Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. Paul wrote to the Galatians,
saying, And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit
of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore
thou art no more a servant, but a son, and if a son, then an
heir of God through Christ. Now Paul was not saying that
we are deceased being the servants of God. In fact, he refers to
himself by the very title of servant on many occasions in
his writings. He even instructs us to be both
the servants of God and our fellow man. The Lord Jesus said the
pathway to greatness lay in being the servant of all. Yet he told
his disciples, henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant
knoweth not what his Lord doeth, but I have called you friends.
For all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known
to you. So we're not to cease being servants,
but we are to cease thinking like servants. Our service to
the Lord and also our brethren is not to be done out of a sense
of duty, but rather one of joy and gladness at having been given
this privilege. Man's service to the Lord under
the law was one which carried with it certain prescribed minimums
of acceptable service. We are not to approach what we
do for the Lord with an idea of reaching a minimum requirement,
but rather searching out how we might maximize our efforts
to serve Him. Rather than counting the hours
we spend in service to him, we should be more concerned with
how much time we waste in frivolous pursuits which have no lasting
value. Rather than counting our money
carefully so that we can tithe, we ought rather to seek out opportunities
to give out of the abundance with which we have been blessed.
Our giving is not to be according to some formula or percentage,
but rather out of a heart that gladly and obediently gives to
him who has given everything to us. every man accordingly
as he purposeth in his heart. So let him give, not grudgingly
or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver. A man who thinks
like a servant is reluctant to go beyond what is absolutely
required. It is very seldom that an employer
can find a workman who is more concerned with performing the
task at hand than what time he gets off or how much money he
will be paid. This is to be expected in the
men of this world, but certainly should not be the mindset of
the children of God. And how much more should we be
mindful of serving God with our whole heart rather than a portion
of it? Man's religious nature will often
compel him to perform certain acts of devotion, but will also
become satisfied when the required limits of service are met. We
see this occur every Easter, when churches experience an influx
of the faithful, not to see them return again until the next spring.
Such is the mindset that observes days and months and times and
years. Paul said these are beggarly elements that bring men into
bondage. Now we are certain that the observance of such days as
Christmas, Easter, Lent, and other such days are not in themselves
a bondage to the true believer. Yet when men consider the observance
of certain days to be of holy significance and become enamored
of them, they are in danger of leaving the simplicity of serving
Christ. In fact, many who call themselves
believers gladly indulge themselves in pleasures during the week
that they would never avail themselves of on the Sabbath or Sunday.
Let no man therefore judge you in meat or drink or in respect
of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days,
which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. We are not called to be observers
or keepers of days. We are not given a prescribed
diet, nor do we have a list of forbidden food and drink. Whether
therefore you eat or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to
the glory of God. For the kingdom of God is not
meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost. Now the mindset of a servant will lead us to say that since
all things are lawful and cannot bring us into condemnation, we
will partake of all things without restraint. Yet the mindset of
a son says, all things are lawful unto me, but all things are not
expedient. All things are lawful for me,
but I will not be brought under the power of any. All things
are lawful for me. but all things edify not. A son
says, I will not partake of things that control me, or of things
which do not help me and my brethren. The mindset of a servant is to
satisfy himself, while the mindset of a son is to please his father.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons
of God. Do you serve God because it is
your duty to do so, or because it is your greatest delight?
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