Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
October 9, 2005 - W0541

Today, we will continue in our series about Heroes of Legendary Faith. We will focus on David who is included as one of the mentors mentioned in Hebrews 11. Do you know that David is mentioned over 1000 times in the Bible? In fact, besides Jesus, he is mentioned the most. The people of Israel called him: King, Warrior, Giant Slayer; but Heaven most commonly called him, Servant.

What does it mean to be a servant of the Lord? When you hear servanthood, you may equate it with volunteering; while volunteering is included in the definition of serving, it is far greater than that. The Lord refers to David through the prophet Ezekiel. “…I will set over them… My servant David, and he will feed them… and be their shepherd” (Ezek. 34:23). He is called a servant, one who will carry out God’s purposes. 

Again and again, in the Old and New Testament, we read that David “inquired of the Lord,” asking the Lord for direction. David understood that he was created to serve the purposes of God, and he followed through: “…David… had served the purpose of God in his own generation…” (Acts 13:36).

You see, David recognized that we function best when we operate in the way God created us to work. He created us to serve His purposes, but we often turn this around and want God to serve our purposes and instead of conforming to His image, we desire the Lord to fit into ours. When this happens, life goes bad. We must choose to remember that we have been…

CREATED TO SERVE THE PURPOSES OF GOD

1.    GOD IS THE CREATOR. WE ARE THE CREATED.

“For in Him we live, and move, and have our being…” (Acts 17:28 KJV).

It’s because of Him we were created; without Him, we wouldn’t even exist. We must remember that He is our Creator and created us because He loves us so much. He also created physical laws and principles such as gravity, inertia, light, and aerodynamics. Not only that, He controls the physical realm of our universe (see Prov. 33:6-9).

More importantly, He created spiritual laws: laws about relationships, blessings and curses, truth and error. The Lord says, “…I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live...” (Deut. 30:19). He put laws into place that define how life is going to be both physically and spiritually and he reminds us that “…He… upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3).

We can choose to cooperate with the laws He fashioned or we can defy them and suffer the consequences. We will either embrace the purposes of God and serve the Creator or reject His purposes and serve the created (i.e. ourselves). If we function according to our God’s plans and obey His laws and commands, we will serve the purposes of God.

The Lord gives us freedom of choice, but as we see in Deut. 30:19-20, out of His great love for us, the Lord begs and compels us to choose servanthood so that we may live. You see, although God has created us to serve Him, being a servant requires a choice; therefore…

2.  WE MUST CHOOSE WHOM WE WILL SERVE.

“…If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). In other words, just as David chose to be a servant, we too must choose whom we will serve. Although the public regarded him as King, David’s main identity rested in His service to the Lord. He is even mentioned in Hebrews 11, not because He was a great leader, but because He was a servant of the Lord. We are reminded that no matter what people call us (e.g. boss, chief, etc.); the best title we could receive is servant for this is what makes us heroes of legendary faith.

To appreciate the idea of servanthood, imagine you serve a billionaire and oversee all of his property and possessions. You are treated well and have use of everything he owns. Yet what if someone asks for some of it? (Remember that you do not own any of it, you merely steward them.) Your response would be that you must inquire of the master even if this person tries to manipulate you by inflating your ego and reminding you that you are in charge of the property. In the same way, there were moments in David’s life when he needed to inquire of the Lord first. However, there were also times that he knew God’s heart in the matter because God granted him great wisdom.

Like David, there are some decisions that we must seek His will and through His word will reveal direction and insight. Other times because we know God’s heart in a particular area, we can confidently act upon it in a manner that is pleasing to Him.

Be careful, because these are opportune moments for the devil. He will antagonize you to break free from God’s restrictions. He will mock your need to inquire of the Master and will tempt you to make choices outside of God’s purposes for your life. He will use tactics that will target your pride and trick you into thinking that when you live life on your own terms and with your own mind, you are free. But what you need to remember is…

·        THE ENEMY’S OFFER OF FREEDOM IS NEVER WHAT IT SEEMS!

Consider what the enemy said to Eve, in the Garden of Eden. “’You won’t die!’ the serpent hissed. ‘God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil” (Gen. 3:4-5 NLT).

We see here how the devil used the issue of freedom to trick Eve into making her own decision. He taunted her and distorted the truth. He lured her into thinking that by eating of the fruit she would have some selfish gain. The devil continues this kind of deceit in millions of lives today, belittling Christians’ desires to seek God’s will and offering his brand of freedom. Recall when Eve ate of the fruit, did she gain freedom? No, she was now serving the devil’s purposes. No matter what, we will serve someone; it may be the Lord, or it may be the devil. We will serve somebody. The enemy subtly tempts us to think we will be free when in fact we will be enslaved. He plays on our fleshly desire to be little gods – to do what we want in order to be “free” from consulting our Creator. This is exactly what happened to Lucifer who wanted to be like god (Is. 14, Ezek. 28).

The enemy will make serving the Lord seem like slavery or drudgery. However, the Lord didn’t create us to serve in a demeaning way but to serve in a meaningful way following His purposes and laws (both in the physical and spiritual realm). We’re either going to serve His laws or face the consequences of disobedience. And the consequences of this sin may last for a moment or for a lifetime.

