Elevate - Write the Vision Pt 3 - Saved People Serve People

The transcription is about the importance of living an authentic life and following Jesus Christ. It emphasizes the need for vision and discipleship in order to make a positive impact on others and serve the community. It also discusses the concept of authentic identity and how it relates to seeking God and serving others. The message encourages believers to actively live out their faith and use their gifts to serve others. when the Lord has filled you up and filled you up and filled you up and given you so much grace and love and mercy and you've got that arrow in the bow and you've aimed that thing where does it go? It goes to the hungry person who needs food. It goes to the homeless person who needs shelter and encouragement. It goes to the single mother that needs help. It goes to the neglected child that needs to feel loved. It goes to the sick person in the hospital who needs prayer. It goes to the widow that is all alone and just needs a friend. This is how our love plays out in the world. Welcome to Elevate from Authentic Life Church in Mobile, Alabama with Pastor John DiQuatro. We hope it builds your faith and helps you to live a life for God that you've always wanted to live. We hope it inspires you to be a fully devoted, authentic follower of Jesus Christ. Enjoy the message and welcome to Elevate. We're in our sermon series, Write the Vision. And in this series, we've been reading from Habakkuk 2, chapter 2, verse 2, and it says this, Write the Vision. Make it plain on tablets, so he who may run, who reads it. And so, we ask why did God say these words to the prophet Habakkuk? Well, Habakkuk was looking for answers. He was pretty much asking God, he was saying, why are things going the way that things are going? Have you found yourself asking that question lately? Why are things going the way that they are? And so he sits on the wall and he waits for God to answer, and God gives him an answer, but before He gives him the answer, He tells him to write it down, to write down the vision. Why? So that whoever reads this vision can run with it. So that it can get into the hearts and the minds of the people of Israel, so that it will shape their perspective and give them a track to run on. Because vision makes us laser-focused. When we have a vision, when we know where we're going, listen, if you get in your car and you don't put on your GPS, right, you can just drive and drive and drive, but once you put in that GPS, right, you know where you're going. And it'll get you there. Vision makes us laser-focused. Now, if you're like me, I have to put on my GPS just about every time I get in the car. I can't remember how to get home from here. But here we are, a year after establishing new vision here at the church. We've gone through a name change, and God has called us Authentic Life Church. And sharing that vision once is not enough. This is something that needs to continually get into our hearts as a body of believers. And so it's time again for us to be reminded of why we are Authentic Life Church, and what that means for us. What it means for us individually, what it means for us as a church, and what it's going to mean for the community around us. And so we're going to continue this week in reviewing the vision of who we are and who God is making us to be here in this community. Because Authentic Life, it's more than just a name, right? It's more than just a branding idea. It's more than just the color green. But it has been an identity shift for our church, and it's becoming the identity of who we are. And what it is, is an intentional focus on how we do discipleship. How we make disciples. Because that's our job, that's the role. Amen? So what does it mean to live an authentic life for Christ? Well, we've defined the word authentic. It means this, real, genuine, not counterfeit, right? In other words, it means we're the real deal. And that's what we want to be, the real deal. If we call ourselves Christians, we want to be the real deal. And so there's a couple of areas that we've talked about that are kind of an umbrella over all of this vision. And these two areas are biblically authentic discipleship. You've heard me preach this the last couple of weeks. Biblically authentic discipleship. And the other thing is authentic identity. And real quick, we're just going to review just those couple of things that we preached about over the last two weeks. But biblically authentic discipleship is found when we follow Jesus the way that He said we are to follow Him. You understand that, right? There's a way that He has prescribed that we would follow Him. Look what it says in Matthew 16, 24. Then Jesus said to His disciples, Whoever wants to be My disciple must... Right? Alright, whatever follows is what it means to be a disciple. So you can't plug in your own stuff here. You can't say, anyone who wants to be My disciple must wear Christian t-shirts. Must listen to K-Love. Right? That's not what it says. What it says is, whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves. And take up their cross. And follow Me. Biblically authentic discipleship. If we are going to truly be disciples of Jesus Christ, Followers of Jesus Christ, Not just people who agree with the Gospel. Not just people who agree with the Bible. Not just people who enjoy coming to church and having family and community. If we're truly going to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, Jesus says we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. But the other area that we've talked about is the idea of authentic identity. Paul said in Philippians 3, verse 12, He said, not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. You understand that Jesus Christ took hold of you when He drew you into His presence, when He drew you into a place where you made a decision to follow Him. He took hold of you. You became His. He purchased you with His blood. He has taken hold of you. And Paul is saying, now that you've taken hold of me, why is it that you've taken hold of me? What are the things? What is the purpose? What is the calling that's in my life? And that's the authentic identity of who