12th November 2023 All Age All Nation Service - Dave Food - My Gift is ervice

Quite right, it is me, and we're journeying through a series in November

of Prepare your Gift, Prepare your Gift. I don't know what you think

about that, whether you as we head towards Christmas, you're starting to think

about buying presents for loved ones and family and you, you know, a

lot of thought goes into things. I remember talking to Hope and Joel about

their parents' wedding anniversary and saying they wanted to give them gift, and they

said, what do you want to give them? And they said, we

want to give them some time because they love us so much. That's right.

You gave them some time that evening, didn't you, Hope, on

their adversary, you went and played somewhere else and give them some special time.

But do you know what? It was just a piece of paper,

It was just an announcement, but the reality was it was a thought out

So as we explore this theme in November Prepare your Gift, Bring your Gift,

let me ask you what is your gift today? What is your gift

that you want us to What is the gift that you want to bring.

I want to focus today on bringing a gift of services. As we as

we explore and think about remember to day, we realize that many people have

gone before us and they've served us, They've laid down their lives for us.

And so as we think about serving, serving is often a hidden task.

Serving is often something that's not a particularly well publicized activity. Sometimes it's

things we don't like doing. Sometimes there's a level of sacrifice in service.

For greater love has man than he laid down his live for his friend.

But here's the reality. Are men and women across the world who've laid down

their lives for that we might know freedom, and we are strangers them,

and they are strangers to us. Because you know, there is a man

who laid down his life for us, which he's a stranger to us,

and we are not to him. So there's this fantastic model that shows us

and declares and proclaims who we serve. We serve the Son of God,

Jesus, the King of Kings. So I want to bring and ask you

about what is your gift? How would you bring it today? Let's start

by looking in the Book of Book of Romans, chapter twelve. Just a

few verses there, I would say, for the truth is given to me

everyone who is amongst you people. But to think soberly as God has dealt

with each one one measure of a measure of fith as a members in one

body. But all members do not have the same function. Having then gifts

are differing according to the grace that is given to them. Let us use

them. If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith or ministry.

Let us use it in he who teaches, in teaching, he who

exhorts in exhorting, He who gives with liberality with diligence, He who shows

mercy with cheerfulness, He who exalts in exhortation, He who gives with liberality

in cheerfulness. Let him who serves serve. And so the whole set of

gifts, there is a whole set of gifts that we can receive and we

can give. I once remember somebody living in our house, and he wasn't

particularly very keen about Christmas, and so he didn't unwrap the presence and the

presence that's on the shelf, and they gathered a bit of dust for a

while. A gift, I would ask, the question, is a gift

still a gift? If it's unwrapped, it's certainly a gift. Means I'd

like you to imagine if I gave you a beautifully wrapped up gift and gave

it juicy, you said, thank you very much, Dave, I'm very

kind kind of you, and then you just put it on the shelf and

left it and left and left it and left it. What a waste of

a gift, especially if we don't know how it might be used and how

it might be shared and how and so, as God gives us the ability

to serve on another, then we need to unwrap the fullness of that truth.

We need to unwrap the fullness of what it means to be able to

serve. And we're in hap to serve God. Okay, we've got hands

and feet and we've got a brain, and we can can do it in

our own strength. But do you know what I go. I go one

step further. When we do it for God, we don't just go,

oh, well, I've only got five minutes. I've only got five minutes,

so I'll just squeeze something in when our fococus is on God and we're

doing it because we want to serve Him. Whatever that might mean, whether

that might be welcoming with people on the door at church, whether it might

be going to someone who's sick and praying with them, whether it might be

visiting somebody in a housing for them, whether it might be encouragement as we

read their in dissortation and encouragement. We need to be encouraged, don't we.

Do you need encouragement this morning? I need encouragement this morning. We

will need encouragement. Encouragement is a great thing. And so please, if

you ever feel prompted, if you ever feel a little poke in the back,

just say something here. Let me encourage you. Open your mouth.

You know, sometimes we feel we can't own up the mouths. We don't

know what day. Scripture says, open your mouth and I will fill it.

