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October 11th, 2007, 4:17 am
Revelation 22:1-5
1 “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”
In our text we see those who in the future will enjoy a quality life in the very presence of Jesus. Those who are seen here are Christs servants. But how did they qualify? Why do they get to dwell in the very presence of Jesus while others will not be allowed to do so?
Well, according to Jesus own words, it will be because they were faithful over a few things (Matthew 25:14-31); it will be because they learned what Jesus expected of them and set their hearts on doing those things in other words, they developed a servants heart during their lifetime.
You know, it is important that our young people see examples of a servants heart in adult church members. Especially, is this important if an assembly is to work together in harmony and sweet spirit as one body in Christ.
But just what is a servants type of heart, you may ask? Is it possible for us to have such a heart today even with all of the iniquity in the world and in our lives? Yes, it most certainly is, for in our text we see those with Christ whom He calls servants. Thus, we see that their humble spirit of servitude in this life will be carried over into the ages to come.
So, let us now examine what it is that Christ looks for in a servants heart.
I. A SERVANTS HEART IS AN HONEST HEART
Luke 8:15 An honest and good heart opens the way for fruit bearing.
John 15:8 Jesus said to His disciples, Herein is My Father glorified that ye bear much fruit. Thus we see that fruit-bearing disciples give glory to God.
Psalm 139:23, 24 We need to learn to honestly expose our hearts to God; afterall, He knows our hearts anyway, so why try to hide anything from Him?
II. A SERVANTS HEART IS A HUMBLE HEART
Luke 17:10 As we go about serving the Lord and doing what He has commanded us to do, we should not get swelled heads and become puffed up about it. In fact, Jesus taught His disciples to regard themselves as unprofitable servants who after doing the will of their Master simply realize that they have only done what was expected of them.
1 Peter 5:5, 6 Pride is a dangerous thing in the life of a servant. It tends to elevate his heart to an unhealthy level and causes all sorts of problems, not only for himself, but for those around him. Peter learned some lessons on pride the hard way. Thus, we are to constantly keep a check on our pride system, and seek to deliberately squelch any feelings of pride that may creep into our hearts.
Hebrews 12:28 How are we to worship almighty God? With what kind of attitude are we to approach Him?
III. A SERVANTS HEART IS A PEACEFUL HEART
Luke 12:43 We honestly believe that Jesus will return one day to gather His bride and to establish His kingdom. This parable speaks of how we (in particular pastors and church leaders) ought to treat one another until that momentous event occurs. In other words, while Christ is away, we need to be serving Him through serving one another. Such is a key attitude that Jesus looks for in His servants.
Philippians 4:6-9 Gods peace is supplied to those who obey Him. We know of course this is true, for whenever we serve the Lord we do in fact have a peace in our hearts. It is a good feeling knowing that our lives are overall pleasing to God, which in turn brings honor and glory to Him.
IV. A SERVANTS HEART IS AN OBEDIENT HEART
Luke 21:25-36 In our text in Revelation 22, we see people there serving Christ for all eternity. One key reason they were chosen to occupy those servant positions is due to the fact they heeded Christs warnings.
overcharged weighted down, burdened, depressed
surfeiting over-indulgence, excessive living, pleasure-driven, reckless abandon without a sense of accountability
drunkeness intoxicated, having senses dulled by a drug, an addiction which dulls the senses. In this context Jesus is speaking of an intoxication with the cares, riches and pleasure of life (Luke 8:14).
cares of life things pertaining to this material, physical life; the temporal (not eternal) things of life that usually cause us to worry, have anxieties, concerns
Romans 6:16-18 Paul noted that the church members in Rome had received the teachings of Christ, and in fact were obedient to them from their hearts (as opposed to a mere mechanical, insincere obedience).
V. A SERVANTS HEART IS A HELPFUL HEART
Galatians 5:13 A servants heart will be one which willingly lends a hand toward helping others in time of need. Jesus formed His ekklesia into a body...an assembly for the purpose of them working and serving together in body-capacity rather than individually.
Galatians 6:1, 2, 10 There are those times when such help offered to others comes in the form of counseling. Such may be counseling in an area in the physical, material, marital, emotional or spiritual realm. As we are told to serve one another , we include the task of offering good, biblically based counsel to help our brethren.
CONCLUSION
So, let us ask the question again why are these people seen here living with Jesus and serving Him for all eternity? Because they chose to develop a servants heart while living in this life; they chose to bring honor to their Master, and in turn their Master is now honoring them with exalted positions of authority and servitude while they rule the nations and attend to the royal affairs of their Lord Jesus Christ. Would YOU like to be a servant of the Lord? Begin nurturing YOUR heart to become a SERVANTS HEART.
