Serve God
Transcript of FLOT Line Episode 1012 aired on January 12, 2025
Good morning and welcome to The FLOT Line. I’m your host Rick Hughes and for the next few
minutes, please stick around. Listen as I try to verify and identify God’s unique plan for your life.
If I’m able to do this, then you can orient and adjust to the plan if you’d like. Remember, God
gave you two ends. One end you sit with and the other end you think with. Success in life
depends on which end you use. Heads you win. Tails you lose. It’s the greatest thing in the world
if you learn how to think God’s divine viewpoint and think God’s plan. As Philippians 2:5 says,
“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,”
learning to think like He
thought. Today, I may be able to identify the reason that you’re still here. I think I’ve been able to
identify this reason for me. Thank you for giving me your time. We are working on 21 years of
this radio show. Across America this morning there are close to 100 stations airing this show
from Maine to Hawaii so thank you for being with us. Can you believe it’s 2025? Did you think
you would even be alive in 2025? If you’re like me probably not. I’d like to challenge you in
regard to the reason why we are still here. Why are we still alive? In other words, why has God
kept us around? It’s a good question isn’t it? I realize that most individuals who listen to this
show are members of the adult generation. By this I mean you’re probably older than 50. If this is
true, then what I’m about to teach you today will give meaning and purpose to your very
existence. Let’s take a look at some Scripture that will open the door to our discussion. 1 Samuel
12:24 says,
“Only fear the Lord and serve Him
[the key to what we are going to study today, you
serving God]
in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.”
You cannot serve God and be double-minded. I’ll remind you of James 1:8, the verse that says,
“Being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
If you’re going to serve God, it’s going
to take single-minded purpose in your life. It’s to learn the plan of God, to live the plan of God
and to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ through the way you live. This verse says to
“serve Him in
truth.”
Jesus Christ our Lord said,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life”
(John 14:6). You
cannot serve God unless you come through Christ. You may be the most religious person in the
world and you may be the most churchgoing person of the world but if you have never been born
again, you are not serving God. You are serving Satan because you are promoting evil. The most
evil thing in the world is organized religion. This is what Satan uses to dupe a lot of people into
thinking they’re going to heaven. If you are going to serve God, you must serve Him through the
Lord Jesus Christ. Again, Jesus said,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life”
and Samuel said,
“Serve Him in truth with all your heart.”
This is 100% commitment. It’s you not looking back.
It’s you not second-guessing what you did. Then it says,
“Consider what great things He has
done for you.”
What exactly has He done for you? A lot of great things, I can promise you that.
In John 12:26, here’s what the Lord Jesus Christ said about serving,
“If anyone serves Me, he
must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father
will honor him.”
What does it mean to serve God? The Hebrew word for serve is pronounced
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awbad.
This verb is what we call a qal stem which means to do labor or to do work. The word
that our Lord Jesus Christ used in John 12:26 is different than what was used in 1 Samuel 12:24.
The word He uses is
diakoneo
. It means to be a servant or an attendant. Remember, our Lord said
“
if
” which means the verb is potential. It means maybe you will or maybe you won’t. This verse
requires you to be willing to put His needs and His desires in front of your needs and your
desires. Paul identifies himself as a person who does this. He calls himself a slave in Romans
1:1,
“Paul, a bond-servant
[a slave]
of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel
[good news]
of God.”
The word that Paul uses for slave is a Greek word
doulos
. It means one
who gives himself up to the will of another. There is no idea of bondage here. This is a free
person, a freed slave, a person who was freed but chose to remain a servant and serve the Master.
Having been bought by Jesus Christ, Paul now is willingly bound to his new Master. His old
master was organized religion, persecuting and killing Christians. Now he has a new Master, the
Lord Jesus Christ, and he serves Him as a slave, as a free slave, a
doulos
. We also have been set
free from the penalty of sin and from death. We are free to present ourselves as slaves of Christ
also, if you wish to do so. In Romans 6:18,
“And having been freed from sin, you became slaves
of righteousness.”
You have been purchased out of the slave market of sin. Your penalty has been
removed. Christ died in your place and paid the penalty for your sin. Another phrase is
“slaves of
righteousness,”
manufacturing the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. In
Romans 6:22,
“But now having been freed from sin and enslaved
[
doulos
]
to God, you derive
your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”
Here is the bottom line.
