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February
8-9, 2003 EXTREME LIVING – The Purpose
Driven Life! Selected WE ARE SHAPED FOR SERVING GOD! ! OUR FIRST PURPOSE IN LIFE IS TO KNOW AND LOVE
GOD – WORSHIP! ! OUR SECOND PURPOSE IN LIFE IS TO LOVE GOD’S
FAMILY – FELLOWSHIP! ! OUR THIRD PURPOSE IN LIFE IS TO BECOME
LIKE CHRIST – DISCIPLESHIP! *** Eph. 2:10 “For
we are God's masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned
for us long ago.” [New Living Translation] ! GOD WANTS YOU TO BE A CONDUIT, NOT A CONTAINER! *** 1 Peter 4:10 “Each
of you has been blessed with one of God's many wonderful gifts to be used in
the [MAKING OF A LOT OF MONEY!] service of others. So use your
gift well.” [Contemporary English
Version] 14. OUR FOURTH PURPOSE IN LIFE IS TO SERVE
GOD BY SERVING OTHERS! – MINISTRY! 15. Now God never asks us to do something that He
doesn’t prepare and equip us to do… 16. Job 10:8 “Your
hands shaped me and made me.” [New International Version] 17. Twelve years ago…seminar…used the CLASS 301
material…SHAPE… SPIRITUAL GIFTS! HEART! ABILITIES! PERSONALITY!
EXPERIENCE! 18. MINISTRY simply MEANS USING MY SHAPE
TO SERVE OTHERS LIKE JESUS WOULD! 19. God not only Shaped for Service, He also gave
us a Model for Ministry! 20. Jesus came to earth to show us…Matthew 20:28 “Your attitude must be like my own, for I,
the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve…." [Living Bible] 21. YOUR SHAPE DETERMINES YOUR MINISTRY
BUT YOUR ATTITUDE DETERMINES YOUR MATURITY! – If you want to
be like Jesus…serve like Jesus! 22. CONTEXT - John 13:12-17 “After washing their feet he put on
his robe again and sat down and asked, "Do you understand what I was
doing? You call me 'Master' and 'Lord,' and you do well to say it, for it is
true. And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to
wash each other's feet. I have given
you an example to follow: do as I have done to you. You know these things--now
do them! That is the path of blessing.”
[Living] 23. Lots of things offer significance & self
esteem…Jesus says significance & self esteem come through service…being
used like Jesus and by Jesus in service! *** SONG: TO BE USED BY YOU! *** WE CAN BE SERVANTS LIKE JESUS: 1. BY BEING AVAILABLE! 1. CONTEXT - Matthew 20:30-32 “Two blind men who were sitting
by the road heard that Jesus was passing by, so they began to shout, "Son
of David! Have mercy on us, sir!"
The crowd scolded them and told them to be quiet. But they shouted even
more loudly, "Son of David! Have mercy on us, sir!" Jesus stopped and
called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked them.” [Today’s English Version] 2. Now think about this…almost all of Jesus’
miracles happened as interruptions…! 3. Wedding feast…feeding 5000…dead child…woman
with blood…! 4. Proverbs 3:28 “If
you can help your neighbor now, don't say, "Come back tomorrow, and then
I'll help you." [New Living
Translation] 5. Servant-hearted people like Jesus don’t
procrastinate, they’re spontaneous, sensitive, selfless, servants! 6. ILL – John
Wesley’s motto: “DO ALTHE GOOD YOU CAN BY ALL THE MEANS YOU CAN BY ALL THE
WAYS YOU CAN IN ALL THE PLACES YOU CAN AT ALL THE TIMES YOU CAN TO ALL THE
PEOPLE YOU CAN FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN!” 7. There are hurting people all around us… 8. WHAT KEEPS US FROM
BEING AVAILABLE TO SERVE LIKE JESUS? A. SELF-CENTEREDNESS! 1. Phil. 2:4 “Forget
yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.” [The Message] 2. THE GREATEST HINDERANCE TO HELPING IS HURRY! 3. Tomorrow God is going to put people in your
life…see just how much you’ve learned…who is the center of your life…? 4. ILL – We don’t
stay in places very much that have Concierges…this summer… looking for a good
restaurant…hotel…asked…. Always a
little selfconcious… “I’m sorry to bother you…!” “It is no bother, it is my pleasure to serve you!” I wrote this down…might be nice for Nancy to
memorize it…! REAL SERVANTS DON’T MIND
