Saved to Serve

We have a couple of people that lead up our entire volunteer serving ministry here at the Refuge. If you've met JB and Mary Biven, you know what a gift they are to the body of Christ. Would you give it up for JB and Mary? Check this video out from them this morning.

We have the privilege and honor of serving our volunteers in the serve ministry here. And it is a huge, huge, huge blessing. Absolutely. It's great to be able to just train people up to, you know, be able to give of themselves and, like, feel more of a sense of a calling and purpose for their life.

Serving is a lifestyle. We can say we serve here, serve there, but when we position ourselves to truly put another person in front of us and give all we can to them, to us, that's serving. When we can see a need, fill it and give fully of ourselves to becomes a lifestyle and not just a box to check. And I feel like that's what serving is. And it's also a mindset as well.

Like, you know, you can serve, but if you have the mindset of, oh, I'm doing this because I have to, or whatever, you know, it. It kind of taints the whole heart of it. Like, she's talking about the. If you have the mindse, you know, I'm doing this because I want to and I'm called to, and I feel fulfilled because of it. It definitely improves the whole experience, Doing what Jesus did for us.

In every corner you turn looking to the one in front of you and seeing how you can give something to them, give something up for them, lay something down for the benefit of the kingdom. And I think a lifestyle of serving really is not a box you check. Like I said earlier, it is a constant lifestyle. And I think once we can look at serving in that light, we truly fulfill what Jesus called us to do, and we are fulfilled while doing so. It is such a beautiful way to live and walk.

And it's something that we've really given our life to. And it really is. It's love. I mean, the Bible states that, you know, no greater love has a man to lay down his life. And we feel that serving looks like that you're laying down your life, you're showing love through laying it down.

And it's the greatest example or how that we can be the greatest reflection of Jesus himself. Right? And when we are becoming more like Jesus, change and spiritual growth, it's inevitable. I mean, because we are becoming more like Christ, therefore we are changed and we are more like him.

I do know that there's just an inner fulfillment. When we partner with the Lord in doing what he's called us to, he fills us up. When we pour out, he fills us up. It's just a kingdom benefit. It's a beautiful exchange with the Lord.

You know, although there is a dying to your flesh in it, at times, the reward is just that, walking in the fullness of what Jesus has and the gifts and calling that he has put in us, there's no greater reward than that.

It's a very humbling thing to me. I know that. You know, and you hear this a lot when people walk into the church and they. Especially here at the Refuge, and they say, wow, I just felt home, you know, I believe that it's such a powerful thing when you serve, to be able to be the first person that somebody comes across when they come in the doors. And, you know, there's power in that, to be able to be the first person.

Someone may be coming in from having a hard day, you know, hard week at work, or to be the first person that says, you know what? I see you, and you know what? You belong here. And no matter what's going on out there, it's safe in here. And the power behind that has the power to change lives.

And I know that. I've been a recipient of that myself. You know, walking in the door and just feeling that. That overwhelming peace and love, knowing that I'm accepted here, and we get to be a part of that. When we say yes to serving, we get to be a part of that.

Such an honor.

Amen. Do me a fav. I want every person who is in the auditorium who's in the room today and you are currently serving in some capacity. Would you stand to your feet this morning?

Yeah. Come on. Just look around. Would you? Come on.

Stay standing for just a moment?

So amazing. You know, back in 1992, I know some of you are not gonna. You're not even gonna know what I'm talking about, but the had the dream Team. It was a basketball team of great NBA players that was headed to Barcelona for the Olympics. Let me tell you something.

The Refuge has its own Dream Team, and they're standing right here in this place today. You guys are the real VIPs. You're the ones who are making it happen, and we're so grateful for you. Give them another big hand, would you, before they're seated this morning.

Thank you so much to all of you who are serving and making things happen. I thought about this the other day. I love Broadway shows. And Melanie and I, many times for years, we love to go to Broadway shows. I've seen Phantom of the Opera several times.

I've seen Les Mis several times. I've seen Lion King a few times. I've seen the Wicked a few times. We just love Broadway shows. And one of the things I love about them so much is the music.

It's so stirring and powerful and moving. But here, here's something that's so interesting. You don't even see the orchestra. They're in a place called the Pit. They're down there and they're really.

