Fulfilling Service - Northland's Mission

Good morning. If you don't know me, my name is Dalton. I'm glad to be here. One of the pastors here at Northland Riverside. And if you do know me, you will probably know that I really like basketball. I'm not all that good, but I like watching it. I like playing it. keeps me in shape, which is a good thing. But right now is, like, dream time of basketball. If your team's in the playoffs. But it is playoff season, I'm a Thunder fan, I was born and raised in Oklahoma, so I'm able to be a Thunder fan. People don't like them right now because they're so good, and we don't like things that are good, and that's just your problem. But very excited to be in the playoffs, excited to watch the games, and man, we have another chance. We won it last year. We think we're gonna win it again. We're on our way. But, you know, if we were to win two, it would still be nothing compared to the greatest basketball player of all time. Michael Jordan. He won six championships, and he did two, three peaks. So he won three championships in a row twice. But something crazy happened in 1994. He won 3 championships and he decided, I'm going to hang it up. I'm not going to play basketball anymore. Peak of his career, he's 31, just like me, peak of my career. Peak at my physicality, all that stuff. He hangs it up, not to quit basketball, not to quit sports entirely, but to try something else. He tried baseball. Maybe you know this story. He signed a contract with a minor league team in Chicago, and he plays, and he works hard. He has this mentality about him with his athleticism. He's trying as hard as he can. He's practicing, he's doing all the drills, and it results in very average. He's not great like he was in basketball. But he did it in honor of his great, nice grape. His late father, who had just recently passed, because he always wanted him to play in the big leagues. But he decided to hang up the thing that he was so good at to do something that he thought he could be good at. But in 1994, actually, 1995, he decides, you know what? I'm not a baseball player. And he goes back to playing basketball. And then in 1996, 97, 98, he win three championships again, three finals MVPs. And at that point in everybody's mind, unless you're loco, he's the greatest of all time, right? Otherwise known as the goat. But he was a basketball player. And if there was ever anybody who was made to be a basketball player, I would argue it would be Michael Jordan. Now, if you are a secular person, you might come to that conclusion of that was the whole reason that Michael Jordan was created to be a basketball player. But as Christians, we know that we're made for more than just something that we do. But if there were ever anybody who was designed, who was geared towards basketball, it'd be Michael Jordan. But when we look at what we are made for, we should be asking ourselves the question, what are we made for? Who are we made for? What am I supposed to be doing? And as we jump into our text, let's be asking that question, we've been going through our mission statement, and this week we are talking about fulfilling service. What does it mean to have fulfilling service? What does it mean to be serving in a way that is fulfilling? We're going to be asking this question? And I would pose the 2nd question of, what are we made for? And what we do should be a result, or should be a, should be evidence of that. So if you have a Bible, we're going to be in Romans chapter 12, the exact passage that Tyler just read, Romans chapter 12. And we're going to start in verses one and 2 here. This is what it says. Paul writes, 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. 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. Let's pray. God, you are good and you are gracious to us. You've given us your word that shows your heart, shows your loves, your desires. It shows us how we should be responding to you. It shows as the words of life. God, I pray that this morning that you would be speaking your word to each of us here. Lord, that you would take whatever words have been prepared here by this person and that you would make them glorifying to you. Would you build up your church through the hearing of your word? Lord, would we be able to apply it to our lives and be able to be usable to you? Lord, we love you in Jesus' name. Amen. In the very beginning of this, he says, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies to God. He says, by his mercies. And if you have the CSB, it says in view of the mercies of God. And in chapter 11, he just built this amazing argument, this amazing picture of us as Gentiles have been grafted into the vine of God's vine of Israel. And what he's saying is that we were lost. We were hopeless. We had nothing to do, no claim to the life that we have now, but God has saved us and brought us in. And Paul says, in view of those mercies, do something. He has shown us great mercy and not giving us what we deserve, which is punishment for