Freedom To Serve
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
While I was preparing this sermon I came to realise that God had been doing a work in me not only during my Christian life, nor in the period just before I was reborn, nor during adolescence, nor during my childhood but even before my birth. And do you know what? It’s true for you too! As we’ll see later:
Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand
As lawyers might say - there is precedence for this:
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Now, while I’m not a prophet to the nations I’m going to share some of my testimony toward the end of the sermon to try to illustrate how God uses all of our life experiences to shape us into the people he wants us to be so that we’re equipped to serve him in the way he wants us to.
One of my heroes in the Bible, if you haven’t worked this out before, is Paul. In Philippians he makes this startling statement (our home group is going through Philippians at the moment so I hope I’m not stealing someone’s study by covering this - maybe they can swap with me?):
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,
v22 - Paul says: “If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me.”
v23 - He’s torn in two directions. On the one hand he wants to go to be with Christ (for that is far better). On the other he knows he needs to stay so that he can complete the task given him by God.
And so, it’s about this task I wish to speak with you today. That thing that got Paul out of bed in the morning and could do the same for you and for me.
For me to live is Christ
For me to live is Christ
One of the sayings I’ve heard frequently throughout my Christian life is this: “No matter how old you become, you’ll never retire from being a Christian”.
Once we are born again it is, on one level, a condition or state of being that we’ll carry with us to the grave and beyond into eternity. We are Christian from the day of our rebirth - forever. On another level it is a challenge we choose to accept (or not) and this is what Paul speaks of here. It’s a challenge for him to stay for if he stays he has work to do; he knows he can’t sit idly by waiting for his call home to be with Christ.
No. As Matthew outlines regarding two of the servants in the Parable of the Talents (Matt 25:14-30), Paul wants to hear his master say “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Paul doesn’t want to be like the third servant who had what little he possessed (the thing he was given at the beginning) taken away.
Imagine for a moment you’re a gardener and you have friends who are gardeners also. On day one in the garden the head gardener gives each of you a nice, brand-spanking new trowel, plants and a planting scheme. At the end of the Job he wants to see what you’ve all done with them; Have you planted a garden or have you put the trowel in a drawer and watered the plants so you can hand it all back at the end, nice and clean and cared for?
Well, the master comes back looks at the beaten up, bent and rusty trowels of your friends, he surveys their work and to your surprise he says: “well done, good and faithful servant” to each of them. But when he comes to you, you give him back the pristine trowel complete with presentation box and then he surveys your nicely watered plants but then he finds an empty flower bed, no plants, no growth, no fruits from your labours. Just an empty flower bed now overgrown with weeds, plants you never planted and a sparkling trowel. What do you think he’ll say?
Brothers and sisters, God doesn’t give us gifts (or tools) so that we can hand them back when we go to heaven, all carefully looked after and nicely polished, perhaps in a presentation box, totally unused. He gives us gifts because he expects us to use them, so that when we go to heaven those gifts (or tools) are beaten, battered and worn, fit only for the scrap heap, because they’ve been put to good use building the Kingdom of God on earth.
I have often thought that the word “talent” was used for a good reason. From the context of this story we understand that it’s about money, and in the end the master gave his servants one talent to the most productive of his servants because he knew that servant would make good use of it. But in this day and age a Talent is akin to a skill. Maybe one of your talents or skills is making money. So I ask you:
What talents has God given you?
Are you using them to further God’s purposes?
Do you wish God hadn’t given you your particular talents, but given you someone else’s talents instead?
Are you open and looking to receive new talents over and above those you’re already using?
Or are you expecting the response the master gave to the disobedient servant?
Now, I’m not trying to guilt anybody into doing anything or into doing more; it’s not my place. I don’t know you like the Holy Spirit does. If you’re born again He lives inside you, so knows you very well. No, I’m like a good brother, looking out for you, giving you a brotherly nudge just in case you’ve fallen asleep. So as you ponder these thoughts be assured of this:
1. Your salvation is secure because it doesn’t depend upon works. Do you know why:
6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
So thankfully our salvation depends exclusively upon grace alone, by faith alone through Christ alone;
2. He will never ask of you more than you can bear;
14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
3. Building the kingdom doesn’t depend upon your efforts alone, we’re all in this together. Paul describes the Church as a body:
26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
So, if you’re feeling uncomfortable at the moment maybe, just maybe, you’re hearing the Holy Spirit’s voice, so give it some thought as I move on.