One moment in the spotlight comes at the very end of the show when they recognize the orchestra. But I think all of us would know, like, it would not be a show without the orchestra. It wouldn't be a Broadway show. These people that are just unseen and, and you don't even, they don't even really get any recognition until right at the end of the show. And it reminds me of the volunteers here at the Refuge.

A lot of times, so many of you are serving and you're behind the scenes and there's not a lot of people that are giving you recognition. They're not high fiving you. They're not carrying on about the great job that you're doing. Maybe they don't even know about the things that you're doing. But let me tell you, you play a vital role.

We absolutely could not do what we do here at the Refuge were it not for all of our volunteers. And we are so grateful for you. We're so thankful for you. Like, we wouldn't have what we have without you. Just like a Broadway show wouldn't be a show without the orchestra.

We wouldn't have what we have without you. So today, on this Serve Sunday and Serve month, I want to talk for a few minutes about the true VIPs of the kingdom, those who are serving. If you have your Bible or your device, we're going to look at two passages or two verses of scripture. One's found in Galatians chapter 5. The other is in Mark, chapter 10, Galatians chapter 5, and Mark, chapter 10.

Familiar verses probably to most of you, but I'm going to ask you, if you will, to stand to honor the word of God this morning as we just read a couple of verses. First of all, Paul writes Galatians chapter 5, verse 13. And if you don't have a Bible or device, it's on the screen behind me. It says this, for you have been called to live in freedom. How Many of you are thankful for your freedom.

In Christ.

You're called to live in freedom. My brothers and sisters, watch what Paul says, but don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. In other words, Paul's saying, don't just use your freedom for personal benefit or personal gain. Here's what he says instead. Use your freedom to serve one another in love.

Use your freedom to serve one another in love. There's a reason you're saved. There's a reason you've been delivered. There's a reason you've been called out of darkness into light. There's a reason that you've been made a new creature in Christ Jesus.

And it's not just solely for your own personal benefit. It's so that you can use that freedom that you have found in Christ to be a benefit and a blessing to others. And the way that you are a benefit and a blessing to them is by serving them. Now look what we find in Mark, chapter 10, verse 45. It says, in the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be.

What? He did not come to be served. But he came to what? To serve others. And to give his life as a ransom for many people.

I want to read that again. I'm sure you've heard the verse before. And if not, I want it to sink in for you this morning. In the same way, the Son of man, Jesus did not come to be served. He came to serve others, to give, serve, and give his life as a ransom for many people.

Come on, let's make some declarations this morning all throughout the building. And those of you that are watching online. Come on, let's say it out loud. Everybody ready? Go.

I will hide this word in my heart.

This word is life to my body.

I will be a doer of the word and not a hearer only. And I am confident of this, that he who has begun a good work in me, in Jesus name, Amen. You can be seated. The notes are on the app, if you're taking notes. But listen, the enemy does not want you to serve.

I want to make that clear. He does not want you to serve. He does not want you to engage. He does not want you to be in the VIP team, the dream team of all those who stood a moment ago. He doesn't want you to do that.

He wants to keep you on the sidelines. And there's a reason for that. Because when you use your freedom to serve others, you look the most like Jesus. We just read it. Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give.

And so when you do that, you look the most like Jesus. So to keep you from serving, the enemy will fill your mind with certain lies. He'll tell you things so that you'll continue to sit on the sidelines. And as long as you're on the sidelines, you're no threat to him. And as long as you're on the sidelines, you are not maturing and growing and experiencing the life that comes to you from giving.

So he'll lie to you. And I just want to debunk the lies of the enemy. Here's some of the lies that he'll tell you to keep you from serving. Number one, the church has plenty of help. Church has plenty of help.

You saw a moment ago, just in this service, the number of people who stood who said engaged, we're serving. Currently we're serving. So right then some of you might have thought, they don't need me. I don't need to engage in serving. The church has plenty of help.

Listen to me. It's not as much about the church having as much help as it is about you doing what you were made to do. And you maturing in your faith by giving yourself away. It's not that we're just desperate for people to serve. It's not that we're begging for people to serve.

No, let me tell you something about the refuge. The refuge recognizes that when you serve, you look like Jesus. When you serve, you mature in your faith. And when you serve, life comes into you as you give out to others. So it's not us just begging you to serve.

