James Merritt - Here to Serve
Zig Ziglar, some of you know that name; a lot of you don’t, but he was, in my opinion, maybe the greatest motivational speaker of the 20th century. Through a series of circumstances, we became very fast friends. Zig lived in Dallas; he happened to be in Atlanta doing a gig, and he called me up and said, «Hey, we’d like to go to dinner with you and Teresa.» Okay, his wife was called the Redhead, so we met him for dinner. He told me the story about one time he went to Washington, D.C., and he wanted to visit the Washington Monument. Now, if you know anything about the monument, it towers above the District of Columbia. It’s 505 feet 5 and 58 inches high from the lobby to the observation level; it is 50 stories high. To get to the top, you’ve got two ways: there’s the elevator, which is the easy way to get to the top, or you can take the stairs, and there are only 896 stairs.
Zig said he was walking up to the monument, and he said the line to get up to the monument looked like it was a mile long, and he didn’t want to wait that long. But he noticed there was a guide up at the front who was saying something, so he walked up to hear what the guide was saying. As he got there, the guide said, «Look, there’s a 2-hour wait for the elevator to get to the top of the monument.» However, with a big smile on his face, he said, «Now, there’s no wait if you’re willing to take the stairs.» Nobody left; Zig said he couldn’t believe it—not one person said, «Yeah, I think I’ll take the stairs.» And I understand that, but as I heard that story, it hit me that what we consider success and greatness on earth is totally different from what God says success is and what God says progress is; what God says growth is.
There’s a big difference between what success is on earth and success in the kingdom of God. So let me kind of break the news to you: you don’t get to take the elevator to greatness in the kingdom of God because there isn’t one. You have to take the stairs of service. In God’s eyes, if you’re going to be great in His kingdom, if you’re going to get the trophy in His kingdom, if you’re going to get the accolades in His kingdom, you’ve got to serve. One of the most amazing things Jesus said—I was telling Teresa I love that last song we sang; in fact, I want that song sung at my celebration. Say what celebration? When I’m gone, when I leave this earth—I don’t, believers don’t have funerals, because if you ever hear that, «Hey, James Barrett died,» I’ll be more alive than I’ve ever been.
So we don’t have funerals; we have celebrations. But I want that song to be sung because there’s that one verse that has my life verse in it, where Jesus said, «I’m the way, the truth, and the life, and nobody comes to the Father except through me.» If I were a poker player, I’d go all in on that verse; I’d put every chip on that verse. I have staked my life on the truth of that verse. One of the most remarkable things Jesus ever said—every time I read it, I still can’t believe it—was when he said, «For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.» The one human being, the only human being who deserved to be served, came to serve. That’s right; He didn’t come to be served; He said, «I came to serve.»
If you’re a guest of ours today, we’re in a series that we’re calling «Who We Are,» and we’re talking about who we are as Cross Point Church and our mission statement. You hear it all the time: we exist to point people to Jesus and inspire them to live the cross-shaped life. When people see that, they say, «What do you mean, to live the cross-shaped life?» We believe there are four components. So, last week, or two weeks ago, we talked about worship. We said, «One of the things you do is worship; that’s where everything starts. That is kind of the base of the pyramid; it’s the top of the house. You begin with worship.»
Then, last week, we talked about discipleship, and the way you get discipled in any church is the way Jesus made disciples: in a small group. We want everybody—I wish 100% of our church was in a small group—because we believe that salvation is not the end of the story; it’s just the beginning. Once you get saved and give your life to Christ, you ought to be involved in a fellowship—a small group of other believers—where you can study the Bible, learn, and encourage one another. We really want people who get saved at our church to become sold-out, devoted, surrendered followers of Jesus. So today we’re talking about serving. The great 19th-century evangelist Dwight L. Moody said this: «The measure of a man is not how many servants he has but how many men he serves.»
