Understanding a Servant’s Role

Thursday, July 21, 2016

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?”

Luke 17:7–8

Our modern view of Christianity has been affected by society so that we often find ourselves thinking of our service to God as a buffet where we pick and choose what we do. That is not the biblical model of servanthood. In Jesus’ day a servant was expected to do what he was told without exception. There was no choice in the matter or consideration for the preferences of the servant. The tasks were assigned, and they were expected to be carried out in full.

God is not just our friend, but also our Lord and Master, and He has the right to full and complete obedience from us. Someone illustrated this truth by drawing a contrast between two ship captains. If you have ever been on a cruise ship, you know that the captain and crew are dedicated to providing whatever is necessary for the passengers to have a pleasant experience. They are there to serve the passengers. Anyone who has been in the Navy, however, knows the captain in a very different role. The captain of a battleship expects every order to be carried out to the letter by those under his command.

The great missionary David Livingstone wrote, “God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours.” Rather than insisting on getting our way and avoiding anything that might be unpleasant, we must yield ourselves fully to God’s control.

Today's Growth Principle
Unless we are willing and ready to do everything that God commands, we cannot truly call ourselves His servants.

Old Testament Reading

Psalm 31-32

PSALM 31

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

¹ In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. ² Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. ³ For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me. ⁴ Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength. ⁵ Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth. ⁶ I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD. ⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities; ⁸ And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room.

⁹ Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly. ¹⁰ For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed. ¹¹ I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me. ¹² I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel. ¹³ For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life. ¹⁴ But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God. ¹⁵ My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. ¹⁶ Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake. ¹⁷ Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. ¹⁸ Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

¹⁹ Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! ²⁰ Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. ²¹ Blessed be the LORD: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city. ²² For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee. ²³ O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. ²⁴ Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

PSALM 32

A Psalm of David, Maschil.

¹ Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. ² Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. ³ When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. ⁴ For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. ⁵ I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. ⁶ For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.

⁷ Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. ⁸ I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. ⁹ Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. ¹⁰ Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about. ¹¹ Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

New Testament Reading

Acts 23:16-35

¹⁶ And when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul. ¹⁷ Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him. ¹⁸ So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee. ¹⁹ Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me? ²⁰ And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly. ²¹ But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee. ²² So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me. ²³ And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night; ²⁴ And provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor. ²⁵ And he wrote a letter after this manner: ²⁶ Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting. ²⁷ This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman. ²⁸ And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council: ²⁹ Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds. ³⁰ And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell. ³¹ Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³² On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle: ³³ Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him. ³⁴ And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia; ³⁵ I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall.

Proverbs Reading

Proverbs 22

¹ A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. ² The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all. ³ A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. ⁴ By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life. ⁵ Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them. ⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. ⁷ The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. ⁸ He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail. ⁹ He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor. ¹⁰ Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease. ¹¹ He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend. ¹² The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor. ¹³ The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. ¹⁴ The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein. ¹⁵ Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. ¹⁶ He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. ¹⁷ Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. ¹⁸ For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. ¹⁹ That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. ²⁰ Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, ²¹ That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee? ²² Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: ²³ For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them. ²⁴ Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: ²⁵ Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul. ²⁶ Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. ²⁷ If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee? ²⁸ Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set. ²⁹ Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.