our sin. have been spared. But it begs the question, why do we need mercy to begin with? Why do we need this? Why do I have to do something in view of his mercy? Maybe you've read the beginning of the Bible. In the very beginning, we know that Adam and Eve were created for a purpose, that they were created in God's image. And what that means is that they were meant to be his representatives on earth. He says, go and take dominion, go and multiply. What God was telling his people to do, the people he created in his own image is go and spread my image, my character, my loves, my forgiveness, all of this thing throughout all of earth. Go and fill the earth with my image. Go and be my representatives. But Adam and Eve did not listen. Our ancient ancestors decided to reject God. And they turned away and they wanted to become like God themselves. They did not want to be his image in a world. They wanted to be the image. They wanted to be the ones calling the shots. They wanted to do what was right in their own eyes. They sinned against God. And as a result, through all of their all of their descendants, us. We have now received the exact same result, which is judgment for our sin. We deserve judgment for our sin. Our nature has been handed down for our ancient ancestors. So now, instead of a world full of the goodness of God. We live in a world full of the sinfulness of men. God's righteous judgment for our willing, sinful actions. That's what we deserve. But God showed mercy and didn't leave us where we were. He didn't leave us where we deserved to be, but he sent his son in the fullness of God, in the fullness of his image, the exact representation of God, the very word of God, came and took our punishment for us, that he carried our sin. He carried our punishment on the cross, and he died the death that we deserve. That therefore he can give us forgiveness. He can give us freedom because he's paid our debt. He's put the wrath on himself, and he's shown us mercy. You were made to love God. And from the very beginning, God, who love does and created us, designed us to love him and to spread that everywhere, but we messed it up. And yet he showed mercy to make a way back to him and to love him rightly in Christ. You were made to love God. And by his mercy, you should be presenting your bodies as a living sacrifice, which is your spiritual worship. This is a command. Paul says, do this. What this is, is saying, hey, hand your bodies over. Be giving over control of your life. Be a living sacrifice. Those words don't go together. When we think about sacrifice in an actual sense, in a religious sense, sacrifices are meant to be dead, right? So how can I be a living dead thing? But Paul, what he's meaning here is we should be living dead to sin and alive to God, that we're continually dying to sin and being alive to God. In Romans 6.13, Paul says, do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. Our spiritual worship is the presenting of our bodies to God by his mercies. Our life is to be this continual submission to his plan, our continual confession of our weakness, our confession of our inability, the confession of our sin, and the profession of who he is. You are God. You have saved me. You have shown me mercy, and I will be obedient to what you've called me to do by your grace, your mercy, and your power in me. And being submissive to the Lord and confessing our sins and being obedient to him, each of these are proclaiming, you are God, I am not. I will admit when I am wrong. I will do what you ask. I will confess when I'm in the wrong. You are merciful and kind to me. This presenting of our body makes us usable to God for his will, and not our will. His purposes, not our ideas. This, giving ourselves over to the Lord, is the exact opposite of what got us humans into this mess in the 1st place. In the very beginning, Adam and Eve said, I will be God. I will do what I want. I will eat the fruit of the tree because I want it. But when we confess and we submit and we're obedient to him. We say, no, I will not do this, but I will do what you've asked me to do. I will be obedient to the things that you've asked me to be because you are God and I am not. And it says, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. We are to be presenting our bodies as holy and acceptable to God. The only one person who's ever been told by God himself that he was pleasing to God, that he was acceptable to God, and you guessed it. It was Jesus. Matthew 317, Jesus goes down to John the Baptist and he's baptized, and he comes out of the water, and then the spirit comes down in the form of a dove, right? And then the clouds break open and God proclaims from heaven, this is my son with whom I'm well pleased. He's never said that about anybody else. And that we, when we come to God, wanting to present our bodies as holy and acceptable or pleasing to him, it is when we are like Christ. In Christ, you are being remade to be like Jesus. We are holy and acceptable to God when we are