The New Life in Christ: How Real Servants Act. (The Purpose Driven Life-RICK WARREN.)

 “Whoever wants to be great must become a servant.” Mark 10:43. (Msg).

You  can tell what they are by what they do. Matthew 7:16. (CEV)

We serve God by serving others.

The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and positions.

Jesus, however, measured greatness in terms of service, not status.

God determines your greatness by how many people you serve, not how many people serve you.

Thousands of books have been written on leadership, but few on servant hood. Everyone wants to lead; no one wants to be a servant. We would rather be generals than privates.

Even Christians want to be “servant-leaders,’ not just plain servants. But to be like Jesus is to be a servant. That’s what he called himself.

Remember, God shaped you for service, not for self-centeredness.  

Without a servant’s heart, you will be tempted to misuse your shape for personal gain. You will also be tempted to use it as an excuse to exempt yourself from meeting some needs.

Amen.

The New Life in Christ: The Heart of Worship. (The Purpose Driven Life-RICK WARREN.)

 Give yourselves to God… Surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes. Romans 6:13. (TEV)

The heart of worship is surrender.

The Bible is crystal clear about how you benefit when you fully surrender your life to God.

First, you experience peace. “Stop quarreling with God! If you agree with him, you will have peace at last, and things will go well for you.”

Next, you experience freedom. “Offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits…[his] commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!”

Third, you experience God’s power in your life. Stubborn temptations and overwhelming problems can be defeated by Christ when given to him.

Have you ever signed a contract like that with God? Or are you still arguing and struggling with God over his right to do with your life as he pleases? Amen.

The New Life in Christ: The Heart of Worship. (The Purpose Driven Life-RICK WARREN.)

The heart of worship is surrender.

Give yourselves to God… Surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes. Romans 6:13. (TEV)

Genuine surrender says, “Father, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another’s, please don’t take it away.”

This level of maturity does not come easy.

Surrender is hard work.

Surrendered people are the ones God uses. God uses Mary to be the mother of Jesus, not because she was talented or wealthy or beautiful, but because she was totally surrendered to him. When the angel explained God’s improbable plan, she calmly responded, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he want.” Nothing is more powerful than a surrendered life in the hands of God.

“So give yourselves completely to God.” Amen.

The New Life in Christ: The Heart of Worship. (The Purpose Driven Life-RICK WARREN.)

 Give yourselves to God… Surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes. Romans 6:13. (TEV)

The heart of worship is surrender.

The most difficult area to surrender for many people is their money. Many have thought, “I want to live for God but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday.”

Retirement is not the goal of a surrendered life, because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives. Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money” and “Whatever your treasure is, your heart will be also.”

The supreme example of self-surrender is Jesus. The night before his crucifixion Jesus surrendered himself to God’s plan. He prayed, “Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.”

Jesus didn’t pray, “God, if you are able to take away this pain, please do so.” He had already affirmed that God can do anything! Instead he prayed, “God, if it is in your best interest to remove this suffering, please do so. But if it fulfills your purpose, that’s what I want, too.” Amen.

The New Life in Christ: Worship That Pleases God. (The Purpose Driven Life-RICK WARREN.)

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30. (NIV)
The kind of worship that pleases God has four characteristics:

4. God is pleased when our worship is practical.

The Bible says, “Offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-that is your spiritual act of worship. Why does God want your body? Why doesn’t he say, “Offer your spirit”?

Because without your body you can’t do anything on this planet.

In eternity  you will receive a new, improved, upgraded body,  but while you’re here on earth, God says, “Give me what you’ve got.” He’s just being practical about worship.

You have heard people say, “I can’t make it to the meeting tonight, but I’ll be with you in spirit.” Do you know what that means? Nothing. It’s worthless! As long as you’re on earth, your spirit can only be where your body is. If your body isn’t there, neither are you.

In worship we are to “offer our bodies as living sacrifices.”

Now God is pleased with different sacrifices of worship: thanksgiving, praise, humility, repentance, offerings of money, prayer, serving others, and sharing with those in need.

Real worship costs. David knew this and said: “I will not offer to the LORD my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing.”

