A Servant Paradigm

My Dear Friends,

                                                                                                                     

What these writings represent is sadly a paradigm shift in how we follow Christ. It is sad because there should not be such a change involved. Jesus positioned His heart to be a servant. If in our hearts we position ourselves as servants, we make ourselves available to God’s will, as did Jesus. God is all about expressing perfect love. His perfect expression of love is what makes God holy. Love is all about making, building, and maintaining relationships in truth and grace. When we become a servant to the Father’s will as Jesus did, we become a servant of his love. Being a servant to the Father is positionally the very best place to be if we are to grow in love. These two statements by Jesus encourage us to be about the great work of being a servant: 

 

Book of Mark Chapter 10

42Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them.

43"But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;

44and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.

45"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

Book of John Chapter 15

12"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

13"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

14"You are My friends if you do what I command you.

15"No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

 

It is apparent in many of the New Testament books that the apostles Peter (2Peter 1:1), John (Revelation 1:1), and Paul (Rom 1:1) took the calling to be a servant to heart. They were servants first with their individual callings as apostles secondary to their position as a servant. James (James 1:1) and Jude (Jude 1:1) were both leaders in the church who also called themselves servants. In the book of Revelation there are many passages that speak of those who follow Christ as His servants. Within the first century New Testament church the common paradigm was a servant church. This was their shared identity in Christ. Each of the believers had a different role, but first and foremost was their common bond as servants under one Lord.

 By the fourth century, when the church started to become a political power under Constantine, the servant church had already begun to erode. By the eleventh century the church under successive leadership had laid claim of direct authority over civil governments. The church decided to become master of the world and not a servant to it. Since that time, with the exception of a few bright lights, the vision of a servant church has never really recovered. Though the Christian church has fought several important doctrinal wars since that time, it is the servant’s heart that has since lain arrested.

 We must resuscitate this vision and move believers toward servant-centric discipleship if we are going to build a church that will represent Christ to the world. For instance, what if married couples decided that marriage was about being a servant to their partner and not about being served? If stated in another way, what if couples understood that marriage is much more about giving to their partner and far less about what they are getting from their partner? I know there would be far less divorce because each partner would be servant to the other (look at Ephesians 5:22-33).

This is just one example of how a servant centric approach to the gospel aligns us with God’s will and word toward us. Here are several more examples why being servant-centric works:

 

When we serve, we do not follow our own selfish way, so we are less likely to sin. In this way, serving is a natural antibiotic to sin. Jesus did what the Father said. Jesus did not sin because He served the Father. Serving the Father prevents us from serving ourselves.

 

When we serve, we are more likely to be communal. The servant of God will reflect the Father’s character of perfect love and willingness to be relational.

 

When we serve we will likely be more humble. God gives grace to the humble.

 

When we serve our faith will grow because of its sacrificial nature. Sacrifice is the furnace of faith.

 

When we serve we are reminded that we are not our own and that we have been bought by Christ.

 

A servant is inherently mission minded.

 

In heaven we will all serve one another; being a servant is eschatological. It is the future model being lived now.

 

Being a servant confronts the very American attitude of entitlement. Entitlement is (in my opinion) the cultural sin of our nation. Entitlement (akin to works) is diametrically opposed to grace (free gift). Entitlement quenches gratitude because it thinks it deserves what it is getting. Gratitude on the other hand nurtures humility.

 Fostering a culture of servanthood requires ground level work. A culture is a whole of its parts. It is more than language and acts of service. It is also story and song and creative arts all together making a unique expression of community. As the cultural expression becomes clearer, fuller, and reinforced it becomes more compelling.

 If we build a church founded on being a servant, we build an inherently flexible expression of Christ that is better suited to change. When the world’s culture changes, a servant need not change what they are. The servant need only change how or what they serve.

 Lastly, we need to remember that this teaching should be servant-centric and not service-centric. The first is relational and the latter is about works. We are building disciples not services. Being a servant is not about building self, but building up a community of love under Christ. That is the foremost aim and accomplishment of being His servant.

 

Your Brother in Christ,

 

DF Cutler

The Servant Centric Heart

My Friends,

 

This is a very long post. It is an introduction to the Servant Centric Heart. In future posts I will break this subject down into smaller pieces and expand on each part.

In the book of 1Samuel Chapter 16 God makes this statement to the prophet Samuel before picking David as the next king of Israel.

[7] But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him (David’s brother Eliab); for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

 

Later in the bible there are over twelve statements by God referring to King David as “My servant David.” With God, there is a definitive relationship in being His servant and the condition of the heart.

The word “heart” in this text refers to the core being of the spiritual man. References to this heart occur over seven hundred times in the bible. Though most of these references refer to either an evil or good heart, there are over one hundred of these references that are more specific. These heart references can be categorized into four distinct groups. These four groups or chambers, as I will call them, work together not unlike a human heart. Individually these chambers cannot work effectively (if at all) by themselves. Each of these chambers requires the assistance of the other three to work effectively. The names that I have placed on these chambers are volition, belief, empathy, and intent. Each one of these chambers holds within itself key characteristics that make up the core of our spiritual being (our “Be”).

 

The Chamber of Volition holds within it our willingness to bend to the will of another. The key character trait that God is searching for within this chamber is humility. A proud heart is an enemy to God. In the book of 1Peter Chapter 5 the apostle Peter reiterates this biblical theme of pride and humility.

. [5] … and all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.

 

The Chamber of Belief holds within it the essence of our world view. The key character trait that God is searching for is truth in our innermost being, our heart. King David says this in Psalm 51 about God’s desire for truth.

[6] Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,

And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.

 

The Chamber of Empathy holds within it the capacity to relate with others. The key character trait that God is searching for is compassion. Our willingness to be moved into action by the distress of God and others is core to our ability to relate emotionally with them. In the book of Zechariah in Chapter 7 the prophet relays this word from God.

