“Servitude”

CD#100

 

Servitude is a condition of a slave, to serve another.

 

• 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
• 1 Corinthians 7:22 says, “For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.”
• 1 Corinthians 7:23 says, “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.”

 

Servant #1401 doulos, (doo’-los) a slave lit. Or fig., involuntary or voluntary frequently therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or subservience.

It’s no longer our life, our life was death and destruction but with the price of Jesus Christ we were bought! Our life is hid in Him and by Him we have life so we should follow His example of servitude!

 

• John 12:23 says, “And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.”
• John 12:24 says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”

 

Here we have Jesus Christ’s example set forth as our blueprint for building on the foundation of the Rock! Jesus Christ gave His life freely on the Cross and He bared much fruit! By His death we now have our life, life to serve Him so others can come to Him! Jesus Christ bought us to set us free to serve Him. Jesus Christ came that we might have not just life but abundant life!

 

• John 12:25 says, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”
• John 12:26 says, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.”

 

Here we have our part in following the servant Jesus Christ’s example! Lord, help us to fully grasp this verse of scripture and apply it daily! We must love less the desires of our own life and love more the will of God. When we do love God then our self-will dies and His will comes alive!

If we’re going to serve the Lord Jesus Christ then we must follow Christ in His example! God Almighty honored Christ by letting Him sits down in His Kingdom. We will be there also with honor if we serve as Christ!

Know this that Satan will come at you and work to keep you from serving the Lord! He will work in whatever is the most effective way. He will usually get you to look at those serving Christ around you. He will lie and tell you that you can’t minister as effective as someone else. Always keep your eyes upon the Lord Jesus Christ not those around you! God Almighty didn’t use a cookie cutter He made each one of the way we are for His reason. When we serve the Lord we must serve Him in our own ability:

 

• 1 Peter 4:10 says, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
• 1 Peter 4:11 says, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

 

Gift # 5486 charisma, (khar’-is-mah) a (divine) gratuity, i.e. deliverance from danger or passion; spec. a spiritual endowment.

Minister #1247 diakoneo, (dee-ak-on-eh’-o) to be an attendant, i.e. wait upon menially or as a host.

Our Father in Heaven has placed inside of each and every one of us gifts for servitude. Some of God’s children use their gifts for their selfish gain. Others listen to the lies of Satan and believe they have nothing to offer. Don’t worry about measuring up to Billy Graham just be what God Almighty wants you to!

Speaking of theses gifts:

 

• Romans 12:4 says, “For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:”
• Romans 12:5 says, “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”
• Romans 12:6 says, Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;”
• Romans 12:7 says, “Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;”
• Romans 12:8 says, “Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.”

 

Gifts differing are a term meaning “things graciously given,” “grace-gifts.” It’s from the same Greek word we covered in 1 Peter “charisma”. To have charisma means have a leadership quality that draws people! As Christians with Jesus Christ lifted up in our daily lives others should be drawn because of His love on the inside of us!

I love how Jesus Christ teaches us from the natural so we can better understand the spiritual! You and I don’t need a mouth on the bottom of our foot. Think how hard it would be to feed you, to drink water, and even to speak. God Almighty He put each part just where it needed to be let Him do the same with you! The “Body of Christ” is made better by you because you serve a particular function. You don’t have to be like anybody else just be yourself! I’m speaking to myself more than to anybody else that’s for sure.

Let’s drive the point home that we each have different abilities and we only have to produce according to those abilities:

 

• Matthew 25:14 says, “For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.”

 

Don’t read over this verse. Jesus Christ has given each one of us different gifts to reproduce for the Kingdom!

 

• Matthew 25:15 says, “And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.”

 

Talent #5007 talanton, (tal’-an-ton) a balance as supporting weights, i.e. by implication a certain weight and thence a coin or rather sum of money or “talent”.

A talent was a huge sum of money, equal to 6,000 denarii. One denarius was the usual day’s wage for a worker. The Lord gave the talents according to the several ability or one’s own force or determination. The key here is not how much or how little we have but it’s what we do with it! God gives to each person just what he can handle successfully. This even goes back to the time the Lord has given us are we using it wisely?

