Foundations of Truth

Narrator: You're listening to Foundations of Truth, the Bible teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. Our mission is to help you build your life on the unshakeable foundation of God's Word. Rooted in scripture, anchored in the grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Each week, Dr. Timothy Mann opens the Bible to bring clarity, conviction, and encouragement for everyday life. In this series, Dr. Timothy Mann will identify core competencies that are biblical for every Christian to direct principles from the Word of God that should shape our vision for the church and for our understanding of what it means to become spiritually mature and committed followers of Jesus.

Today's message is part two of our series Basic Training, and the Scripture for today's message comes from Matthew chapter 4, verses 8 through 10. Let's join Dr. Timothy Mann now.

Dr. Timothy Mann: Put away distractions on Sunday mornings and don't be a distraction to other worshipers. So, don't read your social media feed or shop on Amazon or play video games during the singing or the sermon.

You should probably remember to go to the restroom immediately prior to the beginning of the worship service. And if you have children, encourage them to do so. If you're thirsty, bring in a bottle of water. But please only a bottle of water. Coffee, juice, or soda spills on the floor and the seats create significant difficulties with the carpet and the fabrics. Kevin, can I get an amen?

Or you can wait until the service is over to go get a drink. If you have a family issue happening, maybe you need to slip out into the lobby. It's okay. Try not to carry on side conversations with those around you. Instead, debrief at lunch or on the ride home.

And as we repeat week after week after week on the video, put your cell phone on silent. I'm sure that you don't like to be distracted during the service. Try not to be a distraction to others.

However, let me say this. This will help. Ignore others around you. Can you do that? Ignore others around you and remember that God is the audience. There's a balance here, admittedly, but we should feel free to express our love to God outwardly without worrying about what others think of us.

David danced before the Lord, even though it embarrassed his wife, but God sided with David. But just remember that calling attention to yourself is not the goal. First Corinthians 14:40 says, "All things..." this is talking about the worship service "...all things must be done decently and in an orderly manner."

Here's another suggestion. Sing and listen well. Sing and listen well. Even if you don't know the song, try to sing. Even if you don't like to sing, it's the command of Scripture. Even if you think you can't sing and sound horrible, all that's required is a noise. Joyful. Joyful. All that's required is a noise. Sing, sing.

When the biblical instruction is taking place through the preaching and teaching, listen assertively for the purpose of critiquing the pastor and finding everything wrong that he said. And giving me a review as you go out.

No, listen assertively for the purpose of hearing what the Holy Spirit would say to you. He is speaking. Are you actively listening? is the question. Are you actively listening? Again, how much is Jesus worth to you? Are you showing that? Are you demonstrating that? That's worship.

He's the only one that you're worshiping. Look, if you make Sunday morning gathering a priority on a weekly basis, the more likely it is, not a guarantee, but I will say, if you make the Sunday morning gathering a priority on a weekly basis, the more likely it is that you will be worshiping the Lord through the week.

The Sunday gathering is basic. It is a minimum core competency. And a lot of other good worship will come out of that.

Well, what else did Jesus say? He said, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you" what? "Serve." He said, "Worship God, serve God." Him only shall you serve.

Now, interestingly enough, when Satan was tempting Jesus, he didn't say, "Serve me." He just said, "Worship me." He didn't say, he said nothing about service, but Jesus knew that whatever we worship, we will serve. Now you think about that in your life. Whatever you worship, you will serve. Worship and service must go together. They do go together.

In Romans 12:11, we have a very straightforward command. Romans 12:11 says this: "Serve the Lord." Now, that's deep, isn't it? You don't need to read Greek. You don't need to have a seminary degree. Romans 12:11 says, "Serve the Lord." Serve the Lord. This is a core competency for you. It's a core competency for me that we will serve the Lord. It is basic.

At a minimum, the Bible teaches that you are to get involved in serving the Lord in some way. Those three simple words in Romans 12:11, "Serve the Lord," are packed with some important practical truths.

One is this, that's that all believers are called on to serve the Lord. All believers. These words are not just for uh, pastors or church leaders. This is for the entire church. All Christians, not just so-called full-time Christian workers, are to be serving the Lord in some capacity. Serve the Lord. Every believer has been given spiritual gifts to use for the building up of the body of Christ. There is no such thing as a non-serving member of the body.

If you're not serving Him, you need to ask the Lord how He wants you to serve Him and begin doing it. And this is not, don't get confused, I don't want to confuse you. This is not just the pragmatic aspect of the Sunday morning gathering. It can be that, but it's far more than that. It's in your life, with people. How you're serving the Lord in your life and through the church.

Serve the Lord. What does that say? Well, it says this, we serve the Lord as slaves, not as volunteers. See that Greek word for "serve"? It does help to be able to check out the Greek a little bit. That Greek word, "serve the Lord," "serve." That Greek word means to be enslaved. It literally means performing the service of a slave. Check it out, go to Strong's Concordance.

Performing the service of a slave means to be enslaved. And since the Lord bought us with His blood out of the slave market of sin, we're not our own. The Bible says, "You're bought with a price." We belong to Him as slaves. Thus, all that we are and all that we have is not ours, but His. This might come as a news break to you, but your time is not yours to use as you please. That's hard for us to hear, isn't it?

