A Call to Service (Part 2 of 2)

All of us are called to love and serve God. But how do we determine what specifically we're supposed to do or where we should be serving? Today on Truth for Life, Alistair Begg looks at the example set by the Apostle Paul and the instructions he gave to the church in Corinth. Alistair is teaching from chapter 16 of 1 Corinthians, or in verses 5 through 12. That is one of the great debilitating factors in involvement in Christian ministry.

People are afraid of rejection. The answer is, listen, if God puts his hand upon you, shows you the pink slip, sign your name on the pink slip and do the job, would you? Accept your limitations. You can't do everything. Assume your responsibilities.

You can do something. And don't let the evil one tell you that because you're young, frail, and timid that it's everybody else's job. Or that you're old, frail, and timid. When Paul addresses the matter of the Thessalonians and of the leadership amongst the Thessalonians, it is interesting that he encourages the people amongst the Thessalonian believers to hold their leaders in the highest regard in love not because of their personality, but because of their work. You see, when Paul commends Timothy to the Corinthians, he says, when Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, because he's a great guy.

No? See that he has nothing to fear when he's with you, because he's got a sense of humor, just crack you up. See that he's nothing to fear when he's with you because he's one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. No. See that he has nothing to fear while he's with you because he is carrying on the work of the Lord.

That's the issue. And the issue ultimately in Christian service is not, well, do I like him? Do I like her? Do I like the process? Do I like the way? Do I like his face? Do I like her voice? Do I like her style?

Do I like this or that? And the next thing is, is he or she doing the work of the Lord? It's the same thing in 1 Thessalonians 5. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you. Our leaders are supposed to work hard.

If they don't work hard, they need a kick in the seat of their pants. You are over you in the Lord, who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because you really like them.

No. Because of their work. Now, don't get me wrong, I like being liked. But ultimately, I don't care whether you like me or not. But I do care whether I'm doing the Lord's work or not.

And you'll like some more than others, and some of you are more drawn to the planters, and some of you are more drawn to the waterers, and some of you are more drawn to the evangelizers, and some of you are more drawn to the quiet, and some of you are more drawn to the extrovert, and some of you are more drawn to the… It doesn't make a bit of difference. The issue is the work of the Lord, in which he uses a variety of people. Now, if you doubt that Paul was not committed to team ministry, just turn to the final chapter of Romans and look there at this amazing list that he begins. Paul was dramatically effective, even though he described his ministry not in the most glowing of terms.

There's no question this guy was powerfully useful. God helping him, he had been used for the establishing of churches, for the evangelizing of people. Although his words were not dramatic and powerful by his own reckoning, nevertheless, they were a demonstration of the Spirit's power in Corinth.

The reason there was a church in Corinth under God was because of Paul's willingness to go. But when he gets to the end of the book of Romans, he starts off, I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cancria. I want you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. In other words, Phoebe was vital. We don't know much about her beyond this. Most of us will live our lives without anybody knowing very much about us beyond our immediate circle of influence, but at the end of the day, it will be enough for our epitaph to read, She has been a great help to many people.

You want an objective for your life? I give my life today, Lord Jesus, to be a great help to many people. And I thank you that you're not putting me in the job because of my personality. I thank you that I don't step up to this because I'm so uniquely, powerfully gifted. I just realize that you give the jobs, you assign the tasks, you make it grow, and I'm gonna trust you for the rewards. Have you ever reached that kind of spiritual milestone in your pilgrimage?

Have you ever had that kind of encounter? You go through this list. There are twenty-four names, two complete families. Paul knew that God, in the Lord's work, used a variety of people. You read Philippians, and he's big on Epaphroditus. You read 2 Timothy 4, and he's big on John Mark, interestingly, after he'd blown John Mark out on a previous occasion. Which is a reminder to us that even good guys make mistakes. He says, Get John Mark, 2 Timothy 4.11.

He is very useful to me in the ministry. Barnabas must have looked at him and said, Yeah, you're right, he is. But he didn't realize that back then.

