February 15, 2015 Notes Not Edited
I Love My Church,
Pt 3: SHAPED’d For Service
Acts 11:27-30
SIS–Sacrificial
service is the natural and expected response of Christians to a needy world.
God created us and
saves us for a life of service. Let me
say that again: “God created us and saves us for a life of service.” Until
we are saved and serving we will never be satisfied in life. Ephesians 2:10 tells us:
10 It is God
himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus;
and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping
others.
If I were a
betting man, I would bet that most of you have called a "Customer
Service" number at one time or another in your life. I'd also be willing
to wager that at least one of those calls did not leave you feeling like you
received much service. Customer Service requires a person that both understands
your problem and cares about your predicament. That is why Homer Simpson has
never had a career in Customer Service. Homer is an honest guy in a twisted
sort of way. He's not the sharpest crayon in the box. Here's his approach to
Customer Service: "Just because I don't cafe does not mean I don't
understand." That's a typical Homer Simpson perspective that does not have
his phone ringing off the hook offering him a career in Customer Service.
Homer's statement got me thinking: "Do I both understand AND care about
the needs of others around me?" The way to answer that is to think about "service."
If I truly understand the predicament of others in this world, AND, I truly
care about those people, then I will serve them enthusiastically and willingly.
I will serve them sacrificially. Christianity teaches us we are to be
"servants of all" (Matthew 20:26). Jesus, our Lord and Model, served
others. He is the quintessential Servant. He took on human flesh so He
understands our predicament. He did something about our predicament by dying in
our place to show that He truly does care. Christians need to be servants. A
non-serving Christian is an "oxymoron," sort of like an "honest
politician." OK, maybe that went too far. Anyway, come Sunday to see how
God uniquely SHAPES every believer for service in His kingdom--service that
shows we both understand AND care about others. I have invited Homer to come to
speak to us but he was already scheduled to speak in chapel services at Harvard.
Instead, let’s hear
what God says about “serving others in and through the Church because We Love
Our Church.” Acts 11:27-30
27 During
this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them,
named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine
would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of
Claudius.) 29 The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide
help for the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to
the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
We will fill in
some of the details as we go along, but it is clear
from our text:
there was a great need and the church united together in sacrificial service to
meet that need. The early disciples DID
CHURCH RIGHT. They served. We will examine three reasons why you as a
member of God’s church should be serving
today.
1. Service is the Natural Response to a Needy
World (vv 28, 29b)
a severe
famine would spread over the entire Roman world . . . . The disciples, each
according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in
Judea.
In our text we
discover that there was a “severe famine” spreading
over the entire
Roman world. Hunger was gripping the
people of the land and squeezing out their lives. In verse 29 it says that the Christian
brothers and sisters in Judea, “needed help.”
The world needs
“you.” There is so much suffering in the
world
that it is
impossible NOT to see it. I say,
“impossible,” but . . . many don’t see it because they hide their eyes. Every day the news tells the story of the
tremendous suffering and strife in the Middle East. We hear of such atrocities
as beheadings and the burning alive of a Jordanian pilot in a cage, or the rape
and murder of young girls by Boko Haram, the terrorist group in Nigeria. We hear of the wholesale slaughter of
villages including the mutilation of children.
Just this week we have headlines of a terror related shooting in
Denmark. A few weeks ago, it was a
terrorist attack in Jewish deli in Paris that captivated the global news
stream. I could go on and on almost
endlessly with such tragic news of terror around the world. But, presently, we are being reminded that
terror attacks are not limited to foreign soil.
The trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon Bomber, is currently
getting underway with jury selection after two years. Three people, including one child, were
killed and 260 injured in the April 2013 attack on American soil. If you watch any news at all, you will watch
“bad” news flow like a cascading flood over the airwaves. Our world is in very bad shape.
Such tragedies as
the Ebola plague or the continuing AIDS crisis in Africa, or the famines around
the world killing thousands each year can hardly find space on a news cast
because there is just so much other “bad news” to report. We could talk about world hunger. About 25,000 people die every day of hunger
or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. This is one person
every three and a half seconds, as you can see on this display. Unfortunately,
it is children who die most often. In
the time it takes to preach this message over 500 people, mostly children will
have starved to death.
And . . . America
is not without need. According to
government studies 33.6 million Americans are struggling to get enough to
eat. 13 million children go to be hungry
every day. 1 out of every 10 households
in America are experiencing the pangs of hunger. Between 500 to 600 thousand people are
homeless in America – the richest country in the world.
Our world is a
needy world – and I’ve only mentioned the physical needs. Emotional needs are just as staggering. In the US today although the suicide rate
among youth significantly decreased in the mid-1990s, suicide deaths remain
high in the 15 to 24 age group with 3,971 suicides in 2001 and over 132,000
suicide attempts in 2002, making it the third leading cause of death for
those aged 15 to 24 in the United States.
