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"Service in Light of the Cross" Matthew 16:24-28
"The Centrality of the Cross" series, part 5
March 13, 2005
by The Rev. Clancy Nixon
Church of the Holy Spirit
Ashburn, Virginia
Good morning! God is good - All the time. All the time God is good. Amen? I'd like
you to recite that as a call and response. I say the first phrase, and you say the second. OK? God
is good - All the time. All the time God is good.
This morning I'd like to introduce to you a man who has been in our community for
about a year now, but he has been on the edges of it. His name is Steve Willmore, and he has a
compelling story I'd like you to hear.
TESTIMONY - Church of the Holy Spirit by Steve Willmore 3-13-05
My favorite parable is the Prodigal Son. I likened myself to the younger son. He was
care-free. He was irresponsible. He had fun. Nowhere was my carefree attitude more evident
than in my daily time management. I have been waking up at 8:30AM (although I live an hour
from work and should be there by 9:30). Instead of taking the time for quiet time and to walk
the dog, I would sleep in and let the dog out back for a few minutes before I left for work. I
would not get to work until 10:20. While I was there, I would socialize with my friends and
coworkers. This meant that I could not leave work until at least 8pm making it impossible for
me to attend my home group in Broadlands. As a result of my horrific time management, Leah
and I ate dinner after 9PM. Then we would watch TV and Sports Center until 1AM. I had no
quiet time, no time for prayer and little time for fellowship with my wife.
I was rudderless, and I did not care. I knew that God loved me. I knew that one day I
would commit myself to him, using the skills he gave me to serve his purpose. Until then, I could
sleep in on Sunday mornings, let other people serve Thanksgiving turkey to the homeless, let
other people spread the Gospel. Let George do it. I had time for all that later. Or so I thought.
When God wants to get your attention, he will. Two weeks ago, I went to CVS in search
of dental floss. Suddenly, I fell to the ground. The world was rocking like a boat caught in a
hurricane, and I could do nothing to right it. I had a horrible pain in my side. I stayed in a fetal
position for three hours, and Leah asked me several times whether I wanted to go to the
hospital. My answer was always the same: "I don't feel well enough to go to the hospital."
Eventually, I went. After a few hours, the pain got much worse. I began to scream that
"I'm not going to make it." I went in and out of consciousness. I noticed that the doctors and
nurses were running, and I heard someone say that his blood pressure is "78/36 and dropping."
That was when I realized that I would probably die. I couldn't believe that I would never see
Leah or Tyler or my mother again. I couldn't believe that my son had to watch his father die.
My time had come, but I wasn't prepared. I am only 38 years old. After more than two hours of
surgery, I awoke in the ICU. I was scared, alone, and every part of my body was connected to
some kind of machine. Fewer than 24 hours before, I was walking, joking, and strong. Why was
this happening to me??
Then I saw a light in front of me. It was not blinding or uncomfortable. Rather, it was
strangely comforting. As I looked at it, I felt an overwhelming force touch my spirit, making my
entire body tingle. I knew that it was God's presence. I can't explain it I did not hear a
booming voice like Charlton Heston did in "The Ten Commandments" but I knew that God
was there. His presence told my spirit that I would be OK. God told me that He wanted me to
do two things: first, he told me that it was time for me to grow up and be the responsible man of
God he wants me to be. Second, he told me that I was to tell everyone of my near experience,
and that life is too short not to love HIM everyday. You never know how much time you have. I
didn't know. I need to love and serve God and love and serve my family with all my heart - as if
today is my last day because it could be.
Before the surgery, I took my life, my wife, my son, my career, and even God for granted.
They would be there. After all, I loved them, wasn't that enough? What I just learned is that
love is a verb, not a noun. Love is something you give to someone else, not something you take.
My wife and I now hold hands when watching TV, we pray meaningfully before every meal. We
have begun our couples' devotional Bible study, which is far better than I thought possible.
Leah has been so wonderful to me. I'm finally telling her that I love her every day. I go to bed
earlier, and rise earlier. When I awake, I now read Christian help-guides. When I do go back to
work, I intend to arrive at work early, so that I can attend small group with the commitment and
fervor that the Lord's desires of me. I've been calling my friends to tell them how I almost died
and how God spoke to me.
