11/12/20
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| In loving memory of my father Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023 |
This message on the Servant of God may be the most important of all of our messages. I have said and written many times that one of the major errors that arise in the church is when Christian man tries to do what only God can do. As a corollary to that, another major error in the church arises when we attribute much of scripture to refer to us, the Christian believers, when in fact many scriptures speak of the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. None of us are the ministers. There is only one Minister and that is the Lord Himself. We are simply co-laborers with Christ or co-ministers. If Christ within does not minister through us, everything becomes wood, hay, and stubble. The Lord is the Minister, with a capital M; we are co-ministers, with a small m. The Lord will never anoint you or me. Only Christ is the anointed one. Christian man likes to search the scriptures to find the pattern for this and the pattern for that ... how to do this .... how to do that ... and then crystalizing their doctrine into a hard and fast set of rules and dogma, all set into concrete and then written down in pen and ink for all to see. Sounds like Judaism or legalism. But the only true pattern is the Lord Jesus Christ. Too many Christians try to pull down that which is spiritual and holy to the natural level. Why? So that we can try to understand the ways of the Lord and the mystery of God with our own natural, carnal mind. We Christians also are prone to the following four errors: (1) I can do that; (2) I know that; (3) I am; and (4) I.
Somewhere back in the 1970's a true prophet of the Lord shared with me an experience he had. He was invited to speak at a certain church. While he was preaching, a big burly man raised his hand and shook his fist at the prophet. A year later that prophet was invited back to that same church. The man who had shook his fist at the prophet had the same hand bandaged as a result of cancer.
From Isaiah 41, Verse 8, "the seed of Abraham my friend." Unfortunately, the NIV and most other modern translations change the word "seed" to "descendants." That is the work of the carnal minds of men. That is another big example why I could never endorse or tolerate the NIV translation.
Here God the Father is speaking to the Man, Jesus. What does it mean when the Father says to Jesus, I have not cast thee away? Recall that just before Jesus died on the cross, He who knew no sin became sin and sin was crucified (2 Corinthians 5:21). In that brief moment when He became sin He was separated from His Father.
Who is speaking here? Clearly God the Father is speaking about God the Son. Who is "my servant"? Jesus, the Man.
Matthew quotes those verses in
In His name shall the Gentiles trust. It does not say "in His name shall the Jews trust." The word "Gentiles" refers to all non-Jews.
Back to Isaiah 42.
Once more ... who is speaking in these verses? God the Father is speaking about God the Son. You and I are not given for a covenant of the people.
Who is speaking in these verses? God the Son is speaking about God the Father. The Father called Jesus from the womb, from the bowels of His mother. Who was Jesus's mother? It is tempting to say Mary, but then we could get into Roman Catholicism very quickly. I believe "His mother" speaks of Judaism.
This is the most important question in all of the Bible. Who do you say that Jesus is?
Peter was the first disciple to receive a revelation about Jesus Christ.
It is common knowledge that Peter was not the first pope. The church that the Lord is building does not have a pope and never will. There is no such thing as a hierarchy of men in the church that the Lord is building.
The rock upon which the Lord is building His church is the Lord Jesus Christ and the revelation of Himself to His disciples.
Back to Matthew 16, Verse 19.
Peter was not the only disciple to receive the keys of the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 18:15-20, we see that the keys of the kingdom of heaven are given to all of the disciples. Remember, all born from above Christians are not necessarily disciples. In order to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus, we must deny our self, take up our cross, and follow Him.
In terms of binding and loosening, that can only be done by the Lord Himself. The Lord's disciples only have the authority to announce, but not to determine, guilt or innocence. See Acts 5:3-9 as an example.
The second revelation to any of the disciples was also given to Peter, on the day of Pentecost. None of the other disciples had received a revelation up to that point in time.
"Let all the house of Israel know assuredly." Here, Israel speaks of the natural Jews. Back in Genesis 32:24-29, the Lord wrestled with Jacob. That was not a physical wrestling match. The wrestling was between the Lord and the mind of Jacob. In Verse 28 of Genesis 32, the Lord changed Jacob's name to Israel. Some other verses which refer to Israel speak of the geographical land in the middle east. Then, in
This is the only thing that we can do and must do - namely to pray that the eyes of the understanding of all Christians might be opened.
Without this specific impartation from God, we cannot serve Him effectively. We have been called to turn from serving idols or substitutes to serve the living God, the true God, not a traditional God, not a God of history, but the great I AM.
