Why does God need us to serve Him? Isn't that selfish?

Question: Why does God need us to serve Him? Isn't that selfish?

Answer: The short answer is that God does not need us to serve Him and neither is He selfish. But allow me to expand on that by breaking your question down into two parts.

You asked "Why does God need us to serve Him". Well, not only does God not need us, it's us who need Him. Psalm 104:14 says "You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth". Psalm 104:27-29 continues, "These all look to you to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust."

Likewise, He doesn't require our service in order to accomplish His plan. His goal is that every person would acknowledge Him and make a decision. Luke 19:37-40 tells us that if His disciples are forced to be quiet, then "the very stones would cry out!" But He doesn't even need that. Romans 1:20 says "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and the sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. So that they have no excuse for not knowing God."

So, if God doesn't need us to serve Him, why are we here? What is the purpose of our being here? In short, God created us for the pleasure of creating and for the pleasure of having a relationship with us. This is because He is a creative and personal God. So we are here because God created us to be WITH Him. But God is perfect and as such will not accommodate evil. So when sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, death also entered the world. But not just physical death, those sins separate us from God for eternity, eternal death, that is, hell. And that is NOT what God wants!

This provides a great lead in to your next question, "Isn't that kind of selfish?" First I want to look at the definition of "selfish". Dictionary.com defines selfish as being "devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others." If we look at what the bible tells us about God, this is the exact opposite of what is described. Romans 5:8 says "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." He made the ultimate selfLESS sacrifice when He wrapped Himself in human flesh and allowed Himself to be tortured and put to death by one of the most excruciating methods known, crucifixion. That wasn't even the worst of it. When Jesus was on that cross, He took on every sin ever committed, past, present and future and paid the penalty for it, so that we wouldn't have to. When He rose from the dead, He defeated death so that we could enjoy that relationship with Him that He originally intended for us. The bible says "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) This, my friend, is the exact opposite of selfishness. Everything that God does is in order to restore the relationship between us and Him that He originally intended for us to have. All He asks of us is that we believe and trust in Him. It then becomes our joy to serve Him.

Let me further explain that last point of it being our joy to serve Him with an analogy. If someone saved your life, how would you react to them? Would you walk away without so much as a thank you, not really caring who they were or why they did that for you? Or would you feel forever grateful and indebted to them, always looking for ways to say thank you, ways which always seem to be insufficient? That's what a Christian serving God is. It is us, trying to show our gratitude to the One who sacrificed His very life for us.

Here are some other articles that elaborate further on some of the points I've made:

http://www.gotquestions.org/does-God-need-us.html

http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-is-gods-passion-for-his-own-glory-not-selfishness

http://www.gotquestions.org/why-did-God-create-us.html

http://www.gotquestions.org/believe-in-Jesus.html

Hearing God

As Christians, the Holy Spirit DOES talk to us. (John 16:13) Very often it is in regards to sin in our life. If it's something that you don't want to do, do you find yourself fighting it when God starts talking? We all struggle with that. But the more that you obey that "feeling" that is telling you what His will is, the easier it will be to hear the God talking to you. 

As long as we live in this fallen world though, we will continue to struggle against sin. It is a daily decision that you have to make to listen to God and obey Him. For instance, an example from my own life: Right now, the sin I struggle with is gluttony. I LOVE sweets, especially baked goods. There is a shop nearby that makes the best doughnuts. Sometimes, if the stress in my life is particularly high, I feel like I need one of those doughnuts immediately to make myself feel better. God and I often have heated "discussions" about this. He doesn't speak to me in words, better descriptive words for it might be "impressions", "prompting", "guiding" or "leading". ( He impresses on me a feeling that He strongly disapproves of the action I'm about to take. This ends in one of two ways: either I consent and obey or I harden my heart and dig in my heels like a stubborn donkey. 

