Train to Live on Mission – Week 24
Battle Drill #24:
Serve Properly
Proverbs 15:13-18
If you have been listening to the daily phone calls this week, you have received the hints on what this week message is about…our ‘serve’.
S was for ‘surrender’ (1 Corinthians 13:3);
E for ‘effort’ (2 Peter 3:14);
R for ‘respect’ (1 Peter 2:17);
V for ‘vow’ (Matthew 5:37); and
E for ‘encourage’ (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
We need to examine our lives to make sure that we are serving properly and not sitting back waiting to be served!
In the game of tennis, the score is Love/Love at the beginning, and the score doesn’t change until someone serves. The same can be said in the Christian walk in that our ministry filled with love cannot begin until we truly serve. And we are called to be servants of the Lord. When Jesus was speaking to the disciples in John 12:26:
“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”
He also told them in Mark 10:45:
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Here He is, the Son of God, but He was taking the lowest position in mankind’s standards, even to the point of giving His life for them. We are called to follow the example He set and serve properly.
Proverbs 15:13-18
A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken. The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on folly. All the days of the afflicted are bad, But a cheerful heart has a continual feast. Better is a little with the fear of the Lord Than great treasure and turmoil with it. Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred. A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But the slow to anger calms a dispute.
I. Know the field manual: In your heart and in your mind
- Know it in your heart
(Proverbs 15:13). TURN TO AND READ
~What’s in your heart shows on your face
ILLUS: Been on an emotional rollercoaster the last few weeks
-all the ‘firsts’
-retreat time
-kids moving to Florida
-Comment made to Tina…”that explains…”
~Had to practice what I have been preaching and take it to Jesus!
- Take action to make sure heart is in the right place
(1 Peter 5:6-8). TURN TO AND READ
- You must read the manual to know the manual!
(2 Timothy 2:15) TURN TO AND READ
~Last time I challenged the parents to train up your children
~We are never too old to keep learning….stay in THE WORD!
- Your head will affect your heart and your heart will affect your head!
II. Importance of Training Together.
- Every servant needs some encouragement.
(1 Thessalonians 5:8-11)
“But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.
- Don’t have a wrong attitude
(Proverbs 15:17)
“Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred.”
ILLUS: Every have a waiter(ess) with a bad attitude?
- Know that we are not alone
(Roman 5:5).
“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
III. Seek the Commander’s Approval!
- Easiest way to get approval is by doing what you are supposed to by listening to the right voice.
(Galatians 5:25).
“Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”
~Why?
(Romans 8:5-6)
- How will this be best accomplished?
(1 Peter 4:10)
“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.”
~Are you using your gifts here at FBC? In the community?
IV. How do we Live on Mission?
~Surrender daily to the leading of the Holy Spirit
~Make every Effort to follow His leading
~Respect those in authority over you AND those you work with.
~Keep your Vow, your promise, to love and serve the Lord and others with joy, and not with a wrong attitude.
You can listen to the message here:
You can watch Pastor Ken’s message by clicking HERE.
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Seize the Moment – Day 872
Today’s hymn focus will be
“I Will Serve Thee”
Psalm 100:2(NASV95)
“Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.
Today’s song has been published in several different hymnals but is truly a gospel song written by Bill & Gloria Gaither in 1969. They wrote it during a time in their lives where they had to make a decision to either keep teaching in the public school system or step out in faith to travel full time as a gospel trio with Bill’s brother, Danny, known as the Gaither Trio. The beautiful harmonies of this song help you to hear their hearts as they placed their full trust in Jesus. While they knew it would never be easy, they knew that He was their source of life!
I will serve Thee, because I love Thee You have given life to me
I was nothing before You found me, You have given life to me
We need to wake up with this same attitude. We are serving Jesus, not because of what He will do for us, but rather because of what He has done! He gave His all for us, and all He asks in return is that we love Him and serve Him with everything we’ve got.
YOUTUBE:
I Will Serve Thee
You have given life to me
I was nothing before You found me
You have given life to me
Heartaches, broken pieces
Ruined lives are why You died on Calvary
Your touch was what I longed for
You have given life to me
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Seize the Moment – Day 871
S E R V E: E is for Encourage
The next letter for the acrostic is E for Encourage.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NLT)
“ So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”
Let’s face it. In this day and age, we all could use some encouragement! We are discouraged by the economy, the political atmosphere, and even by how quickly we get our food either in the drive-thru or in the restaurant. It just sets our mood and our outlook on everything.
But then we see a video of a young boy singing “O, How I Love Jesus” with such joy that we are encouraged to see there is hope out there. Paul was writing to the people of Thessalonica, telling them they are doing all the right things and they need to stay focused on the truth and be clearheaded. They need to encourage one another until Jesus returns.
Seize the day and be encouragers of one another, sharing the HOPE, JOY and LOVE of the Lord with our fellow believers, and with a world that is desperately looking for that!
YOUTUBE:
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Seize the Moment – Day 870
S E R V _ : V is for Vow!
The next letter for the acrostic is V for VOW.
Matthew 5:37(NLT)
Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’
— Anything beyond this is from the evil one.
A vow is defined as a noun to be “a solemn promise” and as a verb to be “a solemn promise to a specific thing”. At a wedding, a couple does both the noun and the verb when they repeat their vows of commitment to each other. All throughout the Old Testament, we are told that a vow is not to be broken. And then in the New Testament, Jesus spoke to the crowd in His sermon on the mount to not make a vow, but rather let your yes be yes or your no be no.
