"REASONS TO SERVE THE LORD!"

May 06, 2020  “Reasons to Serve the Lord”  Acts 9: 1-6
Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, BaptistTabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina…“And Saul, yet breathing out threatening’s and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”   Acts 9:1-6     Growing up in the Brock home meant that you were introduced to work early.  Daddy told me, when I was old enough to hold a hoe, “You don’t work, You don’t eat!”  Guess what?  He never lied to me, and he certainly didn’t, this time. I heard a preacher say, years ago, that “We are saved to serve, not to be served!” I wonder how many Christians recognize this as the truth! Wonder where the idea came from that we shouldn’t have to work?  Recently, I have witnesses a great deal of “Give me,” and absolutely none of, “Lord, what wilt thou have me do?”  Whatever happened to God’s system of, a man having to work, to obtain things?  If all that we had to do was say, “Give me,” we wouldn’t need companies or factories or stores to operate, at all!  All we would have to do is say, “Lord, give me clothes, a car, a home, some food, plenty of heat, plenty of air conditioning, etc.”  I guess that we all discover, sooner or later, that God expects us to do more than say, “Give me, Give me!”  He expects us to be willing to work.  The Apostle Paul ran into some “Give me” Christians in His day and time and he told them in II Thessalonians 3:10, “…this we command you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat!”  Sound familiar?  We have a true privilege to serve God!  He loved us enough to send Jesus to be crucified, to be resurrected and to take our sins upon his back, so that we could live eternally with God the Father.  Our Heavenly father said, “In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path.” (Proverbs 3:6)  May our prayer be the same as the prayer of Psalm 25:4, “Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.” Christ provides so many benefits to us, as Christians.  He provides saving Grace, He provides life eternal with God, He provides His abundant blessings when we follow Him and obey His call!  I like the lyrics of a song that we often sing, “We'll Work till Jesus Comes!” “There is work on earth for me and you, According to God's word and whatsoever work we do, Should be done as to the Lord! We'll work till  Jesus comes! We'll work till Jesus comes! We'll work till Jesus comes and we'll be gathered home.” We are called to work, so I encourage you to “BE ABOUT THE FATHER’S BUSINESS!  Stay Strong, Stay Focused…Remember, THE BEST IS YET TO BE!