Sermon on "Service" by Robert K. Knapp, Pastoral Intern

Sermon on Service for 6-14-15

We all have a deep, human need for service to and from our fellow man, as well as our service to God.  What would life be like if no one ever stopped to help others who were in trouble or in an emergency?  What if there was no one at the local grocery store to help you clean up the mess you made when you dropped a gallon of milk and it burst all over the floor?  What if there was no policeman there to help you after you got robbed or your house was broken into?  What if no one ever stopped to help you after your car broke down and your cell phone was dead?  What if no one ever offered you even 50 cents when you came up short at the cash register?  People do such selfless acts of service and kindness every day for their fellow man, but seldom do we hear about it in the news. 
Selfless acts of service and kindness tend to be over-looked in today’s fast-paced world in favor of stories about people of wealth, style, pizzazz or edginess.  The popular worldly culture tends to take selfless acts of service and kindness for granted.  Don’t we all sometimes even take for granted those people who serve our important nurturing and edifying needs - at school, at work, at church and even at home?  It is human nature to slip in and out of these feelings of indifference and feelings of caring little about the wonderful people who come into daily lives.  So how do we fight off these feelings of apathy and indifference that tend to swallow up so many people in the world?  Jesus’ life and sacrifice is the ultimate example of passing love forward.  Here is another example of passing it forward in today’s world.
A man was driving his car, when he saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road. He saw that she needed help, so he stopped his Pontiac near her Mercedes and got out.
He smiled while he was approaching her, but still she was worried as nobody had stopped for over an hour. Moreover, he did not look safe as his appearance was poor and shabby. He could see how frightened she was, so he tried to calm her down: “I‘m here to help you, don‘t worry’ he said.  My name is Bryan Anderson“.
The tire was flat, so he had to crawl under the car. While changing the tire, he got dirty and his hands were hurting.
When the job was done, she asked how much she owed him for his help. Bryan smiled and said: “If you really want to pay me back, the next time you see someone who needs help give that person the needed assistance. And think of me“.
That same evening the lady stopped by a small café - the place looked kind of dingy. Then she saw a waitress, nearly eight months pregnant, wiping her wet hair with a towel. The waitress had a sweet friendly smile, although she had spent the whole day on her feet.
The lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so kind and giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan Anderson.  The lady finished her meal and paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress went to get change and when she came back, the lady was gone.  She left a note on the napkin: “You don‘t owe me anything. Somebody once helped me, just like I‘m now helping you. If you really want to pay me back, do not let this chain of love end with you“.  The waitress found four more one hundred dollar bills under the napkin.
That night the waitress came home early.  She was thinking about the lady and the money she left.  She was wondering how the lady could know how much she and her husband needed it, especially now when the baby would arrive soon.  She knew that her husband worried about that, so she was glad to tell him the good news.  She then kissed him and whispered “Now everything will be all right - I love you Bryan Anderson“.  (Pause)  So, was this series of events just a coincidence or more of a God-incidence?
In 1^st Peter 4: 10 it says: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.”  In Galatians 5: 13-14 it says: “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  So how is God’s message different from the world’s message?  (Pause)  The world teaches you to take care of yourself, but God’s message is to take care of your neighbor as yourself.  After all, are we not all God’s creation?  Doesn’t God want all of us to succeed and prosper and win eternal life?
The answer is - of course God wants us all to succeed and prosper and have eternal life, but we cannot do this if we do not come to know God’s will.  Joshua 1:8 says: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; but meditate on it day and night, so that you may be very careful to do everything that is written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”  *So in order to be truly successful we must come to know that God is always at work around us, pursuing a loving relationship with us, and inviting us to do His work – such as helping old ladies stuck on the side of the road - or cutting the grass of a neighbor who has Alzheimer’s Disease - or talking to someone you know who is lost about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  God speaks to us by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, through prayer, through the church, and through circumstances – to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.  So when circumstances call for us to serve our fellow man or to serve God, let us not be found lacking but answer the invitation.
*God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to some sort of crisis of belief that requires faith and action.  You must then make major changes or adjustments in your life in order to join God in what He is doing.  It is all about His will not your will.  You then come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.  James 1:22 says: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”  Let us therefore do what God says and serve our fellow man - and let God serve our fellow man through us.  Amen.
*Footnotes: from “Knowing and Doing the Will of God” by Henry T. Blackaby and Claude V. King.
1^st Reading is from Philippians 2:1-11: So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.
2^nd Reading is from Matthew 25:35-40: For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

The Gospel of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ according to Mark; Mark 10:45-52: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside begging.  When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”  Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”  So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.”  Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.  “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.  The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”  “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.