Called to Serve

Saturday, February 11, 2012

by Dr. Paul Chappell

"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."

Psalm 100:1-3

The story is told of a young man who had been hired by the personnel department of a large supermarket chain. The young man was excited for the opportunity as he reported to work at one of the stores. The manager greeted him with a warm handshake and a smile, handed him a broom and said, "Your first job will be to sweep out the store." Shocked, the boy replied, "But I'm a college graduate." The manager looked down and replied, "I'm sorry. I didn't know that. Here, give me the broom and I'll show you how."

Sometimes we can pridefully believe that we are better than menial jobs. Whether because of training or degree or prestige, we can look down on "lesser" jobs and refuse to do them. In God's plan, however, no job is too menial for a believer.

There are many jobs that must be done to support God's church each week. Some need to teach, others must sing, others will conduct the service, some help in the nursery, while others clean up afterward. Whatever the task, the result is helping God's work advance each week.

How are you serving the Lord in your local church? God has called everyone to serve Him in some capacity. For instance, while you may not be able to sing in the choir, you could perhaps send weekly encouraging emails or cards to people in your Sunday school class.

God wants every believer to actively be involved in serving Him. Ask God how He would have you be involved in serving Him through your church.

Today's Growth Principle
There is no job too small that God will not be glorified in you doing it.

Old Testament Reading

Leviticus 11-12

CHAPTER 11

¹ And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, ² Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. ³ Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. ⁴ Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. ⁵ And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. ⁶ And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. ⁷ And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. ⁸ Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.

⁹ These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. ¹⁰ And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: ¹¹ They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination. ¹² Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you. ¹³ And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, ¹⁴ And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; ¹⁵ Every raven after his kind; ¹⁶ And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, ¹⁷ And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, ¹⁸ And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, ¹⁹ And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

²⁰ All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. ²¹ Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; ²² Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. ²³ But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you. ²⁴ And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even. ²⁵ And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. ²⁶ The carcases of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean. ²⁷ And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even. ²⁸ And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you. ²⁹ These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, ³⁰ And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole. ³¹ These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even. ³² And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed. ³³ And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it. ³⁴ Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean. ³⁵ And every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you. ³⁶ Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean. ³⁷ And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean. ³⁸ But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you. ³⁹ And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even. ⁴⁰ And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. ⁴¹ And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten. ⁴² Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.

⁴³ Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. ⁴⁴ For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ⁴⁵ For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. ⁴⁶ This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: ⁴⁷ To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.

CHAPTER 12

¹ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ² Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. ³ And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. ⁴ And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. ⁵ But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.

⁶ And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest: ⁷ Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female. ⁸ And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.

New Testament Reading

Matthew 26:1-25

¹ And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, ² Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. ³ Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, ⁴ And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. ⁵ But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.

⁶ Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, ⁷ There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. ⁸ But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? ⁹ For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. ¹⁰ When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. ¹¹ For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. ¹² For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. ¹³ Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

¹⁴ Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, ¹⁵ And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

¹⁷ Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? ¹⁸ And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. ¹⁹ And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. ²⁰ Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. ²¹ And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. ²² And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? ²³ And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. ²⁴ The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. ²⁵ Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.

Proverbs Reading

Proverbs 11

¹ A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight. ² When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom. ³ The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. ⁴ Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death. ⁵ The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. ⁶ The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness. ⁷ When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth. ⁸ The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead. ⁹ An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered. ¹⁰ When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting. ¹¹ By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. ¹² He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace. ¹³ A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter. ¹⁴ Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. ¹⁵ He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: and he that hateth suretiship is sure. ¹⁶ A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain riches. ¹⁷ The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh. ¹⁸ The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. ¹⁹ As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death. ²⁰ They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight. ²¹ Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered. ²² As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. ²³ The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath. ²⁴ There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. ²⁵ The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. ²⁶ He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. ²⁷ He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him. ²⁸ He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. ²⁹ He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. ³⁰ The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. ³¹ Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.