From Sons to Servants

Matt 8:6-13 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

Rom 6:16-19 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

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Gal 4:3-9 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

{Brief Adlib of what was covered in "From Servant to Son"} The church in Galatia had been redeemed from being slaves to sin to being sons of God, and Paul reaffirmed this fact but then went on to the point that I would like to make today:

8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. 9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

The Galations had become sons of God but were still trying to be servants of sin! They had become so preoccupied with the fact that they were sons of God that they didn't feel like they needed to serve anymore! There are many Christians that are the same today. They are so proud of being sons of God that they don't really feel the need to have the attitude of a servant. We are sons of God, and thank God for it, but we must serve God as diligently as we have served the world. Let me show you the importance of being a

son with a servant's attitude.

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{Briefly adlib the story of the prodigal son and lead into the scriptures below. The parable represents the very concept that we have been talking about the difference between the Jews and the Gentiles}

Luke 15:17-24 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

But somewhere in sin, the son got a revelation. While he was sitting in the pig pen, he got to thinking, "even the servants back at Daddy's house get better meals and treated better than this." And he decided to go back. When He went back, he went with the attitude of just being a servant. To his surprise, when he went back his father accepted him back and gave him a new robe and allowed him to become a son again! But this time the son got more than just his sonship, he also received the estate ring signifying that he would have the firstborn blessing. He would receive much more than he had in the past, he would now receive ALL of the power, authority, and blessing of the Father. What changed? He was still a son in the house. Why did he receive greater blessings? Because he had gone into sin and returned? No, because if that were true, then in order to be blessed by God more, we would all have to go into sin a while and come back. So why the greater blessing? Because the SON came back with the attitude of a SERVANT! Do you want to know the secret to God's best blessings? Do you want the best that heaven has in store? Do you know what God is really looking for? A SON that is willing to have the ATTITUDE of a SERVANT! To be willing to serve God by serving your fellow brother and sister. To be willing to serve the church, and each other. I know it seems a little below you to do that, for you ARE a child of the King of Kings, but God doesn't want you to only be a son, but to be a son with the attitude of a servant! That's why God said that:

1 Pet 5:5-6Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Matt 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Isa 29:19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

Ps 149:4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.

Ps 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

See a pattern here? God exalts the humble and the meek! Why because they are sons with the attitude of a servant!

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Jacob was a son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham. Both Jacob and his twin brother Esau had their problems, for Esau did not care at all for the things of God or the promises of God, and Jacob was a deceiver with his own intentions at heart. You probably know the familiar story well, how that Jacob put animal skin upon his arms and faked the voice of his brother to fool his blind father, Isaac into blessing him with the birthright. When his brother Esau found out that he had been scammed, Jacob, the now promised son had to run for his life. He went to some distant kinfolks and their agreed to work for Laban as a servant. After a month, they sat down to discuss what his wages would be. In that month, he had fallen in love with the youngest sister the beautiful Rachael, and agreed to work for seven years to be able to marry her.

Gen 29:20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

They seemed a few days unto Jacob! Why because he was a love slave: not serving for carnal wages but for love!

On his wedding night, Laban pulled the old switcheroo. In the dark, candlelighted tent where the wedding feast was being held, Laban led Leah, heavily veiled down the aisle to Jacob who took her into the dark bedchamber and did not discover until morning that it was the ugly sister, Leah! After one week, Laban gave Rachael to Jacob as well as a wife, but Jacob had to serve seven more years.

There is a couple of things I would like to point out about the story: first, Laban was willing to resort to trickery to keep Jacob as a servant, so Jacob must have been fulfilling his servanthood with all his heart and soul! Second, I believe it was the perfect will of God for Jacob to marry both Leah and Rachael, because Jacob had been a deceiver and he then reaped what he had sown. Also Jacob was to become the Father of Israel and the 12 tribes of Israel would come from his 12 sons. Rachael had health problems and only managed to have two sons and died during the delivery of the second. Leah on the other hand was a baby-making machine.

But more importantly, the promised son, Jacob, learned what it was like to work as a servant. He learned what it was like to serve the labor of love. The son developed the attitude of the servant, and it was AFTER the 14 years of serving that God came to where Jacob was and confronted him, and wrestled with him, and blessed him, and completely changed his nature.

Gen 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

It wasn't until AFTER the son learned to have the attitude of a servant, that God was able to complete His perfect will in Jacob's life, to completely change his sinful nature, and to bless him beyond measure! The Son became a Servant!

