AM I A SERVANT?

BIBLE PASSAGE: ACTS 13:22,25,29 & 36

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas taken from: https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons

JUNE 13, 2021

LESSON KEY VERSE

For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

ACTS 13:36

 

INTRODUCTION:

What does the word “servant” mean? In New Testament, servant means a slave or servant of another, one who serves others, minister, “deacon.”

 

When we asked ourselves, “am I servant?” some of us would be easier for him/her to answer but today let’s study about being a servant. Before we go to our main points, let’s look at the three characters mentioned in this chapter. In verse 22, “And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” There are two things we would like to give our focus on. The first one is:

-      A man after mine heart: We know what are some of the important details of David’s life and maybe we start asking ourselves, “Despite the sins he committed, why he still commended by God with these words? David was far from perfect. He failed the Lord on many occasions and sinned against God in some terrible ways - but he was quick to recognize his wrongdoings and genuinely repented of his sin. Some bible scholars and pastors believe that one of the reasons is humility- willing to be a servant. Though David was a king, he had the heart of the servant.

-      Shall fulfill all my will: These words are the last line of this verse and what can you say of the commendation of God to David? A man God can trust. What a commendation from God. David shall fulfill His will in his calling. He shall fulfill His will with his family even though there were struggles and failures. And he shall fulfill His will in his life.

In verse 25 says, “And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.” Last week we mentioned about the verse exposing John the Baptist’s attitude of humility; “He must increase; I must decrease.” John was asked by the priest and Levites, “WHO ART THOU?” (John 1:19). He didn’t give credit to himself or give himself even a little pride. He said, “I AM NOT HE.” He mentioned that even untying the shoes of the Messiah he was not worthy. John Gill exposition of the Bible, suggesting hereby, that he was unworthy to be his servant, to perform the meanest part of service for him that could be thought of; so far was he from assuming any preference to him on account of his being before him, as his forerunner; see Matthew 3:11. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: What a humility! 

 

Another thing is the first line, “John fulfilled his course.”

 

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  A SERVANT SERVES (ACTS 13:36, LUKE 22:27)

For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.

 

How important is to be in the service? (ask for responses) In Luke 22:27, Jesus asked who is the greatest, the man who sits at meat or he that serves? Of course, the man who sits but take note what He said at the end… “but I am among you as he that serves.” That’s what the importance of service. If you’re serving in God’s vineyard, He’s with among us who serve. Bible says, “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

Being servants, we should not expect what the church can do for you instead but what can you do for the church. Personally, I’m thankful because CBT has learned that the church is not there to be the source of materials things and everything. I remember there were situations before that the church was the place to ask for your personal payment of bills, food in the table and other things. Though the pastor had not enough salary from the church, he still the person to be asked for financial assistance. Therefore, in other hand, there’s something negative about Christians who are called “seeker churches.” They denote something that please “self.” They look for churches that would please them.

Matthew 20:25-26 say, “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;” The idea that Jesus had nowhere to lay His head comes directly from a conversation recorded in the book of Matthew and again in the book of Luke. Jesus was talking to a scribe who wished to follow Jesus and become a disciple. In fact, the scribe boasted, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:19–20; Luke 9:57–58).

These same passages mention two others who had similar discussions with Jesus. In each case, Jesus made the point that there is a cost to following Him. The scribe who said he wanted to follow Jesus wherever He went was not considering the lifestyle Jesus led. Our Lord was functionally homeless; He and His disciples stayed in the homes of those who would take them in (see Luke 10:6–8). The scribes were among the wealthier citizens. It was as if Jesus were saying, “Are you sure you want to be homeless with Me?” Even the animals have a place to stay—foxes have holes and the birds have nests—but Jesus literally had “nowhere to lay his head.” He wanted the scribe to truly count the cost of what he was proposing. It is always wise to count the cost (Luke 14:28).

 

 

The word “servant” mentioned is not the teaching servant of the house or maid who does the cleaning the kingly chambers. Paul uses the word “huperetes” which means “under-rower...literally “the slave who rows on the lowest level of a boat.” It is not the lowliest word for a servant, but not a prestigious position. Under-rowers serve “Christ the master-pilot, helping forward the ship of the Church toward the haven of heaven.” (Trapp)

The “under-rower” as “one who acts under direction, and asks no questions, one who does the thing he is appointed to do without hesitation, and one who reports only to the captain.