Seven times in the Book of Exodus, we see the phrase, "Let my people go that they may serve the Lord." (or serve Me)
First, God called a people out of Egypt, and God called that entire nation of 12 tribes to serve Him. God said that the children of Israel were to leave Egypt, but that was not the message. The message was, let my people go that they might serve me. That was the word that Moses spoke to Pharaoh. The emphasis is on serving the Lord, not on leaving Egypt.
We need to identify with God's purpose through perspective in order to serve the Lord, by co-working with Him.
What is true service to God? A little child wants to help mother. The child's motivation is good, but that usually makes housework more difficult and time-consuming for mother. We like to do countless things for God, but doing is not the answer. Jesus said to learn of Him. Not just to read about Him in scripture and not just to listen to Him. Jesus said, in
We are called to learn Christ. Learning service or learning to be a servant of Christ is not an academic thing. We must live with Him, abide in Him. Paul said, in
Shortly after the Lord sovereignly apprehended me, He spoke to me from Isaiah 61 that I was to be a minister. At that early stage in my life in Christ, the only way I knew how to be a minister was to go through a seminary. Further, I received a number of amazing signs that I was to go to Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. So I applied to attend that seminary, starting in the fall of 1968. I was accepted. We put our house up for sale. Then my wife and I put a fleece before the Lord. We said, Lord, if you want us to go to that seminary then have someone buy our house before our third child is born. We advertised our house for sale and put a "For Sale" sign in the front yard, but the wind kept blowing the sign down. A number of people came and looked at our house and everyone commented on our lovely house, but no one offered to buy it. Then my wife went to the hospital and our third child was born May 31, 1968. When I came back from the hospital, a realtor and a couple were waiting with a contract to buy our house at our asking price. I explained that we could no longer sell our house because our daughter had just been born. I said if they had come by the previous day then the house would have been theirs. I am sure they did not understand, but we were not about to renege on our fleece. I did not understand at the time, but after a few weeks the Lord made things very clear to us. Then we learned that Christ is a spiritual seminary. When we go to mans' seminary, we learn of mans' interpretation of scripture, church history, and those big words called hermeneutics, homiletics, apologetics, etc., none of which can I define. Christ's seminary, the School of the Holy Spirit, provides unlimited and comprehensive learning of Christ Himself. So I attended the same seminary that Peter, James, and John attended. What a wonderful, amazing God we serve!
We have been called to serve the living God through the eternal priesthood of Christ Jesus. We serve the Lord by prayer, by singing, by praising Him, by reading the scriptures, by doing the works that He has foreordained before the foundation of the world for us to walk in. These all are aspects of service to the Lord; but essentially worship is our service unto Him.
There is another truth in the verse to consider; it says "Thou shalt serve." That is the will of the Father.
Jesus knew that He came to serve, not to be served. This is what separates the men from the boys. He knew that He did not come to serve Himself according to His own will, but He came to serve the Father. One thing is to serve self and do what you please or do what you think the Lord requires; quite another thing is to serve Him.
But Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Let us see how all of these misconceptions apply to the Servant of God.
Scripture records the names of several men that the Lord calls "my servant."
Scripture records the names of several men that the Lord calls "my servant."
The Lord spoke to Isaac in Genesis 26:24, "And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
Numbers 12:1, "And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman."
In the next 4 verses the Lord calls out Aaron and Miriam and speaks to them. Then, in
Numbers 12:6-9, we read,
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and He departed.
The judgment of God then fell, particularly on Miriam, who became leprous for 7 days.
I don't know of any other servant that had more admirable qualities or integrity than Moses had. He was faithful. That is one of the first qualifications that is needed to serve the Lord. Moses certainly demonstrated faithfulness and so much more. He had an unparalleled compassion for his brethren. He was willing to be blotted out of the book of life for his brethren. Moses was also the only known man that the Lord buried.
We need to be very careful not to speak badly about God's anointed ministers. Titus 3:2 tells us to "speak evil of no man."
I don't know of any other servant that had more admirable qualities or integrity than Moses had. He was faithful. That is one of the first qualifications that is needed to serve the Lord. Moses certainly demonstrated faithfulness and so much more. He had an unparalleled compassion for his brethren. He was willing to be blotted out of the book of life for his brethren. Moses was also the only known man that the Lord buried.
We need to be very careful not to speak badly about God's anointed ministers. Titus 3:2 tells us to "speak evil of no man."