When you were saved, you were freed from an appointment with the Lake of Fire. You no longer
have to worry about this. You put your faith and trust in Christ. He died for you. He took your
place on the cross, freeing you from the penalty of sin and death. Now you are free to walk away
and go live your life and do whatever you want to do or you can make a decision to return and
serve Him because of your appreciation and your love for Him. I’ve seen many people walk
away. Yes, they are saved. Yes, they are going to heaven but no, they don’t have time to learn
God’s will or God’s plan for their life. They’re too busy chasing the details of life. They’ve fallen
into the trap of the cosmos diabolocus, the lure of the world, thinking that happiness is related to
something they have or something they possess or something they do. It’s sad to see people who
are free from sin and death saying, “Thank You for saving me God. I’ll see You in eternity God.
The rest of the time, leave me alone.” This is exactly what they’re doing. They are believers who
want God to leave them alone for the rest of their life. This is exactly what Paul the Apostle did
not do once he encountered the living Christ on the road to Damascus. He didn’t ask God to
leave him alone. He immediately set out as a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you want to hear
how quick it was? Acts 9:20-22,
“And immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the
synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God’
[this is the same guy that was killing people for
saying this].
All those hearing him continued to be amazed and were saying, ‘Is this not he who
in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name and who had
come here for the purpose of
bringing them bound before the chief priests?’
[This is exactly why Saul went there but he got
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converted. Saul had an appointment with God.]
But Saul kept increasing in strength and
confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ,”
He was
proving that Jesus was the annointed Son of God beyond a shadow of a doubt. This change that
came over Paul was immediate because his commitment was 100%. He now knew the truth and
what a fool he had been in his earlier life. God called Paul through a divine intervention and
bestowed upon him the gift of apostleship. Likewise, He has bestowed a gift upon each of us and
our service to Him will function through our spiritual gifts. Let’s get a few principles about
spiritual gifts. What is your spiritual gift? 1. God the Father uses the ministry of God the Holy
Spirit for giving spiritual gifts. This is one of the things that happens the moment you get saved.
You are indwelt, sealed and given a spiritual gift. In 1 Corinthians 12:11,
“But one and the same
Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”
The Holy
Spirit gives you the gift but who appoints the gift to you? 2. God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,
is the source of spiritual gifts and this is documented in Ephesians 4:7.
“But to each one of us
grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ appoints the
spiritual gift to you and the Holy Spirit instills it in your life. 3. Spiritual gifts are sovereignly
given by the Holy Spirit to each believer at the point of salvation. You may not even know what
your spiritual gift is but you have it. It’s there. It may be working and you may not even know it.
4. In order for your gift to be effective, it requires the filling of the Holy Spirit plus some
spiritual growth to understand how it works. You can’t use your spiritual gift if you’re not filled
with the Holy Spirit because this is where the power comes from. If you have the power of the
Holy Spirit, the
dunamis,
then your gift is functioning and working. If you have the Word of God
and you understand what gift you have, then you have to figure what to do with it. In my case, I
did not realize I had the gift of evangelism. I remember praying when I first got saved and
reading a verse of Scripture out loud to a group of kids. We were all sitting around reading. I was
only 22 but I said,
“And pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of
my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an
ambassador in chains”
(Ephesians 6:19-20). I never realized what I was saying but one of the
kids looked at me and said, “Did you hear what you just said?” I had no idea I was going to be an
evangelist. I went with a friend of mine who was speaking at a church one night and they gave an
invitation and no one came forward. Then the preacher said, “Mr. Rick, would you like to say
something before we dismiss the congregation?” I got up and said something. I had only been
saved a week or two. I don’t remember what I said but they extended the altar call and the altar
filled up with people. We didn’t know what to do there were so many of them. When we left, my
friend said, “Something’s going on with you buddy. You’ve got a gift.” It took a while to figure it
out. My partner and I had an organization called Teen Crusades. We had our gifts backwards. He
was the evangelist and I was the Bible teacher but this isn’t the way it works. An evangelist can
teach the Bible, I certainly do this for you, but my gift functions greatly in front of lost people. In
order for my gift to be effective and for your gift to be effective, it requires the filling of the Holy
Spirit. 5. The category of spiritual gift which you possess is not a sign of spiritual superiority or
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inferiority because spiritual gifts are a matter of the sovereignty and the wisdom of God the Holy