Let me just tell you this: if you’ve been a believer any length of time at all—a year, two, five, ten, twenty—or maybe, like me, you’ve been a believer for decades, let me tell you one way you can know you’re growing in the Lord. Let me tell you one way you can know you’re going forward, not backward. Let me tell you one way you know you are really maturing the way God wants you to mature: if you are a spiritually mature believer, listen to this next statement: you don’t look at serving as something you have to do; you look at serving as something you want to do. Can I get an amen to that?
A strong amen to that! You don’t look at serving as something you have to do; it is something you want to do. I heard about a first-grade teacher who was talking to her class. She said, «I want to know, what do y’all do at home to help out? What do you do to help out at home?» One little girl said, «Uh, well, I dry the dishes.» A little boy raised his hand and said, «Well, I feed the dog.» A third child said, «Well, I sweep the floor.» Everyone had something to say, except one little boy sitting all the way in the back; he didn’t say anything. So the teacher looked at him and said, «Now, Billy, what do you do to help out at home?» He said, «I stay out of the way.»
Now God doesn’t want anybody to stay out of the way; God wants you on the way of serving Him and serving others. So, I’m going to tell you in five words what I’m going to be saying to you in different ways this morning. Are you ready? We are saved to serve. You were not saved to sit, soak, and sour. You were saved to serve. Jesus said, «I did not come to be served.» One day when we get to heaven, you know what we’re going to be doing for all eternity? We’re going to be serving Jesus, and I can’t wait to do that. My attitude when I get to Jesus is going to be very simple: just tell me what you want me to do, done. Tell me where you want me to go; I’m there. I want to serve Jesus, but He said, «I came to serve you.»
So what we’re going to learn today is why service is a big deal to God and why it ought to be a big deal to you. Why it’s important to God and why it’s important to you. I want you to take God’s Word, go to the New Testament, and find in your Bible, iPad, or phone, or whatever you use. I want you to turn to a book called Ephesians: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians. All right, Ephesians chapter 4. I’m going to say three super quick things this morning about serving. Ready?
Number one: God positively expects us to serve. God positively expects us to serve. Now in Ephesians 4, Paul is talking to the church. Let me tell you what’s going on. When you read the New Testament letters to these churches, keep in mind the church is just getting started. Most of them are made up of new believers; there’s never been a church in the history of mankind. The church is on training wheels; they don’t even know what they’re supposed to do. So Paul wrote these letters to tell the church how church operates and how the church is to run.
He says in Ephesians chapter 4, «So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and teachers.» That’s me. That’s our staff, to equip His people for works of service. So I know something about you: if you’re a follower of Jesus, I know something. The very moment that you got saved, the very instant you gave your life to Jesus, at that moment, God says, «I want to equip you for the work of service; you were created to serve.»
Because, you see, when God creates anything, He creates it on purpose; He creates it with purpose; He creates it for purpose. I mean, you see this everywhere you go, right? Birds were created to sing, bees are created to give honey, cows are created to give milk, fish are created to swim, bulldogs are created for national championships. God has a purpose, God has a plan, and gators are meant to die. God has a purpose for everything and everybody.
Well, we were created for service. Let me tell you something; some of you know people—I find people all the time who suffer from low self-esteem. Don’t take this the wrong way; if you’re sitting in the back, I’m not taking a shot at you. I’m just glad you’re here. But there are people who gravitate to back rows; they don’t want to be seen. They don’t want to be called on. Don’t ask them to raise their hands; they just kind of want to be inconspicuous, and that may be you. Maybe you struggle with self-esteem.
So let me just say something to you that I hope will really perk you up today. When you came out of your mother’s womb, you were custom-built; you were divinely designed. There is nobody just like you; there never has been anybody just like you, and there will never be anybody just like you for all eternity. You were custom-built; you were divinely designed.
Why did God do that? God made us the way we are so we could serve Him the way He wants us to serve and make a difference in the lives of others. You’re unique; I’m unique. You’re one of a kind; I’m one of a kind because we all have a unique purpose, a unique function, and a unique service to fulfill and perform. God didn’t just create us to serve; God called us to serve. When Jesus called you to be saved, He called you to serve. When God called me to be saved in that theater 30 miles from here, when I was a nine-year-old boy, God said, «I’m also calling you to serve.»
