Ask Not...

I. Introduction
   A. January 20, 1961: Inaugural speech made by John F. Kennedy as 
      he became the 35th President of the United States
   B. He utters the now immortal line: "Ask not what your country can 
      do for you-- ask what you can do for your country"
   C. A great line
      1. A call for sacrifice
      2. A call to forget about oneself in order to achieve something 
         greater for another
   D. The line also has great spiritual applications
      1. Matthew 16:24-25
      2. Galatians 2:20
      3. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8a
      4. Philippians 2:1-4
      5. God calls upon Christians to also forget about their own 
         needs in order to achieve greater things in His Kingdom!
      6. Let us consider various applications of this principle

II. Ask Not...Regarding God
   A. "Ask not what God can do for you-- ask what you can do for God"
   B. People often look toward God to seek what He can do for them
      1. God becomes like Santa Claus or an always benevolent father
      2. God is many people's ultimate emergency plan
      3. The only time they think of Him is when they are in need of 
         something from Him
   C. Even Christians can fall into this trap
      1. Prayer is often petition only for things
      2. We sometimes only really seek after God when we feel like we 
         can go no further
   D. Yet God is seeking those who will seek Him and trust in Him
      1. Hebrews 11:6, John 4:20-24
      2. If we will not seek after God, why should we expect Him to do 
         anything for us?
   E. God certainly wants association with man and to save him-- but 
      His grace is not cheap!
      1. God was willing to give of His Son so that we could associate 
         with Him (1 John 1)
      2. God expects people to seek His will and follow His commands 
         (Matthew 16:24-25, 1 John 2:1-4)
   F. Therefore, we need to consider how we can serve God!
      1. He blesses those who seek after Him and do His will 
         (Hebrews 11)
      2. Therefore, if we seek His blessings, we must do what we can 
         to serve Him
      3. We must devote our energies for His purposes, not our own, 
         and He will take care of the rest (Matthew 6:24-34)

III. Ask Not...Regarding the Gospel
   A. "Ask not what the Gospel can do for you-- ask what you can do 
      for the Gospel"
   B. When we first believe, it is natural to focus on how we have 
      been saved through the Gospel message (Romans 1:16)
      1. After all, we have found enough value in it to believe it 
         and obey it
      2. We must gain understanding of its meaning and work to put it 
         in place in our lives
   C. Yet Jesus calls us to quickly turn and promote His Gospel to 
      others (Matthew 28:18-20)
      1. After all, it is God's power of salvation (Romans 1:16)
      2. We can see people like Aquila, Priscilla, and Apollos, who 
         worked to promote the Gospel soon after obeying it (Acts 18)
   D. By living and preaching the Gospel, we confirm its value for 
      ourselves and accomplish God's purposes in its promotion
      1. Matthew 7:16-20: we will be known by our fruit
      2. Let us be known as Christians promoting God’s message of 
         salvation!

IV. Ask Not...Regarding the Kingdom
   A. "Ask not what the Kingdom can do for you-- ask what you can do 
      for the Kingdom"
   B. It is a blessing to have brethren around the world and in our 
      midst locally
   C. God set up His Kingdom for the benefit of those within it 
      (Ephesians 4:11-14)
   D. We can derive great encouragement from our brethren 
      (Hebrews 10:25)
   E. Yet God calls upon us to give and to serve ourselves
      1. Galatians 6:10, Acts 20:35, James 5:16
      2. We are to do good and to pray for those in the Kingdom
      3. It is better to give than to receive!
   F. Let us consider how we can better serve others!

V. Ask Not...Regarding Others
   A. "Ask not what others can do for you-- ask what you can do for 
      others"
   B. We live in a selfish age
      1. Everyone wants to know how they can better "#1"
      2. Other people are only good for what they can provide
      3. Little thought is given for them or their plight
   C. This is not to be so among Christians!
   D. The force of Jesus' commands
      1. Luke 10:27, 36: to love your neighbor as yourself, you 
         need to play the part of the neighbor
      2. Luke 6:31: your self-interest needs to inform how you 
         handle the interests of others
      3. Hence, Philippians 2:3-4
      4. We all want to be loved and have our needs met-- therefore, 
         God calls us to love others and meet their needs!
      5. If others did this also, we would find that our own needs 
         are met by them as we meet their needs!
   E. It must all start with each person and their decision: will we 
      seek the good of other before our own?

VI. Conclusion
   A. It is natural for us to seek after our own needs
   B. Yet God calls us to seek after all other needs before our own!
   C. We must seek what God seeks; we must promote the Gospel of 
      His Kingdom to make it effective for ourselves; we must seek 
      others' advantage to gain the Lord's favor
   D. Let us be the servants that God would have us to be!
   E. Invitation/songbook