On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 10)

By Lori Bakker | | Filed in General, Teaching

Part Ten

Jesus Made Himself of No Reputation

Compared to God, mere men have no reputation at all.  They are just men, and no matter how great the achievement or how lofty the accomplishment, they are still just men.  Yet they strive to be considered ‘great’ and they often are driven to accomplish mighty feats of building or business or intellectual supremacy or, quite often, acts of charity.  Why?  Often, it’s to be known and admired by others.

Jesus addresses this pride in men with the following scriptures:

Matthew 6:1 “Take care not to do your good works before men, to be seen by them; or you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 6:5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Matthew 6:16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Matthew 23:5 “Everything they do is done for men to see…

Acts 3:12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?

Consider how Jesus’ actions and behaviors contrast with the religious crowd:

  • Jesus did many miracles yet he said “don’t tell anyone”
  • He washed the feet of his disciples
  • He ate and drank with tax collectors 
  • He received the woman with a checkered past and an alabaster
  • Welcomed little children
  • He was fully God – yet He humbled Himself to be shamed, beaten, and spit upon (Isaiah 53)
    • Shameful and degrading thing to be crucified
    • Worse than a common criminal

Jesus spoke of the hypocrites that prayed so that they would be seen. “For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward” (Matt 6:5).

You can substitute anything else besides pray, whether it’s their good works, giving, spiritual gifts or preaching.  “They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues” (Matthew 23:6). They lived to be noticed and seen as more important than others. Speaking of the Pharisees in John 12:43 “for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

We always need to be careful of the traps of being sought after and put on a pedestal. Once pride sets in it becomes harder to return to walking in humility and letting God use you as He once may have.

A real servant is busy doing God’s work whether he is noticed or unnoticed. He doesn’t care if anyone watches him. His reward will be later.

This same mind (attitude) that Jesus had we are to have for one another- “Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion” (Rom 12:16). Jesus ate with the sinners, the less fortunate, and the needy. He enjoyed their company compared to the rich and important people. He purposely did not eat with the kings or leaders unless they had an open heart to listen.

Jesus made servanthood an absolute requirement for leadership. To be a servant one must let go of their own significance and be willing to serve others at their own expense. In Matthew 20:26-28: “whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave–just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” This was the example He gave us in the apostles and others in the Church.  It was the example we need to live by.

Being a bondservant of Christ is a station in life that is proven through our service to His Church.  When we love as Christ loved, we will see the unredeemed through His compassionate eyes and we will love them as He did.  Jesus said “if you love me, feed my sheep.”

Serving Christ is much more than the “form” – it’s love in action and a heart attitude of humility that makes us want to be like Him – a bondservant of Christ.

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 3
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 5
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9

On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 9)

By Lori Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized

Part Nine

Jesus Made Himself of No Reputation

Jesus didn’t flaunt who he was, nor did he deny who he was… which is why they killed him.  A mere man claiming to be GOD?  That’s what they thought, and that was blasphemy punishable by death!  But the fact of the matter was that they (the religious crowd) didn’t recognize him for who he was, nor did they accept him because they were not of God, but rather of their father, the devil!

And it was the religious crowd that bristled and was disgusted when Jesus did things they were way too proud and far too hard-hearted to do.  One such time was when Jesus was eating with one from this religious crowd and a woman came to the house where Jesus was and began to weep.  As she wept, she washed his feet with her tears and then she poured expensive perfume on them.  The religious man who invited him thought in his heart, if Jesus were truly who he said he was, he wouldn’t even let this woman touch him because she was so sinful.

But Jesus knew his thoughts, and confronted him with them:   “Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Luke 7:44-47

Let me tell you that today there are many religious people and even whole churches that would behave exactly like this man did.   Have you ever heard anyone in a church say something like “oh, they’re not our caliber of people!”  Believe me, I have.  But even when the religious crowd’s pride is not so glaringly obvious, they will sometimes despise and reject a person whose reputation preceded them, even after they have repented!

As Jesus said to this religious man “he who has been forgiven little loves little.”

Jesus is coming for a Church that loves much!  He is coming for a Church that knows Him as their Savior!  Jesus will not reject, refuse or deny the sinner who is contrite and humble.  But as for that religious crowd….  They’re going to wish they didn’t have a reputation to try to protect!

