Service With A Smile
Part of Discipleship 101
February 15, 2023

SERVICE WITH A SMILE

Text: Heb. 9:14

14How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

1. The Expectation To Serve (Heb. 9:14; cf. Ps. 100:2)

  • When God

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    a man, God
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    a man to service.

  • The Psalmist said that we are to serve the Lord with gladness (cf. Ps. 100:2). God’s Word is the origin of the idea of “Service with a smile.”

2. The Motivation To Serve

  • 1)
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    (1 Sam. 12:24)

    • Think about the great things God has done for you. Think particularly on the fact of your salvation.
      -When the fire for service to God grows cold, consider what great things He has done for you.

    • If we cannot be grateful servants of the one who has saved us, then what will make us grateful?

    • When people serve out of guilt, then they serve as if they have a ball and chain dragging from their ankles.

    • There is no love in that kind of service, only labor. There is no joy, only obligation and drudgery.

    • But we are not

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      serving in the Kingdom of God because of guilt of sin; we’ve been freed by forgiveness and should serve because of our
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      .

    • Think about Israel’s service to God in the wake of the Exodus. Look at what Moses told them in Dt. 13:4.

    • We should serve the Lord because we
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      to obey Him.

    2)
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    (Ps. 100:2)

    • The Psalmist exclaimed to serve the LORD with gladness.
    • Serving God is a privilege, not a burden. (cf. Ps. 84:10)

    3) Greatness (Mt. 20:25-28; John 13:12-16)

    • The greatness of Christ is seen in his
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      and humbleness.
    • Do you want to be great? Serve. Humble yourself; gird yourself with a towel and wash feet.

    4)
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    (Gal. 5:13; cf. 2 Cor. 5:14-15)

3. The Results Of Serving

  • 1)
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    • Serving (volunteering) is not about filling a position in the church. It’s about change. Serving will change the lives of people, but most importantly, it will change your life.

    2)
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    (Phi. 2:3-8)

    • To be like Jesus we must serve.
    • Pastor Chad – We never look more like Jesus than when we….love…give…sacrifice…serve.

    3)
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    (Heb. 6:10)

    • When serving people, you may get little to no appreciation. Few people may tell you how grateful they are for what you do. Even Jesus Himself doesn’t send many thank-you notes – at least not in this life.
    • But God is keeping up with all we do in service to Him, and there is a day coming when appreciation and reward are coming because the God of this universe is grateful for what we do.

    4)
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    (1 Tim. 4:17)

    • Let service be the counter balance to worship.
    • Worship gives us the power and strength to serve. Serving is the natural outflow of true worship.
    • The supernatural result of serving in a disciplined way is godliness.

Conclusion:

  • Where are you in terms of service? Disciplined service?
  • Are you serving with a smile on your face?
  • When God sees the smile of our heart, life, and face in service to others, He smiles.