like Jesus. Remember a few weeks ago, we had this growing relationship with Jesus. And in very in a lot of ways, this sermon is just a continuation of that. that we cannot have a growing relationship with Jesus apart from fulfilling service. You cannot have fulfilling service separate from a growing relationship with Jesus. They go hand in hand. This is Christ growing in us, and from the overflow of our relationship with Jesus, he is pouring forth his ministry through the fruit of his life. John 15 says, we can do nothing apart from him. Giving our lives over to God, being holy and acceptable to him, is aligning everything in you to be like Christ. From the thoughts that you think, the prayers that you pray, the actions that you do, the people that you serve, is a very intentional and purposeful, giving over of everything that we are that Christ would dwell richly in me. that we're putting aside the things of the flesh, putting aside the things of sin, and we're putting on the things of Christ. You are fulfilling your service in this work. You are doing what you were created to do as you are intimately knowing Jesus, and he is filling you up with his spirit, that you would go and do good things in his name. John 15 says, we can do nothing apart from him, that it is Christ who works fruit in our life. And it says in Ezekiel 36, and he puts his spirit within us, and his spirit is causing us to obey. His spirit is causing us to work the works that he's laid out before us. And in John 14, by prayer and alignment with Christ, Jesus continues his ministry through us. This is a church plant, if he didn't know. I am a church planter, endorsed by Sind Network from the North American Mission Board, and we have a phrase that we use when we talk about ministry in general. Advance Pittman, who's the president of the SINS network. He says, ministry is what Jesus does through us out of the overflow of intimacy with the Father. Tyler's preached on this before we even launched on March 15th. He said, hey, what we're doing when what Jesus was doing when he was handing the bread out was helping the disciples to realize they can't do it. They have to keep coming back to Jesus in order for their ministry, for them to accomplish this goal. right here, fulfilling service. We can't do it unless we are in Christ, with Christ. He is in us working ministry within us. Fulfilling service does not start with what you do. It starts with what Christ has done and will continue to do in you. And what he continues to want to do in the world. Through giving your life over to God as a living sacrifice. Christ pours out his heart into us and into his ministry, and his service comes out of us. Verse two, Paul writes, 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. When sin entered the world, we inherited what is called a sin nature. Historical Christianity calls this a bend towards sin, that with given the choice, we are naturally inclined to choose the wrong thing. When I was thinking about this, I thought about me as a kid. My dad and my mom always said that my head was too big for my body, and I was really upset by that. But it probably still is, but I had this problem. I'd be walking with my dad and I would just walk right in front of him every single time and he'd kick me. He's like, Dalton, walk over here. Any parents with dads, their kids just walk right in front of them and you're just like, come on, like, come on, you have to do this, right? Let me hold your hand so you don't walk in front of me anymore. But my dad, my mom always said, my head was too big, and then when it fell to one side, I would just walk that way. And maybe that's true. I don't know. But without adjusting or without correction, I would just continue to veer off course, right? This is how our sinful nature is. is that without adjusting, without confession, without actually watching where we're going, we're going to veer off course. We have this sin nature, this bend towards evil, this bend towards selfishness, this bend towards self-centeredness, this bend towards laziness, slothfulness, whatever you want to say. Paul says, don't be like the world. Don't have this mindset among you. In Romans 8, 5, and 8, he talks about this mindset of the world, this mindset of the flesh. He says, for those who live according to the flesh or of the world, they set their minds on the things of the flesh. But those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. It's not neutral. It's against God. For it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. In our walk with the Lord and wanting to have fulfilling service and wanting to be pleasing to the God, holy and acceptable to God, we must put the mindset of the flesh to death. Because it is not neutral. We cannot think, well, I'm not thinking about the holiness of the Lord. I'm not thinking about these things, but I'm not thinking about those things. Paul here in Romans 8 is saying that the mindset on the flesh, which is opposite of the Spirit, is not neutral. It is hostile. It keeps us from being pleasing to the Lord. The one whose mindset is on the flesh cannot please God. It does not submit to his will. It's just like Adam and Eve in the garden. where they did not submit to God, but they submitted to their own desires. It is hostile. It says, I know better. It says, God, I know you said this, but I'm gonna do this anyways. For those who are pleasing to God in Christ, we must put all of the things that are displeasing from the world away and put on Christ and allow him to dwell richly within us. Some examples of the things of the flesh are found in Galatians 5. 