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Why Am I Serving God? Introduction:
Am I serving God because I truly love Him or because I expect to get something
out of serving Him (heaven)? Or, am I afraid not to serve Him because of the
consequences (hell)? I truly want to serve Him because I love Him but how can I
know why I serve Him? Good
question my first response is I don’t know why other people serve Him. My
second response is the fact the person is asking these questions shows a concern
about this. I)
The Why Makes a Difference A)
Wrong Attitude, Isaiah 29.13 1.
Heart that is not God centered will
a. Look for what we want instead of what God wants, Prov.
14.12
b. Will not accept the truth, will not listen to or consider God’s
word, Jeremiah 6.16 2.
Matthew 15.1-9
a. They set aside the law of God in order to do what they wanted
b. The Bible becomes irrelevant to our desires, our wants B)
Leads to complaints and grumblings 1.
Malachi 1.12-14 God wanted them to
stop 2.
Phil. 2.14 all that we do in service
to God should be without complaining and grumbling 3.
It minimizes God, diminishes His authority 4.
C)
Selfishness – what do I get out of this 1.
This was the charge leveled against Job, Job
1.9-12 2.
James 4.1ff our service to God is not to get what we want but to do the will of
God. 3.
2 Corinthians 12.20 leads to
division; we can not all be head chief II)
Reasons To Serve God A)
God blesses those that do His will 1.
There are times we read of faithful servants being materially blessed by God
(Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job)
a. The material blessings comes with warnings, 1
Timothy 6.10
b. responsibilities of having “things”
1 Timothy 6.17-18 2.
Is that the reason I am serving God (material blessings)? How do I know? John
6.26
a. James 1.1ff points out the blessings of suffering.
b. Would you stop serving God if it cost you materially speaking? House,
family, job, etc.
c. We may not really know until we face poverty or economic problems. 3.
Heaven is the greater blessing. Do we value the material over the spiritual?
a. Are we willing to make sacrifices to go to heaven? 1
Corinthians 9.24ff
b. Do we look forward to going to heaven? Phil.
3.14, 20-21 4.
Heaven is to encourage us to not get discouraged and stop short. 5.
Heaven is to comfort us, no matter how bad things get or how much we lose it
will be worth it.
a. It is not wrong to want to go to heaven, Phil.
1.21-23
b. Not wrong to want others to go to heaven, Hebrews
12.1 B)
Because I am afraid of hell 1.
We are told about hell for a reason. 13 times used in the New Testament; 4 times
punishment used to refer to hell 2.
To warn us of God’s judgment and what is at stake, the consequences of sin. 3.
To put things into perspective, Mark
9.44-48
a. Example: doctor says you need surgery vs. you will die unless you have
surgery.
b. Cut off sin no matter what the cost or be lost for eternity 4.
1 Corinthians 9.27 anyone can be lost
so we must be on guard C)
Out of love, 1 John 4.19; 1 John 5.2 1.
Why should we love God? Because He first loved us.
a. He sent Jesus to die for us, Romans
5.
b. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, Eph.
1.3 2.
2 Corinthians 5.14 if we truly
understood the sacrifice of Jesus we would be motivated out of love D)
Guilt 1.
Being convicted of our sins, 1
Corinthians 9.16-17; 1 Timothy 1.12-15 2.
We can not minimize our sins without minimizing God’s grace III)
Problem Is If We Over Emphasize One And Minimize the Other A)
Can not emphasize love to the exclusion of God’s wrath and justice B)
Can not emphasize the blessings and exclude sacrifice C)
Can not emphasize heaven and exclude hell (or vice versa) D)
Can not emphasize forgiveness and exclude guilt Conclusion:
Not all PMA and not all hell fire and brimstone. Jesus preached a “rounded
Gospel.” Paul encouraged the brethren and rebuked them when needed. We should
remember why Jesus died. Love God and want to be with Him. Be afraid enough to
hell to stay away from sin. Respect God enough to be holy in our conduct. |