Transcript of a published teaching by Dan MacLeod, transcribed from the podcast recording. An attributed primary source — not Acts 2:38 Life doctrine text.
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Summary
Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.
The culture of Christ: not to be served, but to serve
- Culture is the thing that shapes our values and behaviors; who we are as a church is determined by our culture, not our vision — vision is what we say, culture is established by how we live, and the culture will eat the vision all day long.
- He reads the lesson's text, Mark 10:42-45: the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, 'not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.' We cannot come to church to be served, but to serve.
- A caution on the Americanization of Christianity: the church is not a business or a package to be sold; corporate leadership books hold good concepts, but anything that does not come from the Bible must be filtered through the Bible — our culture is determined by the scripture. Just ask Joseph: blessed of God in a pit and a prison, in an unfavorable environment.
Scriptures: Mark 10:42-45
The disposition of the believer: the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:1-8)
- He lays the groundwork from Philippians 2, read from verse 1 through verse 8: like-mindedness and the same love; nothing done through strife or vain glory; in lowliness of mind, each esteeming other better than themselves; looking not on his own things, but on the things of others.
- 'Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus' — the standard is not Paul but Christ: who, being in the form of God, made himself of no reputation, took the form of a servant, and humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
- Jesus was not careless of his reputation; he simply did not manufacture it — he did the will of the Father and let people think what they would. The virtues drawn from the eight verses: unity of thought and purpose, selflessness, purity of motive, consideration of others, meekness, diligence, humility, obedience.
Scriptures: Philippians 2:1-8
Can you carry the cheese? David's errand (1 Samuel 17)
- He turns to the account he has always been mesmerized by — David and Goliath — at verse 13: the three eldest sons of Jesse went to the battle, and verse 14, David was the youngest; the three eldest followed Saul, but David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
- One chapter prior (narrated, not designated here) the prophet had poured the horn of oil on this mid-teenage boy concerning the leadership of God's people — yet when responsibility called him home, he went: had he stayed on the battlefield out of selfish ambition, he would have operated uncovered, unsubmitted, without accountability.
- Only two verses later, 1 Samuel 17:17: Jesse sends David back to the very place he wanted to be — not with a sword, but carrying parched corn, ten loaves, and ten cheeses to his brethren. 'Can you carry the cheese?' The cheese is whatever needs to be done; serving has a way of positioning you, and Jesse could trust David away from home because David had proved his ability to serve at home.
- Serving is the qualification, and serving is the avenue by which God promotes in the kingdom. The church's own need makes it concrete: at minimum 158 volunteers every Sunday — 264 with the choir — across AVL, band, choir, first impressions, children's ministry, nursery, cafe, ushers, security, classes, and bus ministry; in recent services some children's ministry and nursery areas have not operated for lack of volunteers, and Pastor Andrew has rushed out to drive a bus at the last minute. We do not serve only where we want to; we serve where the need is — and the need is determined by the body.
Scriptures: 1 Samuel 17:13-14; 1 Samuel 17:17
Every member has received: hospitality and stewardship (1 Peter 4:9-11)
- 'First Peter 4 and 9': 'Use hospitality one to another without grudging' — sometimes we do all right with the hospitality, but our grudging disqualifies the act. 'As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.'
- You cannot say you have nothing to give: every person has received. If any man speak, as the oracles of God; if any man minister, as of the ability God gives — 'that God in all things may be glorified.'
- All things means all things: the bus ministry, the nursery, teaching Sunday school, ushering, the cafe — opening a door with a smile and a 'good morning, welcome to New Life' is just as much worship as singing under the anointing; nobody may see it, but can you carry the cheese?
Scriptures: 1 Peter 4:9-11
Whatever you do, do it unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23)
- The statement, from Colossians 3:23: 'Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.' There is no sacred-secular divide; worship is our lives — someone pushing a vacuum on this campus is worshipping as surely as someone singing.
- His own formative story: church-planting in Halifax, working for Hilton — a 163-room, seven-floor Hampton Inn running at 98.3% occupancy — he found himself on a 3-to-11 Friday-night shift he rarely worked, weary of drunk parents, dirty rooms, and garbage on the floor.
- On the seventh-floor walk before checkout he saw one piece of garbage and thought the houseman would get it within the hour — 'before God, the Holy Ghost smoked me.' He turned around and picked it up, knowing his boss would never see it and no camera would record it: 'Ultimately I didn't work for my boss... whatever I do, I do it unto the Lord.'
Scriptures: Colossians 3:23
Servants see the miracles: the wedding at Cana (John 2:5-9)
- John 2 and 5, the wedding at Cana: Jesus' mother says to the servants, 'Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it' — six water pots of stone, two or three firkins apiece; 'Fill the waterpots with water,' and they filled them up to the brim, diligent to take him at his word.
- Verse 8: 'Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast' — and the ruler of the feast tasted the water made wine and knew not whence it was, 'but the servants which drew the water knew.'
- Servants get to hear, do, and know things other people do not: the beauty of being a servant is that servants see the miracles. People carrying the cheese are the ones God puts before Goliath and the ones who see the wonders — if you're hungry to be used by God, look for the cheese.
