Greatness Through Servanthood

Yet it shall not be so with you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Matt 20:28)

The word ransom signifies a release from slavery or captivity brought about by the payment of a price. Jesus willingly provided His own life as a ransom for us—in obedience to His Father’s plan to provide salvation to all mankind.

We have been released from slavery to sin. We are free now to serve the Lord in holiness, humility and righteousness!

Living a life of true humility means that we direct all glory and praise to God. We willingly give Him all of the credit for any good things that we may have accomplished in life. We rejoice in His ways and His truths. We are glad that in giving God all of the credit, He removes every opportunity for stumbling far from us.

Truly, what do any of us have that we didn’t receive? (1 Cor 4:6-7) Everything that we have is a free gift—whether skills, pedigree, possessions, or wit.

True greatness—eternal greatness—only comes through serving Christ and our Heavenly Father by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Happily, we have free will so that we may make the choice to serve the Lord of Glory. Hallelujah!

Choose One: Pride or Humility

For the day of the Lord of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up—and it shall be brought low— (Isa 2:12)

And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. (Isa 2:17 ESV)

And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled . . . (Isa 5:15 KJV)

Those of high stature will be hewn down, and the haughty will be humbled. (Isa 10:33b)

I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. (Isa 13:11b)

The Lord of hosts has purposed it, to bring to dishonor the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth. (Isa 23:9)

Pride is defined as a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements or efforts. The feeling of pride allows no room for God’s blessings or help but sees achievements as solely their own.

Humility is defined as freedom from pride, haughtiness or arrogance. It may be an ability to acknowledge your place in life over many decades, and how it may fit it with God’s plan for you.

The Bible warns us that God Himself resists [fights, battles, attacks] the proud!

Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

Conversely, the Bible tells us that the Lord gives grace [beauty, charm, unmerited favor] to the humble. A humble person is devoid of arrogance and self-exaltation, and has willingly submitted to God and His will.

We may choose to live our life with a humble heart, mind, and attitude by being submitted to God and to His plans for us. Happily, since we have the ability which response we would like to receive from the Lord, let us choose wisely.

If we humble ourselves, He will pour out His grace upon us.

Are You Enslaved? Set Yourself Free

Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? (Rom 6:16)

Understand that you are the SLAVE of any wickedness, unrighteousness or sin that you practice! And you have, wittingly or unwittingly, offered yourself up as a slave to that sin.

Set yourself free today! Repent and receive the grace of God to live a holy life. Break the chains that bind you to evil (sin) and offer yourself, by obedience to the Word, as a slave to righteousness!

And the Son of righteousness (Jesus) will heal you, and restore you to perfect health (spiritual, mental, and physical) today.

But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. (Mal 4:2)

His Life in Us

The Holy Spirit teaches each one of us about Jesus, so that we may see Him clearly and accurately. The goal of our lives should be to know Him as He is, for only then can we represent Him faithfully.

As Jesus has dealt with each one of us in love and mercy, He desires us to reach out in that same manner to those who don’t yet know Him as their Savior. In fact, Jesus’ very own love and mercy emanates from the Christ who lives within each one of us!

Here are a few Scripture verses that support this concept:

But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. (Rom 8:10) This would be more accurately translated: “But since Christ is in you . . .”

I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. (Gal 2:20)

Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col 1:27)

We cannot have spiritual life without the One who is Life—Jesus Christ. Jesus told us Himself that He is the Way, Truth, and Life. (John 14:6)

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:12)

Since we are so honored and blessed as to have the Source of Life living within, let’s share Him freely and unashamedly with everyone whom we meet—pouring out His love and mercy upon all.

Live by Faith & Leave Doubt in the Dust

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6 NKJV)

And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.” (Mat 21:21 ESV – emphasis added)

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. (1 John 5:14 ESV)

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Heb 11:6 NKJV)

Doubt can be defined as: calling into question the truth of something; a state of uncertainty; to lack confidence in something. So what should we do with doubt?

One suggestions is to pray and ask God to give us wisdom to recognize doubt for what it is. Doubt is a disruption to and an interference with our faith in God and in His Word.

Clearly doubt does not come from God! Doubt creates disorder and commotion, and will keep our lives in constant turmoil if we allow it. But that is not a picture of the life that Jesus had in mind for each of us!

Jesus said that He came to give us abundant life. (John 10:10) He came to seek and to save the lost. (Lk 19:10; Mat 18:11) And He also came to provide a pattern for holy living for all believers. (1 Pet 2:21; Mat 11:29) Jesus lived a life full of faith in His Father, and obedience to His Father’s will.

Jesus is our example of faith, so let us boldly and unashamedly allow our faith to shine brightly and to lead us into a life of obedience to God’s Word.

That Rock Is Christ

. . . and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. (1 Cor 10:4)

At the beginning of the children of Israel’s forty-year wanderings through the wilderness, God commanded Moses to strike the rock so that the thirst-quenching waters might be miraculously provided (Exodus 17:6). At the end of the forty years (Numbers 20:11), Moses struck the rock in disobedience to God’s command simply to “speak to the rock” for its refreshing water.