 

• Matthew 25:16 says, “Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.”

• Matthew 25:17 says, “And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.”

 

God didn’t expect these to produce more than they had been given only to use it faithfully!

 

• Matthew 25:18 says, “But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.”

 

Earth #1093 ge, (ghay) soil. The servant hid the talent in the soil of the earth.

Q. What was Adam formed out of?

A. Genesis 2:7 says And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

 

This servant hid the very talent God Almighty the Creator had given him inside of himself. He let Satan or the flesh tell him he had nothing to offer. Each one of us has a gift from God to use for His glory pointing others to a Risen Savior.

 

• Matthew 25:19 says, “After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.”

 

Jesus Christ is coming back one day! Will you be working in the harvest field or hiding things in the soil?

 

• Matthew 25:20 says, “And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.”
• Matthew 25:21 says, “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
• Matthew 25:22 says, “He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.”
• Matthew 25:23 says, “His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

 

This is why we covered the fruitfulness of Christ’s disciples in the previous lesson. WE have no reason whatsoever not to produce fruit. The Lord has given us everything we need to produce.

 

• Matthew 25:24 says, “Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strowed:”
• Matthew 25:25 says, “And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.”

 

No time for excuses when we have no ground to stand on! This servant was selfish and only thinking of himself. Remember our Lord set the example for us He served us and gave His life so we might have life!

 

• Matthew 25:26 says, “His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strowed:”
• Matthew 25:27 says, “Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
• Matthew 25:28 says, “Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.”

 

God Almighty is always fair, when He gives us something He requires us to do something positive with it.

 

• Matthew 25:29 says, “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”

 

The one who has will be given more. Faithfulness yields great reward (see Matt 13:12; also Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18, 19:26).

The one who has nothing has even what he seems to have taken from him, ending up with no reward at all. The exact force of this is left uncertain, but there is no comfort here for those who are pictured by the third slave as being totally unmoved by the master. Though not an outright enemy, there is any relationship to the master either. See the following:

 

• Luke 8:18 says Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

 

The phrase how you hear is important, because it is not what a person thinks he has that is important but whether he actually has something or not. Jesus describes the person who does not heed his word as having nothing. The person who has nothing loses even that which he thought was something but was not. In other words, he has absolutely nothing at all. Jesus’ teaching must be taken seriously. Remember Paul’s and James warning:

 

• Romans 2:13 says, “(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.”

• James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

 

The Greek sentence expresses this contrast more concise than is possible in English. Greek “For not the hearers of the law are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be declared righteous.”

James could be translated like this: But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves. You and I as Christians should know what the Word of God says but we must live it too! When we start living by the Word then we can say our Bible study has took effect.

Let’s go back to the Gospel of Matthew where we left off and see the end result of the unprofitable servant:

 

• Matthew 25:30 says, “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

 

Unprofitable servant #888 achreios, (akh-ri’-os) useless. We will reap just exactly what we have sown, God Almighty is just and fair.

When you and I serve the Lord out of a pure and loving heart it brings Him glory and others are saved:

 

• Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

 

We must keep sin out of our life so we can let the love and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ shine through to the lost! When we love and the world hates it brings glory to Jesus Christ. The closer we get to the Lord Jesus Christ the brighter He can shine through us His servants!

We have learned that we are to serve as Christ in the ability that He has given us. Now let’s look to His Word and see that we serve and He’s working right beside us.

 

• Mark 16:15 says, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

 

Here we have Jesus Christ’s Great Commission for you and I to “go” and serve Him in the harvest field. The great thing about the Lord Jesus Christ is that He will never ask us to do something He hasn’t already done!

 

• Mark 16:16 says, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

 

We must give everyone in our world a chance to hear the Gospel. Some will hear and receive and apply others will not. Don’t be discouraged just be faithful.

