Serving God
If God Doesn’t Need Anything, Then Why Does He Command
Us to Serve Him?
Mark
Altrogge
God does not need our work.
He does not need our money, either. God can
get everything done without a heavenly Kickstarter campaign.
He did not ask for any help when He created
the galaxies. He can get along just fine without our peewee contributions to
the universe.
He does not need our worship either. He
does not need our praises to bolster His self-esteem.
“The God who made the world and everything in it, being
Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he
served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to
all mankind life and breath and everything.“ (Acts 17:24-25)
God does not need anything. He does not
need our worship, our work or our money.
So why does God command us to worship,
serve, and give our money to him?
First of
all, for His glory. Wait a second. If
He does not need our work or worship, how does it glorify Him?
It certainly does not add anything to His
glory.
Yet it does display His glory. When we sing
His praises together, we display to one another God’s greatness, kindness, and
love.
When I hear you give thanks to God, I am
reminded afresh of His goodness.
You display God’s glory to me. And it
builds my faith and helps me love and trust Him more.
And when we do works of love, we display
the character of Christ God is forming in us.
Another
reason God commands us to worship, serve, give and obey is for our joy. When God tells us
to sing and raise our hands to Him, it is not because He needs our praise to
feel good about Himself.
It is for our pleasure in Him. When we
express our appreciation of God it enhances our enjoyment of Him.
Like when we express appreciation for a
great painting, or a great steak. It enhances and completes our enjoyment of
it.
When God commands us to give, it is not
because He needs the money.
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. It
is for our benefit and good.
When we give, God pours blessings back on
us.
When we sow, we reap. All God’s commands
are for our benefit and joy.
That’s why we should serve Him cheerfully:
“Serve the Lord with gladness!” (Psalm 100:2)
It does not glorify God to serve Him
cheerlessly.
It is not enough to serve the Lord, we must
serve Him with gladness.
Parents, ever ask your child to do
something for you and He responds with as much enthusiasm as if you’d asked him
to have a root canal?
How does that make you feel? He may do the
chore, but if he does it with grumbling or ingratitude, it does not please you.
You almost feel like saying ‘don’t bother.’
God loves a cheerful giver. Do you think it
glorifies God when we grudgingly say ‘Alright, here’s my buck’?
He loves a cheerful giver because glad
giving displays the value of Christ.
That He is more valuable than all our
money. It shows we believe he is generous and good and will bless and provide
for us.
God does not need our
work or our praises or our money.
He gives them to us as
gifts to display His glory and enhance our enjoyment of Him.
So let us serve the Lord with gladness today.
Your purpose on earth is to shine God’s love to a
lost and dying world.
Open your ears and your heart to the Lord and be
excited about your new future serving Him in spirit and truth.
God has made it possible for you to know Him and
experience an amazing change in your own life.
Serve Him.
Wait on Him.
And expect … for He is able to do much much more
than you can ask or imagine.
Settle that sin issue ...
“Father God, I confess
I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and live a new
life pleasing to You. I receive Your
free gift of salvation.
Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.
I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my
sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to
rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank You that according to Your
Word, I am now born again, has eternal
life, and I am now Your child.
Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You,
and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to study Your Word – the
Bible.
Use
me for Your glory.
In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.”
.
If you have just put your
trust in Jesus Christ, you have been born into God’s family.
As a spiritual baby, you need
to grow by feeding on God’s Word – the Bible (1 Peter 2:2).
You must have a good modern
translation Bible and begin prayerfully reading it. Start in the New Testament,
such as the Gospel of John or Paul’s letters to the Ephesians.
As you read, ask two questions: “What are You, Lord?” “What do You want me to do?”
Also, you need to join a Christian
fellowship where the Bible is taught and where God is truly worshiped.
God bless you as you begin
your new life with Him!
.
Mark Altrogge has been senior pastor of Saving
Grace Church of
Indiana, Pennsylvania, since 1982. He has written hundreds of songs for
worship, including “I Stand in Awe” and “I’m Forever Grateful.” Mark and his
wife, Kristi, have five children and five grandchildren.
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