Have You Been Served?

Text:

Genesis 27:22-29:

22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.

24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.

26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:

28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

 

Theme:

Have You Been Served?

 

Introduction:

• The Book Of Genesis is the first book of the Bible, the first book of the Old Testament, the first book of the Biblical books of History, the first book of the Pentateuch, and the first book of the Torah.
  • Genesis literally means “in the beginning”
  • Genesis spans the lives and accomplishments of its five main characters
    • Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob
  • Genesis outlines the beginnings of God’s plan for:
    • The universe
    • His chosen people
    • Our lives
• One of the most unmentioned, yet controversial, issues that we encounter in life is that of “service”!
  • Who is supposed to serve who?
    • Children – “Get it yourself!”
    • Parents and children – “Yes, Ma’am!” 🙁
    • Husband and wife – Woman’s “Work” vs. Man’s “Responsibility”
    • Undershepherd and the Congregation – Pastor’s salary & Helping the people
    • God & Man !!!
      • This is the crux of the issue for the child of God and for this study!!!!!
        • OT — Deuteronomy 10:12, “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,”
        • NT — Matthew 4:10, “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

 

Body:

• God’s servant serving — Commission
  • John 13:14, “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.”
  • Mark 10:44, “And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.”
  • In summary, Jesus said in John 4:34, “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”
  • The servant serving the children is an indication that he is CALLED!!
    • 2 Peter 1:10, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:”
• God’s servant wanting to be served è Selfishness
  • Elijah afraid and wanting God to take his life before Jezebel can find him and kill him –> It was all about him and not God
    • 1 Kings 19:1-5, “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.”
• God’s servant needing to be served è Divine Provision
  • Matthew 6:31-33, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
• God’s servant letting himself be served è Sacrifice
  • There are many examples of the servant of God allowing himself to be served for the sake of the Gospel and NOT himself.
    • The Service of Rahab to hide and assist the spies, Joshua and Caleb
      • Joshua 2:1-4, 12, “And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: ….Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token:”
  • The Service of the Widow Woman feeding the prophet Elijah
    • 1 Kings 17:10-16, “So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand….And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.  And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.  And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.”
  • The Service of Mary Magdalene anointing the feet of Jesus with her tears and ointment:
    • Luke 7:37-48, “And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment…..And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.”
  • The Woman at the Well being asked to give Jesus Water from the Well
    • John 4:6-8, 14-15, “Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)….But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.”
  • The servant must, out of obedience to God, allow himself to be served by others when it is God’s Will:
    • As Jesus said concerning the woman at the well, John 4:4, “And he must needs go through Samaria.”
    • If Jesus had not gone the woman would not have gotten the Word that led to her liberation!
  • Serving the Servant is a sacrifice that is worth it!
    • God will take care of those who take care of His own!
    • Your will be rewarded/repaid for your sacrifice!
      • Matthew 10:42, “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”
    • You will be rewarded for your deed!
      • Matthew 25:40, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
• The text explains that those who “Bless the Blessed” are BLESSED!!!!!
  • Verse 29 says, “blessed be he that blesseth thee”
  • Let us not forget that Serving the servant is an indication that you are SAVED!!!!!
    • 1 John 3:14, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”
    • 1 John 3:16, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

 

Conclusion:

• The Servant allowing the sheep to serve him is part of the work as ordained by God!
  • Have you been served?
    • The service is out of love for the child of God, not the selfishness of the servant
    • It’s about God’s plan and not the servant’s desires.
    • It’s for the salvation of the people and not the comfort of the servant
  • Have you been served?
    • If God can use a mule to turn a prophet around.
    • If God can use a prostitute to save the descendents of His people
    • If God can use a stable be the delivery room for the Savior
    • If God can use murderer, Paul, to preach a Gospel of Self-Death and Life more abundantly
      • HE CAN USE ANOTHER PERSON TO SERVE THE SERVANT!!!
  • Have you been served?
    • If God can use me to serve Him, then He can use someone else to serve me!!!!
      • Thank God for giving us work and allowing us to be worked to the glorification of His name!!
• No matter whom He uses, it is still God who provides for us!!

 Nobody But You

[Nobody but you], nobody but you.

[Nobody but you], nobody but you.

When I was in trouble, you brought me over,

Nobody but you, