A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. Matthew 10:24

If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10

Apparently, pleasing men and serving Christ are mutually exclusive.

In 1829, George Muller said, “A servant of God has but one Master.  It ill becomes the servant to seek to be rich, and great, and honoured in that world where his Lord was poor, and mean (of humble origin), and despised.”

And this is how he lived it out.

November 1, 1834.  “Today, our means being completely gone, we had them supplied in the following manner:–some time ago some silver spoons were given to us, which we never used, from the consideration that for servants of Christ, it was better, for the sake of example, to use cheaper ones. And for that reason we had sold our plate at Teignmouth.  Yet up to this day those spoons remained unsold.  But now, as we wanted money, we disposed of them, considering that the kind giver would not be displeased at our doing so to supply our need.”

If I really think about myself as a servant, it changes my perspective of who I am, what I will possess, and how I will live.

What does it practically mean to be a servant?  Here’s a Servant’s Checklist from THE best-selling book…the Bible.

A servant provides food to those he doesn’t know, hurries, gives his best, obeys his master, goes on journeys for his master, reports back to this master, does manual labor, offers himself as a sacrifice in place of others.

Servant of God in prayer

A servant follows the Lord wholeheartedly, is reverent before his master, listens, does not leave anything undone that his master has commanded, washes feet, sends food with people so they do not lose strength, is courageous, prays, considers himself like a dog, is ready to do his master’s bidding,  follows the master–whether it means life or death.

A servant repents of sin, confesses the sins of himself and his people, surrenders to the will of the Lord, displays the glory of God, is made a light to the whole world to bring salvation to the ends of the earth, honors his master, is obedient, is humble, has only one master, endures trouble, hardship & distress, does not try to please men, makes himself nothing,  wrestles in prayer for other believers, is kind, doesn’t quarrel, is not resentful, is respectful, and does not withhold his very life.*

1731: – John Wesley began to limit his expenses so he would have more money to give to the poor.  He records when his income doubled, he still lived on 28 pounds and gave 32 pounds away…(When) he made 120 pounds, he lived on 28, and gave 92 to the poor.

Wesley preached that Christians should not merely tithe (give 10%), but give away all extra income…  He believed that with increasing income, the Christian’s standard of giving should increase, not his standard of living.

One year his income was slightly over 1400 pounds; he gave away all but 30 pounds.   When he died in 1791, the only money mentioned in his will was the miscellaneous coins to be found in his pockets and dresser drawers.

John Wesley’s royalties at one time gave him what today would be an annual income of $160,000.  Yet he lived like someone today might at an income of $20,000.  Money, Possessions & Eternity, page 299

We have the high privilege of being servants of the King of Kings, the Master of Masters.  We live in a world in tremendous, desperate need: people who have never heard the name of Jesus, people dying from malnutrition, malaria, dirty water, unsanitary birthing conditions.

This is NOT acceptable!  I’m not the one saying it’s not acceptable! Jesus is. (Matthew 25:31-46 Matthew 28:18-20)

We have the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can plant nutritious food, we have the inexpensive cure for malaria, we know how to provide clean water, and we have the medical knowledge to facilitate clean, live births.  We have the cure for each ailment listed.  We simply need to share the cure with those who need it.

Will you (and we include ourselves) look over the “servant’s checklist” and ask God what specific thing(s) He would have you do as his servant this week?  May we listen, be ready and be obedient.

Let’s Go! Outside the camp to him…–outside of our comfort, our ease, our security, our luxuries–Let’s go to him!  For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Hebrews 13:13-16**

Let’s Go! Let’s do whatever it takes!

*Click here for verses referenced in the servant’s checklist–servanthood
**Thoughts from a sermon by John Piper