I have never been happier in my life. The Lord remembered me and thought enough of
me to tell me that he loves me. I'll never forget Him again. [end]
God is good [hand to ear]- All the time. All the time [hand to ear] God is good. Turn to
somebody and tell them that. Do that little call and response with them. [They do it]
That is a faith statement, isn't it? Even when things look very bad, it's a faith statement to
say that God is good. We say it because we believe that the Bible is true, and the Bible says
"everything works together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to his
purpose." God wants our best, and sometimes God allows us to go through pain to fulfill his
purposes, or to get our attention. C.S. Lewis said that pain is God's megaphone. God whispers to
us in our pleasures, but he shouts at us in our pain.
Today we continue our Sermon Series called "The Centrality of the Cross." We've
looked at the indispensability of the Cross, at how the Cross shows God's character, at how we
share the Victory of Christ on the Cross, and how our lives are changed in light of the cross.
Today we are going to look at Ministry Service in light of the Cross.
Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross
and follow me" Matthew 16:24. Let's say that together. Jesus said this right after telling his
disciples that he would have to go to Jerusalem, and there he would suffer and die at the hands of
the chief priests. Jesus speaks of the cost of discipleship, of obedience to God. For Jesus,
obedience meant a gruesome death on a cross. For these first twelve disciples, carrying the cross
for them would also mean martyrdom, for all except John, who was exiled to Patmos. Jesus calls
all of us to carry our cross, but not all of us are called to martyrdom. Thanks be to God!
What can it mean then, to take up your cross, daily, as Luke says Jesus said? I've heard
people say "that's my cross to bear." What they appear to be trying to say is that they suffer
personal hardship in some way, or that they suffer from the cruelty of fate. That usage shows a
misunderstanding of Jesus' relationship to the cross by those who speak that way. What Jesus
means here in Matthew 16:24 by "taking up your cross" is to die to your own will, and to take up
God's will. Jesus' own crucifixion is our ultimate example of obedience to God's will. In the
Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed to God the Father to spare him from the cross. At the same
time, Jesus submitted in obedience to the Father's will, when he said, "not my will, but yours be
done."
Taking up your cross doesn't necessarily mean hoisting a crossbeam and being pierced;
it's about being willing to obey God, no matter the cost. It's deciding in advance to do God's
will, even if it means your death. It's the classic question of Lordship. Jesus is Lord of all. He's
the King of Kings. Lord of Lords. Almighty God. Prince of Peace. Everlasting Savior. I wonder,
do you know Him? Do you know him as he really is? As Lord, as King, as God, as Prince of
your life? Listen to me carefully: There is only one way I know that you can be sure that Jesus is
the Lord of your life: You must have an encounter with him where you have laid your life before
him and given it to him, and witnessed to that publicly. That is the intention of our rite of
Confirmation, when the heart intention matches the written declaration, that's what happens. As
a spiritual matter, have you given Jesus the title deed to your life? The man who started Campus
Crusade for Christ, Bill Bright, actually typed out a title deed to his life while he was in college,
and gave Jesus the written right to be his master and Lord. How God used Bill Bright! Through
just one of his ministries, the Jesus film, many millions of souls around the world have been
saved. It all started through Bright's simple and stark written declaration of submission to Jesus
as the Lord of his life. Do you know Him - as Lord of your life? If you have not yet done that,
do it today. God is good [hand to ear]- All the time. All the time [hand to ear] God is good.
Once you are on the other side of the Lordship issue, then you know yourself to be the
servant of the Lord. Looking at the cross reminds me that I am not my own, I was bought with a
price. Taking up your cross means laying down your life, your checkbook and your calendar, to
serve God.
How about denying yourself what might that look like in Ashburn in 2005? The first
thing to recognize is that whether you are in Broadlands or Bethlehem, in the year 200 or the
year 2000, the fundamental character of the transaction is the same giving over the title deed to
your life to Jesus. Take out the beige insert in your handout today that's the March Prayer
Bulletin for the Loudoun Church Alliance, of which we are a member. Denying yourself means
making the time to pray every day for revival in Loudoun. Notice that our church is listed on the
left column as covering the 28th of every month with fasting. Denying yourself means no solid
food, or a modified fast, during the daylight hours on the 28th. Denying yourself the mindless
hours spent "vegging" in front of the TV. Denying yourself might look like turning the TV off at
9:30 every night, so you can wake up at 6:00 every morning to have quiet time with God. Or it
might even mean turning off commercial TV altogether, and spending that time serving the Lord
in prayer. Praying is ministry. Praying is worship. Serving God is worship, it's making your
body a living sacrifice. Denying yourself means sacrificing some of your time to expand God's
kingdom, instead of your kingdom. Once Jesus is your Lord, your service to Him follows. Do
you know Him as Lord of your calendar? Do you know how many hours per week you are
called to serve him with in this season of your life? Denying yourself might mean helping the
Milrod family put out the signs for a month or two to give them a break.
