Service

God Can Use Us

There are many reasons why God shouldn’t have called you. But don’t worry. You’re in good company.

• Moses stuttered.
• David’s armor didn’t fit.
• John Mark was rejected by Paul.
• Timothy had ulcers.
• Hosea’s wife was a prostitute.
• Amos’ only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning.
• Jacob was a liar.
• David had an affair.
• Solomon was too rich.
• Jesus was too poor.
• Abraham was too old.
• David was too young.
• Peter was afraid of death.
• Lazarus was dead.
• John was self-righteous.
• Naomi was a widow.
• Paul was a murderer.
• So was Moses.
• Jonah ran from God.
• Miriam was a gossip.
• Gideon and Thomas both doubted.
• Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal.
• Elijah was burned out.
• John the Baptist was a loudmouth.
• Martha was a worry-wart.
• Mary was lazy.
• Samson had long hair.
• Noah got drunk.
• Did I mention that Moses had a short fuse?
• So did Peter, Paul—well, lots of folks did.

But God doesn’t require a job interview. He doesn’t hire and fire like most bosses, because He’s more our Dad than our Boss. He doesn’t look at financial gain or loss. He’s not prejudiced or partial, not judging, grudging, sassy, or brassy, not deaf to our cry, not blind to our need.

As much as we try, God’s gifts are free. We could do wonderful things for wonderful people and still not be...Wonderful.

Satan says, “You’re not worthy.”

Jesus says, “So what? I AM.”

Satan looks back and sees our mistakes.

God looks back and sees the cross

The Fourth Dimension, November 1998, p. 5

Our Limitations

He doesn’t calculate what you did in ‘78.It’s not even on the record. Sure, there are lots of reasons why God shouldn’t have called us. But if we are magically in love with Him, if we hunger for Him more than our next breath, He’ll use us in spite of who we are, where we’ve been, or what we look like I pray that as Christians, we will step out of our limitations into the illimitable nature of who God is. Then our passion for God and our passion to communicate Him will make mincemeat of our limitations.

Author unknown

Do All Things Wholeheartedly

Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China, believed that Christians should do all things wholeheartedly, not just those actions that can be seen. He reasoned, “As our Father makes many a flower to bloom unseen in the lonely desert, [let us] do all that we can do, as under His eye, though no other eye ever take note of it.”

Our Daily Bread, November 23, 1998

Saved from Ourselves

Christ died to save us, not from suffering, but from ourselves; not from injustice, far less from justice, but from being unjust. He died that we might live—but live as he lives, by dying as he died who died to himself that he might live unto God. If we do not die to ourselves, we cannot live to God, and he that does not live to God, is dead.

George MacDonald in Unspoken Sermons (Series 3), quoted in Reflections, Christianity Today, June 16, 1997, p. 45

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is so salty that it contains no fish or plant life. What accounts for this unusual condition? There are absolutely no outlets! A great volume of water pours into this area, but nothing flows out. Many inlets plus no outlets equal a dead sea.

This law of nature may also be applied to the child of God, and it explains why many believers are so unfruitful and lacking in spiritual vitality. It’s possible for some people to attend Bible conferences, listen to religious broadcasts, study the Scriptures, and continually take in the Word as it is preached from the pulpit, and yet seem lifeless and unproductive in their Christian lives. Such individuals are like the Dead Sea. They have several “inlets” but no “outlets.” To be vibrant and useful believers, we must not only “take in” all we can, but we must also “give out” in service to others!

Our Daily Bread, March-May, 1996, p. for May 22

Celebration of Discipline

Ten years ago, Richard Foster, in his book Celebration of Discipline, put together a brief comparison of the characteristics of service that is focused more upon ourselves and service that is focused more upon Christ. In paraphrased form, it becomes a self-help test worth taking. Why not measure your clarity of vision against his conclusions?

