Wealth…as told by The Parable of Talents XIX

I Am Not A Servant

In a past post, I asked you if you are a servant? Perhaps you said, “Yes, I am a servant,” or “No, I am not a servant.” If the latter is your response, then this week’s post is just for you ☺

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God
Romans 1:1

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and the deacons:
Philippians 1:1

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness
Titus 1:1

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.
James 1:1

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
2 Peter 1:1

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:
Jude 1

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
Revelation 1:1

I want you to note a couple of things concerning servanthood from the above introductions:

1. Being a Servant is not Shameful

The above apostles all wore the badge of servanthood with pride.
How do we know this?
They identified themselves first as servants, then apostles. If it were a shameful thing to be a servant, they would not have identified themselves as such.

2. You cannot walk in the fullness of who God wants you to be until you submit yourself as a servant.

The prerequisite for them to be sent out as apostles was that they had to be servants.
God was not going to entrust them with His work if they were not going to be submitted to His leadership.

3. Servants serve others

Servants work for the Lord in the service of others.
What do I mean?
God is concerned about souls. He sends His servants to reach out to souls. You don’t wear the servant badge for the sake of it. You wear the servant badge for the sake of your assignment.

The Prerequisite For Becoming A Servant

Before you can be a servant, you must first be a child of God.
Why?
You cannot faithfully serve a master you do not believe in.

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave them the right to become children of God–children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
John 1:12-13

If you are not yet a child of God, you cannot be a servant of God. Servants are not limited to those who stand on the pulpit and preach.

You can be a pilot and a servant. You can be a news anchor and a servant. You can be a stay-at-home parent and a servant.You can be a CEO and a servant.

Being a servant simply means you are committed to advancing His interests wherever He sends you. It means walking in obedience to His instructions.

Servants of God are Friends of God

You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant doesn’t know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
John 15:14-15

First came servanthood then friendship. Yet, the friends of Jesus continued to refer to themselves as ‘servants’. Note the prerequisite Jesus gave them for being His friends: ‘You are my friends if you do what I command.’

A Helper

But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name[in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.
John 14:26

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 16:13

because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Romans 8:14

The Lord knows you cannot serve Him by your own strength. Even our best efforts would result in failure.
That is why He has given you the gift of Himself, in the form of the Holy Spirit. He will help you serve God and do accomplish the purpose for which He sends you.

Your Turn

Are you a child of God?
If you aren’t would you like to be?
Repeat this prayer in accordance to Romans 10:9

Jesus, I believe in my heart and I confess with my mouth that You are the Son of God. I believe that you came in the flesh, died for me on the cross and resurrected on the third day. Today, I recognize that I am a sinner in need of Your salvation. Come into my heart, wash me with your precious blood and be Lord in my life. I thank you, because now I am saved, in Jesus Name, Amen.

If you said that prayer, congratulations! Welcome to the family of the Father! I encourage you to join a church that is grounded on Biblical teaching and join their discipleship and/or Bible study classes so that you can know more about Jesus.

If you are a child of God, but not yet a servant, will you make the decision to become a servant today?