Practice: Serve 8.4 - April 25, 2010

        Practice #8 – Serve
8.4 – When Serving Becomes Work

  
   A.    Jesus’ appearance with His disciples had sent Martha into a tailspin   
      1.    Martha was going around in circles
      2.    Instructed the Lord to send Mary to the kitchen
      3.    Mary had chosen to sit at Jesus’ feet and learn
      4.    Martha could have been a workaholic
         a.    Probably the oldest sister
         b.    Mary was probably the middle child

3 scriptures about Mary—each time she is sitting at Jesus’ feet    
B.    The second occasion—John 11:1-6, 17-27, 28-33
      1.    Martha’s approach was one of detail—“why did you not come?”
      2.    Mary’s approach was one of worship—she fell at His feet

   C.    Martha’s second chance – John 12:1
      1.    “Martha served” – vs 2
      2.    Mary worshiped – by anointing Him
      3.    We may need passion and practice


I.    Burnout comes from forcing ourselves to do something we are not passionate about; we have a tendency to get crabby
   A.    Martha was all about the task
   B.    Service for Christ can get in the way of communion
      1.    We are a task-oriented society
      2.    Many of us are performance driven
      3.    Tasks however are very needful—sometimes even when we don’t feel like it
      4.    Ministry is full of people who will look around and complain when everything is not getting
         done.
         a.    If Jesus were coming to your house tomorrow, what would you change?
         b.    Illustration—mother asked daughter to go get the book we always read
Matthew 13:22 (New King James Version)
Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
The cares of this world choke out our spiritual life.

II.    We may need worship as well as work
   A.    Mary’s heart longed to honor the Lord
      1.    Sitting at His feet is a safe place
      2.    Hard on Him, easy on ourselves

B.    Mary had chosen the better things
      1.    What was cooking in the living room was much more important than what was cooking in the
          kitchen
2.    When our heart is right, our hands are right

III.  Learn to get things done with the right attitude
   A.    We need a consistent place of worship and learning
      1.    Jesus had a place of prayer consistently
      2.    Paul always looked for a place to worship and pray
      3.    Maybe this is why there are so many epiphanies in the shower
  
   B.    Learn to come into His presence with intentionality
      1.    Church is not just fellowship

   C.    Devote ourselves to sit at His feet;
I Peter 2:2 as newborn babies, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby

D.  Devote ourselves to getting His work done

Revelation 21:3-4 (New King James Version)
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.
There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
    1.    Jesus longs to be with us.
    2.    Honoring Him will make us feel comfortable.

Practice: Server 8.3 - April 18, 2010

Practice #8 – Serve
8.3 – People Value

Review: The mission – Luke 19:10; Our responsibility – 2 Corinthians 5 – we must take on the mission

What does God care about?
 
Deuteronomy 6:5 (New International Version)
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Deuteronomy 30:2 (New International Version)
and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today,
 
Joshua 22:5 (New International Version)
But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul."
 
Proverbs 3:5 (New International Version)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
Jeremiah 29:13 (New International Version)
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Joel 2:12 (New International Version)
"Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."

Zephaniah 3:14 (New International Version)
Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!

Matthew 22:36-40 (New International Version)
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Romans 13:8-10 (New International Version)
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

1 John 1:7 (New International Version)
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Jesus tells a story about how this looks:
Luke 10:25-37 (New International Version)
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

1.    If we are going to be on God’s mission, people have to matter.
Galatians 5:22-23 (New International Version)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
 
2.    Many people, when trying to love God, decide to study the Word.
John 5:39-40 (New International Version)
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
 
3.    If you are going to love God, you have to care about what He cares about.
Matthew 25:31-46 (New International Version)
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.” They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?” He will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

Practice: Server 8.1 - April 4, 2010 - Easter Sunday

Practice #8 – Serve 8.1 –
It’s Just Too Far-Fetched

Philippians 2:3-8 (New International Version)
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. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 
 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

We can kill the reality of Jesus’ work on the cross when we try to debate worldview for worldview. The story is pretty crazy if you think about it. Genesis 1:1 (New International Version)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
John 3:16 (New International Version)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Luke 1:31-35 (New International Version)
You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Hebrews 4:15 (New International Version)
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.
Romans 5:18-19 (New International Version)
Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Here is the crux of the story: As a result of this amazing process of events, I am supposed to be different.
John 8:36 (New International Version)
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Romans 8:1 (New International Version)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
Romans 8:31-32, 37 (New International Version)
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

So, how do we live in response to this?
Philippians 2:3-8 (New International Version)
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. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 
 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

As a result of this story, we should be affected to DO certain things.