Surrendered Servanthood

Does it matter if I serve?

Romans 12   

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

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. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 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. 9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

I. Serving flows out of transformation 

A. Service begins with surrender

Romans 12   

1I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

• Serving begins when we give ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice. When we let ourselves be used by Him.

We have become a culture that is more concerned with what Jesus can do for me, prosper me, bless me — rather than being believers who say what can I do for Jesus to exalt His name.

Ephesians 2

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

When we serve it is a living sacrifice of spiritual worship to God 

B. Service does not conform to the world 

Romans 12

3 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 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.

Serving produces selflessness.

Pride is from the flesh but through the transformation of Christ we can have humility.

Serving is about killing our selfishness from our fleshly sin nature and seeing value in putting others first.

When we live according to our old selfish desires, we do not have time to do for other people because we are consumed by our own desires.

C.  Service requires a renewed mind

Romans 12

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 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.

A renewed mind allows us new perspective. It allows me to not just say what can I get from this church but how can I participate in what God wants to do through me in this church. Moving from a spectator to a participant.

II. Serving Aligns My Gifts with God’s Mission

A. Serving is missional

What is the mission of God? 

A mission of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5

18  All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

What is God’s missional purpose for the church?

• Ministry to God — Worship

• Ministry to believers — Building up and maturing

Ephesians 4

¹²  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, Ministry to the world — Evangelism through the message of reconciliation.

The mission statement at Mustang Creek Community Church is: We exist to develop effective Christ followers who demonstrate the heart of heaven on earth.

• Develop — Build up and equip through discipleship

• Demonstrate — Show a dying and lost world the love and hope of Jesus Christ

B. Serving means discovering my gifts 

 You need to find and connect with the gifts that God has given you.

Romans 12

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. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 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.

• This is bigger than just you — it is about the body

• Connecting with your God-given gifts allows the church to accomplish its God-given design.

C. Serving requires stewardship 

You cannot serve out of an empty cup.

A season of rest can be in danger of becoming a lifestyle of complacency.

What tool are you in the hand of God?

III. Stoke the fire of Serving to Sustain the Move of God.

Romans 12

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

A. Genuine love stokes the fire

B. Clinging to what is good and rejecting evil stokes the fire

C. Brotherly love stokes the fire

D. Honoring others stokes the fire

E. Stoke the fire by fueling the passion:

• Zeal and fervent in spirit

• Rejoice in hope

• Patient in tribulation

• Constant in prayer

• Make serving others a priority