I’m going to make a statement here that may sound a little confusing, but I hope it clarifies something for you: not every follower of Jesus is called to full-time ministry, but every follower of Jesus is called to minister full-time. Did anyone catch that? I’m up here, and you’re down there. You know why? Because you haven’t been called to do what I do; I’ve been called to do what I do. Some of you will get up in the morning and go to a business; God called you to business. God called you to be a lawyer, a school teacher, a ditch digger, or a truck driver. God didn’t call me to that; God called you to that. So you’re not a full-time minister, but if you’re a Christian, you’re in full-time ministry. It’s a 24/7 deal. We are all there.
It’s kind of like when you give your life to Jesus. The Bible calls us soldiers. When you give your life to Jesus, it’s like you join the army of God. Well, guess what? When you join the army of God, you never take the uniform off. There are no holidays, no part-timers, no half-days, no nine-to-five hours. You can’t go on strike; there’s no retirement. We’re on call 24 hours a day to serve the Lord and to serve others wherever we can, whenever we can. By the way, you probably don’t realize this, but the next time you’re reading your Bible, if you come across the word «minister» or «ministry,» and then you see the word «service» or «servant,» in the Greek language those are exactly the same word. In other words, a servant—if I were to say to you, «Are you a servant of the Lord?» you’d say, «Yeah, I’m a servant of the Lord.» Then you’re a minister. If you say to me, «Well, you’re a minister of the Lord,» I’d say, «Well, yeah, then you’re a servant.» A servant is a minister, and a minister is a servant.
That’s why, by the way, when you give your life to Jesus, God doesn’t just say, «Okay, let’s go ahead and take you to heaven.» Why does God leave you here? You’ve got service to do; you’ve got a function to fulfill; you’ve got a purpose in your life. One of the reasons why you should want to be in a church, frankly, is so you can serve the God who’s over the church and serve the people in the church. The primary way you do that, the primary way you serve God, is by serving others, and that’s why it’s every day, not just Sunday. So it doesn’t matter whether you’re helping an elderly person cross the street, giving a cup of cold water to a thirsty person, or providing a listening ear to someone who’s lonely; you’re not just doing it for them; you’re doing it for the Lord. When you serve others, you are serving Him, so God positively expects us—all of us—to serve.
Now that said, to meet that expectation, God does something else: God purposely equips us to serve. He doesn’t just expect; He doesn’t say, «Hey, go serve. Go find somewhere to serve.» He doesn’t do that; He also equips us to serve. Now, you can kind of chill out just a minute because I’ve been spending the last six or seven minutes talking to you about you; now, I’m going to talk to me about me. What Paul is about to do now is shift gears. He’s been sharing so far what God expects of the people in the chair, but what about the guy up here telling you that you ought to be serving? What does God expect of me? Paul tells us.
So Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and the teachers. That’s me, that’s Mike Daniels, that’s Austin Drummond, that’s Micah, that’s Ryan, that’s Jana, that’s Megan, that’s all of our staff. Why? Why are we here? To equip you, His people, for works of service. Now, what you’re actually reading here are two job descriptions: you’ve got your job description, and I’ve got my job description. So in effect, here’s what he’s saying: it’s God’s people who have to assume the works of service; that’s your job. So here’s what Paul is saying: I didn’t know this when I first got called to preach, but I had to learn it; what Paul was saying was now he’s talking to the pastor, and he says, «Now, pastor, your job is not primarily to do the ministry of the church; your job is primarily to give ministry to the church.»
Now, that probably shocked the early church, and it may very well shock you. So let me just make this as plain as I can: the ministry of the church doesn’t belong to the pastor; it belongs to the people. Now, don’t misunderstand. You’re saying, «So you don’t have to serve?» Sure, I have to serve. You don’t have to minister? Sure, I have to minister. In fact, you’re right; I don’t get a free pass. But the primary way I’m to serve you is to equip you to serve others. See, my number one job, the number one job of our staff, is to equip you to do the work of the ministry. Some people have this idea that the way the pastor and the staff serve the church is by doing the ministry of the church.