Self-focused service is concerned with impressive gains. It enjoys serving when the service is titanic or growing in that direction. Christ-focused service doesn’t distinguish between small and large. It indiscriminately welcomes all opportunities to serve.

Self-focused service requires external reward, appreciation, and applause. Christ-focused service rests content in hiddenness. The divine nod of approval is sufficient.

Self-focused service is highly concerned about results. It becomes disillusioned when results fall below expectations. Christ-focused service is free of the need to calculate results; it delights only in service.

Self-focused service is affected by feelings. Christ-focused service ministers simply and faithfully because there is a need. The service disciplines the feelings.

Self-focused service insists on meeting the need; it demands the opportunity to help. Christ-focused service listens with tenderness and patience. It can serve by waiting in silence.

This list offers a way to begin refocusing our blurred image of Christ in the midst of ministry.

Paul D. Robbins, Leadership, 1988, p. 146

The Princess

Marion Mill was born in a fairy tale royal palace in Hungary. Her first spoon was solid gold. They sent her to school in Vienna where she became an actress, and there she met and fell in love with a young medical student named Otto.

Otto and Marion married and went to live in Hollywood, CA. There, as they “set up house,” he began to dabble in movies. He became so interested in movies that he gave up his medical practice, and went on to become the internationally famed movie director Otto Preminger. Marion’s beauty, wit, and irresistible charm brought her everything a woman desires. In Europe, New York and Hollywood she became a famous international hostess.

But Otto’s princess could not handle the fast life of Hollywood. She went into alcohol, drugs and numerous affairs. Her life and lifestyle became so sordid, even for Hollywood, that Otto Preminger divorced Marion. She tried to take her own life three times, unsuccessfully, and finally moved back to Vienna.

There at a party she met another doctor, named Albert Schweitzer, the well-known medical doctor, musician, philosopher, theologian and missionary. Schweitzer was home on leave from his hospital in Lambarene, Africa.

She was so fascinated by Schweitzer, that she asked him if she could talk to him alone, and he permitted that. For almost six months, every week, she met with Dr. Albert Schweitzer. At the end of that time he was going to go back to Africa, and she begged him to let her go with him. Schweitzer surprised everyone by agreeing. Marion, the young princess, who was born in a palace went to a little village in Lambarene, Africa, and spent the rest of her life emptying bed pans and tearing up sheets to make bandages for putrid sores on the poverty-stricken nationals.

She wrote her autobiography. I love the title of it—All I Want is Everything. When she died, Time Magazine quoted from her autobiography these words: “Albert Schweitzer says there are two kinds of people. There are the helpers, and the non-helpers. I thank God He allowed me to become a helper, and in helping, I found everything.”

Keep us, Lord, so awake in the duties of our calling that we may sleep in thy peace and wake in thy glory.

John Donne, Christianity Today, p. 50

Service Is…

A. T. wrote,

“Whatever is done for God, without respect of its comparative character as related to other acts, is service, and only that is service. Service is, comprehensively speaking, doing the will of God. He is the object. All is for Him, for His sake, as unto the Lord, not as unto man. Hence, even the humblest act of humblest disciple acquires a certain divine quality by its being done with reference to Him. “The supreme test of service is this: ‘For whom am I doing this?’ Much that we call service to Christ is not such at all....If we are doing this for Christ, we shall not care for human reward or even recognition. Our work must again be tested by three propositions: Is it work from God, as given us to do from Him; for God, as finding in Him its secret of power; and with God, as only a part of His work in which we engage as co-workers with Him.”

The Truth

Quote

• Most people wish to serve God—but in an advisory capacity only.

Quoted in Sunday Express, London

Contrast Self-Righteous Service with True Service

I see on the chapel speaker calendar that Richard Foster is scheduled. He is one of my favorite writers and in his volume entitled Celebration of Discipline, he has a chapter entitled “The Discipline of Service.” Let me share his thoughts as he contrasts self-righteous service with true service.