There’s a church who had a struggle of finding a place to worship. They prayed and then one time the church was offered a place which was not that good and needed renovation and repainting. The pastor and his family were there to clean and repaint the walls; there were also some men and preachers came over. On the midst of the cleaning, the pastor’s phone rang, and he needed to entertain an important call, and it took him an hour to talk to that person. When he came back to the auditorium, he heard a conversation between his wife and the preacher. The preacher said, “I didn’t go to Bible College for four years to paint walls.”  Then the pastor’s wife said, “You’ve got saved to do that.” Being a servant would never be convenient but it’s what we are called to do. We’re under rowers (explain a little about under rowers). Who do we think we are? A person sits at the table or are we among who serves?  We can say that if you’re not serving, you’re not a servant.

David understood that being the king brought the privilege of the office but also the responsibility of serving. He understood the need to serve those in authority as he humbled himself and serve Saul. He could bristle his pride and say, “I’m now the new king; I should defend myself by killing this loser king” but he did not do that. Instead, he said, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” That was the heart he had. He was not to exalt himself but to be willing to serve even under Saul. 

 

There was a day David wanted to build the temple. He was the king and he thought he was deserved to do that but God told him no. Instead God told him to assemble the materials. Did He complain? Did he still give his best finding the best material? Of course not. In 1 Chronicles 28:11-19, recorded the things he prepared: the blueprints of the porch, its buildings, the inner courts and many more.

 

Walking in sandals on the filthy roads of Israel in the first century made it imperative that feet be washed before a communal meal, especially since people reclined at a low table and feet were very much in evidence. When Jesus rose from the table and began to wash the feet of the disciples (John 13:4), He was doing the work of the lowliest of servants. The disciples must have been stunned at this act of humility and condescension, that Christ, their Lord and master, should wash the feet of His disciples, when it was their proper work to have washed His. But when Jesus came to earth the first time, He came not as King and Conqueror, but as the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. As He revealed in Matthew 20:28, He came “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The humility expressed by His act with towel and basin foreshadowed His ultimate act of humility and love on the cross. JESUS, a prophet, priest, and king lives his life as a servant.

 There’s a bible seminary who has a signage on the wall of the building, “ENTER TO LEARN; GO FORTH TO SERVE. A good signage but churches have become a place of: Enter to Learn, enter to be Pleased, enter to be comforted, enter to have programs but forget the “GO FORTH TO SERVE” part.

2. A SERVANT SERVES BY THE WILL OF GOD (ACTS 13:36)

For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

 

The world is never impressed doing the will of God. The unbelievers wouldn’t understand us why we go to church on Sunday morning and back on the afternoon. They possible say we’re crazy if they see us again in Mid-week attending prayer meeting. They would possibly say, “That church is a cult.”

 

In John 12: 5 says, “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” Judas thought it was silly and wasteful for that precious ointment to be pour on the feet of Jesus Christ but Christ said, “Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.”  What the woman did was the will of GOD.

Matthew 16:21-23 say, From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Peter rebuked Jesus that the cross would not happen to him, God would not allow it but Jesus told him that what he said those that be of men and not the things be of God. IT’S THE WILL OF GOD.

Christians are concerned about how we dress, where we go and our testimonies. The world may see that silly but it’s the will of God.

You ignore and avoided so many things like:  the invitations of people like bar party, the chatting that would lead you to infidelity to your spouse, watching too much TV and you forget to read your Bible and spending too much for unimportant things because you might use the supposed the money for the Lord. Even people don’t think it’s right guess what, IT’S RIGHT. it’s the WILL OF GOD.

The world would reject us but remember John 1: 11 says, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” Jesus was rejected, but He died for them anyway. Though the world mocked Him; He died for them anyway. Though there are rejection, servants serve anyway.

David served God’s purpose according to the will of God.  That’s a powerful thought. “Does God have a will for my life?” you may be wondering.  The Bible says He does.  The writers of Scripture contend that what happens to your life is of great importance to our Heavenly Father.  Paul wrote, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17).

3.  A SERVANT SERVES OUR GENERATION

For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

We live in a messed up generation. Do you believe that? Have you watched the news?

·       A man was arrested for stabbing his wife’s boyfriend to death, after police found him stuck in a neighbor’s chimney when he tried to escape (March 19, 2021).

·       A police officer in the Philippines has been arrested and charged with the double murder of a mother and her son following a dispute (December 2020).

·       THREE high school students died in an apparent suicide in Leyte towns on Sunday, March 28, 2021. The victims, aged 13, 14 and 16, were from Bato, Palo, and Baybay City, all in Leyte province. In an initial investigation, police said the victims suffered from depression resulting from family and personal problems, including poor academic achievement.