we are. Because before Christ, we were just confused. Before Christ, we were following the way of the world. Before Christ, everything that formed us had to do with our childhood, and the career path that we've chosen, and the friends that we had, and whether or not we were popular in school. All of those things is what decided who we would be. But when you came to Christ, He said, alright, now I've got an identity for you. This is who I have created you to be. This is who I decided you would be before the foundations of the earth. And so I've laid hold of you, and here is why. And it's our responsibility to find out what it is that God has called us to. That is authentic identity. Amen? So Authentic Life Church exists to build a community of fully devoted, authentic followers of Jesus Christ. And we do this by following these authentic attributes right here that saved people seek God. We discussed that last week, right? Saved people serve people. And saved people save people. And we use the term saved people because that's exactly what we are. We're saved. We're not just people that made a good decision. We are saved from the eternal consequences of sin. The Bible says that we are no longer objects of God's wrath. You know that wrath that will be poured out against sin and evil, and there will be judgment on all of evil, right? We are not objects of that wrath anymore. We have been saved from it. You have been saved from living a life that is held captive by sin. You have been saved. And so that's who we are. We're saved. We've been rescued by the blood of Jesus, and that demands a response. It demands a response from our life. And so last week we talked about saved people seek God. Some of the things we said is that seeking God is not about bringing our agenda to Him and asking Him to bless it. Right? We said we don't get to have an agenda. God's the only one that gets to have an agenda. But what He gives to each one of us is an assignment. Right? And so we don't bring our agenda to God and ask Him to bless it. We come to Him and say, God, what is my assignment? Seeking God. It's more than worshiping. It is praying hard. It is forsaking your own way and following His GPS for your life. And we saw the example last week. We talked about it extensively in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus said, I don't want to be crucified. I'd rather you be able to rescue mankind in some other way. However, not my will, but Yours be done. Saved people seek God. They seek God's will. This is what I want, God. But nevertheless, Your will. Not my will. So this week we're talking about the second attribute here which is save people, serve people. We're going to look at Ephesians 2. Verse 10. And it says this, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. That's authentic identity, right? We just talked about that. There's something, there's some things that He prepared for us that we should walk in those things. Walking in the good works that He prepared. But what this indicates to us is that being in Christ is something that is active. There's action involved. You're not meant to be a receiver only in God's kingdom. Where you simply take in all of God's goodness and all of the knowledge of the Word and all of God's peace and all of God's love and all of God's joy and we just receive all of it and then just leave it right there. Because all of what God has given to us, all of the deposits that He's made in your life, He's given to you for a purpose. It's into you. It's into a conduit of His grace, His love, His goodness, His power, His peace, His joy. A conduit, right? One through whom all of God's goodness will flow. Not one into whom all God's goodness will flow, but one through whom all of God's goodness will flow. And we can't stop up the works around God's entire intention for your life and for saving you. Right? If we just receive and we just receive and we just receive and we never give it out, we're stopping up the flow, we're stopping up the works of what God is trying to do. So with all that said, let's see what Jesus had to say about His purpose here on the earth. Mark 10, verse 45 says, for even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve. And to give His life as a ransom for many. This word, to be served, Greek word, diakoneo. It means waiting on tables, right? Like a slave who waits on their guests. That's the connotation of the word. This is a posture of humility, right? It's not like a waiter who was working for wages and tips. It's not a person who is trading their time for money and compensation, looking for something to gain. The connotation is of a house slave that waits on the guests of the Master. And of course, not in the negative sense in that they were in bondage or unhappy. I'm not talking about that kind of slavery but in the way that this word is presented in the Bible, it's about this house slave that works for the Master and so serves the guests without any expectation of compensation. And they don't stand to gain anything other than to please the Master. None of the guests will pay them. None of them will give them gifts or compliments. They don't work for wages. They simply work to please their Master. And because they have no other choice, they do it. Which ought to be our mentality. The Bible says that I'm no longer a slave to sin, but I am a slave to Christ. And I don't have a choice in the matter that I'm going to serve to please the Master. But this is not an American ideal. Let's be honest. We're conditioned that we are to receive compensation for everything that we do. Even if that compensation is just a pat on the back, a good attaboy, an opportunity for recognition or promotion or receiving any other sort of pay or compensation for what we've done. And so when we do for others, we usually do it for the ones that we like, not for the ones that we don't like. We do it for people who we feel have the ability to return the favor. Right? Now you owe me one. But that wasn't Jesus' motivation for serving. He did it simply to please the Master. To please His Father. To take hold of that for which He was sent to the earth. And to accomplish that. Now the root word of the Greek word