Your money is not yours to spend as you please. Your family is not yours to take priority over allegiance to the Lord. Your career is not your own to pursue as you wish. Everything you have, everything you are, belongs to the Lord to be used for His glory and His purpose.

Yeah. There's a fundamental difference between slaves and volunteers. There's fundamental differences. Very real differences. Volunteers choose when and how they serve. Slaves are on call day and night, whether they feel like serving or not.

Volunteers can quit serving if they get tired. Slaves are slaves for life. The master may change their duties, but they aren't free to quit. Not free to quit.

Volunteers have certain expectations. Oh, they expect to be treated with respect. They expect proper working conditions and considerations of their needs. They expect to be honored for their service, but slaves don't have any such expectations.

Jesus illustrated this in Luke chapter 17, verses 7 through 10, talking to His disciples. He said this. He said, "Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come immediately and sit down to eat'?" "But will he not say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink and afterward you may eat and drink'?" He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?

"So you too," talking about His disciples, "you too, when you have done all the things which are commanded of you." Did you get that? "When you have done some of the things which are commanded of you?" No. "When you've picked and and chose what you would like to do of what He's commanded of you?" No. "When you have done all the things that have been commanded of you, say this: 'We are unworthy slaves. We have done that which was our duty to do.'"

Did you get that? Yeah.

Narrator: Thank you for listening to Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. We're grateful that you've chosen to spend this time studying God's Word with us. Ministry like this is made possible because listeners like you believe biblical truth still matters and are willing to help make sure that biblical teaching continues to go forward.

If Foundations of Truth has encouraged you, strengthened your faith, or helped you better understand God's Word, would you prayerfully consider making a gift to support this ministry? Your financial support helps us continue proclaiming truth of Scripture and providing biblical teaching designed to help Christians grow toward spiritual maturity and become more committed followers of Jesus.

Thank you for standing with us and helping make this ministry possible. If you'd like to give a financial gift, you can do so and get more biblical resources online at foundationsoftruth.net. That's foundationsoftruth.net. Now let's return to today's message, Basic Training. Here's Dr. Timothy Mann.

Dr. Timothy Mann: Do you view yourself as a slave of Jesus Christ or a volunteer for Jesus? If that sounds harsh to say, "Do you view yourself as a slave of Jesus Christ?" If that sounds harsh, remember the alternative. As the great theologian Bob Dylan sang, "You got to serve somebody."

You got to serve somebody, and you will. If you're not a slave of Christ, then you're a slave of the devil and of sin. That's the only two choices Scripture gives you. Christ is a loving, caring master who never abuses His slaves. The devil is a conniving, self-serving tyrant who has no concern for his slaves. It's far better to be Christ's slave than to be enslaved to Satan and to sin. Far better.

What else does that three little words, "Serve the Lord," what does that teach us? Well, it teaches us that serving the Lord means that we're not serving ourselves. It means that we're not serving ourselves. The Apostle Paul warned the Roman believers about that, about those people who serve themselves, not Christ. Romans 16:17-18, he said this. He said, "Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you have learned and turn away from them."

"For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ, but of their own appetites. And by their smooth and flattering speech, they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting." Those men were manipulators, using the so-called ministry to satisfy their own lusts. You know this to be true. Some are in the ministry because they love to be in power over people, not to build them up in Christ.

Some use the ministry for financial gain, using false promises of healing and and prophecies to milk people of donations so that they can support a lavish lifestyle. Others despicably use their position in ministry to pray on vulnerable women, using them to gratify their sexual lusts. All such men are serving themselves, not Christ as Lord. They're serving themselves.

And while I hope none of us in this room are so crass as that, we can fall into the more subtle snare of using our service for Christ to serve our own needs. I've read secular articles that urge people to volunteer in some sort of community service where the pitch is this, "You will benefit from serving." So people serve for what it can do for them.

It's so easy for Christians also to fall into that mindset where it becomes "my ministry." This is "my ministry." It brings "me fulfillment." My whole identity then gets tied up in "my ministry." I love the feeling of significance that I get when I help out. I love the praise that people give me when I serve them.

And while there is great joy in serving the Lord, and there is a legitimate sense of fulfillment when God uses you to serve others, we need to beware of serving ourselves rather than serving the Lord. Because it sets you up for getting hurt when others do not give you the praise and affirmation that you're seeking. They will disappoint you. Serving the Lord means we're not serving ourselves.

Not only that, serving the Lord means that we're not primarily serving others. Serve the Lord. It means we're not primarily serving others. Are you all still tracking with me? True, there is a sense, there is a sense in which through love that we serve one another. Galatians 5:13. We are to bear one another's burdens. Galatians 6:2. We are to lay down our lives for one another. First John 3:16.

But there is a primary sense in which we serve the Lord, not people. In Galatians 1:10, the Apostle Paul writes and he says, "For am I now seeking the favor of men or of God? Or am I or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond servant of Christ." Again, bond servant is a Greek word for slave.