Scriptures: John 2:5-9
Obstacles to a culture of serving, 1-3: prayer, value, insecurity
- He offers seven considerations — obstacles to a culture of serving — for our lives, our families, and our church. First, a lack of prayer: Jesus himself connected prayer and serving — pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers — because service flows out of spirituality; the church gives groceries, yes, but the groceries are the door to the gospel, not the end of the matter. His ask of one young man, offered to all: at least one thirty-minute window every seven days in the prayer room.
- Second, misplaced or unrecognized value: we fail to connect the small things to the larger purpose. Mary and Martha illustrate it — the issue was not Martha's work but its timing; the needful thing at that hour was to sit and hear, and the work that has to be done before is missed when its value goes unrecognized.
- Third, insecurity: one of the enemy's tools to cripple this generation. It affected Moses ('Who am I?', answered by the God who made his mouth) and Gideon ('my family is the least, and I am the least in my family') — God says, yep, you. Every person has received something to contribute; it might be just carrying cheese, but who knows where you'll end up at the end of the chapter if you carry cheese at the beginning of it.
Obstacles 4-7: selfishness, pride, distraction, weariness
- Fourth, selfishness — living with no consideration beyond what I want; the only qualification to be selfish is to have a self. 'I must decrease,' John said; and in 1 Corinthians 10 Paul said that no one should seek their own good, but the good of others — the common good governs: a nursery closed for lack of volunteers can cost an exhausted mother the very word she came desperate to hear.
- Fifth, pride: if you are too great for the small thing, you are too small for the great thing. In Acts 6 the apostles could not step away from prayer and the word to attend to the widows, so deacons full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom were appointed — leadership must keep the main thing the main thing, and the body must come together so leaders are free to do what God is asking. His own memories stand as exhibits: pastoral staff cleaning a restroom five minutes before service in their church-planting days; lingering after a Sunday service as a family of the church grabbed the vacuums and vacuumed the sanctuary, and joining them; Pastor Harpole painting the choir risers at ten o'clock on a Friday night. No leader graduates beyond carrying the cheese.
- Sixth, distraction: we mean well but get busy. He borrows Paul's principle expressly outside its marriage context and says so — in 1 Corinthians 7:35 the verse concludes 'that you may attend upon the Lord without distraction'; simplify, and carve out time to serve: what would happen if four hundred people gave an hour?
- Seventh, weariness: 'Be not weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not' (Galatians 6:9). You will get tired regardless; you might as well get tired doing the thing that matters most — and some do too much because others aren't doing. Isaiah 40 is commended as a reading for the weary.
Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 10; Acts 6; 1 Corinthians 7:35; Galatians 6:9
The close: 'I cut the coal'
- His closing story, from the fall of 1942 as he tells it: with coal labor draining into military service and production needing to rise, Winston Churchill told the coal owners and miners on October 31, 1942 that someday children would ask what each did to win the inheritance — one a fighter pilot, one in the submarine service, one in the merchant convoys — and the coal men would rise with equal pride and equal right and say, we cut the coal.
- Not everybody will preach, or sing, or play — but let it be said in that day: I cut the coal; I carried the cheese; I served my God, my church, my family. We are of equal value in the body.
- The call is for a revival and preservation of a culture of serving — an army of servant-minded volunteers — and the church's serve card is offered (cafe, food pantry, outreach, prayer ministry, greeter, bookstore, usher, parking lot, bus ministry, maintenance, cleaning, photo, video, lighting, sound, multimedia). He closes in prayer against insecurity and for a servant people, and dismisses the service: the word is spoken. God bless you.
Scripture index: Mark 10:42-45; Philippians 2:1-8; 1 Samuel 17:13-14; 1 Samuel 17:17; 1 Peter 4:9-11; Colossians 3:23; John 2:5-9; 1 Corinthians 10; Acts 6; 1 Corinthians 7:35; Galatians 6:9.
Transcript
We're going to start tonight at Mark chapter 10 verse 42 and before I read I want to remind you when we're talking about culture, the reason culture is so powerful is because it is the thing that shapes our values and behaviors. And so who we are and what we are as a church is ultimately determined by our culture and not our vision. And this is why it is good for us to stop and give consideration to these elements of our culture because as we do so, we have to measure how we live and what we say. And what this means is it's possible to say, according to the vision, this is what we want, this is who we want to be, but then we must pause and give consideration to is this actually how we live and operate? Otherwise, as I mentioned last week, the culture will eat our vision all day long.
And so vision is that thing which is determined by what we say, but culture is established by how we live. And as we look to the scripture tonight, this is what we're doing. We're giving consideration to how we live as individuals, as families, and these things shape the collective culture of our church. So Mark 10 and 42, Jesus called them together and said, you know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their high officials exercise authority over them. He is about to draw a comparison here between what influence, leadership, effectiveness looks like in the world or to the Gentiles and to those who follow him. Verse 43, he says, not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give
his life as a ransom for many. So tonight, if the consideration is do we measure up to the standard or the measurement, the culture of Christ, it is this, we cannot come to church to be served but to serve. Really, this is how we should live our lives, not just the conduct that surrounds our church attendance, but specifically here we're talking about our church culture. And with this, I think some consideration should be given and this is very much in the vein of some of what pastor has and is saying concerning service performance in the American church. But the Americanization of Christianity has taken what was a very organic phenomenon and commercialized it. And this is not entirely bad because I think we would all agree that we have to be wise stewards. We have to be good managers of the things that God entrusts to our care.