 

These are just sample of the situations happening in our society. We live in a messed up world. Another question, do we understand the unbelievers?  Of course we do, because we were once in their place right? We know that they have different views in everything. Some of them have struggles fighting their addiction. Some of them thinking that there’s no way out of their troubled relationship. Some of them have seen their situation hopeless because they’re abused by the members of the family. Do they know where to turn to? DO they know that their situations are not hopeless? DO they know that Someone loves them more than the people they expected to show them love? Do they know that they can be forgiven? In those kinds of situations, NO, they don’t know. But there are group of people do know the answers. It’s you and me. We know the answer; JESUS is the answer. Therefore, let’s ask God to lay a name in our heart and let’s serve that person in the way to meet his/her need. We can’t be a king, a great preacher, teacher and certainly can’t be a priest but…. I CAN BE A SERVANT. WE CAN BE A SERVANT.

 

David was responsible only for his own generation.  You can’t do anything about what took place a hundred years ago, or even a generation ago.  That’s history, but you can do something about your generation, today, the world in which you live.

 

CONLUSION:

For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

(Nang maisakatuparan ni David ang kalooban ng Diyos, siya’s namatay at nailibing sa piling na kanyang mga magulang at dumanas ng pagkabulok)

 

One of the greatest tragedies in life is to get very close to reaching your goal, arriving at your full potential, accomplishing what you set out to do, only to fall short of what you wanted to do.  It’s always sad to have to quit a few hundred meters short of the top, or to get so very close to winning, only to have victory snatched from your grasp.

Unrealized goals! Unfulfilled potential–what a tragedy!  With a sigh we speak of, “The man he might have been,” or “the woman she could have been!” When David had finished the goal entrusted on him here on earth, the will of God, he died. How blessing it is to finish the will of God entrusted to you. In contrary, how sad it is to meet our end with unfinished business or we are not in God’s service.

“At the end of your life, how would you like to be remembered?”

 

 

BLOOMING IN THE RIGHT SPOT (1 SAMUEL 20:30-34)

 

BLOOMING IN THE RIGHT SPOT

BIBLE PASSAGE: 1 SAMUEL 20: 30-34

MEMORY VERSE

 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.

1 CORINTHIANS 7:20

 Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas: DailyBread

JUNE 14, 2020

INTRODUCTION:

Every summer, my mother wishes to have beans planted at the backyard in Kentucky. Sad to say this year, she made the wrong decision on where the vegetables should be planted first. She directly planted them in the soil without first planting them in pots and now she had no seeds left. Unexpectedly, one relative sent him seeds to use and she’s now happy receiving those. The place where you plant any plants are important; their habitat depends on what kind of plant it is. For example, in KY, there are plants grow during spring and summer and die during winter, but they come back after winter; they are some you need to plant again.  We had experienced planting okra and squash and my mother always fails to make it grow. One time we were talking about planting in the right spot because there’s a place in that small garden where plants seldom grow. At the end we decided, not to plant on that corner; it’s not the right spot.

Our lesson for today is titled, “Blooming in the Right Spot” in Tagalog “Namumulaklak or Lumalago sa Tamang Lugar”.

 

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  BE SURE YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT SPOT (1 CORINTHIANS 7: 18-20)

Are you blooming in the right spot? This is the question that we needed to answer and I hope you could answer this after this lesson is done. But before we proceed, I want your participation please. Answer my question, where you do think is your spot in the ministry? This is FB live so write your comments. Don’t worry there’s no wrong answers here (wait for comments and respond to their answers).

 

When you plant, you expect weeds to grow too.  Weeds can grow anywhere.  “A weed is any plant that grows where you don’t want it.” My mother loves Spring because that is when she can plant a small vegetable garden. When I was there, I enjoyed spending family time, planting, watering, and weeding our little garden. There can be a lot of lessons learned from a garden and one of those lessons I am thinking about is this: “Volunteered” plants that show up in the wrong spot. For example, maybe a corn plant that “voluntarily” showed up in the strawberries. If you don’t pull that corn plant out of the ground, it will choke out the strawberries and rob them of water and nutrients. You see, human beings aren’t plants, we have our own minds and God-given free will. But sometimes “us” humans try to bloom where God doesn’t intend for us to be.

I know everyone knows about Jonathan in the Bible. He’s the son of King Saul. What do you think would be in his mind when he heard the news that his father, Saul the farmer, had been chosen to be the first King of Israel? No doubt Jonathan’s mind was spinning as he was thinking what that meant for him - all kinds of expectations for him. Jonathan must have anticipated that as the prince, he would one day become the king. Aware of his father’s weaknesses, familiar with his role as a farmer, and knowing that he was not a soldier, Jonathan perhaps thought he would be king soon.

Have you experienced the dilemma of choosing the right career or path you’re going to follow? I know there are some pastors, church workers or any committed members who don’t quickly know their calling? Like Moses, he had also some excuses and denials? In Jonathan’s situations, do you think he had that kind of dilemma?  Yes, he himself I think had a confirmation in his mind that he would be the next king but as years passed by, God wanted him to put in a place he didn’t choose to be. Acts 13:21 mentioned that Saul reigned 40 years and imagine 40 years or less is enough that you can say “I would be the next king”; God’s will be different from his. This lesson wants us to see that make sure you are in the right spot because there are blessings blooming in the right spot.

