VOLunteerism - finally done

James 2:14-17 - Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? (MSG)

“Great Commission” Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8

John 20:21 - Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

We have been given the same calling as Jesus had to reach out and serve the world. (NIV)

We are no longer in the world but have now become of the world. It is impossible to change a world that you are not in. We have to be living out our life in front of them before they will follow us.

But too often the church and ministry community has become homo-sectual: we only like people who are just like us, or those who live inside the same community that we do.

Psalm 96:4 - Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods.

Our ultimate motivation for everything we do is exactly that, Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised! He is why we reach out to others, not because of their need, but because of his greatness.

All too often when we talk about VOLunteering or about missions the topic seems really heavy because it feels like there is a lot of work or more things being added to your schedule. But if you are really focusing on the reason that you are serving it doesn’t become a chore or duty. Think about how it is at the beginning of a romantic relationship. All you can think about it being with that person and it really doesn't matter how late you stay up when you are together, how many miles you have to drive to make it happen.

Most of the time we see God as a means rather then the end. We serve God day after day looking for some sort of reward for our efforts. The truth is that the reward is that we were allowed to be a part of it at all. God lowered himself to our level to honor us with his presence. It is an honor and not a burden.

Have you ever had a young child help you with a project? Maybe it was making dinner or cleaning up. We all know that we could do it so much better on our own and probably ten times faster, but we love that child and it sweet to have them help. It also helps them grow to have them help. So we struggle through the process. It is the same with God. He comes down to our level and has us help us accomplish his work. Whether it is ministering to the person next door to us who doesn't believe or helping out in an area that has been hit by a natural disaster or going to the other side of the world to care for people that are the polar opposite from us.

The thing is God is going to accomplish his work with or without us (Rev. 22), but he honors us by allowing us to be a part of it.

If you truly want to know if you love God, and you want to see him reigning in your life you will see it reflected when you engage the world around you, not how well you can sing in praise and worship or can talk about him. You will see what happens when you serve.

We need to find ways to engage in what’s going on around the city and around the world. Not only is a good discipline for us as a staff but it is also a good lesson and example for the coaches and students we are leading. We need to find groups and individual organizations for us to contribute our time and treasure to.

We should wake up every day not going through our list of agenda items for the day, but asking God what he has for us to do with the day.

John 17:4 - I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.

That should be our goal at the end of everything, to be able to say those worlds to God. We usually focus on what we want to hear God say to us. That he is proud of us and that we have been faithful. But Jesus faced the end of his time earth with confidence. He knew that each day he had responsibilities given to him by God and in those last moments he felt a sense of release.

From a personal level, If this week was all there was, do you believe you have a race you should be running? Do you have things God has called you to that you have yet to complete? If this YEAR was all there was?

References from: Christine Caine, Francis Chan and Jeff Lewis