There is a progression in relationship with God. We are born a child, a baby. We have nothing to do with that. God in is charge. Then we are given the "power" to become a son of God. Sonship is a settled thing in the mind of God, but it has to be walked out here. A "son" is adopted. That does not mean he is a foreign born child adopted into the family of God. To be adopted a child must be tutored by the "Spirit of adoption". In the Jewish culture, this was a highly educated servant or slave who would take the master's son and train him until about the age of thirty. Then, at around that age there would be an "adoption" ceremony which declared that the child was no longer a child but a son. Now, the son no longer worked for the father, he was in business with the Father. This was what happened when Jesus was baptized and the Father said "this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased".
After sonship, which is to be thoroughly empowered, taught and led by the Holy Spirit comes the next stage. Sons become servants. Many are those who never arise to this level. Oh, they may work hard for the church, or do many good works and even think they are serving the Lord but they remain an infant. They refuse the Child-trainer, the HOly Ghost in His fulness. You see, to be a servant, you have to be yielded to the master. The Bible declares that to whom you yield yourselves to, you become the servant. Many are those who have burnt out in the work of the church who have never yielded one second to the Spirit of God. They do what they do by their own decision. They do it how they want, when they want, as long as they want. That is not a servant. Oh, they work, but they don't serve. Serving and working are two very different things. The Bible also says that we are to yield the members of our fleshly body as one raised from the dead already. That, sad to say, eleminates a lot of sons from ever becoming a servant. They exhibit no signs of resurrection. They are duty bound, grumpy, sour-puss infantile saints. Nothing worse than an old saint still wearing diapers complaining about everything under the sun in their church.
I had served / worked for the Lord from a child to adult but it was not until the 60's that I finally passed the class and became a servant. My heart began to burn and my prayers became "Lord, I will do anything for you...I just want to serve you". I didn't start as many do these days, with some prophetical voice declaring "You are going to be a great and mighty Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Leader, Evangelist, Teacher, etc." Many are the ambitious sons telling God what they want to be. "I am called (want to be) an Evangelist". That son may work himself into evangelism, but never become a servant. A servant does not tell his master what he wants to do or be. He serves. Over the years, since those days, Bev and I have done anything and everything. We have evangelized, pioneered churches, restored churches, pastored churches, done television, recordings, wrote songs and books and ministered every way under the sun. Some have called me apostle, pastor, prophet, evangelist and a lot of unmentionable things as well. Before God, to me, none of that matters. I just wanted to be a servant. I never wanted a title. I just wanted to serve Him.
You see, the next stage from "servant" is "friend". Oh, we should long to be a friend of God. A friend knows the secrets of God. A friend knows the heart-wishes of God. Jesus told His disciples, at a certain point, that from that time forth, He would no longer call them "servants" but He would call them "friends". We sing a lot these days, about being a "friend" of God and that is a good confession, a worthy goal. However, being a friend also has to be walked out. God makes sons out of babes. He makes servants out of well-trained sons and He makes friends out of faithful servants. Don't skip a class You have to born again (babe). You have to be filled with and be led of the Spirit (son). You have to learn to yield every moment, with resurrection fervor and joy, to the Holy Ghost (servant). You have to attend all those classes to become a friend. And, then there is the intimacy of friendship. Words won't work to describe it.
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