Self-righteous service comes through human effort.
True service comes from a relationship with the divine Other deep inside.

Self-righteous service is impressed with the “big deal.”
True service finds it almost impossible to distinguish the small from the large service.

Self-righteous service requires external rewards.
True service rests contented in hiddenness.

Self-righteous service is highly concerned about results.
True service is free of the need to calculate results.

Self-righteous service picks and chooses whom to serve.
True service is indiscriminate in its ministry.

Self-righteous service is affected by moods and whims.
True service ministers simply and faithfully because there is a need.

Self-righteous service is temporary.
True service is a life-style.

Self-righteous service is without sensitivity. It insists on meeting the need even when to do so would be destructive.
True service can withhold the service as freely as perform it.

Self-righteous service fractures community.
True service, on the other hand, builds community.

Source unknown

Idleness Destroyed

Unamuno, the Spanish philosopher, tells about the Roman aqueduct at Segovia, in his native Spain. It was built in 109 A.D. For eighteen hundred years, it carried cool water from the mountains to the hot and thirsty city. Nearly sixty generations of men drank from its flow. Then came another generation, a recent one, who said, “This aqueduct is so great a marvel that it ought to be preserved for our children, as a museum piece. We shall relieve it of its centuries-long labor.” They did; they laid modern iron pipes. They gave the ancient bricks and mortar a reverent rest. And the aqueduct began to fall apart. The sun beating on the dry mortar caused it to crumble. The bricks and stone sagged and threatened to fall. What ages of service could not destroy idleness disintegrated.

Resource, Sept./Oct., 1992, p. 4

I Will Serve God Without My Eyes

In his book 70 X 7, The Freedom of Forgiveness, David Augsburger tells of General William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, who had lost his eyesight. His son was given the difficult task of telling his father there would be no recovery.

“Do you mean that I am blind?” the General asked.

“I fear we must contemplate that,” his son replied.

The father continued, “I shall never see your face again?”

“No, probably not in this world.”

“Bramwell,” said General Booth, “I have done what I could for God and for His people with my eyes. Now Shall do what I can for God without my eyes.”

70 X 7, The Freedom of Forgiveness, David Augsburger

Violin Unused

The great violinist, Nicolo Paganini, willed his marvelous violin to Genoa—the city of his birth—but only on condition that the instrument never be played upon. It was an unfortunate condition, for it is a peculiarity of wood that as long as it is used and handled, it shows little wear. As soon as it is discarded, it begins to decay. The exquisite, mellow-toned violin has become worm-eaten in its beautiful case, valueless except as a relic. The moldering instrument is a reminder that a life withdrawn from all service to others loses its meaning.

Bits & Pieces, June 25, 1992

Resources

• Christ’s Call To Discipleship, J. M. Boice, Moody, 1986, pp. 59ff.
• Carl B. Hoch, Jr., All Things New, (Baker Books, Grand Rapids; 1995), pp. 241ff.
• Liberating Ministry From The Success Syndrome, K Hughes, Tyndale, 1988, p. 45

.

General Washington

During the American Revolution a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of soldiers repairing a small defensive barrier. their leader was shouting instructions, but making no attempt to help them. Asked why by the rider, he retorted with great dignity, “Sir, I am a corporal!”

The stranger apologized, dismounted, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers. The job done, he turned to the corporal and said, “Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your commander-in-chief, and I will come and help you again.”

It was none other than George Washington.

Today in the Word, March 6, 1991

Willingness to Serve

Franklin Roosevelt’s closest adviser during much of his presidency was a man named Harry Hopkins. During World War II, when his influence with Roosevelt was at its peak, Hopkins held no official Cabinet position. Moreover, Hopkins’s closeness to Roosevelt caused many to regard him as a shadowy, sinister figure. As a result he was a major political liability to the President.