In our country, the jail population continues to climb as church
attendance continues to plummet. There
is a great spiritual need.
I could spend hours
outlining the needs of our world. Need
is
every where. The
need is great, but the servants are few. One thing is clear about the Early Church –
they were servants. They served
sacrificially to meet whatever needs arose from hunger to hopelessness. Our text said that the Early Church heard of
a need in Judea and they “provided help.”
One reason you need to find a place of service in our world – in our
neighborhood – is because people NEED you to serve. The health and happiness of many depends upon
“you.”
2.
God SHAPED you to Serve (Acts 29a)
“The
disciples each according to his ability”
This verse teaches
an important principle about “serving” God.
Everybody has
different abilities and capabilities.
Just like no two human beings are shaped exactly alike physically,
neither are any two persons shaped exactly alike spiritually. A person’s ability to serve God is as unique
as his or her finger print.
The word translated
from the Greek as “ability” is only used one
time in the Bible
which is this passage. It refers to the
“unique capacities” of each person to contribute to meeting the need that was
before them. While all the disciples
participated in serving, not everybody participated to the same degree or in
the same way.
Romans 12:4-6 also speaks
of the unique “abilities” God has given to each member of the body of Christ:
4 Now as we have many parts in one
body, and all the parts do not have the
same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. 6 According
to the grace given to us, we have different gifts.
God uniquely
designed us to be effective servants meeting human needs. We are His snowflakes – no two of us are
exactly alike. In our church we refer to
this a person’s “SHAPE.” Each letter in the word, “SHAPE,” refers to a
unique facet of how God has “designed” (made, shaped, formed, or created)
us. Let’s look at how God “shapes” each
person uniquely for service. Consider
this: human DNA molecules can unite to form 1 x 10 to the 2 billion, 400
millionth power. That is a 1 with
2,400,000,000 zeroes. If you right that
number on a piece of paper, the paper would have to be at least 37,000 miles
long! That’s how uniquely “shaped” by
God you are. Let’s look at what it means
to be “uniquely SHAPED by God for service.
“S” in the word SHAPE refers to our
“spiritual giftedness.” The Bible
says: Now to each one the
manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. (1 Cor 12:7).
When God saves you
His Spirit becomes one with your spirit.
Don’t
ask me to explain,
“how,” this can happen because it can’t be explained. But, when God’s Spirit becomes a part of our
lives in the event of our salvation it begins a spiritual process, or
transformation. We become
“super-charged” after the fashion of a race car. We get “superpowers,” sort of like the
Fantastic Four, or Spiderman. These
superpowers are called, “spiritual gifts” and every believer has one, and most
have a mix of spiritual gifts. This
special power from God is “for the common good” or to help us in our
service to others. Spiritual gifts are
“instrumental” not “ornamental.” Some
people go through all kinds of surveys and tests to discover their spiritual gifts. I’m not a big fan of that idea. My theory is this: “start serving and your
spiritual gifts will find you.” Your
gift may be teaching. It may be
hospitality. It may be the gift of
giving. It may be the gift of knowledge
or wisdom. It may be a combination of
more than one gift – but everybody has at least one gift. or power, to help
them serve.
The “H”
SHAPE stands for “heart.” How do
you know where and how you should be serving?
The key is, what is your “hearts” desire? What do you really enjoy doing. The Bible says, “As water reflects a
face, so a man's heart reflects the man.” (Prov 27:19). A man or woman is defined by those things
that they are most passionate about.
Another word for “heart” could be “passion.” Bill Gates is passionate about computers and
I’d have to say it has “defined his life.”
Mother Teresa was passionate about comforting the poorest of the poor
and it defined her life and service. God
put the “desires in our heart” and they are unique to each of us. Part of how we find what place of service is
best for us is to ask, “what does my heart say?” “What am I passionate about.” Our “heart” (or desires) are part of how God
has SHAPE’d us to serve Him
The “A”
in SHAPE stands for “abilities.” The
Bible says, “There are different abilities to perform service, the the
same God gives ability to everyone for their particular service.”
Exodus
36:8 All the skilled craftsmen among those doing the
work
made the tabernacle
made the tabernacle
Unfortunately, most
people never live up to their abilities.
For example, you possess the ability to detect something with your
finger that is only 1/25,000th of an inch thick. Your brain–even if it is only average–can
process 15,000 decisions a second! You
are a bundle of incredible abilities.
Everyone is good at something, though everyone isn’t good at the same
thing. Any ability you have can be used
to serve others from fixing a car to teaching mathematics. Your unique abilities are part of your SHAPE
for service.
The “P”
in SHAPE stands for your “personality.”
