Stealing
along side a thief to win a thief
f.
Jesus ate
with sinners, and sat with sinners, and talked with harlots, but He
7.
God is not
going to show you a place to serve unless you are willing to do whatever God
asks you to do
a.
Like Jonah
b.
Like Elijah
when he was told to go live by a tiny brook during a great famine, and wait
for God to feed him by the mouth of crows!
c.
Like the
little boy, who gave up his lunch
d.
Like Peter,
when Jesus told him that one day, men would take him by the hand and lead
him where he did not want to go, and die for Christ
D.
To Find a Place of Service
Requires Me to Stay Focused in Purpose
(1Cor 9:22b)
1.
Notice the
goals that
a.
…that I
might gain the more
b.
…that I
might gain the Jews
c.
…that I
might gain them that are under the law
d.
…that I
might gain them that are without law
e.
…that I
might gain the weak
f.
…that I
might by all means save some
g.
And this I
do for the gospel's sake!
2.
Why such a
specific purpose/focus? Why so passionate about winning people to Jesus
Christ? Why not just get people more involved in religion, and social clubs,
and community activities?
a.
Because of
the value of souls (Mark 8:36,37) - nothing can compare to the value of just
one soul
b.
Because of
the Price of Sin (Romans 3:10, 23; 6:23; Ezekiel 18:20 “The
soul that sinneth, it shall die.”)
c.
Because of
the Righteous Wrath of God (Ephesians 5:3-6)
3.
No
Christian wants anyone to go to hell! A
Christian KNOWS that God is righteous and holy and will judge this world for
its sin, AND that there is only ONE WAY TO BE SAVED from the wrath to come!
And wants desperately for EVERYONE to be saved
a.
Flee to
Jesus Christ – not to some church, or some pilgrimage
b.
Repent of
your sins
c.
Believe only
on His power to save you
d.
Then, just
simply ask to be saved from the penalty of all your sins! ASK, believe that
he will give you the gift of eternal life – the gift of complete forgiveness
(Rom 6:23)
4.
God is not
going to show you a place to serve unless you are hungering to win souls
through that ministry. If you only want to show off, or make a great name
for yourself, then forget it!
E.
To Find a Place of Service
Requires Me to Be Faithful to the End
(1Cor 9:24-27)
1.
1Ti 1:12
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted
me faithful, putting me into the ministry
2.
a.
No one
enters a race as a quitter
b.
If you start
a race, you are supposed to FINISH it
c.
Only
FINISHERS have a chance to win the prize
d.
SO RUN
FAITHFULLY AS A CHRISTIAN, SERVING THE LORD
3.
God is not
going to show you a place to serve unless you are willing to get in, and
stay in that place, and serve!
III.
Application – How More People
Can Get Saved Here in
A.
Get Free
Yourself
1.
Free from
sin’s power by getting born again
2.
Free from
debt by paying off your debts, not always increasing them
3.
Free bad
habits so that you can serve the Lord
B.
Make
Yourself a Servant
1.
Lower than
other people
2.
Other people
can leave early right after church – you stay and help clean up
3.
Other people
can just walk in late – you come in early and start praying for every seat
to be filled with hungry hearts
4.
Other people
can stay in bed on Saturdays, and be lazy all weekend – you get up early
,and get things done so that at 1pm on Saturdays you can go out and go
soul-winning so that people get saved
5.
Other people
can sit and enjoy the preaching week after week – you instead, start helping
in Creche, or in Sunday School
6.
Do you see
how it works?
7.
Other people
can complain about the
8.
Other people
can just come and go on a Sunday – you open your eyes and ears, and look for
needs, and see how to meet people’s needs
9.
What
Ministry in our
a.
The Welcome
Ministry?
b.
The
Reformer’s Unanimous Addictions Ministry?
c.
The Music
and Choir Ministry?
d.
The Sunday
School Ministry?
e.
Discipleship?
f.
Creche?
g.
Soul-Winning
Ministry?
h.
i.
Ladies’
Fellowship?
j.
Transportation Ministry
k.
C.
Become the
Greatest Servant Ever
1.
It is one
thing to be a servant – which is hard enough
2.
It is
another thing to strive to be the GREATEST servant
3.
What does
that mean?
a.
Being the
best Greeter at the door
b.
Being the
best Sunday School teacher, loving those kids as your own
c.
Being the
best Church Typist
d.
Being the
best Soul-Winner
e.
Being the
best Addictions Counsellor
f.
Being the
best Planner
D.
Keep Your
Focus on Souls
1.
This is not
an opportunity to show off your abilities or talents
2.
It is a
chance to win souls
3.
To win more
souls that we could if only a few are involved
4.
How many
will get saved if we ALL got busy?
5.
How many
will hear the clear, simple Gospel if absolutely everyone in our church was
busy being a Servant?
IV.
Conclusion
A.
Summary of the Christian’s Life:
Free, Flexible, Focused, Faithful
B.
Are you FREE
yourself?
C.
If you ARE
born again, you were saved for a purpose…
D.
So, are you
fulfilling that purpose, even in the smallest of areas?
E.
Will you
start serving in ONE ministry today?