 

• Mark 16:17 says, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;”
• Mark 16:18 says, “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
• Mark 16:19 says, “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.”
• Mark 16:20 says, “And they, and went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

 

Jesus Christ has set our example to serve and today He’ll work through us if we’ll serve Him. It’s Him doing the work we’re just the willing vessel. Jesus Christ will confirm the Word that we deliver in His name.  Praise the Lord we’re in a win win situation if we’ll keep our hearts right and upon Him!

God is in complete control and we only have to plant and water He is the One who makes the seed grow. Turn to the book of Corinthians please:

 

• 1 Corinthians 3:6 says, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”
• 1 Corinthians 3:7 says, “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”

 

Some of us will serve God and plant the seed of truth and then other servants will some with more truth to water it. When the time is right God Almighty will cause the seed of truth to germinate and to grow into faith.

So we see that the pressure is not upon us but upon God and He can handle it we can’t! Don’t ever get discouraged just keep plowing and planting or watering the seed of truth. We must always realize that it’s God doing the work through us His servants.

 

• 1 Corinthians 3:8 says, “Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.”
• 1 Corinthians 3:9 says, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.”

 

There should never be any division between God’s servants for we’re just His vessels. He is the One who we should give all the glory. As we serve Him He does the work with us His willing vessel.

Once we start serving the Lord Satan will do what He can to hinder us or completely stop us. So we must be sure that we complete the word that we have started in the Lord! Even with that thought Jesus Christ has set the example. Turn to the great book of John. Let me quickly summarize what has happened up to verse 30 of chapter 4.

Jesus Christ went out of His way to the woman at the well to deliver her the Gospel. He taught her about the “living water” of life. Through her faith and obedience others came to believe on Jesus Christ. During this time Jesus had not eaten and the disciples have come from buying food.

 

• John 4:30 says, “Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.”
• John 4:31 says, “In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.”
• John 4:32 says, “But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.”
• John 4:33 says, “Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?”
• John 4:34 says, “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”

 

The “meat” that the Lord was speaking about was meat for the soul. God’s Word feeds you and me and it strengthens us to go and give out to others. Jesus Christ was able to finish God’s work because of the Cross!

 

• John 19:30 says, “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

 

The only way you and I will be able to fulfill all the Father has for us to do is to crucify our flesh! Our flesh will concentrate on it’s will and not God’s! That’s why Christ said for us to pick up our cross daily and follow Him! Back to the 4^th chapter of the Gospel of John:

 

• John 4:35 says, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”

 

Too many times we let Satan put the mentality of thinking that nobody wants to hear about Jesus Christ. Here our Lord is trying to get into our minds that there is a harvest around us “if” we’ll only open our spiritual eyes!

 

• John 4:36 says, “And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.”
• John 4:37 says, “And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.”
• John 4:38 says, “I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.”

 

We work so long and hard for wages of this world and we don’t even know where they went. By being the Lord Jesus Christ’s servant we have the opportunity to earn wages that are eternal! It takes each one of us doing our part as we looked at earlier. You may plant and I may get to water or vice versa. The point being its God’s plan to use both of in His harvests field!

Let’s look at how Jesus Christ used the woman to plant, then He watered and God Almighty gave the increase:

 

• John 4:39 says, “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.”
• John 4:40 says, “So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.”

 

Many believed because she shared her heart, serving in the harvest field. They were hungry after tasting just a small amount of spiritual food. This is an example to us as for witnessing. Don’t choke someone on a steak that needs a little milk.

 

• John 4:41 says, “And many more believed because of his own word;”
• John 4:42 says, “And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”

 

This woman had been shunned by society but she loved the Lord more than she feared society! When people see a drastic change in our lives it’s a great witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. We can use people’s questions as an opportunity to witness and serve the Lord!

“Savior of the world” – There is irony in the Samaritans’ declaration that Jesus was really the Savior of the world, an irony foreshadowed in the prologue to the Fourth Gospel: “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.” Yet the Samaritans welcomed Jesus and proclaimed him to be not the Jewish Messiah only, but the Savior of the world.

Thank-you for your time if we can help in serving the Lord Jesus Christ please contacts us.

 

GAP Ministries

“REMEMBER GOD’S WORD WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!”

1/28/02 12:23:06 AM