James 1:1 "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ..." (ESV)

A question I have been thinking alot about lately in my life is: Am I thinking and behaving like a servant of Christ? In other words, when people look at me, when they hear what I say, and see how I respond to things, do they encounter someone who is a servant or someone who wants to be served? Do they see me as person who has surrendered his rights to God or a person who exalting his rights over others? Do I come across as someone who is into himself, only concerned about his own comfort or do I come across like Jesus, as someone who is willing to sacrifice for others? 

Jesus said, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:35).  A few verses earlier the Bible says, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master" (Mark 10:24). The word Jesus uses for "servant" is from the Greek word "doulos" and it literally means "bondslave." It is the same word the half-brother of Jesus uses in James 1:1. James called himself a "bondslave" of Jesus Christ. Think about that for a moment. James was there when Jesus healed and ministered to people. He was there when Jesus washed the disciples feet! He heard Jesus say things like, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me' (Matthew 16:24) . And James was also there when Jesus died on the brutally on the cross for the sins of many. James knew by his Lord's example what a true servant was all about. As a result he modeled his life and his attitude after Jesus.

Hang with me for a moment. The POSB Commentary has a great description of the word "servant" in James 1:1. It says: 

a.  The slave was owned by his master; he was totally possessed by his master. This is what James meant. James was purchased and possessed by Christ, the Son of the living God. Christ had looked upon him and had seen his rebellious and needful condition. And when Christ looked, the most wonderful thing happened: Christ loved him and bought him; therefore, he was now the possession of Christ.

b.  The slave existed for his master and he had no other reason for existence. He had no personal rights whatsoever. The same was true with James: he existed only for Christ. His rights were the rights of Christ only.

c.  The slave served his master and he existed only for the purpose of service. He was at the master's disposal any hour of the day. So it was with James: he lived only to serve Christ—hour by hour and day by day.

d.  The slave's will belonged to his master. He was allowed no will and no ambition other than the will and ambition of the master. He was completely subservient to the master and owed total obedience to the will of the master. James belonged to Christ. In fact, he fought and struggled to bring "every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:3-5, esp. 2 Cor. 10:5).

(Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible – Hebrew, James.) 

Wow! Now that sheds light on what Jesus and James meant when they used the word "servant." But this word is not just to be understood in the mind, it is also to be practiced in the attitude and the life of every Christian.

Time for some real honesty: Do you know how many times I have heard other Christians say, "Well, I don't have time to serve. I am just too busy." Or  "I hope someone else will take over this job so I can just relax for awhile." Or  "I have put in my time, it is time for someone else to step up to the plate." Or  "I just don't have enough energy to serve right now"? This excuse or a variety I have heard or felt more times than I can keep track, for sure.

Sadly, when it comes to serving the Lord, many Christians are just passing the buck and expecting someone else to do the work. Many are just sitting in the pews Sunday after Sunday expecting to be served instead of serving Christ and others. Many Christians come up with all the excuses "why" they can't do something but they fail to give at least one reason why they should do something, which is: "I am a doulos, a bondslave of Christ." 

A Christian should not expect to be served but should expect to roll up their sleeves and get to work for Jesus Christ. What a shame that we can work for money, but we fail to work even more diligently for eternity. What a shame that we miss the blessing of making an impact in someone else's life because we are more concerned about who is making an impact in ours.

So my challenge to you is this: Inspect your heart. Have you been thinking and behaving like a servant? Or have you adopted a "sit and soak" mentality with God? Are you at the Master's disposal or are you serving another master? Have you started complaining and withdrawing from serving? In what ways at your local church are you working for Jesus? And will you give this matter serious consideration and find some ways you can get to work at your church? 

Serving Christ is hard work. It is not easy. But think about all they ways you spend your time and energy! Most of us are reaping more than we sow, longer than we sow, and harder than we sow. Why not sow some "doulos" for Christ instead of spending all the energy on you and other things? 

Only when we begin to have the servant's heart of Jesus will we experience more of God's will and blessing in our lives. So please, think about this issue, meditate upon the Word, and then get to work, in Jesus Name! You won't regret being a slave for Him! 