1 “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”
In our text we see those who in the future will enjoy a quality life in the very presence of Jesus. Those who are seen here are Christs servants. But how did they qualify? Why do they get to dwell in the very presence of Jesus while others will not be allowed to do so?
Well, according to Jesus own words, it will be because they were faithful over a few things (Matthew 25:14-31); it will be because they learned what Jesus expected of them and set their hearts on doing those things in other words, they developed a servants heart during their lifetime.
You know, it is important that our young people see examples of a servants heart in adult church members. Especially, is this important if an assembly is to work together in harmony and sweet spirit as one body in Christ.
But just what is a servants type of heart, you may ask? Is it possible for us to have such a heart today even with all of the iniquity in the world and in our lives? Yes, it most certainly is, for in our text we see those with Christ whom He calls servants. Thus, we see that their humble spirit of servitude in this life will be carried over into the ages to come.
So, let us now examine what it is that Christ looks for in a servants heart.
I. A SERVANTS HEART IS AN HONEST HEART
Luke 8:15 An honest and good heart opens the way for fruit bearing.
John 15:8 Jesus said to His disciples, Herein is My Father glorified that ye bear much fruit. Thus we see that fruit-bearing disciples give glory to God.
Psalm 139:23, 24 We need to learn to honestly expose our hearts to God; afterall, He knows our hearts anyway, so why try to hide anything from Him?
II. A SERVANTS HEART IS A HUMBLE HEART
Luke 17:10 As we go about serving the Lord and doing what He has commanded us to do, we should not get swelled heads and become puffed up about it. In fact, Jesus taught His disciples to regard themselves as unprofitable servants who after doing the will of their Master simply realize that they have only done what was expected of them.
1 Peter 5:5, 6 Pride is a dangerous thing in the life of a servant. It tends to elevate his heart to an unhealthy level and causes all sorts of problems, not only for himself, but for those around him. Peter learned some lessons on pride the hard way. Thus, we are to constantly keep a check on our pride system, and seek to deliberately squelch any feelings of pride that may creep into our hearts.
Hebrews 12:28 How are we to worship almighty God? With what kind of attitude are we to approach Him?
III. A SERVANTS HEART IS A PEACEFUL HEART
Luke 12:43 We honestly believe that Jesus will return one day to gather His bride and to establish His kingdom. This parable speaks of how we (in particular pastors and church leaders) ought to treat one another until that momentous event occurs. In other words, while Christ is away, we need to be serving Him through serving one another. Such is a key attitude that Jesus looks for in His servants.
Philippians 4:6-9 Gods peace is supplied to those who obey Him. We know of course this is true, for whenever we serve the Lord we do in fact have a peace in our hearts. It is a good feeling knowing that our lives are overall pleasing to God, which in turn brings honor and glory to Him.
IV. A SERVANTS HEART IS AN OBEDIENT HEART
Luke 21:25-36 In our text in Revelation 22, we see people there serving Christ for all eternity. One key reason they were chosen to occupy those servant positions is due to the fact they heeded Christs warnings.
overcharged weighted down, burdened, depressed
surfeiting over-indulgence, excessive living, pleasure-driven, reckless abandon without a sense of accountability
drunkeness intoxicated, having senses dulled by a drug, an addiction which dulls the senses. In this context Jesus is speaking of an intoxication with the cares, riches and pleasure of life (Luke 8:14).
cares of life things pertaining to this material, physical life; the temporal (not eternal) things of life that usually cause us to worry, have anxieties, concerns
Romans 6:16-18 Paul noted that the church members in Rome had received the teachings of Christ, and in fact were obedient to them from their hearts (as opposed to a mere mechanical, insincere obedience).
V. A SERVANTS HEART IS A HELPFUL HEART
Galatians 5:13 A servants heart will be one which willingly lends a hand toward helping others in time of need. Jesus formed His ekklesia into a body...an assembly for the purpose of them working and serving together in body-capacity rather than individually.
Galatians 6:1, 2, 10 There are those times when such help offered to others comes in the form of counseling. Such may be counseling in an area in the physical, material, marital, emotional or spiritual realm. As we are told to serve one another , we include the task of offering good, biblically based counsel to help our brethren.
CONCLUSION
So, let us ask the question again why are these people seen here living with Jesus and serving Him for all eternity? Because they chose to develop a servants heart while living in this life; they chose to bring honor to their Master, and in turn their Master is now honoring them with exalted positions of authority and servitude while they rule the nations and attend to the royal affairs of their Lord Jesus Christ. Would YOU like to be a servant of the Lord? Begin nurturing YOUR heart to become a SERVANTS HEART.