Here’s the problem: if I were to stand before you today and say, «Hey, all we want you to do is just show up, help us pay the bills, but we’ll take care of everything else,» we wouldn’t be helping you; we’d be crippling you. Because then we would be doing what you’re supposed to be doing, and you would be neglecting what you’re supposed to be doing. In fact, one of the greatest lessons I learned early on when I pastored my first little country church, Macedonia Baptist Church in Tick Ridge, Kentucky—a metropolis that maybe had 70 people within 16 square miles and ran 30 people when I got there—taught me one of the most important lessons I ever learned. When I mentor young pastors, I say, «Young pastors just getting started, let me tell you the biggest decision you and your church are going to have to make.»
And here it is: who’s going to give leadership to the church and who’s going to do the ministry of the church? You and the church have got to get that decided because if our church or any church is going to be all that God wants that church to be, here’s what has to happen: I have to give up something, and you have to give up something. I have to take something, and you have to take something. Here’s how it has to work: I’ve got to give up the ministry of the church, you’ve got to give up the leadership of the church, you’ve got to take the ministry, and I’ve got to take the leadership. You see, that’s what God has called the people to do: to minister, and God has called the pastor to lead.
I deal with this almost every month. I deal with a pastor of a church they don’t get along, they’re having troubles, and they’re having issues. I can’t tell you the frustration I’ve seen with pastors and churches, and I want to tell you something: 99% of the time, this is what’s happened. They make the pastor do the ministry, and they do the leading. I want you to think about this: you run a business. How would you like it if I showed up at your business in the morning and said, «This is how you’re going to run your business»?
The truth of the matter is if you don’t know how to run your business better than I do, I need to be running your business, and you need to go get a job. I’ll be very honest with my leadership, my training, and my experience. If I don’t know how to lead this church better than you do, you need to come lead the church, and I need to go sell shoes. So, I’ve got to give up something, and you’ve got to give up something. And why do you think the Bible calls the pastor the shepherd? Because when the shepherd feeds the sheep, leads the sheep, loves the sheep, and takes care of the sheep, and the sheep follow the shepherd, guess what?
Everybody’s fulfilled because that’s the way God intended for the church to operate. In fact, I don’t know how much you know about sheep and shepherding, but you’ll figure this out real quick: if the sheep ever decide to start leading the shepherd, they’re not going to last very long. So you’ve got this situation where you’ve got the sheep, and you’ve got the shepherd. Here’s the deal: the shepherd says to the sheep, «You’re going to serve me, you’re going to serve the Lord, you’re going to serve in the ministry, and I’m going to shepherd you.»
Now again, I’m supposed to serve like you serve. I’m supposed to minister like you minister. There’s not a day that goes by in my life that I’m not serving. Even on vacation, there’s not a day in my life that I don’t go without serving or ministering to somebody. Maybe it’s a phone call, maybe an email, maybe sharing the gospel, or maybe praying with someone. There’s not a day in my life I’m a pastor 24/7. I don’t get a day off, and I don’t mean that to complain; I love what I do, but the point of the matter is this: what Paul is trying to get us to understand is this: I don’t care if I’m Superman; I can’t do all the ministry of the church. I can’t minister to everybody. I can’t minister for everybody. I can’t minister with everybody. It takes people to do the ministry of the church.
So God says, «Look, I positively expect you to serve, and I purposely equip you to serve.» This is what the pastor is here for; this is what the staff is here for—to equip you, to enable you to do the work of the church. But here’s the best part—what I love about God is this: God does something great. God never gives you the responsibility to do something that He does not give you the authority and the power to do. So not only does God positively expect you to serve, not only does God purposely equip us to serve, here’s the last thing: God personally empowers us to serve.
