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The Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. Therefore, go around the world teaching and preaching the gospel to every creature, to the last of the earth. En Contacto, the ministry of biblical teaching of Dr. Charles Stanley. Today on the program En Contacto, the key to success. Have you ever felt discouraged while living the Christian life and thought, Lord, can you tell me what's going on? The more I try, the more I struggle, the more I fail. Have you ever wondered why you should keep trying? Why, no matter what I try to do, I still fail to live the Christian life? We've all felt that way at some point in our lives, so we have to ask ourselves why. Well, I think there are many reasons why we fail in the Christian life, but there is one that I'm sure of. And that is that when we all believe in Christ as our Savior, it is most likely that no one has told us, Look, there are very basic principles that are really essential to enjoy your relationship with God through Jesus Christ. If you follow them, things will go well for you. If you violate them, nothing will go well. So you have to understand what these principles are. Well, what I would like to do is take a sector of Christian life and talk about these basic principles that are undoubtedly so essential. This is our series on service, and we will continue with this series today. And the title of this particular message is Service, the key to success. There are some very, very basic essential principles that, when violated, if they are ignored,

our servitude, our service to the Lord and others, will not be what it should be. And if we take these principles into account, not only will we be helpful to others and glorify God with our life, but we will also have a feeling, a great feeling of contentment, joy and satisfaction that God can use us. I would like you to join me now in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. We will read a verse from this chapter. There are many verses that we will analyze, but 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 24, deals with this first basic principle that we will analyze in this area of ​​service. You will remember that Christ said, I am among you as the one who serves. As the Father sent me, so I also send you. Now, Paul also said in Galatians chapter 5, verse 13, that our love is to serve each other. Thus, Jesus Christ sees all his children as servants. And there are no important servants or insignificant servants. We are all servants of God. The only notorious difference is that some have roles different from others. But we are all at the same level in the eyes of God. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, let's read what verse 24 says. It says, Faithful is he who calls you, who will also do it. Well, what does that mean?

Here, look, here is the first basic principle, the first fundamental key for our success as servants. I will say it clearly. When I speak of being a servant, I do not speak only of serving the Lord in this building of the church. I speak of being a servant of God because basically, all believers are servants. We must be in our profession, we must be in our education, we must be servants in the church, among friends, and also among those who are strangers. A servant of God does not choose, whether it is a man or a woman, where it will serve or to whom it will serve. I wish to give you five basic principles, five keys here. Each of them is important. Here is the main, fundamental idea of ​​all of them. It is found right in this verse, and it is the following. Let's see. The ministry or service is not something we do for God, but God does it through us. I would like you to write that down. The true ministry, true service, is not something we do for God, but it is something that God does through us. That is a fundamental and basic truth. And probably the reason for this misunderstanding is the reason why so many people fail or refuse to serve the Lord, since they do not understand this principle.

And it is that the true ministry, the true service, God does it through us, not us for him. Okay? Now let's look at two or three verses. Look at what it says in verse 24. It says, Faithful is the one who calls you, the one who also calls you. What does this mean? That whatever God calls it, whatever area of service it has, whatever field of service in its profession, whatever the area of service it has in its church, whatever, whatever God calls us, He promises us this. Faithful is the one who calls you, the one who will also do it. That only means that God, see this, God assumes the responsibility of enabling us, helping us to perform the work that He has called us, whatever it is. God never leaves us alone to do what He calls us to do. Faithful is the one who calls you, He will do it through us. Well, now join me in Philippians chapter 2. The second chapter, verse 13. Again, it expresses it in a different way than it would normally express it. It says here, Because God is the one who in you produces the will as He does by His good will. The key is this, when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, at that moment, the Holy Spirit came to our interior to dwell in us. He came for two main and specific reasons. There are others, but number one,

to allow us to become the people that God wants us to be. And second, to enable us to do the work that God has called us to do. That is, to be the type of servants that He wants us to be. The verse says, Because God is the one who produces the will as He does by His good will. That is, He is the one who calls us, the one who gives us the will and the desire, as He does by His good will. So it is God who works in us. When you believed in Him as your Savior, He did not say, Do this or that. He said, I will be in you and over you. It is not only His work, but the Father will do it through you. And that work will be carried out as a result of you being able to surrender to the presence, the power, and the direction of the Holy Spirit in your life. It is not what we do for God, it is what He does through us, right? Now the second principle. It is an extremely important, basic principle, and absolutely key to enjoying our service to the Lord. To be successful and bear fruit in the service to God, whatever it may be. And what is it? Let us see what it is. Listen. No matter who we serve, we serve the Lord. No matter who we are serving, we serve the Lord. These are very important passages in Colossians 3 and Ephesians 6. Come with me to read them. Ephesians 6 first, please. And then I want to go to Colossians 3,