Denying your self means denying the desires of your sinful nature. It does not mean
being miserable. God takes pleasure in you, in the trees, in his creation. God created all things
for us to enjoy. Christians don't deny ourselves because we think pleasure is bad; other things
being equal, pleasure is good. We deny ourselves because following Jesus is so much better. It
is so easy in Ashburn to settle for the small pleasures of material things: home theatres, Haagen-
Dasz ice cream, and fancy vacations at the shore. My friends, there are soaring pleasures of the
Spirit that are so much higher highs than those! But you can't know them if you don't serve.
To become mature in Christ is to be formed more and more into His image. What did
Jesus do? He came to us as one who served. Ministry Service through the church is not a matter
of spreading the workload around or of filling slots for positions: it's a matter of spiritual
formation. There are many things you cannot learn about the Kingdom of God if you do not
serve. If you don't serve, you will never learn the joy of doing what God created you to do. You
will never learn how easy it is to disappoint people, and how to deal with that, so it will always
be too easy to criticize. Loving one another is the core of our calling, and if you are not serving,
you are not loving to your redemptive potential. You will stunt your growth spiritually.
Denying yourself does not mean doing a ministry that you don't like, or barely tolerate,
because no one else is doing it. Let's say that there is a need to teach fifth grade Sunday School.
Actually, right now, that need is real. Let's say that you signed up for that, because you felt
pressure or guilt, even though you don't particularly like kids, and you are not a very good
teacher. Those kids might think it was better if there was no one to teach them than if that
describes you! If we don't have a gifted and called champion to lead a ministry, then we don't
have that ministry yet. There is a season for everything. Look at the back of your bulletin at our
list of Values. About halfway down that list, you'll find the bullet point: "We minister in our
spiritual gifts and passion." Turn to p.1123 of your blue Bibles, Romans 12, verse 6. It says
"We have been give different gifts, ...each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy; if it
is serving, then serve, if it is teaching, then teach," and so on. Every believer has been given at
least one spiritual gift. We discover our gifts as we minister. In this context, "Passion" means
something that you care deeply about.
My relative John is an irreligious man who doesn't believe in passion. He sells Mutual
Funds, and he told me he hates his job. I asked him why he continued to spend 50 hours a week
doing something he hates, and if he knew something that he was good at, that he enjoyed. He
said no surprise that he did it for the money, to support his family. He said he has never
enjoyed work - it's work, not play and he just doesn't get this "passion thing." I told him that
most people have to dig to find their passion, but that it was worth it. John did not bite, for he is
convinced that work is not something you are supposed to enjoy, unless you are Shaquille
O'Neal or a photographer of supermodels. That's John, the way John thinks. He's not been
transformed by the renewing of his mind. Looks like one more person is going to miss the
purpose for which they were created.
[Move, walk to the back of the church] Friends, God has made an investment in you. He
has given you gifts and passion, talents and interests. He did that for a reason he wants to build
his Kingdom. If you sit on the back row all your life; if you are a pew potato all your life; you
will never reach your redemptive potential. What is more, our church will never reach our
redemptive potential. This is not a good seat to sit in your whole Christian life. There are
seasons to sit here, but they pass. Mothers with small children, that might be a season to sit on
the back row for you. But if you have only 2 hours a week to give right now, then give those 2
hours! There are needs right now in our church. Any of you can jump in right now to meet most
of those needs. Set-up and tear down. Hospitality. Altar guild. Calling people on the phone to
talk to them. [Walk back to the front]
I don't want you to miss your purpose, your passion and gifts, your calling. Ask yourself
this question: If you could do anything you wanted, and time and money and other
responsibilities were no object what would you