See, God’s given pastors my major job to you—to equip you to do the work of the church. But here’s the wonderful thing: I come to you and say, «Okay, now I need you to help minister for me. I need you to do this. I need you to minister to your small group. I need you to visit sick people,» and whatever the ministry is, and I’m going to teach you how to do that. Well, you need tools! If I hire you to be a carpenter, I’ve got to make sure you have a hammer and nails. Well, God says, «You know what? I know you need tools, I know you need equipment, and I know you don’t just need somebody to tell you that you need to be doing it, or even kind of tell you how. You need the tools to do it.»
Well, guess what? God’s not only given us equippers to do it; He’s given us the equipment to do it. You say, «What’s the equipment?» The equipment is spiritual gifts—that’s the equipment—because God never asks us to serve Him without giving us the power, the ability, and the tools. So Paul, to another church, talking to the Christians in Rome, wrote these words: «We have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us.» Now again, if you kind of suffer from low self-esteem, or you’re sitting out there right now and you’re blowing me off by saying, «Man, I can’t do anything, I don’t even know where I’d serve. You don’t need me; there’s somebody else who can always do the job better than I can. I don’t really know what I can do.»
Let me, listen to me carefully: if you don’t believe anything else I’ve said today, I want you to believe this: if you are a follower of Jesus, I don’t care if you’ve been a follower of Jesus for an hour, a day, a week, a month, or 50 years. I don’t care—if you are a follower of Jesus, you are gifted. You are a gifted child. We all have different gifts, though we don’t all have the same gifts, but we are all equally gifted in the sense that God has given us the abilities and the gifts that we need to do whatever He wants us to do in the church, outside the church, with the church, and for the church. Let me tell you why I know that: see, there are so many ways that God is different from you and me.
Let me tell you one way God is different. Everyone in this room is guilty of what I’m about to tell you—me too. We all waste things, right? How many of you have ever had bread mold in your house? You bought a loaf of bread, didn’t eat it, and one day you went to make a sandwich and it looked like a pimple, just mold—you can’t eat it. Or how about this? Let’s all be honest: you bought that dress, or you bought that shirt, or something else, and you thought, «Man, I love that thing.» And you wore it one time and never put it back on; we all waste things. God never wastes anything—ever. Every spiritual gift, every natural ability you have, every single one is God-given to be used in ministry. But this is the tragic thing: some people will be listening to this probably down the road.
I just want you to know that I’m preaching this series right after Christmas. We just celebrated Christmas, and you all know me; everyone knows I’m a Christmas guy. I’m a kid at heart during Christmas, and I love it as much now as I did when I was nine years old—except for a totally different reason. I went through that phase when I couldn’t wait to see what I got under the tree. I couldn’t wait to unwrap my gifts and see if Santa brought me what I wanted or whatever. But everything has shifted now. The reason I’m excited about Christmas is not because of what I’m going to get; it’s what I’m going to give to my grandchildren.
This past year, they all came to my house, and we all fixed a big breakfast together. The grandkids were there, and they didn’t even want to eat breakfast; they just wanted to open their gifts. They could not wait to see if they got what they wanted, what they asked for. And they always get what they want from me; they know they do, which is why I pay off a loan every single year. Here’s what I’ve learned about gifts: no matter how great a gift is, no matter how much it costs, or how wonderful it might be, if it remains unopened, it might as well not exist, right? And you know what I’m looking at right now all over this building? What do you think? A lot of unopened gifts.
In a minute, we’re going to ask you to find a place to serve in our church. One of the growing needs we have is in our special needs ministry. We have more and more kids with special needs, and they are special. We need people to work there and serve there. So I was walking out the door after the service when one of our sweet members saw me on his way to the restroom. He came up, grabbed me, and said, «Man, I just signed up for the special needs ministry.» I said, «Really? That’s great!» He replied, «But you don’t know why.» I said, «No.» He asked, «Do you know what I do for a living?» I said, «No, sir.» He said, «I teach in an elementary school.» I said, «Great!» He replied, «You know how to teach?» I asked, «No, who do you teach?» He said, «Kids with special needs.» Amazing! He’s signed up because he knows this is his purpose, this is what God wants him to do. He’s going to unwrap his gift for the glory of God and for this church.
