Theme: Stewardship (Service May 27, 2018)

Devotion: Romans 12:11

Title: Stewardship is Service

Introduction:
Good morning to every one of you, before we begin, let us first have a word of prayer…
Today is our last message concerning the topic of stewardship: by now we know of its
importance in the Christian life. A huge part of it is concerned with responsibility and
accountability of the Christian. We have learned what it consists of: our careers, our families,
our possessions, our finances, and even our own bodies; all of these have been entrusted to us
by God, and we should utilize them in a way that would bring glory to Him. And in that aspect
we must not neglect the reason why we are to be fruitful and responsible in being stewards: it
is more than just our possessions: it is our service for the Lord. Our title for our message today:
Stewardship is service.

Exegetical Idea: The Christian steward is committed to serving God.

Proposition: Brothers and sisters in the Lord, as people who have received countless varied
graces and blessings from God, we are to live our life in service to Him who created us and
saved us from the punishment of sin.

Interrogative: What does the word of God say?

I. To serve God is our greatest concern

The Word of God reveals to us the importance of serving God, and the purpose we have
been given when God created us.

A. He made us for His pleasure

We have heard the biblical truth concerning ownership with our prior messages
about stewardship: God owns everything we have. Our time, our talents, our resources.
But more than all of this, the bible tells us He owns us; our very lives are for his purpose,
and we have been made because it was pleasing to the one who made us, and also to
bring pleasure to Him. Rev.4:11 God’s word emphasizes this since the beginning of
creation. He called all that He had created “good”. Gen.1:31 God did not create because
He was bored, or because of any other petty reason. He created with a purpose:
Col.1:16 Our very lives and being are inseparable from the one who created us, and in
Him we will find our own purpose and pleasure as well. Serving God does not come
from man’s thinking or opinion; we did not invent it or discover it. It is deeply rooted in
our hearts since the beginning of creation. With this, we learn that Serving God is not
burdensome nor tiring. He made us with this specific purpose, and fulfilling that purpose
gives us true satisfaction in our lives. Removed from this purpose we are all just left
wandering in the world, aimlessly trying to find happiness that we cannot obtain. God
made us for His own good pleasure.

B. The result of an intimate relationship with God - Psalm73:27-28ASND

While the bible lays out the truth of the matter plainly, sin has separated us from
the truth of God, and our hearts and minds were clouded as a result. Before we were
reached by the Gospel we simply did not know the truth about God and His purpose.
Isa.59:2 But everything changed because of gospel. When we heard AND obeyed we
were changed as well. Not just by desire or willpower, but through the power of God we
were born again in the spirit, forgiven of our sins, and been given new life in Christ:
Col.2:13-14. In our sinful state we did not know God, nor did we have any desire to
know Him much less to even serve Him. But now because we have been brought near to
Him, now that our eyes have been opened, we see the truth plainly with our hearts. The
moment we enter into a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus, we also enter
into an intimate relationship with Him. We always want to be with Him, and our desires
and focus are shaped by our relationship with Him. But being intimate not only relies on
proximity, but also on your knowledge of the other person. Many of us are physically
close with other people every day: your classmates in school, your officemates at work,
your neighbor next door. But that doesn’t mean you are intimate with said people. To
be intimate means a deep knowledge of who the person is, what they want, and how
they think. We have known God primarily by His word, and it is still through His word
that our relationship with Him will deepen. Knowing Jesus Christ personally is greater
than any other thing in this world. Phil3:7-8 By knowing Jesus we know God, and His
attributes and character have been made known to us, and by these things, we learn
what He desires and what He detests. We do the things that we know would please
Him. 1Thess.4:1 Our service comes from our intimate relationship with God. (those who
do not have any desire to serve God must examine carefully their relationship with Him)