1 Timothy 5:19, "Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses."
Many long years ago, a good brother in Christ and an excellent teacher, called me and told me some bad things about another brother. A few weeks later he called me again and apologized. He said he had found out that the "bad things" he had been told about that brother were not true.
1 Chronicles 16:20-22, "And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people;
He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,
Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm."
Somewhere back in the 1970's a true prophet of the Lord shared with me an experience he had. He was invited to speak at a certain church. While he was preaching, a big burly man raised his hand and shook his fist at the prophet. A year later that prophet was invited back to that same church. The man who had shook his fist at the prophet had the same hand bandaged as a result of cancer.
2 Samuel 3:17-18, "And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you:Now then do it: for the LORD hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies."
There must be at least 10 verses that David is called the servant of the Lord.
2 Kings 17:13, "Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets."Job 1:8, "And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?"Haggai 2:23, "In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts."Romans 1:1-6,
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,2 (Which He had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)3 Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name:6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
Titus 1:1, "Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;"
Peter said the same thing.
2 Peter 1:1, "Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:"
Both Paul and Peter declared that they first of all were servants of the Lord Jesus Christ and secondly, they were apostles. No man can be one of the 5-fold ministries unless they are first of all a servant of the Lord.
So far, we have seen that Abraham, Moses, David, Job, Zerubbabel, the prophets of the Lord, Paul, and Peter were all called servants of the Lord. Now let us consider the first and foremost servant of God.
So far, we have seen that Abraham, Moses, David, Job, Zerubbabel, the prophets of the Lord, Paul, and Peter were all called servants of the Lord. Now let us consider the first and foremost servant of God.
Zechariah 3:8, "Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH."
Who is speaking in that verse? Certainly not Zechariah, the prophet. The BRANCH is by no means being brought forth by Zechariah. The one speaking is God the Father. The BRANCH is Jesus, as a Man. It was future tense at that point in time. "I will bring forth the BRANCH."
It is rather amazing how many scriptures, particularly in the Old Testament, that we Christians attribute to ourselves, but in reality contain conversations between God the Father and God the Son. The problem is with our understanding. Our many varied and erroneous interpretations of scripture is the reason we have so many different denominations, non-denominations, and house churches. In other words, no unity as Christians.
Isaiah 41:1, "Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment."
God the Father is speaking here in Isaiah 41. The islands represent the people. "Let the people renew their strength." How? From Isaiah 40, they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
Isaiah 41:8-10, "But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend."
Jacob here speaks of the Man Jesus before His death and resurrection ... Jesus, who set aside His glory and "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:7).
Israel here speaks of the resurrected Jesus, the Christ, the anointed one.
Israel here speaks of the resurrected Jesus, the Christ, the anointed one.
Paul said, in 2 Corinthians 5:16-17,
"Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more.Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
From Isaiah 41, Verse 8, "the seed of Abraham my friend." Unfortunately, the NIV and most other modern translations change the word "seed" to "descendants." That is the work of the carnal minds of men. That is another big example why I could never endorse or tolerate the NIV translation.
Paul says, in Galatians 3:16, "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."
Isaiah 41:9, "Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away."
Here God the Father is speaking to the Man, Jesus. What does it mean when the Father says to Jesus, I have not cast thee away? Recall that just before Jesus died on the cross, He who knew no sin became sin and sin was crucified (2 Corinthians 5:21). In that brief moment when He became sin He was separated from His Father.
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff."
Isaiah 42:1-9,
1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
Who is speaking here? Clearly God the Father is speaking about God the Son. Who is "my servant"? Jesus, the Man.
2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.3 A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto truth.4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for His law.
Matthew quotes those verses in
Matthew 12:18-21,18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon Him, and He shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets.20 A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory.21 And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.
In His name shall the Gentiles trust. It does not say "in His name shall the Jews trust." The word "Gentiles" refers to all non-Jews.
John 1:10-12,10 He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.11 He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.12 But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:
Back to Isaiah 42.
5 Thus saith God the LORD, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
Once more ... who is speaking in these verses? God the Father is speaking about God the Son. You and I are not given for a covenant of the people.
7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.8 1 am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
Isaiah 49:1-6,1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath He made mention of my name.
Who is speaking in these verses? God the Son is speaking about God the Father. The Father called Jesus from the womb, from the bowels of His mother. Who was Jesus's mother? It is tempting to say Mary, but then we could get into Roman Catholicism very quickly. I believe "His mother" speaks of Judaism.
