Benefits of Service

Jesus speaks in John 12: 26, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.” Here he makes it clear that service to God is more than worth the while.

He makes it clear that the only life that is worth the honors of heaven is the service of a man to God. Isaiah the prophet, speaking under God, also declares in the 19 verse of the first chapter, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:” In other words, the very best of the land is reserved for only those who are willing and obedient to God. Service is obeying God. Service is honoring God. It begins by how much God is valued in your heart. You can't serve God properly if you feel no guilt in coming to church late.

You cannot serve God properly if your body is not contributing directly to God's work. By that, I mean that you have to belong to a service unit. If you are so busy that all you do is to contribute or give money in God's house, then you should reprioritize and restrategize so you can be practical in your Father's house.

Serving God is not only what we do in church. It is seen in how we submit to the leadership, instructions and desires of our spiritual leaders. It is also how we respond to the needs of people around us by showing kindness, giving of godly counsel and introducing or inviting them to church. For service to count, it must align with Deuteronomy 6:5 - “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” It means that service has to be done spiritually, emotionally and physically. It must involve the totality of your being.

Some of the following benefits that are due to anyone whose life is sold out to faithfully serve God:

• Service to God affords you the opportunity to be blessed. It is written in Job 36:11, “If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures”.
• Service is the key to health, deliverance, promotion, answered prays and long life. Exodus 23: 25 says, “And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee” and Psalm 91: 14-16 says “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.”
• Service affords you the opportunity to put to practice the things you have learnt. Take a look at David. He kept training at the sling and the stone but never found a grand opportunity to show his growing skill until he willingly agreed to serve the Lord on the battle field. If you serve the Lord in faithfully learning at His feet via the ministry of those set over you, He may choose to send you to preach to men (Mark 3:14 ).
• Service affords you the opportunity to pursue your dreams, visions and calling. Joseph through service was able to establish himself as a wise man because of the spirit of faithful service. While serving Potiphar, he
  showed himself a dependable and wise administrator. His prison experience did not steal the heart of service from him. He refused to be filled with bitterness. He served the officer of the prison and served the inmates until he served the one that revealed him finally to Pharaoh.
• Service affords you the opportunity to discover your talent and calling. In Amos 7: 14-15, it is clear that Amos did not start out as a prophet. It was while he was serving as a herdsman that God called him into the office of a prophet. If you are not willing to sweep or clean in the house of God, never expect God to open your eyes to the greater things He has in mind for you.
• Service affords you the opportunity to understudy mentors from a very close range. It is in the place of service that you can be mentored. Elisha served Elijah and became the most if not the only prominent one among the sons of the prophet; Samuel understudied and was mentored by Eli. It was while serving in the temple under Eli that he first learnt to hear God. If you must be great, you must set out to serve the great.
• Service affords you the pleasure of honoring your father in heaven. When we serve God especially in the area of soul winning, the bible declares that joy erupts in heaven. It truly feels good to know that you have made God happy.
• Diligent Service advertises you. Proverbs 22:29 says, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.” A man that is diligent in service will be discovered by those God has planted to elevate him. Everyone knew David as a shepherd boy only but his service to God in the killing of Goliath got his discovered as a warrior.
• Service qualifies you for an enviable marriage. No man will marry you and willingly stay with you for life if a heart
  of service is lacking. It is true also the other way round. It was Moses service to the priest of Midian's daughters that earned him the priest's approval and subsequently a wife. Jacob's service to Laban earned him wives. David's service in killing Goliath earned him King Saul's daughter Milcah to wife (1 Samuel 17:25,18:27). Othniel the son of Kenaz had Achsah the daughter of Caleb to wife for he served by smiting Kirjathsepher (Joshua 15: 16-17).
• Service brings a man out of obscurity to limelight. After the first anointing of David, it seemed that his destiny remained with the sheep in the wilderness. Even when he made it to the palace as music/ deliverance minister for the king, the king did not still recognize his importance. What is more frustrating? When he was brought to Saul on account of his willingness to kill Goliath, Saul did not take note of him, that he was his music/ deliverance minister nor did he care about who he was but after David had dealt with Goliath, Saul had no other choice than to now ask in 1 Samuel 17: 56 “…, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is.” When all other things would not work, service will definitely bring you out in Jesus name.
• What is more? Faithful service makes men rich (1 Samuel 17: 25), it will cause your master to delight in you and honor you (Matthew 25:21 & 23) and cause you to receive the Lord's reward at His coming (Revelation 22:12).

I pray for you that as you go all out to serve God the more in the course of this year, you will be honored, enriched, satisfied indeed, in Jesus name.