We're sitting in the blessing of God tonight, that is the result of sacrifice but also great stewardship. And so there is some that is worthy of keeping and consideration but if you think with me the rapid and expansive spread of Christianity around the world in many of the places that it is most radical and it has maintained that very organic spread like wildfire nature of Pentecost, it is in places where it has not been commercialized because the American mind has decided we can just make church a package and you can sell the package and you can execute the performance and while there's some good in this I do want to draw a line of distinction tonight that we understand the church is not a business. Corporate leadership is filled with good books and good concepts but they are not always consistent with the scripture and while we can pick from
many different places if it does not come from the Bible it must be filtered through the Bible and when we're talking about servanthood it's important we get this because the virtues of the scripture will not always do you well in a corporate environment. God can still bless you in that environment just ask Joseph. He found himself in a pit and in a prison but God still blessed him in fact the scripture said God was with him and he had favor with God and with people so you can still be blessed of God in the unfavorable environment but the virtues of scripture when lived out in our lives will not always be commended by those in a corporate environment and so it's very important that we understand the basis for our authority we are looking to the scripture tonight you may find remnants of these things and all
kinds of good books and Ted talks but that is not the basis for our authority our culture is determined by the scripture so let's look at Philippians 2 I want a little little lay little groundwork here concerning the disposition of the believer Philippians 2 and verse 1 if therefore there be therefore any consolation in Christ if any comfort of love if any fellowship of the spirit if any bowels and mercies Paul says I want you to fulfill my joy make my heart joyful and this is how you do it that you be like minded having the same love being of one accord and of one mind let nothing be done through strife or vane glory but in lowliness of mind now here's we're already in conflict with the culture not our culture I hope but but Western culture American culture let each esteem other better than themselves Paul says do
not do anything through strife through selfish ambition or vane glory but in the lowliness of your mind esteem others as better than yourself look not every man on his own things but every man also on the things of others let this mind be in you so now Paul I think Paul had enough wisdom to know I've already said enough in the first four verses you don't like me so in verse five it's like now I'm gonna stop and let you know that the standard that I'm setting is not myself so let the mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus it's as if Paul is saying I'm not just asking you to do this as as if I've set this standard by my own accord the standard is Christ and Christ is in contrast with the culture and so as believers we cannot allow ourselves to take the form of the
culture around us but the Christ who is the head of us so let this mind be in you which was also in Christ the Bible says in verse six who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God what this means is form the spirit of God but when he came incarnated as a man verse seven he made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men now this does not mean that Jesus was careless about his reputation it does not mean he lived reckless or without restraint but it means he did not take into his hands the manufacturing of his own reputation he did the will of the father and he let people think what they wanted to think and say what they wanted to say now in 2025 we've got people who will take
ten pictures to post one selfie in semis for several minutes on what caption and what to do and why because there is an overabundance of concern surrounding the reputation now I don't want you to misunderstand me I'm not advocating we go to the extreme where they're where we're reckless and careless no we have to be wise in in our self stewardship we should protect our reputation at all costs I've heard it said it takes a lifetime to build a good reputation it takes a second to destroy it but what the scripture is saying is Jesus was not concerned with his reputation as it pertained to his obedience he just obeyed and let people come to whatever conclusion they would come to and in doing so he takes the form of a servant verse 8 said being found in the fashion as a man he humbled himself becoming obedient unto death even the
death of the cross here quickly a few virtues that I draw from this text a unity of thought and purpose selflessness purity of motive consideration of others meekness concerning one's own self-perception diligence to the cause or to the task that is before us humility in our self-perception in approach towards others obedient to what God has put before us all of these things are captured in eight verses and these are the virtues that shape the disposition of the believer and so we could spend all night on these eight verses I just I offer this for consideration but I would encourage you in your own study to go back to Philippians chapter 2 and work through this and consider how these things are being produced or growing in your life now I was preaching Selma recently and I made this statement and I thought it
would be good to use it again tonight because Paul tells us that we are not to look on our own interests but the interest of others so what is the culture that he's pushing back against he's pushing back against a culture of selfishness he's saying it is imperative that as Christians others come before self now here's here's the challenge is the only qualification to be selfish is to have a self which means we all qualify you are naturally selfish you just ask my wife she'll tell you and you can ask your spouse when church is over tonight and we don't want fights during service so wait till we dismiss but the only qualification to be selfish is to have a self this is just human nature it is within all of us but the culture of Christ the scripture speaks to us and draws us out of that it into another way of living that's why Jesus
said this is how the Gentiles do it but it is not so with you and so I say this may be how your boss does it your co-worker does it your employer does it it may have been how your family did it and your friends do it but when you come into the church of Jesus Christ and when you come into new life fellowship it is not so with us so let's let's consider some some things about serving here now I've always been mesmerized by this account first Samuel 17 you know it as David and Goliath and no doubt you're most familiar with exciting parts of this story but I want you to see this in verse 13 verse Samuel 17 the three eldest sons of Jesse go and follow Saul to the battle the name of his three sons that went to the battle where Eliab the firstborn next unto him