Let me tell you something: what we want to do as a church is help you discover your gift, develop your gift, and deploy your gift—serving God and serving others. Here’s what I want you to understand: some of you right now are having this thought in your mind, and you can’t help it because you’re human. Here’s what you’re thinking: «Okay, what’s in it for me? You want me to show up here and knock myself out? You’re asking me to get here a little early; maybe it means I’ll come for one hour to serve and one hour to worship instead of just coming for one hour. So what’s in it for me?» Well, here’s the wonderful little secret: serving others is not primarily for the benefit of others; it’s primarily for your benefit. What you learn is that there’s nothing more fulfilling in life than doing what you believe you were made to do in a way that blesses others.
There’s this boomerang effect to serving, and here’s the effect: when you serve others, the greater blessing comes back to you. We have a ministry that most of you can’t do, and I get it; we have the means to do it. I’m not saying this to brag; I’m saying it to make a point. Trisha and I have a Waffle House ministry. My ministry used to be to eat all the grits; they make the best. If you don’t like grits, you need Jesus. Waffle House makes the best grits in the world. I always get the same thing: a three-egg omelet with no cheese, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, a side of turkey sausage, and a big bowl of grits. That’s what I do. I used to think that was my ministry: to get fed.
Then one day, God gave us this idea: no matter how much our bill is, we usually give not just how much the bill is but almost double that as a tip. We don’t do it much, but when we go, that’s our ministry. I always put it inside of a Best News card. I used to think the big blessing of going to Waffle House was to eat the grits and the bacon and the eggs. No, that’s not the blessing. The blessing is when you give this big tip to a waitress who’s working all day—a single mom with four kids just trying to make it—and you give her that Best News card. She looks at that tip, and tears begin to come down her cheeks, just like last summer when a lady told us her son had just had surgery and she needed money to help pay the hospital bill, or her mother is sick at home, or they’ll look down and say, «Sir, I won’t make that much in tips all day here.»
We walk out—am I right or wrong? —we walk out on cloud nine. We understand that when you serve others, you give to others, you are the one who gets the blessing in return. Firefighters are taught this; some of you know this or not. If a person ever gets electrocuted, there will always be an exit wound. Why? Because that energy will not stay in the body. It has to exit somewhere. In other words, the energy doesn’t dissipate; it must create an outlet. A former firefighter made this application: «Your spiritual gifts are an expression of what Jesus’s power looks like through you. It’s Jesus with your skin on. Through our gifts, the world sees Jesus in action.»
Now there’s so much more I could say, but I want to give you one chance. I want to wrap this up as fast as I can. Yes, God wants you to serve, but I’m going to put my cards on the table: our church needs you to serve. Yes, you! Our church needs you to serve because it will never go higher, it will never be better, and it will never be happier than the number of people serving our Lord and serving the church. Whenever I preach a sermon, I’m always trying to come up with real expensive illustrations that cost a lot of money, and I’m good at it. So I want to show you this: what is that? A pencil! Does everybody see the pencil? You say, «That’s a simple illustration.»
Oh, it’s a powerful illustration. Did you know there’s never been a human being born who knows how to produce a pencil all by themselves? Never! To get that pencil, somebody had to know how to mine the graphite, somebody else had to know how to process the wood, another had to know how to manufacture the rubber, another had to know how to manufacture the paint. Somebody else had to put it all together, and somebody else had to market it, and somebody else had to distribute it, and somebody else had to sell it. If all those somebody else’s had not done that together, we wouldn’t even have a pencil! I’m here to tell you today that what is true of a pencil is true of the church, and it’s time for many of you to be one of those somebody else’s who make this church what it ought to be. I don’t tell poems very much; most of them are kind of cheesy.