19 through 21, Paul again writes, now the works of the flesh. What comes out of the mindset of the flesh, the works of the flesh are evident, sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Let that warning sit heavy. As with our mind set on the flesh, on our self-sinneredness. I'm getting what I want. Paul is warning the Galatians as he warns us, those people who continually pursue this in purposeful and intentional sin, will not inherit the kingdom of God. We are called to put away those things. Now, you could look at that list and say, I got a bunch of those. I do multiple of those things. Or maybe you would look and say I don't have any of those things. There's a key phrase that he puts at the end of that. things like these. He's not making an exhaustive list. He wants you to recognize that this is focused on you. You can go to every single one of those, and that is about someone about an individual self-centered person, against someone else, or bringing something to themselves, that they are wanting pleasure in themselves, or they're wanting pride in themselves to separate. Things like these. We got to recognize that there's common threads. It's self sinneredness, that the sin of the flesh is about self. It's about pride. It's not about God. It's not about others. One of my favorite writers, his name's AWW Tozer. He says this, self is the opaque veil that hides the face of God from us. There must be a work of God in destruction before we are free. We must invite the cross to do its deadly work within us. Just like our ancient grandma and grandpa. We want to be like God, right? We're focused on ourself. To have fulfilling service, we must bring the cross up against our sinful heart and let Christ do his work in us. We must crucify our flesh. Literally put it on the cross with Jesus. We must crucify our flesh in Christ and live by his spirit within us. This is the transformation. This is the renewal, is the putting aside the sin and putting on Christ. This is the process of Christ growing in us and bearing fruit that he shows. This is the washing of your mind with the word. This is meditating on truth. This is recalling it at all times. This looks like dying to ourselves. This is the cross being so evident in our life, that we're actively pursuing him because of his mercy towards us. We need his word to renew our mind so that we can be renewing our actions towards Christ. Being renewed in Christ means being like Christ, and it means loving like Christ. You were made to love others. The mindset on the flesh thinks about me. The renewing mind in Christ thinks about God and others. The whole law is summed up and love the Lord your God with everything. and then love others as yourself. The renewal of our minds is Christ growing in us, and that results in looking more like him in all things. I'm reminded of a story in Matthew 14. Jesus has just heard some really horrible news that his cousin, that his coworker in the gospel, John the Baptist was just murdered, that he was beheaded. They come and they tell him, and Jesus, he takes the news and he was 100% human, 100% God. He feels this. And he says, disciples come away with me. We got to go get alone with the Lord for a while. We got to go get alone with the father for a while. So they hop in a boat and they're going across the lake to be alone, away from the crowds, away from all these things. And we're like, absolutely, take some time. Absolutely. Get reset. absolutely grieve that. But when he gets to the other side in John 14, he's met with multitudes. This is the 1st miracle. This is the feeding of the 5000. And like we've said before, that's just men. There's 15 to 25,000 people that Jesus meets on this side of this lake. Could you imagine being the lowest point of your life and then come in and being like, okay, 25,000 people. They're all looking for me. How do I get around these people? Now, what did Jesus do? Did he say, not now? Walk around 25,000 people. Did Jesus say, I'll do that later. Hold up one second, guys. No. It says that he had compassion on them. He does not ignore their needs in front of them. He heals their sick. He feeds them with the biggest miracle of his ministry to date. Jesus is the standard of right living. He's not something supernatural that we said, oh, no one could ever think like that. No one could ever act like that. He's the standard of right living. He is who we were