Why Life’s Better as a Servant .... part 3

56:170921 

Why Life’s Better as a  Servant

Part 3

Mark 10:45 [KJV] “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many”

   One thing stood out, was how many in His life time, was how ‘unselfish’ Jesus was too. This flowed through, in many ways on how to be this way. . . Mark 10:45 [NLT] “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” . . . WOW, this could not be made any clearer, watch out for this next point, for if He [Jesus] came to be served unto only. We wouldn’t have the opportunity to come to our Father God. What a hoy mess we would be in right now. How do we even begin to quantify the magnificence of gods glory pouring Himself into flesh for us, just to serve us.

Before you carry on reading please open your NKJ Bible to John 13:1-5 & V12-17,

 I will provide the ‘New Living Translation’ of the Bible.

   At that time the rads were dirty with all manner of waste, human & animal, coupled with at that time the rads being very dusty and muddy. So it was custom when you visited someone’s home there was a ‘Servant’ to greet you, and would wash your feet. This was done so you did not walk anything into their home. Is what the ‘Son-of Man’ did by lowing Himself to that of a servant. Showing the Apostles therefore how to behave, and NOT to think it below them to serve others.

   Here, Jesus ‘The Son-of-Man’, told His apostles that He chose to serve .. [NKJV] V12 “So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?” .. In a more modern tone .. “Do you fully comprehend what I have just showed you?” .. You have to understand ‘What I Am’, then fully grasp who I have just become to you, you are to serve .. Humbly .. Willingly .. and just to be served.

V13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am”
As I, Jesus, have washed your feet, so you should wash one another feet, hence becoming servants, unto each other. The common theme here is .. Humility .. it can never be stretched enough, a servants heart is one who looks NOT for personal gain whilst serving. .

# Serving is not what you can do for me,

rather, you should be asking ‘What can I do for you’ #

. . this why our social fabric is in tatters, because today all people think is .. ME ~ My ~ Mine ~ I want & self needs .. It profits me not .. I deserve that new Job ~ New Car ~ 4 Holidays a year ~ even though I did nothing to deserve them.

   Just as Jesus served His disciples, so He was saying to them, now I want you to serve your neighbours & fellow man as I have you … [NKJV]V15 “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you”  ... This bigger, so much bigger than just simple foot washing. No matter if your a King or Queen, a General or Prime minister , or even a company owner. You need to strip away all these titles, heirs & graces, if you want to become an effective servant of God.

[KJ] V13 “Ye call me Master and Lord, so I am”
If Jesus can humble himself, then, so why can’t we?
To Serve our Bosses ~ 

To Serve our Friends ~ 

To Serve our neighbours ~ 

To Serve our Partners .. always remember serving fully is Not for personal gain, in fact the glory goes to the Lord God, and only God.

[KJV] 13:16 “Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master ”
V17 “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them”
V17 [NLT] “Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them”

   Jesus’ is telling us that now you know, and understand, just what being a servant is about, God said that for being a good servant, He will bless our faithfulness.

Prayer

Lord god we humble ourselves to this study that hearts and minds may be opened to revelstion to a way of living, that you'll bless. For as it was as easy for Christ Jesus to do then may we also come to servanthood with a humbled heart & spirit, that it blesses those we serve.

Why Life’s Better as a Servant ... Part 2

Part 2

Why Life’s Better as a  Servant

   Now I have your attention, I want to speak to you a little about this subject. Being, or having, a servants attitude has far greater connotations, In that this is a way of life. To make this point clear I’m not talking about the servants o ‘Downton Abby’. I’m talking to husbands, serve you wives, and wives serve your husbands. For you can’t be a servant of God, this without serving first.
   Many of you know how long I’ve been married to Bet [23yrs for those who didn’t. Whilst doing this study I have become challenged, in as much as God said I needed to serve Betty better, “He asked me do I serve, or make me each day better servant for Betty?” I truly found myself wanting on both counts. Now after thanking God before breakfast .. for a roof over our heads .. A good bed to sleep on .. The very air we breath ..

• I ask god how can I make/serve Betty in any way.
• The best wife a man could pray for.
• Fresh water & Food to eat...and so much much more.
• Hence why I ask how can I make the day better.

   Surely being a Minister/leader, you are there to serve? A ‘Minister’, is not just there for Sundays, they are not looking to just around during the and only giving sermons on Sunday, they are there t0 serve lead & comfort folk. They greatest leader of all was Christ Jesus. Always remember to inter lock together you can’t be a leader without the knowledge of how to serve, and visa versa.
Matthew 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve”

   Its crazy to think how such a simple message does not get tough as much as it should. May be it would highlight their our short comings. When it shows clearly we need to be Servers to others just as He did . . .
Philippians 2:15 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”
. . . lets just pause here for a second .. “Let this mind” .. in other words to take on the same mind set as Christ Jesus, which can’t be a bad thing. Surely as Christians our attitude towards how we believe, should be one of a ‘Servant’, and sereve just as Christ came to do.
Philippians 2:6/7 “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” ..