A political foe once asked Roosevelt, “Why do you keep Hopkins so close to you? You surely realize that people distrust him and resent his influence.” Roosevelt replied, “Someday you may well be sitting here where I am now as President of the United States. And when you are, you’ll be looking at that door over there and knowing that practically everybody who walks through it wants something out of you. You’ll learn what a lonely job this is, and you’ll discover the need for somebody like Harry Hopkins, who asks for nothing except to serve you.”

Winston Churchill rated Hopkins as one of the half-dozen most powerful men in the world in the early 1940s. And the sole source of Hopkins’s power was his willingness to serve.

Discipleship Journal, Issue 39 (1987), p. 5.

I Will Blacken Their Boots

In 1878, when William Booth’s Salvation Army was beginning to make its mark, men and women from all over the world began to enlist. One man, who had once dreamed of becoming a bishop, crossed the Atlantic from America to England to enlist. Samuel Brengle left a fine pastorate to join Booth’s Army. But at first General Booth accepted his services reluctantly and grudgingly. Booth said to Brengle, “You’ve been your own boss too long.” And in order to instill humility in Brengle, he set him to work cleaning the boots of other trainees. Discouraged, Brengle said to himself, “Have I followed my own fancy across the Atlantic in order to black boots?” And then, as in a vision, he saw Jesus bending over the feet of rough, unlettered fishermen. “Lord,” he whispered, “you washed their feet; I will black their shoes.”

Source unknown

I Want to be a Great Surgeon

In the spring of 1883 two young men graduated from medical school. The two differed from one another in both appearance and ambition. Ben was short and stocky. Will was tall and thin. Ben dreamed of practicing medicine on the East Coast. will wanted to work in a rural community. Ben begged his friend to go to New York where they could both make a fortune. Will refused. His friend called him foolish for wanting to practice medicine in the Midwest. “But,” will said, “I want first of all to be a great surgeon...the very best, if I have the ability.” Years later the wealthy and powerful came from around the world to be treated by Will at his clinic...the Mayo Clinic.

Today in the Word, July, 1990, p. 17

Senator Mark Hatfield Helped Out

It had been a long day on Capitol Hill for Senator John Stennis. He was looking forward to a bit of relaxation when he got home. After parking the car, he began to walk toward his front door. Then it happened. Two people came out of the darkness, robbed him, and shot him twice. News of the shooting of Senator Stennis, the chairman of the powerful Armed Forces Committee, shocked Washington and the nation.

For nearly seven hours, Senator Stennis was on the operating table at Walter Reed Hospital. Less than two hours later, another politician was driving home when he heard about the shooting. He turned his car around and drove directly to the hospital. In the hospital, he noticed that the staff was swamped and could not keep up with the incoming calls about the Senator’s condition. He spotted an unattended switchboard, sat down, and voluntarily went to work. He continued taking calls until daylight.

Sometime during that next day, he stood up, stretched, put on his overcoat, and just before leaving, he introduced himself quietly to the other operator, “I’m Mark Hatfield. Happy to help out.” Then Senator Mark Hatfield unobtrusively walked out. The press could hardly handle that story. There seemed to be no way for a conservative Republican to give a liberal Democrat a tip of the hat, let alone spend hours doing a menial task and be “happy to help out.”

Heaven Bound Living, Knofel Stanton, Standard, 1989, p. 35

Is There a Hell?

Once upon a time a person was touched by God, and God gave him a priceless gift. This gift was the capacity for love. He was grateful and humble, and he knew what an extraordinary thing had happened to him. He carried it like a jewel and he walked tall and with purpose.

From time to time he would show this gift to others, and they would smile and stroke his jewel. But it seemed that they’d also dirty it up a little. Now, this was no way to treat such a precious thing, so the person built a box to protect his jewel. And he decided to show it only to those who would treat it with respect and meet it with reverent love of their own. Even that didn’t work, for some tried to break into the box. So he built a bigger, stronger box—one that no one could get into—and the man felt good. At last he was protecting the jewel as it should be. Upon occasion, when he decided that someone had earned the right to see it, he’d show it proudly. But they sometimes refused, or kind of smudged it, or just glanced at it disinterestedly.