Every time I make a choice about how to respond, it has consequences. When I consent and obey, I am closer to God, in harmony with Him and am sensitive to His leading. However, the more often I harden my heart and make that decision to disobey, it becomes harder and harder to hear His voice. If I do it enough, I stop hearing His voice altogether. When I stop hearing His voice, I feel far from Him and that is an awful place to be. When you close your heart to God's voice, you close your heart to the joy of being in harmony with Him. Every Christian has the Holy Spirit of God living inside them, but it takes obedience to God to allow His Holy Spirit to fill you.

Here are a couple of great articles from Got Questions on this topic

(http://www.gotquestions.org/Spirit-filled.html).

How can I know if I am hearing God, hearing Satan, or hearing my own thoughts?

How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?

Is it possible for a Christian to lose their salvation?

My answer to this question was part of the application process for Got Questions ministries. They've just accepted me as part of their team and I am SO excited for that!

"Is it possible for a Christian to lose salvation?"

Dear friend, you asked if it is possible for a Christian to lose their salvation? The fact is, a true Christian cannot lose his or her salvation. It’s very important to make that distinction though. A true Christian is someone who knows God, not just knows of him. Someone for whom God is a personal reality, not just a label they apply to themselves.  Jesus said that there will be many who were never His who will claim that they knew Him. (Matthew 7:21-23 and 1 John 2:19) Please see http://www.gotquestions.org/knowing-Jesus.html for more information on this.

A true Christian cannot lose their salvation. Here’s why:

*God promised that those He has justified, He will also glorify. (Romans 8:30) Justification happens at that first moment of salvation (http://www.gotquestions.org/justification.html). Glorification will happen upon Jesus’ return (http://www.gotquestions.org/glorification.html).

*Jesus said that He will not lose any one that the Father has given to Him. John 6:39-40

*The believer receives the seal of the Holy Spirit upon justification and keeps it until the day of redemption. (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30)

*God is all-powerful, nothing can take us away from him, including ourselves. (Romans 8:38-39, John 10:28-29.)

In short, if you have been justified by faith (Romans 5:1), then you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and nothing, but NOTHING, will be able to tear you from God’s grasp.

Friend, if this doesn’t answer your question or if this brings to mind any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to write back.

Other links:

http://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-lose-salvation.html

http://www.gotquestions.org/give-back-salvation.html

http://www.gotquestions.org/conditional-security.html

How to tell right from wrong

The bible should always be our ultimate authority on what is right or wrong. If we depend on what we "feel" is right, we're likely to get it wrong! So never depend on your feelings. There are a few things that you can do. First, if you are truly a Christian, then you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. He is that small voice or uncomfortable feeling that warns you before you are about to do something wrong. We do have the tendency to ignore Him though. And the more that we ignore Him, the less we hear Him. So start with asking God to fill you with His Holy Spirit EVERY DAY. Read this article for more information: Have You Made the Wonderful Discovery of the Spirit-Filled Life?.

Secondly, the Word of God is your sword! (Ephesians 6:11-20) The more you read your bible, the more you will understand God's will and the difference between right and wrong. So find a bible reading plan (How to Read Your Bible) and start reading every day. The more you read, the more you will know and understand God.

Third, ask me! (or another Christian mentor you trust!) If there is something you want to know and you feel confused about where to find it, all you need to do is ask.

Fourth, a resource that I absolutely LOVE is GotQuestions.org. You can actually just type your question in there and they've probably already addressed it. For instance, here's an article about distinguishing right from wrong: How Can I Learn To Distinguish Right from Wrong?

Not every problem that you'll be presented with is immediately clear. But as you ask God to fill you with His Spirit daily, learning to listen to His voice and reading His word to better know Him and His will, it will become easier and easier. And throughout all of this, pray! Ask God to reveal His will to you. If this is truly your desire He will not let you down. Hebrews 11:6 says "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." Again, Proverbs 8:17 says "I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me." He WANTS to reveal Himself to you! So be persistent, and He will.

Reading the Bible

Question: How can I program the reading of such a big book as the bible?

