Saved to Serve

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In CCF, we have five core values. Our number one core value is Loving God, Family, and Others. Because we love others, we want them to be saved and so we share the gospel through Evangelism and Discipleship. Because we love God, we obey Him and submit to the Authority of the Scriptures and Appointed Leaders. Because we cannot live the Christian life in our power, we resort to Dependence on the Holy Spirit and Prayer. And our fifth core value is Serving in Small Groups.

The Bible tells us that we are SAVED TO SERVE: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift ofGod, not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10). In response to God’s grace and love, we serve Him here on earth because we are God’s masterpiece for good works.

We often find service difficult because our human nature is selfish and self-centered. But as we become mature Christians, we become Christ-centered and service-oriented. We learn to listen and be sensitive to the needs of others. In CCF, we not only bring people to Christ but also help them grow in faith, through small groups and the CCF Global Learning Center. True to our mission, we make disciples by helping people love, evangelize, obey the Bible, and depend on the Lord. As we mature in Christ, we become disciples who serve God and ask, “Lord, what can I do for you?”

Joshua, nearing the end of his life, reminded the Israelites how great God is. He recounted to the people how God fought their battles, blessed them with a bountiful land, and kept His promises, but left the choice of serving God to the people themselves: "And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15).

Our concept of God affects the way we serve and worship Him. Our main motivation for serving God is based on who He is and what He has done for us. If we really know God and have experienced His goodness, serving Him would be the only choice for us. If we serve God because He first loved us and we love Him back in response, then we will continue serving Him even if others do not. What is it that motivates you to serve the Lord?

The root of all sin and the biggest obstacle to serving God is idolatry. Joshua says, “…put away the gods which your fathers served…” (Joshua 24:14). Ezekiel says, “…these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces a stumbling block of their iniquity…” (Ezekiel 14:2).

Idols are not only statues or objects. They can be anything that takes the place of God in our hearts: money, job, relationship, sex, fame, anything which we believe is essential to our happiness, which takes priority over our love for God. The idols in our hearts get in the way of our relationship with God and keep us from serving Him. Like Joshua (Joshua 24:15), are we choosing to serve God because of who He is and what He has done for us? Like Paul (1 Corinthians 15:9-10), are we serving God because His grace motivates us?

How do we serve God in practical ways? We are saved to serve God in the Family, in the Workplaceand in Small Groups.

Service comes from the heart. If we love God, we serve Him. If we love our families, we serve them. We serve our families when we spend time with them, look after their physical and emotional needs, and take care of them at all times, not only when they are sick. Some of us may have personal reasons for not loving our family members but God commands us, “Husbands, love your wives…” (Ephesians 5:25) and “Love your neighbor as yourself...” (Mark 12:31). Some of us may even consider our family members as enemies, but God says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 5:44-45). When we practice real Christianity at home, we have a greater impact on our family members and transform our families into Christ-centered ones. If we do not learn to serve God in our own family, we cannot be effective in serving God outside our family.

God calls us to love and serve others wherever we go: “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). We spend majority of our time in the workplace, or in school and God calls us to serve him there as well. Many of the people we meet at work may never go to church, many may never read a Bible, and our life, our attitude toward people, our behavior in the workplace or in school may be the only Bible they will ever read. When we work or study to the best of our ability, we are working for God.

But serving God is more than being an excellent worker or student, we must also be intentional in sharing the Gospel and in bringing people to Christ. We must be willing to allow God to use us in the workplace or in school. If we are already serving God in the family and in the workplace, why would we need to serve in small groups? The first reason is that serving in small groups is God’s design: “…Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another…” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Jesus Himself put together a group of disciples whom He served and asked to serve others with Him. The second reason is that we need others to grow big, to help us in times of need, to make sure that we are walking with God, to pray for us when we are struggling with temptation. The Bible says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up…Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

The third reason is it is a privilege to serve God in small groups. God loves us and saved us from sin though we do not deserve it. We cannot give Him anything that is not His own, but we can serve Him with all we have. Are you serving God everywhere you go and in every possible way you can? Do you resolve that the cause for which JESUS died shall live? Are you part of a small group?