The apostle Paul is reminding us in the above text that the reason they received physical water was because their spiritual Rock, Christ, had been with them, supplying their needs from start to finish.

The first rock in Exodus 17:6 is a beautiful type of the Lord Jesus Christ being smitten once on the cross, producing life-giving waters of salvation for us. The second rock (Numbers 20:11) is a type of the risen, ascended Christ, who is seated at the throne of grace, to whom we now, as believers, but speak, in order to receive daily, fresh grace. (Source: http://www.icr.org/article/that-rock-was-christ/)

We need to remember that our Savior, Jesus, has been with us from the very beginning! He doesn’t leave us—He doesn’t forget us!

We must “drink” from His life, love, and compassion daily. We want to follow His example of love for all people, and avail ourselves of His abundant grace continuously.

He is our Rock and He always lives to intercede for us. (Heb 7;25)

The Blessing of the Father

We who have made Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, are IN CHRIST.¹ These are the blessings that have been given to every believer:

Access to our Father²
A sense of connection (belonging), because we have relationship with the Father. We are His children, and are a part of His family. We have also been made heirs of God.³
An open heaven, which means that in Christ, the angels of heaven ascend and descend into heaven. Why? They are receiving and carrying out their assignments to bless, help, and deliver the children of God.⁴
We are greatly loved by God.⁵
Approval—God celebrates us!⁶
Acceptance of us as we are.⁷
The witness of the Holy Spirit—we are sealed with the Holy Spirit⁸
Healing⁹

These are just some of the Blessings of the Father that have been bestowed upon us. As we live in and experience the truth and reality of these supernatural blessings, we become whole and healed in every way—which enables us to minister as Jesus did. We minister from a place of wholeness, love and belonging. (not brokenness, heartache, and pain)

Think upon these things and their utmost importance in your life, child of the King!

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¹ Romans 6:11, 23; 8:1; 12:5 ² Eph 2:18; Heb 10:19
³ John 1:12; Rom 8:14; 2 Cor. 6:18; Gal 4:5-7; 1 John 3:1-2 ⁴ John 1:51; Mat 3:16 ⁵ John 3:16; Rom 1:7; Eph 1:6; 1 John 4:11 ⁶ Psalms 147:11; Zephaniah 3:17 ⁷ Ephesians 1:6 ⁸ Rom 8:16; Eph 1:13; 2 Cor 1:22 ⁹ Isa 53:4-5; Mat 8:17; 1 Pet 2:24

Pray the Word, Part 2

This is the conclusion of our meditation on prayer.

Pray in agreement with the Word of God. Locate several verses of Scripture that reveal God’s will to you in the area where you need help or deliverance. Meditate upon these verses in order to renew your mind in this area¹² and to build faith in your heart.^12a Then pray (decree, declare, command) according to the Scriptures you have meditated upon.

The Word of God is a firm foundation for our faith, because we know that God is trustworthy and will perform His Word. Many verses in the Bible address this truth and verify it: Joshua 23:14; 2 Chron. 6:10a; Isaiah 55:11; Jeremiah 1:12; Ezekiel 12:25; Matthew 5:18; 24:35; Mark 16:20; Luke 21:33; Romans 4:21; 2 Corinthians 1:20.

Jesus said that we should LIVE by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God!¹³ In Him (who is called the Word of God), we live and move and have our being! (Acts 17:28)

Jesus said, If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7) Allowing God’s Word to dwell in us richly will draw all of the benefits and blessings of salvation to us.

Faith comes through the Word of God,¹⁴ so praying in agreement with the Word will inspire faith to arise in our hearts.

The Word is our sword.¹⁵ Let us wield the one offensive weapon that we’ve been given, and wield it with courage, authority, and precision!

The Word is alive, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.¹⁶ The Word can divide soul and spirit, and will discern the thoughts and intents of the heart! The Word teaches us how to pray with wisdom and understanding.

The Word of God lives and abides forever!¹⁷ We should honor the Lord by honoring His Word.

Jesus, Himself, is called The Word of God in Revelations 19:13. As we pray according to the Scriptures, we are invoking (appealing to, calling upon, summoning) Jesus, our Savior!

We’ve been given POWER.¹⁸ In prayer, access the power that you have been given.

We’ve been given the KEYS of the Kingdom.¹⁹ Use these keys of binding and loosing in prayer.

We’ve been given the NAME that is above every name—the Name of Jesus.²⁰ Use the authority of the Name of Jesus in all of your prayers.

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1 Matthew 14:23 2 Matt. 21:22 3 Luke 9:29 4 Luke 18:1

5 John 17:15 6 John 17:20 7 Acts 6:4 8 Romans 8:26; 12:12

9 Philippians 4:6 10 1 Thess. 5:17 11 John 19:30 12 Romans 12:2

12a Romans 10:17 13 Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4

14 Romans 10:17 15 Ephesians 6:17 16 Hebrews 4:12 17 1 Peter 1:23

18 Acts 1:8; Matthew 10:1, 7, 8 19 Matthew 16:19 20 John 14:13, 14

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You are the Deciding Vote! In your life, you can make decisions that will help you and bless you.

Month: April 2017