CALLED AND COMMANDED TO SERVE!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY JUNE 25, 2020.

SUBJECT: CALLED AND COMMANDED TO SERVE!

Memory verse: "He saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose." (Second Timothy 1 vs 9.)

READ: Matthew 20 vs 28 - 34:

20:28: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
20:29: Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 

20:30: And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" 

20:31: Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" 

20:32: So Jesus stood and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" 

20:33: They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened." 

20:34: So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

INTIMATION:

For Christians service is not optional, something to be attached to our schedules if we can spare the time. It is the heart of the Christian life. We have earlier seen the true example of what we are called to do in Jesus Christ. In Matthew 20 vs 28 Jesus said, "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Jesus came "to serve" and "to give," and those two verbs should define your life on earth, too as a Christian. Serving and giving sum up God's major purpose for your life. 

And after telling the disciples of the "command to serve," Jesus demonstrated that act of selfless service in the event following in the passage we read today. Although Jesus was concerned about the coming events in Jerusalem, He had all His attention fixed on Jerusalem, but He stopped to care for the blind men demonstrating what He had just told the disciples about service, by stopping to care for them. Service is a commandment that He has to obey, and consequently He did. Even when the major reason He came was to come up in that His trip to Jerusalem.

Jesus taught that greatness comes from serving—giving yourself to serve God and others. Service keeps us aware of others' needs, and it stops us from focusing only on ourselves. He described leadership from a new perspective; instead of using people, we are to serve them. Jesus mission was to serve others and to give His life away as a ransom for others. In God's standards, service leads to true greatness. Jesus said in Matthew 20 vs 26 - 27, "...But whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave." 

In First Corinthians 7 vs 17, the Scripture says, "But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him work..." Many think that being "called" by God is something only missionaries, pastors, nuns, and other "full-time" church workers experience, but the Bible says every Christian is called to service. Your call to salvation included your call to service. They are the same. Regardless of your job or career, you are called to full-time Christian service. A "non-serving Christian" is a contradiction in terms.

All believers are called into priesthood in Christ, not as it was in the Old Testament times, when people did not approach God directly, a priest acted as intermediary between God and sinful human beings. With Christ's victory at the cross, and in Hades, the pattern changed. Now we can come directly into God's presence without fear, and are given the responsibility of bringing others to Him also. Anytime you use your God-given abilities to help others, you are fulfilling your calling.

People often base their self-concept on their accomplishments. But our relationship with Christ is far more important than our jobs, successes, wealth, or knowledge. We have been chosen by God as His very own, and we have been called to represent Him to others. Your value comes from being one of God's children, not from what you can achieve. You have worth because of what God does, not because of what you do. How much of the time are you being useful in the service of God? Your service is desperately needed in the Body of Christ. Each and everyone of us has a role to play, and every role is important. There is no small service to God; it all matters.

Every ministry matters because we are dependent on each other to function. Consider what happens when one part of your body fails to function! You get sick. The rest of your body suffers. Imagine if your liver decided to start living for itself: "I'm tired! I don't want to serve the body anymore! I want a year off just to be fed. Your body would die. Today thousands of churches are dying because of Christians who are unwilling to serve. They sit on the sidelines as spectators, and the Body suffers.

Spiritual maturity culminates in selfless service. Maturity is for ministry! We grow up in order to give out. It is not enough to keep learning more and more. We must act on what we know and practice what we claim to believe. Impression without expression causes depression. Study without service leads to spiritual stagnation. The old comparison between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea is still true. Galilee is a lake full of life because it takes in water but also gives it out. In contrast, nothing lives in the Dead Sea because, with no outflow, the lake has stagnated. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of servanthood that I may serve diligently, delightfully, and obediently, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!