Romans chapters 1-11 gives a clear answer to this question.
It is "to be saved through faith by the grace of Jesus Christ".
Then, what would the next question that saved people should ask?
It is a question about life.
This is the question, “how will the saved people live?”
Romans chapters 12-16 gives an answer to this question.
Last Sunday, we talked about how we, Christians, should live a life of worship.
And in today’s text, Paul tells us that Christians should live a life of service.
It seems that Paul is answering to three specific questions regarding the life of service.
I would like to share this with you.
The first question is the issue of where to start?
In other words, it is about "priority."
Second, we need strength to enable service, so where can we find the power we need?
It is about the source of power.
And third, how should we serve?
It's about "attitude."
First, we will talk about “priority.”
Where should we serve first?
In short, it is at a church.
All services must begin within the church.
Romans 12: 3-13, which we read today, speaks of the importance of serving the Church.
Then, the words after verse 14 tell us about a serving in social life.
So the order of priority in the Bible is clear.
It is the church that is the starting point of the life of service.
Why should service begin in the church?
It is because the church is the light and hope of the world.
It is true that churches today lose their influence in the world.
Nevertheless, we still believe that the Church has the power to break the evil, injustice and power of Satan in the world.
In every age, the hope of the world was in the church.
Looking back on history, when the church exerted spiritual power, innovation and revival took place.
On the other hand, when the church lost its mission of light and was corrupted, the society also became corrupt and lost its direction.
Therefore, the church has the power to change society.
When our worship is restored, when our prayer is heated, and when our devotion is burned, there is a hope to change the entire society.
When there are various intertwined problems, the one to solve the problem is the church.
When we repent, worship before God, and the spirit of prayer revives in us, the world has hope and the ability to be changed.
Also, the reason why a service should begin within the church is because we are the body of the church that is the body of Christ.
Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Here we emphasize the passage "Love our neighbors."
But we must realize the fact that these words teach us to love ourselves to love our neighbor.
It means that a person who does not love himself can never love another person.
To be able to love others, we must love ourselves first.
This is important.
We cannot love other people until we love the church, the body of Christ.
Why?
It is because we are the body of church.
We, as the body of Christ, must love church first, and then go out into the world with passion and embrace the world with love.
The church has two structures.
It is the coming to the structure and going from the structure.
First of all, we must gather in the church.
What we have to do together is to receive the strength that God poured out.
And then it is not just a gathering, but going out to the world.
We have to shine in the world.
We must be the light and salt of the world and have a holy influence in the world.
In order to be the light and salt of the world, it must first be prepared and trained in the church.
We need strength to serve in the church.
But we cannot serve with our strength.
Because the work of the church is a spiritual battle, we must be spiritually armed.
Let’s look at First Peter 4:11.
“Whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies…”
Where does the strength of service come from?
The strength of service is derived from God.
In order to devote and serve for the church, we should seek the strength of God.
That is the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Yes, we should humbly ask the gift of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
It is obvious when someone is asking for a broom, this request is for cleaning.
If someone wants to clean the floors, we should give him a broom.
Likewise, God also gives us the instruments when we are dedicated and willing to serve.
When we ask and pray, God pours out his gifts to us.
In verses 6-8, Paul tells us about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which is a necessary instrument for doing God’s work.
We also need various gifts according to the need of ministry to do God's work.
We should also ask for these gifts to be presented to us.
Let's look at some gifts that Paul mentions in today’s text.
First, the gift of prophecy. (ppt)
The gift of prophecy described here is not the mysterious ability to guess the future.
This gift of prophecy is the gift of the word of God.
Or, the gift of preaching the gospel.
When a person with this gift of prophecy preaches the Word, it is powerful.
That message is clear and can touch a heart.
I personally want to have this gift of prophecy, the gift of the Word.
It is not a gift only for the pastor.
It is a gift for all who want to spread the gospel.
I have seen many lay people who have touched many hearts with this gift of prophecy.
I hope that all of you have this gift of prophecy, and share and spread the Gospel with this gift of the Word.
Second, the gift of serving.
This gift is to help other’s ministries.
Those who receive this gift will not succeed if they work alone.
However, if they help others and work together, they excel more than they have.
We refer to those who received this gift as a step, an assistant, or a co-worker.
Aaron and Hur in Exodus 17 were those who received this gift.
The Israelites fought against Amalek.
In this war, as long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalek were winning.
At that time, what did Aaron and Hur do?
They held Moses’ hands up – one on one side, one on the other.
This is the ministry of serving.
Yes, when we do God's work, we need not only people like Moses, but also people like Aaron and Hur.
When we look at those who have done great things with great leadership in Christian history, we can see that there have always been those who helped them.
Without their service and help they could not have done great things.
That's right.
In this era, when everyone wants to be a leader, we need someone who has the gift of serving.
In God's kingdom, people who serve are the greatest.
I hope that you become those who are eager to have this gift of serving.
Third, the gift of teaching.
This gift is similar in some ways to the gift of prophecy.
In comparison, if the gift of prophecy is a spiritual power to testify the Word, the gift of teaching will be the ability to understand it.
Even if we may hear the exact same thing, we may hear someone’s speaking better than someone else’s speaking.
It is because of the ability to persuade.
When someone talks, even though it is not a big deal, we are concentrated on his speaking.
This is because he has the gift of teaching.
Fourth, the gift of encouragement.
When we meet someone who has a gift of encouragement, we gain strength.
When people who are always saying "I will not be able to... I am nothing… I am stupid…” meet and talk with someone who has this gift of encouragement, those that are discouraged can gain strength.
I believe that this gift of encouragement is the gift we all should receive.
However, some have gifts that are not encouraging, but discouraging gifts.