and then we will see both passages. Because Paul says the same thing here in a different way. Well, when Paul speaks and writes about the slaves, in those days, of course, there were many people who were slaves, and they had masters. Some masters were Christians. And Paul exhorts the masters to treat their slaves as brothers and sisters in the Lord. When he speaks of slaves here, at this time we could do this. We could change employer for master, and employee for slave. Because you serve someone else. Listen to what he says in chapter 6 of Ephesians initially. He says, if you notice, in verse 5, he says, servants or employees, obey your earthly masters. That is, when he says earthly masters, that means that in this life one has a boss, right? He says, do it with fear and trembling. It does not mean death of fear, but with an attitude of obedience and reverence, with the simplicity of your heart. Well, he says, you must do this. Which words continue? Which three words continue in the passage? As to Christ, he says, serve where, as if they were serving the Lord himself. Verse 6. Not serving the eye as those who want to please men, that is, it is not to obtain the approval of men, but he says, as slaves of Christ,

that is, we all serve the Lord Jesus with our heart, doing the will of God, serving with good will, as the Lord and not men. Well, what he is saying is just this, and I think it is very evident, that it does not matter who we serve, and it can be someone who is your boss. You will say, let me clarify something. You do not know my boss. No, do not put him in that category. It does not matter who he is. If he works for him, he is responsible for him, and he is subject to his authority. How should we serve? Well, here he says that whatever we do, we must see who we serve, as if it were the Lord. No significa que pongamos a Cristo en su lugar, porque no se trata de a quien servimos, se trata de que lo que yo haga para usted debo asegurarme de que lo hago para el Señor Jesucristo mismo. Quizá usted reciba el beneficio de mi servicio, quizá usted reciba el beneficio de mi amor, pero debo verlo, mirarlo a usted sabiendo que al servirle sirvo al Señor Jesucristo. Vea el siguiente pasaje, Colosenses capítulo 3, vea esto, esto es lo que dice en el versículo 22, Colosenses capítulo 3, versículo 22. Dice otra vez, Siervos, en todas las cosas, no en algunas, sino en todas las cosas, obedeced en todo a vuestros amos terrenales, aquí vuelve a mencionar amos terrenales, no sirviendo al ojo, como los que quieren agradar a los hombres, sino que dice, así deben servir, sino con corazón sincero, temiendo a Dios. Y todo lo que hagáis, hacedlo de corazón, pongan todo su ser en ello, como para el Señor, y no para los hombres, dice aquí. Miren, si trabajan en una cadena de montaje y aprietan tornillos, háganlo como si lo hicieran para Cristo, ya sea maestro escolar, o sea mecánico, o médico, o abogado, no importa a qué se dediquen la vida, todo lo que hacemos, dice, debemos hacerlo como para el Señor, mire, dice de corazón, como para el Señor, y no para los hombres, sabiendo que del Señor recibiréis la recompensa de la herencia, porque a Cristo el Señor servís. Bien, recuerde cómo lo dice, aquí habla de esclavos, habla, incluye a los esclavos que recibían a los invitados, y lavaban sus pies sucios antes de que entraran al comedor para tomar la cena. Y dice, hagan lo que hagan, laven esos pies sucios, como si lavaran los pies del Señor, sea lo que haga, sirvamos a los demás como si fuera al Señor. Bien, si lo piensa, es una buena manera de lidiar con cosas en nuestra vida que no nos gusta hacer.

