Some Tips for Serving God

Romans 16:1-5

• 1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.
• 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me.
• 3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus.
• 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
• 5 Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.

How can we serve God better? Three ways in particular are mentioned here, from the examples of Phoebe, Aquila and Priscilla, and Epenetus.

I. We can serve God by humbly serving God's people (Phoebe).

These two verses tell us all we know about Phoebe. She was not a famous Bible teacher, like Kay Arthur, or Joyce Meyers or Beth Moore, or Billy Graham's daughter, Anne Graham Lotz. She was not an elder or pastor of a church. She did not hold the office of Deacon in a church. But she was a deacon in the sense that all of us are deacons: i.e. we should all be serving each other.

The Greek word "diakonon" in Romans 16:1 literally means a "table waiter," and came to mean simply a household servant.

Martha, Mary and Lazarus sister, is a "deacon" in Greek in John 12:1-2...

• 1 ¶ Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
• 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.

Jesus called all His apostles to be "deacons" in John 12:26...

• "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me."

Paul said that he himself was a deacon to the Churches (Romans 15:31 and 2 Cor 11:8)...

• "Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there" (Ro 15:31).
• "I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you" (2 Co 11:8).

Jesus said He was a "deacon" in Luke 22:25-27...

• 25 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.
• 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.
• 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

Martha, Paul, the Apostles, Jesus -- none of them were deacons as official church officers. There ARE those who hold the official office of deacon, and Paul gives directions about them in I Timothy Chapter three....

• 8 ¶ Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.
• 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.
• 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.
• 11 In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.
• 12 A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well.

What then was Phoebe? And how can we learn from her? She was not a "deaconess" or a Deacon as a church officer. She was simply a helper; and we should commend, admire, and help those who are helpers. We need more Phoebes!

Some people seek to read a lot into the word "helper." In Greek it is "prostatis." In ancient Greece and Rome there was a civic office of Prostatis. It involved people of wealth and influence. It could mean someone who would be sort of like our concept of an American Ambassador to a foreign country. So some modern interpreters say that Phoebe was a wealthy woman who was Paul's Patroness, and the Patroness of the Church in Corinth. But this is really stretching the use of the term in Romans. Out of sixteen translations available in the internet, fifteen translated the word simply as "helper." One translates it as "leader."

We should commend people who are helpers. We should receive people who are helpers. We should admire and imitate people who are helpers. We NEED more helpers!

II. We can serve God by encouraging church leaders (Priscilla and Aquila).

A. Aquila took Paul home with him in Corinth, and kept Paul a year and a half (Acts 18:1-3).

• 1 ¶ After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
• 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them,
• 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.

B. Aquila and Priscilla accompanied Paul to Ephesus (Acts 18:18-19).

• 18 ¶ Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken.
• 19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

C. Aquila and Priscilla passed Paul's teachings to the preacher Apollos (Acts 18:24-26).

• 24 ¶ Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.
• 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervour and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.
• 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

D. Aquila and Priscilla risked their lives for Paul and the Church.

E. Aquila and Priscilla invited the Church to meet in their home.

These two points are closely related. Aquila and Priscilla had already been kicked out of Rome, because they were Jewish. Now they are back, and they are not only Jewish, they are Jews for Jesus! And the Church meets in their house. They were not hiding their light under a bushel!

III. We can serve God by being the FIRST CHRISTIAN in a particular place.

Epenetus was the first convert in Asia. (King James says "Achaia" which is wrong. "Proconsular Asia" is correct. The Roman province corresponding to modern day Turkey. Ephesus was the capitol city, and Revelations "seven churches" are there. Ephesus- Smyrna- Pergamum- Thyatira- Sardis- Philadelphia- and Laodicea.

That's all we know about Epenetus. We know as little about him as we do of Phoebe! But Paul calls him a "dear friend." If you are the first convert to Christ in a particular town, you are thereby rendering a distinct service to God. It is true that God saved you, and to God goes all the glory. But you, as the first Christian, automatically will do much to serve Christ. And the same concept goes for being the first Christian in a school, or in an office, or in a club, or an orchestra, or a football team, or whatever. By letting your light shine, you can serve God in a special way.

CONCLUSION: Phoebe; Aquila; Priscilla; Epenetus: As Christians, we are called to lives of service. We should be willing to serve as Phoebe did. She was not famous. She was not often in the limelight. She was not an Apostle, a preacher, an elder or a deacon. But she helped so many people, and the Church is built on the backs of people who are helpers. We need more people like Phoebe, both men and women. We may also be called to serve in public and dangerous was, as were Aquila and Priscilla. We may be asked by God to shelter a preacher of the Word. We may be asked to open our homes to God's people. We may be asked to take a public stand for Christ, even in the midst of a nation that rejects the Christian Faith. So let's take these godly men and women as our examples, and seek to serve God as they did.