Philippians 2:7,8 “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 3
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 5
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10

On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 7)

By Lori Bakker | | Filed in Teaching | Tags: , , ,

Part Seven

“What Reputation?”

1998

“I’ve had a dream of marrying a preacher or minister – someone to share my vision, someone who’s not threatened that I have a ministry of my own but who wants me to partner with him in God’s work. Over the years that dream has seemed pretty remote at times. Just a few months ago, I finally let God put that dream back in my heart, even though I knew it would take a miracle. I’m a woman with a very checkered past, and that past is part and parcel of my ministry. But marrying someone like me could ruin a minister’s reputation…” I stopped, suddenly unsure and embarrassed that I had revealed so much of what lay deep inside my heart.

“Now, isn’t it interesting,” Jim said, “that I don’t have a reputation left to ruin. Not a shred of respectability.”

We both burst out laughing.

Excerpt from “More Than I Could Ever Ask” by Lori Bakker

When I first surrendered my life to the Lord, I was petrified that ‘church people’ would find out the full extent of my sins, especially the abortions, and then they would want nothing to do with me. But, in order to bring about my full healing and restoration, it wasn’t long before the Holy Spirit arranged a full disclosure of what I had done – first, to my own soul – and then quickly to others from whom I was destined to receive ministry. God had already forgiven me, but He wanted to begin a healing process – one which I would eventually minister to others.

At that point in my life, I was unaware of the full extent of the ministry into which the Lord was calling and directing me. In fact, the Master’s Commission program I had become a part of was fully focused on discipleship – and I had a lot of learning to do to become the vessel that God could use.

It was 10 years in this program that taught me how to be a servant first – that prepared me to stand up under the weight of my calling. You see, what my leaders and mentors knew was that the enemy’s plan was to make me a ‘shooting star’ by launching a spiritually immature woman into a high-profile ministry too soon – too much, too soon – and consequently, shipwrecking the plan of God.

No, that wasn’t going to happen to me and they made sure of it.

My first task in Master’s Commission was learning what it meant to serve – a concept foreign to much of today’s ‘self esteem’ driven teaching. I didn’t get to jump on into the pulpit to preach – I got to jump into a bus and drive to the inner-city of Phoenix!

(continued)

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 3
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 5
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10

On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 6)

By Lori Bakker | | Filed in Last Days, Teaching | Tags:

Part Six

“The Flesh is Weak”

In my last blog (#5) we talked about a good reputation being a requirement for a leader in the Church.  Now we’re going to examine what a good reputation means, and how one can achieve it.  Remembering again that the things of the Kingdom are usually just the opposite of how the world works.

Religion represents the appearance of things and the ‘form’.  Remember when Jesus called the Sadducees and Pharisees white-washed tombs?… full of every unclean thing.  He said they long to appear righteous and they make sure everybody sees them when they pray.  Yet Jesus called them out in their folly.  In today’s religion, we might know someone who loves to be seen and heard and thought of as super spiritual.

But Paul got real about his own flesh in this passage:  “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God — through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin” (Romans 7:14-25).

Religious people will often seek the squeaky clean looking, never sinned (or never got caught) and wouldn’t admit it if they did – crowd to represent them in a ‘church’.  What matters most is if they look good and if they have an unsoiled public reputation.

There are precious few truly discerning Christians out there, and even fewer who are mature enough to restore a God-ordained leader if he does sin, yet this is what the Bible says to do (Gal 6:1).

Some religious circles believe that if a leader is caught in a sin, (s)he can be forgiven and perhaps remain in the Body, but can never return to a leadership position.  If that were true, David would never have led the armies of Israel to victory, Peter would have never preached at Pentecost, and Paul wouldn’t need to talk about his ‘thorn’.

But a bondservant of Christ will never quit because he belongs to the One who chose him, called him, and ordained him.  Proverbs 24:16 says “A righteous person may fall seven times, but he gets up again. However, in a disaster wicked people fall.”

Should we be concerned about what others think of us?  Yes.  But if we sin and fall short, we have an advocate with God our Father, who is Jesus and He is interceding for us right now.  And guess what?  Other truly spiritual people will do the same thing.  They will pray for us, speak life to us and help to restore us to right standing with God.