 

In 1 Corinthians 7:18-21 say, “¹⁸ Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. ¹⁹ Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. ²⁰ Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.” Paul is saying that if you were circumcised when you became a Christian, fine. If you were not circumcised when you became a Christian, fine also. Those things do not matter. What matters is serving the Lord where we are at right now. Another thing, Paul’s point isn’t really about circumcision; that is just an example. Even as being circumcised or uncircumcised is irrelevant when it comes to serving God, so is your current marital state. He could just as easily say, and is saying by analogy, “Married is nothing and unmarried is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters”.

https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/1-corinthians-7/

 

2.  DO WHAT’S RIGHT EVEN IT’S HARD (1 PETER 3:14)

Jonathan is the first prince of Israel, the son of the first king of Israel, Saul. As such was a leader in Israel and part of the royal line which means he was heir to the throne.  He likely had a higher education than most of the people. He was skilled in war and lived at the royal court. He had great leadership abilities and all the people looked down to him (1 Samuel 31: 1-6). Why am I saying these? Jonathan had many things to give up and surrender. In history, if a king had the possibility to be dethroned or his dynasty would be in brink of falling, he would do anything to stop it. This was what happened to King Saul. Let me ask you, what would be the feeling if you have a competitor in the position? Most of the times you distance yourself and try your best to be fit in the position. In Jonathan’s case is different; he befriended David. 1 Samuel 18: 3 says, ^“Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul”.

 

Not only the throne was the problem but also Jonathan’s relationship between his father and his friend David. At first, he was in thinking about knowing the truth about what really his father’s intention to David; was he really wanted David to be killed? In 1 Samuel 20:31 says, “For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die”.

 

1 Samuel 20: 4 says, “Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee”. This is one of the verses that confirmed that Jonathan was doing the right thing. Another verse that will remind us about this is from 1 Peter 3:14 says, “But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;” If we suffer for doing the right thing even when it is hard, be happy.

 

3.  ACCEPT GOD’S DIRECTION AND BE FLOURISHED (1 SAMUEL 20:15-18)

Jonathan submitted himself to the will of God, even when it meant giving up his future kingdom. He didn’t pursue his own interest or push his own way. Let’s think of ourselves at this time, have you made wrong decisions in the past and you’ve realized now how stubborn you were in fighting God’s way or will? Personally, I came also to the point that I was confused. Somebody told me it’s God’s will, but my mind and my heart were struggling. My question that time was “Why it took me so long to realize that this is not God’s will for me or for us?” Possible reasons are we took granted the warnings of the Lord and we were overwhelmed of our dreams.

 

Have you come to a point in your Christian life that it’s hard accepting God’s will? Saul had seen the hands of God in David’s life: he comforted him during his depressions, he fought the giant triumphantly, he was a great warrior (many wars accomplished), and God saved David’s life in many dangerous situations. Jealousy rooted in heart when David became popular in the kingdom and all the people. Then Saul eyed David from that day and forward. Though Saul knew the Lord had chosen David to be the next king of Israel, still he spent the rest of his life hunting David – the rest of his life. Saul’s life is a great reminder for us; this might happen to us in fighting against God’s will. We won’t win and sad thing we die fighting the wrong thing and still lost it (1 Samuel 18:8-9).

 

Let’s read 1 Samuel 23:15-18 ¹⁵ And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. ¹⁶ And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. ¹⁷ And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. ¹⁸ And they two made a covenant before the Lord: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.

 

During those same years, with Saul trying to kill David and David trying to escape, Jonathan found ways to meet his friend, to encourage him; to reiterate his loyalty, his love. Chapter 23, verse 17, the prince once explains to David, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you; you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you; even my father Saul knows that.” This is the character of Jonathan, willingly giving up his own claim to the throne because he understood that the Lord had chosen David instead of him. No jealousy. This is a rare character quality, is it not? Jonathan’s character is evident most clearly in his attitude toward David.

 

CONLUSION:

Some would say that Jonathan gave up too much. But how would we prefer to be remembered? Like the ambitious Saul, who clung to his kingdom ad lost it? Or the Jonathan, who protected the life of a man who would become an honored ancestor of Jesus?

 

At this moment there are questions we needed to answer in our minds: where were you planted? Is it the place where God wants you to be?

 

God’s plan is always better than our own. We can fight against it and resemble a misplaced weed. Or we can accept His direction and become flourishing, fruitful plants in His garden. He leaves the choice with us.

 

Whatever place in the ministry you are in…. Be bloomed and flourished!