God’s Servant

We have lost the concept of the word ‘servant’ therefore few of us know what it means to be a servant – let alone God’s servant. In the four Servant Songs of Isaiah, God shows us what it means to be God’s Servant!

A servant is one who submits to the will of his master. A slave does also. The difference is a servant can chose whom he will serve where a slave cannot! In a sense we are slaves as we have been purchased by The Blood of Jesus but we are really servants choosing whom we will serve (God or Satan) and how we will serve (lukewarm, mediocrely or wholeheartedly)!

The servant must at times do things which are unpalatable, which seem to have no rhyme, reason or purpose. He may be exposed to hardship or suffering or the mockery of man. He must accept these in the belief that God is in charge and that he will be rewarded, but not necessarily in this life! He must trust God completely and not his own emotions or reason!

The problem with churches is that people choose how to serve and do not sufficiently study The Word to see how God wants them to serve!

The Servant Songs show us how God desires His servant to serve!!!

The servant is commissioned (Is 42.1–4)

God elects you to be a servant. You do not assume this authority by yourself otherwise you do not have God to support you in the work you do. He chooses His servant, empowers (anoints Him for the service) and puts His Spirit in him, and because he has been elected by God, he also has God’s authority in this area. God also supports His servant in the work he has been given.

This shows the danger of assuming a ministry and not being appointed by God. The person assuming a ministry is not authorized or empowered by God and will only work in the power of the ‘flesh"! The results of this ministry will not stand the test of time, unlike that of God’s chosen, elected servant.

This is the problem of many immature people who seek to be a minister in a church but really do not know what God wants them to do and assume they are to be a minister. Often this is sought unconsciously to bolster their self-esteem so not are they not mature sufficiently to minister but also bring in to their ministry problems and hurts of the past that will hinder their being effective in their work.

No wonder ministers burn out and resign as they use up all their fleshly energy and have no spiritual energy left. No wonder churches do not function properly ads the minister tries to be holy, meet the need of his own problems, run a family and try and try and meet the needs of the denomination in that local church he is in charge of.

The servant will not glorify or promote himself or his God-given ministry which is why God chooses him. He always points to Jesus when asked how things happened or why he is so ‘successful’.

The sole purpose of the servant is to serve Jesus. The servant will not destroy what remains spiritually of a persons faith in God but will encourage and support what is left of their faith. He will help them and sustain them so they can cope with the trial they are going through and plead their cause so truth and justice is done! He does all He can to help people know Jesus and to mature in Him and show the Love of God to people in all He does.

Because he has God supporting him he will not be discouraged and will accomplish the purpose God has set for him!

The purpose of the servant is described Is 42.5–9

The servant is to live a life that exemplifies the relationship people are to have with God and will teach people how to have this relationship! He will open the eyes of the spiritually blind and will rescue captives from the prison Satan has them in so they will be able to enjoy this new relationship with God.

God does so that the glory usurped by Satan is restored to Him. God will not let another have His glory – servant, demon or those rejecting His authority. The servant is used to restore to God the worship that is due to God by the people of the nations.

The servant is the messenger of God revealing God to the nations. He will reveal the new relationship God has with those who will accept His authority!

The commissioning of the servant is described Is 42.1–6

While the servant was being formed in his mother’s womb God called him to be a servant of His. God prepared him for ministry. He polished his speech and character and hid him until the appointed time of his ministry.

He told His servant that he will glorify God by the way he serves God! People will see that God is the source of his actions and give Glory to God because of the way the servant expresses God through his life!

The servant does not care about the rewards of men or earthly riches but is content to be rewarded by God in heaven. God will strengthen him in this and because of his life, many will be reconciled to God!

The servant realizes the honour he has received to be called a servant of God and that God should call him to reconcile people to Him! He is a light to the world as he tells the truth of God’s desire for a close relationship with people.

The servant’s reliance on God is spoken of Is 50.4–9

The servant relies on God to do what He has promise and as a result the attitude of the servant is different to that of the peoples around him!

The servant uses his tongue wisely. Each morning he wakes to the voice of God as he spends time listening to Him and learning from Him. He was submissive to the Will of God and accepted the rebukes and instruction God gave to him!

He was willing to suffer shame and hardship if it would help someone be reconciled to God or would further serve the purposes of God!

He relies on God to vindicate him and protect him in God’s chosen timing and not his own. This may mean death before vindication and deliverance, but this does not concern him as the purposes of God are greater than his own purposes!

His steadfastness in God’s purpose is declared Is 52.13 – 53.12

God lets His servant be treated so badly that people will wonder at what happens and believe that God has cursed His servant. But the servant accepts this suffering and continues to do the will of God! God then uses the servant to save many and exalts him in His timing. This path of God’s abasement and restoration is the only path that leads to God alone being able to lift up is servant as the servant is not in a position for himself to recover and others are not in a position to help him do so! Only God is able to lift His servant from the position He has let him fall too!