But that was then, and this is now. Get him, he said. He's useful. He writes to Philemon about his runaway slave Onesimus, and he says, Hey, Onesimus is big time.

Onesimus is useful to the Lord, and he's useful to me. In other words, he just couldn't rub up against Paul without that he was talking about the people—the variety of people—who made the ministry happen. The last point, along with the first two—the first being, it's the Lord's work, the second being, God uses a variety of people, and the third being, there's no ideal place in which to serve him. Paul talks here about Ephesus, he talks about Macedonia, he talks about Corinth, he talks about maybe staying, about going, about he doesn't want to come for a little while, he wants to come for a longer while, and so on. But irrespective of geography, he realizes all that he's supposed to be doing is evangelizing and edifying. And I like Paul for a variety of reasons, but one of the reasons I really like him—not that you care whether I like him or not—but one of the reasons is, he's always looking ahead. He's always planning.

There's nothing static about Paul. He's not in some little cottage somewhere on the Adriatic Sea, having people come and kiss his fingers because he's such a mighty apostle. He's like a general pouring over a map in the battle headquarters, saying, Now where can we go next? Where can we send the next group of troops? Where can we go get the enemy and give him a hiding next? He's always looking out. Maybe Ephesus, maybe Corinth, maybe I'll go to the departments of Akai, maybe I'll go to Laodicea.

Now what about Iconium and Lystra? Now let's go to Darby. The guys go, go, go, go! He's all the time thinking, We can go there, we can do this, we can do that! And people have got to say, Hang on, Paul, wait a minute!

Some of us, our vision didn't go beyond the end of our nose. We're happy with us four no more. Shut the door! We're happy with a Bible study group, rub each other's backs, and turn ourselves into great fathers so we can all sit around and commend ourselves for being great dads for the rest of our lives, while the world outside wonders, Who in the world's this Jesus of Nazareth person? The end is the evangelization of the world.

That's the end. And that's Paul's great calling. He didn't choose places for ministry that would suit his convenience or his pleasure. Unlike many who are looking for opportunities in ministry today, I am staggered by the letters that I get for young men looking for places of ministry. They want the church to be at least five hundred members. They want it to be a, quote, white-collar church. They want it to be a multiple-staff church. They want it to be a church in which they can have this, this, this, this, and this, and this, and this, and blah, blah, blah, and blah, blah, blah.

And P.S., I would be very happy to come and serve along with you if you realize how brilliant it would be for you to invite me to be a member of your pastoral team. No, I don't think I would like to be in Michigan. Michigan is a little cold in the winter. No, I don't think I would like to be in Florida. It gets rather steamy in the summer. No, I don't think I would like to be in New England.

There's too many pagans up there. Well, where would you like to be? Let's just determine where you would like, John, and then we'll just get you in the ideal spot. You go back into the Acts of the Apostles and ask yourself whether Paul was involved in ideal places of ministry. Acts chapter 14, he comes out of Iconium with people coming flying at his heels, verse 5, a plot amongst the Gentiles and the Jews, together with their leaders, to ill-treat them and to stone them. How's it going in Iconium? Not so good.

Where are you going next? Well, we're gonna hit Lystra and Derbe. So they go to Lystra and Derbe, where in Acts chapter 14 and verse 19, then some Jews came from Antioch in Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul, dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. No, Paul was not on the Adriatic in a little cottage.

Paul was in the thick of the battle. He accepted the challenges and the oppositions. He accepted them not as a hindrance but as a great privilege. And you have this amazing paradoxical statement here. There is, he says in Ephesus, a great door for effective work that is open to me, and there are many who oppose me. Let us be done once and for all with the idea that if you're really in touch with God, if you're really in the place you should be, it all goes smoothly. That is a prevalent notion. It is an unbiblical notion.

This is perfect. Great opportunity, great opposition. Do you think that you can invade the territory of the damned and not face opposition? But you can live in cozy, comfortable, us-for-no-more evangelical Christianity and never know a bit of opposition. You can silence your witness so well in your office that you'll never have anybody say anything bad about you, and you'll assume that because everybody likes you and thinks you're great that you're really being effective for the gospel, when in point of fact you are anemic, you are benign, you are ineffective, you are useless.

