Mm. You want to do something meaningful for the Lord before he comes back. but you've been putting it off. What if you knew his return was imminent? Today on Turning Point, Dr.
David Jeremiah addresses the question, What can you do right now in the time you have remaining in this life? to make a difference for Christ. Listen as David introduces today's compelling message, What Can I Do? You know, that's a very important question for us to ask. Every one of us has gifts and talents that God has given to us.
Have you ever stopped to ask this question, How can I take what I know how to do and use it to help people get to heaven? It's an amazing question, and it will cause you to think deeply about your life. I pretty much know what God has called me to do and I try to do it with all my heart every day. But periodically as I go along, I find out other ways. For instance, I was reading a magazine recently that said that 46% of the people who read Christian literature only read fiction.
And I realized that I've been writing all these books all these years and I've never tried to tap into that group. I have no idea whether I've been successful or not, but I wanted to give it a try. For people who read fiction, not to be left out of the preaching and teaching of the Scripture in a very different kind of way.
So we learned how to do that, joined up with a team member and published this book called Vanished. And by the way, you can get a copy of that book with a gift of any size during the month of July, which is almost gone, by the way.
So make sure you get your request in today. In the meantime, here's the question we're answering in these next two days: What can I do? Let's find out what the Bible has to say. I came across this story told by New Testament scholar D. A.
Carson in his new book, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. In the book, he asked this question, did you see the film Titanic? The great ship is full of the richest people of the world. And according to the film, as the ship sinks, The rich men start to scramble for the few and inadequate lifeboats, shoving aside the women and children in their desperate desire to live. British sailors draw handguns and fire in the air.
crying, stand back, stand back, women and children, first. The problem with all of that is that in reality, nothing like that ever happened aboard the Titanic. The universal testimony of the witnesses who survived that disaster. Is that men hung back and urged the women and the children into the lifeboats? John Jacob Astor was there, at the time the richest man on earth, the Bill Gates of 1912.
He dragged his wife to a boat, shoved her on the boat, and stepped back.
Someone urged him to get in too. the boat himself based upon who he was, and he refused. He said the boats are too few and must be for the women and children first.
So he stepped back. And he drowned. There is not a single report of one rich man displacing women and children in the mad rush for survival. And when the film was reviewed by the New York Times, The reviewer asked why the producer and director of the film had distorted history so flagrantly in this regard. Why this willful distortion of history?
And then the reviewer answered his own question. If the producer and director had told the truth, he said, No one would have believed them. 100 years ago, there remained in our culture enough residue of the Christian virtue of self-sacrifice for the sake of others. That Christians and non-Christians alike. thought it noble, If unremarkable, to choose death for the sake of others.
Just one century later, Such a course is judged so unbelievable that the history has to be distorted. to make a popular movie. Today our question is What? Can I do? I believe Jesus is coming back.
What can I do? And the answer is simply this, you can serve others. You can put others first. You can live out the Spirit of Jesus in a world that more and more has less and less of an idea what the term service is all about. Servanthood was the key to the life of our Savior, the Lord Jesus, and it has been the key to the lives of all great leaders from that time until this.
But service is not just a characteristic of leaders. Service is the core value of Christianity. If you open your Bibles to study the subject, you will discover that the word serving is found over 300 times in the New Testament. 130 times in the Gospels, 170 times in the epistles. The Lord did not save us to be sensations.
He saved us to be servants. In Ephesians chapter 2, in the NIV translation, we read these words: For we are God's workmanship. created in Christ Jesus to do good works. which God prepared in advance. for us to do.
Calvin Miller, in his book Into the Depths of God, wrote, I have no way to prove this. But I have a feeling that they live the longest who know why they are alive in the first place. We not only find out who we are, But we find out what God has for us to do. And then, glory of glories, he wrote, we discover they are one and the same. That what God has for us to do is who we are.
It is better to live a decade and know why we are here, he wrote. than to live a century without any clue. What a statement. Better to live a decade and know why you were here than to live for 100 years and not have a clue why you're here. Did you know that a lot of people don't know why they're here?
