Published by admin on 23 Mar 2012 at 01:05 pm
A SOLDIER OF THE CROSS
In our generation many Christians have bought into some wrong thinking, and the Kingdom of God has suffered for it. Many preachers would have us believe that God is OUR servant, instead of we being HIS servants. Now don’t get me wrong, I believe God’s perfect will for us is that we have all sufficiency in all things, so we are equipped to do every good work. And Christ Jesus healed all the sick who came to Him, so we can’t say it’s God’s will for us to be sick, for it says in Psalm 103:2-3 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases.
But where do we go from here? Somewhere along the way, the notion has become widespread that God apparently exists only to give us our every desire, not only in this life, but that to come, and the Bible does not bear that out. That’s not to invalidate the prosperity and wellness message, for the Bible shows that God indeed does bless His servants. I guess what needs to be brought out here is just that: God blesses His SERVANTS. Servants, get that? A servant is someone whose job in life is to perform duties for another, to serve and please another. So when I see those claiming to be Christians not doing the work of the Kingdom of God, I have to question, who is serving whom?
We can clearly see that God’s love toward us is perfect and unconditional, and He loves us so much that He willingly sacrificed the life of His Son to free us from eternal death, placing the penalty for OUR sins upon Jesus. In that respect, God became OUR servant, in order to ransom us from our sins. On the day of Passover, after eating the Passover meal with His disciples, Christ Jesus demonstrated servitude by washing the feet of His disciples, humbling Himself to the role of less than a household servant. We can read about it in John 13:1-17:
Joh 13:1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
Joh 13:2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;
Joh 13:3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
Joh 13:4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
Joh 13:5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
Joh 13:6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
Joh 13:7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
Joh 13:8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
Joh 13:9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
Joh 13:10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
Joh 13:11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
Joh 13:12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
Joh 13:13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
Joh 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.
Joh 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
Joh 13:16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
Joh 13:17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
Here I see Jesus not only demonstrated an example of serving others, but told them so as well, pointing out that a servant is not greater than his master. Like I said, somewhere we have acquired the notion that we are no longer servants, but the master. That’s why you don’t see signs and wonders and miracles in churches today very often. Yet, where Jesus and the disciples went, miracles were not uncommon. What has changed? Has the power of God diminished, or has the Gospel changed? Evidently, the Gospel has changed, for if we lived by the words of the Gospel message today, we would see the same results they saw back then.
Most of the disciples lost their lives preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, yet the “disciples” of today, and I use that term most loosely, cannot be bothered to serve even their brethren, let alone anyone else, nor are they interest in being SOLDIERS OF THE CROSS. They just believe in BLESS ME, BLESS ME! How do I know that? By the number of prayer requests I see asking for material blessings, better job, new car, bigger house, more money. Whatever happened to “Lord help me to become a better servant to YOU”?
The Apostle Paul wrote the following to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:1-5:
2Ti 2:1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
2Ti 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
2Ti 2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
2Ti 2:5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.
Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ? Surely you jest! Most want God to make sure their life is like that of a king, who is on permanent vacation, never seeing hardship. But that wasn’t the life the early disciples lived, was it? Most of them were persecuted, tormented and afflicted for their testimony for Christ Jesus. Am I saying this to run you off? NO! I’m telling you that if eternal life with Christ Jesus is worth having, then isn’t it worth serving God with all of your heart out of sheer gratitude and love?
Examine your heart: do you truly want the things God wants? Do you see yourself as a servant of God, willing to lay your life down anytime for your testimony for Jesus? If not, then perhaps you don’t know the same Jesus the disciples did. They saw how Jesus was treated, yet they loved Him so much, they were willing to follow in His footsteps regardless of the personal cost to themselves. Their eyes were upon their Lord and Master, and they were not deterred from their goal, even upon the pain of death.
What is God’s goal? It is to get the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every living person on Earth, so they might hear and believe unto salvation. And God has His army of soldiers equipped to carry out that job. But the problem is, many of His soldiers are not doing what they are supposed to be doing, they are too busy building their own little kingdoms to be of much use to Him. They have abandoned their posts and have gone back into the world, and are even expecting God to excuse them from duty and even build their kingdom for them, while the Kingdom of God suffers neglect. Now when I put it that way, it’s easy to understand how we have neglected our role as servants of the Most High God, in order to pursue our own will.
Now what? Will we continue to neglect building the Kingdom of God, while all the time calling ourselves CHRISTIANS? Or will we examine our ways, fix our eyes upon Jesus, and ask forgiveness, and get to work being a servant of God? It’s one thing to see what the problem is, but it’s another thing altogether to be part of the solution. I’m thankful for what the Lord Jesus did for me on that cross, so much in fact, that I’m willing to spend my life serving Him, laying down my own will and plans, in order to serve Him.
God knows He can count on me not to break rank or abandon my post, but what about YOU? Is salvation precious enough to you to cause you to be a SOLDIER OF THE CROSS?
Catherine on 25 Mar 2012 at 9:09 am #
Thank you, Pastor Baysinger, for being the voice of sanity and clarity every week. I look forward to Fridays to read your emails and get back on track. This world is getting further and further away from the truth and I thank you for your dedication to Jesus Christ and the truth. You are one of the very few who is never self-serving. If it were not for Christians like you, I would have walked away from Christianity because of all the greedy televangelists. Thank you so much for your dedication to us and to Jesus Christ!
James LeBlanc on 26 Mar 2012 at 7:11 pm #
All I can say is Amen! And I repent of building my little Kingdom and not serving all I should as a believer.
Thank you for speaking truth Bro Jerry
Erin on 11 May 2015 at 8:17 am #
Great message! I think it’s also important to remember, that not all are called to be ministers, per se, but we can all still spread the gospel in our own way, no matter what vocation the Lord has led us. For me, I’m a stay at home mom. Though I don’t have access to preach to multitudes, I do have the souls of my children God has entrusted me with to raise to love and serve the Lord…motherhood is a very high calling indeed, not in the world’s eyes anymore, but definitely in God’s. I have friend’s on social media that I can witness to, or even just my kindness to strangers as I go out shopping is still spreading light. My husband was called to start his own business (which we even named Genesis), and although he isn’t directly in the ministry field, I still believe that God will use this as an avenue to touch others and spread His Word. My goal is not only that his business become successful to bless our family, but that we can use it to help others and to show God’s love to them as well.
Everyone has their calling in life, but it’s important to remember, no matter where you are or what you’re doing, you can still be a servant to the Lord. God doesn’t keep a score board of souls like some competition amongst His children. Even if you only touched one person and put them on a path to the Lord, Heaven still rejoices. The important thing is to go where you’re called, no matter what you’re called to do, and do the Lord’s work from there.
Jerry, thank you for your ministry. It has truly helped open my eyes to my Father, to Jesus, and my mind and heart have been set free. My goal is now to help the lives that I can. I look forward to the path God is leading my family and want nothing more than to hear Him say to us, “well done my good and faithful servants.”