FAITHFUL
INTENTIONAL TEACHABLE SERVANTS
BREAD
10 Each
one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully
administering God's grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
22 But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness
and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
25 But
the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and
continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will
be blessed in what he does. James 1:25
(NIV)
12 Blessed
is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he
will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12 (NIV)
10 For
Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and
laws in Israel. Ezra 7:10 (NIV)
11 Now
the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they
received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day
to see if what Paul said was true. 12 Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of
prominent Greek women and many Greek men. Acts 17:11-12 (NIV)
15 Do
your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not
need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
19 My
dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to
speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man's anger does not bring about the righteous
life that God desires. 21 Therefore,
get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept
the word planted in you, which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to the
word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:19-22 (NIV)
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one
and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve both God and Money.” Matthew
6:24 (NIV)
34 “How
will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy
Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative
is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is
in her sixth month. 37 For
nothing is impossible with God.” 38 “I am the Lord's servant,” Mary answered. “May it be
to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her. Luke 1:34-38 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Every
time we resist the slightest temptation, we honor God. Every time we overcome even the smallest
problem by trusting and obeying our Lord Jesus, God is glorified in our
lives. Whenever we choose character over
convenience, faithfulness over ease, or honesty over deceit, we bring honor to
the Lord Himself.” Robert
J. Morgan
“Faithfulness rarely
feels heroic; it feels much more like showing up and hanging in. It is a matter
of going to our cell, whatever form that might take, and letting it teach us
what it will. Availing himself (Brother Lawrence) to consistent faithfulness
yielded the blessing of both proficiency and presence—the presence of God—right
there in midst of the monotony of dirty pots and pans.” Margaret Guenther
“To understand and embrace God's vision, we must first ask Him for it.
The Bible tells us we have not because we ask not--and sometimes when we do
ask, we ask with selfish rather than God-honoring motives. But God promises us, 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable
things you do not know' (Jeremiah 33:3). God wishes to reveal Himself to
us, but we must first ask with pure motives and persistence. The word for ‘call’ in this verse means to do
so continuously. We are commanded to ask continuously until God reveals His
vision to us. Persistence teaches us to rely on God while He is shaping our
hearts to delight in Him. God does a
wonderful work in us when we seek His will. As we seek Him for His will, we
learn who He is and begin to delight in Him and His will rather than our own.
As He becomes the desire of our hearts, we are aligned and ready to receive His
will and vision for our lives.” Michael Youssef
“The Bible teacher who becomes a substitute for diligent
study on the part of those who hear him is a hindrance and not a help.” A. W. Pink
“Thou
hast made me, be pleased to new-make me. I am thy work, complete me; I am
thy harp, tune me; I am thy child, teach me.”
Charles H. Spurgeon
“I’m
seeing how robust and cogent, how versatile, sweeping and effective is the
message and life of our Jesus. He fits. He is not ‘foreign’ to any person no
matter their origins. His teachings work in ANY culture. His Being and Life
resonates to all who hear of Him, to all who hear Him. He infuses and changes us forever.” Paula
Kirby
“Jesus is the great teacher of lowliness of heart. Witness
the Master taking a towel and washing His disciples' feet! Isn't it true to say
that on earth He was always stripping off first one robe of honor and then
another until, naked, He was fastened to the cross and emptied
Himself, pouring out His lifeblood, giving it up for all of us, until they laid
Him penniless in a borrowed grave?” C. H. Spurgeon
“He alone has exhibited a life in which
absolutely no fault could be found; and promulgated a teaching to which
absolutely no exception can be taken.
Admittedly He is the One perfect Man – the ideal of humanity, His
doctrine the one absolute teaching. The
world has known none other, none equal.” Alfred Edersheim
“While in the Old
Testament the mediating roles of prophet, priest and king were fulfilled by
separate individuals, all three offices now coalesce in the One Person of
Jesus. It is His glory given Him by the
Father, to be in this way the all sufficient Savior. We who believe are called to understand this
and to show ourselves His people by obeying Him as our King, trusting Him as
our Priest and learning from Him as our Prophet and Teacher. To center on Jesus Christ in this way is the
hallmark of authentic Christianity.” J.I. Packer
“What ultimately
keeps our motives biblically prioritized and holy before God is the profound
conviction that obeying God will merit us nothing. This is why Jesus tells us that, when we have
done all that we should do, we are still unprofitable servants. Jesus does not nullify the value of duty in
order to dissuade us from serving God, but to keep is from depending on duty to
gain God’s acceptance. When we
understand that our works in themselves earn us no merit with God, then the
only reason to do those works is love for Him.
Thus we learn to serve God not for personal gain but for His glory-not
for love of self but for love of the Savior.”
Bryan Chapell
“Though
salvation is not by the works of the law, yet the blessings which are promised
to obedience are not denied to the faithful servants of God. The curses our Lord took away when He was
made a curse for us, but no clause of blessing has been abrogated. We are to note and listen to the revealed
will of the Lord, giving our attention not to portions of it but to ‘all these
words.’ There must be no picking and
choosing but an impartial respect to all that God has commanded. This is the road of blessedness for the
Father and for His children. The Lord’s
blessing is upon His chosen to the third and fourth generation. If they walk uprightly before Him, He will
make all men know that they are a seed which the Lord has blessed.” Charles H. Spurgeon
HEART
SAVOR
- · God desires for His children to be faithful, intentional, teachable servants both for their good and His glory never one surpassing the other. The servant never out gives the Master.
- · I do not want this one life I have to be wasted therefore I must be intentional in the way I live.
- · I am wired to serve one master and if it is not God it is the wrong master.
