8 Sermon Illustrations on Service

Henry Ford once said, "Success is not rare. It is common. Very few miss a measure of it. It is not a matter of luck or of contesting, for certainly no success can come from preventing the success of another. It is a matter of adjusting one's efforts to overcome obstacles, and adjusting one's abilities to give the service needed by others. There is no other possible success. Most people think of it in terms of getting; success, however, begins in terms of giving."

I thought to be an actress great The toast of lords and kings. The good Lord said, "I have need of you To do My little things." I thought I would be a dancer rare To fly on gossamer wings. The Lord smiled and said, "Stay here on earth And do My little things." Now I am content to be right here. My heart with rapture sings 'Cause I know how important it is to God To do "His little things." When People Work "So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart" (Nehemiah 4:6). Few tragedies scar as does a raging fire. The devastation is complete. The desolation is mournful. Such was the disaster of the city of Jerusalem when God judged His holy hill with the torch of Nebuchadnezzar. On the day Jerusalem fell, the Edomites cried, "Tear it down...tear it down to its foundations!" (Psalms 137:7). In God's mercy, at last a remnant returned to rebuild their beloved city. And the city began to rise from its ashes. Yet, when some later visited Nehemiah, yet in Persia, they told of Jerusalem's continuing anguish: "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire" (Nehemiah 1:3). Hearing this, Nehemiah "...sat down and wept" (Nehemiah 1:4). The Persian monarch, Artaxerxes, moved by Nehemiah's sorrow, commissioned him to return to rebuild the city. After a quiet tour "by night" with some of the local leaders to evaluate the ruins, Nehemiah urged: "'You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.'I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me. They replied, 'Let us start rebuilding.'So they began this good work" (Nehemiah 2:17-18). The task was formidable-after 70 years of abandonment. Enemies "mocked and ridiculed" them, demanding, "What is this you are doing ...Are you rebelling against the king?...What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall?...Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble-burned as they are" (Nehemiah 2:19; Nehemiah 4:2). The story of the wall's restoration from rubble is a thrilling one. Each family had its own segment of the wall to rebuild. As enemies threatened, some would "serve as guards by night and workmen by day" (Nehemiah 4:22). And finally, "the wall was completed on the 25th of Elul, in 52 days. When all the enemies heard about this...(they) lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God" (Nehemiah 6:15). When our people today, together "work with all their heart," amazing achievements will likewise be celebrated-to the glory of our God.

USEFULNESS, Example of Sixty-five sick and wounded soldiers lay on the second floor of a Virginia barn, just under the roof, which was scorched by a July sun. A delegate of the Christian Commission gave them some relief, and asked the soldier-nurse to wash their hands and feet. "I did not enlist to wash men's feet," was the reply. "Bring me the water then, and I will." And he did it most faithfully.

Many, influenced by fear or pride, refuse to shine as twinkling stars, because they cannot flame as blazing suns. They will not pour the murmurs of the cascade around them, because they cannot rush and roar like Niagara. They will not fan the fevered brow of humanity with the light wing of zephyr, because they have not been permitted by nature and grace to career with the whirlwind. Now, all such men should remember that gunboats are often more useful than three-deckers. The sun is useful; so is a torch carried to men lost in a cavern. A chariot of fire and horses of fire were sent to take Elijah to heaven; but the ravens were sent to feed him. Remington.