And Unfortunately, there are many people who believe there is no way to know why you're here, that there is no plan, that there is no direction, there is no purpose in life at all. Life is not without design. Life is with a purpose. And I'm here to tell you, men and women, that for every one of you, for each and every one of you here, God has a purpose for your life. He has a design for your life.
He's given each of you a gift of service. He's called you to Himself, not just so you can be saved, but so that you can serve. He wants you to know the joy that can come only from being actively and fully and completely and joyfully employed in the service of Almighty God. I don't know what the exact specific purpose of your life might be. But I do know that we have all been saved.
to serve. 1 Peter 4:10 says, As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. What an intriguing thought that we have been called to serve just as our Lord and Savior was called to serve. The Bible tells us in Matthew 20, 28, that as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. and give his life a ransom for many.
Think of that for a moment. The Lord Jesus is not asking us to do anything He does not do. He came from heaven, He could have been served. He could have called the host of the angels and all of humanity. to do everything for him, but he came rather as a servant.
And now he says to us. I have been sent into the world, so I send you into the world. I want you to follow me. As I have become a servant, I want you to be a servant. And the psalmist put it this way.
Serve the Lord with gladness. and enter into his presence with singing. I keep a little notebook where I write down important things. And they're important to me. They might not be important to anybody else.
And if you got the notebook, it probably wouldn't make any sense to you, but it makes a lot of sense to me. And I know where everything is in this little notebook. And here's one of the things I wrote down: somebody gave me this little statement. impression without expression leads to depression. And what that means is this: if you're always taking in, and never giving out.
Pretty soon you will be giving up. God has wired us, men and women, in such a way that we are built. To reach out and to serve one another, not to absorb it all like the Dead Sea. But they're constantly flowing out to other people, making a difference in their lives as they are doing the same. for us.
So, I want to give you quickly a little outline I have created. called the Seven Secrets of Serving. And you almost have to say that carefully because that's a hard thing to say. Say it with me: the seven secrets of serving. Here's the first one: the secret of availability.
My father was a pastor. He wasn't into a lot of this modern stuff. We used to have all these gift seminars when I was growing up. It was kind of a big thing, everybody was into spiritual gifts. And my dad, he wasn't too sure about all the spiritual gift stuff, you know.
Just preach the Bible and don't get off in all these side tracks. Then one day I heard him say this in front of the whole congregation. He said, The only gift I really worry too much about is the gift of availability. Are you available? If you're available, God will take care of the rest of it.
The Bible tells us that if we're going to serve God, we have to make ourselves available to God. God isn't going to shanghai you into service. He's not going to grab you by the scruff of the neck and push you in some direction. He's waiting for a willing heart. That is so demonstrable in the stories of the Bible.
For instance, in the life of Isaiah, we read. I heard the voice of the Lord say, Whom shall I send? Who will go for us? And Isaiah said, Here I am, Lord, send me. I'm available.
It's illustrated in the life of Mary, the mother of our Lord. After she had received the revelation, Mary said, Behold, The maidservant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word. It's in the life of Paul the Apostle. Who was saved on the road to Damascus? And in the same chapter recording his salvation, we read.
that he was trembling and astonished, and he said, He just came to Christ. He said, Lord, what would you have me to do? And the Lord said to him, Arise, go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. The thing about all three of these people and others in the Bible I could have chosen was this. They weren't fighting the Lord, they were available to the Lord.
They were just saying, Lord. What is it you want me to do? God is looking for willing. Hearts. and hands.
If we are to serve, we must make ourselves available to Him.
Now, one of the things that gets in the way of our serving the Lord is. That somewhere along the way, we discover that serving the Lord involves serving other people. Did you know you can't serve the Lord if you won't serve other people? How do you serve God without serving people?
Well, I just serve him.
Well, how?
Well, I just sort of Pastor, I don't know. I just serve him. No, let me tell you something that I've discovered: serving God is serving people. The Bible teaches that. Calvin Miller writes, Unfortunately, serving people is the only way by which we can serve God.