   He didn’t choose , nor look for the equality with God, instead He chose to be that of a servant. Jesus could have made His role far more powerful. For sure He had the power to do so. Instead his ..Humanity .. was ans is unparalleled, for He always shows His quality of having a modest, or low, view of His own importance. Christ, like humanity is manifest in the freedom of God’s Son to affirm the fullness of all God has placed in Him. We should be openly willing to look beyond our own interests, for the sake of others. How come is it in today’s society we think of ourselves too good to be servants, even thinking it is well below us . . .
V7 “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant”
. . . it would be the CEO/ Owner of a major company shedding his fancy clothes, and becoming a regular ‘Joe Bloggs’, on the factory/shop/warehouse floor ..”of no reputation” .. so he saw what you did, heard what you did. Jesus, (and I’m paraphrasing here), was like ‘I don’t care what you think of me’. Unlike today we are consumed be our ‘image’, for some it’s all they can think about, ‘smile for perfect pic’ click goes the camera on their phone, from when they wake in the morning, till they close their eyes at night.

   We should not let what others think about us ..”of no reputation” [V7].. How can you even contemplate being a servant, if your worried what other people think of you? The only one that should worry about is Jesus, so with humility in your heart is the only way to approach being a servant. . .
Philippians 2:8 “And being found in appearance as a man, . . . OK wait for this next part .. He humbled Himself and became obedient”
. . . so our call to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift us up. Surely humbling ourselves, opens us up to increased grace?

   It’s been pointed out the major reason for NOT humbling ourselves to being a servant is the question of .. “What’s in it for me?” .. Commonly known as ..Self~centredness .. even .. Pride ..pops it’s ugly head and says ..’Woo Hoo everyone is looking at me’ .. ‘Ain’t I great for doing this1’ .. even to point opf lying to make themselves look~seem important. . .

Jesus humbled himself, even the Son of God.

Are you, also willing to humbling yourself?

Even to being more Christ like?

. . .It is time to humble yourself to what God has called you to be, are you ready? Don’t be scared as God will supply ‘ALL’ your needs, all He asks for in return is, humbled faith from us, the truth is can we do this?

John 13:12 “So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?”

   As we have allowed for God to be taken out of our schools ~ Work ~ even our Courtrooms. The later meaning swearing on the bible means so little you might as well swear on a ‘cook-book’. In ?Hebrews it tells us to .. “give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away” [Hebrews 2:1]. Just because we live in a technological World, there are so many distractions it takes/requires immense discipline to black them out, instead of letting Gods living World to dominate your life, and not your mobile phone ~ game boys ~ Xbox ~ Play stations etc.
[NLT]Hebrews 2:1 “So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it”

   Being a servant is far greater just washing feet. [John 13:15] is where Jesus explains His example .. “I have given you an example to follow” .. All Jesus wanted to do was getting His point over, in as much as Jesus example, they are to serve one another, as he had just done. Serving is so much more, much bigger than washing feet. I know I’m repeating myself here, I’m trying to get the old sticky penny to drop. What is serving I here you asking? Well .. Some of theses examples should know more than most .. Church Minister ~ Paster ~ Clergyman ~ Church Deacons ~ Ushers ~Evangelists ~ Christ Jesus our King of Kings Alpha & Omega .. Father God came to serve us, we have NO excuses to serve one another.

 It is NEVER beneath us!

Prayer

Heavenly Father thank you for you living Word, in the coming week, place in our hearts humility, that we become more like yourself. With a willingness to humble ourselves to be better servants. That it profits us not, only those we are serving.

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Part 1 of 

Why Life’s Better as a
Servant

These are the translations I used in this study, and their abbreviations ..
*[KJV] :~ King James Version
*[JKV] :~ New King James Version
*[NLT] :~ New Living Translation
*[JKV] Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many”
   In this verse there is one major thing that stands out, that goes to the heart of Jesus’ character, was how much in His life, Jesus was unselfish. You don’t ever read about when Jesus had turned one’s down, because He could not be bothered, for instance when dying on the cross, He could have turned to the other 2 and said “I’m dying here your too late .. leave me alone” ...
*[NLT] Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” ...
. . .The NLT In this verse it says .. “ but to serve others” .. as we slowly unravel Jesus’ message, which is one of the more prevalent ones. Listen closer to this next segment. Just think, what if Jesus only came to ‘be served’? We could never have had the opportunity to come to The Father God, man the mess, in the dark oppressive life we would be blindly facing.