When you praise God even when you don’t feel like it, when you get out of bed to worship when you are tired, or when you help others when you are worn out, you are offering a sacrifice of worship to God. That pleases God. Amen.

The New Life in Christ: Worship That Pleases God. (The Purpose Driven Life-RICK WARREN.)

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30. (NIV)

The kind of worship that pleases God has four characteristics:

3. God is pleased when our worship is thoughtful.

Try praising God without using the words praise, hallelujah, thanks or amen. Instead of saying, “We just want to praise you,” make a list of synonyms and use fresh words like admire, respect, value, revere, honor, and appreciate.

Also, be specific.

Paul devotes an entire chapter to this in 1Corinthians 14 and concludes, “Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.”

Related to this,

God insists that our worship services be understandable to unbelievers when they are present in our worship gatherings.

Being sensitive to unbelievers who visit your worship gatherings is a biblical command.

Amen.

The New Life in Christ: Worship That Pleases God. (The Purpose Driven Life-RICK WARREN.)

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30. (NIV)
The kind of worship that pleases God has four characteristics:

2. God is pleased when our worship is authentic.

When Jesus said you must “worship in spirit,” he wasn’t referring to the Holy Spirit, but to your spirit. Made in God’s image, you are a spirit that resides in a body, and God designed your spirit to communicate with him. Worship is your spirit responding to God’s Spirit.

When Jesus said, “Love God with all your heart and soul” he meant that worship must be genuine and heartfelt.

It is not just a matter of saying the right words; you must mean what you say.

Heartless praise is not praise at all! It is worthless, an insult to God.

When we worship, God looks past our words to see the attitude of our hearts.

The Bible says, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

One thing is certain: You don’t bring glory to God by trying to be someone he never intended you to be. God wants you to be yourself.

“That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship.” Amen.

The New Life in Christ: Worship That Pleases God. (The Purpose Driven Life-RICK WARREN.)

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30. (NIV)
The kind of worship that pleases God has four characteristics:

1.     God is pleased when our worship is accurate.

People often say, “I like to think God as…,” and then they share their idea of the kind of God they would like to worship. But we cannot just create our own comfortable or politically correct image of God and worship it. That is idolatry.

Worship must be based on the truth of Scripture, not our opinions about God.

Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”

To “worship in truth” means to worship God as he is truly revealed in the Bible.

Amen.

The New Life in Christ: Worship That Pleases God. (The Purpose Driven Life-RICK WARREN.)

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30. (NIV)

God wants all of you.

God doesn’t want a part of your life. He asks for all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.

God is not interested in halfhearted commitment, partial obedience, and the leftovers of your time and money. He desires your full devotion, not little bits of your life.

A Samaritan woman once tried to debate Jesus on the best time, place, and style for worship. Jesus replied that these external issues are irrelevant. Where you worship is not as important as why you worship and how much of yourself you offer to God when you worship.

There is a right and wrong way to worship.

The Bible says, “Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that will please him.”

Amen.

The New Life in Christ: Jesus told his followers that their words needed to reflect their actions.

Jesus taught about the differences between real faith and fake faith in Matthew 23:1-12.

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority to tell you what the law of Moses says. So you should obey and follow whatever they tell you,

but their lives are not good examples for you to follow.

They tell you to do things, but they themselves don’t do them.

They make strict rules and try to force people to obey them, unwilling to help those who struggle under the weight of their rules.

They do good things so that other people will see them…

They wear bigger, and they make their special prayer clothes very long…

They love to have the most important seats at feast and in the synagogues.

How terrible for you, you give to God one-tenth of everything you earn.

But you don’t obey the really important teachings of the law-justice, mercy, and being loyal. Matthew 23:2-10 & 23:23.

Amen.

The New Life in Christ: The time is near for all this to happen. Revelation 22:10.

The names of those who honored the LORD and respected him were written in his presence in a book to be remembered.

You will again see the difference between good and evil people, between those who serve God and who don’t. Malachi 3:16 & 3:18.

Let whoever is doing evil continue to do evil. Let whoever is unclean continue to be unclean. Let whoever is doing right continue to do right. Let whoever is holy continue to be holy.