We're giving you an opportunity to do what you were made to do. And the enemy will say, well, they don't need you. They've got plenty of help. Let me tell you, this is about you fulfilling your purpose in Jesus. Well, it's another lie.

The enemy will tell you I'm not qualified. Now you've heard the old saying, God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. All of us are called to serve. It's a non negotiable. Let me tell you something.

If you're breathing, and I assume everybody in the room's breathing, I assume everybody watching online, you're breathing. If you're breathing, you are called to serve. You were created to serve and you are qualified to serve. Again, God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. And it is a non negotiable for you to do what you were Made to do number three.

The enemy will try to convince you. I've done too many bad things. I've done too many bad things. Hey. Join the team.

Join the team.

Paul was a murderer. David was a murderer and an adulterer. Samson had lust issues. Rahab was a prostitute. But I want to make something clear.

God uses anyone and everyone who has been washed by the blood of Jesus. Regardless of your past.

Yeah. Join the team. We've all done bad things, but God so desires. That's why he's made you a new creature in Christ Jesus. He has plans.

Regardless of what you've done or how many times you've done it, he has plans to use you for his glory. Wow. Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that beautiful? God could take a guy who was killing Christians and use him to write over two thirds of the books of the New Testament.

Amazing. Only God. Listen. Some of you were addicts. Some of you were fornicators.

Some of you may have been murderers. Some of you were liars. Some of you stole. Some of you cheated your way to the top. Some of you did some really bad things.

But God? Somebody say, but God, and the enemy tries to throw your past up in your face. And you just say, but God. Because of the blood of Jesus, I am made new in Christ. Old things are passed away.

All things are made new. And I can be used by him. I was made to be used by him. Here's another lie the enemy will tell you. I don't have any special talents.

Listen, I want to remind you that according to Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 10, you are God's masterpiece.

You are a one of a kind, uniquely formed person with special gifts and special passions that God put inside of you for his glory. He doesn't look for ability as much as he does availability. It's Isaiah. Chapter 6. Isaiah.

When the angels are crying, holy, holy, like we sang a moment ago. And then the angel says, who can we send? Who will go and represent God? It was in the time that their great leader Uzziah had died, there was this vacuum of godly leadership. And the angels are saying, who can we send?

Who will go? Isaiah disqualifies himself. I'm a man of unclean lips. I don't think I'm the one. There's got to be somebody that's more qualified, somebody that's more holy, somebody that can do a better job than what I could do.

But all of a sudden, Isaiah says, and the Hebrew word is hineni. Here am I. I'm Just available. It's not because I have some special talent or ability. That's not what God's looking for. He's just looking for people like you.

And I who would just say, I'll just. God, I'll just make myself available. I just trust somehow you can take somebody who's broken and somebody who's made a lot of mistakes and somebody who doesn't have somebody special gifts and talents and abilities like a Pastor Trent or somebody else. God, if you can just use me, use me, God, here am I. That's what Isaiah did, and that's all God's looking for today.

I was just saying, if you'll just make yourself available, I can do more through you than you could have ever imagined. I can use you in ways that will blow your mind. It's the story of the boy with the five loaves of bread and two fish. I don't know what good this will do, but God, if you can use it, here it is. And the Lord multiplies it and feeds 14,000 people or so.

That's all God's looking for from you. God, I don't know what you can do through this messed up life, but God, I'm making myself available to you. Oh, you watch what God will do. Come on. Does anybody know what I'm talking about?

Come on. Anybody in the room know how God's used you and it's blown your mind that God could do through you what he's done? Here's another lie the enemy will tell you. I don't have time. I don't have time.

Well, here's the truth. We've all been given 86,400 seconds every day. We all have 24 hours in the day. We all have 168 hours in the week. It all boils down to how we manage and steward the time that we've been given.

I've learned this. If you prioritize the kingdom, you'll find the time to serve. Yeah, that's the truth. If you prioritize the kingdom, you'll find time to serve. You've been given the same amount of time as everybody around you.

And all those people who stood, they have the same amount of time as you. And all the people that you see running around like ants here every Sunday that are serving and doing things back in Refuge kids or in the mug shot or the parking lot or ushering or working behind the scenes back in production or in the sound booth or up here on the worship team, whatever it might be. They all have the Same amount of time as you. So let's just debunk that lie of the enemy right now. We all have time.