   How can anyone measure the awesomeness that is the ‘Enmity’ of God’s glory, pouring himself into human form flesh, all for us, W O W. To this date since finding this out it still truly still blows my mind. Every time I spend any length of time giving this thought, I’m left thinking with a great appreciation, and love for our God. I know I have a very large body of text, but you’ll need to read to understand the rest of this sermon as I will be referring to it as we go forth. This is Jesus’ exemplar of being a servant ..
KJV:~ John 13:1-5 “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded"
NLT:~ “Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him"
KJV:~ 13:12-17 “So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them"
NLT:~”After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message.17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them"
   I want you to think back to what both called a road, what foot ware. The roads back then, when towns roads were dirty, with all manner of waste (that’s the polite way of describing them), and dusty too. It was customary that when you attended someone’s house, there was a servant to wash your feet. This was so that you did not walk anything from outside in. This is what Jesus wanted to try and show the Apostles that He came to serve, and to be a servant. He showed that He wanted that they were to behave this way and think not to think of it below them, no matter the subject. Just to think of as did Christ Jesus, that the very Son of God chose to serve, and washed and dried their feet, He came to serve, but NOT be served. V12 says .. “know what I have done to you?” .. Jesus was telling them ‘Do you fully grasp, even comprehend, what has happened here?’ .. ‘Think of who I AM, think of what I’m showing you, now let the penny drop, then know who I become to you?’

   V13 Tells them .. “ You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am” .. Jesus washed their feet, and asked, so you to should now wash one another's feet, therefore becoming servants to each other ..

Please Note#

“Serving, is not about what others can do for you,

rather what you can do for others, whilst NOT

looking for anything in return”

. . . This is why our society today is falling apart at the seems. The reason being as most peoples thinking ig .. I Me My Mine .. always have selfish wants .. ‘If it profits ME not, I don’t want to know’ .. or .. ‘I deserve that job’ ..or even more a thought of ..’I did nothing to deserve them, but should have four [4] holidays a year ..With regret I know all to well this type of person, do you?

   Just as Jesus served His disciples, He was saying to them, now I want you to be servants, even a servant to your neighbour .. KJV - 15 “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” .. it’s more than just washing each others/neighbours feet. For to serve has to start with a question like ..’How Can I help you out?’ .. or .. ‘know they are in need, how can I full fill that need without fanfare for myself?’ .. This is much bigger, so much bigger no matter if Royalty ~ General of military ~ Company Directer or CEO.

John 13:13 [KJV]* “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am” *King James Version
John 13:16 “The servant is not greater than his lord"
[KJV] :17 “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them”
[NLT] :17 “Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them”
   Jesus is trying to let us know and understand, just exactly what being a servant is about. God has told us that for being a good servant, He will bless our faithfulness. God will want to know, are you being a good servant? Well are you. Who have you helped out without fanfare? He wants to know who we have helped out without the ‘look at me and what I have done’, like ~ Work ~ Friends ~ Family ~ Neighbours? Even your bosses? I want to show you now something from Philippians that breaks down the elements of being a good good servant …

Philippians 2:1~7
V1:~ “Consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love”
V2:~ “being like-minded, being of one accord, of one mind"
Having the same thoughts of Jesus, wanting the same as
Him.
V3:~ “nothing be done through selfish ambition [comparing
yourself to another] or conceit or vain glory, but in
lowliness” ... [ vain glory:- serving for selfish ends] If,
and be careful here, you serve in Vain glory will only
in strife, who honestly wants MORE strife today.
V4:~ “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests”
So not your own interests, but we encouraged to look out
and help others with out reward.
V5:~ “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”
V6:~ "who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God”
V7:~ “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a
bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” . . . This attitude, being our own attitude. Like say that of a .. Butcher ~ Baker ~ Sales person ~ an Athlete or a Soldier and so many more. I know of a person who had a family ‘mask’ the replaced with one for work, we all do this. In other words, they changed their attitude. To be a servant to all who come to their work.

  Because now in the flesh, He [Lord God] humbled Himself even unto death .. V8 “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” .. humility has to be the main ingredient of being a servant. For without humility, it would be almost impossible to to be a servant. Whilst being a servant, it is no longer your will being done,, but you masters will that be done. Whilst here it is gods, but can equally be your .. Parents ~ Work Bosses ~ friends ~ neighbours, hoping by now your getting what I’m trying to convey.
    1) Humility :~ Often when looking for in today’s society, Humility has become as rare as white Truffles. In the space of a generation, we have gone from being able to speak frankly (even to a friend), to having girdle our mouths, in our own homes, as much as having to close our windows, to be able to speak openly with your spouse.
    2) Power :~ What we need to think on is that your energy suppliers, give us this power, (praise god for them), to make light where there is none, to bring heat where it’s cold. The energy suppliers leave this power in our own hands, to decide how use it, and up to us to turn the power on. Just as our Lord has given us power to us.

‘How will you use your Heavenly power?’

