Transformed by Serving – Walking In Power with Nate Ortiz

Welcome back to another walking and power and I just want to share a word of

transformation to you today. So whatever you're listening where we are I hope

that this word speaks to you and we'll end our time with prayer. I know for some

of you this is a moment for you to just connect with God just to take a moment

just to really develop your faith and you can make the church whatever it might

be or maybe this is an addition to church but whatever it is I want this

word to just bring some transformation to you. Now when I think about the word

transformation right transformation sometimes doesn't always happen as

quickly as we'd like it to be right we we can do things like to work out we can

do things and relationships that we want to really just see change because

we're not happy with the way it currently is or we feel like we just want to be

better get to a higher level of just what we design our lives and in our

Christian faith I've often seen in my own life and others

is that transformation in Christ typically happens daily right there's moments

where God will do something miraculous in someone's life they they're dealing with an

addiction issue or to some other issue and and God does something just supernatural

but there's other times in our lives where we have an issue or we have a struggle

and we just feel like God I don't want to be that person I don't want to deal with this sin

I don't want to deal with this I want to make that change that shift but then you find yourself

right back in that place of where you were and sometimes we can make excuses or we just accept it

other times we can get you know you'll be really just meeting ourselves up over it and that's not

Godly either and so when I think about times where I've been personally going through something or

I've been challenged sometimes one time they said one of the best ways to kind of get out of that

cycle of just you're thinking or just transforming the way you think is to really serve others

and that sometimes fights everything that we want to do right when we're going through something we

don't want to be around people we don't want to serve other people but sometimes when we are

serving other people it takes a moment to stop focusing totally on ourselves and getting this

so in our head or just beating ourselves up or we get into that place where it's not really

productive and kind of getting to even more bad cycles right we make one bad decision and it

transforms to another bad decision but we want to be able to transform our thinking to say

that's not who I am the stone of God's calling to be this is who I am and I think one of those

ways that when we serve the Bible tells us that the Son of Man Jesus did not come to serve

come to be served but to serve right so Jesus himself he didn't come and say at one the Son of God

I want people to serve me in that regard he said I came to serve people so Jesus was serving people

guess what we have to do serve people first Corinthians chapter 10 verse 24 says no one should

seek his own good but the good of the other person one of the ways that we can do that which is hard

right when we say well I put myself second and and person else first is we have to think from

their perspective right what perspective are they holding what perspective are they carrying

many times we can just look at the lens of what do I need what do I need to get through this day

which I need to go about but when you put someone else first the transform is the way you think

really right you can be driving on the road and you can see someone who's really going through

a difficult time or you run into someone with the sword and you don't know what they're dealing with

they could have lost the love one that they could be celebrating the anniversary of the state

not celebrating the anniversary but they could be mourning the anniversary of the loss of someone

lots of things they go with trouble their marriage whatever it might be and sometimes we might feel

like someone's not moving quick enough but really they're just hurting and they're going through that

and so we have to be people it would go through this life that we just don't move so quick and so

swift that we say I got things to do I got a lot going on but how can we serve people and how can

we put other people before ourselves right maybe it's letting someone cut in line in front of us at

a restaurant or maybe it's paying for someone's meal or maybe it's just giving a word of encouragement

to someone whatever that looks like how can we serve people and not just say this day is about me and

what I need and when we think about why that's hard I think there's this level of understanding that

we all have that we are people are selfish by nature right that's our human nature we're selfish it's

it's me it's it's what I want right a little kid that's like when the first word is they learn right

like mine or you know no right they become very self-preserving what they need or what they want

and that could be our human nature even as adults the people say well this is what I need this is

what I want but there's a change that happens when you serve Christ if you say it's not about what I

want but God what do you have for me today and when you do what God has you to do it's amazing how

it comes back to you and not only you but to your family when you live this way this is God I know

I'm not perfect I know I mess up I know I'm impatient but God allow me to serve the people in my life

that you're interested to me allow a lot of just to be the heartbeat of who I am to think about it who

are the people that are closest to you how do you serve them not just well hang out we have fun but

maybe there's you know right parents that you you said Mac I could be doing more for my parents

or maybe it's a sibling that they just need some encouragement whatever might be a co-worker

right how can you be a source of encouragement because here's the thing sin promotes independence

when you have a sinful nature sometimes say well I'm gonna take care of myself it's all about me

is doggy dog right and there is elements of in life that you have to have that that drive and that

focus but when you do that at the price of serving people or giving your attention to people I would

say what what's what is it matter then right to you know what about talks about what is a gain what is

a proper man again whole world but the loser soul right what does it profit us to do all these great

things but our marriage is a record what is a profit is doing these great things but are we not

in relation with our kids or what does it do that accomplish all these great things but we are

lonely because we realize that our whole world our life has been this one thing but when you say

Lord I want to accomplish these great things I want to be right you can be a great business person

you can be successful in your field and be a great husband or wife or even be a great father mother

to your children right you can do both but say God allow me to do what you've asked would you

ask me to do so I can serve people around me because when God knows he can get it to you

you'll get it get it through you who give it to you and so that's you know the old saying but it's

it's true so whatever that looks like and and we always said like yeah God I do it right now but

you really have to be honest with yourself to say am I even doing it right now am I giving you know

to the church you know tired and am I giving to maybe an always a sort of charity like how am I

giving to other people and so when you do that you amazed the blessing of a floyer way not

just monetary but lots of different ways and so you will always when you think about your days

right when you think about your purpose in life so I know with this is that when you you will

discover when you serve other people so it's so important right it's redundant but it's true

so you want transformation in your life you're going through something difficult,

something hard don't just stay focused on yourself you will find God's activity when you reach out

to people who are maybe hurting as well and there's something that God does in that healing in that

process I can tell you as someone who's been with people and lots of different scenarios and just

horrible scenarios and as a pastor with these people who are walking through that sometimes just

being there and just saying I'm just here right it when I leave those settings sometimes it puts

this perspective of gratitude appreciation said well I thank you from what I thank you for my

kids I thank you for my health I thank you for all these things because you know someone out there

is mourning something difficult in their life so today tomorrow the rest of us we think about who you

can serve right that God can transform your heart and your mind of how approach our day how approach

our week how we approach people that people are not just here for us and our needs and our wants

but we have people out here that would serve and that would be more like Christ and all that we do

and so I want to just pray for you today no matter where you might be that God will just reach out to

you today and he would speak to your heart so you have those videos done and you watch it take a

moment to pray with yourself just like identify those people identify how I can serve or they

are going to have been selfish Lord I don't want to be sinful just be independent but Lord I want

to be honored to your name and be more like you be transformed to your purpose to your will to

your likeness so let's just pray right now Lord I pray for everyone watching this video God that

you would speak to them Lord that you would show them the ways that they can serve others in unique

ways Lord in small ways it's not always the grand gestures but it's always the small things maybe

it's a text or a phone call or maybe just praying with someone or maybe it's just a word of encouragement

Lord allow us to be people who can serve people Lord that's what you came to do and it's what you

ask us to do you mould it for us all throughout scripture so Father I just ask that you continue

just to guide us what throughout this day but throughout this week Father you are faithful to us and

we know that every promise to you giving your work or that we can receive it and grab a hold of it

so we'd love you to thank you I want to be praying amen I appreciate you guys I will talk to you next time