THE BELIEVERS HIGHEST HONOR
Imagine for a moment that a highly respected corporate executive has called you and ask you to be his personal assistant. He has decided you would be the best choice to handle his business, you would probably feel honored by such a privileged offer. Wouldn’t you
Most people would jump at chance to work for and serve Donald Trump. They line up to get on his show, The Apprentice. And I can understand that, it would be a privileged honor to work for a business executive like Donald Trump.
But today I want to remind you that we have been called by someone far greater than any business executive, God has given every Christian the job of serving him.
I hope this lesson will show you why servant hood is essential in solid Christian living. one of the reasons that so many Christians have difficulty in living a solid Christian life, is the contrast between what God teaches and what the world promotes, there is a vast contrast between the two.
the tragedy is that many Christians have been caught up in what the world teaches rather than what God teaches, because what the world teaches appeals to the flesh.
In John chapter 15 and, John chapter 17, and in 1 John chapter 5 we are warned about it, in 1 John 5 it says love not the world, nor the things that are in it, and that is, certainly don’t love their opinions, or their viewpoints. Yet that is exactly what happens. It is in these areas that we have such a great contrast between what the Bible teaches and what the world believes.
If you will I want you to turn to John chapter 12, I want us to read just a few verses here, John chapter 12:24 This is Jesus talking and he says; I tell you the truth unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it ,while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me ; and where I am, my servants also will be. My father will honor the one who serves me.
Listen to that, the father will honor those that serve him, all of us who believe fall in the category of servants of God. the world doesn’t view it that way, though. The world teaches that servant hood, is below them.
A well known speaker who preaches the gospel and also speaks to graduates at colleges said” he is introduced a lot of times with great introductions, some of them says he has this degree and that degree, attended this college and that college, honor this and honor that, but the introduction that he remembers the most.
And he remembers it the most because, it exalted God, not him. A young man simply said. It is my greatest pleasure to introduce to you my brother, servant of the most high God.
What a Biblical, God honoring introduction… Servant of the most high God. And do you realize that every single person that is a believer, that is exactly who we are.
The bible calls us ambassadors, Soldiers, servants, saints all of those things are, servants of the most high God, and I wonder do you see yourself that way, or do you simply see yourself as a church member.
The Bible says you and I are servants of the most high God, I wonder if it has ever dawned on you how very important that title is. That God could not give you a higher honor, than to call you one of his servants.
So I want you to think about this, because, I think that lot of people have the idea that when we talk about serving the Lord that somehow you take a step downward.
For example if someone says to you we need someone to serve in this place, or that place, well I don’t have time for that, or you know I don’t have an education for that. We give all kinds of excuses.
That makes me think of all the people the Lord has called in to his service to preach the gospel, to the mission field, or some particular service in church, and they’ve said no, they’ve given all kinds of excuses, saying no.
You may be a new Christian, or you may have obeyed the gospel a long time ago, you may have a lot of years behind you , but somewhere along the way it may have never dawned on you that when God saved you,
He saved you with this idea in mind, that you would become one of his servants, to accomplish his purpose, his will, and his plan in this life.
You may say who am I, I am only one, What could I do? Well everybody is only one. Maybe you’ve never given God the opportunity to find out what he would do for you if you just allowed him to.
The highest honor God can place on you, is to serve him, now I wanna make this point very clear, preachers, teachers and missionaries are not the only servants of God, every single believer is a servant of God.
Rather you’re carrying out your service or not, you’re a servant of God, and that’s what God called you to do.
It is a privilege to serve God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice what Paul says when he is describing the Lord Jesus Christ in Colossians 1:15-18 He says Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation.
For by the him all things were created. Things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, And in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have supremacy.
So to be called to serve God the creator of the universe, and to serve Christ the savior is The Believers Highest Honor. Now, Is it an honor to serve God? Yes it is.
God saved us, and one of the primary reasons he saved us was to serve him.
Why is it that some believers have never served God in any fashion. Some have been members since they were youngsters, they attend church, give money, hear the prayers, enjoy the singing, they listen to the sermon, then go home.
But as far as serving God it never dawned on them that he called them not only to be saved, but also to be one of his servants. People age and their health diminishes, but not even that can be used as an excuse.
Some of the greatest servants of God are people who are on their bed of affliction, but they’re still great intercessors of God, great servants of God. Some of God’s greatest servants have never been to college, have never been taught to speak, or teach.
They are still great servants of God… all excuses are null and void. Look who we are serving, the sovereign power of the entire universe has called you and me to serve him.
There is another reason to serve God, to serve God is to follow in the path of Jesus. Look if you will at Matthew 20:25-28 for a moment in the last part of the chapter beginning in verse 25... twentieth chapter of Matthew verse 25
Jesus called them together and said. You know that the rulers of the gentiles lord it over to them, (talking about how the world is) and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you, must be your servant and who ever wants to be first, must be your slave --- just as the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
When you and I choose to surrender ourselves to our Lord to be his servant, we step in the pathway of the Son of God.
He said I didn’t come to be served ,I came to serve.