Spirit. You are not better and you are not worse than anyone else by virtue of what your spiritual
gift may be. I can tell you there are two permanent communication gifts. One is called the gift of
pastor-teacher and the other is the gift of evangelism, which is me. Missionary is not a spiritual
gift, it’s a function of the body of Christ. Many men that are pastors become missionaries. Many
evangelists are missionaries. But simply put, a missionary should be an evangelist who goes and
evangelizes the indigenous population, teaches them basics, looks for someone that can take it
over to establish a local church and teach them. Then he moves on to another location, not set up
shop and stay there for all of his life. There are two permanent communication gifts. I sometimes
hear people say, “I have been called into the ministry.” Really, what exactly does this mean? Do
they have a communication gift? Do you have the gift of pastor-teacher? If you do, it’s a life of
service, study and sacrifice. Do you have the gift of evangelism? If you do, it’s a life of travel,
service and evangelism. What is your spiritual gift? It’s not singing, I promise you. The fact that
you can sing like Dolly Parton doesn’t mean it’s your spiritual gift. It just means you can carry a
tune. There is another gift we call administration and there is the gift of leadership in Romans
12:8 and 1
Corinthians 12:28. Administrative leadership gifts must be possessed by church
officers and some deacons, especially the chairman of the board of deacons and those that have
standing committees. Then there’s the gift of service, the gift of helps, the gift of mercy and the
gift of giving. There are a lot of different spiritual gifts. Which one is yours? Why did God keep
you around? To use your spiritual gift so that you can glorify the Lord Jesus Christ through your
life and through the use of your gift. If you’re still alive, God still has a plan for you. The gift of
helps is found in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and it is possessed by thousands of believers. This gift is
very important because it’s this gift that makes the royal family tick. It is the most sustaining gift
in the church and it provides real stability for a local congregation. It will function automatically
once you reach spiritual self-esteem, begin to grow spiritually and get some maturity. There is
also the gift of showing mercy, a wonderful gift. Christian service is a gift of showing mercy,
helping people. Helping people who have been mistreated is part of the gift of hospitality. Then
there’s a gift of giving. Oh my goodness, what an amazing gift this is. I’ve been in the ministry
well over 50 years and every nickel I’ve gotten has come from people that had given me finances
and given me gifts. They had the gift of giving, not all of them but most of them do. It is amazing
to see it happen because you don’t ask for money and we know the Lord’s in it when the money
comes in. Christian service is a function of sacrificial giving, giving to a local church, giving to
missions, giving to Christian organizations and giving to the needy. You don’t have to be wealthy
to have this gift because it makes no difference what your economic status quo is. Giving is the
means of inculcating teamwork and coordination into the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gift
of giving is an amazing gift. What’s the motivation for giving? This is a question you have to ask.
In 2 Corinthians 9:7,
“Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart
[in his right lobe]
,
not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver,”
the grace-oriented giver.
Motivation is the major issue in your giving. It is not the amount that is given. God honors the
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mental attitude which accompanies your giving because God loves the grace-oriented giver. I just
read it to you. Don’t give emotionally. Don’t give impulsively. Determine for yourself what you
want to give. Don’t let anybody put you on the spot. I’ve heard some horror stories about people
in churches standing up and saying, “I’ll give $1,000. I’ll give $2,000,” and everybody goes,
“Yea, praise the Lord brother,” and pat you on the back. It’s nobody’s business what you give. It’s
between you and God and that’s all. Nobody needs to be saluting you because you gave
something. Whenever I get a gift, I look at it as from the Lord. It comes through people, His
children who supply our needs to support this radio station. It is always through the grace of
God, through His children. Motivation in giving is key. God loves grace-oriented givers. What
about this? 2 Corinthians 9:8,
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always
having all sufficiency in everything, you may have abundance for every good deed.”
You are not
going to run out of finances. The Lord will supply your needs. God graciously provides extra
finances for those who have the gift of giving and do give. How can I come to this conclusion? 2
Corinthians 9:10,
“Now He who supplies seed to the sower
[this is capital]
and bread for food
will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.”
What a wonderful thing. You cannot out-give God. The more you give, the more God increases
your gifts. It’s just amazing to watch and see it happen. Here’s a principle I want you to
remember. Charity is from God, not socialism and not welfare. These are from man. Charity is
from God because giving is an expression of your free will without any gimmicks, without any
coercion, without anybody knocking on your door saying, “Brother, you need to give this.
