"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; ¹¹ not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, Serving The Lord."

Romans 12:9-11

What Does It Mean To Serve The Lord?

My focus today is actually on the last phrase of verse 11 of the above text that reads; "Serving The Lord." I believe this phrase or statement is not totally strange to us as we must have heard it over and over again, and also must have read it in number of places in our Bible. So, what does it actually mean to serve the Lord? To serve the Lord actually connotes a number of things, and I quickly want to show us.

 

Download Podcast: THE BENEFITS OF SERVING THE LORD PT. 1

 

First, to serve the Lord means to serve His purpose and His agenda. In Acts 26:12-16, the Bible tells something about this when apostle Paul was recounting his conversion from serving religion into serving God's purpose. It says:

 

“While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, ¹³ at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. ¹⁴ And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you."

 

Before this time, apostle Paul had served the purpose of religion, he had advanced the tradition of his forefathers and he was also zealous while doing it. If you read Galatians 1:13-17, he said to the people in Galatia that: "For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, ¹⁶ to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus." But when it was time, God revealed to him the original purpose while He had made him. So, Serving The Lord actually means serving His purpose and His agenda.

 

Now, somebody may be wondering: What is God's agenda? I haven't so much heard or read that God Almighty has an agenda. What is it? Let me show you God's ultimate agenda from the Scriptures. 1 Timothy 2:1-7. The Bible says:

 

"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, ² for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. ³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, ⁷ for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth."

 

God's agenda is embedded in His desire that all men be saved, not excluding anyone; and come to the knowledge of the truth. This is why Jesus came and died for the sins of the whole world in the first place. Titus 2:11-15, the Bible tells us: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹² teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. ¹⁵ Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you." So, the agenda of God is that all men be saved and the provision for it has been made already. Christ has died for the sins of the whole world so that through His finished works, all mean can access the Father. So, Serving The Lord is actually serving His purpose and His agenda.

 

Secondly, to serve the Lord means to serve Him in sincerity and in truth. In Joshua 24:14-15, Joshua said to the people: "Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! ¹⁵ And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." What does that tell us? God is looking for people who will serve Him in sincerity and in truth. God is not looking for people who would serve Him based on the things that they can get from Him, but because of who He is.

 

The challenge today is that many people are serving God because of the gains. When you take away those supposed gains, or if those gains aren't in view, they simply turned back from serving Him. This is how many people are today. So, you see people pay tithes and offerings because they want increase and nothing more. Once they do this and the increase did not come, they simply go back. Many people are serving God today so that He can meet their basic needs. But this is not the reason why God want us to serve Him. God wants us to serve Him for the revelation of who He is to us, and not because of these other things. For example, the Scripture made us to understand that Abraham paid tithe to God out of an act of worship, and not because of what He wanted some financial increase. God wants us to see serving Him as an act of worship and not because of the benefits. The benefits, definitely are there. But God does not want us to serve Him because of the benefits. He want our service to Him to come from a pure act of worship, in sincerity and in truth. John 4:21-24 tells us:

 

"Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. ²³ But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. ²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

 

The reason why many people are doing religion today and it appears to them like it is serving God is because many of them haven't come to realize who God truly is. When you understand who God really is to you, you would not serve Him because of what you want to get from Him, you will serve Him in sincerity and in truth. It was obvious in the time of Jesus that many people followed Him at some point simply because He fed them bread. They weren't so much interested in knowing Him so much, but they just want to be fed. But when Jesus confronted them, the Bible recorded that many of them turned away and stopped following Him. And this is the state of many people today who claim that they are Serving The Lord. Many have simply turned away from the faith or Serving The Lord simply because they did not get what they thought they would get while serving Him.

 

Thirdly, to serve the Lord means to submit to His Lordship. Who is a Lord? Dictionary dot com defines a lord as "a person who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler." But Biblically, Lordship has to do with submitting oneself under the authority and influence of Christ Jesus. When you accept and submit to the Lordship of Jesus, what it connotes is that you are accepting Him as your master, your ruler and one who has control over your entire life and being. It means you do not have a will of your own, your will, your purpose is subsumed under His Lordship. Romans 14:8-9 shows us a scriptural picture of this. It says: "For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living."

 

Fourthly, to serve the Lord means to throw oneself into the service of God. This does not necessarily means that you should go into full time ministry. What it means is that whatever it is that you will be doing or that we may refer to as your purpose for example, must be subsumed or emanate from God's purpose. For instance, if you are a government worker, you must serve God while at it. If you are a business man, you and your line of business must serve the purpose and the agenda of God. If you are a banker, it means whatever you do in the banking hall must one way or the other bring glory to God. This is what it means to throw yourself into the service of God, irrespective of where you find yourself. Romans 12:1 shows us that throwing yourself into the service of God is your "reasonable service."

 

It says: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." Serving The Lord is an act of worship, and this is why it is important that we get it right if we are going to do it the way that God expects us to do it. I believe I have been able to show you what it actually means to serve the Lord. As you read more in this area, the Holy Spirit will reveal more to you, even on things that I have not really mentioned here.

 

 

How To Serve The Lord Acceptably

Before we delve into the benefits of Serving The Lord, it is important that we examine How to serve the Lord acceptably. You see, there is an acceptable way to serve the Lord and there is an unacceptable way to serve Him. A lot of people one way or the other believe that they are Serving The Lord. However, it is important that even though we have this notion, it is possible that God can reject certain things that we think or assume that we are doing. In Matthew 7:22 (NIV), see what Jesus Himself said:

 

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"

 

What Jesus said here is a typical example of what it means to serve amiss. These people actually thought that they were Serving The Lord. They told Jesus they had done all that they did in His name - cast out demons, perform miracles and even prophesied. But Jesus' response to them was an indication that they had simply wasted their time. So, if we are ever going to serve the Lord acceptably, there is a way to go about it and I want to show us here what we must do to serve the Lord acceptably.

 

 

1. With Reverence and Godly Fear.

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire."

Hebrews 12:28-29

 

Serving The Lord without revering Him is a sheer waste of time. To revere God means to show devotion and honor to Him. You see, God hates dishonor, and He also hates to be disrespected. This is why in our service to Him, godly fear and reverence must be placed far above everything we think we do for God. The Bible is filled with examples of those that dishonored God and what eventually happened to them. Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, fell into this category. You can read the entire story in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 2. But because of their lack of reverence for God and godly fear, the Bible recorded that God took the two of them out in one day. 1 Samuel 4:17, the Bible recorded how Hophni and Phinehas died the same day, and the news as well resulted into their father's death.

 

What am I saying here? If we are ever going to serve the Lord, it is important that we do it with reverence. God hates dishonor to His name and His nature does not condone it.

 

2. We Must Serve God With All of Our Being.

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."

Deuteronomy 6:4

 

When Serving The Lord, He requires the whole of our being - spirit, soul and body! God owns us, He made us after His image and likeness and it is this entirety that He demands from us in the place of service. God made man a spirit being, but the reason why He gave man a body is so that man can serve His purpose and agenda on earth. If not for this, all of us would have remained at our spirit created level. So, your entire being must serve God. What God is looking for is the whole of you, and not a part of you. God does not want you to serve Him with your body alone, while your soul is not involved.

 

I believe you have been blessed!

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Obayomi Abiola Benjamin!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!