Sermon Transcript:

Every healthy believer desires to grow stronger and more mature in our faith. We want to please God and we want to live as his people. Of course, we know that we don’t deserve this. We know that even as believers we often fall short and even have times when we are overwhelmed with sin and selfishness. But we rejoice in the grace of God because we know that God will never abandon us and that he loves us. We know that our acceptance before him does not depend on our perfection, but his. 

One of the great statements of the reformation, the Heidelberg Catechism, begins with the question. “What is your only comfort in life and in death?” 

The answer it gives is “That I am not my own, but with body and soul, both in life and death, belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood.”

All believers have been bought with the precious blood of Christ. That is our hope and testimony. The word of God says that the blood of Christ not only buys us, but also has the power to change us. To free us not only from the penalty of sin, but from its power in our lives. Jesus died on the cross not only that we would be forgiven for sin, but that we would be delivered from it. By his blood we are washed, sanctified, and made holy. That is our new identity in Jesus and that is what is being worked out in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit if we are his. 

In this series, we are looking at several of the means the Bible says that God works through to strengthen and mature us in our faith. We looked at prayer, which expresses our dependance and trust in God and through which God is pleased to work in our lives. We looked at worship, which takes our attention off ourselves and orients our life around God. We looked at study which equips us and shapes us with the truth. Last time, we looked at stewardship which causes us to live by faith in God to provide, leading to us being a blessing to others.

This week, we will look at service. It is often the case that when we are first saved our attention is on ourselves. We think of salvation in terms of us being forgiven and us growing in faith. Ultimately though we are not saved merely as individuals, but as a community. In salvation we are added to the gathering, to the company of those called out of the world. This is what it is to be part of the ekklesia, the church of God. We cannot be saved without being bound to others.

First, we are bound to Jesus and in this we are eternally bound not only to God, but to each other. Many of us are familiar with the famous illustration of how the cross of Christ allows us to come to God by bridging the gap sin creates between us and God. But we often don’t think about the fact that when we cross that bridge, not only are we brought closer to God, but to one another. All of us believers are in the same boat. We are all in Christ, our lifeboat sent by God to rescue us.

But the mercy and grace of God doesn’t end there. He gives each believer new life and spiritual gifts to be used to help, encourage, and serve others as we walk with Jesus. Our main text this morning is 1 Peter 4:10–11 that says,

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good 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. Amen.

Peter is speaking to believers and notice that he says each believer has received a gift. If, by faith, you are a new creation in Jesus Christ you have been given some gift of grace by the Holy Spirit. Something that God specifically equips you with to be used for his glory. Just as when we get a new job we are issued certain tools we need to do the work God also has work for us to do and he equips us to do it. 

These gifts are not like natural abilities. In some cases, the enabling may come to us when it is needed and in other cases it may be something we regularly experience but we can be sure that every single one of us has a unique and valuable gift that God has given to us to build up his church and glorify his name. The Bible often talks about the church using the illustration of the body. Just as every part of the body has a function that cannot be performed by the other parts, so it is with God’s people. 

Every member of God’s family should be serving because every member has been given a gift that others need. The kingdom of God is like a huge puzzle and every piece has its place. The whole is diminished when pieces are missing. I sometimes hear people say they don’t go to church because they don’t get anything out of it. That just shows they don’t understand at all the purpose of the local church. The worship service isn’t about you getting anything, it is about you giving worship to God. 

If there is nothing for you to receive from your brothers and sisters the other 6 days, it is most likely because that is a time when you should be giving rather than receiving. Not only does Peter tell us that each one has been given a gift, he also tells us that we have received it so that we can use it to serve one another. 