was a benedab and the third was shama verse 14 said David was the youngest now pay attention the three eldest followed Saul but David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem so step into the story here with me you have a boy who's probably somewhere around 16 is mid teenage years who one chapter prior was called out by the prophet of God and a horn of oil was poured upon him and the anointing of God was placed upon him concerning the leadership of God's people no guarantee of when this would come into fulfillment or the events that might lead into its fulfillment all he knows is God has a promise concerning my future now knowing human nature and knowing the tendency for self that is in all of us and selfish ambition that exists in all of us I can't help but put myself in David shoes why do the three
others get to go to the battlefield and be in the heat of the conflict and where the action is well I want to go to and so the Bible said that he did know not explicitly but we know this because it says that he returned from Saul meaning David followed his brothers to the battlefield but then there comes a moment it's not explicit in the text you can't read it but we know it happened because it says he returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem the brothers older taller and stronger no doubt get to stay there where they hear and see this Philistine giant and the conflict that we would be preaching about thousands of years later and no doubt there is a part of David that thinks why can't I stay I want to be involved I want to be where
the action is here's what David knows I have a commitment to my father I have a responsibility concerning the sheep that are in Bethlehem so while the brothers get to stay in the far more exciting environment David goes home where he has been delegated duty and responsibility now it's my belief I could be wrong but it's my belief that had David acted prematurely out of selfish ambition there is a high likelihood that first Samuel 17 might record his death because had he chosen to stay on the battlefield when responsibility was calling him home he would have been operating uncovered unsubmitted no accountability but thank God the responsibility of serving and the acknowledgement of real accountability in his life had enough pull on his heart that even though he wanted to be where the action was he went back to where his father told him he had to be and what's amazing is only two verses later in
first Samuel 17 17 Jesse comes to David his son and this is what he says take now for thy brethren and if I've parched corn and these ten loaves and run to the camp of thy brethren carry these ten cheeses under the captain of their thousand and look how the brethren fare and take their pledge how amazing is God David gets to go right back to the very place he wanted to be but had to leave however he is not going back with the sword in his hand he has not yet picked up the five smooth stones that he eventually will instead he gets to carry some loaves of bread and ten pieces of probably very smelly cheese here's my first statement for you tonight if you're taking notes can you carry the cheese oh you want to carry a sword David I know I know where you want to be
and I know what you want to do but but what I really need to know is can you carry the cheese and I'll tell you right now the cheese is not glamorous the cheese represents whatever needs to be done and the beauty of how God works in his wisdom is when you're willing to carry the cheese when you choose to serve serving has a way of positioning you David didn't walk back to the battlefield ready to fight that day he did not go with a sword in his hand he did not know what the outcome would be the only reason he was there was because his father sent him and let me tell you why his father sent him because David had proved his ability to serve at home Jesse knew I can trust you to serve away from home you have proved yourself under my oversight so now
I know I can trust you when you're absent of my sight so my question tonight is can you carry the cheese can you do the thing that is not glamorous that is not fun because the promotion of David started here tending sheep when nobody was watching and nobody knew there he was tending sheep and now here he is carrying cheese but soon in just a little while he's gonna walk onto a battlefield with five smooth stones and he's gonna commit the great act of faith that would solidify his legacy and we would preach about for Millenniums but he never would have got there if he looked at his father and said I'm not carrying cheese so can you carry cheese see serving is the qualification it's not your ability it's not your degree it's not your knowledge are you willing to serve and it's not just the qualification serving is
actually the avenue by which God promotes in the kingdom and so as it pertains to our church let me offer you some metrics every Sunday every Sunday we need at minimum 158 volunteers serving on this campus every Sunday that doesn't include the choir which is another measure of commitment but if the choir in there our roster calls for 264 volunteers every Sunday areas include things like AVL the band frontline singers choir photography videography service leads first impressions which includes the door people the greeters the welcome center the parking lot children's ministry nursery the cafe the ushers security and medical classes and bus ministry and let me remind you the cheese the cheese I'm gonna really hammer this cheese thing so you don't forget about the cheese because we we do not serve only where we want to we serve where we need to hear me and the need is not determined by you the need is
determined by the body so well perhaps as we talk about the need and these areas you think well I sure like to do that it just might be we don't have a need there let me just offer you three where we have a need now we have a need and all but we have a real need in a few we always have a need for more people in first impressions people who open the door so nobody ever has to open their own door in this church people who will smile and greet them and say hello and those who will be in the welcome center in the parking lot we always need more people in first impressions but did you know that there have been areas of our children's ministry and nursery that in recent services have not been in operation because we don't have volunteers and look like how in the
