The Purpose of The Church- Service

Adapted from a Jeffery Anselmi sermonhttp://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?

SermonID=60622

“Our purpose is to evangelize the lost,

to edify the saints,

and to equip God’s people for service.”

As we have looked at the question “What is the Purpose of the Church, thus far we have

identified three areas of that should be included in the purpose of the church,

worship, fellowship, discipleship.

Today I want to look at an area that a lot of churches struggle with.

It is an area that if neglected it will make the church and those who are a part of it

become self-centered.

One of the purposes of the church is to serve, to minister.

We sometimes call specific areas of service ministries.

The church is called to minister to people. It is called to serve people.

When we neglect this purpose we will end up just sitting and soaking.

We will learn a lot about what we are called to do but spending little to no time doing it.

When we forget we are called to service, we then change our focus from “What does God

want us to do in order to carry out His mission”, to “I want what I want.”

This is an area that many times we excuse ourselves because we think that someone

else will do it.

Matthew 20:28 ESV even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to

give his life as a ransom for many.“Today I want to look at the purpose of

service.I want to look at what we are to do to fulfill

this purpose.

Matthew 20:26 ESV It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would

be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be

served but to serve, (minister) and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Every Christian Is A Servant(Minister)

What is a “minister”?

A minister is a servant.

The word translated “minister” is also the same word that is translated “deacon”.

Jesus came to serve.

We are called to serve God in some way because of what He has done for us.

1 Peter 2:9 ESV But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim

the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once

you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Ephesians 4:11 ESV And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the

shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the

Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of

Christ,

The church leaders and teachers are the ones who help prepare people for ministry.This work of service can be translated work

of ministry.Ephesians 2:10 ESV For we are his

workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared

beforehand, that we should walk in them.

What ways are you serving Jesus?

William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was interviewed near the close of his life.

This is what he said: "God had all there was of me. There have been others who had

greater plans, greater opportunities than I; but from the day I got a vision of what God could do, I made up my mind God would

have all there was of William Booth."

Ministry is using whatever God has given me to serve Him and the needs of others.

2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,

so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good

or evil.

1 Corinthians 12:15 ESV If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not

belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do

not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole

body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an

ear, where would be the sense of smell?

Every Ministry Is Important

18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that

seem to be weaker are indispensable,

God places the members as He wants.

If God placed you,then you are important.

All parts of the body are important.

If one quits working then the others have to work hard to compensate.

The size of the ministry is not important.

What is the most important light in the house?

The little night light that keeps you from killing yourself in the middle of the night

when you head for the refrigerator.

Romans 12:3 ESV For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think,

but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God

has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all

have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and

individually members one of another.

6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if

prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his

exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the

one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Look again at verse 6!

6ab Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them:…

This passage shows us that it is important for each of us to use our gifts in service to

Jesus.

Romans 12:4 ESV For as in one body we have many members, and the members do

not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and

individually members one of another.

Each Ministry Is DependantOn The Others

1 Corinthians 12:22 ESV On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the

body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not

require.

But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25

that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care

for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all

rejoice together.

What if those who are gifted in evangelism bring in a lot of people, but then we do not have people who are gifted in teaching or

hospitality?

After a while, we will either lose the new people or they will not grow in Christ.

1 Peter 4:10 ESV As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good

stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in

everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and

dominion forever and ever. Amen.When one part does not function, the rest of

the body is affected.

Do you wonder why God did not make us all the same?

Why didn’t God give us all the same abilities?

6ab Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them:…

Our “Shape” Should DetermineOur Ministry

Psalms 139:13 ESV For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my

mother's womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were

written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was

none of them.

Of course God knows that each one of us is unique.

He purposely created each of us.

There are many different jobs that need to be done in order for the work of the kingdom to

get done.

One of the greatest frustrations a person can have in trying to serve God is to be pushed

into an area of service we feel we cannot do.

Now I do not want people to use this for an excuse for not reaching out to people or

trying to stretch themselves.

We are to all witness to people, although we will all do it a little different.

As you look around us, you will notice that each of us has a different shape.

Did you know that your ministry or area of service should be determined by your SHAPE.

Rick Warren uses the word SHAPE as an acronym for.

Spiritual Gifts (How God has gifted me)Heart (passion, What do I love to do?)Abilities (What natural talents do I have?) Personality (Where does my personality best suit me to serve?)Experience (What experiences have I had?)

Experience

1) Education2) Vocational3) Spiritual4) Ministry. (how you have served in the past)5) Painful (What problems, hurts and trials

have you learned from)

Isaiah 64:8 ESV But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our

potter; we are all the work of your hand.

We are all different because God made us that way.

Your personality will affect how you use your spiritual gifts; your passion will affect what

you place as important.

Too many times we go about things backwards.

We feel since we do not know what we are gifted in, we do nothing.

We think we can take a test to find out what our SHAPE really is.

The best way to find out where your gifts, talents and heart is, is to serve in many

different areas and from that you will settle into what you are good at.

If the church is not a church that focuses on serving others, then what will happen to us is we will become friendly to ourselves, we will take care of ourselves, and we will focus our

resources on ourselves.

If as a collective body of believers, we are not each focused on serving or some area of

ministry, the whole body will be hurt.

Conclusion

If I have areas of ability I will not use for the body of Christ that gathers here, then I am

hurting the body of Christ here.

For this body to function, we need each and every part of it to be functioning.

God did not call us to sit on the bench, but He called us to find a position on the field

and play the game.

What happens on a team when part of the team decides not to do its job?

It is my prayer each and every member of the Lindley Christian Church is an active part of the body, & each one of us is serving the

body of Christ in some way.

Too many times we sit back and want to be served and then we complain about the

service.Too many times we feel sorry for ourselves.The best way to get out of that is to serve

others.Remember we are to be like Jesus, Jesus came to serve, He came to seek and save

those who are lost.

At the end of World War I, Herbert Hoover, later to become President of the United

States, led the allied relief efforts in Europe.

He kept hundreds of thousands from starving, and a new word entered the Finnish

language.

In Finland, to “Hoover” means to be kind, to help.

If someone coined a word from your name, what would it be?

Would it signify character?Helpfulness?

Cheerfulness?Or would it be some mean and ugly word?