WHY SHOULD I SERVE OTHERS?
1. BECAUSE WE WERE CREATED FOR SERVICE
Ephesians 2:10 “It is God Himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus. Long ago He planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.” Circle “long ago”. The Bible says that even before you were born, God planned a life of service for you. The reason why so many people are miserable today, why so many people want to commit suicide, feel empty is because they’ve missed the point of life. The Bible says that long ago God planned that I should serve others, that you should serve others. As I serve others, my own needs are met and as I give my life away, I find it. You were created for service. If you’re not serving somewhere, you’re missing out on the very reason you were created. That’s a mind-blower!
2. IT PROVES THAT I BELONG TO CHRIST
Romans 7:4 “You are part of the body of Christ and now you belong to Him in order that we might be useful in the service of God.” God says that the way that you know that you’re a part of the body of Christ is that you serve others. It’s the proof. A non-serving Christian is a contradiction. There’s no such thing. It’s a contradiction. There’s no such thing to say, “I’m a Christian but I’m not serving.”
3. SERVING OTHERS IS THE WAY TO SERVE GOD
Serving others is the way to serve God. Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work at it with all
your heart as working for the Lord and not for men. It is the Lord you are serving.” No matter what you’re doing, who are you doing it for? You’re doing it for the Lord. Matthew 25:40 Jesus said, “What you have done for the humblest of My brothers you have done for Me.” He states it positively, “If you feed and cloth others, then you feed and clothe Me. If you haven’t fed and clothed others, you haven’t fed and clothed Me.” The greatest honor is to serve the Lord.
4. BECAUSE I OWE GOD EVERYTHING
Romans 12:1 “Because of God’s great mercy to us, offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God
dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him.” The reason why I serve the Lord is because of what God’s done for me – because of His mercy. When I think of what Jesus Christ has done for me, the sacrifice that He’s made for me, there is no sacrifice that I can make for Him that will ever
compare to what He’s done for me. Even if I never got any reward for the service that I do for the Lord, I owe Him my service. The fact that He saved me, He made me His, I’m going to go to heaven when I die, He forgave all my sins. So I give Him my life.
5. BECAUSE IT’S THE BEST USE OF MY LIFE
1 Corinthians 15:56 (Good News) “Keep busy in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever without value.” If you’re in Children’s ministry and you change a diaper, it’s not without value. If you pick up a piece of trash on Sunday morning because you say, “Saddleback Sam walking in might be turned off by this,” that’s not worthless.It’s of value. If you walk into a restroom and you see paper spread out all over and you pick it up thinking, “Some visitor coming in here might be offended by this,” nothing you do is without value if you do it for the Lord. The Bible says, whatever you do, since you do it as to the Lord, it all counts. When I go home and play with my kids that’s as important a service as preparing a sermon. When I take out the garbage or do the dishes for Kay so she can go do something, that’s just as significant service as when I’m leading a S.A.L.T. training because it all counts in God’s eyes. It’s not so much what you do, it’s your heart and how you do it. What is my attitude? So there’s no insignificant service in God’s eyes. It’s not like being a singer on the stage on Sunday morning is more important than stuffing bulletins. Or stuffing bulletins is more important than parking cars. Or parking cars is more important than leading the third grade class. The Bible says that nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever without value. When you minister, you’re making an impact for eternity. When you do other stuff (we do things all during the week) that won’t count five years from now, much less for eternity. But as the old saying goes: Only one life will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last. It is the best use of my life to serve other people. If I didn’t believe that, I’d get out of the pastorate and go make a million bucks somewhere. I’d go start a business, make a million bucks,
retire and play golf. The fact is, what counts is giving your life away.
6. BECAUSE IT MAKES LIFE MEANINGFUL
Jesus said in Mark 8:35 (Living Bible) “Only those who throw away their lives for My sake and the sake of the good news will ever know what it means to really live.” I don’t pity people who are up to their neck in service. I happen to know that those are the people who are most alive. If you’re not serving, you’re not living; you’re just existing. That’s why we want to move people into the core because Jesus says, “Only those people who are throwing their lives away for My sake and the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” It makes life meaningful.
Rick Warren