And serving people means that we are going to get hurt in the process. If we are not careful, the pain involved in our service can cause us. ultimately to despise those we once felt called to love. Charlie Brown is right. We all want to serve God, but it can be terribly degrading to serve people in order to do it.
That's true, isn't it? Have you ever prayed this prayer, my friends? Here's where this whole bit of serving the Lord begins. Here's where it starts. Lord, I don't know what you might have for me to do in your kingdom, but I want you to know.
that I am willing and available to do it. Usually, our willingness and our availability come first, and the assignment comes second. Here's how it works. Here's the blank sheet of paper. Sign your name at the bottom.
Say, Lord, you fill in the details. I'm ready. I've signed the contract, you fill in the provisions. That sounds easy. But it's where the struggle is for most people.
I remember when I was. coming up in the faith and Going to all these youth meetings and being called, you know. Commit your life to the Lord. I heard Romans 12, 1 and 2 about 50 times when I was growing up. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice to God.
And I wanted to serve God. There's one thing that got in the way. I was absolutely convinced that if I gave my life to Christ, he would send me to Africa. Man, I didn't want to go to Africa. I didn't know anything about Africa, but it didn't sound like the place I wanted to go.
And you know, there are a lot of people that grow up like that. They think if I give God absolute permission to take control of my life, He will give me something to do that I don't want to do. But you're missing it, friends. He knows better than anyone what makes you tick. What is going to wire you with joy and excitement and adventure?
And if you'll let him have control of your life, he will give you the desires of your heart. I don't say that carelessly. The Bible says, commit your way unto the Lord. What's the rest of it? And he will give you the desires of your heart.
Do you know what I'm doing today? I'm doing what I love to do with all my heart, what I would do if I could choose what to do. But I didn't know that at the beginning. God called me to do. What I love to do.
The gift of availability. Notice secondly. The secret of authority. Everyone who is serving. is under the authority to someone else.
You don't serve. Out of your own heart, you serve others. Under the direction, and that's the characteristic of the scripture. Listen to the word of God. Jesus came and spoke to them, Matthew 28, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
I have all authority.
Now, here's my command: go into all the world and preach the gospel. When you serve, you serve under the authority of someone. When Jesus was at the first miracle that he performed in John 2. Jesus' mother said to the servants, Whatever he says to you, do it. That's a perfect illustration.
Matthew 7, 21 says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. In Luke 6, 46 says, Why do you call me Lord and do not the things that I say? If you're going to be a servant, you're going to serve someone. You're going to be under the authority of someone. And I want to ask you.
Is that an issue for you? There are a lot of folks today who don't want to be under the authority to anyone. They don't want to answer to anyone. My friend, if you're going to serve the Lord, you will be under his authority. You will do what he says.
Now, you don't have to fear that. He will not call you to do what you did Do not want to do. There's a wonderful story about missionary David Livingston, who was called to Africa, by the way. He was a British missionary. who was deployed to Africa in the 19th century.
When he died from malaria and dysentery, The African tribe in which he had lived. Refused to hand his body over to the British authorities for a proper burial. Eventually, they relented, but not before they cut out his heart and put a note on his body that said, you can have his body, but his heart belongs to Africa. Livingston's life was extraordinary. Was filled with missionary good works and the exploration of the gospel.
And above all, he knew that where he was was where God wanted him to be, and he was under the authority of the one who had called him there. He wrote one time in one of his writings these words. He says, People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Is that a sacrifice which brings its best reward in healthful activity? The consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter.
By the way, parentheses, there are a lot of people caught up in the American dream who would give anything just to have those three things. Just have peace of mind. Just have the sense that they're doing something worthwhile. He found it in a place God put him. where most of us would dread to even think about going.
He wrote away with the word in such a view, away with the word of sacrifice. Away with such a thought. It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say red is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger now and then, sometimes the foregoing of common conveniences.
May make us pause. And caused the spirit to waver and the soul to sink. But let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. Then he wrote, and I underlined it, I never made A sacrifice.
