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God’s Kingdom is upside down from the culture of this world. This world tells us greed, lying, cheating, stealing, hording, power are the ways to get ahead. BUT…

In God’s Kingdom Servants & Givers are promoted.

We all have excuses for not serving & giving. In order to follow God into what He has prepared for us, we must overcome our excuses. Moses offered 4 excuses to God and so do we…

Who me?
What authority?
What if?
I lack..

If we will overcome these excuses and Try to Serve Give we will like the outcome.

Try it You’ll Like It 6 – Serve/Give

Sermon notes by Chris Fluitt

**Bumper Video – Try it you’ll like it You probably know I am going to say… You can’t say you like it until you’ve tried it. Welcome to Redemption Church. My name is Chris Fluitt and this is the final week of our Try it You’ll like it series. Over the last few weeks we have talked about trying faith, prayer, worship, baptism, and last week the Spirit. It’s been a challenging series and we have gotten a lot of feedback on our anonymous TEXT LINE – 214 856 0550 Thank you for your questions. Some of the questions we came to a peaceful agreement and some of them we came to a peaceful understanding of interpretation. I really appreciate the Christ like discussions we have had. What an encouragement!? I want to remind you we have a Baptism Sunday next Sunday. If you are interested in being baptized or re-baptized please talk to us. Text #Baptism TO 254 717 6844. Make sure you are here next Sunday as we celebrate people being in buried with Jesus. Can I encourage you for a moment? I want to reveal how this series came about… YO GABBA GABBA I was watching this strange kid’s show with my son. The show is called Yo Gabba Gabba. This was a few years ago actually. It occurred to me then that people have to be taught to try something new. And in this series we have tried to remind us that we are to try new things in God. It would be real easy to never try something new. We are creatures of habit and comfort. I could eat the same thing every day. In fact don’t we usually have to be talked into doing new things… Someone says “let’s try something new” and you sigh and say “…ok” You say ok but you are really thinking NO NO NO Our subject today is one of those subjects… Today I am asking you to hear me out and Try Service & Giving. You’ll Like it. If you try it you may like it. You may find that it is the missing ingredient for your life. I want to add that nothing feels better than asking someone to try something… something that you know they could use and maybe need in their life.. When you see them try it and like it, it is so rewarding. When you get your children to try vegetables and they like it.. You are fist pumping and saying yes! When you get your friend to try a healthier choice and they see the positive change… You are smiling ear to ear. When you get someone to try Jesus Christ and they find that He is Savior, Lord, King of Kings, Healer… there is a joy that you can’t contain when you see that take place. This could be the day where that happens for you. I’m excited at the opportunity to share something that could change your life. Are you ready to try something new today? ..Good, but… There is always an excuse to avoid doing something new. We know this all too well. We have to overcome our excuses. You will always have an excuse to not start that diet. You will always have an excuse to avoid that hard conversation you need to have. You will always have an excuse to put off getting your finances in order. There are unlimited excuses for changing something about our character that is causing us to fail. There are excuses to not follow God. Moses gave God some excuses. God met with Moses and revealed an amazing, powerful, influential blessed destiny and purpose for His life. Moses offered 4 excuses. Excuse One – The “Who Me” Exodus 3:11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”(NIV) Excuse Two – “By What Authority” Exodus 3:13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, `What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”(NIV) Excuse Three -The “What If’s” Exodus 4:1 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, `The LORD did not appear to you’?”(NIV) God says “that staff you have in your hand, throw it down and it will become a snake.. Put your hand in your cloak and pull it out and look leprous… Pour water from the Nile on the Ground and it will become blood. Excuse Four – “I lack to ability, talent, strength” Exodus 4:10 Moses said to the LORD, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”(NIV) I don’t have the ability. I’m not good at that. I get nervous… Watch what God says to Moses. Exodus 4:11 The LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?(NIV) Exodus 4:12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”(NIV) If God is going with us and helping us then we really don’t have any good excuses. How many know… If God is for us, who can be against us? – Romans 8:31 the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. – 1 John 4:4 Today I want you to overcome excuses, fear, and doubt to Try Serving & Giving. You’ll like it. Think about the words giving and serving. You might feel compelled to say they sound like terrible ideas. They seem upside down to culture. You wouldn’t describe Serving & Giving as ways to get ahead. In God’s Kingdom Serving & Giving are how you get ahead. Servants are promoted Jesus said in Matthew 23:11 The greatest among you will be your servant.(NIV) And in the Parable of Jesus he gives us a picture of how the Master/God might greet his faithful children. Matthew 25:21 “His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!'