There are times when I've set my prayer and what is Lord Jesus,

people for prayer in many different situations, they've had shared their need and my

heart has gone, oh wow, And so as I prayed, just think

Lord Jesus, and adding out to pray. At that point I filled with

some words, and I prayed some prayers and God answered those and certainly encourage

you before you've got is Lord Jesus, then say it, declare it.

It's really good to put in and be who God's called us to be in

those moments, in those times. In John Chatteratovic says this. He says,

if anyone wants me, let him follow me, and where I am

there my servant will if anyone serves me him, my father will honor.

I want to ask you, don't look for the stage, don't look for

the platform, look for the gold star, don't look for the well.

And from somebody I know we'd be appreciated. Who does like to be appreciated?

So couraged you to say thank you when thank you, you beage as

you say great job when's done a great job Joel leading. He's not well

today and we're going to pray for him later. But do you remember leaving

the song at the end of it. He did it such zeal, did

it with such passion, and I thought it was busy because they can justice

rejoice. He wanted to encourage us to rejoice. You know, he practiced.

He practiced with Mum and dad. He hadn't just sung. He didn't

just get up there and sing a song. He practiced. And so when

we do it let's not look for the gold stars, let not look for

the badges. Let's just get on and do it. There are many times

when we can serve and no one else will know, possibly the service that

we bring them. There are times when I've done things and I don't even

know who the recipient is. Wait. God asks you to do something,

maybe just just leave something somewhere and you don't know who's going to pick them

up. But you're just sewing, just sewing things, and scriptures are sodid,

and you know he would. And so let me encourage you. If

you're called to serve, then serve in Matthew chapter six, Chapter six,

verses three. But when you give TD, do not fantad know your right

has doing. So that's your giving. Jonathan, where are you taking me?

Can say? We go so that your giving may be in secret.

Then your Father, who sees what he's done in secret, will reward you.

There are times when God encourages us just to give, to give faithfully,

sometimes to give sacrificially. Many many years ago, when I was a

student, I was at a particular church in Norwich where I studied, and

the church was a distance from campus, and I didn't drive at the time,

I didn't have a bot on campus that year. And I've got to

give all you have today day. I'm just sharing this as an example.

I don't want any glory yet, give that you have done. And I

was thinking about my bus fair. I think it's about my bus fair.

I was thinking, well, just when he says all, I mean,

you know, I just kind just trying to break it up and go,

Okay, this bit I need for my bus fairs. I'm happy with all.

That's my water amount of money. The one look snow bold. That'll

show you how far back here? And do you know what I'm putting in?

And there was a pot after church, like we're having a pot light

lunch today, I'd have pot lu and that was great. And then over

lunch somebody said to me, Dave, I'm way into into Can I drop

you off after church? Oh? Thank you? And then in the car

as he was dropping off, I want you to know that you're a prayer,

because otherwise I was going to walk home today. He said, oh

great, I'd ask you whether you'd like Sometimes we do not realize the significance

of the offer that will let me encourage you. Do not not rule out

forring people something. There are many times when I have gone through this process

when I thought, oh, I could invite on so to a potl that

lunch, or to church or to a and then my default mechanism, Oh,

they won't come. They haven't come before. They won't come, and

so I don't ask them. Now, think about it from the other person's

point of view, Oh, Dave never asked me to church anymore, so

I won't bother going. We need to keep We can't make the choice for

somebody else. We need to keep on asking. We need to keep on

sharing good news. You know, it's not our job. We need to

keep on sowing seed. We need to keep on declaring and proclaiming, and

it's not our job to how that seed performs. We just need to sow

the seed. And that seed can be done through service. Sometimes you will

serve someone and say why are you doing this? In that moment, you

can tell them. You can tell them that God loves them, and you

can tell them that God loves them so much that he sent someone just to

come and serve them today. In one Corinthians, chapter fifteen, it says

this, therefore might beloved breath immovable, always abounding in the work of the

Lord, knowing that your labor is made if you are pressing into doing something.

