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Sermons
A
Loving Community, II
1 Peter 4:7-11 |
Pastor Howard Chang
April 1, 2001 |
This is a continuation of last week's
sermon, A Loving
Community.
Review
The trend in the culture around us, especially in Silicon Valley, has been
away from connecting with people outside of our immediate family. The
church is the body of Christ-our relationship is closer than blood-it is a
spiritual relationship. But have we made this reality a fact in our
relationships at church?
The cornerstone of a Christian Community is Love. We've focused on love in
action because love must be expressed in practical ways. What are some
practical ways you express love to your loved ones?
In the same way, our church is essentially a group of people who are
brothers and sisters in Christ. And being in the family of God together,
we practice a Godly love.
Let's see if we remember what the 2 Practices were from last week:
I. Looking Beyond Faults and Mistakes
Peter says that love covers over a multitude of sins. This means that when
brothers and sisters offend us, we waive our rights to avenge or punish.
Instead we look beyond those faults and see the best way to serve them.
II. Seeking to Practice Hospitality
Peter also mentioned that we are to practice hospitality. Hospitality is
literally opening one's home up to care for those we do not know very
well. But it is as much opening our heart as it is opening up our home.
How do we know this? Because he tells us to offer hospitality without
complaining.
Community and College
Perhaps I learned these lessons of community first when I went to college.
My first year in college I lived in a single dorm room. I did not really
have to learn how to live with others until my third year when I moved out
to an apartment. What was great about the apartment is that we could share
the rent and utilities-I only paid $150 for rent per month.
Our goal was to live in a Christian
Community--the four of us. We only had two bedrooms so we lived two of us
in each room. We shared more than the rent-we shared the cooking, the
cleaning, and even had a prayer time each week for just apartment mates.
We all tried our best to contribute. But
there was always one who slacked off in a given area. One of my roommates
would be late with the rent. Another would not do their chores on time-and
sometimes we had dirty dishes piled on top of each other. And one of the
roommates did not spend much time cooking.
We had been cooking the best we knew for
each other. But one time my housemate left us a frozen turkey loaf and a
post-it attached telling us how to bake it. The three of us were all
hungry and in shock.
What did I learn from that experience? I learned to look beyond my
roommates' faults and even times they sinned against me. I learned to open
up my heart to them even when they took advantage of my time or help.
And I learned to serve them-whether or not they served me the way I hoped
they would. This is the third practice we must learn to become a loving
community…
I. Serving as Good Stewards of God's Trust
(4:10-11a)
If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very
words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God
provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.
To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Who are the ministers in the church? The Old Axiom says that 20% of the
congregation does 80% of the work. Unfortunately, it is like the chores in
my house-My wife does 80% of the cleaning and I make 80% of the mess. Are
we any different?
What percentages should God's church, our community have? Ideally, if you
listen to the New Testament, 100% of believers should be serving. Let's
look more closely at what Peter says about service in verse 10.
10 Each one should use whatever gift he has
received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its
various forms
Key Points:
Each one has been given a Gift of God (at least one) at the time of
conversion/regeneration.
Peter says that each should use whatever gift he has received. Has
received is something that has happened-in this case in when we received
Jesus for the salvation of our sins.
2. Each one is to use their gift to serve one
another:
1 Cor 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for
the common good.
Whom do we serve? The NIV version says to serve others-this is a bit
vague. Peter meant to speak to a very specific group of people-our
brothers and sisters in Christ. We could read the phrase this way-Each one
is to use their gift to contribute for the common good-to serve each
other.
Jesus exhorted his followers in this way:
John 13:34-36
34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so
you must love one another.
35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another."
I want to stress the point that we are to
serve one another. Too often you and I limit or we not balanced in the
ways we serve God. We believe that we serve God through our excellence at
work, at school, or even parenting at home. Or we believe we do our duty
by giving financially. Certainly, these may be ways to serve God. But let
us not deceive ourselves. If we are to be excellent in anything, God
desires us to be excellent in our love and service to one another than
anything else in our lives. We cannot be Christians and wipe our hands
clean of each other's lives.
We live in a covenant relationship with one another. Just as the Michael
Card song states so beautifully, we must take up our Basin and Towel as
Christ exemplified and commanded. That means we promise, or covenant, to
love and serve one another for the sake of Christ. If some are
contributing and others are just taking, we do not have a community of
faith. If we have a "meet my need first" attitude, then I'll serve, and
then we do not have a community-we have consumerism.
Each one must be a good steward of their gift--as
a steward looks over the resources of a house. A steward ran a household.
WE have been given a TRUST-a spiritual endowment. What are we doing with
it?
At this point, we may not know exact gift--the question is whether or not
we are being good stewards of what we have been given to serve.
Verse 11: Speaking and Serving gifts. Think of gifts in categories, rather
than specifics. This gift is not something that is developed or had at
birth-it is received of God. Analogy-like the unfaithful servant who did
not use his gift to make money for the master.
1. Speaking Gifts: speak as if it were from God (boldly, with fear)
2. Serving Gifts: serve with the strength of God--yes, you can't do it by
yourself! Why need strength?
We must have faith to step out and serve. We may feel like we do not have
enough time, not even energy. In fact, we should not think we can serve
others from our own strength. That is why…
We need to ask God for strength (verse 11), the kind that God provides. If
we feel we can't do it-then we understand our humble position. But if we
do not ask God to give us strength and take the step of faith-then we do
not understand our place in God's Kingdom. We are God's servants-stewards.
Discipleship does not always give us options and choices-God commands us
through is Word. The issue is to follow or not follow-not to choose what
you want to do.
This service glorifies God. Why? Because it tells the world that your
faith in God is real-why else would you invest your time and lives in
people whom you never knew before? Whose only tie to you is your Christian
faith?
Others More Important?
I found a quotation from John Ashcroft when he was still in the US Senate.
Of course, he is now the US Attorney General. I do not make any political
statement by mentioning this, only the lesson he learned in his personal
life. He said:
"The most important thing my dad ever taught me is that there are more
important things than me."
I pray that we could learn the same lesson. Growing as a community is
first of all putting importance on others for God's sake.
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