In Isaiah, when the scripture refers to a relationship between the father and the son, Isaiah identifies the Messiah as the servant son.
And how does the new testament, the early church regard Christ? Well it says he was Lord, He was Master, he was Savior when Peter was identifying him in Acts 3:13 he said,” the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers has glorified his servant Jesus.
The early church not only saw him as their master, and their savior. They also saw him as servant, because he emphasized that in his own life. He talked about being the son of man. He talked about being a servant, He said “ I’ve not come to be served” but “I came in order to serve other people.”
So certainly one of the reasons you and I consider serving as an honor is because we are doing something Jesus Christ did. He considered himself a servant , and because he was a servant, we should be proud to be what he was.
What kind of servant was he?
Well in the new testament, for example, the word deacon, the word minister, the word servant, and the word bond servant are all different Greek words,
And the lowest form of a servant was a household servant. A bond slave. The household servants job was this, He would meet you, at the door take off your sandals, have a basin of water, and a towel, and he would wash your feet from your long walk, or your short walk, so that you could enter the home with clean feet…a bondservant.
I want you to turn to Philippians 2:5 for a moment, when Paul is describing the Lord Jesus Christ, and when he is describing the work that he came to do, listen to what he says in the second chapter it’s a very important chapter when it comes to describing who Jesus is.
He says beginning in verse 5 your attitude should be (what kind of attitude) your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ. Who being in the very nature of God -- did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.
Jesus came as a servant, willing to do whatever was necessary in order to move men, and bring them to the saving knowledge of himself.
In John 13 you recall the last supper, Jesus is sitting at the table with them, and if any one of them had been perceptive, had any one of them been thoughtful, if any one of them had had a servants spirit, they would have done first, what Jesus ended up doing.
They didn’t do it, He is the one who got the basin of water, and knelt down and washed their feet. You remember Peter totally objected to the idea. Jesus said, yes, I must wash your feet. What was he doing?
He was taking the form of the lowest servant, the bond servant, and washing the dirty feet of his disciples. He was a bond servant, he saw himself as a servant of the Father, and a servant of the very ones he was serving,
So when you look at the whole idea, here is the very one who said, if you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father. Here is the Messiah, what is he doing? he is taking on the role of a servant, washing the feet of his disciples.
What did he do all of his life? He served his family for a while as a carpenter, and after being a carpenter, he began to minister that, that God called him to.
And what did he do as a minister? He vested his time in preaching, and teaching and healing people that were sick, feeding people who were hungry, and loving little children.
His very life is the life of a servant. He was not self centered, He was centered on the Father. He said, I only do the things I see my father doing. He said I don’t do any of these things on my own initiative, I just do what the Father tells me to do.
So when we become a child of God, what happens? We become servants of God, and we should count it as an awesome privilege to be a servant of God. Because(listen)we are serving the sovereign God of the universe.
Because, we’re following in the pattern of Jesus Christ, himself
And also in John 13:16 truly I say to you a slave is not greater than his master, nor is the messenger greater than the one who sent him.
So what we have to ask ourselves is this. If the Lord Jesus Christ is our master, are we greater than he, can we exercise any kind of excuse legitament to God for not serving him. There is not a scripture in the Bible that excuses us from service to God.
Are we greater than Jesus? Who not only was a servant, but a bond slave. Should we take on the mind set of a bond slave? I’ll let you answer that yourself.
Certainly one of the reasons you and I should count it as a privilege to serve God, however he chooses to call us. We should consider it a privilege because, we are following in the path of the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
There is a third reason why I think it’s a privilege to serve, and that is that as servants we are in the company of angels, prophets, and apostles, we have different roles and duties, but the common thread is that we are all servants. Think about that.
Then somebody says, well what are we gonna do when we get to heaven?… I’m gonna get to that moment. But we certainly know angels are there. Have you ever noticed in Matt. 4 what happens after Jesus has gone through the temptations, the devil leaves him and behold angels come and begin to do what? They minister(the servant word for deacon is used here)they minister to him, and began to serve him, that is, the angels served him at that particular time.
So when you ask yourself why should I consider it an honor to be a servant. Because, we are in the company of angels.
And I can name off a lot of prophets that felt like they were servants of God. God chose them for particular work, and they were servants of God.
Then you come to the new testament, look at the apostles in the book of Romans, if you turn there in your bibles, here is what you will discover in the book of Romans, 2 Peter, in Jude and in Revelation. In every single one of these books I’ve just mentioned in the very first verse each one of those begins something like this
Paul a bond servant of Christ, Jude the bond servant, or James a bond servant, Peter a bond servant, John the bond servant.
Sometimes they would call themselves apostles, but often times they would call themselves, consider themselves and wrote of themselves as servants of God…. Paul the bond slave of the Lord Jesus Christ.
These men considered themselves servants. For example in Colossians chapter 1, the apostle Paul when he was talking about one of his fellow workers, notice how he identifies one of his fellow servants, here’s what he says in verse 7
You learned from Epaphras our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, see he identifies him as a servant. Now turn to chapter 4:7 This is Paul speaking and he says;
Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and a fellow servant of the Lord.