I just told you, diakoneo, that's translated to be served, but the root word of that literally means kicking up dust. Kicking up dust. That's powerful imagery. Kicking up dust. That raises the notion of being very active in serving. That dust would be kicked up as you are active in the kingdom of God. Kicking up dust. And that goes back to what we just read, right? God has prepared not just a seat in the church, He has not just prepared blessings for you, but He has prepared good works for us to do. And we ought to be walking in those good works. So if you get nothing from today's message, get these words right here. The Christian life is not passive. It is active. Active in serving and doing for others. Active in being a conduit for Jesus' love in this world. If you are an inactive Christian, then you are not walking in your authentic identity. And honestly, it's almost an oxymoron to be an inactive Christian. And I say that to say this, get busy. Get busy. But the last part, or the first part of that scripture we just read says He did not come to be served, but to serve. But the last part of that scripture says this, and to give His life as a ransom for many. You know the word ransom is literally the price paid to free a slave. He gave His life as a ransom for many. We were all slaves to sin, to selfishness, to the ways of this world, but Jesus freed us by paying the ransom, the price paid to free the slave by shedding His blood on the cross. Now how would a freed slave respond to His freedom? Would He be grateful? And would He use His freedom to ease the burden for others? Or would He become selfish and only use His freedom to benefit Himself? We have a choice. Because you are one of the many for which Jesus gave His life as a ransom. You are one of the many. You are a saved person. Now saying that, 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 10 says this, each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others. Not use your gift that you have received to elevate yourself, to build a kingdom, but to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. That means that whatever gift God has given you, whatever you have received, right, when He says that, whatever gift you have received, it implies this, that you have received a gift in order to serve others. It doesn't say here if you have received a gift, then use it to serve others. It says each of you should use whatever gift you have received. There is something in each and every one of you that God wants you to use to serve others. And they're all different. But God has given you something, and it's your job to discover what that is and use it and master it for the glory of God. Now these gifts that He has given to us, this word gift is the Greek word charisma. It's a gift of grace. It's the operation of grace through us. It's a gift of grace to us and a gift of grace through us to serve others. Many of these gifts are supernatural in nature. We experienced that this morning. Tongues and prophecy and healing and miracles. We see those things operating through the body of Christ. And we ought to receive and operate in those gifts as the Lord graces us with them. Listen, ask the Lord. Lord, use me in prophecy. Use me in a supernatural gifting of a word of knowledge. Use me to bring healing to a sick person. God, we should be praying those prayers. Holy Spirit that's within me, use me and stir up that gift that He has given to you. But most of the gifts that we see in the word of God are very practical in their operation. Romans 12 talks about the gifts of exhortation, of giving, the gifts of leadership and of mercy, the gifts of service and the gifts of teaching. 1 Corinthians 12 talks about the gifts of administration and apostleship, which is oversight. The gifts of discernment and faith and the gift of help. That's just a gift where you help other people. That's a gift. I could point out a whole bunch of you that have that gift in this place. The gift of knowledge, the gift of teaching it talks about in 1 Corinthians. In other places in the word of God, other gifts are mentioned like hospitality and martyrdom being a gift. Gifts of missions and voluntary poverty. These are things, the other gifts that God has graced specific people with. But no matter what it is that you have when you seek the Lord and you say, God, what is it that you want to do in me so that you can do it through me? Whatever you have, and it's at least one thing this passage tells us to use it to serve others. To serve others. Now the last part of this verse tells us this that we use them to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace. Do you realize that you have the responsibility to be a steward of God's grace? Well, what's a steward? Well, it's a manager. The connotation here is the manager of a household, right? And get this, in those days listen in those days, a steward of a household was a freed slave. A freed slave. The Bible tells us we were slaves to sin. He paid the ransom for the many so that we may be stewards of God's grace. Stewards. Freed slaves. This is what the first readers of this would have understood when this terminology was used. But God has entrusted us as freed slaves, saved people, to be faithful. Right? Consistent and trustworthy stewards or managers of the grace that He has given us, and specifically here the gift that He has given us. He's given us He's prepared good works and He's given you the gift in order to accomplish those good works. And the whole reason, the whole purpose for using them is to serve others. So here's the challenge. Here's the challenge for today. God has prepared good works for you. And He has told us to walk in those good works. Serving is not a transaction between you and someone. I don't do for you so that you may do for me. I don't do for you so that you owe me a favor. I do for you simply to serve the Master. To please the Master. And we learned and we heard that the word serve in Greek, the root word means to kick up dust, which means to be moving, which means to be constantly active in serving. It's not enough to just one time bring an apple pie to your neighbor and say, I did my duty. I'm done. I've served. It is