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Volunteers volunteer without any coercion, bribery, or financial benefit from work they engage in because they want to help in service for others. They freely offer to do this as they willingly give their time and efforts to the cause. When ordinary people are called out of the world to become baptized Christians they become willing to follow Christ no matter what this involves as they now volunteer their physical lives in service to others. This does not mean they become "doormats" but rather they exercise the wisdom, understanding, and knowledge they obtain from reading the Bible, and by being led by God's Holy Spirit (aka The Helper) thereby putting into motion acts of beautiful help and service through their voluntary actions. The book of Proverbs is particularly useful by reading one chapter a day over the course of each calendar month — for there are 31 recorded for us. This way of life is a dedicated life involving diligence and discipline, much like the late Queen Elizabeth II exemplified throughout her long reign, but with it great peace and joy is obtained as an unexpected byproduct Sabbath keeping Christians did not seek, but rather obtained through blessings from God. Volunteering involves making good choices with our free will of which God gave to all, although the vast majority of those in the world just do not understand God yet. But they all eventually will, given time according to God's perfect will.
There is only one instance where the word volunteer appears in the Bible (NKJV) and it is found in Psalm 110:3 which states "Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth". We have this to look forward to in God's Kingdom yet we are currently volunteers working for God as we willingly offer our time and efforts in service to others in this physical life. Our example has been set by Jesus Christ Himself as we can read throughout the holy scriptures in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Have we read through these books recently? We have time to do so to refresh our memories before we leave next week to attend the Feast of Tabernacles. This is a very exciting time in God's Holy Day seasons as we plan to leave our usual dwelling places to travel long distances either by car, bus, train or airplane. From the moment we "hit the road" the morning after Atonement this year there will be many opportunities to serve others which we eagerly await and cannot imagine how God will bring these to pass. Yet His methods and ways are so much higher than ours and it is most exciting to learn of them (Isaiah 55:8-9).
The following scripture gives us the very words from Christ on His thoughts in this matter as stated in Matthew 20:26-28 "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many". Mark 10:43-45 also contains the same message. So we can see that serving involves volunteering, whether in a very small capacity or large, the fact is we need to be ready and willing, asking God to place these opportunities in front of us as well as recognise them. There will be so many times during the Feast of Tabernacles to serve others in the spirit of joy as we allow God's Holy Spirit to lead us. Leviticus 23:40 declares "And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.” The Feast is all about rejoicing and as for me and my house I cannot think of anything more joyful than volunteering in any way possible, even if it is picking up a pen the person next to you accidentally dropped on the floor. Volunteering in service involves so many things and is thoughtful, considerate, and shows kindness in Agapé love, much like we can read about in Galatians 5:22-23 where we find the fruit of God's Spirit listed. We are to be developing and producing this fruit in order to become more and more like Christ.
So let us serve willingly as volunteers in all the opportunities our great and awesome Father gives to us even when we may be tired and not feeling our best because God is most certainly watching us to see the decisions we make and whether our hearts and minds are willing, reticent or hesitant, or even reluctant. God has recently reminded me through His Word about those times where Christ served others to the point where He needed rest due to the efforts of physical exertion. What our Saviour did was ensure He had quiet time with His Father whether it be early in the morning, during the day, or in the evenings by slipping out while it was still dark to go to a deserted or solitary place such as the mountainside, recorded in Mark 1:35, 6:31-32 and 6:46, Matthew 14:13. This is how Jesus rejuvenated Himself while in His physical body. We need to be realistic about our capabilities especially as we age and pace ourselves throughout the Feast in order to function well on The Last Great Day after The Feast of Tabernacles has finished. We really do not want to become sick or burnt out by overextending ourselves and that is why the following scripture is so meaningful for God's volunteers to remember what is recorded for us in Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light".