The Everyday Faith Steps:

• Born-again / Saved
• Water Baptized
• Holy Spirit Activated
• Healed + Set Free
• In Community
• Contributing
• Personal Growth
• Reproducing

Faith Scripture:

II Corinthians 5:7: For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Opening Scripture: Romans 1:1

You see, this is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said to be ‘transformed by the renewing of your mind’. When the Holy Spirit highlights a passage, verse or even a single word in Scripture to you, no matter how insignificant it may seem or how many times you’ve read it, He is trying to reveal something to you that will change your life. You will do well to stop and ask Him just what exactly it is that He’s trying to show you. 

Background/Testimony

As many of you may or may not know, Pastor Joel is my brother. While my wife, Amy, and I were still living in Tulsa, he heard the Lord tell him to start The Way Bible Church. Not long after Amy graduated from Rhema, which was about 18 months to 2 years into the life of TWBC, I heard the Lord say, as clearly as I’ve ever heard Him say anything, “Go help Joel.” So, long story short, we began preparing ourselves for the move back to Sulphur Springs. When we got here, we joined this massive congregation of 6, you heard right… not 600, not 60, not even 16… 6! …if everyone showed up that day. I will come back to this testimony in a few minutes but this brings us to where we can get started. 

Romans 1:1

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God.

More than an introduction.

• It’s easy begin reading a book in the Bible, especially one like Romans and want to get to the ‘good stuff’ and just skim over what we often think are simply just intros or unimportant information.

2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture (even the intros, closings, the begats and the numbers) is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

• What if we started reading the Bible while seeking His agenda for our day, week, or life, rather than simply making it part of our agenda? Not to simply say we did our daily duty, or to get to the parts that we think will justify whatever funk, or issues that we might be dealing with in the moment.
• We will only experience LifeChange from our time with Him and His Word when we enter it with surrender and humility, not just looking for justification, validation or comfort for whatever situation or season or struggle we’re in at that moment.
• Unfortunately, most of us wait until we’re forced to surrender, rather than humbling ourselves and approaching His Word from a posture of surrender.

Back to my story and where this verse comes into play…

We had simply come here to help. All God had said was, ‘Go help Joel.’ So that’s what we did. Worked at different jobs and served at church. During the hotel years, He would pick me up on Sunday mornings and the two of us would go to the hotel meeting room and we’d set up for services. Amy would set up a Sunday school area in the back in hopes that some kiddos might come. After several years the Lord opened up the door for me to come on staff. At this time Amy and I had our two kids and were already serving as the youth pastors. I had been preaching and teaching quite regularly and I told myself that I enjoyed it…even though it always involved a lot of stress and, if you know me, that meant a lot of throwing up and sleepless nights. I really didn’t enjoy it or even feel called to it, but its what was needed at the time so that what I did. 

Eventually, with continued growth, we were able to bring on other staff members that could share the load. Even though I felt relieved that there were others to preach and teach, my insecurity would kick in any time Joel would ask someone else to preach or lead something. I was either a mess from preparing to preach, lead the youth or whatever else was needed, or I was a mess because someone else was doing something that I felt I should’ve been asked to do…even if I really didn’t want to or feel qualified to do it. I found myself in a place of absolute misery and personal defeat. I finally began to seek God in His Word, like I had referred to a few minutes ago, and asked what His agenda was rather than simply seeking comfort or coddling. 

We sometimes over-spiritualize it and say we’re asking for ‘strength and encouragement’. This is when He opened up Romans 1:1 to me. What I am about to share with you over the next few minutes took me many years to get revelation of and come to terms with. My prayer today is that you receive it and grasp it much more quickly than I did. It will help you grow in your faith and trust in His plan for your life tremendously. So, let’s break it down.

Servant - doulos - devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests

Serving is not just your starting point, its your foundation.

• We often look at serving as a means to and end, as a way to make it to another level or to a loftier position.
• Notice that Paul calls himself a servant in the present, even though he already knew he was called and set apart. The fact that he knew his calling and current state didn’t remove him from the role of being a servant.
• If promotion is your motivation behind serving, you’ll look at those you’re serving as stepping stones or competition.
• Our thought process says, “If I serve well for a certain amount of time then I will eventually come to a place where I don’t have to anymore.”
• We can never forget that Christianity is about lifting others up, not looking for people who we can use to prop us up.
• Being a servant should be the nature of the Christian.
• Human nature looks to be served, the divine nature…the nature of Christ, looks to serve.

Jesus came to serve.

• Mark 10:45: For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus is still serving.

