Walk On Water by Apostle Emmanuel Iren: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Summary of a Life

Acts 13:36 — "For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep and was buried."

That is the summary of an entire life. Not what David accumulated. Not what he drove or wore or built for himself. He served his generation.

The question worth sitting with is this: what is the summary of your life going to be? Whose life is better because you are here? Who is having a better passage because of your presence? What is your contribution — not just your consumption?

In a generation that measures worth by possessions, Matthew 20:26 stands as a counter-measure: "Whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant." In 100 years, no matter what you are driving now, it will be an old model. Start defining your life by service. Start measuring success by service.

Imagine measuring wealth not by what you have but by what you give — not just in money but in value. That is a life worth building.

Four Dimensions of Service

1. Biological — Your Family and Immediate Community

   Start at home. Be a biological contributor. Be a presence in your immediate family — the kind of family member who draws people together, who maintains connection, who refuses to let distance grow. Every family has difficult members. God may be preparing those who learn to love difficult people for greater positions of leadership and ministry.

   You learn diplomacy in family. You learn how to love difficult people — how to hug a porcupine with all the spikes. Go and learn. That is how a ministry is built from the inside.

2. Gifts and Ideas — Deploying What You Have for God

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   Apostle Emmanuel Iren

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   God gave every believer gifts. Many have used those gifts for their career, their hobbies, their own advancement. The question is: have those gifts ever been deployed for God?

   There is no such thing in Scripture as a Christian who is not giving to service. You are either giving to service or you are an impostor.

   The law of spiritual promotion is this: he who is faithful in little is faithful in much. David did not face Goliath without first having faced the lion and the bear. These are spiritual laws. Get involved in something smaller first.

3. Resources — What You Have, Not What You Wish You Had

   Sometimes the contribution is simply showing up with what is already in hand. A church looking for a new venue may have a member who owns a property nearby — but it never occurs to them that the resource they hold could be used for God's house. The impulse to deploy for God must become intuitive for every believer.

   Think constantly: how can my gifts, my ideas, my resources be a blessing to the house of God?

4. Spiritual Support — Being a Horizontal Pillar

   Matthew 9:37–38 — "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into the harvest."

   This is widely misread. Jesus was not primarily asking for more church planters or preachers. He saw a multitude like sheep without a shepherd — and he was talking about the second layer of leadership: people within the community of faith who would strengthen others horizontally. Not pastor to member — but member to member. Iron sharpening iron.

   A pastor of a large church cannot personally pray for everyone or be personally present for everyone. But individuals in the church can. Just by growing seriously in God, one person can affect the whole church positively.

   There will be brothers and sisters in heaven with rewards as great as any pastor — not because of a title or a pulpit, but because of who they strengthened, who they helped, who they kept going. It is about who is doing the work.

The Simple Keys

Service is not complicated. It does not require a title or extraordinary resources.

• Be there for people. Give hope. Give encouragement. Let your presence be a reason people want to stay — not a reason they want to leave.
• Learn to apologize when necessary. Learn to say thank you. Learn to appreciate people.
• Step forward and be counted. Do not hide in church. Get involved in something. Join a service unit. Let the gifts God gave you do work for him.

There is no discipleship without discipline. Discipleship finds its fullest expression in purpose. Find something to do and do it faithfully — because the law of spiritual promotion runs in one direction: faithful in little, faithful in much.