created to be in the beginning, but sin has drawn us away. He is the standard of right living. He was justified in one in a moment for himself. He was justified in wanting to take a day off maybe. But instead, he was so in line with God's will that in the deepest, darkest, maybe moment of his life to that point. He saw God's will right in front of him in the needs of people who came to seek him. Instead of him trying to go by himself to have a moment. He had mercy and compassion towards these people. He was so in tune with the Father. Paul says, we need to be so renewed in our minds by his power of his mercy within us. Why? So that we can discern God's will at all times, in our lowest moments, in our highest moments. We are fickle beings. We are sinful beings. We are selfish beings. And we must be so renewed that Christ is living in us and given us his eyes to see who's in front of us. We must be so we must be renewing our minds so that when we are knee deep in the busyness of work, when we're in the busyness of parenthood, the pursuit of rest, which are all things that happen to us, that we can still discern what God's will is for our life, and we can actually obey the way he would ask us to do. We must be so renewed that Christ is the one working in us, that we would be able to obey. We must be so renewed that when we see when we look around in a body here at church and we seem as if we have nothing to offer, because of our schedule, because of our age, because of our abilities, that we can see that he has something for us. We must be so renewed that God shows us his will and empowers us to obey despite our weakness, despite our inability, despite our lack of time. Verses 3 through eight. Paul says, 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. Let's just stop there. He says, don't think more highly than you want. One way we love others like Christ is not thinking too highly of ourselves and serving others. I remember in the Lord's Supper in Luke 22, Jesus has just washed the disciples' feet. He has just told them, one of you is going to betray me and I'm going to be handed over and I'm going to die. And then what do the disciples do? Do they grieve? No, they start arguing, who's the greatest? Who's the best here? Which one of us is the coolest one, right? They're arguing who's the greatest and what they're actually doing is why they would never betray Jesus. They're probably pointing the finger. And it couldn't be me. Peter says, it's not recorded, but Peter says, I'm the rock. I'm always with Jesus. It would never be me. I would never betray Jesus. Remember what he said to Jesus? I'll never deny you. You're going to deny me 3 times. John says, I'm the beloved disciple. I've been with him everywhere. Look, I'm sitting right here next to him. I could never betray Jesus. Matthew might be saying, remember, he called me for my tax booth. I'm writing a book about him. Like, yeah, it would never be me. They're like, it's probably Simon the zealot. That guy probably killed people. It's probably him. What about the sons of Thunder? Remember what they did? It's probably those guys. It could never be me. Look how great I am. It's that guy. Jesus responds, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them. They hold it over them, but not so with you. Rather let the greatest among you become as the youngest. And the leader as one who serves. For who is greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves, is it not the one who reclines at table, but I am among you as one who serves. Jesus says, you should be like me and serve. Don't seek to be the greatest. Don't seek to be the strongest or the mightiest or any of these things. The Gentiles, the sinners, they hold that over other people, and they look down. It could never be me, it's them. That's mindset, the self. You have been given gifts. You've been given resources, abilities, privilege, you've been given houses, health, position, power, authority, money. You've been given lots of things, everyone has. Don't be like the world and lord it over others. Be like Christ and become a servant, although having all power, all wealth, all authority, at his disposal, put it aside to walk in the muck of the sinfulness of this world to come to seek and to save the loss and to serve others. Another way of loving like Christ is considering others is more important than ourselves. An example of this is in 2nd Samuel 11. It's the season where kings go out to battle, right? And David says, I'm good. Hey, Joab, take my army out there and go to battle. David does not go out there. He thought highly of himself. He sent his servant Joab to do his job instead. of this is recorded again, but you can almost hear what David is saying in his pride, right? I'm the king. I have already established my authority. I don't have to be out there. They don't need me. I can always go later. Look at all these kingly responsibilities I have. I'm so important. I can't help there. I can't serve there. I'm better needed here, right? But