A Spiritual Servant
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November 21, 2010 |
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 "I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily." (1 Corinthians 15:31)
In a fleshly sense, the apostle Paul had much to boast about. He was of the nation of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin. As to the righteousness which is in the Law, he was a 'Hebrew of Hebrews' who was found blameless. He was a citizen of Rome. He was a disciple of Gamaliel, the leading authority in the Sanhedrin in the mid-first century.
What is the reason that the apostle Paul put himself "died daily" and considered everything he had as rubbish? It is because he loved and wanted to resemble the Lord Jesus Christ who had obeyed the will of God the Father to the point of death and opened the door to salvation. The apostle Paul was able to lead countless souls to the path to salvation.
If we serve as a fleshly pastor or servant during our lifetime, we cannot be commended by the Lord on the last day. We have to become a spiritual servant that is pleasing to God like the apostle Paul. "Servants' here refer not only to pastors but also to all workers who serve the Lord. What shall we do to become a spiritual servant and bear abundant fruits?
1. We have to get rid of our pride.
A spiritual servant doesn't have any sense of 'self'. There is no desire to be lifted up and no desire to seek fleshly joy and pleasure. There is no need to be praised by others and no stubbornness that insists on personal opinion or benefit. If those attributes remain in your heart, you cannot be in peace when you are not esteemed by others. Pride is followed by some other untruths: passing judgment and condemnation on others, complaining, and not rejoicing in the truth.
When others are praised and exalted while you are reproached, if you have pride, you lose heart and become frustrated. You may think you are not being recognized even if you have loved God much more than others and borne more fruits than they. However, if you have no pride within you, you have no reason to be disheartened or sorrowful. A dead person doesn't feel pain when he is beaten and doesn't get upset when he is ignored.
A person who professes, "I die daily" should let there be only truth in him. He has to cultivate and accomplish spiritual love in which he can rejoice with the truth and seek the other's benefits in any circumstances. He has to take delight in seeing someone else receive greater benefit. As you throw away your pride, you can accomplish the heart of an unworthy servant and receive the strength to fulfill spiritual works. In addition, since you can think only according to the Spirit and be guided by the spirit, you can be recognized by God.
2. We have to be humble.
Philippians 2:3 reads, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves." If you throw away pride and become humble, you can see other's good points and cease from insisting you are better and your ideas have greater merit. You can measure the other's heart. If you direct or command someone after being promoted to higher position and treat subordinates rudely, it's shameful even from a worldly perspective.
'Humility' here doesn't refer only to outward humility. Some believers obey the directions of those in authority over them and seem to even serve children by being attentive to what they say when speaking with them. They often take the initiative to try to handle the more difficult tasks. But, because of these deeds of service they think they are serving others and fail to discover fleshly things deep within their hearts. In that sense, they may think, 'Since that person is lacking in a few aspects, so maybe I'd better try to help him' or 'Even though she is worse than me, I have to serve my seniors politely.' They seem to think in truth, but they are blinding themselves with their malcontent and judgmental way of thinking. In the end they are not able to accomplish true humility because they believe that they are walking in the truth.
The true humility God wants us to possess is to lower oneself and to serve others fully and completely from the bottom of your hearts.
3. We should not cease to pray fervently.
The kingdom of God cannot be accomplished either by fleshly wisdom or by fleshly strength (1 Corinthians 4:20). It is not true you can lead many souls to truth and blessing with eloquent speech. You have to receive spiritual power to drive away forces of darkness from them and move their hearts and lead them to act by the truth. Dying daily and becoming a man of whole spirit is possible with the help of the Lord and the Holy Spirit.
In order to become perfect and accomplish the kingdom of God, you have to communicate with God all the time and should not commit the sin of ceasing to pray. Only then can you receive the strength of God and be guided only to the right path by the works of the Holy Spirit through detailed prayers to God.
If you cease to pray you cannot discern the will of God, and then rather than following the ways of God you follow your self-righteousness, your self-conceived frameworks and your own thoughts. In this way you cannot bear good fruits. Unceasing prayer doesn't mean you are just attending the prayer meeting and saying something just with your lips. You have to offer fervent prayer from the bottom of the heart and you have to call down the power of the Holy Spirit in your communication with God.
When you pray for sanctification, you have to follow the example of Jacob's prayer where he wrestled with the angel at the Jabbok River and received an answer. And you have to pray for the church, the shepherd, and the flock and your God-given duties more eagerly than for your own problems and desires.
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