Love gives us the growing capacity to serve
Introduction: Anchored in love to serve-1 Peter 4:7-11
1 Peter 4:7–The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-mindedfor the sake of your prayers.
-Peter wants us to locate where our present mind and actions are in relation to God-can we say about that we have confidence in our prayers, considering how we are thinking/acting?
-this forces us to set our mind on God and what is pleasing to Him-to be mindful of God is to put both our mind/actions in check…(so because serving the Lord is my focus, I am constantly mindful of how I am thinking/acting)
Ex: So if I have a bad attitude or show myself to be unloving, am I sensitive to God to be convicted and repent-and get back to being self-controlled and sober minded-(because without confidence before God, how can I serve Him and others)
Psalm 138:6-For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar. (no intimacy/prayer)
-Pride keeps us from considering “am I right to think/act this way?”–Which keeps me from getting right with God to serve and be in a place of love w/ God…(pride thinks and acts however it wants b/c it is not subjected/humble to anyone)
Why is love so important and showing it in action
1 Peter 4:8-9-Above all,keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
(vs.8-9)-Peter moves onto love, only after we have subjected ourselves to God-because doing acts of service without the love of God, is no different than any other social club/group (are we really subject to God and His love as our motivation to serve people? where is our mind, what are your actions/reactions telling you?)
Mark 3:4-5-And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
–Being in the love of God overlooks conditions, to love them unconditionally and serve them-so we don’t wait for people to be “lovable” that is not gospel…love takes precedent
-being self-controlled and sober minded is not based on people-but on seeking God for the grace to love and serve anybody(this is why having intimacy and being right with God is priority when it comes to serving Him)
How right thinking leads to loving service
1 Peter 4:10-11–As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, asgood stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.
–Though everyone should look to serve in the Kingdom of God-the effectiveness of our service is measured by our maturity in Christ, and maturity in Christ is based on love…Ex: an unloving Christian will eventually become ineffective
-so the challenge is, how much love are we receiving from Jesus “i come to serve”?-so if not from God, we will seek to serve people for affirmation-(so we’re not really serving to serve, we’re serving to get, which will make us conditional!)
-When you think of “perfect love”, perfect love stands up against all hatred and resistance to love=cross-so we serve in the face of ingratitude, hostility, and people’s selfishness, to prove a maturity that is conforming us to Christ…(we are not serving for affirmation (trying to get something), we should be serving to give something!)
(vs.11)-this verse proves that if we serve to get something-we are getting our strength from people’s affirmation appreciation, instead of serving from a relationship with God (where He gives the strength to serve cold hearts)
Ex: to “close up” our love towards the world, family, friends, fellow Christians because they are not lovable-proves our need to grow in Christ, instead of seeing the need for others to change-(I am not a victim of your hatred, I conquer it!)
Romans 8:35-38–Who shall separate usfrom the love of Christ?Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerorsthrough him who loved us.
-I am not a victim of people’s weaknesses, shortcomings, and immaturity-I am more than a conqueror through Him that loves me (otherwise you will love and serve according to people who don’t give you any problems/familiarity)
- Prepped for service
Romans 12:1-2-I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which isyour spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testingyou may discern what is the will of God,what is good and acceptable and perfect.
–Why would the apostle start off by having spiritual service start with ourselves in relation to worship?-we cannot do spiritual service wrapped up in our natural carnality…(that if worship to God/being filled with the Spirit is not in us, what can we give?) When we have nothing to give we look to get-affirmation, praise, etc…naturally we are selfish!
Ex: Are you prepared for your service in the ministry? Or are you coming in here empty/natural?–What is getting in the way of being ready to serve and give from the “reservoir of worship”?-(the world is a place for seeking life/affirmation from one another-(taking/consumerism), the Church are to have “cups full” to pour out and serve)
(Especially in ministry)-are you sacrificing in order to serve? Sacrifice busyness in church for worship–otherwise we become more Martha than a Mary, distracted and busy, instead of worshiping and ready for anything!-(Worship comes before doing, or you end up a Pharisee, looking for the praises of people)
- As love puts worship in action, the Body excels
Romans 12:3-4For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment,each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function,
-because Paul knows that he has put worship in the forefront, people can embrace the gift God has given them–that the desire for titles and to be recognized is not an issue, if true worship is the goal, that involves humility
Ex: in being called to preach at our first church, they had preachers, so I looked to serve with the gift I had at the time, that was needed-so I greeted for 3 years and taught 2ndgrade bible study, and high school bible study
-that because worship was the priority, the Lord humbled me and directed me to the measure of faith I had at the time-God leads us to what we can handle at the time, for the benefit of His people,(it would’ve been selfish for me to be preaching at that time, because I didn’t have the faith/capacity to benefit anyone but 2ndgraders!)
(vs.4)-The beauty of worship, is that it always establishes order, it convicts people where they should be w/ their gift-think of a family unit, true worship is in place for the sake of order and function, that best suits the gifts the person was given to serve in it!(Worship humbles us to submit to God where we should go…alleviates “lone ranger” Christians)
–Even if you have the same gift as someone, it doesn’t mean you don’t exercise it in some capacity-you may assist, alternate, take over eventually, etc. but it is consistent with where our individual faith is...(so I ask you, are you allowing your faith to be challenged to fit somewhere to give spiritual life?)
Conclusion: What keeps us from using what we have
Romans 12:5-8-so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
–the more loving, and giving we are-the more of chance of getting hurt and taking advantage of(in a cold unloving world)
–I believe what keeps us from serving/sacrificing, in our homes/churches is a lack of love/worship-many times we make excuses of not having time, when in reality sacrifice will cause us to look at our priorities
Ex: so if I say I don’t have time to spend with God-God says “you didn’t make time?” (because it was a priority to serve in the ministry and finish seminary-God graced me to make it work/prioritize with three little kids)
-because God is priority, we don’t look at the things/friendships we are sacrifice as too hard to do-because God is giving us the power to serve His purpose, to prove a love for Him and people–(our life is burdensome b/c He doesn’t give us power to live selfishly)
Matthew 11:29-30-Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowlyin heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy,and my burden is light.”
-I believe the goal of the devil is to get us so frustrated with ungrateful, unloving and demonic people-that we trade in the Jesus’ “burden” to love and serve, for the burden of selfishness…
–selfishness looks appealing because you don’t have to “give love” to people-yet it is extremely burdensome because you don’t have to seek God to get power to love (so not only are we not giving any love, but we are not receiving any!)
-When you have a worship filled heart to serve your family, friends, church, etc.-you will make time to seek God, because you know you need His love to survive the coldness of the hard hearts you serve!
Ex: when you work in social services, education, parent, have needy friends, etc.-anywhere you pour out and people take from you, is what you do valuable enough to preserve it, so you can keep blessing the situation?
-you can only bless someone when you have something to give-when you have nothing to give to the place we were appointed to give to, we curse it! (To resist giving love, is to resist God, stubbornness never yields fruitfulness but curses)
Luke 13:7-And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruiton this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’
-God has a right to expect fruit from what He appointed us to bless, our families, jobs, ministry etc.-His expectation is out of love because the curse is what we bear and that hurts us, while grieving Him
0 Comments