[8] Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah saying, [9] “Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; [10] and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ [11] “But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. [12] “They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.

 

The Chamber of Intent holds within it the capacity to focus and drive the purpose of the heart. This is the chamber where faith gets out of the boat to walk on water. The key character trait that God is looking for in this chamber is courage. In the book of Matthew Chapter 14 it is courage that gets Peter out of the boat and his fear that sinks him.

[24] But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. [25] And in the fourth watch of the night He (Jesus) came to them, walking on the sea. [26] When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. [27] But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”  [28] Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” [29] And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. [30] But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” [31] Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

 

Each of these chambers strengthens or weakens the others. For instance, the above passage shows Peter’s willingness to bend (humility) to the Lord’s command. This was working together with Peter’s empathy (deep relationship) with Jesus. Peter sank when he believed his eyes (seeing the wind) more than his ears. Peter’s courage failed him because his belief in the wind was more real than his belief in Jesus.  Interestingly Peter’s humility and empathy with Jesus did not fail during this test as displayed when he cried out “Lord save me!”

 

Whether it is pride, lies, callousness, or fear, we constantly struggle with our hearts. In the book of Deuteronomy Chapter 11 God asks us to love and serve Him with all our heart. It is often with a divided heart that we serve Him and others. A divided heart will cause our faith to sink and our lives to be consumed with doubt. There is a lot going on within our hearts. Let us join with King David in his prayer of Psalm 139.

 

[23] Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

[24] And see if there be any hurtful way in me,

And lead me in the everlasting way.

 

Your Brother in Christ,

 

DFCutler

 

The Servant Son

Dear Friends,

“Behold My Servant whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom my soul delights.” With these words in Isaiah Chapter 42 God proclaims a prophetic vision of His Son Jesus.  These are not words of a disappointed father over a lowly servant son. In this verse, the Father is shouting words of satisfaction and pleasure over His son. Being a servant did not lessen the Father’s joy; He delighted in His son’s occupation.

Jesus was both Son and servant. However, he did not live the life of a privileged son. He lived and died as a servant. In Luke Chapter 4 Jesus faces three temptations. Two of these temptations directly taunt Jesus to prove His sonship and the third asks Jesus to serve another.  Jesus refuses. He is committed to being a servant even if He starves to death. He has adamantly laid down the garment of His authority and privilege as God’s son and has taken up the humble garment of a servant. The apostle Paul says this about Jesus’ decision to be a servant in Philippians Chapter 2 Verses 5-9.

5Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

 6who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,

 7but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men.

 8Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

 9For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name…

 

We too are to take up the very nature of a servant. If we have asked Jesus into our hearts, He would have us be servants. Now, by His Spirit, we are asked to lay aside our robes as adopted children of God and take up the garment of a servant. This is to be our identification as God’s children. As we travel along this servant’s path it will become very clear that being a servant is eschatological. Being a servant is both now and future. We are being readied for our new heavenly home. The path of a servant will take our hearts to a place of humility, truth, compassion, and courage. As we journey, we will reap the everlasting rewards of faith, hope, and love.

 

Your Brother in Christ,

 

DFCutler

Getting Started

To my friends,

It is better to light a candle than rave at the darkness. This blog will be about lighting a way. In a previous blog, I was more concerned about what was wrong with our Christian church. That is looking at a glass halve empty. The more I looked at our Christian culture in the USA the more I began to see that the glass is becoming emptier. As a church, we are stuck. Over the generations God has come down to speak to his people. However, our culture has made us deaf, blind and fearful of what God would breathe into our hearts.  In the last year I have seen where God would take us, all of us. It is a journey lost to many generations. It is an old forsaken path that would lead our hearts into eternity prepared. This is not secret revelation, this is a clear dynamic way that was abandoned long ago when the Christian church decided to be Lord over the earth and not be a servant to it. Our hearts were deceived by the position of being God’s children. We forgot the simple fact that while Jesus walked in this world he took off his robe of God’s authority (His sonship) and clothed himself with the garb of a servant unto death. In His heart Jesus would live and die the life of a servant (Phil 2:5-8). This is not accomplished as a list of doings; it is a way of being.

I would like to talk about our hearts. The word heart is mentioned over 700 times in the bible. It is of greatest importance to God, it is the home of the innermost man. It is the organ that the Lord tests and where our hardest decisions make us (or expose) who we truly are.  The heart is our “Be.” The heart is not necessarily our “do.” There are a great many things that I do that may look great on the outside but on the inside I am acting selfishly with regard only to my own desire (Mat 23:27). My “Be” in this case is selfishness. Acting out in selfish desire is a good definition for sin. I often act out with the single intent to comfort my conscience.

This is a great definition for “lukewarm” as mentioned in Revelation 3:16. When you are lukewarm, you only do enough to assuage guilt but not enough to change your heart. This lukewarmness has one goal and that is comfort. It does not generate the intense heat necessary to forge a strong heart.  Real heat is provided by suffering and trials. This kind of heat causes crisis, which forges the heart. We often avoid this and only do enough good to keep ourselves comfortable, not enough to cause ourselves to be changed by suffering.

As Americans, we are a weak hearted group. We have allowed our hearts to be fat, callous and not muscular. The American church as a whole is very much like this. We are the church at Laodicea (Rev 3:14-18). We think we are rich but we are in spiritual poverty. We must go where there is spiritual gold to be found. We must rediscover the mother-lode of spiritual gold. However, to mine its ore we must change our “Be.” Our hearts must be changed; we need to “Be” someone else. We must “Be” servants. This is the path laid down by Jesus Christ and we must follow if we are to be like Him.

 

Your Brother in Christ,

DFCutler