Dr.Charles Stanley

0:00Hey, this is strong very hard y'all feeling out there today. I hope everybody is doing well because right now We're going to praise a little bit with Dr. Charles Stanley the believer of highest honors That so many Christians have difficulty living their Christian life is because There is such a tremendous Contrares between what the word of God teaches and what the world promotes and there is a vast contras between the two The tragedy is that a lot of Christians have been caught up in what the world teaches rather than what God teaches because What the world teaches appeals to the flesh it appeals to our Naturalness and you recall in the 15th chapter John the 17th chapter and in 1st John chapter 5 We are warned about it in fact in 1st John He says love not the world either the things they're in the world That is don't even don't certainly don't love their opinions and their philosophy and their viewpoint

1:01Yeah, that is exactly what happens It's one of these areas in which we have such a vast contras between what the world believes and what our Bible teaches That I want to talk about and I want you to turn if you will to John chapter 12 John chapter 12 and I want us to read just a few verses here And I want us to think in times of The believers highest honor. What is the highest honor? They could be bestowed upon a believer and in this real chapter of John Jesus has just laid down a principle very strong principle in a single verse. He sits so much when he said Verse 24 truly true. I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains alone But if it dies it there's much fruit. That's sort of the foundation of what he's about to say Then he says who he who loves his life loses it He who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal

2:03Then he says if anyone Serves me he must follow me and where I am there my servant will be also if anyone serves me the father will honor him Listen to that. The father will honor those who serve him Now I think there are lots of people that God has called in the service and Often times we have the idea that service means preaching the gospel being a missionary of playing in a church orchestra Was singing in a church choir or doing some specific work in the church which all some are very very important Areas of service, but think about this if you're a mother Raising godly children and you see that is the place that God has called you to serve in this particular time in your life Don't be forever because your children are gonna grow up But it's the place that God has called you to serve with your husband at this point in your life You're serving God in that place. It may be in your business

3:05You may be the president the vice president you may work somewhere else along in that business, but You there because you believe that's where God's placed you you make you're trying to make an impact of the people around you You are doing exactly what the Possible Paul said in Colossians when he said we have to do our work as unto the Lord That we are serving God by doing our work with equality doing our work the best we know how Doing our work in the right spirit in the right attitude doing it as unto the Lord himself and doing it in a fashion that's making an Impact on the lives of those around us. That is our attitude the decisions that are being made either about us or decisions We make a decisions we make with the principles of Scripture in mind you are serving God in that place He's saved me to be like salt and like light So he certainly isn't gonna put us all in the same place He's gonna put his sermons in different aspects of society and business world wherever it might be He's put placing as there north to be like salt

4:05Changing the flavor like light driving out the darkness so that all of us who believe us fall into the category of being Servants of God whether you carry out your service or not It's not even the issue. That's what God called you to do And I want you to listen why I believe it should be considered a great honor. First of all the privilege to serve God Simply means this the privilege to serve the highest sovereign of the whole universe If you notice for example in Colossians chapter one When Paul is describing the Lord Jesus Christ is what he says about him in this first chapter. He says Beginning in verse 15. He is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of all creation By him all things were created both in the heavens and on the earth Visible and then he says visible and invisible for the thrones or the minions or rulers or thartis all things have been created through him and for him

5:05He is before all things in him all things are held together that sustained by him He's the head of the body the church and he's the beginning of the first one of the other dead Now think about this for a moment to be called to serve the living God is to be called to serve the highest Person who has ever existed who's always existed always will he is the most high God He is the sovereign of the entire universe He is the creator of all things the sustain of all things listen He rules and governs all things and he's the head of the body his church Is it not an honor wouldn't I be considered an honor to serve the living God yes indeed because here is a person listen Unlike anyone else who's ever existed and the fact that he has done for you and me What no one else could possibly do by sending his own they got and sent it out across the savings from our sins delivering us from the Also eternal Pindive our sin and not only that To be able to serve the one who is called the king of kings and the Lord of lords is the highest honor