   One of the biggest reasons for unanswered prayer, is that we ask God for that which he already done, even if we don’t see it right away, or He already has given us both the power & authority to use. It would be like asking your gardener to mow the lawn when he he just done so, how stupid that would be. . .

• So then why would God answer your prayer, when He has already done so?
• No amount of badgering will make a bit of difference.
• Answer you for what He told you to do?
• How many really believe they have power from God in their prayers?
• How many speak in authority whilst praying?
• How many have faith in their prayers?We have to walk in Faith ~ Belief ~ Authority? That’s if we truly want change .. in our lives .. Jobs .. where we live!

[NKJ] Matthew 10:1 “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease”
   What Jesus is warning here is, for us to be born again and whom are not. You need to ‘Born-again’, [John 3:3*], or you will not know; be frustrated; left banging your head against the brick wall. SURPRISE .. We have had power the moment we became saved – Born-again.

Q: What is it to have this power?

A: It is the ability to get the job done.

# As a Christian, I’m not powerless #

 

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In Due Season we Shall Reap

    Sometimes we are inclined to be discouraged in our Christian life and work, we find ourselves asking these questions . . .

• Is it worth while to be Holy, to keep Gods commandments

• What profit is there in Godliness?

• Is it worth while to deny ourselves to do good to others, or to serve them?

• What comes of it all?

. . . many of us are apt to have mood in which these questions press upon us with painful stress. It is well we look into the matter that we may be assured that it is worth while to ‘do-well’, that there is profit in it.

   There is an inspired word that says “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal 6:9 – NIV) What is meant by by ‘doing good’? It is doing right, obeying God’s commands, fashioning our lives after the patten revealed by Him in His living Word.
   Let us be kidders here in that it’s not easy to right all the time. It throws up many a big struggle. A of ‘doing-well’, it implies a continual crucifying yourself. These inclinations surely must be restrained? .. Desires must be curbed .. Our will must be yielded to Gods will .. The whole life must be brought into subjection to a law which is spiritual and Heavenly.

“Does it Pay"? … is the deep question? There are many people who don’t put their lives under the Law of God. Who go on their own ways of self indulgences. They will put NO divine command interface with the exercise of their own desires. They will not put NO curb on their inclinations, as we look to these people, it seems to us perhaps that they are happier than us?? . . .
Galatians 6:7-9 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”
. . . They also seem to more out of life than we do. It’ll seem to us that we are denying ourselves, sacrificing our comfort, and cutting off our right hands for nothing. Sin always seem to have the advantage? Worldliness appears to pay the best? ‘Vertue’ seems dreary ~ costly & lonesome. It does not have the good time that self-indulgence has. It will happen that you will grow weary of ‘well~doing’ because there appears to be NO profit in it.

Well~Doing ..means also doing good to others. We are taught that if we are Christians, we must NOT be living for ourselves. Love is the essence of new life, and love is doing ~ giving ~ sacrificing, for the sake of others. Instead of trying to get out of the World al we can for ourselves, we are to give the World all we can possibly give of blessings & good. Until our glorious Lord comes back to look after it. We need to be doing our best to claim His people by showing His glory, and helping all the lost and disheartened back sliders, before time runs out. Then the Lord will say . . 2 Kings 10:30 “Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight”

   It is easy to see each life is not natural, is not in harmony with Human feelings. Naturally we care for ourselves, and for our own benefit & comfort. We do not intend to put ourselves out, to sacrifice our own convenience in serving others. We might do it the ones we love deeply, but the gospel requires us to love & serve, with all our capacity serving, those that are not amongst our congenial friends. Here’s a contentious thought here .. An enemy who needs us we must serve, even the most ‘debased’ among them. . .
debased:~ reduced in quality or value ..
I.E Immoral ~ Debouched ~ Dissolute ~ Degenerate
and more of the like…
. . . Human life that we find, we must touch with our healing love and help with the hands that have been given by Christ. We are required to hold our life and all that we have at the call of love and of human need. We are to bear one anthers burdens. We’re called to have sympathy with all sorrow and need., to be touched ever with a sense of the worlds conditions. This love of Christian puts us down among men just as was Christ Jesus himself was among men. He never kept anything back, He poured out the blessing of His sweet life on everyone who came near Him, giving His life’s blood for the saving of man.
Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”

   That is what ‘well doing’ means. It is no wonder that some people stop and ask, ‘is worth while’? It is very natural for us to raise the question whether the giving of all the best way to gain all, living together for others is the way to make the most of our own life, as we are requested to do. Look at Christ, for example, and think of his rich and noble and blessed life. Never in any other mind were there such intellectual powers, and never in any other heart were there such depths and heights and breadths and lengths of love such as His.

