Chapel Service
The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
June 2, 2012
“A Christian’s Job Description”
Bob Butcher
I thought Las Vegas was a great place to bring these words for all of us to think upon. Since Las Vegas is not only known as “sin city,” but is also so very orientated toward selfishness, self-satisfaction, greed, and probably everything else that grieves God about how we tend to treat each other; I figured we would deal with the opposite spirit of Las Vegas and bless the Lord.
I also figured that I cannot say any of this better than scripture already does, I will simply share it directly out of God’s Word with just a few notes of mine; which are in italics.
During my life I have learned that we can cause unfathomable sorrow to a person when we dishonor and debase them with our words and actions. Every human being is created in the image of God. Each one of us are more like God then any other creature and are worthy of honor. When we demean that image of God then we wound that person at their deepest level. There is but one race…the human race. God says in Acts 17:26 that He…“has made from one blood every nation of mankind to dwell on all the face of the earth.” We are of the same family, made to be treasured and cherished by one another. That’s what God planned & we blew it. And, we keep learning even more ways and harsher ways to do that today. Some of it is even disguised as joking like one sees on TV and in movies, …but the damage is the same to the person it’s directed at.
I ask you to stop and think about this. We are not only a family, but out here we are a team. We are not only the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, but we are a specific race team, we are a team of Officials; and we need to consider acting as though we are. So therefore, REMEMBER: …When we treat each other with disrespect, we surely not only grieve God but also strain the fabric of our team. Stop and think of the acronym TEAM: “Together Everyone Accomplishes More.” How can that come true when within the team we disrespect each other?
Let’s stop here and look at a Christian’s job description in relationships around us:
Love One Another – I John 4:19-21 – We love each other as a result of His loving us first. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet abuses his brother or sister, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And God has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
(Note:) 1 Corinthians chapter 13 is most used in the marriage ceremony to teach what love is, however in reality it is meant to be the standard for ALL our personal relationships, not just in a marriage.
Bear with one another – Ephesians 4:2 – Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
(Note:) Check out Galatians 6.
Have Compassion for one another – 1 Peter 3:8 – Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate, tenderhearted and courteous.
Be devoted to each other in brotherly love – Romans 12:10 – Love one another from the center of who you are; don’t fake it.
Give Preference to one another in honor – Romans 12:10 – Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. Honor one another above yourselves.
(Note:) Those two are grouped together…out of the same verse …because if you do it right, they cannot be separated.
Accept one another – Romans 15:7 – Accept one another, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise and glory to God.
(Note:) Now that certainly is a broad statement isn’t it? You say: But, what about his weird personality? What about her total lack of humor? The way he does this or that which irritates everyone? On and on the justification goes, however, we don’t know what may have triggered anything we see in the person that set these characteristics into their life. Besides that maybe God likes them just as they are because they are unique! Don’t forget that God uses other people and their quirks to teach and mature us. That is the very reason God loves marriage. It is not just because He ordained it from the beginning between a man and a woman which are so very different, but it is a divine plot to make us holy! Marriage is the ultimate refining process to mold and shape us for His benefit and glory …plus teach us how to love.
Serve one another – Galatians 5:13 – My friends, you have been called to live in freedom – not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but instead freedom to bless and serve one another in love.
Submit to one another – Ephesians 5:21 – Submit really means to: “RESPECT one another out of reverence for Christ.” 1 Peter 5:5 – “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
(Note): You can disarm the enemy’s plans and dreams for yourself by respecting that person you seek to harm beyond your own preconceived perceptions of who the are. That word submit just plain rankles the best of us. The word actually translates to RESPECT, not submit. I learned this in the Air Force quickly because many times I at first had a difficult time respecting the officer I had to salute. Some of these men were certainly not worthy of respect in any way. However, once I learned that I could respect and salute the uniform or the office they represented I could deal with it. Then, as I learned about the image of God in a person I have no trouble respecting that image of God. True, I have no respect for people like Hitler, Stalin, and so many men and women that chose to follow satan instead of God, but then in those cases comes the “righteous indignation factor,” but that is for another day’s discussion. Suffice to say; we have none of those in our racing family here today.
Admonish one another – Romans 15:14 – I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to teach one another.
(Note:) Check out James 5:19-20
Encourage one another – Hebrews 3:13 – But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened or deceived by sin’s cunning.
(Note) We see so little AFFIRMATION today. Our culture is so “anti-encourage.” This desperately needs to change! This not only shapes our children at a young age but all of us need this to respect ourselves.
Build up one another (edify them) – 1 Thessalonians 5:11 – Therefore speak encouraging words to one another and build each other up in hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.
(Note:) The Apostle Paul wrote this to the Thessalonian church as God saw them doing it amongst themselves so Paul encouraged them to continue what they were doing. Let’s be sure WE are doing this today also!
Stimulate one another to love & good deeds – Hebrews 10:24 – And let us see how inventive we can be in spurring one another on toward love and good deeds so that we show love to all.
Confess sins to on another – James 5:16 – Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.
(Note) Our culture is fast becoming more & more Asian – Oriental in its inability to accept blame, lose face or respect. We no longer can expose our weaknesses or admit fault. It’s “cover your own behind” at all cost. However, in God’s economy TRANSPARENCY leaves no place for the enemy to torment you. That, my friends is the other side of the coin. It takes character! Maybe we out to make t-shirts with “GOT CHARACTER?” printed on them.
Pray for one another – James 5:16 – Same command as confessing sin to another. The two simply go together. We need to make it our habit to confess that we just plain messed up!
Be Hospitable to one another without complaint – 1 Peter 4:9 – Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Be generous cheerfully!
(Note) That’s easy if it was Kathy or me walking up …but,… think about this when it’s someone from a team that you just had an on-track incident with, or ruffled your feathers a bit ago.
Serve one another with spiritual gifts – 1 Peter 4:10 – Each one should use whatever special gift he has received from God to serve others, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s help through you. Whatever the gift, use it!
(Note:) Do you know what God-given-gift you operate in? We all have one or more. Sometimes we operate in many different gifts just for the moment. It’s like the “Anointing” I spoke about a few weeks ago. Learn about it and use it. Check out 1 Corinthians chapter 12 for these gifts…but note the greatest of these gifts is LOVE. Chapter 13 deals with love.
Speak TRUTH IN LOVE to one another – Ephesians 4:25 – What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretenses. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself. (Note) The key is doing this truthfully with love so it is acceptable.
*** Forgive one another – Ephesians 4:32 – Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.
(Note) In Psalm 103:12 God says He has forgiven our sins as far as east is from west. He never resurrects them and holds them up to us again. That means neither can we! Check out: 1 John 1:9 and Romans 5:8
Release, Confirm & Affirm gifts in each other – Romans 12:4-8 – God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. Let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or egotistically comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well, but just help, don’t take over. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. If your gift is to encourage others, do it! Give encouraging guidance and be careful that you don’t get bossy. If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. If you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. If you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.
All this sounds pretty difficult doesn’t it? However, if we trust the Lord and set our hearts toward Him and keep trying we will get better and better at it, plus it becomes easier and more natural as time goes on. Let’s not give up! Instead, we can practice between Las Vegas and Sonoma within our own homes & area.
All scriptures are from the GBB version.