20180311 Sunday Worship Sermon
Romans 12:3-13 “A Life of Service”
How can we be saved?
Romans chapters 1-11 gives a clear answer to this question.
It is "to be saved through faith by the grace of Jesus Christ".
Then, what would the next question that saved people should ask?
It is a question about life.
This is the question, “how will the saved people live?”
Romans chapters 12-16 gives an answer to this question.
Last Sunday, we talked about how we, Christians, should live a life of worship.
And in today’s text, Paul tells us that Christians should live a life of service.
It seems that Paul is answering to three specific questions regarding the life of service.
I would like to share this with you.
The first question is the issue of where to start?
In other words, it is about "priority."
Second, we need strength to enable service, so where can we find the power we need?
It is about the source of power.
And third, how should we serve?
It's about "attitude."
First, we will talk about “priority.”
Where should we serve first?
In short, it is at a church.
All services must begin within the church.
Romans 12: 3-13, which we read today, speaks of the importance of serving the Church.
Then, the words after verse 14 tell us about a serving in social life.
So the order of priority in the Bible is clear.
It is the church that is the starting point of the life of service.
Why should service begin in the church?
It is because the church is the light and hope of the world.
It is true that churches today lose their influence in the world.
Nevertheless, we still believe that the Church has the power to break the evil, injustice and power of Satan in the world.
In every age, the hope of the world was in the church.
Looking back on history, when the church exerted spiritual power, innovation and revival took place.
On the other hand, when the church lost its mission of light and was corrupted, the society also became corrupt and lost its direction.
Therefore, the church has the power to change society.
When our worship is restored, when our prayer is heated, and when our devotion is burned, there is a hope to change the entire society.
When there are various intertwined problems, the one to solve the problem is the church.
When we repent, worship before God, and the spirit of prayer revives in us, the world has hope and the ability to be changed.
Also, the reason why a service should begin within the church is because we are the body of the church that is the body of Christ.
Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Here we emphasize the passage "Love our neighbors."
But we must realize the fact that these words teach us to love ourselves to love our neighbor.
It means that a person who does not love himself can never love another person.
To be able to love others, we must love ourselves first.
This is important.
We cannot love other people until we love the church, the body of Christ.
Why?
It is because we are the body of church.
We, as the body of Christ, must love church first, and then go out into the world with passion and embrace the world with love.
The church has two structures.
It is the coming to the structure and going from the structure.
First of all, we must gather in the church.
What we have to do together is to receive the strength that God poured out.
And then it is not just a gathering, but going out to the world.
We have to shine in the world.
We must be the light and salt of the world and have a holy influence in the world.
In order to be the light and salt of the world, it must first be prepared and trained in the church.
We need strength to serve in the church.
But we cannot serve with our strength.
Because the work of the church is a spiritual battle, we must be spiritually armed.
Let’s look at First Peter 4:11.
“Whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies…”
Where does the strength of service come from?
The strength of service is derived from God.
In order to devote and serve for the church, we should seek the strength of God.
That is the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Yes, we should humbly ask the gift of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
It is obvious when someone is asking for a broom, this request is for cleaning.
If someone wants to clean the floors, we should give him a broom.
Likewise, God also gives us the instruments when we are dedicated and willing to serve.
When we ask and pray, God pours out his gifts to us.
In verses 6-8, Paul tells us about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which is a necessary instrument for doing God’s work.
We also need various gifts according to the need of ministry to do God's work.
We should also ask for these gifts to be presented to us.
Let's look at some gifts that Paul mentions in today’s text.
First, the gift of prophecy. (ppt)
The gift of prophecy described here is not the mysterious ability to guess the future.
This gift of prophecy is the gift of the word of God.
Or, the gift of preaching the gospel.
When a person with this gift of prophecy preaches the Word, it is powerful.
That message is clear and can touch a heart.
I personally want to have this gift of prophecy, the gift of the Word.
It is not a gift only for the pastor.
It is a gift for all who want to spread the gospel.
I have seen many lay people who have touched many hearts with this gift of prophecy.
I hope that all of you have this gift of prophecy, and share and spread the Gospel with this gift of the Word.
Second, the gift of serving.
This gift is to help other’s ministries.
Those who receive this gift will not succeed if they work alone.
However, if they help others and work together, they excel more than they have.
We refer to those who received this gift as a step, an assistant, or a co-worker.
Aaron and Hur in Exodus 17 were those who received this gift.
The Israelites fought against Amalek.
In this war, as long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalek were winning.
At that time, what did Aaron and Hur do?
They held Moses’ hands up – one on one side, one on the other.
This is the ministry of serving.
Yes, when we do God's work, we need not only people like Moses, but also people like Aaron and Hur.
When we look at those who have done great things with great leadership in Christian history, we can see that there have always been those who helped them.
Without their service and help they could not have done great things.
That's right.
In this era, when everyone wants to be a leader, we need someone who has the gift of serving.
In God's kingdom, people who serve are the greatest.
I hope that you become those who are eager to have this gift of serving.
Third, the gift of teaching.
This gift is similar in some ways to the gift of prophecy.
In comparison, if the gift of prophecy is a spiritual power to testify the Word, the gift of teaching will be the ability to understand it.
Even if we may hear the exact same thing, we may hear someone’s speaking better than someone else’s speaking.
It is because of the ability to persuade.
When someone talks, even though it is not a big deal, we are concentrated on his speaking.
This is because he has the gift of teaching.
Fourth, the gift of encouragement.
When we meet someone who has a gift of encouragement, we gain strength.
When people who are always saying "I will not be able to... I am nothing… I am stupid…” meet and talk with someone who has this gift of encouragement, those that are discouraged can gain strength.
I believe that this gift of encouragement is the gift we all should receive.
However, some have gifts that are not encouraging, but discouraging gifts.