Serve the Lord who served for you.

 

Sermon for Epiphany 2, January 16, 2022

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus.  Amen.

Romans 12:6-16  ⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace God has given us.  If the gift is prophecy, do it in complete agreement with the faith.  ⁷If it is serving, then serve.  If it is teaching, then teach.  ⁸If it is encouraging, then encourage.  If it is contributing, be generous.  If it is leadership, be diligent.  If it is showing mercy, do it cheerfully.  ⁹Do not just pretend to love others.  Hate what is evil.  Cling to what is good.  ¹⁰Be devoted to one another with brotherly love.  Think of others as deserving more honor than yourselves.  ¹¹Do not be lagging behind in zeal, but be fervent in spirit, as you continue to serve the Lord.  ¹²Be joyful in hope.  Endure trials patiently.  Persist in prayer.  ¹³Share with the saints who are in need.  Be quick to welcome strangers as guests.  ¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse.  ¹⁵Rejoice with those who are rejoicing; weep with those who are weeping.  ¹⁶Have the same respect for one another.  Do not be arrogant, but associate with the humble.  Do not think too highly of yourselves. (EHV)

Serve the Lord who served for you.

Dear friends in Christ,

            Before the great flood of Noah’s day, the vast majority of people fell into grave idolatry and depravity, so much so that “The Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that all the thoughts and plans they formed in their hearts were only evil every day.  The Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth.” (Genesis 6:5-6)  Again at the time of Judges in Israel, “There was no king in Israel, and every man did whatever was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)  This led to great heartache in the land as many wandered away from the Lord, so God allowed foreign powers to invade, torment, and even conquer in order to discipline His wayward people. 

In our day too, it seems that much of society lives as if there is no God nor King, and they would much prefer to make their own rules and live according to whatever wicked thought inhabits their hearts.  You and I on the other hand, have a King who came into this world to serve rather than be served, and because our King has rescued us from the forces of darkness and the punishment all mankind deserved, it is appropriate for us to Serve the Lord who served for you.

In the verses that immediately precede our sermon text, the Holy Spirit reminds us that as believers in Jesus we are members of the Holy Christian Church, the body of Christ, and as such, “to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy and pleasing to God.” (Romans 12:1)  Considering that we are made into the body of Christ, through faith in the Savior who gave His life to rescue us from sin and death, how could we not live in accord to the way our Savior lived for us?  For Jesus sacrificed everything so that we may have righteousness and peace.

Furthermore, how we live makes a difference in how the world sees us, and God uses us through His gifts to bless His people and to encourage many others to enter into the faith that has saved us.  Thus, the Holy Spirit gives us these various gifts because “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)  The question before us is how are you doing at living up to the commands of this list?  Are you using all of your gifts to Serve the Lord who served for you?

Before you answer, recognize that this list of the Spirit’s gifts is rather extensive, and the list continues on even after the end of our sermon text, but let’s look just at what Paul lists here: the gifts of prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, charity, leadership, mercifulness, love, avoidance of evil and holding on to good, devotion to brotherly love, faithfulness in honoring others, diligence in our duties, bubbling in spirit, service to our Lord, joyfulness, patience, steadfastness in prayer, sharing with fellow believers, hospitableness, rejoicing with the joyful and weeping with the grieving, common mindedness, willingness to surround ourselves with the less fortunate, and humility.  Are you ready to say, “Wow!!!?”  I know I am.  By my count that’s at least twenty-five ways the Holy Spirit blesses us so that we can serve our Lord in this sin-torn world. 

Of course, many people might ask why we should serve others, especially those who don’t appear to be our friends, or maybe even fight against us and persecute God’s people.  Why should we do good when so many others intend evil against us?

We find our answer in Jesus.  The truth is, Jesus did everything on this list for people who rebelled against God, who were greedy, selfish, arrogant, and hated His Son—people just like you and me.  In fact, Jesus lived and died so that God’s enemies, including you and me, would be made right with Him again. 