• What did He do with His rich life .. ?
• He turned away from paths in which the Worlds great men had walked and devoted himself to the one work of ‘doing Good’ to others ..
• He gave all He had to His work ..
• He emptied Himself and made Himself poor that others might be made rich ..
• He exhausted His own strength that the weak may be made strong ..
• He poured out His own life – blood that dead might live ..

   Is that the best that Christ could be done with His wondrous life. His own friends thought not. They thought that he thrown His life away.

   Take those who are following in Christ’s footsteps. A young American, having finished her course in collage, came out with high honours. She had fine powers, good social position, influential friends, a beautiful and happy home. Just then there came a call from some missionary teachers to go to the South to work, among the freed slaves. The Girl heard the call and gave herself to this service. For two or three years she lived among the poor folk, teaching them, telling them of Christ. Then one summer night fever came up from the swamps, from which she succumbed, and soon she died among her despised people of colour, with no mothers hand to smooth her hair, or to have cooled her brow, or to have taken away the pain. They brought her body back, and buried her body among her friends, where they laid her body to rest, many had said of her life .. “She has wasted her beautiful life” .. “it was too rich a life to be poured out in such a costly ministry” ..All this was said whilst standing over the coffin, they ask the questions .. “Could she not have done anything better with her life”?
Ecclesiastes 3:1 “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven … 2 A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted .. 4 A time to mourn, And a time to dance”

   It is not in vain that we continue our ‘well-doing’ that we obey gods commandments, that we devote our lives in self-sacrificing to men for Christ sake. What ever seem to loss is gain. The good man may seem to have more trouble than his unchristian neighbour. His business does seem to proper so well. His virtues may miscarry, his faithfulness may bring him human enmity and even persecution, but life accounts are not always settled at once . . .

Harvest does not follow sowing Immediately

. . .in the end righteousness succeeds, just look here ..
NKJV Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life”
NIV :~ “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life”
. . .this leaves us with no confusion as to what we need to do for the best of ourselves but for others to. Destruction or everlasting life .. Your Choice
1 Corinthians 9:11 “If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things”

   There are days & months when the seed seems to have perished. Afterward, however it yields fruit. It is the same in spiritual life. For a time there may seem to be NO blessing in ‘well-doing’. But, in the end righteousness succeeds. V8: “ he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” .. Every kindness we do in the name of Christ Jesus, is sowing a good seed unto the Spirit. Every deed of Love ~ every act of unselfishness ~ every self denial ~ All the things we do to help ~ to comfort ~or to just simply bless others, are seeds which we sow into the spirit .. “at the proper time we will reap a harvest” .. [Galatians6:9] a time it may not appear any good, Or, blessing comes form the act of love or word of kindness spoken. But the seed will not perish, it has in it an immortal germ.
   We dare not shut our hearts, that would mean surely, a moral and spiritual death! So we must always be giving and doing. We can keep nothing long for ourselves. No soon as it in our hands, than we are asked to give out again, because the Lord has need of it in some other life, so as to meet another need, or to some work of love for Him. One thing to bear in mind is, never fear anything, the smallest thing we can do for another, with love for Christ in our hearts.

Example to bear in mind ..

“When you do anything for God, the very least,

thing, you’ll never know where it will lead,

or what amount of good it will do to them. Love’s

secret therefore, it is always doing things for God .

We know how a thing done by us, it may blessed a

life and stay in ti as a benediction forever.”

   It would be amiss of me if I did not recommend having a close and true walk with Christ. There is a story that a teacher wrote about once .. “As I came out of the schools front doors after the usual trying day in my first school, you were passing waiting for me. As you walked with me a short distance you spoke sympathetically about my work. Your manner and voice cheered and comforted me, I never forgotten it”. She then goes on to say that in the years since the memory of His kind words stayed in her heart. The incident is full of comfort for her. We must always to remember to keep sowing, so that you can reap many harvests, God wants not to just bless us once, but for ‘ALL’ of our days. For we know not how small a word may bless a life.

Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” . . . such a well known verse amongst Christians, but did you see that .. “pressed down, shaken together, and running over” .. God is good all the time. Sometimes you only have a little, but God’s waiting to see how we use this ‘little-bit’ before He increases it.

   We should always ready our hearts & minds for what ever ‘little’ ministry we may have an opportunity render. The smallest word of good cheer may start a song in a heart, which shall sing forever. The good may drop conscientiously from lip and hand, you may never think of it again, and yet it shall not be lost. The sentiment carries in it the life of God and is immortal.

   There is a difference in the different-ways in which we give, though the gift ~ or favour, or act be precisely the same. One gives only help, the other gives part of themselves in the help. There are some beautiful flowers that have NO fragrence, but how much more a flower means, that it has in perfume as well as loveliness. We should be giving part of us with the gifts that we give. We need to impart part of ourselves with the gifts we bestow, part of our own life flows out with every deed of kindness we do. Love is the fragrance of the flowers of the heart and what ever we do in love, love for Christ and love for man shall never be lost.