6:06God could give us as his children and That being the case. Let me ask you once. I'll ask you many times Why is it that you have possibly some of you you have never served God in any fashion you joined the church when you were a child or young person It may have been over only years in your life you joined the church you attend church You give your money you hear the prayers you enjoy the singing you listen to the sermon and you go home But as far as serving God it's never done don't you that God calls you not only listen to say to you But he also called you to be one of his servants you say well, but my education has nothing to do with it Well, my age has nothing to do with it. My will my health has nothing to do with it Some of the greatest servants of God are people who are on their bed of affliction But they are great intercessors for the living God great servants of God And if God's ready servants out there from God's viewpoint I'm going to show you one of your moments never been the seminary never been to college great servants of the living God All of our excuses are rendered absolutely no and void

7:09God saved us and one of the primary reasons he saved us is in order that we might serve him So one of the reasons I believe it's a privilege to serve him is because look who we are serving the sovereign Units the sovereign power of the entire universe is called you and me to serve him But there's a second reason That is this to serve the living God is the father in the pathway of the Lord Jesus Christ himself Look if you will in the 20th chapter of Matthew from all Matthew chapter 20 and notice if you will in these last few verses here 20th chapter beginning with the 25th verse 20th chapter Matthew 25th verse listen He says but Jesus called them to himself and said you know that the rulers of the Gentiles Lord and over them That is we're talking about the way the world operates He says and they're great men exercise a third deal with him Think about this. How does the world look at greatness you be number one you be on top

8:09You you be the most famous you you be the greatest You be the biggest you be the largest that is that's what the world could have called greatness prestige popularity power control Listen to what he says he says it is not this way among you But whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant and whoever wishes to be first among you She'll be your slave just as the son of man Jesus did not come to be served But to serve and to give his life a ransom for many when you and I choose to surrender ourselves to our Lord to be his servants We step in the pathway of the Son of God. He said I didn't come to be served I came to serve and so what we have to ask ourselves the question is this if the Lord Jesus Christ Listen, who is our master are we greater than he? Can we exercise any kind of excuse this legitimate the eyes of God for not serving him Can we give any excuse that's acceptable to him for not serving him are we greater than Jesus who listen

9:10Who not only was a servant, but he says he was a bond slave He took upon himself the form of a bond slave and all of the serve mankind and the serve of father When you trust in Jesus Christ as your personal savior You were adopted into the kingdom of God your sins were forgiven your name was written the lambs book of life You took upon yourself sonship and Servanthood and the tragedy is that most people are going to live their entire life and never dawn on them that we listen We are to spend and invest our days in our life our years in serving God in some fashion Well, that's another reason I think because you think in terms of it to serve him It's a prelude to what you and I are going to be doing we get to heaven Now somewhere along the way back in the past Somebody put up these big huge family bibles got all these pictures Nears black and white pictures now angels and and what do you see on those angels that float around the sky and flying around And so forth and if you ask some people or what are we going to do? We get to heaven. Well, I don't know I guess we're just gonna we're just gonna worship God. Let me tell you something heaven's gonna be a very active place

10:12There's not even there is this some people say well, just be sure when it's all over Maybe on these days not get to heaven. I can just rest Well, forget it because number one there's nothing listen There's going to be a rest there are souls But if you think that means sitting down doing nothing Listen, God is not enacted Jesus isn't an active and the saints have got on this earth not an active and why do you think heaven's going to be some Inactive place you sit around and do nothing for all eternity Jesus said I'm going to prepare place for you. I'm going. I'm going to get busy and prepare place to you So when I come again, I'll call you to myself Heaven's gonna be a very active place. I want you to turn if you will sit revelation because somebody says Well, you mean to tell me that after I labor down here all these years I'm gonna go to heaven go to work. Amen. Amen. That's right And for you folks who decide you're gonna retire listen you may retire against God's will But I'm telling you he's gonna wake you up when you die. Listen to this. Listen to what he says He says for example, let's begin in verse one of that 22nd chapter Then he showed me a river of the water of life. Clear as crystal