Yet, more often, those who fall into sin are talked about, shunned, shamed, and shelved.  Some are even given the left foot of fellowship by religion.

We have already established that a leader in the Church in the Last Days must be a bondservant of Christ, giving up all of him or herself and laying down their lives in service to Jesus.  Can a leader and bondservant of Christ sin and still be a leader in the Church?  Certainly not willfully and using the grace of God as license to sin.  But leadership within God’s Church is not based on qualifications and a sinless track record.  As I’ve said before, God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

What God has ordained, let no man put asunder.  I love that line in the traditional marriage vows.  And here’s how it applies in the Church:  if you were conceived in the mind of God, birthed and brought forth in the Last Days for ministry in the Lord’s Church, and yet you have been buffeted by Satan and consequently failed in your flesh, even repeatedly, if you repent and receive God’s Amazing Grace – you are still who you are.  Your identity in Christ cannot be taken from you – and your gifts and callings are without repentance.  In other words, when God gave them to you, He was not and is not sorry He did so, and will not ‘take it back’, and neither can any man take it from you.

However, there were some things David could not do because of his sin.  The Bible says that God would not let David build the temple because he had innocent blood on his hands.  There are consequences to your sin that only God can administer.  But God loved David and never took back David’s anointing to lead Israel.

In the Last Days, the true bondservants of Christ will be distinguished by one characteristic:  THEY WILL NOT QUIT – THEY WILL NOT GIVE UP.  If they fail, they will get back up again and again like David did and seek God’s forgiveness.  That’s why David was described as a “man after God’s own heart”.  He knew how to repent… and he never, never, never gave up.

They lead because that’s who they are – and they are not under bondage to what others may think of them.  They play to an audience of One.  They go forward because they can do nothing else!  They are compelled by the Spirit of God within them to serve in the Kingdom – they are bondservants.

Let the reputation that we honor be the one of which we can say “They never gave up on God – and God never gave up on them.”

I promise we will get to Christ making Himself of no reputation.

(continued)

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 3
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 5
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10

On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 5)

By Lori Bakker | | Filed in Teaching | Tags: , ,

Part Five

“Good Reputation a Qualification of Leaders”

When talking about being a “bondservant” of Christ, we have to take the Word of God and rightly divide it to come to the correct teaching about what it means to be a true bondservant.  Should we be concerned about our reputations?  Evidently so, because when Paul was instructing Timothy about the qualifications for a leader in the church, he said in 1 Timothy 3:7 AMP “Furthermore, he must have a good reputation and be well thought of by those outside [the church]…”  The entire chapter of 1 Timothy 3 instructs those who are leaders in varying capacities to be mindful of their behavior so that they will represent Christ Jesus in an honorable way.  The Bible even says that your children must behave well – Lord have mercy!

Have you ever seen the driver of a car with a religious bumper sticker exhibiting bad driving manners?  This example sounds a little foolish, but it’s true that those who are not Christians are always watching because they know a Christian is theoretically expected to be ‘Christ-like’.  Then, when they aren’t – it brings reproach not only on the person exhibiting the bad behavior, but also on Christ Jesus himself.  “Well, if that’s the way a Christian acts, I want no part of that. What a hypocrite!”  And that goes double if the person is the known leader of a Church.

Does being a bondservant of Christ mean that you will never behave badly, or that your flesh will never show up and show out, as they say?  Does it mean that we will never sin?

Does being a leader in the Body of Christ demand that all people everywhere think well of you?

I sure hope not – for if it does, I am completely undone.

But getting back to leaders:  Several of the Disciples of Christ described themselves as bondservants in the Bible.  Beginning as Disciples, and then later on, as Apostles – all of them were bondservants.   In the leadership of the Church as described in Ephesians 4:11,12 God gave Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry and to build up the Church.  Other leadership offices mentioned in the Bible were Deacon, Bishop and Elder.

For those who lead in the Church, a good reputation is a requirement.  But in our next conversation, we’ll balance the letter of the ‘law’ with the spiritual principles of  mercy, grace and love, remembering that Satan is the ‘accuser’ of the brethren.  We’re not going to excuse sin, but we will talk about how God’s chosen leaders struggled with their flesh.