Y recuerdo cuando solía trabajar en una gran tienda de alimentos, y mi trabajo era limpiar. Eso hacía, la limpiaba, barría pisos y trapeaba donde estaba la venta de carne, y no era fácil, estaba en el seminario en esa época y necesitaba más dinero, y así debí decidir, voy, voy a quejarme, porque me quejé los tres o cinco primeros días y pensé, no va a funcionar. Debo cambiar mi actitud y decidí barrer como si fuera para Cristo. Barrería para Él. Y eso hice, un día el jefe le dijo a un amigo, no le estorbes a Stanley o te trapeará también. Bueno, no me estorbe, así es, es decir, si tengo que hacer este trabajo, entonces no estorbe, sólo lo hago. Bien, no espero que todos piensen igual, pero les diré que no creo que Dios tolere la pereza, no creo que apoye la pereza. Y hay gente que siempre busca una excusa para no servirle y para hacer un mal trabajo. Escuche, si no lo sé todo, mire, si doy lo mejor de mí y mi trabajo no es lo que debería ser, no es malo a los ojos de Dios si es lo mejor que puedo hacer. Y alguien tiene que ayudarme, entrenarme y animarme en ello. Pero si soy descuidado y quiero hacer lo mínimo posible y seguir haciéndolo de esa manera, quisiera decirle que lo que la gente no ve, mire, puede que sea cristiano, puede que usted sea creyente. Y hace un trabajo descuidado y no le importa que piense su jefe y se queja de él, como sea, pero le aseguro que deberá responder a Dios por su mal servicio como cristiano, sin importar lo que haga. Y hay un tercer principio, y es este, una clave muy básica para el éxito en nuestro servicio al Señor, y es que servimos según nuestro don espiritual, no según nuestro talento natural. Servimos con nuestro don espiritual, no con nuestro talento natural. Debemos distinguir entre talentos naturales y dones espirituales. Por ejemplo, una persona que no es salva y también una persona que es salva tienen talentos naturales. Veamos que en todos los deportes hay talentos increíbles entre los atletas. Unos saltan muy lejos, corren rápido o hacen un gran pase y todas esas cosas que se ven en el ámbito deportivo. Es increíble el talento de muchas personas, pero esos son talentos naturales que Dios les dio a estas personas, y ellos trabajan en ellos, perfeccionan sus destrezas, por lo que sobresalen y al final son recompensados. No hay nada de malo en eso. Bien, también hay personas que son tan talentosas en otras áreas que podrían servir. Por ejemplo, si piensan en Hollywood y en los escenarios de los Estados Unidos y los clubes nocturnos, hay gente que es muy talentosa para cantar, pero no actúan por un don espiritual o no estarían cantando allí para empezar, pero tienen un gran talento. Hay gente en las iglesias que tienen talento humano y actúan según ese talento. Y este, este, este talento natural que Dios les dio, lo reciben al nacer, ¿bien? does not necessarily depend on the Lord, but rather on his relationship with other people, physically and so on, and so they exercise those talents. But a spiritual gift is a gift that is received by being saved. It does not mean that, humanly,

that natural talent is not important. It is very important, because God wants us to act according to our spiritual gift, and to use those natural talents. Let us distinguish them here. The believer receives spiritual gifts in his experience of salvation, I believe, and these motivational gifts that he has given us must be the motivation behind what we do. Now, let us go to Romans chapter 12 for a moment. Let us go to Romans chapter 12, beginning in verse 5 of Romans chapter 12. It says, Thus we, being many, are a body in Christ, speaking of the church, and all members, each of us, are related. So, having different gifts, according to the grace that is given to us, God gives us all the same gifts. In his grace, kindness, love, and mercy for you, he gives this gift or gifts. To another person, he gives others. And it says, according to the grace that is given to us, use it. Look, since we have these gifts that differ according to the grace that was given to us, use it, exercise that gift, according, that is, whatever the gift is, we must use it in that way. Here are seven motivational gifts. Look at this. It says that there, look closely here, if the one of prophecy, use it according to the measure of faith, or if of service, in serving, or the one who teaches in teaching, the one who exhorts in exhortation,

the one who distributes with liberality, the one who presides with solicitude, the one who does mercy with joy, right? If he takes these seven gifts and says, they are seven motivational gifts, I will briefly explain what I mean. If he takes these seven gifts and understands their meaning and how they work, this is what he will discover, that there is a main motivational gift that impacts him more than the others. Mine turns out to be exhortation. So, why do I live week after week? I work, study, and pray all week because I am highly motivated to do what? To exhort them to believe in the word of God, to put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and to follow him and obey him to be blessed, and that you be a valuable servant of God. That's what it's about. I don't pretend, nothing more. It's about exhorting him and encouraging him. I am an encourager from the heart, but if I were a prophet, I would get up and you know what my emphasis would be? The Bible says that without Jesus Christ, you go to hell. If you have never believed in Jesus Christ, you will go to hell, and if you don't want to burn and go to hell, trust in Christ as your Savior. Well, it's not that it's not true. It's just that that's not my gift, and I'm glad it isn't. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

It would cost me a lot to tell that to someone all the time, but someone who has the gift of prophecy or evangelism, there is a place for them. God called them to that, and there are times of great challenges. And so, he put all these gifts in the church, and he put them there because when all this comes together, when we work together, there is nothing that God cannot do in a community of people when those who form that community do what? They are working with and motivated by their spiritual gift to do what God has asked them to do. Well, come with me to 1 Peter chapter 4. I already gave you this passage before, and I will probably give it to you several more times because it is an important gift. This is what Peter says about all this. And you see, as we said, the service is not optional. Serving God is not an option. Someone will say, I decide if I do it. I must ask the Lord what he thinks about it, and I can tell him that it is not an option. It is a mandate of the Lord. Listen to what this passage says. 1 Peter chapter 4. It says in verse 10, Each one, according to the gift he has received, that is, a gift that is adjusted to his personality, to his character, to everything, to all his being, a special gift to use,