It just boils down to how will we manage and steward the time we've been getting? How do we prioritize the time that we've been given? Now, there are some barriers to serve. I want to talk about those for a moment. There are barriers to serving and there's some great blessings to serving as well.

What are the barriers? Let's go through these. Number one. Serving is not natural. Here's why.

We're all born with a fallen nature. We're all born with a very selfish nature. We're all born with a sin nature. Don't believe it. Go back and refuge kids right now.

Go into the two year old room. Just walk back there right now. Chances are you might see some kid snatch a toy from another kid and bop him over the head with that toy. Why? Because he'll say, that's mine, that's mine.

Because we're selfish. Our sin nature, it's not natural for us to give give. It's natural for us to take. And there's a lie that's whispered in our ears constantly. Here's the lie that if you don't look out for your own needs, you're going to be overlooked.

The natural thing is to want to be first. The unnatural thing is the way you get there. Because the kingdom of God is an opposite kingdom. The world tells us as well as our nature that you achieve first place by jumping ahead of everybody else, by being aggressive, by fighting for position, fighting for your rights. But again, the kingdom of God is an opposite kingdom.

And Jesus came along and he said, now the world does it this way. The world says if you want to be first, then you scrap your way to the top. You fight for everything that is rightfully yours. You elbow your way to the front of the line because if you don't, you're going to be overlooked. That's what the world says.

And Jesus comes along and says, we're going to do things differently. He said, because the kingdom that I'm establishing, we don't go by those principles. Jesus said, if you want to be first, here's what you've got to do. You got to be last. You got to be last.

He says, if you want to be the greatest, then you become the servant of everybody else. Everybody's freaking out. What? What? That's a paradigm shift.

That doesn't make sense to us. No, it doesn't make sense because we've been ingrained with this philosophy of the world that says, get everything you can and knock people out of the way and do whatever is going to serve you. And Jesus says, no, no, no. My nature, the nature of Jesus is to serve. It's to give.

It's to humble ourselves. Now, I know it comes easier for some than it does for others. But listen, everybody has to learn the art of serving. Everybody. And we've all been given the ability to learn that.

And we take our cues from the greatest example that there ever was. The one Jesus who balanced complete authority and power with humility and servanthood. Notice that, had all authority. Remember, I know this is fundamental and basic and elementary, but Jesus is God. So when he came to the earth, he didn't come with less power than God, because he is God.

When he came to this earth, he didn't come with less authority than God and leave some of that in heaven because he is God on the earth. So he had all of that. He had all the power. He had all the authority because he is God. But yet he perfectly balanced that with humility and with servanthood.

Look at John, chapter 13, verse 2. It was time for supper. And the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. And Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, he took off his robe, he wrapped a towel around his waist and he poured water into a basin.

And then he began to wash the disciples feet, drying them with the towel that he had around him. Think about this now. Don't lose the gravity or the magnitude of what we just read. This is God.

It's God. Let that sink in. This is God who's in a room with his disciples. And it's disciples who have been jockeying for position.

They've been arguing with each other about who's the greatest. And so they all come into the room with an edge. They all walk into this room and they all sit around the table. And the first thing that would happen is when they walk in the room, usually there was a servant there in the room who would have a towel draped over his arm or a towel wrapped around his waist, and he would have a bowl full of water. And as people walked into the room after they'd been shuffling through the dusty streets, as they walked into the room, that servant would go over and wash their feet.

And so as they walk into the room, they look around and they notice there's no servant who's been assigned to do that? And that was intentional. That was on purpose. Jesus was about to teach them something. Now walk in.

And sure, they were like, hmm, all right, who's going to be the one to do this?

Well, maybe. Maybe Mark. He's a little more meek. Maybe Mark will do it.

Maybe Thomas will be the one. I doubt it.

That was totally off the cuff there. Not in my notes.

So they're all just kind of looking around. Remember, they've got an attitude, they've got an edge because they've been arguing about who's going to be the greatest. And everybody sits down at the table with dusty feet, and they're all sitting there, and there's an awkward silence. And nobody is really saying much until Jesus speaks up. And then Jesus gets up from the table.

And I'm sure they thought, where is he going? What is Jesus doing? And as he walks towards the door, he takes his robe off, and he takes the servant's towel and he wraps it around his waist. He picks up the bowl of water. Can you imagine how awkward it was then?