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Jacob's beloved son, Joseph, the eldest of his beloved Rachael, was treated very special. Despite having 10 older sons by Leah and the handmaids, when Joseph was born, Jacob let it be known that Joseph would be the one who was favored. Because Joseph was the favored son, the other brothers began to murmur against him and plotted to see him destroyed. To make matters worse, Jacob gave Joseph a coat of many colors which signified that he considered Joseph a "higher class" than the other brothers and Jacob would send the older brothers to work in the field each day while allowing Joseph to play around the house wearing his superior coat. When God began to give Joseph dreams about how that the other brothers would serve him, the brothers got fed up with it and sold Joseph into slavery.

Gen 37:36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.

The Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar who was a high-ranking officer of Pharaoh. Joseph became a --you guessed it-- servant. It was as a servant that Joseph learned what it was like to be faithful and righteous even if it meant you went to jail, when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him. I'm sure their were many nights that Joseph wondered how it could be God's will for him to be there in the dungeon, but it was the perfect will of God for him to be sold into slavery, for their in Egypt, the son became a servant!

You know the story, how that Joseph came out on top, he became the 2nd in command of all of Egypt. He saved his own family from the famine and then all of his brothers and father moved into Goshen the best, most fertile part of Egypt! As long as Joseph lived, the family enjoyed the finest of everything that Egypt had to offer, the best education, the best food, the best homes, the best wages, the best entertainment! Why because the promised Son got the attitude of a servant!

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Fast forward to a day that God has rejected King Saul as king because of disobedience. The Word of the Lord comes to Samuel and tells him to go to the house of one named Jesse, and I will show you which of his sons will be the next king. Samuel gets a bullock for sacrifice, and a horn of oil, and goes to Jesse's house and tells him what God has said. Jesse with pride gets his best sons, the ones that he is proud of the strongest and begins to pass them before Samuel. The old prophet watched the first son pass before him. Eliab (God is my Father) was his name. What a name! What a fine looking young man, surely this must be the one, but God speaks an says "no, God looks on the heart of man." The next son Abinadab (my Father is noble), passed and again God said "no." Shammah (astonishment) passed by and he was aptly named for by now both the prophet and Jesse are astonished. In fact 7 sons all passed before Samuel and God each time said "no."

1 Sam 16:11-12And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. 12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

Their was another son that Jesse was ashamed of. His name was David and he was probably the result of an illegitimate affair of Jesse. David was quite a bit younger than the other brothers and looked quite different having his mother's, whoever she was, complexion rather than his daddy's. While the other brothers had been at home when the prophet had arrived, David was doing what he always had to do: shepherding sheep. His daddy preferred it that way so that he was out of sight. But even though he was the despised son, David had developed a relationship with God. While learning what it was like to have be a servant despite being a son, David had learned to humble himself and praise God! And when David, the son who had become a servant, stepped before Samuel, God said "anoint him for he is the chosen one."

You may think it a stretch to call David a servant but notice the very next verses:

1 Sam 16:17-18 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. 18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.

Why was David chosen? Because he had a servant's attitude. When Saul's servants suggested that he needed a harp player to soothe him, and Saul consented, his servants knew of David and knew how to contact him. David wasn't a servant but had a servant's heart! He was a Son with the attitude of a servant.

Psalms 89 backs this up and also outlined what God would do because he had the attitude of a servant: (Get congregation to turn to this Psalm with you)

Ps 89:19-37 Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. 20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: 21 With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him. 22 The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him. 23 And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. 24 But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted. 25 I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. 26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. 27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. 28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. 29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. 30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; 31 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; 32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. 33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. 34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. 36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. 37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

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The prophet Elijah was one of the most powerful prophets that God ever had. His seven distinct miracles included calling fire down from heaven twice and being fed by God directly through ravens for several months. The most distinct thing about Elijah was that he formed a "Bible" school to instruct prophets in the serving of the one true Jehovah God. There were many prophets in that school, but there was one who was different. His name was Elisha and he was different from the other prophets because the Bible says in I Kings 19:21 that He "ministered unto" Elijah. In fact later in Elisha's life, he was referred to as the one who "poured water on the hands of Elijah." (II Kings 3:11) Elisha was an anointed son of God, but became a willing servant to the man of God.

When Elijah was taken by a whirlwind of fiery horses and chariots, Elisha received a double portion of his anointing. When he turned with the mantle of Elijah, the Bibles states that the other prophets came to him and bowed their selves to him saying: " Elisha has received the anointing of Elijah."