world you have 800 people in a building on Sunday but you have an area of children's ministry that is not working I'll tell you why there's nobody carry in the cheese now I won't say too much more about that because you her little birdie you might hear from pastor about that concerning song Sunday but can you carry the cheese you know it it might only be that you have to do it once every few weeks if we had a lot of people willing to carry the cheese or bus ministry not just drivers but driver aids people who will ride the bus just just to help to be around to talk to greet you don't need a CDL license to be a driver aid can you carry the cheese you know we've had services recently where last minute because of a lack of drivers pastor Andrew was rushing out the door getting in a bus and showing up last minute
just because there was nobody else carry in the cheese so while we may have skill sets or interests qualifications that we feel make room for us in a certain area of ministry I'm still trying to talk to to brother Zach about letting me sing but nobody will let me sing I do sing at home a lot usually to be told I'm not that bad but I'm not that good and I don't understand why in the disbursement of talents in the kingdom God had to make people like pastor who keep their hair can sing can preach can dress good and then well there's the rest of us I've always wanted to be that guy that can get up in the pulpit and sing before he preaches it's just not gonna happen but I can tell you I learned early in my ministry how to carry the cheese first Peter
4 and 9 Bible says you use hospitality one to another without grudging sometimes we do all right with the hospitality part but then our grudging disqualifies the act of hospitality as every man hath received the gift note that every man hath received even so minister the same one to another so you cannot say I haven't received you have the Bible just said you have now you may not be a five talent but you have our talent I want to sing I can't sing but I can do something you cannot sit here tonight and say I have nothing to give because the Bible says every person has received even so minister the same as good stewards of the manifold grace of God so if any man speak let him speak as the oracles of God if any minister let him do it as of the ability which God
gives note this that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ what are all things thank you for asking it's the bus ministry it's the nursery it's teaching Sunday school it's being an usher working in the cafe it's opening the door for somebody now I know in our American mind and our metrics we don't think like this but in the eyes of God when you open the door with the smile on your face and say good morning welcome to new life that is just as much worship as when brother Grant is up here singing under the anointing of God he said well no one's gonna see it no one's gonna talk about it no maybe not but can you carry the cheese here's another statement if you're taking notes whatever you do you do it under the Lord Colossians 3 and 23 whatsoever you do do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men knowing that of
the Lord you shall receive the reward of inheritance for you serve the Lord Jesus Christ there is no such thing as a sacred secular divide worship is not when we sing and lift our hands and speak in tongues worship is our lives when someone's walking around this campus pushing a vacuum that is just as much worship when someone's sitting as a bus aid greeting people when they come on helping the driver with directions that is just as much worship I've told this story before but I get moved because sincerely it was probably one of the most formative experiences in my life we were starting the church in Halifax I worked for Hilton for several years and on a Friday night we were 163 rooms Hampton Inn and Suite seven floors which if you know the hotel industry that's rare most Hampton Inns are three or four floors we were in a
unique market we ran at 98.3% occupancy year-round it's unheard of very busy sports teams by the dozens every week and I rarely ever worked anything other than seven to three but because there was a need and I felt that my duty to live the virtues of Scripture in the culture I lived I found myself in the unfavorable position of working a three to eleven on a Friday night when our hotel is full of sports teams and I don't want to make too broad of a generalization but let me just tell you most of the time you have teenagers running wild and you have parents who were intoxicated out of their mind it's not really a pleasant environment we were coming to the conclusion of that 11 o'clock shift and as was the custom the team leader whoever was in oversight of the staff that was on the property would have to do a floor walk
you would start on floor seven and you would go down every floor just to see if anything needed tended to before you left and the night shift came in and I was so weary of dealing with drunk parents and dirty rooms and garbage on the floor and liquor bottles in the common area and kids not respecting the rules I was so weary and I stepped off the elevator on the seventh floor and just doing my duty before I can check out and just under the corner of my eye I saw one piece of garbage on the floor and I thought to myself you know the houseman is supposed to do a floor walk every hour he'll be here in a little bit he can pick that garbage up I didn't say it it just was right here and when I tell you before God the Holy Ghost smoked me now I I know what it is to feel
conviction I felt that many times in places of prayer when I've been in the world I've sat under sound preaching and I felt convicted and God's talked to me about my life but on the seventh floor of a hotel at 11 o'clock on a Friday night I was not expecting God to show up but God had to find out if Dan McLeod would carry the cheese and so I turned around and I picked that up knowing full well my boss would never see it the general manager would never know there was no camera I could have walked away and nobody would have known but ultimately I didn't work for my boss I wasn't being provided for by the name on the paycheck whatever I do I do it unto the Lord I prayed to God that that would get in us well we have people to clean we I'm not this person
and I'm not that person I know but you might find yourself in a position where the cheese needs carried where Jesse's concerned about his kids and wants to make sure that they're provided for get a rapport on their well-being so whatever you do do it to the Lord another statement if you're taking notes is this servants see the miracles John 2 and 5 it's the wedding at the Canaan of Galilee Jesus mother says to the servants whatever he says to you do it and there are six water pots of stone after the manner of the purifying of the Jews containing two or three ferkins apiece Jesus says to them fill the water pots with water and they filled them up to the brim I consider this this afternoon I thought you know that's a unique detail filled them to the brim because you could give me a cup that's two-thirds full now I'm one of those