In that moment? You probably had three or four guys going, hey, I was just about to do that, Jesus, I know you're not going to believe this, but, I mean, like, I was moving. Like I was. I was going there already. Like, I was.

I was just so funny. You did that, Jesus. I was just going to do that. Let me. I got it.

I got it, Jesus. Let me. Let me take that.

And Jesus goes around and does to them what they all should have been doing for each other. Washing their feet. And then he says this. John, chapter 13, verse 15. I have given you an example to follow.

Do as I've done to you. Jesus wasn't just saying that to those people that were in that room. You know what? He's saying that to you and I? He's saying that to all disciples to come.

I've given you an example that you should follow. Do as I have done to you. So it's not natural, but it is Christlike. And we all have the ability to learn to serve and to overcome our selfish and fallen nature and become like Jesus. And the more we serve, the more we become like Jesus.

The more. The more we serve, the more we discover his character and his nature. And the more that we serve, the more life we find through serving and giving. Here's the second thing. Serving is not glamorous.

Let's face it. Much of the tasks that we're called to perform are not glamorous in nature. Many of the things that you do with your child, nobody will ever see. They're not going to see all the stuff. They're not going to see you cleaning up vomit at 2:30 in the morning after they've puked all over their bed covers.

They're not going to see all the diapers. They're not going to see all the wounds that you've bandaged. They're not going to see all the noses that you've wiped. There are a lot of unglamorous tasks as a parent. Many of the acts of service that you do for your spouse are underappreciated and easily overlooked.

Many of the responsibilities in the church could easily be devalued because they're not as visible and they're not as applauded, maybe as others. There was a show that ran, I don't even know if it's still on or not. It ran for a number of years called Dirty Jobs. Anybody ever seen that show, Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe? And after he shot 190 episodes of that show, Mike Rowe began to see a common thread that ran through these people that were doing these unglamorous and nasty and filthy and smelly, grimy, dirty jobs.

And this is what he noticed. He said, people with Dirty Jobs are happier than you think. As a group, they're the happiest people I know. That's what he said about these people that are doing these unglamorous jobs. I've learned something in my own life, and I've learned something after being a pastor now for 40 years.

And it's this, and I hope you'll write this down or make a note in your phone, but it says, impression without expression leads to depression. Impression without expression leads to depression. In other words, let me boil that down for you. If you sit here week after week after week after week and people are pouring into you and you're hearing these messages and you're listening to podcasts and you never give any expression to that by serving other people or giving out, you're going to be a miserable person. Impression without expression leads to depression.

We assume that the people with the glamorous jobs in life are in the church, are the happiest people. And that's a wrong assumption. Sometimes the people that are doing the unglamorous task are having the time of their life. And listen, serving doesn't have to be glamorous in order for it to be fulfilling. I had a friend of mine, this was years ago, he showed up at a church in Florida to go preach and when he arrived there, it was pouring down rain in Florida.

And so he pulls up his car, and this golf cart pulls up that was looking for the guest speaker. This golf. Golf cart pulls up to take him up to the front door. And he gets out of his car, it's pouring down rain. He jumps in the golf cart.

And when he gets in the golf cart, he kind of looks over, and all of a sudden he does a double take. And he realizes that the guy driving the golf cart was presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who's driving the golf cart in the rain. And he says to him, what in the world? You know, Governor Huckabee? I don't know what he called him.

What are you doing? Like, why are you driving this golf cart? And Mike Huckabee said, I follow Jesus Christ. Jesus was always a humble servant. So if I follow him, I want to serve, too.

If I'm serious about being the leader of this nation, I need to be the chief servant. Isn't that beautiful? It's great. There's no task beneath us. No task beneath us.

Serving is not glamorous. I understand it's not natural. It's not glamorous. But some of the most fulfilled people are those who are doing the unglamorous tasks. Here's the third thing.

Serving is not convenient. And some of you are waiting until it just fits into your schedule, until it fits into your life. Like, well, when it becomes convenient. When my schedule frees up a little bit, yeah, that's likely to happen. I think most of you understand that the older you get, the busier you get, and time just goes faster and faster.

And serving just kicks at our selfish nature, challenges us in our priorities, because rarely is it convenient to serve. A lot of people want to serve God, but they want to do it in an advisory role.

