Serving God Wholeheartedly: A Christian Perspective

For those of you that are faint of heart or delicate, you might not want to

listen to this story that I am about to tell. I was in Infantry Training School

in the Marines to be trained on my field of expertise. Which was a bipod

mounted, shoulder fired, wire-guided anti-tank weapon called the Dragon.

While in school we also had other training as well, like night maneuvers

and applying camouflage. One evening after we had a long day of

training our company Staff NCO, Staff Sergeant Able was giving a talk and

we were all standing around him. When all of a sudden… wait, how do I

explain this gently… you know those natural but unpleasant body

manifestations that while in a crowd you hold in…you know flatulence… So,

we were standing around our SSgt. Able when all of a sudden, this

horrible, eye burning, paint peeling, breath taking smell engulfed the area.

SSgt Able said, “Who did that? Holy Cow! Who did that?” Finally, this shy,

backward guy afraid for his life said, “It was me SSgt.” SSgt. Able said,

“The next time you do something like that, you better sound off. I expect

to hear, ‘Fire in the hole.’ Or some type of warning”

I can tell you that Private Brimer was not looking out for anyone. And he

was only serving himself, the rest of us thought we were going to die.

A lot of us are more concerned about what is best for ourselves that we

lose sight of the big picture.

Let’s read 1 Peter 4: 8-11

I like what my man Peter says here in verse 11. So that in all things God

may be praised. Not Mark, not Wes, not even Bob, but that God be

praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever

and ever. What does that look like? What does it look like to be in the

Service of God? We are not just serving because we have to. The bible

says, “Serve with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord

rather than for people”. Other Translations say, serve wholeheartedly,

serve with a good attitude, serve eagerly and serve gladly.

If we are truly going to be obedient to the Word of God, what does that

look like?

First of all, point #1 tells us, when we should be

1. Serving your brothers and sisters.

I Corinthians 8:9-13

Galatians 6:9-10

Ephesians 5:21

I have mentioned this in the past and I want to mention it again. My good

friend and dear brother Bob Hendrix was/is an alcoholic. He was addicted

to it. But through the power of the Holy Spirit, Bob has been able to

defeat the enemy and does not drink any more. There is some

disagreement about drinking and whether or not it is a sin, but here’s the

deal, as a Christian we need to make sure that just because that it might

be okay if you drink, that you are not a stumbling block to those that have

a problem with alcohol.

Can you always tell who will be addicted to alcohol and who won’t?

Because I sure can’t. Bob and I were almost inseparable growing up. I

would have never known that when he took his first drink that he would be

addicted. We just can’t take that chance.

This text isn’t just talking about food and drink. It goes much, much

deeper than that.

Paul reminds us over and over to stop thinking about ourselves, but think

of others. We need to encourage our brothers and sisters. We need to

build each other up and quit think about our own selfish desires.

Here’s the deal and you can count on this. Satan will do whatever he can

to make you mad, to make you sad, to make you feel unworthy, unwanted,

underappreciated and he does all of this to make you lose focus. It is

never about me. It is all about Him! It is all about God being glorified in

my words and deeds. Satan will prod your ego to the point that you think

you deserve better or that you are better than someone else and you

aren’t afraid to say it.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is

helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit

those who listen. Momma said if you ain’t got nothing good to say, don’t

say it.

Not only do we need to be serving our brothers and sisters, but you also

need to be

2. Serving your spouse.

Ephesians 5:22-33

Now, I know that not everyone is married and that this will not apply to

everyone in here. When you think about it though, if I only spoke on

things that everyone struggles with, what would I be able to speak about.

I mean not everyone struggles with hate, lust, gossip, selfishness, cussing,

stealing, coveting or tithing. But we all have some type of struggle and I

am sure that you can apply this to an aspect of your life because as the

church aren’t we the bride of Christ?

Paul tells us that we need to do all that we can to be the best person for

our spouse. Both of these sets of scriptures remind us of who we are

supposed to be both for our spouse and for the Lord. We need to do all

that we can to help our spouses be the person for God that they need to

be. Wives submit yourselves to your own husbands as to the Lord. When

we submit to Christ, we trust that He has our best interest at heart and

that even though we may not see the big picture we trust Him to take care

of us and lead us. And the stuff in Corinthians about our relations with our

spouse, is there any aspect of your life that you keep from God?

Ok men, do you notice that Paul only needs 3 verses to explain to the

women what is their responsibility in a marriage, but uses 9 verses to

explain in more detail the responsibilities of the husband? Love your wife

like Christ loved the church. Do all that you can be the spiritual leader and

do not damage her. We should be doing our part to help her become the

wife that God has called her to be. Paul says that the 2 become one. One

reason is that if we truly treat our wife as we do our own flesh, then our

lives become as much about giving them what they need as it does making

sure we have what we need.

Christ gives us everything to make us the perfect bride. We need strive to

become that perfect bride for Christ and men that includes you, to work

towards being the perfect bride for Christ, you need to work toward being

the perfect husband for your wife.

When we serve our brothers, sisters and spouses with a purpose and on

purpose and with a smile, then. Point 3

3. You are honoring God in serving!

I Corinthians 9:24-26

II Corinthians 9:6-13

Years ago, I worked with a guy that was quite the entrepreneur. He had

several rental places. He would build a house, live in it for a few years and

sell the house. Then he would do it all over again. This guy was fun to

work with. He was smart and funny. We will call him Jeff.

Jeff always had an angle and if it wasn’t good for Jeff, then he wouldn’t do

it. If Jeff wasn’t going to come out on top…for Jeff…then Jeff would not

even start. One of Jeff’s comments that stuck with me was this, “If you

were a business owner and your perfect double applied for a job, would

you hire that person?” In other words, are you a go-getter or are your

lazy? Do you give it all you got or is your work a half-hearted job? Do you

honor your employer with the way that you do a job? The bible says that

in everything you do, do it as if you are doing it for the glory of God.

Everything you do, everything!!!

When we do things to help other people, we can not be doing it to get

glory or to win the praise of people. The reason that we serve the body of

Christ which includes our spouse is to show God our thanks for all that He

has done for us. There should never be a time that what we do for the

Lord is for our own glory. When we serve others wholeheartedly, we

honor God with our obedience in action and we serve Him wholeheartedly.

So, if we are serving with a bad attitude or thinking that we aren’t getting

the credit that we deserve, we are not obedient. We put ourselves before

God.

Here’s what is really cool! Even though our works may not be

acknowledged on earth by people, it will be acknowledged by God when

He says, “Well done my good and faithful servant!”

Could it be more powerful than that? Could we ask for a greater reward

for serving with a purpose and on purpose? Are you serving with the right

attitude? Is God’s glory the reason you do what you do? If not, God

would like for you to change that. Maybe you aren’t serving at all. Maybe

you have never given God the opportunity to have control of your heart

and your life. Either way, my prayer is that one day you will hear those

words, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” Great is your reward.

Service with a Smile