11:14He says coming from the throne of God into the lamb in the middle of its street on either side He said the river that was the tree of life bearing 12 kinds of fruit yielding its fruit every month And it leaves the tree where for the healing of the nations There will be no longer that in a curse and the throne of God and of the lamb will be in it and his bond servants Will serve him awake up His bond servants will serve him that is God listen is going to give you and me the privilege The high honor of serving him in heaven for all eternity There's not a single verse in the scripture that gives anybody they listen legitimate excuse for not serving God We can serve him from listen from any perspective There are so many avenues of service for God and yet some people will live there in tie loves And I think about people get saved right in life the children church to get baptized and they go to church Somewhere along the way it never dawns on nobody ever instruction nobody ever challenges them They go to church they give them money they the prayers and so forth and nobody ever says listen

12:17Are you serving God what are you doing to serve God and I think about people who lived and I think of the tragedy of living your entire life And never even realizing that you're a servant of God never taking advantage of the option to never recognizing what an awesome honor It is the serve God friend Don't live your life waste your life and die forgetting the fact that God chose you And saved you and one of the reasons for doing so is that you made me come one of his servants He can use your hands and your feet and your eyes and your ears and your lips and your body to serve him to bring honor and Glory to him the idea of joining a church and sitting down and filling out filling up a pew or a seat and going home and forgetting it and not serving God is totally unscriptural Totally unscriptural. There's not a single verse in the Bible whereby a person can defend that kind of attitude And tragedy of prejudice is that some people have lived their entire life and it's never dawned on them I have a personal Responsibility to my God to my Savior to the Holy Spirit enables me to serve the living God daily

13:21Whether it's in my home or in my business in my school among my friends. I'm to serve the living God And let me tell you something that's not an option. We say baptism is an option. Neither is serving God an option That's not optional. Well, will I be a servant of God or will I not? And I think about young men who are called to the ministry and turn him down You think it you think about what that means somebody's not thinking You mean God called you to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ And you said no to the sovereign Lula of the universe who wouldn't even have to blank his eye and can make you absolutely a putterate in a moment How can you say no to the living God? How can you say no to the son of God who died for you? How can you say now? How can you say no to a God who's been so good to you? How can you say no to a God who graces you with the call to serve him It doesn't even make sense And you say the truth is we're all his servants That's that's who God has made us. It's one thing to be called a saint and a Christian and a follower and a soldier

14:26And an abas in all the rest Servant of the most high God Every single one of us is a circle of God and so our spirit is we have to serve him in humility We have to serve him to the best of our God given ability through the gifts that God has given us Certainly we should consider it indeed a high honor Well, there's something other reason for it and that is this To serve God Is a means about which I can express my gratitude to God for saving me now listen carefully We do not serve God in order to be saved. I'm gonna say that three times because that's what people hear We do not serve God in order to be forgiven. We do not serve God in order to go to heaven We do not serve God in order to be saved We do not serve God in order to inherit eternal life We serve God because we are saved because we do have to give to be turned like because we are his children Because we are eternal secure because we are born again because we are saved

15:27It's because we are that we serve him but We certainly should be sons and daughters of gratitude and certainly servants of gratitude because what is he done? What he's done for us is what no one else could possibly do you think about this God saved some of us very early in life Thank God he did Some God has saved very late in life. Thank God. He saved you late in life God in his grace and mercy and love and patience and long suffering is put up of the whole bunch of junky stuff in all of our lives What is he just kept on loving us kept on blessing us kept on using us what listen? He's not looking for perfect people you say I'm so imperfect. Join the ranks of them perfect We're all imperfect. We don't come to church because we're worthy. We don't come to church because we're good We don't come to church because listen because we're perfect We don't come to church because we're saints. We come to church to worship him Because we're his sons and daughters and servants of his and we want to honor him serve him Love him praise him worship him and adore him because of who he is not because of who we are

16:31So much of the world's ideas self-centered number one first biggest position power prestige promise What's Jesus thinking all the time bond servant washing feet doing whatever is necessary to do what to serve the living God Now listen when God calls us to serve him we can't tell him where when how how long or anything else Listen if Jesus Christ walked into the day walked up to you and said to you. I want you to serve me How many of you would say well where? When how much how long was she gonna cost me Serbans are God centered So let me ask you this Are you willing to serve God so yes Are you willing to say to him today Lord anywhere Anytime Anything under any condition here am I Let me ask you this could you put it in the other way?