• Hebrews 7:25: Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
• Even while sitting at the right hand of God, in the place of ultimate authority, Jesus is still serving us today.
• If Jesus Himself is still serving, then where in the ‘world’ would we ever get the idea that serving is something that we’ll, at some point, graduate from? In case you didn’t catch it, the previous question answered itself.
• We’re back to combatting the human, worldly nature.

Called - klētos - invited; called to (the discharge of) some office; divinely selected and appointed

When you ask God the question, “What I am called to do?” The answer will always be… “Serve.”

• God will use your obedient and faithful service to guide you into the calling He has upon your life. This is why Paul mentions being called to be an apostle.
• After his conversion, he humbled himself and sat under the Apostle’s teaching for 11 years before be set apart for the work God had for him.
• Even though he had been taught in the best schools and by the best teachers, he was humble and allowed himself to serve and be re-taught by ‘uneducated and ordinary’ men.
• The calling upon your life is the primary avenue through which the Lord will use you reach others with the Gospel.
• This is the blank that most people spend the majority of their life trying to fill in.
• The Western/American Christian has this idea that says, “When God gives me my calling then I’ll know where and how to serve.
• The Bible is full of examples of people who served before God revealed the calling He had upon their lives.
• David…served as shepherd before being anointed (not crowned) as king. Served the current king even after being anointed as the next king.
• Joseph…served in Potiphar’s house and in prison before being put in a place of authority.
• Moses…chose to leave Pharaoh’s house and be among the slaves, then served as his father in laws sheep herder before being made Israel’s deliverer.
• Joshua…served under Moses from the time the Israelites left Egypt until God chose him to lead them into the Promised Land. 
• Stephen and the first deacons of the church…were appointed because they were ‘full of the Spirit and wisdom.’

The power of God is the power to serve.

Acts 6:1-10:

6 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. 8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

Calling is secondary to character.

• Notice that the primary qualifications for being placed in this area of service were that the men would be ‘of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom.’

Ephesians 4:1-7:

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

A calling is not validation, its specification. If you’re not finding validation in your Sonship, you’ll never find it in a calling or title.

Security is rooted in your Sonship, not the calling on your life. What could be more validating than the Son of Almighty God Himself dying for you? If He never did another thing for you, the fact that He valued you enough to take your place on the cross to spend forever with you speaks to your validation.

A calling is meant to reveal specifically how God has designed you to serve, not promote you.

• What if instead of asking, “What am I called to do?”, we would ask, “How am I called to serve?”
• The calling on your life is specifically designed around how He’s made you.
• Every fruit and gift of the Spirit are given for the purpose of serving, not exalting.
• Whether its through serving with patience and kindness or with a word of wisdom or a healing, others will encounter the Lord through Holy Spirit empowered service.
• Jesus operated in the power of the Holy Spirit to serve not to show off who He was.
• He served to reveal the heart of the Father so people would have a life changing encounter with Him.

Plot twist…in the Greek, the word minister means ‘to serve’ and ministry means ‘service’.

• What if you looked at your current workplace, family dynamic or stage of life through the lens of servanthood? …or as your ministry.
• If the word ‘serve’ bothers you start replacing it with the word ‘minister’.
• What if you went to work everyday seeking to serve, rather than simply get a paycheck?
• Parents, what if our kids saw us serving each other rather than complaining about who’s gonna do what, or how you feel that the other isn’t carrying their share of the load.
• When was the last time you considered it an honor that you were chosen to work at your job? They could have chosen someone else.
• When was the last time you considered it an honor that your spouse chose you? They could’ve have chosen someone else.
• When was the last time your considered it an honor to be a parent? God could’ve given your children to someone else.

When we grasp the honor in serving, He’ll honor us with a calling.

We must remember that when we serve others, He takes it personally. (Matthew 25)

When seeing others encounter Him takes priority over the position it puts you in, you’ll experience the honor that comes from being a part of His Kingdom’s work.

• Our motivation to serve must not be to receive a calling, it must be to see God glorified and people brought into a life changing encounter with Him.
• A calling is a horrible master, we will find ourselves frustrated and burnt out trying to serve a calling.
• The Lord is a gracious and loving Master. He will fill you with joy and contentment when you seek to honor Him by ministering to those who He places in your path.

It’s never too late. The Lord is not going to waste the life you’ve lived up to this point. He can take your life experience, good and bad, and use them to ‘pad your resume’.

Set Apart - aphorizō - to appoint, set apart for some purpose.

Acts 13:2: While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Notice that it says ‘set apart’, not lifted up or promoted.