And so am I. A great door of opportunity and opposition. Now, if you have any doubt about it, just look in Acts chapter 19, because it's described there. Ephesus had an elaborate system of organized idolatry. The temple of Diana or Artemis sponsored ritual prostitution and sexual perversion, which was part and parcel of the religious product of the day. So if you lived in Ephesus and you were a religious person, guess what?

You got to do all of these things along with it. And Paul comes in and challenges that with talk of purity. He comes in, and he demonstrates the great power of the Holy Spirit, both in his teaching and in his persuasive arguments about the kingdom of God, where he gives himself daily, according to verse 9 of Acts 19, to discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. You want to build a work of God? Then here's a way to go at it.

Spend two years every afternoon, find a public building, go in there, and just argue with people and discuss with people the reality of who Jesus is, why he came, and what he's about. And as a result of that, all kinds of things happen. There are some Jewish exorcists that are described in verses 13 and 14. He has to deal with them. There are occult practices in verses 17, 18, and 19, and you have this big, fantastic bonfire that takes place when, in discovering the truth that he's proclaiming, they begin to burn their scrolls.

In other words, what happens is, the palm readers get converted, bring all their clap trap out, and burn it. And what about the little silversmiths under the prosperous control of Demetrius, verse 24? Demetrius had a great gig going.

He's building these little silver deals that are directly related to all the cultic prostitution of the temple of Artemus. It's perfect for people. You can be religious and do what you want with whoever you want anytime you want. People love that kind of religion. We'll give you a religious experience with no rules. You can do what you want with who you want anytime you want and just find your own God. People say, Sign me up for that. In comes the apostle Paul, says, No, no, that's totally bogus. Let me tell you this. Jesus of Nazareth died upon the cross to bear your sins.

The things you're doing under the name of religion are totally up the left. Therefore, let me tell you, God has commanded that all men everywhere repent, and he has set a day when he will judge the world. And guess what happens? People start to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. The demonstration of the Spirit's power is so strong that the impact begins to be felt right from the very central element of the city of Ephesus. And Demetrius and his boys call a meeting to say, If we don't shut this guy up, our whole business thing is gonna go right down the Swanee River—or whatever river, you know, was around.

Now, let me ask you a question. What was the strategy that led to the burning of the scrolls of the sorcerers and led to the dramatic impact on the commerce of the city of Ephesus? Now, you guys are tired of hearing me say this, but I am gonna continue to say this until somebody shows me that I am erring against Scripture in saying it.

Let me say it to you again. It was not a political campaign to close down the perversions of the goddess Artemis. It was not a 1-800 target against all the sorcerers in the city of Ephesus. It was the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And a lady whose life was consumed with reading palms began to read her Bible.

And she closed her shop. And a man who was making a healthy living from prostitution and sexual perversion was redeemed by Jesus Christ, and he closed his stall. We have been sold a bill of goods uniquely in America that somehow or another we are going to be able to legislate sin out of this country, and I want you to know it will never, ever, ever happen. That is not the same as saying that we should not strive for godly legislation. Yes, we should. It is not the same as saying that we should not be involved in the political democratic process.

Yes, we should. But it is saying this. We will never, by means of political manipulation, ideology, and 1-800 numbers, see the sorcerers and the sexual gods and goddesses brought to destruction only one way—by the power of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. And when the church gives up on that message, it will be forced to find another message, as it has.

And millions and millions of dollars are currently being generated to try and make this a nicer place for us all to bring up our children and our grandchildren. Well, poor old Paul. He says, you know, I'm gonna stay longer at Ephesus. Because it's really ideal. Let me tell you about Ephesus.

It's full of paganism, idolatry, occultism, demonism, superstition, sexual vice, racism, religious bigotry. And what does Paul say? "'A great and effective door has opened to me.'"