I’m part of His Body
I’m part of His Body
Now that we know God has been preparing you, that you have a role to play and that you’re part of a team effort to build the kingdom of God on earth, where do you start?
Humility
3 For 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.
He issues a message of caution:
“Not to think of yourself more highly than you ought.”
“To use sober judgement.”
“According to the measure of faith given you.”
That’s why it’s dangerous to compare yourself to other people and conclude that:
Your gifts/talents are rubbish, useless, not worth having;
You look at others and wish you’d been given their gifts, they’re much more useful because they’ve got so and so.
You give up because you’re not in some way good enough and it all seems too hard.
Have you ever tried to use pliers to undo a nut and bolt? Sometimes it works but mostly it doesn’t and if you’re not really careful you can damage the nut and bolt just enough so that nothing will undo them. Your only option at this point is to cut them off, throw them away and buy new ones. From this experience you learn that you should have used the right spanners in the first place.
Do you know what Paul says about this? I mentioned this at the beginning:
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
And then James comes along and appears to do the arm-twisting:
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
You are what God has made you. He made you for his purposes. You have unique gifts/talents so that you can do the tasks he has already called you to do or will call you to do - maybe no-one else can do them, or maybe no one else is as uniquely qualified as you are - either way, you’re the one he wants.
Your tasks were prepared beforehand for you to do - not someone else - just you! And, whether you know it or not he has already equipped you to carry them out.
So I repeat there’s no pressure here, he’s equipped you, you can do what he called you or will call you to do. There’s no question in my mind that this is the case.
God has prepared the tasks that you might walk in them, he’s given you the power of the Holy Spirit within you and he’s given the rest of the Body of Christ which is the Church to support and guide you - you cannot fail!
This is where James’ words resonate with me - If I believe through faith that God has prepared works in advance for me to do AND I DO THEM they won’t be dead works. They’ll only be dead works if I don’t do them - it will be as though they never existed.
But God’s purposes will be fulfilled, even if you don’t do what he wants you to, do you know how? Just as in the parable of the talents he’ll take your one talent and give it to some one else and that person will reap the reward instead of you. I have felt this about myself at times, I’ve not used what God has given me, or I’ve chosen another path and God has taken whatever it was away from me.
If you recall, I said earlier that we have the rest of the Body of Christ which is the Church to support and guide us. Paul writes about this to the Corinthians:
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
So if we think of the Body as a representation of this Church - Hope Christian Fellowship
18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
You are all here to fulfil a particular role - your unique gifts and talents have been added to ours in order that the body as a whole can function properly, so that we, the church, are equipped to carry out the tasks that God has given Hope Christian Fellowship without hinderance. With you, we can fulfil our calling, without you we will struggle.
But which part of the body am I?
But which part of the body am I?
So, if you’ve stuck with me so far and you haven’t heard what I didn’t say, you’re thinking…
OK, so I’m the person God wants me to be, he’s given me certain skills and abilities, whether I know it or not. I know that doing the new things that the Holy Spirit reveals gifting for means change. In some cases I just need to pluck up the courage to do what I’ve shied away from, in others I need to learn new things before I can move forward. But I’ve got what the world calls the transferable skills to do it. What next…
You’ll be most disappointed to know that I’ve never thought about whether there is any correlation between the parts of the body described here and gifts or roles in the church, but I’m pretty sure that isn’t what Paul intended anyway.
Throughout the Bible we have examples of the various Spiritual Gifts and Roles prescribed by God. Paul writes to the Romans with regard to Gifts of the Holy Spirit:
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.
to the Corinthians:
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. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
and with regard to the various roles within the church:
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
And then he goes on to talk about the importance of having Love to go along with the gifts.
To the Ephesians he writes:
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, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Do you hear what Paul says in verses 15 and 16?
That Christ is the head and that every other part not only needs to be there in the body, but it needs to be working properly so that the Church is made to grow.
Not so that it might grow, but is made to grow.
In Acts we read Luke’s account from Derbe regarding the appointing of Elders:
21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
We also read of the choosing of the first Deacons:
2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
Verse 7: Doing things rightly causes growth even from the most unlikely places. Who would have imagined that Jewish priests could be converted? But they were!
