By Rev Tan Eng Boo
The photo shows Dr Paul Wright, who was President of Jerusalem University College (JUC) from 1977 – 2022.
Now he is the second President Emeritus teaching pastors and lay people Bible Geography and History on Tel Azeka.
I bring up this example because I see the joy and gladness of this servant of God in action– he has been doing this same task for 45 years and continues to do so!
The Psalmist says in Psalm 100:2 that we are to serve the Lord with this attitude: “Gladness.”
“Let there be joy in this service. Let it not be with the fear of slaves; not as a matter of compulsion and force; not with reluctance, moroseness, or gloom. Let it be a cheerful, happy service; let it be freely rendered, let it be an occasion of joy to the soul. The service of God is a source of the highest joy that man knows.” – Albert Barnes
“There is a kind of service He doesn’t like: murmuring service, bored service, and glum service. Serve the Lord with gladness. This is biblical!” – John Piper
Serving the Lord with gladness can be interpreted as meaning to serve Him with cheerfulness and joyfulness, not with sadness, negativity or out of religious obligations.
That is the way to serve the Lord in every capacity and in all areas of ministry.
One of the perspectives that I have adopted in my pastoral service over the years is to serve the Lord with gladness. If I don’t have such attitude, I would not have survived the years of service. I looked at the ministry of Nehemiah and saw joy in his service for the Lord as he encouraged others on. “….And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Those who serve the Lord should do so with gladness.
I know it is easy to tell people to do so, especially to lay people who struggle with discouragement as they serve. There are many reasons for them to get discouraged. One of the many reasons include the fact that they don’t have the time that the full-timers have. While I sympathize with them and try to understand their situation, the Bible simply declares that service to God must always be joyful. If it becomes a burden and a chore, don’t do it. That is only proper. It does not mean that you are condemned because you
quit. No one should judge you, and we should never judge each other.
Service to God is a personal calling.
There is a hymn entitled “Joy of Serving Jesus” which our church has not sung for a long time. I remember this wonderful hymn and think it is good to sing such hymns again to encourage our service to Jesus. The author of the hymn, Oswald J. Smith wrote:
There is joy in serving Jesus,
As I journey on my way,
Joy that fills the heart with praises,
Ev'ry hour and ev'ry day.
Refrain:
There is joy, joy,
Joy in serving Jesus,
Joy that throbs within my heart;
Ev'ry moment, ev'ry hour,
As I draw upon His power,
There is joy, joy,
Joy that never shall depart.
What a powerful hymn, reminding us to serve the Lord Jesus with gladness. Dr Oswald J. Smith was for many years the pastor of the People's Church in Toronto. He says, "In this hymn I express the joy that I have experienced in serving the Lord Jesus Christ." And that is a joy that every servant of God can share in.
How can we have joy and gladness in serving Jesus?
Keep the passion when serving God: “…. fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11). Yes, that passion must be there. But for that passion to develop into a “fervent spirit” serving the Lord, we have to be mindful of our walk with the Lord.
Look at the example of Paul: You have heard messages from the Book of Acts and the life of the apostle Paul’s ministry. He was a zealous soldier of the Lord all throughout the days of his life. It all started with His encounter with Jesus in the Damacus road experience (Acts 9). It didn’t stop there. Paul was called to the work of the Lord (Acts 13), and that was it. He went all the way in service to His Lord. His last words in 2 Timothy 4:6, 7 (KJV): “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” That experience of knowing God resulted in his fervent spirit in serving the Lord till the end of his life.
Just before I received my call to the full-time ministry, the Lord impressed upon me
James 4:8 (a): “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you….”
That verse has always been my strength in His work, and it gives me great joy and assurance of service to my Lord. I can echo the words of the hymn “As I draw upon His power, There is joy, joy, Joy that never shall depart.”
Knowing whom we serve will empower us to serve the Lord with gladness.
Comments