High Definition Service
- Rev. Jerry Lepasana
- Mar 18, 2007
- Series: High Definition Living
High Definition Living: (Part II)
HGIH DEFINITION SERVICE
John 10:10; Matthew 20:26-27; Ephesians 2:10
John 10:10 (Message)
10) A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
Matthew 20:26-27
26) Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
27) and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--
Ephesians 2:10
10) For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
In John 10:10, Jesus describes the kind of life He wants us to have in these words, "real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." This is the high definition life - a full and exciting life, an extraordinary life. And this is what we have started to talk about for the past two Sundays already.
You see, God doesn't want you to live a mediocre, mundane, mismanaged life. People everywhere are looking to live a life of significance, using whatever God has given them to make a difference in their own lives and in the world. And there are people who will do whatever it takes to find significance. Unfortunately, there are people who would end up doing crazy stuff to find significance. Take for example these two people whose accomplishments appear in the Guinness World Records:
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Michel Lotito from France, has been eating metal and glass since 1959. Gastroenterologists have described his ability to consume 900 g (2 lb) of metal per day as "unique". Michel says bananas and hard-boiled eggs make him sick.
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Ken Edwards of Glossop, Derbyshire, England ate 36 cockroaches in one minute on the set of The Big Breakfast, on March 5, 2001.
How would you like to be known as the person who ate the most glasses or metals, or the person who ate the most cockroaches? Obviously, significance is not found in these ways. Instead, God has given us the tools to live a life of significance through a very specific way. And today, we would like to highlight this in our theme - High Definition Service.
Jesus taught His disciples that service is the path to significance. Go back to the text we read earlier - Matthew 20:26-27. Very clearly, Jesus is saying that if anyone wants to stand out, he or she must be willing to step down and be a servant. Literally, the Biblical image is a servant placing a towel in his or her arm and bending down to wash someone else's feet. In a way, there is a connection between John 10:10 and Matthew 20. How do you live this more and better life than you have ever dreamed of? Then step down and be a servant. The principle is that if you are not serving, you are not really living. You see, real life or significance is found in service.
The truth of the matter is whenever you are serving, you are growing and you are on the path of significance. We should have no problem moving into this path because of the reality that as a child of God, we have been wired to serve. Let's consider some of the factors that prove this truth:
I WE HAVE BEEN ENLISTED TO SERVE:
There are two words in Ephesians 2:10 that we should not take for granted. The first is workmanship. The word comes from the Greek word poiema, from which we derive our English word poem. Literally, this could be translated saying that we are God's work of art or His masterpiece. There is probably no higher description of believers than being addressed as His masterpieces!
With such a position, the question we need to ask is, what does this privileged position require of us? The answer lies on the next word - good works. Now, I believe it's important to establish the context of this word by going back to Ephesians 2: 8-9:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.
It is very clear that we are not saved by doing good works because this can trigger a lot of boasting in heaven but once a person is saved, salvation has enlisted him or her to service. These good works are your services to God. Paul also wants us to be impressed with the fact that this is part of God's purposed in saving us.
During our studies of The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren asked the questions, have you ever wondered why God doesn't just immediately take us to heaven the moment we accept His grace? Why does He leave us in a fallen world? The answer is quite obvious; he leaves you on earth because you have to fulfill your ministry to the church and your mission to the world.
After Paul was saved in the road to Damascus, God sent the prophet Ananias to guide him with regards to God's purpose for His life:
Acts 9:15
15) But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.
The same thing can be said of all of us. We are chosen instruments in the world today to serve the only Lord and Master. Regardless of our job or career, we are all called full-time in Christian service. Dr. Adrian Rogers once clarified what Christian service is:
We come to church, sit in our pews, listen to messages, and call that the service. The service ought to begin when we leave the building.
II WE HAVE BEEN ENERGIZED TO SERVE:
When God has called us to serve, He has provided adequately for all of us so that the experience can be fulfilling. First in His provision comes through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8
8) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
In His ascension, the Lord Jesus reminded His disciples to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit before they begin doing any ministry for Him. The power of the Holy Spirit is an absolute necessity in order for the ordinary disciples to do extraordinary things.
In Acts chapter 2, you will find the fulfillment of Acts 1:8. The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples. It was an extraordinary sight, there were tongues of fire, they spoke in other languages, and spiritual power rolled through them. After this experience, the most unlikely people became fountains of power:
- Peter preaching and three thousand people accepted the message (Acts 2: 41)
- Peter and John healing the beggar who has been crippled since birth (Acts 3: 1-10)
- Peter and John were so bold to witness even before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:1-22)
Amazingly, the disciples who were once so timid and inadequate suddenly became dynamic servants. All of these happened because of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. We too can experience the same. The same power is available for us.
In a way, this provision can eliminate some of the common excuses we often give for not serving:
- I'm not qualified
Typically when people say this, they mean two types of qualifications. One, I'm not spiritually qualified and then two, I'm not technically qualified. Let's first deal with technical qualification. Each one of us has received a natural talent or a spiritual gift from God that we need to discover. One of the things that will really help in discovering your gifting would be your passion. Be sensitive with what you really enjoy doing and plugged yourself into that ministry. Now, you might ask, what if there is no existing ministry for your talent or gift? We will trust the Lord to begin one. Who knows you might be the person being called to start it. My assurance for you is once you get involved; our church is committed to help you develop your abilities.
Then, there is spiritual qualification. There are people who say, I don't know if I am worthy to serve. Now, let me let you in on a little secret about everybody who serves at BCI. None of us are worthy. The comfort I have comes from the words of the apostle Paul:
1 Tim. 1:15
15) Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.
Even the apostle Paul said at one time that he is the worst of sinners. I believe it's a comfort to know that we don't have to be perfect to serve. You and I serve because of our relationship with Jesus Christ, not because of our own merits. You see, if you waited until you were good enough to serve, you would never get there. Service is not about how good we are, it's about the God we know. So God makes us worthy to serve.
B. I'm afraid
All of us experience a sense of fear when we serve. I believe we all need to acknowledge that service is an issue of faith. If you want to take a step further in your faith, you are always going to face fear. In a way, when we act in God's power and faith despite the presence of fear, we go deeper in our faith. So, you can't wait for the fear to go away. You have to act in spite of that fear.
Here is a significant growth principle. You probably hear some people say, they want to go to a church where their needs will be met, where they can grow. Let me emphasize this, serving others is part of God's plan to grow you. By meeting the needs of others, God meets your needs, never the reverse. When you serve, you will experience His sufficiency.
III WE HAVE BEEN ENCOURAGED TO SERVE:
In order for our lives to be significant, our earthly accomplishments should have eternal values, they should live forever. Well, God's encouragement for all who serve Him is that their services will never be in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58
58) Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Hebrews 6:10
10) God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
All the services rendered to others in God's name have caught the eyes of God. Everything will be rewarded in God's appointed time.
Beloved, we are to be conscious of the fact that one day we will have to face God to be judged on how we have lived our lives. Constantly serving Him with our best will always mean receiving the best from Him today, and tomorrow. Again, living a high definition life is living a life with significance. Serving Him is the pathway to real significance because your life will have lasting significance.