2 And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand hath He hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in His quiver hath He hid me;3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
Here Israel refers to Jesus, the Man.
4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob again to Him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.6 And He said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Isaiah 52:13-15,13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.14 As many were astonied at thee; His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men:15 So shall He sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
In these three verses, clearly the Father is speaking about His Son.
All of the verses we have read so far clearly confirm that Jesus Christ was/is the servant of God the Father. Jesus is the Servant with a capital S. We are to be His servants with a small s. Given that fact, "how then shall we live?" Every Christian is called to identify with Jesus in His birth, His suffering, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His intercession, and His weeping over spiritual Jerusalem. In other words, qualifying as His servant.
We, as Christians, must look at Jesus to see the characteristics of a servant. Jesus came as a servant, as a bond-slave, to teach us how to serve the Father. There is nothing voluntary about service. To be a servant or a bond-slave is not optional. We have been purchased by the blood of Jesus. As such, we have no rights, no life of our own. We have been branded as belonging to Him. Paul said, in
All of the verses we have read so far clearly confirm that Jesus Christ was/is the servant of God the Father. Jesus is the Servant with a capital S. We are to be His servants with a small s. Given that fact, "how then shall we live?" Every Christian is called to identify with Jesus in His birth, His suffering, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His intercession, and His weeping over spiritual Jerusalem. In other words, qualifying as His servant.
We, as Christians, must look at Jesus to see the characteristics of a servant. Jesus came as a servant, as a bond-slave, to teach us how to serve the Father. There is nothing voluntary about service. To be a servant or a bond-slave is not optional. We have been purchased by the blood of Jesus. As such, we have no rights, no life of our own. We have been branded as belonging to Him. Paul said, in
Galatians 6:17, "From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."
1 John 4:17, "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world."
That verse does not say "as He was, but as He is."
1 John 3:3, "And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."
In Matthew 16:13-19, we read of the first revelation to any of the disciples from God the Father. This revelation was given to Peter.
13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
This is the most important question in all of the Bible. Who do you say that Jesus is?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Peter was the first disciple to receive a revelation about Jesus Christ.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
It is common knowledge that Peter was not the first pope. The church that the Lord is building does not have a pope and never will. There is no such thing as a hierarchy of men in the church that the Lord is building.
1 Timothy 2:5, "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"
The rock upon which the Lord is building His church is the Lord Jesus Christ and the revelation of Himself to His disciples.
Back to Matthew 16, Verse 19.
"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Peter was not the only disciple to receive the keys of the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 18:15-20, we see that the keys of the kingdom of heaven are given to all of the disciples. Remember, all born from above Christians are not necessarily disciples. In order to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus, we must deny our self, take up our cross, and follow Him.
In terms of binding and loosening, that can only be done by the Lord Himself. The Lord's disciples only have the authority to announce, but not to determine, guilt or innocence. See Acts 5:3-9 as an example.
The second revelation to any of the disciples was also given to Peter, on the day of Pentecost. None of the other disciples had received a revelation up to that point in time.
Acts 2:36, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."
"Let all the house of Israel know assuredly." Here, Israel speaks of the natural Jews. Back in Genesis 32:24-29, the Lord wrestled with Jacob. That was not a physical wrestling match. The wrestling was between the Lord and the mind of Jacob. In Verse 28 of Genesis 32, the Lord changed Jacob's name to Israel. Some other verses which refer to Israel speak of the geographical land in the middle east. Then, in
Romans 11:26, we read, "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:"
To say, as some do, that every Jew will be saved is a gross error. In that verse, Israel refers to the church that the Lord is building. So we see four different interpretations of "Israel" in scripture. How do we distinguish between the four? Only by revelation. However, there is a fifth interpretation of the name "Israel," and this is the most important one of all. In Isaiah 41:8, as we noted earlier, Israel speaks of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.
Zephaniah 3:9 states, "For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent."
He will bring purity of speech so that we might call upon His name and might serve Him with one consent.
In order to serve the Lord and His people effectively we must see His master plan so that we might co-labor with Him according to His plan and purposes. In other words, we must have vision - God's vision. The Apostle Paul, with all of his knowledge, was never able to impart it to others. What he did, however, was to pray, in
In order to serve the Lord and His people effectively we must see His master plan so that we might co-labor with Him according to His plan and purposes. In other words, we must have vision - God's vision. The Apostle Paul, with all of his knowledge, was never able to impart it to others. What he did, however, was to pray, in
Ephesians 1:17-20,17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,19 And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power,20 Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
This is the only thing that we can do and must do - namely to pray that the eyes of the understanding of all Christians might be opened.