a constant, active flurry of action that kicks up dust wherever you go behind you because you're in motion. You're doing something to serve others. You're using what God has placed within you to give it away freely as a conduit and a good steward of God's grace. And God's grace has been given to you and it's your responsibility to steward it properly and to use it for the reason that He gave to you. You know, we have something here at the church, and I can't remember if we have these in the backs of the seats or not, but we definitely have them in the lobby, but they're cards. They're serve cards. They're areas where it's an opportunity for you to say, I would like to serve maybe in a particular area. Maybe not. Maybe you don't know and you just want to talk to somebody about it. But I would encourage you today, look in the seat back in front of you if there's a serve card in there. If not, get one after service. There's definitely one in the lobby. And see what it is that maybe God wants to use us to do. You see, the best way to learn how to serve, the best way to learn anything, think about when your kids are in your household. It's there that they learn social graces. They learn how to share. They learn manners. They learn obedience. This is where they learn all those things. And then what you hope is that when you go outside of your house, that they have manners and they are socially somewhat normal. You hope that they are polite and that they've learned to share. Typically what happens is outside the house they behave a lot better than they do inside the house. But that's how people learn. It's the same way with the house of God, right? My job, the Bible doesn't say my job is to preach good sermons to make you say amen. The Bible... Somebody say amen. Alright. The Bible says that my job is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. That's it. You're here in the house to learn how to do it out there. That's it. That's why this building exists. That's why these nice chairs, these comfortable chairs exist. It's for you to come in and be equipped to learn how to be a servant out there. How to do the work of the ministry out there. And so that's why we have these serve cards. Listen, if you've been a part of this church and you're not doing anything, it's time to get busy. It's time to get busy. There are babies that need to be held. And there are students, there are elementary kids that need to be taught. There are students that need somebody to come beside them that haven't had a father and that need to be loved. There are people that come in through our front door that need a smiling face. There are needs for somebody to grab a broom and push it along the hallways of this church. There are toilets that need to be cleaned. We need to learn to serve while we're here in the house. And so I would encourage you to pick up a card, and if you feel the Lord shifting you into something else, that's okay. We'll talk about it. I'm ready to move from this place to this place and see what God has for me. But beyond serving in the house, beyond just serving in the house, there's a reason, right? It's got to work outside these four walls. Matthew 22, 36-39 says this, Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the law? When Jesus was questioned, His reply was this, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment, and the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. First and foremost, we are instructed to love God with all our heart, our soul, and our mind, right? Everything within us. That means establishing relationship with God through prayer and worship and reading His Word. It means hearing His voice and obeying His voice and following the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life which dwells in you, because saved people seek God, right? Saved people seek God. That's part of loving the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. But the next command, the second greatest commandment instructs us how we are to direct that love that He has poured and shown us. It's like He's given us a quiver full of arrows. And it's His love for us that teaches us how to string up that bow. And it's His love for us that teaches us how to put an arrow into that bow. And it's His love for us and His grace and mercy towards us that teaches us how to pull that bow back and to pull that arrow back. And it's His love and His mercy and grace that He pours into us that teaches us now how to aim that bow, to aim that arrow to aim that arrow. And loving our neighbor is the target that we are to hit with that love arrow that He's put in our hands. So where does that love go? When the Lord has filled you up and filled you up and filled you up and given you so much grace and love and mercy and you've got that arrow in the bow and you've aimed that thing, where does it go? It goes to the hungry person who needs food. It goes to the homeless person who needs shelter and encouragement. It goes to the single mother that needs help. It goes to the neglected child that needs to feel love. It goes to the sick person in the hospital who needs prayer. It goes to the widow that is all alone and just needs a friend. This is how our love plays out in the world. Yes, first and foremost, you should learn to serve in the house of God. And if you are a part of this church, you ought to be doing something to give back. But the real expression is what we do out there. Listen, that's why we do things like the drive-thru prayer outreach. We're doing another one on the 18th. We're probably going to do these monthly when the weather permits. But that's why we do it. Why? We're getting out there and we're serving people. That's a way that you can get on board to serve as we say that we'll do as a church because saved people serve people. Those are the opportunities that we give. That you can get outside of these four walls and into the community and show the love of Christ when you can begin to be a conduit of the grace of God. You begin to flow. You begin to give away what God has given to you. I promise you'll never go back to being selfish as a believer ever again. I'm Scott Chestnut. Thanks again for listening and God bless you.