Dale
How many people do you know, aspire to be a deacon? The deacons were chosen with the same qualifications as the apostles and the prophets and evangelists, the gift ministries. Just stop and think about it. How many people aspire to be a deacon? What attracted those guys to become deacons? And not only the guys, how about the women? Phoebe, there were others. Abigail. Right, these women, how did that happen? It's because God was laying the foundation of His kingdom. He was laying the foundation, where He lives. You might say, He was bringing heaven to earth, by creating these servants. Even, even today, how many people aspire to be a servant? How many men and women go to seminary to learn how to be a servant? It's a servant who aspires to be a servant.
Ed
In Ephesians gave apostles prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints unto service. These people had to be servants in order to teach that. You don't teach something like that, unless you are a servant. If you're aspiring to, to bring forth your own kingdom, you're not being a servant. It's the humbleness that they have; that brings forth the Spirit of God in them. And that's where God moves - In the humble. God said, David was a man after his own heart. Why? Because he was humble. And that's the whole thing of a servant.
Dale
You know, Ed, you know, one of the things you can't have, if you have true humility? You can't have a spirit of judgment or an idea of judgment. A servant can't look at a situation and say, this situation is such and such; and I don't agree with this; and so, I can't serve here. A servant, like you say, is humble. And that is he's taken his mind, his thoughts, his ideas, and got rid of them. And he says, I'm here to serve, without judging. You can tell a servant because he seizes the opportunity to humble himself to be an agency of God's heart to that person. Right. He humbles himself to serve. And that's an effective servant.
Debbie
Also, a teacher. The most effective teachers are the most effective servants; they serve the children. They serve the parents. If you are a true teacher, and you have a teacher's heart, you have a servant's heart.
Dale
There's also something a servant knows, he knows what that person needs. Yeah. This thing of being a servant, led by the Holy Spirit, the heart of a servant is a heart that's in tune with what God wants. And God can use a servant because of that relationship. But what about that young teenager? What about that young married couple? What about that person who just lost their spouse of a lifetime? What about that older generation they need teachers. They need servants. The reason is the servant knows what they need. Yes. That's why we open our hearts to a servant.
The covenant that is formed as a bond servant - the act of putting your ear to the doorpost, and the running through of the awl, is a sign of a covenant that you have with the Father. It's like a working agreement, what He agrees to do for you, and what you agree to do for Him. Lord, I give you my heart. And he says, Son, I give you my heart in exchange. I make your heart into My heart. A relationship is formed, a covenant is formed. And that covenant guides you into His fulfilling every desire.
Who creates the atmosphere for an apostle to be an apostle, or an elder or deacon? The servants.
