Dear BPCWA worshipper, During our Worship Service today, those who serve in BPCWA will rise together to take our vows as we rededicate our service to God. Many will be people we may think are not serving because we don’t “see” them serving God. This is because much of the service in BPCWA is done by the lay people who diligently serve God from their homes, late into the night after work, on their days off from work, and during weekends. While “working from home” has become a norm in society today, “serving from home” when we are not in church has always been a characteristic of many of us for BPCWA. Particularly because we do not have a large pool of people, many serve very hard for the Lord. There are so many other ways that have not been mentioned. Man may not know or notice them, but God certainly sees every one of them. But more importantly, God also sees our hearts. Knowing this, I want to consider today how we should serve.

The right focus in service. Let all who serve in BPCWA keep in focus Who we are serving – the Living, Almighty God, infinitely Glorious, and the Holy One of the universe. This focus is very important for several reasons. This clarity of heart of who we serve changes the attitude and priority of how we serve as individuals. Moreover, it will drive how our activities are designed and run, who we want to please, and how we prioritise as individuals and as a church. Our attitude in serving is often influenced by our consciousness of who we are serving. We are not serving BPCWA. It is not to serve the worshippers in BPCWA – they are just beneficiaries. Neither are those activities outside the church, like the nursing home services, about community work. In the secular world, people may want to be involved even in charity or volunteer work for personal benefit, to feel moral, have a sense of engagement, to broaden their list of accomplishments or repertoire, or for greater “exposure” in a field of their interest or related to their vocation. These must not be why we want to serve God. We must be very conscious not to serve God for a personal sense of usefulness for self satisfaction. Even worse, we must not serve because of pride of self-glory, desire to be seen, admired, or praised. That would be stealing glory from God. Some of us say, “I want to serve God”. However, by how we serve, we reveal over time that we mainly want to feel important and seen by man.  Such wrong recurring thoughts in service are warnings that we are not serving God but are in effect serving ourselves under the guise of serving God. Let us examine ourselves honestly and repent constantly. If anyone continues to harbor such self-deceiving thoughts in service, then regardless of how much they have served and “accomplished”, their long hours in service would have amounted only to “wood, hay, stubble” (1Co 3:12) when it comes to rewards before God. Furthermore, such “service” rendered does not benefit the souls of man.

The right view of ourselves. Are we so useful and indispensable that God needs us to serve? We know that God created the world in 6 days simply by speaking it into existence. The angels in heaven serve the thrice Holy God with perfectly clean hands and pure hearts, far above what we ever will achieve in this life. They serve continuously with far superior zeal and urgency than we do. They can accomplish much more than we can for God. And they serve God without arguing, resisting, or questioning His commands. The fact that God allows us to serve Him must cause us to realise that this is indeed an unspeakable privilege for each of us who serve Him. When we are very conscious that is the Living God that we are doing something for, we will not sigh, even in our busiest moments, “Oh, I have to do this and that”. Instead, we will excitedly say, “Oh, I get to do this!”. The right view of who we are will drastically change our mindset in serving God, even in the lowest task in man’s eyes. John the Baptiser, seeing both himself and Christ in the right light, would teach, “I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose” (Lu 3:16), and again of Christ, “This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me” (Joh 1:30). When Christ came to be baptised, “John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” (Mt 3:14). John had no airs or any intent to promote himself. He knew where he stood before Christ. That is why God gave the privilege of being a forerunner of Christ to John. This too must be our attitude in our service to Christ. The vow today reminds us that presenting “your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” is only but “your reasonable service” (Ro 12:1). It is the least we could do for who He is, and what He has done for us. We serve purely because we are servants and it is our duty and privilege to do so. This revived focus will help us to serve with humility, priority, and diligence because it is an opportunity to show our love for Him. Realising this, Rededication Sunday is a time to thank Him for even allowing us to be part of His work.

The right attitude in service. After considering the focus of our service and our unworthiness in service, we must correct ourselves promptly when we recognise some of those sinful traits arising in our hearts.  I am sure many of us can relate to the hymn which says, “we have not served thee as we ought; alas! the duties left undone, the work with little fervor wrought”. Each time we think about a scheduled or assigned duty coming up for the week, do we groan in our hearts “Oh, again”, “Oh, I am already so busy with my life”, “Oh, more work”, or “Oh, I am so tired”? It is a time also to consider if we have failed in serving Him as we ought. If we’ve been slacking, complaining, or unwilling, it is a call to repentant commitment to “pull up our socks” to serve God with renewed zeal and devotion, putting aside self.  The Living God who does not need us to serve Him yet gives us the privilege to do so must fill our hearts to serve with joy and not murmuring, albeit in the meanest ways like sweeping the floor, washing the toilets, or cleaning the chairs. Let us not forget, the rededication forms and the vows that we take are not just a ritual. It is a spiritual renewing of ourselves to do with our might and diligence for that which God has put into our hands to do in devotion to Him. This is the same immortal, invisible, all-wise God who alone must be supremely worshipped and served through all ages and in every generation. As we vow to serve Him with our worship and strength, let us be reminded that this is what He expects of His people. It is our stewardship of the gifts He has given to His church, BPCWA.

I believe that our worshippers know by now that service to God isn’t based primarily on one’s skilfulness or willingness. The character, which affects the attitude of the person, which in turn affects how we serve, is of utmost importance. Spiritual maturity is a critical criterion. May every generation in BPCWA be ready to live out our vows to serve the LORD our God as His church witness in WA, for His kingdom, power, and glory alone.  And as we do anything at any time for our Lord, let us never forget,

Luk 17:10  So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor