Serving like Jesus

Serving like Jesus (2)

Matthew 25:31-46

2. Our service is a service of Love.

This is not any kind of service. This service is for the Lord. We cannot serve the Lord out of obligation. We cannot serve the Lord out of duty. We should serve the Lord as an act of Agape, Love. God is love and He served us in a loving way by demonstrating his love. God’s love is not just words, He acted. He sent His son to die for us. So our service is not just “good” moral actions. No, it is because God loved us and we received His love; our service is a demonstration of that love.

We read in 1^st John 5:3 “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.”

Please, Armenia mission group; please never forget whom are you serving. You are serving Jesus, and the only way is through His love. Whenever you feel weak, which you will, whenever you feel uncomfortable, which you will, focus on why you are there.

Also my words to you, CACC. Mission does not mean just sending people to Hayasdan. Mission means serving and demonstrating God’s love here in the US and in our neighborhood. Our service is not an obligation, but an expression of God’s love.

3. Our service is just simple service.

Sometimes we get discouraged thinking, “How important is my role in this service? Can I make any difference?”

-During WWII England needed to increase its production of coal. It was very important to win the war.

Winston Churchill called the heads of the labors and wanted to motivate them reminding them of the importance of their work.

Churchill said, “Imagine we win the war and everyone is backed and we are having victory parade.

First, the sailors will march, then the soldiers, the pilots and finally the coal miners. But someone from the crowd will cry and say, ‘And where were you during the critical days of our struggle?’¹

The answer of the coal workers will be, ‘We were deep in the earth with our faces to the coal.’”

Each one has a role in the kingdom of God. Each has a talent that must be used for God’s glory. Never underestimate your role. Why? Not because you are irreplaceable. No, you are unique, you carry the image of God and God can use you anywhere. But because you are doing it to God.

The actions that Jesus described as service are very simple: Feeding the hungry; giving drink for thirsty; showing hospitality; clothing the naked; caring for the sick; and visiting the imprisoned. These actions are simple actions. We are not called to fix the world’s problems; we are called to do our part.

So one could ask, “Why should I do these things, if they are such ‘small’ actions of service?”

Remember Jesus’ words: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Dietrich Bonheoffer said it best:

“In Jesus, the service of God and the service of the least of the brethren were one.”

Please do not underestimate what Jesus asked us to do. This is serious business. A. W. Tozer said, “Before the judgment seat of Christ my service will be judged not by how much I have done but by how much I could have done!... In God’s sight, my giving is measured not by how much I have given but how much I have left after I made my gift… Not by its size is my gift judged, but by how much of me there is in it. No man gives at all until he has given all! No man gives anything acceptable to God until he has first given himself in love and sacrifice” ²

Everything I do, counts. Everything matters to God, no matter how small or insignificant the task is, it matters to HIM.

4. We serve, without knowing the result.

Some of our services can show results quickly. We see a hungry person and we feed him or her. We see an old building, and we renovate the place. You leave the mission field witnessing the accomplishment. But let me warn you, that in Christian service there is a possibility that we will not see immediate results. That could often be frustrating.

-In 1993 God moved me to start a ministry called “Nor Yerk” Christian music ministry. Its aim was to collect, and compose new Armenian Christian songs, arrange them, record them and distribute them within the Armenian community all over the world.

“Nor Yerk” band went on many evangelistic tours around the world, from Australia to Canada to the US and Europe. Two times we toured Armenia. Sometimes I felt we were not doing much. Did we serve our Lord?

Some years later Armavir town in the northern part of Armenia formed its own Christian choir, called “Shoghig.”. Last month the group came to Canada and US and gave many concerts. I was talking with the music director Sister Marietta. She said, “Badveli, many years ago Nor Yerk came to Armenia and gave concerts. It inspired us, and because of your band today we have the Shoghig band.”

You never know where and what can happen. It is imperative that we plant and serve. The result? We do not need to know. We have the assurance from God that nothing will go in vain.

I want to see this parable within the context. Matthew 24 talks about the wise and foolish virgins, some came prepared and some unprepared.

Matthew 25, the parable of the talents. The one with five used it, the one with three used it and doubled it, but the one with one talent kept it under the soil.

Do you see the larger picture? The judgment day can come anytime. We are responsible to use our resources. There is no time for complaint and laziness. Every action counts in the sight of the Lord.

Last remarks:

Who are the “little ones”, the “least”?

Some believe that everyone who is in need. Some believe it is the Christian community. Some believe it is the missionaries who are serving in tough places around the world.

All are possibilities. I like the way Paul described:

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Gal. 6:10)

Let me conclude by quoting from the NIV commentary:

“But we should reiterate that these good deeds are not the works by which one enters the kingdom; they are the substantiation of the kind of kingdom life that has been produced through the transformation of the heart of his disciples through regeneration. Their works of caring for the needy among them will confirm that they belong to Jesus. Otherwise they are not truly his sheep, because they have not been born again by the Spirit of God.”³

We belong to Jesus. We learn serving from Jesus. We serve with His Love. We do simple services, without knowing the result. We serve the King.

Let us go and be obedient servants of the Lord.

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