C. Involves our whole being

Gal.2:20 Reminds every child of God that we are no longer just living a life for
ourselves, but we are living a life totally surrendered to God. Dying to self means to put
away all of our old desires, whatever they may be. Our sinful desires of the flesh are
now laid aside in lieu of spirit of God that is now in us. Being born again by the Spirit of
God means that we must first be willing to let go before we can hold firmly to what God
now offers us. We will have to give up our claims to our rights to ourselves, on all that
we possess, our desires, and everything else in our lives. I am not the owner: God is the
owner, I am merely a steward, a servant of God. Now that we are living for God, and
Christ is living in us, our desires are also being shaped by God according to His will. Not
all human desires are inherently sinful, but even those desires you surrender all of it to
God. We will and still are affected by our flesh, but our responsibility is to give it up to
God. Service in the kingdom of God is not contractual; it is not a part time job, nor is it a
sideline to another objective. Serving God IS our main objective. It is at the center of the
Christian life. Rom.12:1 If we are not serving God, then what are we doing?
 D. Motivated by a genuine love for God
To serve someone else is no easy task: how much harder then, is service that is
rendered for God? Why have so many people have given up on their task because of
difficulties and hardships? Because they took the “easy way out”? More so then if the
object of our service is God. Love is the highest motive for serving God. A Christian may
be motivated to do his responsibility by a number of things: fear of punishment, desire
for reward, or sense of duty. But isn't he most virtuous when, out of love for his Lord
and with nothing to gain only to give, he does what he knows will please them? The
child of God too is most excellent when he chooses to do what is good and right out of
unselfish love for God. A genuine love for God is the only thing that will make our
service last for a lifetime. Anything else will fall short, and ultimately fail. Those who
love God will obey Him: Jn.14:21 When we love God, there will be a desire to glorify Him
and to please Him. To glorify God is an action which is by definition is not self-centered
but God-centered. Related to this is the action of pleasing God, an end result of love
itself. Many people serve God because of legalism, false guilt, and self-seeking reasons,
and they will not last. Even their faith is called into question: have these people been
truly born again? But those who have been will truly love God genuinely. Matt.22:37-39

Application:
To serve God is hard. But by now we must know: to not serve God is harder. A steward
removed from service is like a car without an engine: it won’t go anywhere. Moreover, we
cannot serve God if we do not have an intimate relationship with Him. Our relationship with
God is the necessary basis of any work we do for God. We are not perfect, and we cannot attain
perfection in this life, but we need to be growing and maturing in each aspect of our life as
Christians. And this is done daily: not weekly, not every Sunday, but every day of our lives. We
then should always be mindful of our purpose. Are we serving God faithfully? Are we living as
good stewards of God’s many blessings in our lives?

II. To serve God is a responsibility given to all believers

As our relationship with God continually deepens the more time we spend with His
word, in prayer, and in fellowship with other believers, we must then respond to God’s love and
grace by serving God in whatever capacity that we can. That is why serving God should not feel
forced, it should not be a burden in our lives. We will feel about God the same way we want to
be useful to someone we are intimate with. Without the right relationship with God, no one of
us can serve Him. Without the right motivation, we would not last long.

A. Every Christian has been called into service – Eph.4:11-12, Eph.2:10, 1Pet.2:5;9
One of the challenges faced by the church today is countering the idea that
ministry and service is reserved for the special few. A gap has appeared between being
an “ordinary member” and being a “minister”, when actually there exists none. While
there exists specific ministerial work as mentioned in scripture, the bible also makes it
clear that ALL Christians are expected to work in the body. Eph.4:11-12 Not being called
into these specific ministries is not an excuse to just be an “ordinary member”. The bible
states clearly that we were ALL created for good works by God since the beginning.
Eph.2:10 In the OT, God called people into a specific office based on His purpose.
Primarily there were prophets, priests, and kings. Back then, not just any Israelite could
come into the temple and do the work of the priest, and even the priest could not
encroach upon the duties of the high priest. But in the NT, God calls all of us into his
priesthood: 1Pet.2:5 again, the line dividing Jews and gentiles have been abolished. All
of us are part of this race, priesthood, and nation. v.9 And all of us are to proclaim the
excellencies of Him who called us.

B. Every Christian should serve in whatever condition – 1Cor.7:17-24

In conjunction with the truth that all of us have been called into service, the
bible also tells us that we should serve God in whatever condition we are in. This
counters another idea spreading among the brethren that you must be in an ideal
position, ideal environment, or have an ideal background in order to serve God in the
most effective way. Others however, just form their own conditions to be met first
before they serve in the ministry. (kapag, kung, pagkatapos) But again, the bible tells us
the opposite: 1Cor.7:17-24 If we believe in God, if we believe in His truth, we know that
there are no chance encounters or accidents. Our life condition is known to God, and
you can be sure that when God calls you into service, that is accounted for as well. The
saying “bloom where you are planted” can be applied here. Nothing will be gained if all
we do is wait and wait for that perfect opportunity. Rather, where you are and what you
do right now is the opportunity that we have to serve God and be a witness to the
world.