he wasn't too busy for Bathsheba. He wasn't too busy to stage Uriah's death. He wasn't too busy to do what he pleased. David's sin started with pride, thinking too highly of himself. and less about others. David wasn't about, David was about David's will, not God's will, not Joab's will. He didn't care about Joab's time, Joab's life. He didn't care about Uriah's life. He didn't care about Uriah's time. He didn't care about Bathsheba's time or Bathsheba's will. He cared about David's will. We often think to ourselves, my will, not your will. Maybe we never admit that, but when we think about the way we live and the way we act, the way we spend our money, the way we protect our time, it's my will, not your will, God. My will is more important than these people's will. I could never serve in that area. But if our minds are being renewed and Christ is growing in us, is it truly God's will that we would never live sacrificially? that we would not value our time over others, that we would keep the best for ourselves, that we love others more than others. Sorry, love ourselves more than others. Is it truly God's will that we would hoard our resources, times and gift? and gifts? God, Christ is growing in us and he's causing us that live more like him, so we should be more like him every day in sacrificial love and service to others. We're gonna skip a little bit here and go down to verse nine. Paul says, let love be genuine. A bore what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection, outdo one another and showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. He says, let love be genuine. Let's honor one another. Let's actually outdo each other and showing honor to each other. Let's be let us not be lazy in our passion for love. Let us be fervent in spirit. Let us serve the Lord. Let's outdo each other. Let's be affectionate to each other. Let's serve each other. Let's not be like the world, that's self centered and about ourselves. Let's be like Christ who came to seek and to save the lost, to serve the least of these. Let's renew our mind and hold fast to what is good. What is God's good, acceptable, and perfect sacrifice. The opposite of self-sinnerness is genuine love. A mark of a growing relationship with Jesus is a growing love of others and a desire to serve. Christ who is growing in us grows love in us. He opens our eyes to those around us, our neighbors, our coworkers, our family, our fellow church members. As we're with Jesus, as we're seeking him, as we're praying that he would make us more like him, we begin to love people like him. We begin to want to serve like him. And we all serve in different ways. And Paul says that in verses 6 through 8 is what he says. having gifts that differ from one another. Sorry, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us. Let us use them. If prophecy in a proportion to our faith. If service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, and one who, uh, one who acts with mercy with cheerfulness. You were made to use your gifts, just as the parts of the body have different parts with different functions, so the body of Christ has different parts with different functions. Not all are teachers. Not all are in the tech team, not all are up here singing songs, to leaders and worship, not all are doing setup and tear down. all are doing all these different parts. Not all of us are evangelists. But all are a part of the body, and we're not looking down on each other. Each of us are called to use our gifts in different ways. Now, it's important to note that this list is not exhaustive. It's not every single gift that's ever given to the body. But Paul says, use your gifts in the proper way. Similar when we're thinking about the things of the flesh, where it says things like these, I would say the same thing, things like these, but use them well. The gifts that you've been given, the resources you've been given, the rights, the wealth, whatever it is, use them well in the way that they've been given. Paul says, we should use them in a proper way. But maybe the question you have is, how do we learn? How do we learn or how do we know what kind of gifts we have? There's multiple ways that people would say. You could take a spiritual gift assessment if you want. I personally think it just tells you what you want to hear. But I'll say this. Here's some general thoughts that I would say about spiritual gifts. Number one, to start. What do you like to do? Do you have hobbies? What's your job? What are things you're passionate about? What do you know a lot about? Is it something unique? Maybe there's an area here that you're like, actually, I think I would fit in there. That's a great place to start. Come and talk with me or Tyler. Talk with your life group about it. If you're not serving currently, or if you think there's a better place for you to serve, let's talk about it. Let's actually figure out. What is it that you like? What is it that you've been gifted with? You have been given gifts. Let's