SERVING THE LORD
Galatians 1:15-18 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was , but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days.
Serving the Lord is kind of funny thing. It’s not ministry as we often call it, but it is service. When someone enlists into the military they may tell the recruiter what they would like to do, but once there anything us up for grabs. The reason is because they entered not just the military, but the service. They volunteered to serve their country. It is their supervisors or commanders that end up telling them where they are needed to serve. They may have volunteered to be a four star general, but they may be assigned to clean the restrooms. In the end service is service. Not everyone is needed to be a four star general. In fact a lot more are needed to clean the restrooms! So which one is important? Well, ask the general who needs to use the restroom right away!
Serving the Lord is often done like people volunteer for the military. People tell the Lord what, when and where they will serve him. But that’s not how being a servant works, or at least it is supposed to work. I had someone tell me that they felt that they were supposed to serve the Lord, but they were afraid that God would send them to Africa. Needless to say they didn’t go to Africa. The Lord never removes our free will, and he certainly doesn’t want to take his special child and make them do something that is supposed to be an honor in the first place. After explaining to them about serving the Lord and how the Lord might use them, they went to the Lord to see where and how the Lord wanted to use them. To their surprise it was right in our church doing things that she enjoyed the most. She had just never seen it as service before.
The Holy Spirit gives us gifts to serve the Lord and help his church. The Holy Spirit gives these gifts or abilities as he chooses. While we can seek the gifts, we may find ourselves being a four star general in the nursery and loving every minute of it! In I Corinthians 12-4 Paul talks about the gifts of the Holy Spirit and their importance. He adds that not only are the gifts for the good of the church, given as he chooses, but that all the gifts are needed and not everyone will have all the gifts. He gives an example using the human body. He said how would we hear if we just had eyes, and some while more important or honorable the weaker are just as indispensable. While cleaning restrooms is important and appreciated by Jesus, few want to serve Jesus in such a humble way. This is why we usually have to pay someone to clean them. I call this selective service. Wouldn’t it be ironic if the first to be rewarded and blessed the most on judgment day would be those that volunteered to clean the restrooms?
Serving the Lord doesn’t always turn out the way we envisioned it either. Very few pastors go into the ministry expecting it to be like Jeremiah where there would be constant rejection and failure. Everyone wants to glorify Jesus with a large active church that the community is proud of and sees as a shining light in their town. Who goes to four years of college and three years of seminary to serve a small country church with ten people on a good Sunday? Sometimes a person feels as though they have missed their call by the Lord because of this, and they should have been cleaning restrooms instead of preaching from the pulpit. Think what Moses must have thought when he had been raised in Pharaoh’s palace with the best education only to be run out of the country because he felt that he was to set the Hebrews free of their slavery. Not only that but he became a sheep herder in a barren wilderness where every day was a struggle just to survive. Then after spending forty years there God tells him to go back where he was ran out of and lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. Once he got there they didn’t believe him or even want him. Then for the next forty years of wandering around in a desert with the people that should have appreciated him the most didn’t, and then God wouldn’t let him go into the Promised Land. I am sure he must have thought, “What kind of service is this?” Well, it was service! In fact even though in his mind he must have thought he was a failure, he was appreciated by the Lord so much that he was able to come back to earth with Elijah to see Jesus on Mt Transfiguration! I can’t help but think that the 80 years of frustration and failure was long forgotten as he stood with Elijah and Jesus. God is a great rewarder!
Think of Simeon who day after day went to the temple of the Lord to wait for the consolation of Israel.
Day after day he faithfully went not knowing what day he would come. I am sure that there were days that he was sick or had other things that could have been done, but he went for fear he would miss the day of the Lord’s coming. How would you like a ministry of one day that would last for maybe five minutes? But if we want to go there how about Anna the daughter of Phanuel. She had only been married for seven years when her husband died. Since people usually got married young back then. She may have been only 16 or so years old, but for around 68 years she spent her days and nights in the temple of the Lord where she would fast and pray. Can you imagine doing this for such a long time only to see your great reward for just a few minutes? An entire lifetime of dedication and sacrifice for a few minutes? Yet, she saw Jesus the redemption of Jerusalem, Israel and the world, but she saw and I am sure she touched God! Do you think she thought it was all worth it? I do!
Jesus said that, “Among those born of women there is no one greater that John the Baptist; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Think of the importance of John the Baptist. He didn’t just bring about a great revival of repentance, but he was the chosen one that would affirm Jesus as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Yet John’s ministry, his calling lasted for only minutes. After all, how long does it take to baptize someone? John didn’t stand there and give a two hour message on Jesus’ deity and mission. Jesus came up out of the water and left! Yet, if we would ask John the Baptist today, was it all worth it, you know he would say it was. What a honor even if it was for five minutes! In some ways some of the greats opportunities to serve and glorify the Lord last only a very short time. Most people there may not have even taken notice to what was going on or appreciated it, but those that waited so long and were so faithful never forgot it! Have you been disappointed in your ministry of cleaning restrooms? Well, the next time you are in there faithfully cleaning, you just may see Jesus!
Prayer? Lord Jesus, thank you for all your faithful servants that have served you day in and day out. While we may have not always appreciated them the way we should have, please bless them now and forever more for it. We love you Jesus and love them. We ask this in your holy name.