And I promise you we will get to the topic of Christ making Himself of no reputation.

We will come back to this series “On Being a Bondservant of Christ” after this coming week’s program with Philip Cameron.  Be sure to tune in for a heart-stirring time with us on the show.

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 3
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10

On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 4)

By Lori Bakker | | Filed in Teaching | Tags: ,

Part Four

“No Reputation”

From a very young age, most of us have heard from our parents about having a “good reputation”, especially those of us who are girls.  It was not that long ago when it mattered.  People were concerned about their own morality and the morality of their children.  It was a different social atmosphere then – when integrity of heart and social behaviors really were the “stuff” of substance.

Businessmen were concerned about dealing fairly with their customers and their associates.  It was important to have a reputation of integrity in the community, and still is to some extent.  Without it, the business may suffer.  But big business has changed all that.  Why?  Because people are now concerned about only the short-term effects on their pocketbook instead of the long-term effects of moral, economic, and social corruption.  How else could a company like Enron manipulate so many people?

In the environment I grew up in, I was known as a “bad girl”.  My reputation was shot with those who still valued such things.  But I found acceptance and even admiration in a certain segment of the drug and alcohol culture.  Things were changing.  We were learning to value things that were worthless, and devalue those things that were priceless.  It was the age of drugs, sex and rock ‘n roll and those who were ‘hip’ redefined the culture.

Today, “reputation” is scoffed at as a social dinosaur.  Why?  Because we have seen in all too many headlines, the gap between how one is known by the public, and the reality of their true character when the intimate knowledge of hidden things are exposed.  Their “reputation” may have been excellent – their character just the opposite.

Remember when I said that “everything in the Kingdom of God is just exactly upside-down of what the world teaches?”  The world teaches us to guard our reputations – and the Bible teaches us to guard our hearts – for out of it flows the wellspring of life.

As a bondservant of Christ, we will give up worrying about what others think of us, especially in “church”.  In fact, we will surrender all that we are to the only One who deserves all our honor and praise.

In the next segment, we’re going to talk about how Jesus “made himself of no reputation”.

(continued)

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 3
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 5
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10

On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 3)

By Lori Bakker | | Filed in Teaching | Tags:

Part Three

Brokenness – A Prerequisite

I’ve often said that brokenness is a prerequisite for effective ministry.  Only through our own brokenness can we deliver the heart of God in ministry for others.  Why?  Because Jesus allowed Himself to be broken in every way, including His physical body and we are not above our Master.  But while we all honor Jesus for going to the Cross and allowing His body to be crucified so that we can have eternal life (John 3:16), we don’t often focus on His emotional brokenness which was so apparent in the Garden of Gethsemane and at other times in His life.

In the Garden, Jesus struggled with His friends.  He knew what was to come very shortly, that He would face the greatest trial of His life, and He wanted His friends to pray with Him.  That doesn’t sound like a tremendous request, does it?  Yet they could not even muster the commitment to pray – they chose to sleep instead.  Were they weak?  Oh yes they were.  But they failed even more in the hours ahead.  Some betrayed Jesus, one denied Him.  None stood with Him.  Jesus was alone, except for the Father, in Whom He trusted for His strength, emotional and physical.

Have you ever been through something and thought your friends had your back and that they would walk with you through it and support you, only to find that they would go with you a short distance – stand with you for a little while – pray with you for a short time – but in the end, you found yourself alone.  Not even Sister Super Saint would go the distance with you.  It was something you had to go through yourself in order to rely fully and wholly upon God alone, Who is the Only One who could sustain you.

Brokenness comes when everything and everyone around you fails you.  You prayed all your spiritual warfare prayers, and things just got worse.  Your called on your friends, but your friends couldn’t go the distance with you.  Religion fails you, even spiritual leaders sometimes fail you.  You come to the end of your reliance on anything that is earthly and you come to a surrender that you can survive with only one explanation – GRACE.  You now intimately know what it means when some other broken vessel says that God alone sustained them through something.