17:32Could you say I'm available for most things Lord I'm willing to serve for a little while do my time Possible Lord, but you know what but God what what's what's the reward going to be Servants don't seek reward. They seek to please the Father Now listen to me care for all of my heart God knows my heart Is a servant of God What what else can we do with give back to him what belongs to him that is our total being Our eyes our lips All their entire body belongs to him and everything you and I possess in quotes belong to him What are we to do with it with to serve him There's not a verse in the Bible that gives me the right To act on my own once I trust the Jesus Christ as my Savior and my Lord If he's my Lord, he has full rights of me. He's my Lord. He has the last word

18:35Whatever he says what I must do with I like it enough He doesn't say I suggest he doesn't say would you please do so and so He doesn't ask you know what he's the Lord. He is master He's God and you know what what the church wakes up when the body of Christ wakes up and realizes that we are Millions upon millions upon millions strong As the servants of the living God and begin to step out in life making an impact with the power of the Holy Spirit The Church of God will wake up and something will happen to this evil wicked vile world When the servants of God began to be servants Rather than sitting and watching the world go by Well, let me give you one last reason That's simply this The serve God listen to serve God Is that he placed in the highest position There is in the eyes of God. It's the it's to take the place of the highest position. There is now as of God

19:36Now let's go back to Matthew chapter 20 Matthew chapter 20 and listen again. What he said. I want to read this verse again because there's slip right by you Mr. What he said He said at verse 25 Jesus calling to himself and he said to them Rulers of the Gentiles that is the world's leaders Lord and over them Control them exercise authority over them Of the Gentiles lorded over them and their great men exercise authority over them That is those in positions of power and prestige and prominence and all the rest these the great men This is what he says it is not this way among you Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your yakanah your servant Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave your delus Just as the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many Somebody says I'd like to be a great person

20:38I can tell you the route is not the world's route To be great does not mean we climb the ladder to be number one to be great means that you are not kneeled before the Lord Jesus Christ in say lord I humble myself before you as your servant I'll go where you want me to go I'll do what you want me to do. I'll say what you want me to say. I'll be what you want me to be I'm available 24 hours a day to your divine call I'm willing to work. I'm willing to labor hard. I'm willing to employ my gifts. I'm willing to suffer I'm willing to do whatever is necessary to please you my master Let me ask you a question Does he deserve anything less than that Someone will challenge you ask yourself this question Yod Can I really claim by my conduct

21:40by my actions By the way, I've spent my time by my labor to have the right to claim that I'm one of your servants And notice I said about what we do not about what he said Secondly Ask yourself this question Am I really and truly willing to say to the Lord Jesus Not my will that will be done. I surrender myself to you as a servant Your will your way your timing your place your manner and whatever you call me to do I just want to want you to understand if I do anything less than that If I do anything less than that

22:44I am refusing To live out the very life Remember it doesn't make any difference who you are where you are in life Does making about your past going to fix your past Union and beginning has nothing to do with age got to take you right where you are begin to use you There's nothing to do with your education. God can use you wonderfully whether you have one or not It has to do with my attitude Spirit of my heart and my willingness to say I recognize you as the sovereign of this universe The one who has saved me and kept me and sustained me the one to whom I'm going to give account for my life And the one with whom I'm going to spend all they try to do is a servant I don't believe any of us can say to him I'm an exception

23:46Another one of us Created in Christ Jesus Will the purpose of good works which he for ordained That you and I Should walk in them as a lifestyle Father, I pray the Holy Spirit We'll speak to every single one of us. I will you to speak to my heart God You Every single one of us We owe you everything You have honored us We're allowing us to be saved and to be your servants I pray the Holy Spirit Would speak to every delusional person those who have refused Jesus Christ over this one in their life To acknowledge That the review salvation and the review service

24:47Is the rebel against the most I got I pray for those who have never even thought about it until this verification That you may grant them the wisdom and the courage to say Lord Here am I said to be period But we ask it in Christ name