Yeah, you better tweet that.

I don't know if I stole that from somebody. I didn't put it in my notes if I did. So I'm just going to take credit for that.

A lot of people want to serve God, but they want to do it in an advisory role. Have you ever noticed that some of the greatest answers to our prayers to be used by God come when our to do list is the fullest? It's when it's the heaviest. The true test of serving is, am I willing to lay down my life for others? Jesus said, greater love hath no man than this, and a man lay down his life for his friends.

So I think that's a true test of our willingness to serve is when is it the least convenient time? Then that's when you ought to do it. Philippians, chapter 2, verse 5 through 8. Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God, but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what.

Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and he took on the status of a slave. He became human. Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process.

He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death. And the worst kind of death at that, a crucifixion. Listen, I want you to understand something. That every opportunity that you have to serve as a chance to kill a little more of your flesh, it's not convenient.

But when you serve, you're taking on the nature of Jesus. And we just read it that Jesus didn't cling to his rights of deity, but he laid that aside and he took on the nature of a servant, even to the point that he hung on a cross for us. So when you take on that same nature, when you say, I want to be like Jesus, it means that even though it's not natural, it means even though it's not glamorous, let's face it, these folks that are out here in the parking lot every week, sometimes, I mean, today's beautiful. Be a great day to be out in the parking lot. But we've all probably driven up and showed up when it was pouring down rain or when it was 22 degrees outside and they're still out there.

That's not glamorous. Some of the people working in refuge kits today, nobody's going to go out of their way and high five them and say thank you for what you did today, or a host of other things that we could say. These guys running around here with cameras, people that are in the back right now that are making it possible for these notes to be up on the screen and for the livestream to go out, nobody's seeking them out and going, hey man, great job. Thank you, thank you for doing that. It's not convenient, but every time that we serve, we're killing a little more of our sinful nature.

And most often that's not going to be convenient and it's not going to be easy. And here's why. Because the in this battle for supremacy and Paul talks about it, the flesh versus the Spirit. Y' all still with me?

In the battle for supremacy, the last to wave the white flag is the flesh. The flesh is going to try to dominate. And that's why when you serve, you are killing a little more of your flesh every single time that you do that. First Peter, chapter four, verse ten. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms.

Let me give you two benefits. Talked about the barriers. Let me give you two benefits. Serving number one. When you serve, you get a front row seat to the miracle.

Let me give you two examples from scripture, John chapter 2, verses 1 through 9. The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Canaan, Galilee. And Jesus mother was there. And Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. And the wine supply ran out during the festivities.

And so Jesus mother told him, they have no more wine. Dear woman, it's not our problem. Jesus replied, my time has not yet come. But his mother told the servants, do whatever he tells you, just in true mother fashion. I ain't listening to you.

You're going to do something about this. Turns the servants, do whatever he tells you to do. Standing nearby were six stone water jars used for the Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold 20 to 30 gallons. If you've ever carried water, you know that's a lot of weight.

And Jesus told the servants, fill the jars with water. And when the jars had been filled, he said, now dip some out and take it to the master of ceremonies. And so the servants followed his instructions. Verse 9. And when the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where he'd come from, though of course the servants knew, though of course the servants knew.

He called the bridegroom over those people who were willing to do the unglamorous task of carrying stone jars or pots full of water. 20 to 30 gallons of water were the first ones. They had a front row seat to the first miracle that Jesus ever did.

And when you serve, oftentimes you get a front row seat to the miracle. You're the first one that lays eyes and you're setting the water pot down and all of a sudden you notice the color has changed and the aroma coming from there. You know it's not water. But a miracle has happened. You get to see that firsthand.

That's a beautiful thing. Let me give you another example. John, chapter 11, verse 38. Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb. Talking about the tomb of Lazarus, a Cave with a stone rolled across its entrance.

Rolled the stone aside, Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man's sister, protested, lord, he's been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible. And Jesus responded, did not tell you that you would see God's glory if you believe. And so they rolled the stone aside.

And then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me. But I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe that you sent me. And then Jesus shouted, lazarus, come out. And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth.

And Jesus told them, unwrap him and let him go. Talk about an unglamorous task. Talk about a smelly task. Unwrap him and let him go. So the ones in that moment, think about it, they've already said, he's been there four days.

