Love in Action: Following Christ's Call to Serve

Have you ever thought about just the magnitude just long that list is of everything that Jesus not only did for us but that he was willing to do for us? I because think about this He comes to earth He's fully God still But in his creation he is fully man Which means this At any given point in time throughout his life Jesus could have simply said "Nah I don't think so." At any point in time Jesus could have said "This is more than I can handle This is more than I want to do." [00:34:00]

As brethren we take a view of scripture We believe its words We believe its authority We believe its authenticity And we take the gospels We take Matthew Mark Luke and John We take the life of Jesus And those are things that we truly hold on to and what we've celebrated this week and what we've celebrated during uh during the Lent season What we celebrate really every day of our life because of who we are is this plan that God has. [00:35:28]

God's plan has been in the works throughout the entirety of time You look at the Old Testament you read the prophets you read all that was happening and the wheels are put in place for Christ to come We read the Gospels We read the rest of the New Testament We see Jesus in action We see the application of his life into the early church Jesus came at the perfect time and place in history to accomplish what it was that needed done. [00:36:14]

The plan has always been drawing back of man to God God's love for us has been so great throughout history that from the time that Adam and Eve sin in the garden the wheels had started moving to where Calvary happens into where the tomb is empty Jesus is willing to do all of this In the passage you get a very common exchange something that we're really pretty familiar with We're on the beach It's it's days after the resurrection had happened. [00:37:05]

Peter do you love me more than these guys, see these guys sitting here eating with us do you love me more than they do sure I do Little bit of arrogance still in Peter isn't there you know I love you And we go through this lit Feed my sheep Feed my lamb Take care of my sheep It's not just to Peter It's that call to each and every one of us It's that call that says there's something I want you to do with your life. [00:39:43]

I don't want you just to sit around and say how much you love me I want you to put love into action Peter, guys all of you reading this thousands of years from now, serve sacrifice care for one another Your life belongs to everybody and their life belongs to you Live in this way Sure sounds easy doesn't it doesn't sound too bad So Jesus says this Listen listen to this again This is verse 18. [00:40:49]

Consider the price Count the cost Take up your cross Follow me There's a cost involved for all of us in following Jesus And sometimes that cost is something significant my congregation in Milford There's a gentleman who was our custodian Great guy great man of God His wife had no time for the church Not that she was anti-church or anti-faith specifically but for her it was just another thing A relationship with Jesus was was whatever there was always going to be. [00:42:32]

Sacrifice isn't always bad things Sometimes it's just hard things Because ministry for Norine and I meant you know what family is always going to be there while we're here and we will order our life making sure that we can stay connected to family as best we can from wherever we're at We didn't have to abandon family completely We just have to change what it looked like And so that's still sacrifice but you do it because sometimes even in that sacrifice really cool things happen. [00:46:39]

Engage in service If that means just get yourself involved in something and that something is for the sake of others not for you Now I guarantee you this and this is God's gift to us When you engage with the right heart and the right attitude you are going to be blessed and you are going to love it You're going to be filled with a joy that overflows Okay but engage in service to others Doesn't have to be big to start with Just simply look around you. [00:48:47]

You all have family and friends and co-workers You live in communities Just look around and say "What does somebody need that I can offer?" And then do it That is really how easy it is Give somebody that you know something that they need somebody to talk to Maybe they need a ride Maybe they just need a word of encouragement Maybe they need something that is actually physically tangible Whatever it might be but it's that easy Look at somebody in your life in your circle of encounters. [00:49:56]

We live in an information world where you can't hide from information You cannot avoid getting new information at this point in life with the world that we live in So what are you soaking in what are you taking in that's going to help you become more like Jesus take it in All of your life matters to him Love the Lord your God with all of your heart soul mind and strength That's every part of your being How are you going to honor God in those ways. [00:51:14]

Learn read listen get involved with relationships who can uh be sort of a mentor or a guide or a or somebody that you're going to walk with but do something that's going to feed some part of you And not just feed it so that you can say "Yeah I'm doing it." But feed it in such a way that you are actually going to be more like Jesus when the experience is done If you don't have the goal then you're just learning stuff And knowledge without life change it's just information. [00:52:41]

Jesus came lived died rose There's your gospel How much you embellish any of those things is up to you in that moment You all know those things Jesus came lived died rose Is there anybody in the room that didn't know those four things you know the gospel Just tell it turn it into a story It's good news is what the is what the word means So talk about it like it's actually news You want something that's not those four points do this Here's what I know about Jesus. [00:55:02]

My life was this and now it's this and Jesus is the only way I can explain it This happened This is the experience I had Jesus is the only way I can explain it How is it that groceries show up in my car when we didn't have food in the house I don't know Jesus is the best answer I can give How is it that fill in the blank with whatever it was you experienced Jesus is the only answer you can give Ladies and gentlemen that's the gospel too. [00:56:02]

Jesus modeled all these things When you look at the story think about what all has taken place The disciples they're trying to make sense of everything that's been going on They needed something normal They went fishing It felt right It felt you know what we can go fishing We can get out on the boat out on the water We'll enjoy the starry sky We have to When life is in turmoil sometimes all you want is something normal right god give me one normal day. [00:57:43]

But Jesus is modeling these things He's modeling serving engaging learning He's doing all of these things because he shows up He's not out in the boat He's not part of the conversation He gathers the firewood and he builds a fire And he lucked dies Try the other side of the boat And here comes the fish Bring them in I'll cook them for you Then they come The fire is already built The guys can come in They can warm up It's been chilly out on the water. [00:59:00]

The coals are nice and hot The fish get cooked The guys can just sit and relax because Jesus has engaged in the ministry that needed to happen He's made all the preparations for it to happen He engages in a conversation that's going to feed their spirits in as much as he's feeding their bodies in their relationships while they're sitting around here He gives that challenge They have the conversation Do you love me feed my sheep Do you love me take care of my sheep. [00:59:38]

Think clear back to when all these guys are invited to join him We're way back three years previous Follow me I will make you fishers of men Remember those words follow me That's the call That's the invitation That's saying come be a part of this They spend the next three years of their life listening following learning growing And Jesus gives them this lesson on the beach Fishers of men is what you're going to do Feed and care is what you're going to do. [01:01:48]

Even though we can never repay Jesus for what he was willing to offer and do we can still honor what we have received from him Again like we were talking with with the kids we can try and we can work and we can do the things that we feel led to do in honor and service of the work that Jesus did Realizing though that we're never going to repay him It's never going to become a balanced thing but we still pursue it What is your willing this whole list of stuff that Jesus was willing to do for us. [01:04:57]

What are you willing to do for Jesus what are you going to offer for the sake of the kingdom how are you going to respond jesus put everything in place We've had that whole teaching time Follow me We're the rest of the story What's your willing how are you going to engage how are you going to learn how are you going to share when people die we keep them alive by sharing stories and sharing memories We look at photos and momentos of various kinds And that life continues. [01:06:49]

As long as we do these things Jesus even though he's living we're still waiting for him to come back So how do we keep the story going until then how do we keep the memory how do we keep the anticipation excitement what you're willing Would you pray with me jesus thank you for being so willing to do the things that you did And we always we always focus on the cross We always focus on your your sacrifice And yeah without question that is the biggest thing that greatest act of love that we could ever imagine. [01:08:12]