Brother you need to give that.” 2 Corinthians 8:3,
“For I testify that according to their ability,
and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord.”
Paul is talking about his support. They
gave willingly, motivated by the Holy Spirit, needs supplied by God the Father above and
beyond whatever their needs may be. Giving must express an attitude toward the Lord Jesus
Christ before you can express an attitude toward the person you give it to. In other words, love
for the Lord Jesus Christ is the first thing that motivates you to give to someone, to give to some
organization or to give to your local church. In 2 Corinthians 8:5,
“And this, not as we had
expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.”
Paul is talking
about finances that came his way to support his ministry. These individuals were occupied with
the Lord Jesus Christ. They had personal love for God the Father motivating them to give to Paul
and his ministry. We as believers have many ways that we can serve God. Absolutely, we can use
our spiritual gift 100%. If you don’t know your gift, you should. You should understand it. If you
need some information about this, let us know. We can get you a transcript of this message and
you can study it for yourself. You have a spiritual gift. This spiritual gift must function and it will
function if you stay filled with the Holy Spirit and if you grow in grace and knowledge and it
will function whether you even know it or not. It’s amazing to watch people with the gift of
helps. It’s amazing to watch people with the gift of mercy. It’s amazing to watch people with the
gift of administrative skills or the gift of giving. It’s amazing to watch a man who has the gift of
pastor-teacher disseminate and teach God’s Word. It’s amazing to watch an evangelist as he
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proclaims the gospel message of the Lord Jesus Christ. The lost people actually listen to him as
he speaks, it’s amazing. There are many ways you can serve God. You can do it in prayer, with
prayers of adoration, thanking Him for Who and What He is. You can serve God by praying
intercessory prayer, praying for others, praying for your family and praying for me. This is
intercessory prayer. I ask you to please pray for me that I would have the strength to continue
teaching the radio program, to continue having the messages you need to hear, to continue
pointing the way toward the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. You can serve God by witnessing and
sharing His Word, winning souls for the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a wonderful thing to do and it’s a
way to serve God. If you’re wondering why are you are still here, why are you still alive, what is
God’s plan for your life? It is to serve Him. Using your spiritual gift or not, you can still serve
Him in prayer. You can still serve Him in witnessing. You can serve Him in giving. The most
wonderful, fulfilling thing in your life is for you to be absolutely in the center of God’s will and
using your spiritual gift to serve God in your spiritual gift and to serve others with humility and
with the motivation of love. When I found out I had the gift of evangelism, I didn’t realize what
was in store for me. I had no idea, not a clue that I would spend the next 50 years traveling,
going from school to school talking to kids, speaking in over 5,000 assembly programs all across
the southeastern United States. Oh, what an amazing thing. I wish I knew how many of those
kids got saved. I don’t know, I have no way of knowing but I know I gave the gospel and I know
they responded. I think about it often. As you get older you will think backwards, not forward.
When you think forward. you know you’re going to heaven and you think about this but you
have memories. You look back in your memories and look back at the places you’ve been, the
things you’ve done and this is normal. Assuming you are a believer, do you know God’s will for
your life? Do you know where He wants you to be? Do you know what He wants you to do? Do
you know what He want you to think as well as what He wants you to say? You should. You
should understand His geographical will. You should know where He wants you to be. God has a
place where you can serve Him. I know people that up and moved to where there’s a local church
so they could get face-to-face teaching and serve God in that local church. I know people that
have followed God’s leadership so they can do exactly what God wants them to do. This takes a
lot of faith sometimes. Do you know God’s will for your life? Do you know what He wants you
to be, what He wants you to do, what He wants you to say? I hope you do and I hope you’re
learning something. I hope you’re growing in grace. I hope these radio shows are at least
encouraging you. I know I’m not always giving you all the answers but my job is to point you to
a well-qualified pastor who can do this. If you don’t know where there’s a good pastor, let me
know and we’ll get you in the right direction. We’ll tell you how you can get some great
information from men that teach the Word of God accurately and succinctly. You can learn, even
in the confines of your own home, if there’s not one in your city. Thank you for being here. We’ll
be back next Sunday, same time, same place as God allows. Until then, I’m your host Rick
Hughes saying thank you for listening to The FLOT Line