To serve under the authority of the living God. It's not a sacrifice, it's a privilege. Most of the people I know who are doing that are joyful, happy, fulfilled individuals. And we see it often when they come home from the mission field to do their little furlough. When you talk to them, all they talk about is they can't wait to get back.
Coming home is a real irritation to most of them. They want to go back and serve the Lord. who has called them into service. The secret of availability and authority. Then let me talk with you for a moment about the secret of humility.
Jesus taught us how to serve. And I don't want to read this passage because it's rather extended, and you know the story. It's the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. The Bible tells us that on an occasion, listen to this, when his disciples were arguing with themselves over who was the greatest in the kingdom. Jesus walked in and, without saying a word, took off his outer garment, wrapped himself with a towel, got down on his knees, and watched all of their stinking, filthy feet.
One after the other. Wouldn't you have liked to have been there for that moment? I mean, just to see the contrast between these arrogant disciples arguing over their place of prominence. And then the one who had called him to serve. Bowing before them, taking the place of a servant and washing their feet.
And when he got all done, he said, As I have done this, you should do it also. What was Jesus telling them? He's telling them a servant Serves. Jesus came into this world to serve. The problem With being a servant is That some of it is not easy.
Serving isn't always a walk in the park. Going to Africa has its issues. I couldn't help but wonder what the lack of conveniences was he was talking about in his little paragraph. Ray Stedman writes, Loving people is about the most difficult thing that some of us ever do. We could be patient with people and even be just and charitable, but how are we supposed to conjure up in our hearts that warm, effervescent sentiment of goodwill, which the New Testament calls love?
Some people are so miserably unlovable. We all know what that means, don't we? You say, well, I'll serve God as long as it's in a nice place. with nice people. And no issues.
Don't sign up. There is no such place. Every place has its own issues. You may say, Well, look what you do, Pastor, or look what you do. Oh, yes, I have.
A lot of wonderful things that God has done for me. Prima issues. Just like you do. Serving God has its issues. And if you're going to serve God, you've got to have a spirit of humility.
That's such an interesting word, isn't it? Humility. Nobody wants to talk about it because as soon as you talk about it, people think you have it, and then you're not humble anymore. You know? You heard about the book a guy wrote, Humility and How I Achieved It?
I don't think so. True humility is not thinking less of yourself, but it's thinking of yourself less. C.S. Lewis wrote: Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man, he will be what most people call humble nowadays. He will not be a sort of greasy, swarmy person who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody.
Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed like a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him, it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility. He will not be thinking about himself at all. He will just be who he is.
loving people and being himself. The secret. of humility. Loving people and being yourself. What a great formula for making a difference in the lives of others.
You know, I can't always do this, but I've gotten pretty good at it. I can often tell when I'm in the presence of a Christian before they ever say anything. It's true in restaurants a lot. In fact, I'll even ask people when they're working with us or dealing with us or waiting on us. Could I ask you a question?
Yeah. Are you a Christian? And oftentimes the smile comes across their face. Yes, I am. We can show Christ in our lives.
And friends, That's the least we can do as we wait for the Lord to come back. And oftentimes, when we do that, That's an opportunity for us to share our faith in a meaningful way. And the Bible tells us we're to be ready to do that.
So up. What can I do? There's a few suggestions. We'll have some more of them tomorrow on the next edition of Turning Point. And I hope you'll join us then.
I'm David Jeremiah. Thanks for listening. For more information on today's special message from Dr. Jeremiah, please visit our website where we also offer two free ways to help you stay connected, our monthly Turning Points magazine and our daily email devotional. Sign up today at davidjeremiah.org slash radio.
That's davidjeremiah.org slash radio or call us at 800-947-1993. Last career copy of David's exciting new novel, set in the end times, vanished. It's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English Standard, New International and New King James Versions, available in several handsome and resilient cover options. Get all the details when you visit our website davidjeremiah.org slash radio.
That's davidjeremiah.org slash radio. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as we continue this special message from Dr. David Jeremiah here on Turning Point.
