Are you God's Servant?

It is funny how there are certain words in the bible that we tend to see as special words that describe only special people at special times in history.

I'm thinking of the words that only Apostles, Prophets, Pastors and Evangelists and Teachers and special guys like that are supposed to use to describe themselves.

Not regular people.

I'm thinking of words like "saint," "holy man" or "servant of Jesus Christ."

Admit it, if someone today started talking like that about themselves you would look for either a halo over their head or a light blue hospital gown draping their body.

But in Romans 1:1 Paul calls himself "a servant of Christ Jesus" and in Philippians 1:1, he writes that he and Timothy are "servants of Christ Jesus."

He thought it was a great way to describe how he viewed his life as a Christ follower.

Maybe we are not ready to use the words themselves as self-descriptions in public like Paul did, but I do think the concept behind the words is very important, that it is not something reserved for special people in special times, and that we desperately need to see ourselves as "servants of Christ Jesus" today.

Many modern Christians have no idea what it means to live like a servant of Jesus.

The best way to describe their lives is that Jesus is their servant. After all, he does so many great things for them. He died on the cross for them, he saves them, he keeps forgiving their sins, he is there to listen to their prayers and to speak to them from the bible, and he will take them to heaven when they die.

What a great servant he is!

The bible itself says that Christ took the very nature of a servant when he became a man to save us from our sins (Philippians 2:7).

But God wants us to live as more than mere recipients of the serving work of Christ on our behalf.

The bible teaches that Jesus became our servant for a certain purpose. He did it all so that we would become his servants! He wants to transform our lives so that we no longer live for ourselves but live our lives extravagantly for the kingdom of God and for the needs of those around us.

He wants people who will wake up in the morning with words like this on their minds:

"How can I be your servant today, O Lord? How can I show my love for you? Who will you bring across my path today that I can demonstrate your love to? Here I am, your humble servant ready to serve you with all of my heart."

Personally, I've been using that word "servant" to describe myself for some years now, usually just in my prayers. Using that term gives me a sense that I am not just a mere man, but have a special assignment in life from God.

Do you know your special assignment in life?

I encourage you to begin thinking of yourself and describing yourself as "God's servant." The term, even if used only in prayer, can begin to transform the way you perceive your life and purpose.

Let's live as true servants of God so that our world is transformed just as Paul and Timothy transformed their world wherever they went.

--Pastor Jerry

What are you living for?

At last Tuesday's Tattooed Revelation at the RockIt Roost, we looked at a fascinating Scripture that says some pretty surprising things.

Check this out:

"What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away." 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

You might be asking, "What was Paul thinking?"

What kind of a marriage would you have if a husband lived as if he had no wife?
Is it fair to ask someone who has suffered a loss to refrain from mourning?
Is there something wrong with being happy?
Is it wrong to have possessions?
It is wrong to be excited about anything in this life?

These statements seem rather absurd until we see them in their context and, even then, they are not easy for many of us to swallow.

It seems from the first and last sentence of the passage that Paul is saying these things in light of the fact that he feels the promised return of Christ (See Acts 1:9-11) could occur at any time.

If the second coming is so close, why live for mundane things?

We were told by Christ in Matthew 24:42-44 to be ready because his second coming could occur at any moment.

Peter says that when Christ returns everything will be destroyed (2 Peter 3:10,11). In other words, someday everything that we felt was so important in this life will not seem important at all. The ultimate reality of the new heavens and earth will show how temporary the life we are experiencing now really is.

So, what Paul is saying is that when you live your life in light of the Kingdom of God and in light of the fact that this world in its present form will soon disappear, you will naturally adjust your priorities.

He is saying somewhat hyperbolically (in deliberately extreme terms to arrest our attention), "Don't let the things of earth so distract you that you do not give proper place to the things that matter most...don't get so caught up in family, mourning over the losses of life, happiness over prosperity, possessions or the things that tend to be engrossing that you forget about the things that matter most."

And what are those things?

1. Loving God - living life as his servant placed here on this earth to be his representative, making the purposes of God more important than your personal purposes, spending time in prayer, bible reading, memorizing and meditating, growing in moral purity, etc.

2. Loving others - laying down your life for others, being kind, gracious and patient, forgiving others when they hurt you, caring for the needy of this world, helping people who are far from God to find God as they see him at work in and through your life.

So, let's get engrossed in the things of God more than anything else in life! Let's live full-throttle for him. The return of Christ will make it clear to everyone that God's things are what really mattered.

--Pastor Jerry