The Lord blessed us with a very beautiful Wednesday evening gathering. It is going to be another mild day. Thank you Jesus. It is written in the Book of Galatians that, instead of using our freedom to indulge the pull of sin we are to serve one another in love. The entire message of Galatians is about freedom. You and I are free to become slaves of Jesus, servants of the Almighty God, and full surrender and service to God brings about more freedom than we can obtain in any other manner. We are called by God to do His work, in His world, for His glory and His glory alone. The truth is, no matter who we are we are going to serve some thing or somebody. We are either going to serve ourselves, subject ourselves to another person, ideology, philosophy, goa,l or aspiration in life, or we will willingly and humbly bow our knee before the throne of Lord of lords and the King of kings and say, “Here I am Lord. Use me.”
The theme of service, of offering our lives to God so that we might be blessing to others, is a theme that runs throughout Scripture. In Philippians we read, "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1-4 NIV)
After Paul calls the Philippians to consider others as better than themselves, he gives them the precedent for this type of lifestyle. Paul uses the life of Jesus as the model, the benchmark, for the followers of Jesus. Paul says that even though Jesus was God, He willingly took off the robes of royalty and submitted Himself to death on the cross for you and me. What a model! What an inspiration! What a Savior!
Mark 10 "Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45 NIV)
The One we honor, the One we adore, the One we worship as the crucified and risen Savior was willing to give His all in service to those who had turned away from Him. I know that most of us are willing to go the extra mile when someone we know and love is hurting. I have seen over and over again that when tragedy strikes in a home or a heart others rush to the side of the one who is struggling, but most often these folks are close friends or someone we feel is deserving of our time and help. God’s Word does not categorize our service. Jesus didn’t come to give His life for those who loved Him or those who were deserving of His sacrifice. Jesus came to save sinners. He laid down His life for those who were His enemies, those who beat Him unmercifully, and hung Him on a cross.
I believe with all of my heart that we can gauge how we are growing in our walk with the Lord by our willingness to serve those around us who can give nothing in return, perhaps those who have hurt us in the past, or those whom we think are undeserving of our time and energy. There are not any among us for whom this type of love and sacrifice comes naturally. When someone hurts us, says bad things about us, or breaks our hearts our automatic reaction is to strike back. When somebody is a taker, a user, and a manipulator our automatic response is to run from them and never give them the time of day. It is written: The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” In Timothy George’s wonderful commentary on Galatians he quotes the great theologian John Calvin. "Why did Paul call the selfless love of neighbor the fulfilling of the whole law? Not because it is superior to the worship and adoration of God, but rather because it is the proof of it. God is invisible; but he represents himself to us in the brethren and in their persons demands what is due to himself. Love to men springs only from the fear and love of God. (John Calvin, Calvin’s New Testament Commentary. 11:101.)
God represents Himself to us in those around us. We are called to love, to serve, and to sacrifice what we want so that we might be used to do what God wants in the lives of others. Professing to be a follower of Jesus doesn’t equate with a life of selfless sacrifice. We must die to ourselves and allow the Lord to rule our hearts. Only then will we see His lifestyle of sacrifice lived out in common, ordinary folks like you and me.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGbuz8QuhmE
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday February 19, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Worship Band from Hawleyton UMC
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