To Serve, Be Saved: A Sermon on Spiritual Readiness

Please create a 30 to 40 minute sermon to begin the year (their first Sabbath of the semester) for a group of young people, students meeting at Wits university (SDASM). Sermon must be deeply rooted in Scriptural references and Ellen White guidance quotes. They are having their theme for the year as Saved to Serve. The sermon must be titled To Serve, Be Saved. It must be drawn from lessons in the passage of Numbers 14v1-5. Introduce the lecture by emphasising the noble pursuit that they are having, as believers in a public campus, to want to work at winning their peers for Jesus. However, underscore the importance of ensuring they are saved first before wanting to serve (to save) others. Highlighting how it is more important it is to BE for Jesus than DOING for Him. Also share some dangers taking that route. In the body of the message, Draw from the background of Numbers 14, chapters preceding, and the trained attitude the people developed a mentality to not be rooted in God and His plan for them to take them to Canaan. Address the context, how, despite the goodliness of the land which was supported by evidence, fear still got the better of them. Show how could have been an effect of the slave mentality which they still possessed. Also link how this mentality was stronger that the God who had delivered them from that same slavery. Proving that, in actuality, He was stronger and mightier, but still their minds deceived them. Address the profound impact of this, how, despite the circumstance and evidence to the contra, if the mind is not renewed to believe the new status quo, progress will be impossible and failure will be inevitable. Link this to their lives as students. Present at the university to better their lives and pursue a better future, but if they do not outgrow their backgrounds, all will be for nought. The same applies to their religious experience... Thus for them to serve, they will need to be saved. Genuinely saved and committed to God Address the dichotomy that will always exist where people are gathered. Total unity will not always be a reality. As exemplified in the split report from the spies, and subsequently among the whole congregation. Emphasise how not all dissenting voices are valid, even when in the majority. Spend time speaking to the corrosive nature of negative thought. How it is gangrenous because of the absence of connection with God the source of life. How the rot of negativity spreads raptor and is contagious, causing death in its wake. How, like a virus, it inherently wants to spread itself to others. Seldom do you find someone with a bad idea want to execute it by themselves. Evil surmising loves company and support Provide solutions for this epidemic, especially in propagating the truth intentionally. Show the mystery of how that which is desired is sometimes shrouded in obstacles. Canaan was the promised land. The land evidently flowing with milk and honey. It was all they dreamt of and more. But getting it was not a walk in the park. It required some effort and tenacity on their part. But most importantly, it demanded them to trust in God because their enemy was far greater than they could ever be, such that effort alone, no matter how much would have never been enough. Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding. Lay ahold of that which is beyond your reach with the arm of faith. Trusting Him who has promised because He is faithful to do it. Also speak to how fear blows any difficult thing out of proportion. Making it seem essentially impossible to deal with. Notwithstanding ones possession of tools and resources that can enable you to actually overcome any apparent challenges. The nation's hearing of giants in their path made them weep out loud and wish for death, and opted that the best response would be to return to slavery. All this despite how God had come through from them on countless occasions (give examples of this). Also note how Israel's delivery from Egypt was God responding to their crying out to Him for rescue. But when the going gets tough it stopped being their desire, but rather that of God, Moses and Aaron. Another point to note is how they didn't ask Moses to take them back, they wanted new leaders. People not connected to God and the original mission. Use this point to encourage to SDASM structure leaders not to lose heart when sometimes the masses want to sideline them In addition, they must not be weak willed when the masses want to desert the mission. Let them be resolute and call on God for assistance to stay the course. Encourage them to be gentle with the flock that God has entrusted to them. Interceding for the church rather than scolding and castigating them. Link all this to how it is imperative and the very framework which will last a solid foundation on which they can work for souls and be successful. Give encouragement that as disagreements manifest, as they will do, they should never allow them to split the body of Christ. Even if it means realising the promise of God at a delayed time, let there be unity and encouragement. Correction and exhortation, yes. But always brotherly love and kindness Love amongst believers shows the world that we are Jesus' disciples. That will attract them to join us. Genuine love will ensure service to each other is pure Love will ensure we're not selfishin our conduct and approach Dwell on how the saved, especially Moses, was not just concerned with making it to the promised land for himself, but his being saved meant his life was focused on service. Sometimes at detriment, delay and loss on his part. Salvation, when it is genuine is willing to spend and be spent for the benefit of others. Mention how Moses refused to be made a great nation if the cost was the destruction of the rest of the Israelites. Saved to Serve is the calling. But the only way we can wholeheartedly serve is if we're saved. To Serve, we ought to be saved. Conclude with a charge and altar call to this effect