Without this specific impartation from God, we cannot serve Him effectively. We have been called to turn from serving idols or substitutes to serve the living God, the true God, not a traditional God, not a God of history, but the great I AM.
Exodus 7:16, "And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear."
Seven times in the Book of Exodus, we see the phrase, "Let my people go that they may serve the Lord." (or serve Me)
Exodus 10:24-26,24 And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you.25 And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God.26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither.
First, God called a people out of Egypt, and God called that entire nation of 12 tribes to serve Him. God said that the children of Israel were to leave Egypt, but that was not the message. The message was, let my people go that they might serve me. That was the word that Moses spoke to Pharaoh. The emphasis is on serving the Lord, not on leaving Egypt.
We need to identify with God's purpose through perspective in order to serve the Lord, by co-working with Him.
Jesus said, in Matthew 11:28-30,28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
What is true service to God? A little child wants to help mother. The child's motivation is good, but that usually makes housework more difficult and time-consuming for mother. We like to do countless things for God, but doing is not the answer. Jesus said to learn of Him. Not just to read about Him in scripture and not just to listen to Him. Jesus said, in
John 5:39-40, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life."
We are called to learn Christ. Learning service or learning to be a servant of Christ is not an academic thing. We must live with Him, abide in Him. Paul said, in
Philippians 1:21, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
Shortly after the Lord sovereignly apprehended me, He spoke to me from Isaiah 61 that I was to be a minister. At that early stage in my life in Christ, the only way I knew how to be a minister was to go through a seminary. Further, I received a number of amazing signs that I was to go to Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. So I applied to attend that seminary, starting in the fall of 1968. I was accepted. We put our house up for sale. Then my wife and I put a fleece before the Lord. We said, Lord, if you want us to go to that seminary then have someone buy our house before our third child is born. We advertised our house for sale and put a "For Sale" sign in the front yard, but the wind kept blowing the sign down. A number of people came and looked at our house and everyone commented on our lovely house, but no one offered to buy it. Then my wife went to the hospital and our third child was born May 31, 1968. When I came back from the hospital, a realtor and a couple were waiting with a contract to buy our house at our asking price. I explained that we could no longer sell our house because our daughter had just been born. I said if they had come by the previous day then the house would have been theirs. I am sure they did not understand, but we were not about to renege on our fleece. I did not understand at the time, but after a few weeks the Lord made things very clear to us. Then we learned that Christ is a spiritual seminary. When we go to mans' seminary, we learn of mans' interpretation of scripture, church history, and those big words called hermeneutics, homiletics, apologetics, etc., none of which can I define. Christ's seminary, the School of the Holy Spirit, provides unlimited and comprehensive learning of Christ Himself. So I attended the same seminary that Peter, James, and John attended. What a wonderful, amazing God we serve!
Ephesians 4:1, "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye have been called."
What vocation is Paul talking about? The vocation to be a servant of the Lord. As a generality, the church has lost the vocation of being a servant.
Back to Matthew 11, Verse 30, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
The subject of this teaching is not salvation, but service. This message is for all those who are laboring and are heavy laden. Jesus' teaching provides an easy yoke in contrast to the heavy, suppressive yoke of rabbinic reaching. A yoke implies a service of labor. It is His yoke. He wants us to share in His burden for us. On our own, we can labor and toil and never get anywhere.
Acts 15:10, "Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?"
We have been called to serve the living God through the eternal priesthood of Christ Jesus. We serve the Lord by prayer, by singing, by praising Him, by reading the scriptures, by doing the works that He has foreordained before the foundation of the world for us to walk in. These all are aspects of service to the Lord; but essentially worship is our service unto Him.
Matthew 4:10, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."Deuteronomy 6, Verse 13, "Thou [Israel] shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve Him, and shalt swear by His name."
There is another truth in the verse to consider; it says "Thou shalt serve." That is the will of the Father.
Jesus knew that He came to serve, not to be served. This is what separates the men from the boys. He knew that He did not come to serve Himself according to His own will, but He came to serve the Father. One thing is to serve self and do what you please or do what you think the Lord requires; quite another thing is to serve Him.
Jesus said, in John 12:26, "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."
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