find out what they are. Let's use them here. Next, maybe you've figured it out. Maybe you're still trying to figure it out. Do something. Do something. The thing that you love and passionate about. Is it available? Do we have a ministry for that here? No? Okay, that's all right. Just do something. Maybe you have other gifts. Maybe we need to learn how to use your gifts more actually use your specific gifts. The greatest ability, the greatest gift that you have been given is availability, right? Has anyone been told that before? The greatest ability that you can have is availability. Just do something. Help, serve, don't think higher of yourself than you ought to think. Do you think when you're looking at the areas that we have here on Sunday morning, I would never serve back in their kids. I would never get up early to help with set up tear down. Dalton, I don't even know what a keyboard is. I could never work with tech. Do we think about these type of things? Man, there's opportunities everywhere to serve and to be a part of it, to do something. Just do something. serving kids, serve on tear down all these things. And then finally, ask and listen, ask and listen. Man, when you're telling people what you like to do, you're sharing the passions that you have and you're working with other people, you're in community, ask them, hey, what do you think I'm gifted at? That may be a weird question when we're not talking about the things of the Lord, but whenever we're actually living with Jesus and we're having these important conversations, we'd ask, what do you think I'm gifted at? But also listen. Because maybe someone would say, you know, I think you'd be really good at this. How do we respond to that? If we are doing something that we think we really want to do? But someone says, I think you'd be better at this. Do we respond with, yeah, I'll give it a try, or that guy has no idea what he's talking about. Sometimes it takes being around others to learn what your gifts are. Sometimes we think that they're one thing and we end up and ends up being something else. Michael thought he was a baseball player. His experience told them otherwise. Michael, you're a basketball player, right? But we should ask somebody, ask a leader, what do you think I'm gifted in? But ultimately, you're here with a heart in your chest, a brain in your head and time. Let's do something. It's a phrase my dad used to say, maybe you've heard it, maybe it brings shivers down your back. If you have time to lean, you have time to clean, right? Now, this is not me as a boss trying to look down and say, hey, we got to get stuff done. But this is an idea of, man, we got time. Let's figure it out together. We're not going to figure it out by sitting on the sideline thinking through it all, but let's just start doing stuff. Let's ask questions. Let's learn. You've been given a gift to build up the church in love. Tyler read this last week, but and we're going to preach it in a few weeks as well, but Ephesians 4, 15 and 16 says, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up into every way, into him who is the head, into Christ, 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. The church has been gathered to grow up into Jesus. We have been grown we have been given gifts that differ because none of us are Jesus. But as the body of Jesus as an accumulation of all of these gifts, personalities, abilities, inabilities, weaknesses, strengths, all of these things. We are to be making it our effort to be growing up into Christ individually and corporately. That as you are seeking Christ. He is growing in you, his desires, his passions, his abilities, whatever, his gifts, he's letting you understand what those are. And then as we are coming together and worship together to serve one another and to reach a community, he is made known. His kingdom is grown and that he is big in our lives. He is continually making you more like Jesus as you lovingly submit and sacrificially living to the king. You have been given resources, gifts, and abilities to build up the church and to spread his kingdom. Let's use those gifts. Let's talk about application. Number one, how do we begin to do this? Number one, develop a rhythm of confession and repentance. They may seem strange talking about service here. But we are to be putting aside the things of the flesh, the things of self-sinneredness. And as we're developing what this is, of recognizing God, I've been selfish again. God, I'm keeping this all to myself. God, I'm valuing myself over other people. God, I'm saying my way, not your way, again, and we're confessing to God, those things. That is, again, the right way of spiritual worship was saying, you or God, I am not, I will obey. That's what it is. Spiritual worship is putting that thing, those things to death, and to bring to life, the things of the Spirit. Confession is simply agreeing that God is, who he says he is, and that we will do what he asked us to do. Confession grounds us in God's word about