people if I asked for a dream my wife could tell you this but I asked for a drink of something and you bring me a cup half full like that doesn't work I want you to fill the cup but really by my definition of fill the cup if it was three-quarters full the cup is full but but it was almost like the servants wanted to be so diligent that when he said fill it they made sure it was full to the brim they were going to take him at his word then he says to them verse 8 draw out now and bear under the governor of the feast and they bear it the ruler of the feast and tasted the water which was made my wine and knew not whence it was but note this the servants which drew the water new so here in a matter of few verses in this account of Jesus first miracle Jesus
speaks to them they get to do something and they have knowledge that others do not have servants get to hear do and know things that other people do not now this is not just information for information sake because it's possibly to be an information junkie even in Jesus day some people came to him with questions concerning his life and this is what he said come and see you want to know then follow me because you don't learn this unless you live this let me tell you tonight the beauty of being a servant his servants see the miracles people carry in the cheese are the ones that God puts before Goliath and they're the ones that get the anointing to throw the stone and they're the ones that see the miracles they are the ones that God promotes because serving is not just the qualification it's the avenue through which God
promotes so if you're hungry to be used by God if you're looking to see miracles and wonders in your life well look for the cheese the servants see the miracles now similar to last week I'm gonna offer you some considerations tonight I have seven considerations obstacles to a culture of serving so these are seven things I'm inviting you to consider in your life and your family in our church in order that we can collectively have a culture of serving number one is this it's a lack of prayer you said we're talking about serving well Jesus said I want you to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers so the connection between prayer and serving is not from us it's from him and this is why service flows out of spirituality now we do a great job we have an amazing food pantry that blesses so many people I've been around the
office and I'll hear sister Laurie answer the phone people calling to inquire when when is it open how can I get help you know why they do that because we new life fellowship has chosen to involve our self in a humanitarian effort this is good however we are not a humanitarian organization we are the church we give groceries yes but it's not all we give we are motivated by the love of God to do what Jesus did the Bible says he went about doing good he just looked for people that he could do good but the good was not the end of the matter the groceries are the door to bring the gospel we're not in the business of just doing humanitarian effort though we do this is the difference between a church and a humanitarian organization so yes we're going to give food but ultimately we're giving you food so we can introduce to you to a
freedom that will last when the groceries are gone and we have to keep that connection of service and spirituality we don't want people serving who are not spiritual this is why Jesus invites us into a place of prayer and says I want you to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers because the work the service is the outflow of spiritually minded people who understand the real value and priority of what is being done so number one is this it's a lack of prayer so we have to pray we have to be people of prayer I was meeting with the young man the other day and this this is what I asked of him he want talking about some growth and and things and I said well here's what I'm asking of you you're asking me to speak into your life you're
asking for for direction and help I've been in the pulpit or I've been in the church many times why here pastor in fact he made quite a statement the other day why is it the office has a waiting list and the prayer rooms empty I thought I said here's what I'm asking of you I want you to find at least one 30 minute window every seven days and be in the prayer room what would happen if three or four hundred people made that kind of commitment who said once a week at least at least 30 minutes once a week I will come to the church I will go to the prayer room and I will pray why are we doing this because this isn't just about groceries it's just not about clean carpets and buildings and nicely mowed lawn all of that is good it's necessary we are going to do it
but the service has to flow out of spirituality number two is misplaced or unrecognized value what I mean by this is we have to understand why very much in sync with what I just said this this is this is us connecting service with mission I will never forget the first time I traveled internationally I was in Sydney Australia I've been privileged to be back a few times but I was 19 on that trip with some older ministers you know I say older they that's perspective right there they were younger than I am now I think but I'll never forget getting in the car the morning session had finished at the conference and pastors in the driver's seat and the man who had spoken in that morning sessions in the front and I'm in the back with two other gentlemen and the man who had just finished preaching and stopped to use the restroom on the way out of
church and we get in the car and he looked at the pastor and he called him by name and thank God they were friends or this may have been a little bit abrasive in his approach but he looked at him called him by name and he said your restrooms are disgusting I thought well he's bold but now I've lived a little bit and I think I understand what he was talking about because you can have all the holy ghost you want to have if if that individual stops in the restroom on their way into the sanctuary and can't find a toilet that's clean walks into a restroom that stinks how do you think that might affect their attitude as they come into the church service and there is a temptation that we may look at these things like well does it really matter how does that play
into the big picture and what I'm saying is we have to change our perspective to connect those small things to the larger purpose we can consider Mary and Martha I think and I I've even preached in Mary's favor in this church but I will also say that I think sometimes Martha gets a little bit harder than she deserves because the issue was not the work it was the timing it would be the equivalent of of pastor coming down off the pulpit in the middle of a message on Sunday morning to somebody vacuuming the atrium and saying hey it's not time for this yes the work needs to be done Martha but this is not the time to do it Mary chose the needful thing the right thing not because what Martha was doing was wrong or out of place it was the timing of the matter he was there to speak they were gathering around him it was Sunday
