Ways to Serve One Another

Scriptures: 1 peter 4:9, 1 John 3:18 , exd 23:9, Rom 12:20

1. The Ministry of Edifying

Psalm 50:19-21 says, “To the wicked, God says…”You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit. You speak continually against your brother and slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face.”
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”(Eph. 4:29)

2. The Ministry of Meekness

The first thing Paul exhorted the Roman believers after he told them to offer their bodies as living sacrifices was this: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” (Rom. 12:3)

3. The Ministry of Listening

a. Bonhoeffer begins, “Just as love to God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them.” Learning to listen is critical to creating an atmosphere of love. If we fail at listening, we will fail to understand and we will misinterpret Christ in one another.
b. The second imperative for listening is in the area of confession. James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” There is power in our confession. Power to heal. Power to set free. But this requires an ear to hear our confession well enough to respond to it with prayer. This is, perhaps, the most sanctified of all acts of listening. It is often said that we have to be more transparent with one another, more humble, more willing to confess our sins.
c. Third, listening is required for hearing the voice of God. God speaks through his people. He reveals himself and his will through others. If we listen to them, we will hear from Him. John wrote, “We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.” (1 John 4:6) Listen carefully. Your brother might just be revealing to you the very truth that will set you free.

4. The Ministry of Helpfulness
John said, “Dear friends, let us not love with words or tongue, but with action and in truth.” (1 John 3:18). Helping each other move. Watching each others kids. Fixing each others cars. Helping a friend with funeral arrangements. These things and much more is the ministry of helpfulness.

5. The Ministry of Bearing

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:2) Charles Dickens wrote, “No one is useless in the world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else.” The ministry of bearing is one that combines patience, grace, commitment, and compassion and extends it into the life of another. This is the ministry of the cross. Isaiah said of Jesus, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows…the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.” The one who bears the burdens of another bears the likeness of Jesus.
6. The Ministry of Proclaiming (Edifying, Equipping, Empowering)

Can you see the necessity of relationships in 1 Timothy 3:16?—”All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” An important part of our life together is speaking the word of God to one another so that we remain in the truth. If Jesus is the Word, and the word is a revelation of Jesus himself, doesn’t it only make sense that we proclaim this word to one another? It is only then that Jesus remains at the center of our life and community.

7. The Ministry of Authority

Let’s get this straight—there is no ministry of authority apart from Christ. Jesus said, “for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.”(Matt. 23:8) Granted, we do have positions of authority in the church. Hebrews 13:17 says, Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” But understand, that authority is not based on position, but on servanthood.

“Genuine spiritual authority is to be found only where the ministry of hearing, helping, bearing, and proclaiming is carried out.”

Sermon Notes (Pastor Jaison Koshy) 02/05/2012

John 15:12-17

(v.12) This is my commandment, That ye love one
another, as I have loved you.

(v.13) Greater love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friends.

(v.14) Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I
command you.

(v.15) Henceforth I call you not servants; for the
servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I
have called you friends; for all things that I
have heard of my Father I have made known unto
you.

(v.16) Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,
and ordained you, that ye should go and bring
forth fruit, and that your fruit should
remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the
Father in my name, he may give it you.

(v.17) These things I command you, that ye love one
another.
We see here in our text Jesus addressing His disciples on His way to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He would later be arrested and then crucified. John, Chapter 15 starts with Jesus giving His disciples a parable (which is a heavenly story with an earthly meaning) about a vine and some branches.

Now in our text we read where Jesus has transitioned from a parable to a commandment
Well, what is this commandment

(v.12) This is my commandment, that ye love one another, WATCH THIS (HOW) as I have loved you.

This commandment begs two questions
How has He loved us?

Why is it important that we love one another?
The answer to our first question can be found in (vv.13-15)

(v.13) Greater love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friends.

(v.14) Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I
command you.

(v.15) Henceforth I call you not servants; for the
servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I
have called you friends; for all things that I
have heard of my Father I have made known unto
you.
This just simply means that …

- if you love me … you would be willing to put it all on the line.

- If you love me … you would be willing to go wherever, do whatever, and speak to whomever I command you to.

- If you love me.

Walk with me …
(v.15) Watch the benefits of friendship. you see … there is no secrets in our friendship; no surprises, yes we are unconditional friends ); no hidden agendas, no spitting in the hand; no pinky finger promised required; everything that I know, you know — In fact, I’m willing to die for all of my friends.
As one song writer so eloquent said: What a friend we have in Jesus. In fact, the Bible is filled with stories about friendship.
- Abraham was a friend of God
– Moses and Jethro
– David and Jonathan
– Elijah and Elisha
– Paul and Timothy
– Jesus and Lazarus …

How has He loved us?
I John 3:16-17 helps us to understand just how Jesus loved us.

(v.16) Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Verse 17 of I John 3 goes on to tell us about our responsibility.

(v.17) But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

Why is it important that we love oneanother?
John 13:34-35 when he said

(v.34) A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
(v.35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
In fact, Jesus was once asked what was the greatest commandment. And Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40

(v.37) … Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
(v.38) This is the first and great commandment.
(v.39) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
(v.40) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets
IF YOU LOVE ME …
you ought to be willing to clothed somebody
you ought to be willing to disciple somebody
you ought to be willing to feed somebody
you ought to be willing to forgive somebody
you ought to be willing to give a word of encouragement to somebody
you ought to be willing to house somebody
you ought to be willing to lead somebody to Christ
you ought to be willing to pray for somebody
you ought to be willing to tell somebody about the resurrected Savior Jesus Christ
So my question to you tonight is … in the words of Keith Sweat How deep is your love
do you love Him enough to tell somebody
do you love Him enough to bring somebody
do you love Him enough to love somebody

Greater Faith … we are commanded to love and commissioned to serve. But one thing I need for you to understand is that these 2 Cs (the command and the commission) are not independent of themselves. They work hand and hand.

In other words, you cannot say you love God and hate your brother. In fact, John helps us understand this point in I John 4:20-21 where it says:

(v.20) If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

(v.21) And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Greater Faith … How deep is your love?

If you loved Him … you ought to be willing to serve and tell somebody

- that the Love of Jesus is stronger than any pain they may experience

- that the Love of Jesus is stronger than any failure they may have committed

- that the Love of Jesus is stronger than any problem they may be going through

- that the Love of Jesus is stronger than any fault that they may have.

If you loved HIM … then we ought to willing to
- understand that we are chosen by God TO do work

- understand that we are ordained by God FOR the work

- understand that we are suppose to laborers who bring IN fruit, and not Idlers who eat and take advantage of the fruit be goers to the work and not waiters for the work.

- Preserves of the fruit and destroyers of the fruit with your lies and gossip

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, 2001. It’s hard to think about that date without mental images of the destruction, grief, and loss that swept over America and the world following those tragic events. The loss of thousands of lives was compounded by the depth of loss felt corporately—a lost sense of security as a country. The sorrow of loss, personal and corporate, will always accompany the memory of the events of that day.

Those horrific events are not the only painful memories of September 11. It also marks the anniversary of my father-in-law’s death. Jim’s loss is felt deeply within our family and his circle of friends.

No matter what kind of sorrow we experience, there is only one real comfort—the mercy of God. David, in his own heartache, cried to his heavenly Father, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; my eye wastes away with grief, yes, my soul and my body!” (Ps. 31:9). Only in the mercy of God can we find comfort for our pain and peace for our troubled hearts.

In all losses, we can turn to the true Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who alone can heal our brokenness and grief.

 We have a Friend who’ll never leave,
Who’s closer than a brother;
He’s there to meet our deepest needs,
To comfort like no other. —Sper