“I am coming soon! I will bring my reward with me, and I will repay each one of you for what you have done.” Revelation 22:11-12.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

The New Life in Christ: Let us examine and see what we have done and then return to the LORD. Lamentations 3:40.

A person who does what is right and speaks what is right, who refuses to take money unfairly, who refuses to take money to hurt others, who does not listen to plans of murder, who refuses to think about evil-

this is the kind of person who will be safe. He will be protected as he would be in a high, walled city. He will always have bread and he will not run out of water. Isaiah 33:15-16.

(But) This what the Lord GOD says: ‘You have shown how sinful you are by turning against the LORD. Your sins are seen in all the things you do. Ezekiel 21:24.

Let us examine and see what we have done and then return to the LORD. Lamentations 3:40.

Amen.

The New life In Christ: “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him-that she is a sinner.” Luke 7:39.

Jesus spoke up…”A certain creditor had two debtors; the owed five hundred denarii, the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.”

And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

“Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love.

But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” And said…”Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:40-50.

Jesus compares Simon's acts as a host to the sinful woman's acts of love.

Simon's Acts	The Sinful Woman's Acts
No water to wash feet	Washed feet with tears, wiped with hair
No kiss of welcome	Kissed feet continually
No scented olive oil for his guest's hair	Poured perfume on his feet

Amen.

The New Life in Christ: Lord, "You test people’s hearts." 1Chronicles 29:17.

The LORD knows what is in everyone’s mind. He understands everything you think. 1Chronicles 28:9.

The LORD said to Abraham, “I will certainly return to you about this time a year from now. At that time your wife Sarah will have a son.

She (Sarah) laughed to herself, “My husband and I are too old to have a baby.”

Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh?”

Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I didn’t laugh.”

But the LORD said, “No, you did laugh.” Genesis 18:10-15.

A woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came behind Jesus and touched the edge of his coat. She was thinking, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”

And the woman was healed from that moment on. Matthew 9:20-22.

When the Pharisee who asked Jesus to come to his house thought to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him-that she is a sinner.”

Jesus said to the Pharisee, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” Luke 7:39-40. Amen.

The New Life in Christ: “I am the LORD, the God every person on the earth. Nothing is impossible for me.” Jeremiah 32:27.

The LORD is with me like a strong warrior, so those who are chasing me will trip and fall; they will not defeat me. They will be ashamed because they have failed, and their shame will never be forgotten.  LORD All-Powerful, you test good people; you look deeply into the heart and mind of a person. I have told you my arguments against these people, so let me see you give them the punishment they deserve. Jeremiah 20:11-12.

“You will not be handed over to the people you fear. I will surely save you. This will happen because you have trusted in me,” says the LORD. Jeremiah 39:17-18.

“I, the LORD, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have planted what was empty, I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it,” says the LORD. Ezekiel 36:36. Amen.

The New Life In Christ: A CALL TO HOLY LIVING: The LORD’s blessing brings (spiritual) wealth, and so sorrow comes with it. Proverbs 10:22.

You know that in the past you were living in a worthless way, a way passed down from the people who lived before you. But you were saved from that useless life. You were bought, not with something that ruins life gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ, who was like a pure and perfect lamb. 1Peter 1:18-19.

Riches and honor are mine to give. So are wealth and lasting success. What I give is better that the purest silver. Proverbs 8:18-19.

It is better to get wisdom than gold, and to choose understanding rather than silver! Proverbs 16:16. Amen.

The New life In Christ: "We are nothing; but you are grumbling against the LORD," said Moses. Exodus 16:8.

 I want to see if the people will do what I teach them. Exodus 16:4.

The whole Israelite community said to Moses and Aaron, “It would have been better if the LORD had killed us in the land of Egypt. There we had meat to eat and all the food we wanted. But you have brought us into this desert to starve us to death.”

And Moses said, “Each evening the LORD will give you meat to eat, and every morning he will give you all the bread you want, because he has heard you grumble against him.”

The LORD has commanded, ‘Each one of you must gather what we needs, about two quarts for every person in your family.