It is at this lowest point that great servants are made or lost, according to the dependence of the person on God, or his own abilities, for his restoration!

God will eventually exalt His servant because the servant has acted wisely! Kings of the earth will listen in silence and amazement at what has happened to the servant and what the message of the servant is. They will be attracted by who he is and what he has to say rather than his appearance.

The servant will mature before God but will be treated badly by men who will not understand what God is doing through him. He will have a burden for the lost and will suffer in his attempts to save them and be used too reconcile them to God!

He will not defend himself or claim any rights as the only rights he has will have been given him by God! He also considers the purposes of God of more importance than his own life and pleasure! But God takes pleasure in his suffering because of the attitude of he servant to Him and because of what the servant has achieved through his obedient death!

The servant will see the fruits of his labour in eternity and will be satisfied and God will exalt him for all to see!

Suffering is the path of God and the servant is called to suffer! We will be true servants of Jesus when we listen to God as Jesus did and have as our priorities the purposes and will of God at the expense of our own personal pleasures and enjoyments!!

The true servant of God delights to do the will of God and rejoices that he is found worthy to do the work of God. He gladly embraces trials and tribulations for the privilege of being used by His Lord and Master.

The will of his God is more important then his own will and like a true servant he places the will and desires of his master over his own.

He knows he can only do his master’s will because his master gives him the authority to serve him and in his serving is the expression of the master found, as he represents his master by the way he serves.

He knows that because of the faithful way he serves his master, his master delights in him and will gladly and joyfully reward him.

Along with the concept of being set aside for the master’s exclusive use and his choosing to serve the master, is the concept of holiness – the position of the servant’s master in the realm of things.

God is Holy – set apart from all creation, pure and complete in himself!

We are sanctified – set apart for God. Holiness is not in our nature. We are only in a correct (righteous) relationship with a Holy God because of what Jesus has done.

The servant’s status and relationship depends on what the master allows and depends at times on how the servant relates to his master. There are times the master will ignore the servant’s need as he requires him to serve him – but he still feeds and clothes the servant.

If the servant starts complaining about his own needs and rights, ahead of his master’s requirements, the master will no longer be able to use him. Thus the servant who wants his masters rewards will put his master’s needs – whether directed to by his master or not – ahead of his own.

Happy is the servant whose joy is to serve is master and please him because he loves his master more than himself – he will be rewarded. But those who insist on their own rights ahead of their masters’, will be cast out into the darkness of the night!

Jesus told us that leaders are servants and that the role of a minister of Jesus, and thus a servant, was to be desired if you would be ‘great’ in the Kingdom of The Father.

This servant attitude reflects that of God and by this you show you are His servant reflecting His nature.

God keeps us all alive (both the good and the wicked) and provides for our needs. He does not force Himself on us as He has given us free will. He guides us to help us make the right decisions but gives us the freedom to reject His advice. This is the second aspect of a servant. He is a teacher. The true teacher is also a servant.

Hence the role of a servant is defined

Thus was the nature of God’s servant, Jesus - the greatest servant of all

Christians say they are servants of God! The truth is anyone who obeys God is His servant.

A servant is one who obeys the instructions of another. Demons are God’s servants as they must obey Him and His guidelines. The difference is that we do it out of love for what Jesus and The Father has done for us. They do it out of necessity

You would be a great servant for God? Obey Him in the little, daily things of life and as you prove your faithfulness He will entrust you with more!

A Christian, in whom God’s Love has matured, is really only happy in two circumstances:

Otherwise they are frustrated as they want to minister but are not and want to spend time with God and are not able to.

If you love a person you are willing to suffer for them (putting aside personal and selfish interests for their own good.

If you really love them you will die for them.

How much you really love Jesus and others will be shown by how much you are willing to suffer for them - but not out of a sense of duty or fear of hell, but out of love for them, His Name and His purposes.

Love serves because it can see the benefit for another and is willing to pay the cost for that to occur. By this is the Love of God shown in our lives that we serve others because it benefits them and not with any concerned about unnecessary selfish interests not being met.

True Love does not do for another what they should be doing for themselves but does for another what it cannot do for itself and needs to be able to do.

Most people want to do big, important things for Jesus. This is often so they will either feel they are doing Gods will adequately of for purposes of self-esteem.

God is interested only in the relationship and the love that flows from it. Nothing you do can change this. All Jesus requires of us is to relate to Him in love and do what He gives you well - no matter how small or trivial it appears to be!

Love is faithful and is a good steward of what is entrusted to it and does what is required without thought of self or gain and thinks only of serving others and from this obtains its pleasure. Reward is not important, only the joy and benefit it gives to another.

In the Kingdom of God no work is trivial or unimportant if it is done for The King. It is necessary for The Kingdom to function properly. Where love is concerned there is no work to manual or trivial!

The picture of The Servant of God

God:

The servant:

God prepare and provides for His servant. All that He asks of His servant is trusting obedience and faithfulness. The true servant of God lives out Mat 6:33 in all things.