Now our time is gone. So let me make three points of application on each point. Number one, the work to which we're called is the Lord's work. Therefore, my home, my employment, my vocation, my vacation, my friendships, my college, my leisure, my society, my culture—everything that goes up to making the content of my days is claimed by him and may be dedicated to him. Secondly, he uses a variety of people to do his work.

Therefore, he can use you. And he plans to use you, only to be what he wants me to be every moment of every day, yielded completely to Jesus alone, every step of the pilgrim way, just to be clay in the potter's hands, ready to do what his will commands, only to be what he wants me to be every moment of every day. It won't be the same for all of us. For me, that kind of crisis, crossroads, encounter in my life redirected the whole span of my future. For you, it may send you back with renewed emphasis to the work of your corporation, to the task of mothering, to the opportunities of singleness, to the responsibilities of academia, whatever it might be, but every inch of this great variety of people. And then the last thing, there's no ideal place in which to do the work of the Lord except the place he puts you. You're still living with the idea that there's an ideal place to serve God.

But there isn't. When I came here in 1981, I came to Cleveland, never been here before, looked for it on the map, preached in Cleveland, then went to San Jose and preached there. The people in San Jose were really proud of San Jose.

They told me it was very cool in the mornings, got to the optimum temperature around midday, cooled off in the evenings, was beautiful riding bikes, fabulous for golf. It really was exceptional. Took me in a private plane and flew me all over San Jose and down over San Francisco Bay and down over San Quentin or whatever it is, and down over the Golden Gate Bridge, 500 feet above the Golden Gate Bridge, one of the elders in the church, just cruising me all around.

Took me home, parked the plane, got me in a car, took me to the country club for dinner, showed me all the fairways and the lush green. And they said, now, don't you think this would be an ideal place to serve Jesus Christ? And then I thought, well, what about Cleveland? What do I remember about Cleveland now?

No. Cleveland. Was I in Cleveland? Well, yeah, I remember Cleveland. I remember driving from the airport, and I remember that wind blowing off those chimneys there on the freeway.

But you know what? Cleveland is like paradise to me. I don't mean that in any funny kind of way. But anyway, God has made of this place to me a paradise because of the relationships he's given me with his people, because of the opportunities that he grants in ministry, supplying the needs of my wife and my kids and myself far and beyond our ability to even cope. I don't see it out of any sense of self-preoccupation. I just say it to say I've proved again that God is no man's debtor. You can give up your mom, your dad, your brothers, and your sisters for the sake of the kingdom of God, and you will receive a hundred times more in the present age and in the age to come. It's God's work.

He uses a variety of people. And there's no ideal place. Thinking of leaving your home because your marriage isn't ideal? Thinking of moving on because your boss isn't ideal? Thinking of leaving Parkside because we're not ideal? There is no ideal place to serve God except the place in which he sets you down.

Well, there it is. The ideal place for any of us to be doing God's work is right where we are, doing whatever he's given us to do. You're listening to Truth for Life with Alistair Begg. Now, Easter is just a few days away, and if you've been looking for some additional reading as you prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, go to Truth for Life's list of recommended Easter books and sermon series. You'll find terrific books for personal study or books you can give as gifts when you go to truthforlife.org. And don't forget about the book we're recommending today. It's a book titled Lessons from the Upper Room. The author is Sinclair Ferguson, and he takes us on a step-by-step journey through the remarkable hours commonly referred to as the Last Supper. This book is written to help you feel as if you've been brought right into the room with Jesus to hear him speak as he teaches his disciples and as he prays for them. Request your copy of the book Lessons from the Upper Room when you give a donation at truthforlife.org slash donate. By the way, in addition to reading the books we recommend, there are articles available on our website on a wide variety of topics that draw from Alistair's teaching. We post new articles each week. Check it out online.

Go to truthforlife.org slash articles. I'm Bob Lapine. There's a big difference between putting on a uniform and actually playing the sport. Well, in the same way, being a Christian is about more than just looking the part. Tomorrow we'll find out how to get off the bench and get into the game. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life where the Learning is for Living.