And sometimes we'll start out doing something and then we'll think, oh,

my goodness, I haven't got enough resources. In scripture, you read the

story of who starts to build power. You already looked at the resources that

they've got. But sometimes God asked us to move in faith, and we

don't have as a theresies, but he still says, come to faith.

Off you go, step out, Be immovable, be steadfast, abound in

the work, set in the work. This is the scripture you probably thought

I was going to go to in Matthew chapter twenty, and it says this

is but Jesus called them to himself and says, you know that the rulers

of the gender tiles lord it over them, and those and those who are

great exercise authority over them. Yet it will not be so amongst you.

But whoever desires become great to be, desires to become great amongst you,

let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be the first amongst you,

let him be your slave. Just as the suddener Man did not come

to be served, but to serve and to give his life as ransom for

many. Sometimes we just need to lay down what we have just he desent

it to God. There are times when I look at what I have,

the words I've prepared are the gift I'm going to give the time that I

have. I'm looking at it and say, is this enough? God gave

so much for me. You sent your only son, Jesus Christ to die

for me. And he had all like this. And Chris, he's in

a rossetti and that fos because Carol in the final verse said, what him

poor as I am. If I were a shepherd, I would bring a

lamb, my wise man, I would do my part. Yet what can

I give him? Give my heart? And I want to encourage us church,

Let's give our hearts in service to one another, to strangers, because

well to do so as God leads us. Let's not worry out about the

brownie points. Let's not worry about the rewards, because the rewards will be

there in heaven. As I've already read in scripture, the God will regnize

the gift that we've made. He will see the sacrifice. And I had

a picture as I was preparing this sermon this morning as I bring the words,

and it was that sometimes we just need to I want to imagine and

I don't know how many people who have ever been hang gliding, but you

have to hang and you set the sail up if once you're into it,

but there's a moment where you need to get speed and you need to get

up there. Typically, often the way that happens is you jump off the

side. So they'll stand pointing to them the wind and then literally run to

the edge. And then as they run over these then there's hanged up just

to limb and then off they go. They get to a point of no

return. There's the point where you have to say if I'm going to start,

because otherwise I'm going over eddy none And I just said, it's something

that goes in armored. God didn't run, and he's called a run into

his wind. He's to run to the what we don't know. We run

into certainty, and we don't like uncertainty as humans, we don't like that

uncertainty. We kind of want to go. Well, stop, God says

he'll lift us up, says you'll strengthen, let's go out. He'll provide

God said he'll care, and so some times we will run over the jaded

women. I don't know how people have seen the film The Titanic, but

in the film The Titanic, because our people in lifeboats we as a church.

And you know in the film in the lifeboat, see someone struggling in

the ocean life and that person gets down into the oce lifts them back up

into the lifeboat. And there's time ashe God One wants us to get alongside

someone to lift them up a lot side and we do not need to be

frightened of the cold water and the But if there's just one more one of

my favorite films, Shindler's List. Right at the ends Chindler, he takes

his bady, take its and gold and said just once more. Just you

know, And in these times when we see that the world's in a mess,

there's wars going on, they're struggle. Yes, know what, this

is bigger than my brain can cope with today. Care about this should stop?

Do you know what? I can't care about everything I want to about,

which is the things around me. Think that I'm responsible and the things

that leads me to God leads me to something. But because with need and

we'll stop doing new things that we should be doing. And so let me

and cotch it. Let's serve with right and love. Let's respond to gods.

We feel I need to be sacrificial. Let us be that too.

So let's pray thank you that Lord. Service is a gift. Service is

not just something we do. It's also a gift, Lord God. And

so Father, pray you'd release onto us. Lord God, your church in

this place gifts gifts to who you are and manage you. And so I

pray the Lord you'd our vision, you'd in large love field it are had

in Jesus name, that all we are, that we might not be all

of who you brought us to be. And help us to be comfortable,

to be sorrificial pride. Give us you'll speak wisdom, you'll release faith,

your resorts out of ourselves. Then we're running into you that you are,

that you in Jesus Name. Worship Team