Service

Big Idea: Believers are placed by God in specific times and places with unique gifts for active service in ministry, not just as spectators.

I have a few questions for a personal survey to see if your experiences match mine. Are you ready to participate? Don't be embarrassed—we're not taking photographs or keeping records.

Have you ever dialed the phone, called somebody, and when they answered, you couldn't remember why you called them? As a little aside, have you ever dialed the phone and not remembered who you called? Have you ever left one room and gone into another room to get something, and not had a clue what it was when you got there? Have you ever been in a conversation and talked yourself down a dead-end street, and when you got there you've had to say, "I don't know where I'm going with this thing"?

These are little instances of the things we do without thinking. We human beings are guilty of going through the motions without thinking. Sometimes we can get so caught up with the structure that we forget the reason for the structure. We get so caught up in action that we forget the reason for the action, and it happens everywhere, even in the church.

I believe that there are churches that are going through the motions. There's lots of activity, but there's little progress. And as we saw last week, if you walked up to one of the people and said, "What's the point?" they wouldn't have a clue how to answer. Richview Baptist Church exists for a reason – a reason that God has given us. And on top of that, God has given us five things to do to accomplish our mission. From now until the end of October, we're going to look at these five things—five reasons why we exist as a church.

Father, thank you for the church. Thank you for bringing us to this place as a church. Thank you for the optimism as we reflect on God's calling for the church to guide everyone in becoming devoted followers of Jesus Christ. We pray that today you will begin to fill in the blanks on how we're going to do this. Speak with clarity and power, we pray, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

This summer, I took two weeks away from the church. I spent a few days in prayer and fasting. I spent a lot of time in prayer, and in writing down on paper where I sensed God leading me in my ministry, and where I sensed him leading the church. I came to the conclusion that I had two options.

One is that I could come and tinker with things here and there—fix a ministry here and a problem there. I would stay very busy, always tackling problems and making it seem like progress was being made. That's option number one. But then I thought of the second option. I could be part of launching a revolution in the way we think as a church. I couldn't manage everything alone, but think about how impactful it would be if the entire culture of the church transformed instead of making small adjustments. The way we do things changed, yes, but it changed because we thought differently. Everyone understood our mission and goals, which came up in every conversation about the church. Tinkering or a revolution – a change in our culture. Which one do you think I'm going to pick?

This morning I'd like to do nothing less than change your thinking in an important area of our church life: service. And the way you think will determine the way that you act in the future. This morning, my goal is to get you to believe that God has given us four things.

Believe That God Has Given You a Purpose

"From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live." (Acts 17:26)

Look around you this morning. Isn't it true that you could have been born living in the 10th century? Isn't it true that if God wanted, you could have been born in the 14th century? But for some reason, God chose you to be born and living today.

You could have been born at a different time or in a different country, like Siberia or elsewhere. But for some reason God chose you to be living at this time and in this place. Not only that, God chose you from all the ages of time, put you in this time, but together with these people in this congregation. To me, just think about it - that's a miracle!

Now, God doesn't make any mistakes. You are not here by accident. From all the ages of time and from all the nations in the world, God put you in Toronto. And in all the churches in Toronto, God has placed you at Richview with this group of people. And there's a reason for that, don't you think?

Well, what's the divine reasoning behind this? It wasn't just to save you. If God's only goal was to get you to heaven, then as soon as you stepped over the line of faith and gave your life to Christ, God would have killed you. Because the goal is getting you to heaven—no use taking up room here! But instead he had a different plan. He saved you and he breathed an assignment into your soul. He said, "Now go back, because I've paid for people for eternity, and they don't even know it."

That's the first thing we need to believe this morning. You are not at Richview Baptist Church today with these people by accident; God has put you here for a purpose. Now, we only go around once. We only have one life to live on this earth, and it will soon be over. James 4:14 says that our life is just a vapor. Right now, as still as it may seem, you are traveling at over 66,000 miles an hour. That's how fast our earth is spinning around space in its orbital rotation. And just a few more spins, and we'll all be gone.

We just don't have that much time. God has given you a purpose for being here. Out of all the ages of the time, you were born at this time. And out of all the cities in the world, you're in Toronto. And out of all the churches in Toronto, you're at Richview, with these other people around you. God has a purpose in that – do you believe that?

God Has Given You a Gift

"God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you." (1 Peter 4:10 NLT)

Question: How in the world are we going to reach the 50,000 people who live within two kilometers of the church? We are facing a shortage of ministers! We need more – we just don’t have enough ministers. How many full-time ministers do we have in this room – raise your hand? Okay, not that many. Now everyone raise your hand and keep it up. Let me ask the question again: How many full-time ministers do we have in this room? That’s your answer.

You may say, "Wait a minute, I don’t work for the church. I get my salary from a company or from a department of education." Well, don’t mix up the source of your income with the channel through which your income arrives. Let's trace your income as methodically as we would untangle stereo wires. If you’re a teacher, you’ll see that your salary comes from the school board, but it’s not sourced there. Keep going. Lo and behold, guess where your income comes from! Right, the throne of God. Everyone's income, whether a policeman, businessman, or pastor, comes from God.