Answer: I know that considering reading the entire bible can by very overwhelming. I get overwhelmed myself sometimes. And sometimes I fall into the trap that since I don't know where to start, I shouldn't pick it up and read at all. Don't allow Satan to convince you of that! Ephesians 6:11-18 describes the Word of God as a "Sword" in the full armor of God, which is necessary to battle the spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12) that WILL attack us. Recently, Pastor Greg Laurie tweeted "The devil knows too well the power and authority of the Bible. He will try to keep you from it at all costs." He also tweeted "If we neglect the study of the Scripture, our spiritual life will ultimately unravel.". So, you can see, reading and studying your bible is KEY in the Christian life. 

The easiest way to go about this is to choose a bible reading plan. If you Google "Bible reading plan", there are plenty to choose from. Personally I have to choose one that is not aggressive. For instance if I try to do one of the "read the whole bible in a year" plans, I inevitably fall behind and then give up. So try starting with something that is maybe no more than 1 or 2 chapters a day. Whatever it is that you think you can sustain without falling behind. Also if you do fall behind, something that won't be hard to catch up on. If you have Youversion's Bible app, they have some great reading plans. (https://www.bible.com/reading-plans). One more thing, I'm sure you've noticed my fondness of the GotQuestions.org site. Here what they have to say as well: http://www.gotquestions.org/start-reading-Bible.html

Here are some other reading plans: 

https://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/

http://biblehub.com/reading/

http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-reading-plan/

http://www.backtothebible.org/bible-reading-plans

http://www.bibleplan.org/

How to pray without ceasing

Question: How can I pray continuously?

Answer: In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul tells us to "pray without ceasing". Basically, I've found that praying without ceasing doesn't actually mean we should constantly be talking to God, it means to be constantly aware of God's presence. For me, I like to look at nature, God's artwork, to remind me of His presence. The ever changing clouds and the intricacy of the leaves in the trees always amaze me and I like to imagine God creating them. When I look at the natural world, I automatically think of God because it is His creation. This is one way that helps me remember. I also hold sort of an open conversation with God. Nothing formal. Just as I have thoughts, I turn them into prayers by directing them at God. For instance when I'm appreciating a beautiful sky, "Lord, your clouds look especially beautiful today." or when my daughter smiles at me, "Lord, thank you for entrusting this beautiful little girl to me." If I see emergency vehicles, "Lord, please be with whoever is hurting. Please use this situation to bring them closer to you." Those are just examples from my prayer life. Yours will probably be different! But definitely read the following article. Got Questions Ministries does a fantastic job of explaining it. And as always, please write me for any reason!

Grace to you ~Jordan

http://www.gotquestions.org/pray-without-ceasing.html

Finding a Good Church

Question: How to find the right church since there are so many and full of hypocrisy? 

Answer: Finding a good church family can take some time. You want to look for a church that considers themselves to be "Evangelical". This means they will view Scripture as being "inspired by God, without error, and the ultimate authority; they emphasize the importance of a born-again experience through faith in Christ and they encourage evangelism." ("What are the mainline denominations?", 2015)

"Churches that you want to stay away from will hold a more “modernist” theology, viewing the Bible as a historical document that may not be inerrant and is not “inspired” in the sense that it is the actual words of God; they lean toward neo-orthodoxy, and they are prone to ecumenism, the social gospel, and the acceptance of homosexual clergy." ("What are the mainline denominations?", 2015)

The main difference between the two is how they view the Bible and that is the main question you will need to ask when visiting a church. Ask them whether or not they believe the Bible to be the actual words of God and do they consider it to be the ultimate authority. If you find an answer that they give you to be confusing, write me and I can help you sort through it. 

I found this article for you for further things to consider when looking for a church. http://www.gotquestions.org/find-local-church.html.

Also, here is a good place to start looking! Church Finder

References:

What are the mainline denominations? (2015). Retrieved August 5, 2015, from http://www.gotquestions.org/mainline-denominations.html