   Who knows what the person is going through? Just think how much the World will be richer and better for even the smallest deeds of Christ like charity. We may not reap the harvest in this World, but beyond the sky's, we shall reap the sheaves in our bosom. So then throughout our lives be in perfect in ‘well-doing’, as we shall know that our Master in Heaven will accept the humblest things we do for Him, even though it only be a fragment in the building up of His Kingdom.

So always remember this ...

Ecclesiastes3:1 “To everything there is a season, 

A time for every purpose under heaven .. 2 A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted”

56:220322

Praying In Disguise

1 Kings 14:1-17 [Judgment on the House of Jeroboam]

“At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that I would be king over this people. 3 Also take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child.” 4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so; she arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were glazed by reason of his age. 5 Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman.” 6 And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel, 8 and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes; 9 but you have done more evil than all who were before you, for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back, 10 therefore behold! I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, bond and free; I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone. 11 The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field; for the Lord has spoken!” 12 Arise therefore, go to your own house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. 14“Moreover the Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam; this is the day. What? Even now!”

(Normally I would not show much text, but this time I felt a need to do it this time around)

“Prayer against his absolute decree,

no more avails then breath against

the wind, blown stifling back on him

that breaths it forth. Therefore to his

great bidding I submit” - Milton

I’ll be looking at 4 elements from 1 King 14 They’ll be . . .

1. Knowledge of God ..
2. Feeling a need ..
3. Disguising of Character ..
4. Complete failure ..

   The more deeply imbued with spirit of prayer the more simple and child like shall we become. ‘Sublimity always is simple’, is how *Longfellow once wrote. Eloquent prayers may be the haughtiness of the Human heart in disguise. The wife of Jeroboam is not the only one who has put on the mask whilst making their requests known unto God. Purity of Worship was at a very low ebb while King Jeroboam made the lowest of people priests and consecrated ‘who ever would be one’ .. [1 Kings 13:33] ..is by no means the only qualification for the service of God. It’s not like he had not sent warning cry against this Holy alter ..
1 Kings 13:2 “Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you”
… now the jealous God of Israel visits the iniquity with judgement. The attempt to out wit and elude the prophet of the Lord has it’s lessons for us.

*Henry Longfellow lived in America 1807–1882 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was one of the most widely known and best-loved American poets of the 19th century. He achieved a level of national and international prominence previously unequalled in the literary history of the United States and is one of the few American writers honoured in the Poets’ Corner of Westminster Abbey.

    1:~ Knowledge of God

   Jeroboam could not be a stranger to the great things Jehovah had wrought for His people Israel, and had not the prophet of the Lord not foretold him that should be King .. “King of this people” .. But the revealed will of God had been set aside. His acts of worship were new according to his own thoughts and convenience, so he made Israel to sin by the substitution of his own ways for the ways of the Lord ..
1 Kings 12:33 “So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense”
. . . there may be a knowledge of the ways and will of God, while the daily life is a presumptuous denial of the divine revelation.

    2:~ Feeling a Need

V1 “At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick”
   They were very anxious to know .. “what shall come of the child” [V3] Our dearest, and our best are never beyond the withering touch of God’s finger. Every sorrow disappointment may be to us as goals to drive us nearer to God, if our hearts right with Him. There is a bitterness of heart that cannot be spoken into the ears of ordinary mortals, that needs the touch of the Eternal. The yearning of the soul at such times is to know what the will og God is concerning us.

   The main thing is not to miss, is Jesus will be our comforter, our shield against all of the devils trials for us. Young or old, fit or disabled, God will be waiting, to take up against your foes, He only asks 3 things from us are .. Praise .. Worship .. Faith.

    3 :~ Disguising of Character

The wife of Jeroboam changed her appearance and went to inquire of the man of God.

1 Kings 14:2&3 “And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that I would be king over this people. 3 Also take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child”

   Perhaps the King knew that the prophet Ahijah was blind by a reason of age, but both he and his wife seemed to forget that God was not blind. It was utterly needless for anyone to come to God feigning themselves to be different from what they are, and yet this disguising of the true character, while making requests known unto God, is a common pious friend. On our knees we may pretend to believe all that the Lord has spoken, then among our fellow man we put on our self-magnifying glasses, and forget what the Lord that bought us.

Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he”

    4:~ Complete Failure

   As soon as she came to the door of the prophet she heard these scathing words .. “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person?” [V6] .. The veil of disguise was rent [ripped] from the top to the bottom, and the light of Gods presence shone in upon her. Saul had his ripped off on the road to Damascus. The Pharisee that went up to the temple to pray *feigned himself a righteous man, but he went away as he came, with his mask untouched and his soul unblessed ..
Luke 18:14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted”

*feign:- feigned, Simulated or Pretended
1)False impression 2) ‘He feigned that he was not feeling to well so that he could leave the party early.

