To Serve or Not to Serve

I’d like to share with you a passage from Philippians that speaks to me about serving in ministries.

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

         

(Philippians 2:1-11 ESV)

When Jesus called the apostles into service, each one of them joyfully accepted the calling.  They left behind their families, their jobs and all of their worldly possessions for the opportunity to serve with Jesus. 

When we think of missionaries we have mental images of dedicated brothers and sisters in Christ who left behind comfortable lives with air conditioning and a Starbucks on every corner to live a modest and sometimes primitive life among the indigenous people they were lead to serve.

So what is the motivation to serve?  The apostles took only the clothes on their back and relied on the kindness of strangers for their physical sustenance. 

Missionaries receive support from churches, but it’s typically just enough to meet their basic needs. 

You might say they were being obedient by following the calling of the Lord.  Yes, that is true.  1 Samuel 12:24 teaches us to “fear the lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart.  For consider what great things He has done for you.”

Or, you might say that they served because it made them feel good.  When we help or give to others it does make us feel good doesn’t it? 

When Christmas comes everyone has the spirit of giving.  We are happy and joyful as we stroll through the malls looking for that special gift that lets our loved ones know how much they mean to us.  “God loves a joyful giver”

(2 Corinthians 9:7)

But there’s more. 

When we think of a ministry as us doing something for someone else and then getting a warm and fuzzy, we aren’t seeing the whole picture.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret about serving in ministry.  Now don’t tell anyone because if you do, then pretty soon everyone will want to serve.

People who serve in ministries receive greater blessings than those they serve.

God doesn’t need us to do his work.  He is fully capable of spreading the gospel message to every corner of the earth without our help. 

He is fully able to feed and clothe every hungry person on the face of the earth.  God doesn’t need us to do these things for him.  God uses fallen man in His service because when we serve we glorify Him. 

When we serve out of love for our brothers and sisters we are reflecting Jesus and his love for the church.  God wants to share the blessings of ministries with us so we can experience through our service to others the grace and unconditional love he pours out to us every day.  

It is also an invitation to come along side Him and to see what he sees, feel what he feels, hear what he hears.  It is an invitation to experience what Christ experiences when he ministers to us.

A ministry doesn’t have to mean joining a group of people.  A ministry can be just you. 

A year or so ago when I would drive through our neighborhood burger joint, Jack in the Box, I would see this homeless man standing nearby asking for change from those who passed by.

I had always been very judgmental of the homeless.  I never gave them money because I felt like they were there because of poor choices they had made, and the money I gave them would just be used for beer, drugs or cigarettes.  But this one day, something in my heart changed. 

As I was pulling up to the drive thru the Lord moved me to buy an extra sandwich and a cup of coffee to give to this man.  This was unsettling for me to say the least, and I almost blew it off.  But instead I obeyed. 

I drove over to the man, rolled down my window and handed him the sandwich and coffee.  He thanked me and then before I knew what was happening I found myself saying “This is not from me, it’s from Jesus.  Jesus loves you and wanted me to share his love for you by giving you this food” 

Where the heck did this come from?  I did’t consider evangelism as one of my spiritual gifts.  The thought of sharing the gospel message to strangers terrified me. 

Homeless people disgusted me.  And yet here I am, sharing the gospel message with a homeless person and then reaching out to shake his hand.

I drove away from that encounter kind of numb, but very vibrant and alive.  I felt a joy an amazing joy in my heart.  I felt like something had changed inside me.  And I was right.

The next time I saw Roy I parked and walked over to bring him his sandwich and coffee.  He told me that he appreciated the food and coffee very much, but what he appreciated even more was that I took the time to talk with him.  He thanked me for looking him in the eye, for shaking his hand.  For asking him his name. 

That is how he received my gift.  More than food what he craved was to be seen as a fellow man.  A brother.  He craved acceptance over charity. 

I believe my interaction with Roy was preparing me for my involvement with church planting in Otay Ranch and my recent involvement with a homeless ministry called Jesus Cares. 

I met Roy where he was at, just like we are reaching the people of Otay Ranch where they are at, and just like the people who walk the streets with Jesus Cares meet the homeless where they are at, and just like Jesus is meeting us where we are at.    

In every ministry Marissa or I have been a part of, God has revealed himself to us.  God has used our service to enrich our lives in one way or another.  We have grown closer to Christ through our service in ministries.

That’s the hidden reward of service. 

That’s the richness that you can only receive by being a doer of his word, not just a hearer.  (James 1:22)

So you might be saying “I’d like to serve on a ministry, but I don’t think I’d be very good at it.”  Good.  That makes you even more qualified!

In the Old Testament, God rarely used those who appeared to be the “most likely to succeed” to do His work.  He isn’t looking at your experience.  He’s looking at your heart. 

Or maybe you’re saying “I’m just not a people person”.   Well the Apostles Matthew and Paul weren’t exactly people persons either. 

Matthew was a tax collector who was hated by the Jews and barely tolerated by the Romans who employed him.  His only friends were thieves, thugs and fellow tax collectors. 

Paul was responsible for the persecution and death of scores of Christians. 

And yet, God used them mightily. 

If the Lord has put serving in ministry on your heart, don’t worry about how he will use you.  Just trust that he will and follow his leading. 

Ministries are a blessing not a task.  

If you think of it as doing your community service, you have missed the point, and worse, you’ll miss the blessing.