Blessings Upon Serving,

Pastor Ryan

P.S.  No doubt, to know me you have to know the order of my Christian life is: Jesus first, then family, then church. Please get the order right, but please don't use it as an excuse for not serving! 

2 Kings 4:6:  "When the vessels were full, she said to her son, 'Bring me another vessel.' And he said to her, 'There is not one vessel more.' And the oil stopped." (NASB)

Can I ask you a question? Do you feel like you are running on empty? Have you been going through a time of adversity and trial and it has just left you depleted? Have you been going through a time of desperate need and you are just at the end of rope and it feels like you are without any emotional or spiritual energy left in the tank? Or maybe you have been struggling with some sin that so easily entangles you and you feel like you are in a dry, parched, and lifeless desert spiritually with no hope of victory and you can't go one step further with the Lord? 

If you are feeling that way, then let me give you some encouragement from God's Word: We all face times of desperate need. Whether we bring these feelings of emptiness upon ourselves through sin or if it is because we are facing some difficulty we didn't ask for, here's the thing: we all face desperate times of need. It's ok, the first step in admitting your're empty is to come to the point of saying, "I am in a desperate place and I don't know what to do God." God knows, God sees, and God understands your pain. The thing is: You have to first be willing to admit your need and give it to Him.

In 1 Kings 4:1-7 we find a woman who was running on empty as a result of a desperate time in her life. Her husband had died, unexpectadly no doubt, and the creditors were coming to take away her two children to be slaves. As a result she does the only thing she knows how to do, admit her desperate need to Elisha the prophet.  Elisha then asks her two important questions in verse two:  1) What shall I do for you? and.... 2) What do you have in the house? 

Notice, the woman doesn't even answer the first question. What about you? Have you ever been at a point of desperate need and not even know what to say or what someone could do for you? This woman didn't even know how to answer the question. And I can say I've been there too. As a matter of fact, I am there right now. I have been running in so many different directions that I don't know which way is up and I have been negelcting some key areas in my life in this past year and it has left me feeling depleted, empty, and grasping for straws--running on empty. "I don't know God, I don't know why this is happening or what I can do." Yeah, I feel her desperation, do you? 

Notice, she does answer the second question at the end of the verse: "I have nothing....except this jar of oil." See, the woman thought and felt she had nothing but she had much more than she knew. She had way more, and God was going to use what she already had to stretch her faith. We have a tendency like this woman when something is seriously wrong in our lives, to say: "I have nothing!" But the truth is we have more than we think! As believers we have God's word, we have prayer, we have Christian brothers and sisters who love us, and most importantly--we have Christ! Are you at a time of desperate need? You do what you can and let God do what you can't. Let God use what you already have to move you to the place you want to be. 

Next, Elisha instructs the woman to go and collect empty oil jars door-to-door and bring them back for God to fill them. She offers up all the empty vessels she collected and then God filled them big time! Pay attention: As long as she kept bringing vessels God filled them. But when she stopped bringing vessels, God stopped filling and "the oil stopped" (v.6).

There is a deep spiritual principle here that would take way too long here to deeply discover but God's Word is saturated with it: God fills only what I offer. I believe that if the woman would have kept collecting the empty vessels and kept offering them up, God would have kept filling. Bottom line: God filled only what she offered.

So the real question is: What are your empty vessels that you are offering up to God? What is your desperate need that you stopped believing God for and stopped offering up to Him? What are the empty places in your life you need God to fill? Remember: God fills only what you offer.

Maybe you're like me and you need him to fill your empty heart. You are not as passionate about Jesus and His Word like you used to be and it feels like you are in a dry spritual desert. Great news: What you offer, God will fill! The Bible goes on to say in verse seven that the woman had enough oil to sell, pay off her debts, and live off the rest.

If you are running on empty God will fill the empty places of your life again. You have to remember to do what you can with what he has given you-- get into his Word, get on your knees in prayer, and get around God's people. Then, offer up your empty vessels and your deperate need to God and let Him do the rest! Let the Holy Spirit of God fill the empty places of your life by admitting when you are empty and coming to the everlasting well of living water in Jesus Christ. He can take your empty tank and refill it like never before!

Struggling With You,

Pastor Ryan