Much time went by, and then only once in awhile would one pass by the man, the aging man; he would pat his box and say, “I have the loveliest of jewels in here.” Once or twice he opened the box and offered it saying, “Look and see. I want you to.” And the passerby would look and look, and look. And then he would back away from the old man, shaking his head.

The man died, and he went to God, and he said, “You gave me a precious gift many years ago, and I’ve kept it safe, and it is as lovely as the day you gave it to me.” And he opened the box and held it out to God. He glanced in it, and in it was a lizard—an ugly, laughing lizard. And God walked away from him. Yes, there is a hell.

Lois Cheney, God is no Fool, pp. 33-4

What Life?

He saw people love each other. He saw friends love friends. He saw mothers love children. He saw husbands love wives. And he saw that all love made strenuous demands on the lovers. He saw love require sacrifice and self-denial. He saw love produce arguments and anguish. He saw it bring disappointment, pain, and even death. And he decided that it cost too much. And he decided not to diminish his life with love. He saw people strive for distant and hazy goals. He saw men strive for success. He saw women strive for high, high ideals. He saw young people strive for attainment. And he saw that the striving was frequently mixed with disappointment. And he saw the strong men fail, maimed, and even killed. He saw it force people into pettiness, grasping at those things they both saw and didn’t see. He saw that those who succeeded were sometimes those who had not earned the success. And he decided that it cost too much. He decided not to soil his life with striving. He saw people serving others. He saw men give money to the poor and helpless. He saw whole groups work to build, cleanse, and heal others. And he saw that the more they served, the faster the need grew. He saw large portions of money freely given line already fat pockets. He saw new schools filled with uncaring teachers. He saw ungrateful receivers turn on their serving friends. And he decided that that cost too much. He decided not to soil his life with serving. And when he died, he walked up to the God and presented him with his life. Undiminished, unmarred, and unsoiled, his life was clean from the filth of the world, and he presented it proudly to the mighty God saying, “This is my life.” And the great God said, “What life?”

Lois Cheney, God Is No Fool, pp. 140-41

Faces to the Coal

Don McCullough writes in Waking From The American Dream:

“During World War II, England needed to increase its production of coal. Winston Churchill called together labor leaders to enlist their support. At the end of his presentation he asked them to picture in their minds a parade which he knew would be held in Picadilly Circus after the war. First, he said, would come the sailors who had kept the vital sea lanes open. Then would come the soldiers who had come home from Dunkirk and then gone on to defeat Rommel in Africa. Then would come the pilots who had driven the Luftwaffe from the sky.

“Last of all, he said, would come a long line of sweat-stained, soot-streaked men in miner’s caps. Someone would cry from the crowd, ‘And where were you during the critical days of our struggle?’ And from ten thousand throats would come the answer, ‘We were deep in the earth with our faces to the coal.’”

Not all the jobs in a church are prominent and glamorous. But it is often the people with their “faces to the coal” who help the church accomplish its mission.

Don McCullough, Waking From The American Dream.

Others

Years ago, the Salvation Army was holding an international convention and their founder, Gen. William Booth, could not attend because of physical weakness. He cabled his convention message to them. It was one word: “OTHERS.”

Source unknown

How to Serve

Serve in sincerity and truth	Joshua 24:14
Sincerity of purpose	Col. 3:24
Perfectness of walk	Thess. 1:9
Unblemished life	Acts 26:7
Thoroughness	Rom. 12:1
Uprightness of heart	Rom. 12:2
Undefiled conduct	Luke 1:17
Soundness of motive	Rom. 7:6
Wholeness of being	Heb. 12:28

From the Book of 750 Bible and Gospel Studies, 1909, George W. Noble, Chicago

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