If our focus is is in serving people, is to gain their favor, then we're not serving Christ. If we care more about what people think of us than about what the Lord thinks about us, then we're we're not serving them. We're serving them and ourselves, but we're not serving Christ. We need to aim at pleasing God, who examines our hearts.

We need to be faithful to His truth, even if people despise us for it. We only serve people secondarily. It is the Lord Christ whom we serve. Now, of course, when we serve Christ by aiming to please Him above all, then we do truly serve people. But I want to tell you, if you're a people pleaser, craving affirmation from someone else or craving popularity, you know what happens? You won't confront those in sin because they may not like you.

You won't say hard things from time to time because they may not like you. But I'm going to tell you that to let people go on in sin is not to love them and serve them. It's not. There's some parents that need to get a hold of that because their sin will destroy them.

But if you're a servant of Christ, then you aren't dependent on the praise of people. And if you need to confront, you do it in humble obedience to Christ and out of love for that person, for the sinner. You don't do it from a position of superiority or self-righteousness, but in meekness. But you're not worried about what other people think of you. You're only concerned that you please your master.

So we're all called to serve Christ. We serve as His slaves, not as His volunteers. Serving the Lord means that we're not primarily serving ourselves and we're not primarily serving others. Serve the Lord. Serving the Lord means that we serve the one who loved us and gave Himself for us while we were yet sinners. He is the Lord of glory, who gave up the splendor of heaven to endure the abuse of sinners in order to bring us glory. It's a great privilege to serve this gracious, loving Lord. It's not a burdensome duty, but it's a joy to serve the King of Kings who sacrificed Himself to rescue me from condemnation. It's a joy.

So, how should we serve the Lord? Well, first, you need to make sure your motivation's right. You serve Him because of His great mercies toward you in the gospel. And that motivation moves you. I I didn't give you the rest of that verse in Romans. Let me read it to you just real quickly. Romans 12:11. It's interesting. It says this, It says, "not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." "Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit."

That means that motivation means that you're not going to be lazy, but you're going to be diligent in serving Him. Serving Christ becomes your fervor, serving Christ becomes your passion, so that you do it fervently. And you remember that you're serving none other none other than the Lord Himself.

So, we worship God and we serve God. And we do that because that's who we are as followers of Jesus. And we do it so that we might become more mature and more committed followers of Jesus. These are core competencies of being a follower of Jesus. It is basic. It's basic training. Gail, would you come? How's your worship? No, seriously. How's your worship?

Is it a privilege and a priority to gather with the church? Or do you simply see it as an option or a personal preference or something that's okay to do if you don't have something better going on? But it's not really necessary. If so, if so, then you're ignoring the command of Scripture and you will not be an effective Christian.

How's your service? How's your service? Are you serving God with your life day by day? Are you serving God with the church? These are two core competencies that are basic to your Christian life and to our life as a church. Worship God. Serve God. We'll talk about the other two next week. Worship God, serve God. Let's stand.

And as you stand, would you bow your heads with me? I'm going to take a long time. Just want you to have a moment of reflection, thinking about your own life, your own situation. Mature and committed? Well, how's your worship? How's your service? And there's all kinds of ways to serve the Lord. All kinds.

Are you a genuine follower of Christ? We can throw around the words mature and committed, but that doesn't really matter if you're not a follower of Jesus. Are you looking in your life, you look in your heart, and you know you've been saved by His grace? You've repented, you are repenting, you're believing, you're trusting, you're wanting to follow Jesus. If that's not true for you, I urge you, repent, believe. Call out to Christ for His mercy and His grace. Follow Him. Trust Him today.

Narrator: Thanks for spending part of your day with us on Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. If you'd like to hear this message again or give a financial gift or get more biblical resources, you can do so online, foundationsoftruth.net. That's foundationsoftruth.net. And thank you so much. Join us again tomorrow for another opportunity to study the Scriptures and discover the unchanging truth of God's Word.

Foundations of Truth with Dr. Timothy Mann is supported in part by Luther Rice College and Seminary, equipping men and women for ministry through biblically faithful theological education. As a leader in online learning, we are grateful for their partnership in helping carry biblical truth farther. We're thankful for AMN Plumbing, a local ministry partner serving the Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach, Port Orange, New Smyrna Beach, and surrounding areas with dependable plumbing service. Their support helps make Foundations of Truth available to more listeners each week.

Foundations of Truth with Dr. Timothy Mann is supported in part by Cat Care Clinic, located in Ormond Beach and serving families with thoughtful and compassionate veterinary care for cats. We're grateful for their partnership in helping carry biblical truth farther. If you've been encouraged by the teaching of Dr. Timothy Mann on Foundations of Truth, here's an opportunity to meet him in person. Join Dr. Mann Saturday, September 19th, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at From My Library To Yours Christian Bookstore in Port Orange for a special author event featuring his book Saved, Understanding God's Work in Us. There'll be book signing, conversation, and brief talks with a Q&A at 10:15 AM and 1:15 PM. That's Saturday, September 19th at The Pavilion next to massage envy in Port Orange, Florida.