Called to Serve: Be a Signpost for Jesus

Jesus’ return is a good hope, but the people who are still far from Him give believers a reason to stay awake to their purpose. Christ leaves His people here to live godly lives, share His love, and point family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors toward Jesus before time runs out. The Holy Spirit can take a simple word, spoken through a feeble mouth, and make it click in somebody’s heart.

Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. Christ flips the world’s way of thinking upside down. Promotions, money, security, leadership, and influence may be fine things, but none of them can fill the purpose God put in a person. God created His people to bring glory and honor to Him by reflecting His image and love to lost people.

A signpost carries the picture of that calling. A sign toward I-65 does not become I-65, and a Chick-fil-A sign cannot give anybody chicken nuggets. A signpost simply points people toward the real thing. Jesus is the real thing, and believers are here to point people to King Jesus wherever life takes them, whether at home, work, church, a ball game, or out in the community.

Serving becomes one of the clearest ways a life points people to Jesus. Grace comes first, because Christianity begins with receiving what God has done, not trying to earn His approval by working hard enough. Service flows from love, loyalty, praise, and worship because Jesus already gave Himself, died for sin, and gives eternal life.

God gives gifts, abilities, personalities, experiences, and spiritual gifts so that the body of Christ can be built up. The body needs every part, because an eyeball or a nose by itself would look pretty odd and would not function like a whole body. Service can reveal gifts that a person never knew were there. God often shows His people what He can do through them after they quit standing back and simply jump in.

Jesus identifies Himself with “the least of these.” Service toward hungry, hurting, lonely, struggling, or overlooked people becomes service offered to Christ Himself. Serving shifts the focus away from me, my, and I, and teaches believers to see needs, pain, and potential through the eyes of Jesus.

God does not only want to work in His people. God wants to work through them. A willing life, even one that does not feel qualified, gives God room to do immeasurably more than anyone can ask or imagine. A clogged pipe cannot let water flow, and a cluttered heart cannot clearly reflect Christ. God cleans out the junk so His grace, holiness, and love can flow through willing servants into a lost and broken world.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus is the real thing. A signpost has value only because it points beyond itself. Jesus alone can save, satisfy, and give eternal life. A believer’s life becomes most useful when attention lands on Christ rather than personal goodness, talent, or reputation. [45:46]
• 2. Serving flows from received grace. Grace does not turn service into a way to earn love from God. Jesus already loves, saves, and gives eternal life to His people. Service becomes worship when it rises from gratitude for what Christ has already done. [46:30]
• 3. God gives gifts for others. The body of Christ needs more than visible gifts and public roles. God gives every believer something that can strengthen another person and build up His church. Service often uncovers a gift that stayed hidden while a person waited to feel ready. [48:39]
• 4. God works through willing lives. Qualification, talent, age, and confidence do not set the limits of God’s work. God looks for a heart that can say, “Here I am.” Faith grows when God takes an ordinary willing person and does what that person could not do alone. [67:49]
• 5. Clean hearts let grace flow. A clogged pipe receives water but cannot let water move where it needs to go. Sin, distraction, and self-focus can keep a believer from reflecting Christ clearly. God cleanses hearts so His love can flow through them and touch people nearby.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [25:58] - God Opens Doors for Faith Conversations
• [31:49] - Ready for Jesus to Return
• [33:07] - Finding Purpose in Pointing Others to Christ
• [35:09] - Influence Outside the Church
• [37:57] - Jesus Came to Serve
• [39:28] - The Purpose God Created
• [43:31] - Believers as Signposts
• [46:30] - Serving Because Jesus Already Loves
• [47:19] - Discovering Gifts Through Service
• [49:27] - Serving Others Is Serving Jesus
• [54:09] - Serving Together as Christ’s Body
• [56:57] - Service Grows Faith
• [60:29] - Serving Is Good for the Soul
• [62:42] - Excuses That Keep People from Serving
• [68:34] - Clearing the Clogs So God Can Flow

1. According to Matthew 20:28, what are the two reasons Jesus came, and how do they show His heart for people? [38:18]
2. In Ephesians 4:12, what is the purpose of the gifts Christ gives to His people? What does the verse say should be built up?
3. What examples of “the least of these” are described in Matthew 25, and what does Jesus say happens when someone serves them? [51:52]
4. In 1 Peter 4:10-11, what should believers do with the gifts they have received, and whose strength and glory are emphasized?

1. Jesus is the King of kings, yet He came to serve and give His life as a ransom. How does Jesus’ example challenge the way believers can think about leadership, success, influence, or being noticed? [38:27]
2. Believers are like signposts: they are not the destination but point others to the real thing, Jesus. What would make a person’s life point clearly toward Jesus, and what might point people in another direction? [45:41]
3. Matthew 25:40 says that serving needy and overlooked people is serving Christ Himself. How might that truth change the way a believer sees an inconvenient need, a difficult person, or someone who may never say thank you? [53:23]
4. First Peter says that service should be done with the strength God supplies so that God receives the glory. How does that protect believers from both pride in serving and fear that they are not qualified enough? [01:00:51]

1. Who is one family member, friend, coworker, neighbor, or classmate who may be far from Jesus? What is one simple way you could show Christ’s love or begin a meaningful conversation with that person this week? [32:48]
2. What area of life most often competes for your sense of purpose—success, money, security, reputation, comfort, or something else? How could you use that area to bring glory to God instead of making it the main thing? [39:03]
3. Where do you regularly spend time—at home, work, school, a ball field, a store, or online? What would it look like for you to be a signpost pointing people to Jesus in that specific place? [46:06]
4. Have you ever discovered an ability, passion, or spiritual gift only after stepping in to help? Is there a place to serve that you have considered but have held back from trying? [48:39]
5. When you look around your normal routine, whose needs, pain, or potential have you been tempted to overlook? What could it look like to serve that person in a wise and practical way? [50:46]
6. Which excuse has the strongest pull on you: “I do not have time,” “I do not have anything to offer,” “They do not need me,” “I am too young,” or “I am too old”? What small step of willingness could help you move past that excuse? [01:07:30]
7. Is there any “junk” in your heart or life—sin, distraction, bitterness, self-focus, fear, or busyness—that is keeping God’s grace from flowing freely through you? What would repentance, honesty, or accountability look like in that area this week? [01:09:36]