Sermon Tone Analysis

Main Idea

We are created to serve.

A few years back, Kelly and I got into the show Madam Secretary, which is about the ongoing crazy world that the female Secretary of State lives in.

In the show, there are many scenes of her meeting with the President of the United States and with the Chief of Staff, and one thing they say frequently, especially when things happen at the absolute worst time is: I serve at the pleasure of the President.

I really like that phrase… not because it sounds cool, but because of the loyalty and dedication behind it.

These characters don’t just work with the President, they have a long history with him.

Outside of the office, they are on a first-name basis with one another, and because they respect him, they will do whatever it takes.

That is service at its finest, at least from a human perspective.

Today, we are going to see what that looks like within a church context and see exactly what serving at the pleasure of the King of Kings looks like.

Outline

I - Who We Serve

II - How We Serve

III - In What Spirit We Serve

IV - For What Purpose We Serve

I - Who We Serve

We Serve God

The parable of the Talents

Here, it is plain to see that the servants are serving their Master, but it’s not always as easy to see who we serve in our own lives.

How many of us have days filled with things like dirty diapers, shuttling kids from one event to another, grocery lists, house cleaning, trash runs, budgets, and all the little mundane tasks the day throws at you.

Those things don’t feel like you are serving God.

It just feels like you are trying your best to keep things afloat.

It’s times like these where I try to remember the verse that I am bought with a price… a price that is infinitely more valuable than anything I can afford.

That price was the blood of Christ that was spilled to redeem me and everything I have in my life, including the dishes that never stay clean and the house that never stays in order, is from His hand and given to me to steward.

I am serving the Lord in those moments.

Another prime example is last Sunday, when so many of you cleaned up after the Fall Festival.

You swept the floor, cleaned the bathrooms, vacuumed the carpet, and put the chairs back into place.

That is amazing servant-hearted work.

You weren’t serving me in those things.

You were serving the God that has called us together as a family and stewarding His house well.

We Serve One Another

In his first letter to the Church in Corinth, Paul likened the congregation to a physical body, and more than that, Christ’s very own body:

No part is too small or insignificant.

The one body needs all the parts to function in unison, or else it will encounter issues.

If your nervous system had rebellious nerve-endings that really wanted to be cuticles, then a major function of the body would be completely inoperable!

Think about this church.

We are relatively new.

Virtually every need we have can be served by someone in this church.

This body has eyes, ears, hands, feet, and mouths.

Where do you fit in?

How can you serve in the way God made you so that His body in Ashe Alliance can function properly?

Is it teaching adults or children?

Is it related to food or facilitating events?

Are you musically gifted?

Do you have a knack for hospitality?

How about reaching out to others and making them feel seen and acknowledged?

There is a place for you to serve here… a place that is satisfying to you and beneficial to others.

This isn’t just a nice thought.

It’s the reality of 1 Cor.

12.

II - How We Serve

We Serve with God-given Gifts

1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 both have lists of spiritual gifts, such as:

wisdom

knowledge

faith

healing

miracles

prophecy

discerning between spirits

tongues

interpretation of tongues

serving

teaching

exhortation

generous giving

leadership

mercy

These are all done through the Spirit (each given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good as 1 Cor.

12:7 says), and given by the Spirit as He wills.

These aren’t natural talents that you are born with.

They are supernatural enablements that are given to you specifically to build up the Body of Christ.

Do you know how you are gifted?

If so, are you using what you have been given, or are you allowing it to waste away and rust like an unused tool in the back of the tool shed?

If not, there is no better way to discover your gift than to begin serving.

It doesn’t matter where.

Just begin.

Be willing to step out in faith and watch how God will use that intentionality and guide you to where you will be most fruitful!

We Serve in the Power of the Spirit

We are gifted at the will of the Spirit (as stated above).

It’s not our gift or power to begin with.

We must rely on His direction and empowerment.

As we’ve seen already, this was the model of the early church in Acts :

How many times have we seen this play out in the first 5 chapters alone?

As we do our part to remain open to the Spirit’s will, filling, and direction, we will see Him move in the ways we can serve one another.

We Serve Through Specific Offices

Acts 6- Deacons selected to serve and tend to the everyday needs.

Acts 20 - Paul speaks with the Ephesian Elders commanding them to oversee, protect, and feed the flock.

1 Tim. 3 - Lists qualifications for Elders and Deacons.

Eph 4 - Lists gifted people to fill the offices.

We are built on the foundation of the Apostles, Prophets, with Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers added to it.

Praise God that He gifts His church with talented and faithful followers who dedicate themselves to the work of the church.

Amen?

III - In What Spirit we Serve

We Serve in Love

Not only is it the core of the Great Commandment:

But it is also the culmination of the spiritual gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12:

Love is the crescendo of the Christian life.

We don’t serve God out of obligation.

That isn’t a real relationship.

We serve God because we adore Him.

Even if I was the spiritual heavyweight champion of the world and possessed every spiritual gift there was… if I could heal every sick person I touched and raise dead children back to their parents… if I possessed all the knowledge in the world and taught it with perfect clarity but I lacked having love… them I am nothing.