Los Alamos Church of Christ
Drawing Closer
To God
The Joy of
Service
This morning I am going to begin with a promise. This promise is one of the very first promises in the Bible. This morning I want to think about the promise God made to Abraham. Actually it was to Abram; before his name change.
Genesis 12:1-3 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
Wow, what a spectacular promise? If Abram leaves his home and goes where God tells him, he is going to be great. What did Abram think of this promise?
- I'm sure he liked the idea of being a great nation. His descendants would be as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. I am proud of my 11 grandkids. I promise for my descendants to be a great nation would be fantastic.
- I'm sure Abram liked the name great part. Most of people in the world still know the name Abraham after 4,000 years.
-The part about cursing those who curse is a bit scary, but I'm sure Abram was good with it.
- It is the last part of this promise that catches my attention. It must have made Abram scratch his head as well. It seems backward. "All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you!" Abram is going to bless all the peoples of the earth! Shouldn't God have said all the peoples of earth will bless Abram? To get God's blessings makes sense, but to be God's blessing to the whole earth, seems odd?
Just to make sure Abraham got it God mentions it several more times.
Genesis 18:18 Abraham will surely become a great and
powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through
him.
Genesis 22:18 and through your offspring all nations
on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed
me.
Genesis 26:4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,
Genesis 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust
of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north
and to the south. All peoples on
earth will be blessed through you and your
offspring.
God made sure Abraham got the idea; through his descendants "all the earth would be blessed!" From the beginning, God intended his chosen people to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth.
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You are snickering on the inside because you know what Abraham did not. You know all about Jesus. You know God was talking about one of Abraham's great-great-great-2000 years worth of greats-grandson; Jesus. And it was through Jesus all peoples would be blessed. Jesus was the blessing.
You already know what Peter told the crowd in Acts 3.
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Acts 3:1-8 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer-- at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
Then a crowd gathers around Peter and John because they know this guy. They know a miracle happened right there in front of them. Peter then explains the power behind the miracle.
Acts 3:12-16 When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see."
It is by faith in the crucified and resurrected Jesus that the man was healed. Peter then challenges these witnesses to turn to God in repentance. Then Peter says an odd thing. He connects the healing of this crippled man to Abraham's promise.
Acts 3:24-26
"Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel
on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers.
He said to Abraham, 'Through your
offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.' When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to
bless you by turning each of you from your wicked
ways."
Peter claims God raised up his servant; Jesus, from the dead, to bless all the peoples of earth. Wow, God's purpose from the days of Abraham was to turn each of us from our wicked ways so we can be a blessing. Those who have faith in Jesus become heirs of the prophets and heirs of the Covenant. From the beginning God intended his chosen people to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth. In the healing of this crippled, we see the fulfillment of Abraham's promise in those who believe.
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This morning, with these thoughts of Abraham's promise on our minds, we arrive at the Port of Service.
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On our metaphorical cruise, we left the pleasant island of Simplicity and we have sailed to the Port of Service. There is a different feel here. As we walk across the gang plank into Service, we hear a different song playing in the background. It is not the call to be simple. It is not, "Tis a gift to be simple…" Rather it is a call to be a blessing. It is the call of Abraham's promise. We hear…
Give me the heart of a servant,
Tender and faithful and true.
Fill me with love,
then use me,
O Lord,
So that the world can see You.
In the Port of Service we hear the call to be a servant. The words of Jesus echo all over the Port of Service…
Acts 20:35
…the Lord Jesus himself said: "It is more
blessed to give than to receive."
It is more blessed to give than to receive? It is more blessed to give than to receive?
As we travel in the Port of Service, we have this weird feeling. It is as if we have been looking through the wrong end of the binoculars. Everyone we have seen has been from a distant. We have been isolated in our thoughts. We have been thinking about our simplicity, our hurriedness, our trust in the Lord. Now the binoculars are righted and we see others up close and personal. We see their needs. We see their hurts. We see their struggles. We realize these binoculars allow us to see people as Jesus sees. "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Jesus came to serve. Jesus came to be Abraham's promise. Jesus came to call us to be heirs of the promise. In the Port of Service Jesus calls us to be a blessing to all the peoples of the earth. God has always intended his chosen people to be a blessing.
I liked the Island of Simplicity. I'm not sure I like it here in the Port of Service. There are so many people. There are so many people who are hurting. There are so many people who need help. There is the constant call in the background… "Give me the heart of a servant…"
I am conflicted. How do I harmonize the joy of Simplicity while living in the Port of Service?
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Let's move back to Abraham's promise as Paul explains it in Galatians 3.
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Galatians 3:6-9
Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and
it was credited to him as righteousness".
Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would
justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham:
"All nations will be blessed through you." So those who have faith are blessed
along with Abraham, the man of faith.
By faith… we join in the story of God! By faith… we get to join in the blessings of being Abraham's kids!
By faith… we share in being the blessing of Abraham! We are called to be the chosen people of God who bless all the nations of the earth. I am a part of the story! I am a part of the greatest of all blessings. I share in the promise to bless all the nations of the earth. How cool is that? I am the blessing of Abraham.
Paul repeats this point a few verses later.
Galatians
3:26-29
You are all sons of
God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized
into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek,
slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
When we are baptized into Christ, we are clothed with Christ. We stop being Jew or Gentile. We stop being rich or poor. In Christ we even give up male and female. Instead, we all become descendants of Abraham… who are the blessing! The joy is discovered in becoming part of the blessing of God. God's people are to be a blessing. We join in that heritage when we participate in the blessing. We become the promise. We are those who bless all the earth! "It is more blessed to give than receive." I can be the blessing of God to all the nations of the earth.
Wow. God made a promise to Abram almost 4,000 years ago. When you believe in Christ, you become the reality of that promise! God has always intended for his chosen people to be a blessing.
It is more poignant than that. I, I am intended to bless all the nations of this earth! Tim Stidham is intended to bless all the nations of the earth.
This is not a generic promise to go to some good. We each, as God's chosen individuals, as children of Abraham, are called to specific service.
God has created me to do Him some definite
service; he has committed some work to me which He has not committed to
another… I have a part in a great
work; I am a link in a chain, a bound of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught.
I shall love as Christ loved, I shall do his
work.
- John Henry Newman -
Living in the Port of Service is the way of God. He calls us; us, to be the blessing to our world! We are blessed, when we bless. We draw closer to God when we are Abraham's promise. There is real joy in being the blessing. There is joy in being Abraham's promise. Wow, It is more blessed to give than receive."
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Let me bring it down from the atmosphere and make a dot out of it.
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Here is your "Dot" Project for the week; ask someone, every day, "What can I do for you, today?" Pretty simple. As an exercise in drawing closer to God, by being the blessing, ask someone, everyday this week, "How you can serve you?" It could be a spouse. It could be a kid. It could be a co-worker, or boss, a neighbor or your preacher. Not only ask, but, be willing to do whatever they want you to do.
God has always intended his chosen people to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth. We share in the joy of being Abraham's blessing in the Port of Service.
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