(NIV) Servants are promoted in God’s kingdom. In the kingdoms of this world servants are often abused and enslaved but in His Kingdom they who have received few things will be put in charge! Don’t you love that!? Servants are invited to share in the Master’s happiness. Serve-us to Service Being great in God’s Kingdom is all about serving & giving to others… not to ourselves. Jesus modeled this for us when He washed the feet of His disciples. His disciples then lived out what they saw Jesus do at the last supper. Jesus got up from the meal… it was time to eat but Jesus left food on the table… He got up and took off his outer garments and wrapped a towel around his waist. He poured water into a basin and knelt down to wash the feet of His disciples. Redemption Church, we should take the same posture as our Lord and serve eachother… and to serve this community. We are called to serve this community. How can we serve you? Churches make the mistake of being self serving… They serve only their members… they serve only those who agree with their doctrines. WE ARE CALLED TO SERVE EVERYONE. How can we serve Plano? How can we serve single parent homes? How can we serve drug addicts? How can we serve Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, atheists? How can we serve the rich man and the poor man? How can we serve? Ask God to direct you in how to serve the community around you. Look to Serve We need to look to serve. It doesn’t just happen. It takes effort. It takes a commitment and desire. Look around your Church! There are opportunities to serve in the local Church. Right now we are in need of help, we are need of help in servers in so many areas. We need more greeters. When you walked into Church today there were some friendly people serving you. They held open the door for you and greeted you, they welcomed you into God’s house today. They set up the greeting stations and made sure the area was clean and ready for you. If you are ready to try service why don’t you talk to JEREMY SKINNER about joining the greeter team. We need tech people who understand computers in many areas. Connecting to 21^st Century tech is exhausting. We need people in our Tech booth to help run
media, sound, cameras, and lights. We need people that have an eye for video editing, graphic design, and website creation. There is also a growing need for social media management. If you are skilled in these areas please talk to ROB CORTEZ about joing our tech team. We need help ministering to kids in the nursery, in the Treehouse, and in Goal Youth. We need people to help in hosting and leading Connect Groups, our small group ministry. There are many areas to serve in, are you looking to serve. We need to look to Serve and we need to look to Give. Uhoh… I said the “G” word. Please don’t run and scream because I said the word Give. Giving includes money but isn’t limited just to money.. You can give your heart, your time, your life, as well as your money. How important is it that you should Try Giving? God says… “Try me” TRY ME – God Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.(NIV) God says TEST ME in this. God invites you to do this. This is like God saying TRY ME. TRY ME – God If you TRY GOD in giving he will throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing you can’t contain it. Does that sound like something you would like? There is a promise of blessing when you give. Malachi 3:11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty.(NIV) This is a supernatural promise. When you bring your tithe to God’s house, God will rebuke the devourer for your benefit. Have you ever had a devourer in your field? Let me make this plain for you.. You get that pay check and you have done the financially disciplined practice of budgeting and making sure it is spent well because you believe it all a gift from God anyway… But out of nowhere something unexpected starts to devour your crop… your paycheck… This scripture shows us something spiritual you may have looked past. PERHAPS your car breaking down wasn’t something natural but something supernatural that needs to be rebuked. This is a major benefit of giving your tithe… God rebukes the devourer! The devourer you don’t see coming that has been stalking you and trying to rob you is rebuked by God. Does that sound like something you would like? Try Giving! Often we don’t give because we think we will have less… but scripture says you will have more by Giving. Jesus says `It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ Acts 20:35 Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”(NIV) Does that sound like some you would like? Try Giving! Try Serving! MUSICIAN 1 Corinthians 12:28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.(NIV) Help Wanted The Church of Jesus seems complex. You have all these gifts and callings. It’s easy to feel lost in the shuffle and wonder if God is calling you to do something… You might sight here and say… I don’t think God is calling me to be a Pastor or Missionary. You might be saying I don’t think I have ever been used in the Gifts of the Spirit like prophecy or healing. What is it that I can do God? Everyone listen to me! God is calling you to something. One of the great things He is calling us to is often looked over and not celebrated enough. 1 Corinthians 12:28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.(NIV) Will you overcome the excuses? Will you try serving in God’s Kingdom? Will you try Giving? Altar After Altar Let me give you opportunities to serve and give SERVE Community Car Wash – July 26^th Alzheimer ministry & care – Sign up for more information GIVE We have several ministries that we are supporting that really could use your finances. Evin Schuhardt – Ministering on A&M campus Vitaly Kissel & Apostolic Bible Church – Maykop Russia Yoel Rodriguez & Buenas Nuevas Casa de Alabanza

serve give