So again, why should we Serve the Lord who served for you?  Because, we all were once God’s enemies, immersed in sin and falling prey to the devil’s temptations time and time again.  “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)  God doesn’t want to withhold His love from anyone.  The Holy Spirit says, “God our Savior,…wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)  Jesus includes all of His followers in that same encouragement as He told His disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses …to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) 

As we look through Paul’s list, we see the ways Jesus did all these things for you and me.  He proclaimed God’s message in truth and purity.  He ministered to those around Him.  He taught perfectly as He explained the Scriptures.  Jesus was continually encouraging those who came to Him, He shared generously with the people as He blessed them in whatever way was needed.  Jesus is merciful, and that was demonstrated time and again in His healing of the afflicted.  Jesus’ love was perfectly sincere even as in zealous righteousness, He drove the money changers from His Father’s house.  He wasn’t concerned for His own gain or agenda.  Jesus perfectly avoided the evil that so tempts us while He clung to the good. 

Paul wrote, “Do not be arrogant, but associate with the humble.  Do not think too highly of yourselves.”  Our Savior, the Son of God, humbled Himself to leave heaven and come to earth as a Man to dwell with us, not as an overlord or judge, but as a Friend and Redeemer.  Jesus welcomed all who came to Him, and even under the stress of His trial Jesus remained respectful.  He demonstrated such leadership that today even unbelievers look to Jesus for examples of ethical living. 

As the Holy Spirit gives us this list, He is showing us Jesus and how Jesus lived to gain us righteousness and eternal life.  Because we don’t belong to this world, we shouldn’t look like the children of the world.  Rather, living as the body of Christ, we show that God has chosen us by faith to be His own dear children.  Then, as we live as Jesus’ body here on earth, we will be a blessing to all including those who oppose us.  As the unbelieving world sees how Christians live in respect to each other and in service and humility to all, they will notice that we are different, because they will see Christ reflected in our actions, and that way, they may be drawn to believe in Him for their salvation. 

Because there is so much false teaching in this world, it is necessary to point out that we don’t earn forgiveness and eternal life by living up to this list, nor we could we ever do so, but we shouldn’t ignore it either, because Jesus has already won our salvation by fulfilling this list perfectly for you and me.  Jesus devoted His earthly existence to obeying God’s will so that we don’t have to be afraid of those who want to persecute and hurt us.  We don’t have to worry so much about being politically correct.  We simply need to hear what God has done for us as Jesus lived, died, and rose again, and know that we have a home in heaven for Jesus’ sake.  Only then can we try to live up to the instructions on this list.  But then, trusting in Jesus, it becomes a joy for us to Serve the Lord who served for you.

Now, as we look at this list, you might begin to feel overwhelmed.  It might seem like too much to do and too hard to do it all well.  But remember that all of these things are gifts of the Holy Spirit, and He gives them in the proportion He feels we need to do His work.  Some of the gifts may not be given to each one of us, but all of us have gifts on this list through which we can serve our Lord and Savior.

Since we are talking about serving our Savior, it is good for us to look closer at a least a couple of the gifts, especially the first gift on this list.  Paul wrote, “If the gift is prophecy, do it in complete agreement with the faith.”  This phrase has caused many questions over the centuries, but we must recognize that there are not multiple true faiths, nor does God give various faiths to different individuals.  It also doesn’t mean that God measures out the strength of our faith in Him in different measure.  True Christian faith trusts only in God’s pure Word and in the work and sacrifice of His Son.  We proclaim the message of the cross because it is the only power that saves.

The word, “prophecy,” is also often misunderstood.  Many want to make it something incredible and only about future events, but the gift of future prophecy has always been rare.  The main use of this word is to tell the true message of God, to proclaim God’s Gospel right in line with the perfect truth of His Word, using the tools He gives us.  Not every one of us will be preachers.  We won’t all go out as apostles or missionaries, but all of us can tell someone about Jesus and what He has done for us, or by the service in our daily lives, we can show what makes Christians different and lead others to someone who has the ability and the training to proclaim God’s Word in its truth and purity.

Dear friends, God doesn’t promise to give each of us every gift on this list.  Not all of us will be blessed to be big givers of money, but all of us can share what we do have.  All of us can serve in some way, for God gives all of us good gifts.  It may be that your gift, today, is simply to pray for those who don’t yet know Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Perhaps your gift is to rejoice with the joyful or to mourn with the sorrowful.  I promise you that all of us can look at this list and find some way God is blessing us to serve.  We can also look at the list, trusting in Jesus as the perfect fulfillment of its commands, and strive to make better use of each of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives us.  Then, remembering that your salvation is an already accomplished fact through faith in the life and death of Jesus Christ, you can live your life here on earth with confidence and hope, rejoicing to Serve the Lord who served for you.  Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto everlasting life. Amen.