This is gonna. This is gonna be bad. It's gonna really be bad. Like the odor, the stench is going to be awful. But those who stepped up and said, I'll do the unglamorous thing, I'll do the thing that nobody else wants to do, they had a front row seat to see a man who had been in a grave for four days, who had come back to life because Jesus called him out of a grave.

And as they're unwrapping that head cloth off of him, they're looking into the eyes of a man who has been raised from the dead. Think about that. And so when you're willing to step up and serve and do the unglamorous task, oftentimes you're back there in Refuge kids, and you're looking into the eyes of a miracle. You've seen God transform a young man or a young lady or a boy or a girl. You're working in Refuge youth and you're watching God set them on fire for his glory.

You're serving in the mugshot and you smile, or you're greeting at the doors and you're smiling at people as they come in, having no idea what kind of week that they've had. And all of a sudden, because you radiate the love and the joy of Jesus, you watch a miracle happen as they come in with their head down and no smile on their face, and all of a sudden they come alive, you get a front row seat. Here's a second thing, the second benefit. You become a part of the miracle. And I love that you actually become a part of the miracle, the servants became a part of history.

The ones who carried the water jars, they became a part of the very first miracle of Jesus. They didn't have to tell their kids and their grandkids about something that somebody told them. They could tell the story firsthand. They could talk to their kids and grandkids about the first miracle that Jesus ever did. Every time that you serve, every time that you give, every time that you go out of your way to bless and somebody's life has changed, you then become a part of their story.

You become a part of their miracle. I want you to check out this video and then we're going to close. Watch this. I serve with the Refuge kids and the four to six year olds. I serve as a greeter at the refuge.

I serve at the register in the mugshot. I serve on the greeter team and our production worship arts team. I serve on the guest corps. I have a small group that I lead and I also on occasion will sit in and pray during the 9am service. I serve various places in church, but mainly Vatican youth.

If I could describe serve culture in three words, I would probably say intentional, prayerful and genuine. I'd say welcoming, accepting and warm. I would describe the serve culture at the refuge as just a really big family Service is an expression of love, our love for Jesus and for his family. I think Matthew 25 says, in as much as you stand for the least of these, you did it for me. So in serving other people, that's how we get to love Jesus.

I love how genuine everyone who serves is. And I love how intentional everything that we do is. And I love the fact that we stop and say a prayer before we serve every Sunday. So to me, serving is the core of our Christian belief. How do I serve my brothers and sisters in Christ?

How do I love them? How do I demonstrate to them all the good things that God has put into me? That's the paradox of it all is I think there's a proverb that says, those who give generously will receive more. That's the opposite of what the world will teach you. It'll say that you need more to be happy.

Me stepping out of my comfort zone and starting in, you know, that was not my original intention to start a new. But you know, me just yielding myself to the Lord and just watching work through me, I think that has been a very big encouragement for me. It's been a blessing and a testament of his faithfulness to see just how much God has matured me in my leadership and My faith and just being willing to step out and serve in areas that I'm not even comfortable serving sometimes. I really, really enjoyed the fact that there was a realm of serving that applied to my own interest because it was kind of one of those things where, you know, you can be happy to help, but to be able to help somebody is something you enjoy to do just that much more. God teaches me something new every single week that I serve.

He teaches me a lot about how to love people better and that it's okay to not be perfect. I think the biggest impact on me is when maybe two, three years down the line, you meet some of these guys and they remind you of something you taught them two, three years ago because they remember, you know, that just blesses my heart to see the impact that I made on the life of some of these young men. I love the community that I have there, and I love that God's team teaching me how to live in community with other people. When I'm pouring out, God's pouring more in, you know, And I always leave feeling that after I serve. Where you serve doesn't have to be where you're the most skilled.

It's just where God has built you to be able to show the most love or provide or contribute in your own way. Don't count yourself out. Don't you know, if you're not serving, don't count yourself out. Think, well, I'm this or I'm that. I'm introverted, I'm shy, I've done so much wrong.

God forgives everybody, and God can use anybody, and he wants to use everybody. Hey, thanks so much for joining us for this message. If God spoke to your heart in a special way, we would love to hear from you. You can reach out to us@testify. There.

I look forward to you joining us again, whether it's in person or online. God bless you.