minister it to others, as good administrators of the multiform grace of God. And how do I serve God? By serving others. It says that each one of us has received a gift. And it says that it is our responsibility to minister it to the service of other people. So I must ask the Lord, I have a gift? Someone will say, God did not give me any. Yes, he did. I do not know what his responsibility is. It is to find out. How do I find out? If he is willing to be helped, we will help him to discover what his gift is. Does it mean that if he has the gift of service, he cannot teach? No, it never means that. Many times a person with the gift of teaching has a very, very strong attitude of service. They want to help people. to learn, they want to do what is necessary. It does not mean that they only have one gift. There are many other gifts in the Bible, as it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, there are many gifts, but I believe that there are those seven motivational gifts that are at the bottom of everything we do, the ones that motivate us the most. So it would be interesting for you to find out which one is yours, and we can help you if you let us do it, okay? What is the fourth key? The fourth key of servitude, that is, if we have to be successful, listen to what it is, listen, understand that you cannot serve God and yourself at the same time, you cannot. You cannot serve God and yourself at the same time. Now join me in Luke chapter 16. Most of us know this passage from the rich man who went to hell, but there

are wonderful verses in this passage. Join me in chapter 16 and see verse 13, Luke chapter 16 verse 13. Notice what it says. It says, No servant can serve two lords, because he will either hate one and love the other, or he will esteem one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth, and when it says wealth, it refers to money. Well, that is the context in which he speaks, but the truth is that he cannot serve God and himself at the same time. If he only serves God for money, he cannot do that. That is, if he is a servant, a servant of money and wealth, he cannot be a servant of God at the same time. He can say it, but it is not true. Notice what he said. No servant, not some, not most, no servant can serve two lords, because he will either hate one and love the other. See the contrast. To hate and love, he says, he will hate one and love the other. Well, the truth is that we cannot. We cannot serve ourselves and serve God at the same time. Well, let's see it this way. We can deceive ourselves. Anyone can be deceived by their service. And so, when I think about this, I can reason well. How would I know when I am deceiving myself, and how can I know when I serve the Lord? Very simple. I will know that I serve myself when I am more interested in pleasing man than pleasing God. This is how we serve the Lord. We serve the Lord based on commitment and devotion to Christ. It is a matter of devotion. Who is this God I serve? Last principle. This is the last one, and I mentioned it before, but I will present it as a principle because it is very important. This is the fifth and last one. And it is this. The fifth principle is that we understand, we realize, when the real ministry occurs. When does the real ministry occur? Let's see when it occurs. Well, let's say this is God and his resources. When the divine resources supply needs through a loving channel, this is how the ministry occurs. Look at this. Let's say that here is God, and he sees it in his need. Well, what does he do? God does not send it from heaven. Perhaps he needs a word of encouragement, or he needs something physical. He does not send it directly from heaven. What does he do? God sees his need and also sees here a person available. What does God do? He sees his need, moves this available person, and what does the person do? He obeys God. He becomes his channel, and God works through that person close to you who supplies his need. Here is the beautiful triangle through which God operates. God sees his need, sees an available servant, moves the servant, and that servant is God's channel to supply that need. This is how God operates. The wonderful thing about this is this. He could do it without us. Listen, do you understand that God has given us,

has blessed us by putting us in the triangle? That is, he could send it from here to there, but he says, no, because I love you, this is what I will do. I will send it from me, through you, to them, so that they have the opportunity to serve and act as God. They have the opportunity to accumulate reward in heaven. They have the opportunity to feel satisfaction in knowing that it is useful for God. So he includes us in the triangle. There are three things that are essential for this. First, in this triangle, initially, as an instrument available here, three things must be fulfilled. The first is awareness. I must be aware that God speaks to me, aware that there is a need. The second, I must be It's not enough to be aware, it's available, it's Lord, I recognize this need, Father, what do you want me to do? And God says, I want you to do this. Availability. And the third is dependence, depending on God in me to be able to be that channel that supplies the need. The question is, is it available for God to use it to supply any need, whatever it is around him? And I'll tell him with all my heart, look, with all my heart, that I don't understand how someone can say no to God. I can't understand it. This is the God who said, I wrote your name in the book of life. I will take you home to heaven. When your breath, when your heart beats for the last time, I will not put you in a grave. Immediately you will be in my presence, and I will bless you for eternity. We will live together for eternity, and you will serve me forever. How could I tell such a loving God who sent his only begotten Son Christ to die on the cross for me, to say no? I couldn't. And I don't think you can, honestly.