C. Every Christian has received spiritual gifts

Let us read: 1Tim.4:14 like timothy, all of us has received a gift, and we should
use these gifts at every opportunity to bring glory to God. 1 Pet.4:10 A spiritual gift may
be defined as “a God given ability for service in the body of Christ” (emphasis). I want to
emphasize this one thing: all Christians have been given a gift. If you are in Christ, you
have a gift. You may have a greater number of gifts than others, or you may have less,
but the fact of the matter is every believer has at least one gift. These gifts are
distributed by the Holy Spirit to all Christian men, women, youth, and even children. We
received them the moment we were born again in the spirit. Our task is to discover
what those gifts are, and develop them in our lives. 1Tim.4:14-15 Paul reminds Timothy
that he should not neglect the gift of the spirit that was given to him. As we are growing
in our relationship with God, so our service also grows and matures. A few verses prior
we see Paul mention physical exercise and godliness. 1Tim.4:7-8 train yourself for
godliness Paul says. Every day we wake up we make a conscious decision to be godly in
our lives. So we must make a decision to develop our spiritual gifts more and more for
our service to God. How do we develop these gifts?

D. Those who are faithful will be rewarded

Any service rendered to God, any time that we have given for Him will never be a
waste. Often we need to be reminded of this encouraging truth. We live in a results-
based world. Often when we do something, we desire to see its outcome as soon as
 possible. Our jobs are also just as demanding: (sino sainyong mga nagtratrabaho ang
hindi nakarinig: “diba sabi ko tapos na dapat to? Nasan na yung pinagagawa ko?” This is
the harsh reality we live in, and sometimes we equate our service to God using the same
metrics as well. We might be serving God for a long time, but we feel that what we are
doing is not making any impact. But we must remember that God’s purpose and
timeline are different from ours, and one of the main values He teaches us is of
patience. Gal.6:9 God does not overlook anything that we do for His glory. Heb.6:10 this
reward is exceedingly greater than anything we could ever imagine. 1Cor.2:9 Any
service rendered to God will never be a waste, and Jesus Himself will reward those who
are found faithful till the very end. Rev.22:12

Application:
By this time it should be clear: God has called all of the Christians into His service, both
personally, and in the body. He provides the necessary tools we need in order to accomplish
our work. The question that remains is: are you ready and willing to be of use in his service?
Know this: Without fulfilling the purpose of God in our lives, there will be a shortage of joy and
satisfaction in your life. God has called us and placed us here for service. Let us be good
stewards of the grace that we have received, and let us serve gladly the Lord who has created
us, and saved us.

Reminders:
1. Serving God is a lifelong fight. 1Tim.6:12
You can go and spend an afternoon in the park with no preparation and enjoy yourself
to your hearts content. But to go into war is a whole different matter. And the Christian
ministry is spiritual warfare. It is not always easy, and the enemy is there trying to his best to
get the better of you. Many give up because of wrong expectations, strong opposition, or
disappointments. We need to be physically, mentally, and spiritually prepared for this fight if
we are to emerge victorious.

2. Serving God values personal integrity rather than technical ability. Titus2:7-8
We cannot help but see and marvel at the many abilities shown by people in the
ministry. Some people’s ears perk up when the person speaking in front has a longer title than
their name. This is not saying that these things do not count for anything, but a reminder that
God places higher importance in our integrity rather than ability. In listing down the
qualifications for an overseer, we see that character is sought out, rather than technical
prowess. 1Tim.3:2-7 those who say they have no ability are not excused from the ministry. And
those who are talented but lacking in character have no business in it.

3. Serving God will have its own casualties. 1Tim.1:18-20

Related to the first two points, some people will not endure the teaching of sound
doctrine, and as a result make a shipwreck of their faith. There is always a human tendency to
place our admiration on people in the faith, as they inspire and strengthen us, but there is
always a danger there because even great Christian servants can fall. Once that happens, more
often a domino effect would take place. What we need to be reminded of is that our faith and
ministry is never based on people alone. Not your leader, not your pastor, not even the person
who led you to know the Lord. Even if they were to fall or stumble, your service to God should
not waver.

Conclusion:
For my conclusion, remember brethren, that If you have trusted in Christ, you are in His
service. You are as accountable as I am before God to fulfill your responsibility to the Lord.
Remember and evaluate your relationship to the Lord: that’s the foundation. Are you doing the
things that are truly pleasing to God? Are you growing deeper in your intimacy to Him? You
cannot serve God if you are not fully committed to loving Him. Serving God is a great privilege
given to all of us believers. To serve God is to find our purpose in this life, and to gain
satisfaction that nothing else can give. And that is why we are here: To give all the glory to God
alone. Let us all be found faithful as stewards of God, and let us share in the joy of our Lord and
Master. To God be all the glory.