   Jeroboam and his wife desirous of knowing the mind of the Lord about their child, but they were afraid to face the will of God concerning themselves and their ungodly lives. The disguise was evidently an attempt to avoid the dreaded prediction of the man of God, in the preceding chapter. Is there anything in the background of our own lives that we are afraid of God should deal with, thing that make us put on a mask whilst we venture to seek divine light or guidance?

   For 20 plus years I was a night-club DJ. Every time whilst I out on my mask, called the fun time guy, I was smiling ~ mixing ~ making ones have fun dancing. Yet at home I was the complete opposite, a very quite man. Every day we pull on some resemblance of a mask, for some reason or another. In the presence of God, it will NOT improve matters it we try to hide them, as God will deal with us accordingly to our deal life before Him. Therefore come to the light that the evil deeds may be reproved, confessed, and cleansed for be sure youe sins will find you out.

John 3:19-21 “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practising evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God”

Prayer

Heavenly Father thank you for your living Word, to guide yes, to help show us the right ways to live our lives in your presence, We live our lives a s a sacrifice to you. You know all our ways. Thank you Father God, amen,

Sermons in April 2022

 

April 2022

Coming this friday is my next sermon called .. 

[8th] In Due Season we Shall Reap ..then ..

[18] Why be a Servant

56:250222

The Cost of being a
Friend

    Such a strong word, which sadly, we have used, and weakened, the word Friend, very lightly to the point of loosing it’s importance. We talk of our ‘host of friends’ meaning, all with whom we have relations, or even of being a pleasant acquaintance. We may a certain person is a friend when we only know them only from work, or socially, when their hearts and ours have never touched in any real communion. There may be nothing amiss in this wide application of the word, but we ought to understand that in the use of it, it’s full sacred meaning is not even touched.

Before carrying on . . .
Friend:~ [re’a or rah-ah] Companion, neighbour, fellowman, familiar person. In Hebrew [ra~ah] means ‘associate with’ or ‘be a friend of’. . . A friend should always love at all times. They should with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one whom is exclusive of sexual or familiar relations.. A member of the religious society of friends.. To add (someone) to a list of friends, or contacts on a social-networking website..
Acquaintance :~ A person one knows socially but who is NOT a close friend .. 2. A wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
   To become another’s friend. in the true sense, is to take the other into such close, living fellowship, that their life and ours becomes knit together as one. It is now more than an association of mutual interests, profit, or enjoyment. It is for more than pleasant companionship in the bright sunny hours. A true friendship should be entirely unselfish, in both parties. It should always seek NO benefit and good of it’s own. It looks for not what it may receive, but for what they can give. Your aim is not to be ministered unto, but rather minister too.
Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times”
Proverbs 18:24 “A man who has friends, must himself be friendly. But there is a friend who sticks closer than another”

Be warned :

It Costs To be a Friend

   “For better for worse, For richer for poorer, In sickness and in Health.” These are words from the Wedding Vows, a true friend should be a strong form of friendship. As my wife and I did our dating via letters & phone calls daily. (as she lived in Northern Ireland, and I was living in South Devon), so we built up a strong bond. She has been my best friend since. When we take someone into our lives, as a friend, at this point we don’t know what it may cost us, to be faithful to our friend. Misfortune may befall our friend, and they may need our help in ways that will lay a heavy burden upon us. It may be in their business, or in their private life. Timely help may enable them to over come their problem, and thus turn around their misfortune.

   It is in our power to render them help, without which they would surely not have what it takes to turn things around. It will cost us though, personally, it will inconvenience us, and may bring trouble. But they are a close friend? BFF, if you will. (Best Friend Forever). It could be they been a close friend for a long time, thus becoming a partner in their affairs. So can we truly with hold the help they need. Which we are able to give, without breaking the Holy covenant of friendship and failing our obligations to them. My wife and I were watching a program called ‘Impractical Jokers’, whilst in the middle of a challenge one saw an old associate he once worked with, and so asked him to lend $100.oo, this guy said sure but instead of just $100, he handed over $200 without blinking, what an act friendship this guy showed. This is what I mean by a close friend.

Proverbs 17:17 “a brother is born for adversity”
   Sadly it may be the misfortune of sickness, or may be even broken health, (could be broken bones, mental health, or a disability), that befalls a friend. So at this point they are no longer to be of any help, able to contribute to the friendship, that does not mean we are to turn our backs. Just because we are the ones who are to minister to them, don’t turn your backs on them!