Peter also, writes to Christians who, because of persecution, were dispersed throughout Pontus, Galtia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia:
7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 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.
Now, I counted up the Gifts and Roles described in the passages that I’ve read and I came up with fourteen gifts and seven roles so I’ve grouped and arranged them in alphabetical order:
Gifts
Gifts
Administration
Exhortation
Faith
Giving
Healing
Utterance of Knowledge
Acts of Mercy
Miracles
Prophecy
Serving
Distinguishing between Spirits
Various kinds of Tongues
Interpretation of Tongues
Utterance of Wisdom
Roles
Roles
Apostles
Deacons
Elders
Evangelists
Prophets
Shepherds
Teachers
If you’ve been a Christian for a long time you’ll have been in churches where the Pastor or Minister was expected to do everything - brothers and sisters, those days have gone, indeed they should never have been.
Being Practical
Being Practical
So let’s focus on two of the rarely mentioned gifts:
Administration
Serving
In the early church at the beginning of Acts they were learning as they went along how they should put into practice what Jesus had taught them, and they did this while leaning heavily on the helper the Holy Spirit. The apostles took some initial steps to bring some order:
They replaced Judas Iscariot with Matthias
They appointed Deacons to ensure the fair distribution of food to the widows among them.
But what they didn’t have just yet was the concept of the church being a body with all of it’s parts linked together to form the whole.
First, they met the immediate needs.
There’s some debate about whether they needed to appoint Matthias because Jesus appointed Paul. But they met the needs of the widows among them.
Second, they looked to the Word of God and took to heart everything that it said.
That’s why when I was first given the opportunity to preach here my subject was the Authority of Scripture. I wanted you all to know where I stood and why it is so important to me. If you weren’t there, or you’ve forgotten what I said you can chat to me or may still be able to get the recording.
Scripture has all of the answers, nothing else does!!
And when we get a word of knowledge, a prophecy, a picture, preach a sermon or use any of the other gifts, we have to be sure that what is said or done is in line with scripture. If it isn’t, we ignore it, if it is, we pay attention to it.
Brothers and sisters, from my perspective that’s where we are. Hope Christian Fellowship has a group of leaders with Christ at the head, leaning heavily on the Holy Spirit to guide them with regard to what to do next and looking to each other for support and encouragement.
Why are we in this situation? Because, I’m told, the fellowship came about in unprecedented circumstances - the established church, as is becoming increasingly clear, is departing from the word of God and blessing things that are not as though they are.
Can it be frustrating when things don’t go as fast as we’d like - YES it can - but that is the nature of doing something new or differently. I take it you’ve heard this phrase:
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”
So things take time. God is patient with the willing soul, so why shouldn’t we be?
Finding my place
Finding my place
To get even more practical I want to use myself as a case study. Now I’m not doing this to suggest that I’m some great example - I’m not, but I know myself better than I do anyone else and I hope it gives you a sense that I have at least some right to preach on this subject.
Back in my school days I used to be into sport, I played football, hockey, cricket, tennis, badminton, I was never very good at them but there was one sport I excelled at - track cycling - I even questioned whether I could do it professionally, but then the asthma kicked in and that idea was squashed. Then my attention turned to singing. I’d always been able to sing in tune and I learned how by listening to singers like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, etc. I even learned to play the Guitar as a form of accompaniment, but the the idea of becoming a musician didn’t sit very well with me - I didn’t and still don’t like being the centre of attention.
Then I started attending a youth club that was attached to a Methodist church and while there I became a Christian. Pretty soon others figured out that I could sing and play guitar, so they asked me to lead the youth group in singing choruses and eventually I also took part in leading the evening services. If I wasn’t in leading the evening services, I’d be recording them so that the sick and house-bound members of the church could still hear the sermon.
While all this was going on my attention turned to electronics and mechanics and I got myself onto an apprenticeship course where I learned the hard way that the maths was beyond me - we didn’t have calculators then, let alone scientific ones. So I gave that up and was unemployed for a time.
Then I got myself a job at the RNIB recording talking books for blind students and absolutely loved it. It was something I could do well, it didn’t conflict with my asthma, didn’t require maths and I wasn’t the centre of attention. Perfect!