None of the spiritual gifts are given for our own personal use; they are all given for the common good, to build up each other in Christ. Peter says we are stewards of God’s varied grace, meaning God has given each of us different gifts so that we can minister to each other. The apostle Paul says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 12:4–7,

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

We are designed to work together and we need each other. Our love for God will be visible in our love for each other. The joy and freedom we receive through our union with Christ will overflow into blessings to others. Galatians 5:13–14 says,

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

When we show sacrificial love for each other we are pointed to the immeasurable love of God. Bible scholar Dale Ralph Davis observed,

“The Lord’s people thrive on mutual assistance; God has given us one another as channels of his help and strength. Indeed, the apostle prayed ‘that you, having your roots and foundation in love, might have the strength to grasp together with all the saints how wide and long and high and deep Christ’s love is’ (Eph. 3:17–18). Getting a grip on the staggering limitlessness of Christ’s love for us is not something the believer does in blissful isolation.”

To serve and to be served both point us to Jesus Christ. To be a good steward of God’s varied grace means that we are relying on what God is doing in us in our service to others. We don’t serve to get glory or attention for ourselves, but to testify to the glory and grace of God. Verse 11 says,

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. Amen.

All glory goes to Jesus for any good thing we do. If we love it is only because he loved us. If we are a blessing it is only because he has shown mercy in blessing us. We were all walking in darkness, serving ourselves rather than God. We have all sinned and we must all give an account of this to God. A time will come, sooner or later, when we will stand before him to be judged. If we are judged based on our own love and obedience we will be condemned.

None of us have loved God and loved our neighbor as we should. All of us have rejected God in our sin and have often loved only ourselves. Those sins must be punished since God is holy. There must be accountability for our contributions to the evils in the world. In his love, however, God has provided a savior. We don’t have to be judged on the basis of our life because if we repent and believe in Jesus, God offers to judge us based on the life of Jesus.

He offers Jesus as a substitute in our place. He doesn’t ignore the sin. Jesus had no sin, he lived a perfect life, but he offered himself as a sacrifice for sin on the cross. He was punished for the sins of all those who will trust in him as his savior. He paid the price for sin, which was death. He satisfied the just wrath of God against sin and he died. But three days later, Jesus rose from the dead proving that he is able to raise us from the dead as well. Now he is in heaven advocating for all who believe.

If you believe in Jesus, you will also be raised from the dead and you already have that eternal life at work in you now. If you believe, you have the Holy Spirit which binds you to Christ and is at work in your heart, producing love and equipping you for good works that God has prepared for you to do. Come to Jesus and be saved. Come to Jesus and be transformed into a witness to the glory of God. It is God who saves and it is God from whom all blessings flow. All glory be to God, amen?

Let us be known as a church that overflows with blessings, but rather than saying we are loving, let them say in us they see the love of Christ. Rather than saying we are generous, let them say we serve a gracious God. If they visit us for worship let them not say that there is a good preacher or good singing, instead let them say the word of God is proclaimed and his name is lifted up in worship. I pray the closer to us people get the harder we are to see. Let God be glorified in everything!

For that to happen, our service needs to come from the overflow of our own heart’s satisfaction in Christ. A church where the ministry is only done by the pastors and leaders is not a healthy church. In fact, that is a dangerous situation that often leads to spiritual abuse. The job of the teachers and preachers is to equip the body for the work of ministry. Ephesians 4:11–12 says,

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ

God’s design is for each of us to use our gifts, talents, and knowledge, to build up others. This service flows out of us as we ourselves are filled with the love of Christ. We want every member of our church to have opportunities to use their gifts to serve for the glory of Christ. We want every member to have a heart to see every other member strengthened and built up.

I have been a Christian for nearly 40 years and one thing that I can testify to in my own life and something I have seen consistently in the life of others is that spiritual growth accelerates once we begin serving others. There are things the lord does in our prayer life and with the word in our hearts when we are serving that just do not happen when we are not. It is the assumption of the New Testament that we will serve each other. That is part of God’s design for maturing us.