why we have been made in what we are to do. As we read this thing, this very word of God, his very recorded voice. We're hearing his words and he's telling us how we ought to live. how we ought to think, how we are, how do we even do those things by his spirit? And whenever we are confessing and repenting, were actively engaging in worship. Number two, be around people. seems simple enough. It's impossible to have fulfilling service to others if you're not around anybody. You can't practice the one another's, as we call them in the New Testament of love one another, be patient with one another. All of these things. You can't practice those if you're not with one another. Sunday morning is great. Absolutely. Keep coming to Sunday morning. But as you know, we have to be out of here by noon or we get charged double, right? church planting, right? But man, join a life group. Engage with somebody here right now. invite them to lunch. Maybe you've never invited them over for lunch, or maybe you've never met this person before. Get to know them. Go to the Forge Ministry. It's tomorrow night. May the 4th be with you. They're having like some kind of Star Wars theme. It going to be great. Go to abide. Go to try to serve somewhere, be around people. That's how we begin to practice these things. This is how we have fulfilling services whenever we're able to serve people. Have your neighbors over. Be in community and get to know people there. loving others and serving others must include others. Number three, final one. Lovingly and intentionally serve others with your gifts, resources, and time. Intentionally serve with your gifts, resources, and time. Paul says we have all been given gifts. Not all of us have the same ones. They're all differing. He says, let's use them. What is it, what would it be like on Christmas morning? You get the coolest gift you've ever gotten in your entire life or like, I'm just gonna leave it in the box. Never gonna touch that thing. Maybe you're a collectible, a collector, you're like, that sounds awesome. I want that collectible action figure or whatever, that Pokemon card, whatever it is, right? But as a kid, you get that that toy on Christmas morning, you rip that thing open and you use it. You've been given much something much better than a gift on Christmas morning. You've been given abilities to worship the Father personally and to serve others personally. Paul says, let's use our gifts. And then that's how we ought to use them. Let's use them with genuine love, with honor towards each other, with zeal, with fervency, with hope, with generosity, with hospitality. You can build up the church with your gifts that you've been given. You can use your time, resources, and abilities to build up the body of Christ. and sacrificial love and generosity. Jesus is continuing his ministry in greater measure through the prayers of his disciples. We read that a few weeks ago in John 14. He his ministry continues through our Christ-like prayer, prayers and our Christ-like hearts. So as we become more like Christ, we serve more like Christ, and God is pleased. The church is built up in his kingdom work, expands in our hearts, and in our lands. Maybe this week, you would intentionally take time to be in the word, to be intentionally asking the Lord, show me where I've been about myself, and how can I be more about you? This week, maybe take a journal and be thinking about, man, I haven't been serving, but here are all the things I've been gifted with. And they might not be anything that you think we would even care about. Man, I really like these hobbies. I really like these sports. I really like these things. Write down. What do you enjoy? What are you passionate about? What have you been gifted with? What are your resources? The Lord can use all things. He used 2 loaves and a couple fish, right? He can use what you've been given as well. And he's given us exactly what we need. This week. Let's seek to be usable to the Lord. This week, let's be personal in our time with his word, asking him to be growing in us more like Christ. Let's pray. God, you are you are kind and you are faithful to us. You've given us gifts that we don't deserve. You've given us mercy that we don't deserve. Lord, we're not perfect. Lord, we're far from it. That's why we need you, Lord. You have paid our debt. You've made us right with your with the Father. We are now at peace with the Father. Lord, that you are forever pleased in Christ. And because we're in Christ, you're pleased with us. Lord, let us not make service about what we can do for you. Let us not make service about. trying to be more loved by you. God reveal to us that you love us forever, that you love us personally, that you love us always. And God, that you've gifted us and equipped us with things to continue to share that with others. Lord, you are good and you are kind and we thank you for this time, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Romans 12 · chapter mention Romans 12 · chapter mention