Jesus came to that place of brokenness and surrender – Job came as well.  David, Paul and John came too.  Mary Magdalene knew this place well – for she had found no greater love anywhere than at His feet.  When the pain and sorrow is so great that you can only whisper the Name – yet, you do – you do call out that Name Above All Names.  It is at that moment that God’s Amazing Grace sustains you and you have been given the honor of having your faith exercised by the trials you endure.

Up until now, you had thought you were a pretty good Christian.  But now you know that you can do nothing, absolutely nothing, in your own strength.  You can’t help others, though you thought you could, without being broken.  You can’t even walk the walk though you’ve talked the talk.  You have a new understanding that every step you take, every breath you inhale is dependent on Him.

Your reputation?  Ha!  Jesus made Himself of NO reputation.  We’ll discuss that next.

(continued)

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 5
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10

On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 2)

By Lori Bakker | | Filed in Teaching | Tags:

Part Two

Contrasts

Remembering that everything in the Kingdom of God is just exactly upside-down of what the world teaches, even our own churches tell on themselves by the messages they preach.  Are we raising up disciples or are we only another representation of a world system masquerading as a “church”?

The Gospel of Christ is referred to as a “mystery” in the Bible.  That’s because you can’t understand it at all unless God himself shows you by His Spirit, and you can’t fake it with real Christians who know what it means to be “saved”.  Christians know the Lord’s voice – and another they will not follow.  The Lord said that many will say to Him “Lord, Lord… didn’t we…” and with one of the most chilling responses I’ve ever read, Jesus answers “away from me, I NEVER KNEW YOU”.  You will never get to heaven by knowing how to maneuver within the Christian community.  You may fool a few naïve people, but you will never fool God.

When Paul came to the saving knowledge of Christ, he was completely undone.  Everything he had thought was right, was wrong.  The day Paul had held the garments of those who stoned Stephen (a true bondservant of Christ), he thought he was doing God a service.  But when God spoke to him, he said “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute ME?”  What Paul’s religion had taught him was wrong.  Paul had participated in killing the true bondservant of God because his religion blinded him to the truth and the saving knowledge of Christ.

It’s a scary thought, isn’t it?  Is it even possible to be that deceived today, that we would do diabolic things and think we are doing God a service?  It should be a lesson all of us apply to ourselves, yet we most often think of others when we hear it.

Dieing to self is a term that is tossed around all too easily in Christiandom.  Yet, dying to self is one of the requirements of being a bondservant of Christ.  In much of today’s modern Christianity, we hear so much about “fulfilling your purpose” and “how to live your best life now” and many other self-focused teachings.  Most of it stands in sharp contrast to what is really important in the Kingdom of God.

Modern Christianity wants you to have “self” esteem.  Jesus wants you to esteem others more highly than yourself.   Humility is not something that is valued in today’s society, even in churches.  The humble are considered weak and the mantra we have heard over and over is that only the strong survive.

Yet, Paul said “let the weak say I am strong.”

Paul, who was a true bondservant of Christ, when he wrote to the Galatians said:  “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Being crucified with Christ and dying to self are so comprehensive that it’s hard to talk about these topics without writing an entire book – and many people have.  But the point I want to make in this series “On Being a Bondservant of Christ” is that we must return to the teachings of Christ in His Word to make sure our hearts are right with God.  No longer can we afford to appease the flesh with easy things that sound spiritual, but aren’t.  The time is short.  Jesus is coming soon!  I want to be ready!

(to be continued)

Love,

Lori

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 3
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 5
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10

On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 1)

By Lori Bakker | | Filed in Last Days

When I was in Master’s Commission in Phoenix, one of the most important things we learned very early was what it meant to be a bondservant of Christ.  This is not a popular topic, but then again, Jim and I are not known for our preaching on popular things!   In our “it’s all about me” generation, this is not a topic one would hear in “happy church” – but it is a topic that is essential for the Revelation Days which are immediately upon us.

I believe we’re in a time frame in the Revelation of Christ where we need to review this topic again and determine the condition of our own individual hearts in regards to it.

I’m going to be doing a series of blogs about being a “bondservant” and I hope you will tune in.  Please open your heart and your spiritual ears.   We do not want to be among those who say “Lord, didn’t we do <fill in the blank> in your name?  And then hear “away from Me – I do not know you!”