That shouldn’t surprise us because what is spiritual growth or maturity other than growing to be more like our lord? In Matthew 20:25–28 Jesus says,

25 …“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The kingdom of God does not work like the world. The world, and sadly even many in our churches think that our strength comes from power. We desire positions of authority and influence but Jesus says the greatest among us are those who have the heart of a servant. Our Lord Jesus is God. All things were created by him, through him, and for him, and yet because of his great love, he came not to serve, but to be served. 

The great generals of human armies send other men to die, but Jesus Christ, our king, laid down his own life as a ransom for many. He trusted in God’s promise to glorify him and so he was content to humble himself for the good of others. That is what it means to grow in Christlikeness. To be like Jesus means that we are willing to do things important people consider beneath them to show the love of God to others.

John chapter 13 records Jesus washing the feet of his disciples and then verses 12–15 records the following,

12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

Let’s think carefully about what is happening here. This is God in the flesh, the divine Logos, the Alpha and the Omega, the one whose name is above all names, on his hands and knees wiping dirt and animal filth off the feet of sinners. That very night one of those men would betray him and all the others would abandon him, at least one even denying they knew him. But although they were weak and undeserving, Jesus was willing to love them and serve them.

He does this as an example. If our lord was willing to take the lowest place to serve them and to show his love for them, how can we, who are rightfully servants, refuse? We all say that we want to be like Jesus. I pray that is true, but to be like Jesus means that we place all our confidence in God so that we do not care what the world thinks about us. It means we are willing to be humbled in order that the love of God be shown to others.

There is a popular saying “it is amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit for it.” This proverb has been attributed to various historical figures and has been used by leaders of everything from sports teams to presidents of the United States. The world sees the wisdom in this, how much more good can we accomplish when we do it for the glory of Jesus Christ?

There is no shortage of needs and no shortage of work to do in the kingdom. Even in this small church there are many things we would do if we had more hands to help. How much of an impact for Christ could we have if we truly pursued his glory rather than our comfort and contentment? What could we accomplish if we truly lived as those who had died to this world and whose life was hidden in Christ? 

I pray each of us would prayerfully consider how we are using the gifts we have been given by Christ. Are we using them to build up his church? Are we using them to share his love with others? Are we willing to get down on our hands and knees and do the things nobody else wants to do? That is what our lord calls us to do. Will we?

Before we go too far though I want to make sure I am clear about something. Yes, serving will lead to spiritual growth but that growth doesn’t come merely because we serve. It won’t come if we serve out of guilt, thinking that we can somehow make up for our sin or weakness through anything we do. It won’t come if we serve out of greed, thinking we will gain something by our serving as if God owes us anything. It won’t come if we seek our own glory, calling attention to ourselves.

The service Jesus is talking about comes from love and from gratitude that God has been gracious to us and included us in his kingdom. Sometimes churches pressure people to serve because they have needs rather than creating opportunities for people to serve out of love. If you serve out of pressure or obligation, that is not spiritual service. True service comes from a heart satisfied in Jesus. It is an overflow of the sweetness of our own relationship with Jesus.

If you have ever flown on a commercial airplane you know that before you take off they always give you a safety briefing. One of the things they always cover is what to do if the cabin loses pressure. If that happens, a mask will drop down from the ceiling above you and the flight crew always reminds you, if that happens, put on your mask before helping others. You have to be sure you are ok before you can try and help someone else because otherwise you might both perish. 

That is the way it is with our service in faith. Our ministry to others must flow from our own union with Jesus because he is the source and strength for all spiritual things. The way to be properly motivated and prepared for serving others faithfully is not to focus on what needs to be done or even on our own capabilities. To serve with joy can only come from fixing our eyes on the love of God in Jesus Christ. This is the most important thing and is always the priority. Especially in church we must guard our hearts from becoming distracted by anything that would pull us away from being filled in Christ.