BEING INTERUPTED BECAUSE GOD’S AGENA IS OUR AGENDA…OUR AGENDA ISN’T SELF, IT’S
OTHERS! If you have a servants heart…no bother…here to serve! B. FEELING NOT GOOD ENOUGH! 1. How many of you think you are good enough to
be used by God? 2. 2 Cor. 4:7 “But
this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us—is held in
perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that
our glorious power is from God and is not our own.” [NLT] 3. IF GOD ONLY USED PERFECT PEOPLE, NOTHING
WOULD EVER GET DONE! 4. CONTEXT - 2 Cor. 12:9 “But God said to me, "When you
are weak, my power is made perfect in you." So I am very happy to brag
about my weaknesses. Then Christ's power can live in me.” [NCV] 5. ILL – God used
Moses…David…Peter…Paul…he can use you! B. LOVE STUFF TOO MUCH! 1. Luke 16:13 “No
servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other,
or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God
and Money." [NIV] 2. Notice it doesn’t say “should not”…CANNOT! 3. AM I GOING TO BE A KINGDOM-BUILDER
OR A WEALTH-BUILDER? *** VIDEO – WHAT KEPT YOU FROM BEING
INVOLVED IN MINSTRY? *** WE CAN BE SERVANTS LIKE JESUS: BY BEING AVAILABLE; AND: 2. BY BEING APPRECIATIVE! 1. Jesus was always appreciative to God for
allowing Him to serve! 2. CONTEXT –
Lazarus… John 11:41-42 “Then Jesus looked up
and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you
always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing
here…." [NIV] 3. Paul was grateful to God for allowing him to
serve… 1 Tim. 1:12 “How thankful I am to
Christ Jesus our Lord for…appointing me to serve him…” [NLT] 4. David even says: Psalm
100:2 “Serve the Lord with gladness….” [King James Version] 5. GOD WANTS US TO SERVE OUT OF DELIGHT
NOT DUTY! 6. ILL – How many
of you have kids…go home…house cleaned…rooms…kitchen… yardwork… “What
happened?” “Why?” “We just love an appreciate all you do for
us…show you our gratitude!” 7. There is a second appreciation
here…by-product… 8. YOU’LL GET EVEN MORE OUT OF SERVING
THAN YOU PUT IN! 9. Col. 3:23-24 “Do
your work willingly, as though you were serving the Lord himself, and not just
your earthly master. In fact, the Lord Christ is the one you are really
serving, and you know that he will reward you.” [CEV] 10. ILL - 11. Luke 6:38 “Give
away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given
back with bonus and blessing.” [The Message] *** VIDEO – WHY ARE YOU SERVING NOW? *** WE CAN BE SERVANTS LIKE JESUS: BY BEING AVAILABLE; …APPRECIATIVE; AND: 3. BY BEING FAITHFUL! 1. Jesus had ups and down all of his ministry…at
the end he could say: 2. John 17:4 “I
have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” [NIV] 3. That’s what I want to be able to say to God… 4. 1 Cor. 4:2 “The
one thing required of such servants is that they be faithful….” [Today’s English Version] 5. What helps us be
faithful…persistent…consistent in our service…? 6. Some of the things we’ve already addressed:
appreciation for what God has done…; the rewards of service…! 7. MOTIVATED TO FAITHFUL SERVICE BY DOING
SOMETHING THAT REALLY MATTERS! 8. Much of what we do…careers…work…doesn’t really
matter…! 9. 1 Cor. 15:58 “Don't
hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a
waste of time or effort.”
[Msg] 10. Some might say, “What I do doesn’t matter…! 11. ILL – boys
going to church services…no empty seats…started to leave… Usher…that night both
boys accepted X…one of those teenaged boys…Billy Graham! Nobody knows the name of that usher… 12. DON’T MISTAKE ANONYMOUS WITH INSIGNIFICANT! *** POWER POINT…HIDDEN HEROS! 13. All of these people are critical to… *** SONG: IF YOU CAN USE ANYTHING
LORD! 14. Now it all boils down to this…YOU CAN DO
THREE THINGS WITH YOUR LIFE: WASTE IT!
SPEND IT! INVEST IT! 15. I want to challenge you to invest your life
in something that will OUTLAST IT!
To make a DIFFERENCE FOR ETERNITY! And will LEAVE A GLORIOUS LEGACY! 16. Hebrews 6:10 “God…will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other Christians.” [NLT] |