What It Takes to Serve the LORD

Acts 20:19

Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:

Nobody would dispute that Paul was successful in serving the Lord. One of the things I love about Paul is that he served God with greater fervor than he gave to destroying Christianity before he got saved. Paul shows us several ingredients to how he served the Lord. You will notice he said, Serving the Lord with… The word with is showing how he served the Lord. Let me point out how Paul served the Lord successfully so you can add these things to your life to be successful in serving the Lord as well.

First, you must serve the Lord with humility of mind. Pride always gets in the way of serving the Lord because pride lifts self above God. Humility of mind is putting God and others before self. You will never be successful at serving the Lord if you make serving the Lord about you. If you are concerned with what you get out of serving the Lord instead of what you can put into it, you will not be successful at serving the Lord. God always promotes the humble, but pride always debases you. You cannot serve the Lord in humility of mind if you don't spend time with God in His Word and prayer daily. A personal walk with God daily is one of the greatest ways to keep your mind humble.

Second, you must serve the Lord with tears. You will find yourself carrying a broken heart when you serve the Lord. You will have a broken heart, not because of yourself, but because of those you are trying to help continually walk the way of the world to their hurt and destruction. Those who have served God successfully are those who shed many tears because those they invested in chose the way of the world to their own hurt and destruction.

Third, you must serve the Lord with many trials. You cannot avoid trials when you serve the Lord. You will quickly quit if you only serve the Lord when it is easy. Those who successfully served the Lord are those who served Him through great trials. We want God to use us, but every person God has used carried great trials along the way. I am not trying to discourage you, but I am telling you that trials accompany those who serve the Lord.

Fourth, you must serve the Lord with fervor. Paul said he kept back nothing as he served the Lord. His fervor was unmatched by most. He pressed toward the mark of the high calling of God, and that fervor is what moved him to continue despite all he faced. You will not make a great impact on others for Christ without serving God with great passion and fervor. Passionless service never grabs anyone’s attention, but someone with great passion always grabs the attention of those who need to be reached. You must have fervor in your service if you want to be successful in serving the Lord.

Fifth, you must serve the Lord with no restraint. Paul did not count his life dear to himself, and he was willing to put his life in danger for the sake of reaching the lost. A concern for personal safety has kept many from serving the Lord. Serving God with no restraint is the only way to make a great impact on others with the Gospel. It may seem like reckless abandon to serve God in this manner, but this is how you realize the greatest blessings from serving God. Jump all in and give all you have; this is how you will succeed in serving God.