The term “bondservant” comes from the word dulos and is defined as:

  1. 1.     a slave, bondman, man of servile condition
  2. 2.    one who gives himself up to another’s will
  3. 3.    those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men
  4. 4.    devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests

 

Being a bondservant of Christ means a lot of things.  We are going to get started with just a reminder of some of the simple things we may have heard long ago in Sunday School, but forgotten as time and the pressures of our environment take its tolls.

The culture we live in subtly works against the principles of God in every way.  The principles of the Kingdom of God are exactly upside down of  what we hear and see in the world – but if we’re not careful, we accept the world’s attitudes and deceptiveness into our own lives and it creeps in on us.  We repeat things that sound right, but aren’t – and the ultimate end of our not staying on the right path is missing the mark!

In the last 100 years especially, we have been inundated with the “I have a right” rhetoric in our country which has reached an absurd tempo and twisted the truths of God to call evil good, and good, evil.  We are now disregarding the things of honor, and honoring wicked things.

Nobody is exempt.

Nobody is beyond deception.

We must guard our hearts and minds in the Last Days!

In order to stay on the right path in our thinking and in our Christian walk, we must revisit what the Word of God really says about living godly lives.

Jesus is our Supreme Example:

“… but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43-45)

Jesus came to serve:

“For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves. (Luke 22:27)

Jesus is the epitome of servant leadership.  He humbled himself to wash the feet of his disciples, a task thought to be the lowest of any servant.  Yet, Jesus did even more… He died on a cross – crucified so that we would live.  He was and is the Master who taught us what it means to lead by serving.

Be sure to tune in for this continuing study of what it means to be a bondservant of Christ.  Together we can keep it real, and keep it right.

(continued)

Love,

Lori

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 3
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 5
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10

This Generation Will Not Pass…

By Lori Bakker | | Filed in Last Days, Teaching | Tags: , , , ,

Matthew 24 is a passage of Scripture that tells what to look for just before the Lord returns.  Jim preaches from it often.  Right after the Word tells about wars, earthquakes, famines, etc., it says that this generation will not pass away before we see the coming of the Lord. 

What generation?  The generation that is living at the time those things spoken of in Matthew 24 are happening. 

The New Living Bible says it like this:  “I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place.”

Unless you completely ignore the signs of the times, you must know that we ARE the last generation – it’s not a cliche’, it’s a reality.  We are truly a chosen generation – chosen to occupy this earth and see the Lord coming again in great Glory and Power.

Have you ever thought about why He would choose you and me to be here at this time in history?  Some think we’re here by accident – the product of happenstance.  Yet, those who are truly believers of Jesus Christ know that nothing in this universe is happenstance with our God. 

There are so many scriptures that tell us we are not an accident – we were planned before the foundations of the earth.  Think about that for just a minute.  Before our Creator made the earth that we live on, He knew us and knew we would occupy that earth at this crucial time in the history of the world.

We are a chosen generation.  With that, comes privilege, and with privilege comes responsibility.

Spiritual truths are being revealed every day that herald the Second Coming.  Light is equivalent to truth, and when we receive light or truth we have more responsibilities. So not only do we have more light today, but we also have more accountability.

The more truth that we understand, the more you and I are required to walk in the level of understanding we have been given and to carry that light to others.  That’s why many people will only go so far with God and then they balk at knowing the deeper things.  They know they will be held accountable!  I wouldn’t want to stand before God and tell Him that I refused His gifts because I didn’t want to be accountable for them.  As a matter of fact, there is a parable about that in Matthew 25, and the end of the one who would not use what God had given him wisely – well, let’s just say it doesn’t end well.

In the last generation, God is sending a message of truth to the entire world, and after you receive that message of truth, it draws a line in the sand for you. 

Now in the last generation, Jesus has chosen you to carry the message of truth to a sin-sick world.  Much of this world has so twisted things that they now call evil good, and good evil.  But truth is always the standard bearer in this earth.  The scriptures tell us that when evil comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God will lift up a standard against it.  Will you do it?  Will you be His standard bearer in these Last Days?

There has been so much talk and preaching about a purposeful life – but there is no greater purpose under heaven than to be a standard bearer for the Lord Jesus in these Last Days!