Then Ros an I met and got married. We moved to Plumstead, South East London and began attending a church called The Peoples’ Hall. We met Keith and Hazel there and for the first time I listened to real preaching from a the Pastor a man called Beverly Savage. A most unlikely name for a man of God, but his preaching made a real impact on me. Ros and I were baptised there and eventually moved churches because we’d become aware of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the folks at The Peoples’ Hall didn’t want to embrace the gifts of the Spirit.
So we, along with a number of others from The Peoples’ Hall, left and started attending a New Frontiers church and we were eventually planted back into Plumstead as a church plant meeting in a school on Plumstead Common called Plumstead Christian Fellowship. Here, Keith, myself and others would do the setup on Sunday mornings, I started to lead worship, wrote bible studies for the monthly church magazine and in so doing learned to type and use a computer. I also went back to college and completed my apprenticeship - by now we had scientific calculators!
On completing the apprenticeship I moved jobs to BT and learned so much more about computers and computer networks that I was able to take a redundancy package and go into business as an IT Contractor - it was never my intention but circumstances dictated that I do it so I got on with it.
While I was doing this work I took part in projects to implement digital mobile phone networks, enable you to buy your electricity from the cheapest source rather than your regional electricity company, use a PIN number with your debit card, etc. etc. I also wrote two books on project management for one of my clients who eventually became my employer.
We moved house to Birchington to be near Ros’ parents and had difficulty finding a church but ended up at the Beacon Church in Herne Bay. Not long after we joined the church almost all of the musicians and singers who would lead Sunday morning services left and although we weren’t members yet the pastor called while I was at work one day and asked Ros what musical instrument I played saying please don’t tell me it’s the comb and paper.
I found myself leading worship again initially on my own every week for about two - three years. I became a church Trustee and Home Group leader. Unfortunately, our children along with a couple of others were the Sunday School and they weren’t fellowshipping with others their own age, so we moved churches to The City Church in Canterbury.
Again, we met in a school so I got involved in setup and doing sound for Sunday worship again. I joined the musicians group and started playing and singing on Sundays, eventually led worship again became a church trustee and led a home group.
To cut a much longer story short I eventually retrained, moved into education and became a collage lecturer in computing and IT.
Why am I telling you all this?
Because all the way back in my youth, before I was a Christian, through my experiences and the things I enjoyed doing, God was preparing me to serve him.
I enjoyed singing, learned to play Guitar and developed a heart for worship, which equipped me to lead worship. So in almost every church where I’ve been a member, God has made use of those gifts.
Likewise, my interest in electronics and sound technology that led to my job at the RNIB also led me to use those skills to record the sermon on Sunday evenings.
Because I’d learned how to use a computer for work and because of my love for God’s word, I was able to write bible studies for our church magazine. I couldn’t spell or punctuate a paragraph to save my life, but a friend in the church proof-read them for me before publication.
My business skills led to me become a church Trustee in two of the churches and now my teaching skills have led me into preaching.
So never underestimate the value of your interests or the work that you do to playing your part in building up your brothers and sisters in christ and thereby the church. There have been a lot of other things that played a part in my development and a lot of ups and downs along the way, but if I tried to include all of those as well we wouldn’t get to go home.
Your experiences will no doubt be different to mine. You’ll have different interests, different skills, different gifts, but God is at work in you, he is moulding you into what you are meant to become and fitting you into this body in just the right way. So you’re not an eye, you’re not an ear, but you’re a foot - does that make you any less a part of the body? Does that exclude you?
If you’re eager to serve your father in heaven, immaturity can lead you to think that all that matters are the public roles and spiritual gifts, but I hope I’ve shown that it doesn’t start there it starts in your heart, in response to the Holy Spirit and then in your willingness to learn new skills and to serve others. That is the way to find your place in the body.
Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
If you have Gifts and talents that you are holding in for fear that you’ll be exposed in some way, please stop doing it - use them, don’t withhold the blessing from us and yourselves.
If for some reason you’re unsure whether you’re doing what you’ve been called by God to do, maybe you’ve never thought about what you could do, you need to find out what that is and talk with the leaders about doing it.
Before you go talk to anyone else, search your heart and ask yourself the question “Am I doing this for the right reasons?” If the answer is Yes, then discuss your thoughts with one or more of the leaders and above all be teachable and prepared to be guided.
Let me finish by reading some of the scriptures I used earlier again:
14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
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.