   Think not bad of your friend, that could not contribute their part in the friendship, and mutual ministering, giving as well as receiving. They could have been the one who had stood beside you in your time of trial. Our modern culture has cultivated the attitude of . . ‘Why should I care, it has nothing to do with me’, or, ‘What do I get out of it. . .
NKJV 2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away”

. . . Now lets look at this in the Amplified version . . 
AMPC 2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But understand this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear]. 2 For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centred, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane. 3 [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good. 4 [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God. 5 For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them]”
. . . It is safe say to that we all know of people that have one or more of the above. These poor souls do need our prayers.
   The meaning of true friendship wherever it exists, is not based purely on helpfulness or service which it must receive as it’s condition, It’s source is in the heart itself. It’s essential desire is to help serve. It makes no nice calculation for so much to be given and so much received. It stops at no cost which faithfulness may entail. It hesitates at no self denial which may be necessary to the fulfilment of it’s duties. It does not complain when everything has given up. It only grows stronger & truer & more constant as the demands for giving and serving becomes larger.
   We need to be mindful of the cost of friendship, which should not be ignored, that which comes with revealing of faults and flaws and sins. At first glance, when we meet people we can only see the surface of the character that is projected. Thus we become attracted to the elements that win us over. At length our attraction goes out to them and eventually calling them friends. We walk with them in pleasant companionship that makes no demands on our unselfishness, this discloses little of their true nature. Even at this point we see/know beyond the surface. Sadly nothing has occurred in the progress of our friendship to bring out the things in their disposition which are altogether not lovely.

Be warned :

It Costs To be a Friend

   Over time, a closer intimacy, that reveals their faults. Then we can learn what lies beneath attractive exterior which so pleased us we find they to like us, have blemishes ~ spots ~ flaws, which sadly disfigure the beauty of life. We learn in them are elements or meanness, which in turn will cause us pain. Then learn that they have secret habits that we find repulsive. These highlighted things in their demeanour, that we never suspected, which are more evident the closer the friendship becomes. . .
Psalms 52: 2-4 “Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. 3 You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. 4 You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue”
. . . the longest and freest acquaintance previous to marriage only the better side of the life, for both of them. The same is true in the greater, or lesser, degree in all friendships.
   This then is a servier test of love. It is the rise into something of the Spirit of Christ that we are able to meet this test of friendship. He [Jesus] takes us as we are and never grows weary of us, what ever faults and sins discover themselves in us. There is infinite comfort in this for us. We are conscience of our unworthiness and the unlovelyness, this in our souls.
   Many of us have pages from our lives which we would not dare spread out before anyone else’s eyes. They are our inner feelings, even desires, jealousies & motives, which we don’t feel happy about laying bear to our dearest trusted friends. Yet Christ knows all of our sins & faults, which we keep only for Him to know. . Nothing is hidden. . nothing can be hidden God’s eye’s. To Him there is a perfect revealing of our innermost feelings such as ~ desires ~ longings ~ cravings, which we would not feel secure in laying bear to our dearest, in we trust the most with our dearest friends. . .

>> YET CHRIST KNOWS THEM ALL <<

. . . yet we need not feel afraid that His friendship for us will NOT change or grow less, or with draw itself, when He discovers in us all the repulsive things. This is the ideal of ‘Human-friendships’. They are not repelled by them being found out..
NKJ ~ Revelation 3:8 “I know your works”
NIV ~ Revelation 3:8 “I know your deeds”
AMP ~Revelation 3:8 “I know your [record of] works and what you are doing”
.. our Lord will not offer up our blemishes, even though nothing is hidden from His eye’s. True friendship is unconditional, though there are those relations that are toxic and do nothing but bring you down if your promoted. To the extent that they will smear your name to bring you down, hold you back. The tradergy is that you will have to cut these loose, like a cancer, because they'll stop you from being able grow.

Romans 16:20 “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you”
Grace :~ Charis [Khar~ece]From the same root as Chara ‘Joy’, Chario causes ‘rejoicing’. It’s Gods grace as extended in sinful man. It signifies unmerited facour, undeserved blessing, or a free gift.

   In spite He continues to love us all, even because He found unbeautiful and unworthiness within us. He teaches us a form of friendship that is loyal. As He loves us, He would have us love others. We say many are unworthy of such friendships. True or not, niegh?? are worthy of Christ’s wondrous love of us. But, Christ loves us not according to the riches of our own heart. So it would be the giving of friendship, not as the person deserves, but after the measure of our own character.

   I hope that all these illustrations are enough to show just what it costs to being a ‘True Friend’. When we receive someone into being a ‘Faithful’, relation, all be it that we don’t know what responsibility, and what burdens we may be taking upon ourselves, and the sorrows it may cost our love. We accept a solemn responsibility when we do so. At this moment we have no idea the burdens we may be engaging to carry, also the cost of the unconscience pledging ourselves to.

   Let me say this in closing. When choosing our friends, we must be therefore, thoughtfully, wisely, prayerfully, before we open the doors to our inner self and pledging our friendship & love, we need to be faithfull what ever the cost may be.