morning it has to be done before but many times it's gone because there was a misplaced or unrecognized value we we don't realize the significance or the value of all of those things of the cheese number three is insecurity I I believe I preach a set of youth camp a couple weeks ago in Louisiana I really believe that insecurity is is one of the enemy's tools to cripple so many people in this day and age it's just a lack of confidence it affected Moses who me yes you I'm the one that made your mouth it affected Gideon me you want to use me you obviously don't know who I am Lord you don't know that my family is the least of all these people and I'm in the least of my family I am the least of the least and God says yep you and I feel very confident tonight and saying that
there are people in this church that have something to contribute how do you know that because the Bible says every person has received it's not even that you don't want to it's that you feel inadequate or insecure in your contribution I tell you tonight there is a place for you I don't know what that place may be it might be just carry in cheese but who knows where you'll end up at the end of the chapter if you carry cheese at the beginning of the chapter it's insecurity number four this one's a little a little punchier selfishness this is the one that simply lives with no consideration of other people or things beyond that which they want they they come through a conclusion concerning what they think and what they want and they are unwilling to move beyond the boundary of self they're just selfish and the hard thing is the
only qualification to be selfish is to have a self and so it is that we must address our self subdue our self I must decrease John said why because selfishness will rob us of a culture of serving first Corinthians 10 Paul said that no one should seek their own good but the good of others this is very much similar to what I shared last week that we must live with the common good in mind I cannot live only consume with that which I want I have to give the consideration to how does my life what I say what I do how I serve or don't serve how does that affect others so for example the nursery can't be open because no one was carrying the cheese and now the mother who probably hasn't slept in days and is tired and really needs a word from God is wrestling with
the whiny kid or child and she's struggling to engage in worship and I mean you had kids one day but it's been a long time so you've been enjoying church for a long while here she is so needing a touch from God but struggling with their young child and can't engage in worship and pastors preaching and she so desperately wants to hear and needs to hear but the child is this is hard to control I we've all been I've been there I've got three kids and I remember those days and so now she's considered of the common good and she's considered of the preacher and she doesn't want to create an unnecessary disruption so what does she do the one who so desperately needs what's happening she excuses herself from the sanctuary now what happens she leaves never getting what she needed she sits in the atrium she walks through the
hallways all because there was a door closed with the sign on it because nobody was carrying the cheese number five is pride similar to selfishness but I want to build on a little bit and what I mean by this is the pride person they say this they're too great if you are too great for the small thing then you were too small for the great thing acts six is a great example of this as it pertains to the leadership and acts six the apostles had to step away from the duty of prayer in the word to attend to the to the saints to the widows and then they realized this doesn't work if I have to step away from my primary responsibility then there's no prayer and there's no word and because this is not a humanitarian organization this is the church if there's no prayer
and there's no word the groceries don't matter so what did they do they appointed deacons who are full of the Holy Ghosts and had wisdom and they appointed them so they could tend to these things now listen I use Pastor Andrew as an example tonight he stepped in and carried the cheese on the bus on more than one occasion but that's not his primary duty it's not that he's above it it's not that he's beyond it or that any leader is but but pastor can't step away from the primary responsibility to tend to these other things or we're all in trouble so what is necessary is for the leadership to keep the main thing the main thing and for the body of Christ to come together with the servant-minded culture and say hey we're gonna make sure that we take care of one another we're gonna show hospitality one to another we're gonna
love one another we're gonna serve one another you think well I'm too great for that no that's pride and we are not too great for anything even the small things I struggle to say this but I hope you know my heart but I recognize that I'm not always in the same place or season I want I recall a day in church planning on more than one occasion we didn't have pastoral offices in our own restroom our churches had two public restrooms and I remember on more than one occasion when I would go to the restroom five minutes before service and realize well apparently nobody's attended to this so well church is starting and the music is going there's one of the pastoral staff in the restroom cleaning up I know what it is to carry the cheese I also know what it is to have other responsibilities that that you can't step away from I've
been in both scenarios I know what it is to mow the church lawn and clean the restrooms and vacuum the sanctuary in fact a few months ago we had lingered here in fellowship one Sunday and as we were getting ready to leave Mike and Darcy hedges with their daughter [name redacted] grabbed the vacuums and were vacuuming the sanctuary I'm gonna confess to you something as up until that Sunday I did not know the sanctuary was vacuumed every Sunday after church like right away you know what I did I went and grabbed a vacuum and I started put and to which they said oh brother McLeod you don't need to do that I said I know but you know I remember what it was like being a church planner just dreaming to have a building hoping to have something there was a day we had to vacuum the
sanctuary every week but Mike I've not vacuumed in a long time and I know that may not be my primary responsibility or my main calling but every now and then it's a good reminder let me tell you when we get back in the old sanctuary I don't remember what the event was but there was a Friday night at about 10 o'clock Pastor Harpole was in the sanctuary painting the choir risers so well don't we have people for that yeah we sure do isn't there an army of men who would be willing to do it if they knew absolutely but every now and then even the leader just it's just easier to do it so we never get to the place that the leader graduates beyond it but I will tell you if this church is going to grow in numerical size and spiritual health it requires that leaders be free to do what God is asking
