Rocky Point Baptist Church

"Whatever you do, work heartily for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Jesus Christ." (Colossians 3:23-24) 

The last tool in the toolbox of the Christian life that God uses to keep us focused on Him and his kingdom is: Working for Christ. What we have in mind is serving Christ weekly through the context of a local church. There is no greater reward than working hard for Christ...period. When a person serves the Lord on a regular basis and works "heartily" at it, God will use it to grow the worker, strengthen the church, and advance the gospel. We could pour over countless Scriptures that talk about serving the Lord and how in the early church this was not some optional thing. It was not something that those early believers had to think about and pray hard over. Working for Christ was the overflowing response in their hearts of a life lived in God. It was not something they did out of a debtor's ethic or because they felt "guilty" if they didn't serve. It was not some half-hearted commitment that they did only if it didn't interfere with their busy schedule. It was something they wanted to do because they knew there was no greater reward than working in the kingdom of God and seeing lives changed through Christ.

As a pastor I have heard just about every excuse for not working for Christ in a local church. Here are some of the ones I have heard frequently: " I just don't have the time'" or "I don't think God can use me" or "I can't be there every Sunday" or "I just have too much on my plate right now." Sadly most of these excuses are just that--excuses. Most often the people who use these excuses have misplaced priorities. Life is all about choices. In Christ you have the power to choose to serve the Lord if you want to. It all starts with putting Jesus first. On the other end of the spectrum we sadly have people who serve for all the wrong reasons. You will hear things like: "I feel guilty because no one else is stepping up" or "It's my duty" or "I want things done right so I will just do it" or "I'll do it for the kids or I'll do it for so and so." These reasons for serving can be just as bad as the excuses people give for not serving. People like this have the wrong motivation. They are not serving out of a devoted love to the Lord but a devoted duty to religion. They usually are the people who serve for the wrong reasons, with the wrong attitudes, and the wrong giftedness. They usually zap all the joy out of a particular ministry because they are not delighting in the Lord or his work. They serve people or an institution, but not the Lord.

So what's the solution? We need quality people in the church not just quantity people. We need people who are not half-hearted in their commitment to the Lord and we need people who are working for Christ not just for people. As leaders, we don't need to elevate people to a position or place of service until they learn how to worship Christ and walk with Christ. At the same time, we need to make sure we have a biblical process in place that disciples, trains, and equips people ready to do the work of the ministry. A process that helps them to align their priorities to that of the church. In our church this process starts with our new members class called "Peak Performance." It is a required class for all new and prospective members. It shows them the priorities of our church, what is expected of them, and what they can expect of us. It helps them align themselves to the mission of advancing the gospel. At our church we will not accept a member who has not agreed to the basics of weekly worship, small group attendance, and working for Christ.

I think if we hold up the standard that we see in the New Testament and show people how they can meet that standard through a vital and fruitful relationship with Jesus then they will strive to meet that standard and "work heartily" for the Lord. They will see that there is great reward in not just attending a church but serving the Lord through the church.

In our church this commitment of service looks like this: I commit to work hard for Christ in a specific area of ministry without complacency. It is my prayer that you will make that foundational commitment today and spend yourself in service for the Lord Jesus Christ knowing that from him you will receive a great reward.

For the Fame of His Name,

Pastor Ryan