Just look at how different the original Twelve Disciples were. Peter was outspoken and often acted before he
really thought about what he was doing: “as when he cut off the ear of one of the
soldiers who came to arrest Jesus.” Then
there’s Andrew, Peter’s brother. He was
a people person. Every time he is
mentioned in the Bible he is introducing someone to Jesus. Think of the sisters, Martha and Mary (Lk. 10:38-42). Martha was a “doer.” Mary was more of a “feeler.” We are all different. We are all like a piece of wood. We all have a certain “grain” to our
lives. Woodworkers know that it is
easier to work with the grain of the wood than against it. In the same way, we would do well to find
places of service that fit our personality.
Personality is a part of how God SHAPE’s us for service.
The “E”
in SHAPE stands for our “experiences” in life. God never wastes a moment of our time. Nothing that happens to us is “meaningless”
or without some educational value in our lives.
It has been 30 years since I served on a nuclear submarine, but God
still uses that experience many times to help me speak with other people about
their souls – the greatest service any of us can perform. Because it is required that every submariner
learn about every system on the submarine I know a little about a lot of
different trades. I know a little about
being a machinist. I know a little about
heating and air condition. I know a
little about hydraulics. I know a little
about nuclear power. It is amazing how
“little” I know about so many things! Wait,
that didn’t come out right!
God used David’s
shepherding experiences to prepare him for fighting Goliath (1Sam. 17:37): 37 Then David said, “The
Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will
rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
As I said, God
never wastes our time-no experience in our life is wasted. In fact, the Bible says, “ My frame was not hidden from
you
when I was made in
the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16
your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in
your book before one of them came to be.
(Ps 139:15-16)
God knows your next
step, and the one after that. He knows
every
experience you will
have and when you will have it. He will
use those experiences to help you become the “super servant” He wants you to
be. Your “experiences”–both good and bad–are
all a part of how God SHAPE’s you for service. God SHAPES you for the service
He expects you to perform. He gives you spiritual gifts, your heart’s
desire, unique abilities, a distinct personality, and a never-ending supply of
experiences so that you can be the best servant you can possibly be in a world
that desperately needs your service.
GOD SHAPED YOU IN A
UNIQUE WAY FOR SERVICE.
Let me pause here
and remind you of something very fundamental
to being a fully
functioning follower of Jesus Christ. If
you do not engage yourself in service to others in and through the church,
there are needs that are going to go unmet.
There are unique services that ONLY YOU CAN PROVIDE. When you don’t show up to serve – something
just doesn’t happen. Nobody but you can
be you!
That brings me to
my third reason for why you need to find your
special place of
service. Not only does the world’s need
demand it. Not only has God uniquely
SHAPE’d you to provide the service the world needs, but,
3. God EXPECTS you to serve (Acts 11:30)
Look closely at verse 30 of Acts 11, and you will see something really profound in its
simplicity: “This they did, sending their gift.”
This is a mundanely
simple statement with profound consequences.
Remember the
situation we are dealing with – a famine that was going to be particularly hard
on the believers about 100 miles away in Jerusalem. There was a need to take up a sacrificial
offering and the Bible says, “This they did.” Not:
this they debated. Not: this they
studied. Not: this they thought about. But, “this they DID!”
Oh, how I wish we
could be so simple and immediate in our obedience. So often the normal response
in a Baptist church to feeding the hungry or clothing the naked is to set up a
“committee” to discuss ministry. We
often play out the moral to an Aesop’s Fable, “When all is said and done in
a committee, more is said than done.”
God SHAPE’d us for
ministry because He EXPECTS us to minister.
Obedience is not
optional. God put the matter before the
disciples and “they DID
something about it.”
One day the
disciples were arguing about who was, and would be,
greatest in the
Kingdom of God. Jesus rebuked them for
their misguided ambition and said this: “whoever wants to become great
among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your
slave- 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, (Matt
20:26-28).
If we are going to
call ourselves, “Christians,” don’t you think our
lives ought to
resemble, “Christ?” Should we not love
who Jesus loved? Should we not sacrifice
like Jesus sacrificed? Should we not
serve like Jesus served? Of course we
SHOULD—God expects every Christian to serve . . . period!
It is clear from
our text that the Early Church followed the example
of the
Servant-Savior. They heard of a need
that called upon them to deliver aid and our text says, “this they did!”
The world’s needs
cry out even louder today than in the day of the
Early Church–at
least as much so for sure. If we are
going to DO CHURCH RIGHT we need to find a place of service and begin
serving sacrificially and passionately.
Only about 2 out of
every ten church members in a typical church
are actively
involved in meaningful ministry to their communities either individually or
through the church. If we are going to DO
CHURCH RIGHT, this statistic most change. EVERY believer needs to find a meaningful
place of service.
<<end>>
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