• We must never lose sight of the truth that someone’s area of serving or ministry is somehow more important or carries a greater weight in the eyes of God.
• More visible doesn’t mean more important.
• The person speaking from the platform is no greater in the eyes of God than the person who built or vacuums the platform.
• You must learn to trust the One who created you…He will put you where you’ll have the greatest impact for His Kingdom.
• When God doesn’t place you in a certain area or avenue it’s for your benefit and protection.
• He has designed and graced you fulfill an eternal plan that He set apart especially for you. It would be wrong for Him to design you one way and expect you to serve another.

Back to my story…so there I was, in this miserable conundrum of wanting to be able to do it all but not being built to handle the majority of it. My insecurity want the validation of being asked while my constitution wouldn’t be able to hold up to it. When the Lord showed me this ‘unimportant’ verse and through His sweet and gracious Spirit, began to reveal to me that He was about to make my life a whole lot better by allowing me to do things that fit who He had designed me to be, I started operating in my calling and experiencing true fulfillment. 

You see, He wasn’t taking things away from me as much as He was putting the right things in front of me. By just considering it an honor to be able to serve and through being willing to do anything, He brought me to the one thing. 

You see, if you know me, and even if you don’t but having listened to me for the last 30 minutes, you know I’m not called to preach…but I am willing to serve wherever I’m needed. I’m not or qualified or called to be a sound guy, but I’ve done it. Not called to be a youth pastor but I’ve done it. Not called to work building manufactured homes but I’ve done it. Not called to work at a grocery store but I’ve done it. I can honestly say that I’m not someone who even likes to be around people for extended periods of time, but I do it. I would much rather do something for someone than with someone. 

So who am I then? I am a man who loves to make sure that there is a prepared place for people to meet and have a life changing encounter with God. Or as Pastor Derrick said a couple of weeks ago, a collision with Him. As an Executive Pastor, I do a lot of not executive type duties. Straightening all these rows of chairs every week, hauling off the trash, setting up the communion tables, setting up the baptistry, making sure the flower beds don’t totally dry up. Fixing most things that break so we don’t have to call a professional every other day.

Why? Especially after being the 3rd longest tenured staff member? Because it’s the ministry He built me for. 

Every one of my previous jobs has equipped me with skills and training that I use here almost every day to keep this place running. I don’t have to stand up here any more to feel validation and fulfillment. I’m just honored to be a part of something greater than myself. I’m honored to serve Him in a way that allows others to get to experience Him in way that changes their life.

True Success

The world’s idea of success means that you get promoted from serving to being served. God’s idea of success is not being promoted from serving but on how long and how well you serve.

Success for you, is not success for me. Success means that you’re fulfilling the calling that God gave YOU…not the calling He gave me.

You will not be judged according to the call that God placed on my life, but on the one He placed on yours.

• Success is not just a lifetime achievement, its a daily achievement.
• Did I serve those around me today in a way that drew them closer to God? If yes…then I was successful.
• Did I walk away from that conversation knowing that I glorified God in it? If yes…then I was successful.
• Did those that the Lord put in authority over me have less stress because I served them well? If yes…then I was successful.
• Did those that the Lord put under my authority feel safe and equipped because I served them well? If yes…then I was successful.
• Do my wife and kids feel accepted and loved because of the way I served them today? If yes…then I was successful.

Filling in your blank…

(Your name here), a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be a(n) ___________, set apart for the Gospel of God.

Take a look at our scripture reference in a more personalized way and fill in the blanks. Don’t worry about what goes in the blank if you don’t know, just make it your goal to serve well right where you’re at. Pay attention to where the blanks are not more than where they are.

Two things that do not and will not change - you are servant of Christ Jesus and you are set apart for the Gospel of God. The rest is just details.

Start looking at your family, friends, job, and life as your ministry and let the Lord do what He does.

2 Peter 1:3-10

3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

I heard it said said one time that Christianity is like tennis or volleyball…it’s hard to lose if you serve well.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the world’s idea of success and fulfillment. Today, if you’re experiencing frustration and anxiety from the pressure of feeling like you just can’t seem to find that place of success and fulfillment for you’re life, I want to encourage you to get back to the simplicity of just serving well. Serve well…not just to try and get ahead, but to experience the joy that there is in bringing glory to God by seeing others encounter Him through the way you live. You can start tomorrow off right by approaching life with a fresh perspective. 

One that seeks to serve, to minister to the needs of those that God has in your circle. Let go of the performance pressure by serving well and leaving the results to Him. He sees you, He knows you, and in spite of both, He still loves you. He wants you to experience the life that comes from letting Him be in control and following His plan. That plan starts with making Him the Lord and Savior of your life, whether it be for first time by being born again or simply by putting Him back in His rightful place. 

We have people waiting here to pray and believe with you for any concern or need you may have today. Whatever it is, don’t leave here without taking a step of faith…a step toward Him.