We see an example of this in Luke 10:38–42,

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

I sympathize with Martha. Stuff needs to get done and I can understand why she would be frustrated. She is running around like crazy and there is her sister sitting there. But Mary is right and the lord commends her. There are a lot of things that need to be done but only one thing is necessary. If the devil cannot keep your hands from being busy, he will try hard to make sure your heart is busy as well. Brothers and sisters, don’t be so busy doing “stuff” that you are not spending time at the feet of our Lord.

The amazing thing about serving is that the more filled we are with Jesus, the less anxious we will be about everything else and that is when we are most prepared to serve joyfully and with love. If it is your desire to grow stronger in your faith and grow closer to God then do not neglect these five things we have been looking at in this series. Ensure you make time to pray, do not neglect assembling together to worship. Prioritize your life so that you are spending time in the word, then cheerfully give as the lord leads you and serve as the lord has gifted you.

A local congregation of Christians are believers who recognize and affirm each other's professions of faith and who are mutually committed to serving, supporting, and cooperating with each other in our journey of faith, including these five areas we have been looking at. We wish to see spiritual growth in all who trust in Christ, but the local church is a place where we are committed and accountable to each other in these things. 

Two years ago on December 5th 2021, by God’s grace, a group of believers committed to God and each other that we would love and support each other in our walk as Christians. Those who became members of the congregation then and all those who have joined since have promised to serve one another in love by affirming, guarding, and helping each other live as citizens of the kingdom of Christ by pursuing communion with God, community with other believers, and faithfulness to the great commission.

This morning, we would like to publicly reaffirm these commitments. If you are not yet a member and would like to learn more about what that means please join us for the membership information class after the service on January 14. If you are a member of Redeeming Grace Church I would like to ask you to please stand. I will read through the membership commitment, which is a summary of the New Covenant expectations in scripture.

We are not perfect in these things but by God’s grace it is our desire to pursue them faithfully.

I purpose to pursue communion with God by...

• Resting and rejoicing in the finished work of Christ (Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31)
• Loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength (Matthew 22:37)
• Looking to God as my highest treasure and greatest joy (Psalm 16:11; 73:25-26)
• Reading the Bible and praying regularly (Joshua 1:8; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
• Repenting of sin and pursuing holiness (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Peter 1:14-16)
• Seeking to develop greater theological discernment (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
• Cultivating a humble spirit (1 Corinthians 4:7; James 4:6)
• Trusting God through difficulty (Psalm 27:1; Philippians 4:6-7)

 I purpose to pursue living in community with other believers by...

• Supporting the faithful practice of church membership and church discipline (Matthew 16:18-19; 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; Titus 3:9-11)
• Attending church gatherings consistently (Hebrews 10:24-25)
• Pursuing meaningful relationships with others in the church (Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 3:12-14)
• Developing and expressing Christlike love for others (John 13:34-35)
• Ministering to others in the church according to my gifts and opportunities (Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 4:10-11)
• Contributing to the church cheerfully and regularly from the financial resources God has entrusted to my care (Matthew 6:19-21; 2 Corinthians 8:1-7)
• Resolving conflicts biblically and without gossiping (Matthew 7:1-5; 18:15-17; Ephesians 4:29; Colossians 3:12-14)
• Submitting to the leadership of church elders as it accords with the Bible (Hebrews 13:17)
• Being a godly spouse if married and/or parent if blessed with children (Deuteronomy  6:6-7; Ephesians 5:22-33; 6:4)

 I purpose to pursue engagement in my commission of making disciples by...

• Praying regularly for specific non-Christians (Matthew 5:44; Romans 10:1; 2 Timothy 2:1-4)
• Pursuing genuine relationships with non-Christians (Matthew 11:19; Mark 2:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5:10)
• Having regular gospel conversations with non-Christians (Matthew 4:19; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; Romans 1:16-17)
• Teaching others how to be disciples of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20)
• Training disciples to make more disciples (2 Timothy 2:2)

Dear brothers and sisters, if it is your continued desire to pursue these commitments as expressions of your faith and trust in God to keep his promises please say “I do”. 

Amen