Now, why in the world would God take that income and run it through different places – the school board, the police department, your business? Good question! Does God love teachers? Does God love police officers? Does God love lawyers? What’s the best way to reach teachers? Through a pastor coming in and doing a Bible study? No, through another teacher. So how does God reach teachers he loves? He takes a full-time minister and disguises him or her as a teacher. And he sends that teacher with gifts and passions to be the best teacher they know how and sends them into the school system.

We are all full-time ministers of Jesus Christ! Does anyone love Jesus part-time? Anyone want to be in heaven part-time? Before you’re a businesswoman, you’re a minister—full-time! Before you’re a teacher, you’re a minister—full-time. And he’s placed you here with different gifts and passions to be the salt of the earth. But we need to awaken this in our minds! Don’t forget who you are.

A rabbi in a Russian area was discouraged, and one day he went out for a night stroll. He was so disheartened that he inadvertently walked into a Russian compound that was off-limits to any civilian. And he heard the brash yell of a Russian soldier yelling, "Hey! Who are you and what are you doing here?" The rabbi said, "Excuse me, how much do they pay you every day?" The soldier said, "What does that have to do with anything?" The rabbi replied, "I will be willing to pay you the same amount if you will ask me those two questions every morning: who are you and what are you doing here?"

I want to be that Russian soldier to you today and ask you, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" God loves people and has given each believer a special gift to help them fulfill their purpose. And we need everyone. One person uninvolved is one person too many. We need everyone to be involved – don’t you agree? We have people in this church with gifts of leadership and mercy and evangelism and teaching and service. And the church is incomplete in its assignment until everyone is involved. God has given you gifts and passions. Do you believe that? God has given you a purpose, and he’s given you a gift.

God Has Given Us a Strategy

Do you believe God placed us at Richview for a purpose, gave each believer spiritual gifts and passions, and then left us without a strategy? God has given us a strategy to release these gifts into ministry here and now.

He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-12 NLT)

The job of the pastors and teachers isn’t to do the work of ministry; it’s to equip you to do the work of the ministry. A pastor is a thief every time he denies his people the opportunity to minister. A pastor is literally stealing from his congregation every time he makes a decision to do instead of equipping.

A man traveled to Japan. He saw a man selling birds for thirty-six cents. Well, at that price, who wouldn’t want a pet? So the man bought the bird, and as he walked away he heard the merchant say, "Don’t forget to bring back the cage!" He said, "The cage? What do you think I’m going to do, eat the bird?" The merchant explained that the entire purpose of buying the bird was to release it. And while he didn’t want to do it, the merchant was glaring at him pretty hard, so he walked to the edge of the ravine, opened his hand, and let the bird go free. Surprisingly, as he returned the cage, he felt a joy within his heart that came from letting that bird go free.

You have gifts and passions that God has placed in your heart. Do you know what my job is? That of a dream-releaser. That’s God’s strategy. God has put you here for a purpose. He has given you gifts and passions. I help you discover and pursue dreams you didn’t know you had, enabling you to succeed in your ministry work. If you hired a pastor to do all the work, you hired the wrong man. In fact, by now you should be noticing that I’m not doing some of the things that you might be expecting. I'm calling it intentional neglect. One of my pastor friends said, "You’re going to fail in some areas, so plan in advance where you’ll fail." And I would choose time after time to fail doing the ministry if I could succeed in being a dream-releaser. Are you with me?

So God has given us a purpose. He’s given you a gift and a passion. He has given us a strategy.

God Has Given Us Everything We Need

Do you believe that? I don’t know how many times I’ve sat in a church and heard people say, "If only we had more workers." Well, let me tell you this: God would never be so cruel as to call us to do something and not give us the resources and the power to do it. God would never give us a purpose, and then refuse to give us enough workers to meet that challenge. If you feel there's a scarcity, either you're not following God's guidance or you're not observing your surroundings closely enough. God has provided Richview with plenty of teachers, leaders, evangelists, compassionate individuals, and generous givers. We have everything we need.

D.L. Moody once said, "If this world is going to be reached, I am convinced that it must be done by men and women of average talent. After all, there are comparatively few people in the world who have great talents." God seeks ordinary people today to empower them to use their talents and passions to lead others to follow Jesus Christ fully.

If we’re going to move ahead as a church, we need every single person involved. If it’s your intention to just come and be a spectator, then I have to tell you that it’s not enough. Age doesn't matter; you're here for a reason. God has a purpose for you, has given you gifts, and you have something to contribute to the body of Christ.

And so what I propose this morning is that we begin to change our culture at this church. That we begin to change our thinking. Would you prefer to be a group of onlookers guided by a pastor? Would you prefer to be part of a group of ministers led by a pastor who supports and encourages your gifts?

Let’s pray. Lord, you’re the giver of the gifts. Every single believer here has received at least one. You’ve put us here for a purpose. You've given us passions. You’ve given us the strategy and everything we need. Now release us. Change our mindset, we pray. In the name of Jesus, Amen.