them to do and that the saints involve themselves in the work of the ministry that they serve number six is distractions we mean well we intend to do it but we just got busy and distracted I know the scripture is in a very different context Paul is talking about husbands and wives and marriage and those who are not married but the principle I think still speaks in 1st Corinthians 7 35 the verse concludes by this statement that you may attend or serve the Lord without distraction the intent here is to simply give you this to consider not the context of 1st Corinthians 7 but Paul's objective was this I'm trying to help your life be without distraction because I know when you're distracted serving is hard and so for some of us it may bring the consideration that I just need to simplify I do too much I work too long
I run too fast and you carve out some time in your days and in your week to serve you say well I can only give an hour that's awesome what would happen if 400 people gave an hour distractions and number seven is weariness Paul said in Galatians 6 and 9 be not weary and well-doing or in due season you shall reap if you faint now this is the reality any working individual can tell you this you will get tired you're gonna get tired regardless of what you do so you might as well get tired doing a good thing yeah you know I'm tired if I traveled and it's been a long day and I'm tired if it was an easy day at home it's just human nature well if I'm gonna be weary I might as well be weary doing the thing that matters the most so be not weary and well-doing and there is
a host of scripture we could consider tonight that is spoken to those who are weary Isaiah 40 would be a great one for you to read so weariness these are the seven things I present for consideration tonight as obstacles we must address in our lives if new life will have a culture of serving there are some who get weary because they do too much but they do too much because others aren't doing so let us consider tonight what I can do what we can do for new life to have a culture of serving I close with this World War two had just crossed the three-year mark of conflict and at this juncture there was really no definite end in sight coal miners in that day were pretty low on the social ladder their working conditions were terrible the job itself was without honor many believed in that fall of 1942 that the military service
would be a welcome relief from the undesirable job of mining coal while the industry began to see a great decline in its labor force England found itself in the unfortunate position of a declining labor force in a needed field and with the war that was intensifying a demand to increase the production of coal so British Prime Minister Winston Churchill rightly understanding that those dark dreary undesirable coal mines were not insignificant he knew that without miners who could faithfully harvest coal there was no way they could win the war October 31st 1942 at a small conference of coal owners and miners Churchill rose to a podium and gave a short five-minute speech he said we shall not fail and then someday when children ask what did you do to win this inheritance for us and to make our names so respected among men one will
rise and say I was a fighter pilot and another will say I was in the submarine service and another will rise and say I marched in the 8th Army and a fourth will say none of you could have lived without the convoys in the merchant sea men and you he said to the coal men will rise with equal pride and with equal right and you will say we cut the coal and so I say not everybody is going to be like pastor not everybody is going to rise and preach not everybody is going to sing like brother Grant Doherty not everybody is going to play like Zach Fisher or Roman Harpo not everybody is going to be like everybody else but let it be said in that day I cut the coal I rose up I serve my God I serve my church I serve my family I carry the cheese I cut the
coal we of our equal value in the body so I call tonight my call tonight is for a revival a preservation of a culture of serving of of an army of volunteers an army of servant minded men and women who sell just do whatever needs to be done it doesn't have to be glamorous or fun I don't need any special qualification I just want to make sure the door is never closed I want to make sure the need is met I will cut the coal stand with me serve others this is our new life serve card where you write the date your name a phone number an email and you indicate your area of interest the cafe the food pantry outreach can help with I love my city out reaches on Thursdays the prayer ministry greed or bookstore usher parking lot bus ministry maintenance cleaning photo video
lighting sound multimedia I know the American mind says well this is more honorable than this the kingdom doesn't work that way the honorable thing is what needs done and the need is not determined by your interest or my interest it's determined by the body and I say we have needs in the body so we're gonna pray and dismiss here in a moment they're gonna leave that screen up you can scan it with your phone and fill this out or there's a couple up here by these jars if you want to come grab one drop them off at the welcome center if you fill it out but but this is the call this is the call of the pastor this is the call of the Lord this is the call of the church this is the body expressing the need hey we're talking about a culture of
serving it's how we got here it's the only way we're gonna get there father I thank you for every good thing that you've done I thank you for the many numbers of great testimonies and lives have that have been changed but father we have so much to do there is so many needs before us and so much to consider and I'm asking that the Word of God would fall on good ground I'm praying that it would provoke conversation between husbands and wives and parents and children about how we can better serve the kingdom by serving our church and serving the members of our church family I pray against every lie of insecurity I pray against every lie the enemy would speak that says they have nothing to contribute every member has a gift every member has value I pray you would help them see themselves as you see them and that you would give us
wisdom and let the Spirit provoke us unto good works that we may put our hand to the plow and that we act in preservation of this most necessary culture we are servants I pray this tonight in Jesus name in Jesus name amen amen maybe you're serving maybe not maybe you're serving in one area but you could help in another area once every few weeks these are on the platform you can scan the screen but I think the word is the word is spoken God bless you
Scripture references as spoken: Mark 10:42-45; Philippians 2:1-8; 1 Samuel 17:13-14; 1 Samuel 17:17; 1 Peter 4:9-11; Colossians 3:23; John 2:5-9; 1 Corinthians 10; Acts 6; 1 Corinthians 7:35; Galatians 6:9.