Was it an accident that Elisha was chosen among all the others to have a special anointing? Was it by the random hand of God that Elisha became the successor to the mighty prophet Elijah? No. It was because the blessed and anointed prophet of God became a servant. And when the others saw the tremendous anointing that his service had brought him, they were quick THEN to become servants! God wants to use you to reach other people, but you will only do so, when they see the blessings that God pours out on you when the Son gets the attitude of the servant!

Elisha did 14 miracles exactly twice that of the great prophet Elijah. Why did God give him such power? The Son became a servant!

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When I think of all the people that Jesus Christ met in his ministry, you are talking about a who's who of people in the early church and in that day. Pilate, Herod, Peter, Paul, James, John, Caiaphas the High Priest, the woman with the issue of blood, the men who believed so strongly that Jesus could heal their friend that they literally tore off the roof to get to Jesus. Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead and Jarius' daughter who was resurrected as well. When you talk about the great healings of Jesus don't forget about the man by the pool of Bethesda and the Demoniac of Gadarenes or how about the Blind man Bartemaeus who wouldn't sit idly by but cried out until Jesus healed him. What about the boy that willingly gave his little lunch of two fishes and 5 loaves of bread to feed 5,000 men and their families, or Nicodemus who even though his life was in danger, stood up for Jesus and his disciples and helped to lovingly bury him. When you mention the gentile woman who even though Jesus insulted her, still doggedly pressed on till she got her miracle and when you talk about all the other miracles that Jesus did, we are talking about ordinary people who had tremendous faith and because of that got their prayers answered. But of all the miracles that Jesus did, and all the people that he met one stands out more than the rest.

The miracle is found in Matthew chapter 8 and was the story of a Roman soldier, a centurion who had a servant at home sick that he deeply cared about. The centurion came to Jesus and asked Him to heal the servant.

Matt 8:6-13 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

This story is different because Jesus said that it was the greatest faith in Israel! What was so different about it? Because the centurion even though he was a son of Caesar and a Roman citizen and in every way politically superior to the jews, understood the importance of being a servant. When the son of Rome approached Jesus Christ as an humble servant, Jesus marveled and said that it was the greatest faith. Then listen to what Jesus went on to say:

11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

Not only did the centurion get his miracle, but Jesus used him to teach us a tremendous lesson on great faith! The chosen Jews would be displaced why? Not because they were not sons of God, for they literally were, but because they refused to humble themselves into being a servant! But Jesus prophesied that there would be those to come from the east and the west who would sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. People who shouldn't be sons of God but who would be and that would have the great faith of the centurion: the sons of God would take on the attitude of a servant! And it would be those who would sit down with the Fathers of faith in eternal life!

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If I had the opportunity to go in a time warp and watch certain scenes of scripture unfold, then the tops of my list would be to go and see the last night of Jesus' life. To be there when Judas left and rushed into the night, to hear the master speak the last words to his disciples.

{Adlib how that Jesus was God in flesh and was the perfect Son of God and his final instructions to his disciples, after three years of teaching what he really wanted to impress upon them and for them to remember was this object lesson.}

John 13:12-17 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? 13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

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Matt 19:28-30 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. 30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Time will fail us to go into many other analogies of the son becoming a servant. I've have seen a lot of people come and go over the years. I've spent 5 years now in full-time ministry. Combine that with 3 years of Bible college and 17 years of living in a pastor's home with 3 years of that doing the youth and the music in my father's church, and I could tell you some stories of many people that have come into church and also some that have left. In every case, the ones that make it are the ones that after they become the sons of God by obeying the Gospel, they have the attitude of a servant. The ones that will help clean the church, the ones that will mow the grass, the ones that stay around after the social to take out the trash or mop the floor. The ones that will go help a brother or sister in need. It's not the pretty pentecostals that come to church looking just so and look down on everybody that make it living for God, but the ones who are willing to serve. Those who are willing to rearrange their schedules for the church, those who are willing to support the pastor even if he decides to charge hell with an ice maker. Why? Because God blesses and rewards and keeps and protects, sons who have the attitude of servants! The sons and daughters of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords who have the attitude that they will serve their fellow man and the Lord.

Some time, go read all of Christ's teachings on his second coming. Go read the rapture scriptures particularly the parables where Jesus taught the people to be ready. You will find in everyone of them, He uses the concepts of servants. Jesus is coming back, but He is coming back for SONS of God who are willing to become SERVANTS of God! From a Son to a Servant!