The Lord desires for us to choose servanthood because when we serve His purposes, we will understand that there is an awesome promise ahead: “'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11). There’s no greater vision, no greater calling, no greater identity than to be known as a servant of God. When the devil says we can be free by disregarding the Lord, keep in mind what Jesus taught, “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin’” (John 8:34).

When we choose to disobey the Lord’s calling, we are actually choosing to serve the enemy and it will ruin and control you. On the other hand, when we understand His ways, His calling, His commands and observe them, we will be a servant of God. Then be assured that…

3.    GOD WILL CARE FOR HIS SERVANTS BETTER THAN THE WORLD CARES FOR ITS KINGS!

“For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Ps. 84:10). In other words, it is far better to be a servant in God’s house than to dwell in a nice kingly tent of the wicked because God takes care of His servants far better than the world takes care of its kings. We can try to live by the world’s ways, our own intuition, or by what seems street-wise; but it is far better to inquire of the Lord and serve Him. Though David was a king and could have done whatever he wanted, he chose overall to be God’s servant. This is why we find him in Hebrews 11 and by his life, we are encouraged to see how glorious it is to be a servant of the Lord.

Where do you get to know God’s heart? How do we know His ways so that we can choose His purposes? One of the things that we emphasize here is daily devotions. As we do devotions, we begin to learn His heart and soon are able to make wise decisions without needing to sit for several minutes contemplating God’s will. As we get to know His heart and obey His purposes, people will see our actions as a reflection of Jesus. They’ll say things like: that’s what the Lord would say, that’s how the Lord would think, or that’s what the Lord would do. For many, we are the only Jesus they will see or the only Bible they will ever read and as we reflect His heart, they’ll see past “us” and see our Father. ”Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

If you are not already doing daily devotions, I want to encourage you to begin now. Don’t get discouraged if you miss a day or two, just jump back in on the day you’re on. Analogous to eating, if you miss a meal or two, you don’t give up on the idea of eating. Additionally, as you read, journal! It doesn’t need to be long; just write what God is speaking to your heart. Some may ask, “What if I don’t understand 90% of what I’m reading?” Then, just write about the 10% you do understand and be faithful to obey that 10%.  If you’re faithful with little God can entrust you to be faithful with much. Why should God give you understanding of more verses if you’re not responding to and applying the ones that you do comprehend? When you learn to apply his heart, you’ll begin serving His purposes and you’ll be known as a servant of God. And, God has reserved encouraging promises for His servants…

“How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you” (Ps. 128:1-2). The secret to happiness is walking in His ways (i.e. obeying the the Lord and serving His purposes). You can go to church and even look like a Christian without actually serving the Lord. When you understand what it means to serve the Lord, you’ll find true joy and like David, your main identity will rest in being a servant.

“No weapon that is formed against you will prosper. …This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord…” (Is. 54:17). He will protect and keep you safe because you are His servant.

We were created to serve the purposes of God: He is the creator and we are the created. Though the enemy offers freedom, it’s never what it seems. You see, God takes amazing care of his servants, much more than you’ll ever realize and the benefits, rewards, and results of following His principles and ways will be fruitfulness. The best thing we can do THIS day is to choose to serve the Lord because He takes care of His servants wonderfully.

Let me end with this story about a boy who carefully carved a sailboat. He invested much time on it, fitted it with a sail, and balanced it so it wouldn’t topple over. He even put a keel on it. He wanted to sail his boat when the rains came and when the streams would overflow through the streets. One day the rains were strong and the current quick. He excitedly placed his boat in the rapid waters, but because of the fast flow he couldn’t keep up with the boat. Unfortunately, his beloved sailboat disappeared. He was very sad, but two weeks later in a store window, he was overjoyed when he saw his very own sailboat. He told the store owner that it was his boat, but the store owner said the boy needed to pay $22. He went out dejected, but suddenly with great enthusiasm, he began to go door to door doing little jobs. After 2 days, he had earned $22 and rushed to the store and purchased the sailboat. The boy grabbed the boat, hugged it, looked at it and said, “From now on, I’m going to take really good care of you because I’ve owned you twice now. Not only did I create you, but I bought you back.”

Just like the little boy in this story, the Lord has taken great pleasure not only in creating us but in buying us back from the enemy. He loves us very much and knows everything about us. He has a plan for our future, but first we need to choose to be His servant. His choice is to give us a bright future; our choice is to serve His purposes.

Discussion Questions

1. When you hear the word Serve, how do you feel? What does it mean to you?
2. The question in Deut. 30:19 may seem like a “no brainer;” however, how often do you unknowingly or even purposely choose to serve yourself? When does this usually happen? How can you avoid this?
3. Is there really such a thing as complete freedom from someone or something? Why or why not?
4. We get to know God’s will/purposes for our lives through our daily devotions. How are your daily times with the Lord? What are you learning?
5. What does it look like to serve the Lord? How do you serve God with your life?
6. Consider how God takes care of you as you serve Him. Share some of the promises from God’s word that have been meaningful to you as you have followed His ways.

Mahalo to volunteer writer, Kristi Murai – a woman who reflects God’s image by serving His purposes. Well done! ! !