Is this a contradiction? NO! The concept of the vow, a solemn promise, had been stretched, muddied, modified so much that it had become a contradiction to itself. When someone makes you a promise to do something, then they should show up. When they don’t, the response you normally will hear is “Oh, sorry. I forgot” or “Something else came up and I couldn’t make it.” This is not who we are to be as Christians.
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Seize the Moment – Day 869
S E R _ _ : R is for Respect!
The next letter for the acrostic is R for Respect.
“Respect everyone, and love the family of believers.
Fear God, and respect the king.”
RESPECT! The soulful voice of Aretha Franklin cried out that she just wanted a little bit! The world tells you that you have to earn it by doing things for them. But the Bible is very clear for the believer…we are to respect everyone, or as the NASB version says “Honor all people”, including those in authority over us.
WHAT?!? Have you seen the way they treated me or heard what they said to me? I know it doesn’t sound fair, but look at what Peter went on to say…
“You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment.” (vs 18-19).
As a believer, we are called to be servants of the Lord. If we measure everything with love and respect before we speak, we may find that our world will be a place filled with joy and peace.
Seize the moment today by looking for opportunities to show respect…for God in how you live your life; through your love for you family, both flesh and blood and the church, as you care for them; and others as you love them as God first loved you, even when they don’t deserve it. This is what keeps the joy of the Lord flowing in your lives.
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Seize the Moment – Day 868
S E — — —: E is for Effort
The Christian walk requires an effort on our behalf. While there is nothing that we can do to earn our salvation, we must make the effort to do our best to be our best by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and guide our lives. We make the choice to accept or reject His leading, thus it demonstrates our level of effort.
Effort is defined as the “the conscious exertion of power; a serious attempt; the total work done to achieve a particular end.”* We make the choice and the effort to surrender. We make the choice and the effort to follow God. We know that love is an action verb, and we are told to “Love the Lord with all our heart, mind and strength, and to Love our neighbors as ourselves.” So we must make the choice and apply the effort to love God and others, even those that make it difficult for us to do so. And Peter reminds us that we are to make every effort to be right with God.
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Seize the Moment – Day 867
S _ _ _ _ : “S” is for Surrender
I Corinthians 13:3 (NASV95)
“And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”
Many time, the word surrender carries a negative connotation. When in a battle, when you surrender you have given up and declared defeat.
But for a Christian, it carries a positive connotation. When we surrender our lives to Christ, we trade in all the strife, cares and worries of how we are going to make it, to find the promise of peace, joy and contentment in this life, knowing that He is taking care of everything.
We are not promised that we will not be faced with difficult times, but He did promise that He would be with us every step of the way. This past year has had some difficult situations in my life, but I found that when I fully surrendered those things into His very capable hands, that the joy came through the tears, knowing that He was at work.
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Train to Live on Mission – Week 23
Rejoice and Be Glad!
Proverbs 15:13-16 (NAS95)
Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.
Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.
Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.
- Emotional stability according to Proverbs 15:13, “A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.”
- Mental health according to Proverbs 15:14, “The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on folly.”
- Spiritual vitality according to Proverbs 15:15-16, “All the days of the afflicted are bad, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast. Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and turmoil with it.”
It’s about faith in your Commander, not about your feelings (emotional), perspectives (mental), or interpretations (spiritual) of your circumstances. Joy is about trust in God and His promises! Let’s walk you through five Scriptures to demonstrate this spiritual fruit from God:
- Psalm 16:11. “You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”
- John 17:13. “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.”
- Romans 15:13. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
- Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
- 1 Peter 1:3-9. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”
Action Step #4) Live on mission.
Listen to the message here:
You can watch the message by clicking HERE.
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Seize the Moment – Day 865
Are You Washed in the Blood?
1 Peter 1:18-19(NASV95)
“knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
First published in 1878, this hymn was written by Elisha Hoffman. He was a minister in the Evangelical Church. He is also known for writing “I Must Tell Jesus”, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”, and “Glory to His Name”. It is both a call for salvation and a song that enumerates some of the many blessings of being washed in the blood.
Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb
Are your garments spotless, are they white as snow
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb
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Seize the Moment – Day 864
Ministry Partnerships Get the Job Done!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, July 29.
Has God called you to do something for Him with your life? Don’t try to do it alone. Even great leaders like King Hezekiah need partners to accomplish their plans. God raised up Hezekiah for such a time as this, but he could not stand against the evil of the Assyrian Empire by himself. Unlike Ahaz who turned to evil in his distress, Hezekiah turned to God. In 2 Kings 19:6-7, he sought the counsel of God’s prophet:
Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ”
Whereas both Ahaz and Hezekiah had received a prophetic promise through Isaiah, it was Hezekiah who submitted himself to God’s Word. In 2 Kings 19:19, Hezekiah prayed that God would receive all the glory through the defense of his nation, “Now, O Lord our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God.”
God saw Hezekiah’s humility and He responded (20-35). For God’s name’s sake, the angel of the Lord struck down 185,000 Assyrians in a single night and the king of Assyria fled to Nineveh. All because Hezekiah knew he needed help and didn’t want the credit, but desired for God to get all the glory.
Seize the moment and pray to God for His assistance in the plans He has entrusted to you. You never know who He might bring into your life to help you get the job done for His glory.
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