But some of the people did not listen and kept part of it to eat the next morning. It became full of worms and began to stink… Exodus 16:1-20.

You rich people, listen! Your riches have rotted, and your clothes have rusted, and that rust will be a proof that you were wrong. You saved your treasure for the last days. James 5:1-3. Amen.

The New life In Christ: God is more important than money. Your heart will be where your treasure is. Matthew 6:21.

Scripture References:

Proverbs 28:27 (ESV)

27 Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.

Proverbs 3:9–10 (ESV)

9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

Luke 16:9–13 (ESV)

9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. 10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Ecclesiastes 5:18–19 (ESV)

18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. 19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.

1 Timothy 6:17–19 (ESV)

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. Amen.

The New life In Christ: God is more important than money. Your heart will be where your treasure is. Matthew 6:21.

Scripture References:

Proverbs 22:16 (ESV)

16 Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.

Proverbs 28:8 (ESV)

8 Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit gathers it for him who is generous to the poor.

Proverbs 28:22 (ESV)

22 A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him.

Proverbs 10:4 (ESV)

4 A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Ephesians 4:28 (ESV)

28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

Proverbs 11:24–26 (ESV)

24 One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. 25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. 26 The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it. Amen.

The New life In Christ: God is more important than money. Your heart will be where your treasure is. Matthew 6:21.

Scripture References:

James 5:3 (ESV)

3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.

2 Peter 3:3, 10-12 (ESV)

3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!

James 5:4–6 (ESV)

4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. Amen.

The New life In Christ: God is more important than money. Your heart will be where your treasure is. Matthew 6:21.

Scripture References:

Matthew 6:19–21 (ESV)

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Job 1:1, 3 (ESV)

1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.

Job 1:21–22 (ESV)

21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

1 Timothy 6:17 (ESV)

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

Ecclesiastes 5:11 (ESV)

11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Amen.

The New life In Christ: God is more important than money. Your heart will be where your treasure is. Matthew 6:21.

Scripture References:

James 1:2 (ESV)

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

James 2:1 (ESV)

1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

James 3:1 (ESV)

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

James 4:1 (ESV)

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?

James 5:1 (ESV)

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.

James 1:21–22 (ESV)

21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

James 5:1–6 (ESV)

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.  Amen.

The New life In Christ: God is more important than money. Your heart will be where your treasure is. Matthew 6:21.

Scripture References:

Proverbs 2:1–7 (ESV)

1 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

James 1:5 (ESV)

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

James 5:1–3 (ESV)

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.

Amen.

The New Life in Christ: God is more important than money. Your heart will be where your treasure is. Matthew 6:21.

Why spend your money on something that is not real food? Why work for something that doesn’t really satisfy you? Isaiah 55:2.

“Don’t store treasure for yourselves here on earth where moths and rust will destroy them and thieves can break in and steal them.

But store your treasure in heaven where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. Matthew 6:19-20.

Because,

“No one can serve two masters. The person will hate one master and love the other, or will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly riches. Matthew 6:24.

Serving God does not make us very rich, if we are satisfied with what we have. 1Timothy 6:6.  Amen.

                               

The New Life in Christ: It Takes Time: (The Purpose Driven Life-RICK WARREN.)

The Bible says, “Everything on earth has its own time and its own season.” Ecclesiastes 3:1.

There are no shortcuts to maturity.

While we worry about how fast we grow, God is concerned about how strong we grow.

Growth is often painful and scary.

There is no growth without change; there is no change without fear or loss; and there is no loss without pain.

Every change involves a loss of some kind.

Material support brings immediate result. But God’s plan, Spiritual support works slowly in your life.

Believe God is working in your life even when you don’t feel it.

Be patient with God and with yourself: God is never in a hurry, but he is always on time.

James advised, “Don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well developed.”

Don’t get discouraged: When Habakkuk became depressed because he didn’t think God was acting quickly enough, God had this to say: “These things I plan won’t happen right way. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!”

Years ago people wore a popular button with the letters PBPGINFWMY. It stood for “Please Be Patient, God Is Not Finished With Me Yet.” Amen.