Those men saw themselves as servants of God, not being number one, not being famous, not being bigots, not being this that or the other, they saw themselves as being servants of God
Jesus said can the servant be bigger than the master; can we be bigger than our master? Of course not. Can we expect him to serve us and us not serve him in return? I don’t think so.
He has called us and saved us in order that you and I can make up the body of Christ; we are now his hands, his feet, his eyes, and his lips. He is seated at his father’s right hand and we are here to serve Him, we are servants of God.
Now, for a lot of people it never dawned on them they were servants. They think preachers teachers, deacons, and elders are the servants,
but when you obeyed the gospel and was saved by the blood of Christ, when you trusted Jesus as your personal savior and was added to the book of life, when you were adopted into the kingdom of God you took on Son ship and servant hood.
The tragedy is, most people, or a lot of people, are going to live their entire life and it never dawn on them we are to spend and invest the days of our lives and years serving God in some form or fashion
Listen, it’s a privilege to serve Him, the most high God in the universe, to follow in the path of Jesus, to be in the company of apostles, prophets, and angels, it’s a privilege to serve God.
Can you honestly say that you are a servant of the most high God, if you can’t you have missed what God has designed you to do.
The apostle Peter was a natural leader he was always jumping out front and taking charge, but the kind of leadership Jesus shows his followers was one different than what Peter was used to.
He, humbly knelt before his disciples, and washed their dusty feet. Was this the right job for the savior of the world? Yes, he said whoever wants to be great among you must become your servant
I think there’s lots of people God has called into service and oftentimes we have the idea that service means preaching the gospel or being a missionary or doing some specific work for the church, which are all very, very important
But think about this, if you’re a mother raising Godly children, you might say all I’m doing is changing diapers, washing clothes, and dishes, you see that’s the place God has called you to serve at this particular time in your life, it will not be forever though, because your children are going to grow up
But it is the service God has called you with your husband to do at this particular time in your life, you are serving God.
It may be in your business, you may be the president, or the vice president, of a company, or maybe you work somewhere else in a business, but you are there because you think that’s where God has placed you, and you are trying to make an impact on the people around you,
If that is what you’re doing, your doing exactly what the apostle Paul Said in Colossians, We are to do our work as unto the Lord.
We are serving our God by doing our work good, with quality, doing the best we know how, in the right spirit and the right attitude, doing it in a fashion that is making an impact on those around us.
Ephesians 6:5-8 says; Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does.
Keep in mind that no matter who’s giving the orders, you are really serving God. So If you do your work as if Jesus is your supervisor, and he is, you are serving God.
He says we should be like salt and light. So he certainly isn’t going to put us all in the same place, he’s going to put his servants in different aspects of society, and throughout the business world where ever it might be.
He places us there in order to be like salt, to change the flavor, and like light, driving out the darkness
So all of us who believe fall in the category of being a servant of God
Look, here is another reason I think it’s such a great honor to serve God. I think all of this is a prelude to what we will be doing when we get to heaven
We’ve seen pictures in big family Bibles and in other places of angels flying around doing this or that, and people might ask what are we going to be doing when we get to heaven, some people think maybe we’ll just be worshiping God
But, let me tell you what I think. I think heaven is going to be a very active place. Some people say they’ll be glad when it’s all over and maybe when they get to heaven they can just rest.
Well forget it, there is going to be rest for our souls all right, but if you think that means sitting around doing nothing, I don’t think so.
Listen, God’s not inactive, Jesus isn’t inactive, and the Saints on this earth aren’t inactive, why would people think heaven would be an inactive place. Where people just sit around doing nothing for all eternity.
Turn to revelation chapter 22. Did I hear somebody say, you mean to tell me after I labor down here all these years when I go to heaven, I’m gonna have to work.
Yes, that’s what I believe is gonna happen, and for those of you who have decided you’re gonna retire, you may retire, but when you die God is going to wake you up.
Listen to this, revelation chapter 22:1-5 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God, and of the Lamb, down the middle of the great street of the city.
On each side of the river stood a tree of life bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city.
And his servants will serve Him. That’s what I’m talking about.
His bond servants will serve him. Wake up; God is going to give his servants, that’s you and me, the high honor of serving Him in heaven for all eternity.
And we serve God here on earth to prepare us for service in heaven.
Now, I know most of you are already servants of God, but if your not, God is calling you, He loves you, and He wants you to have the high honor of serving Him.
Your life of servant hood begins by believing, in Mark 16:16 Jesus says, whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.
Peter says in Acts 2:38 Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins.
Romans 10:10, States for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Confess that Christ Jesus is the son of God.
Then be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of your sins.
If your already one of God’s servants, and you’ve been caught up in what the world teaches, rather than what God teaches, you need to repent of your sins and your shortcomings, and ask God to forgive you.
Or if you need spiritual strength to stand firm against the ways of the world we’re here to serve you. Won’t you come forward while we stand and sing.