You know, «Roses are red, violets are blue, I hate gators, so should you.» They’re just kind of cheesy. Sorry, Jack, I can’t resist! But this poem I thought, «Man, I can’t pass this one up.» There’s a clever young guy named Somebody Else; there’s nothing this guy can’t do. He’s busy from morning until way late at night just substituting for you. You’re asked to do this, or you’re asked to do that, and what is your ready reply? «Get Somebody Else to do that job; he’ll do it much better than I.» So much to do in this weary old world, so much, and so few workers, and somebody else, all weary and worn, is still substituting for you. So the next time you’re asked to do something worthwhile, just give this ready reply: «If Somebody Else can give time and support, my goodness, so can I!» Can I get an amen to that?
I’m not fussing at you; I’m being honest. Some of you need to quit relying on Somebody Else; you need to be that Somebody Else. Well, Somebody Else can rock that baby. Yes, and you can too! Well, Somebody Else can help park cars. Yes, and so can you! Well, Somebody Else can stand at the door and greet people. Yes, and so can you! Somebody Else can help be a buddy and a friend to a special needs kid. Yes, and so can you! It’s time for you to become that Somebody Else. I’m asking you today to ask God to give you a servant’s heart and a servant’s attitude. When people visit a church, I’ve seen this all my life: when people visit, they go church hopping. The number one thing people ask when they visit a church is this: «How can this church meet my needs?» When you become a mature Christian and you visit a church, you’re not saying, «How can this church meet my needs?»
Here’s what you’ll be asking: How can this church use me to help meet others' needs? Is there a place in this church where I can be used, where I can serve? So today, out in the lobby, we have tables set up with different ministries looking for volunteers. They want to talk to you about a service area, and they’ll follow up with you if you say, «Yeah, I’m interested.» They’ll find the right place for you to serve. We’ve already talked about this special needs ministry. Do you know what special needs kids need? Listen, I’ve learned this: You don’t have to be seminary educated; you don’t have to be college trained; you don’t even have to have a high school diploma. Do you know what special needs kids need? They just need two things: will you be a buddy and show them that you love them? That’s all they need—just be a buddy and show them that you care. So I hope and pray you’ll consider doing all of that.
So let me wrap up—we’ll be done. Jesus said, «I didn’t come to be served; I came to serve.» Here’s my last thought: If Jesus loved us enough to serve us by dying for us, can we not love Jesus enough to live for Him by serving others? If He loved me enough to go to a cross and die for me, can we not love Him enough to take the spiritual gifts and natural abilities He’s given us and find someplace to serve others? There’s a lot to do here, folks. There are plenty of places to serve: park cars, greet people, rock babies, teach children Bible verses, and mentor middle schoolers and high schoolers about how to walk with God. I am telling you today, as your pastor, it is time for many of you to go out there and become someone else to the glory of God.
Would you pray with me? With heads bowed and eyes closed, I want to say one last thing, and then we’ll be done: You cannot serve Jesus until you know Jesus. You can’t serve Jesus until you love Jesus. For some of you, the greatest thing you could do today to serve yourself—the greatest way you’ll ever serve yourself—is when you give your life to Jesus Christ. If you’re watching online right now or you’re in this room and you walked in without ever being saved, without ever being born again, or without ever trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, what’s so sad is not just that you’re not going to heaven when you die, nor that you’ll be separated from God forever. That’s tragic, but what’s just as tragic is you will have lived a totally wasted life. You would have never lived for the purpose you were created for until you come to know Jesus. So, with heads bowed and eyes closed, if today you’d like to make the greatest decision of your life—that you’d like to give your life to Jesus—would you pray this prayer right now?
Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. I’m lost; I need a Savior, and I’m helpless without You. I’m hopeless; I cannot save myself. But I believe You died on a cross for my sins. I believe God raised You from the dead. I believe You’re alive right now, and I ask You to come into my heart. I ask You to save me. I ask You to forgive me of all my sins. I trust You as my Savior. I surrender to You as my Lord. Help me to live the rest of my life just like You, serving You and serving others.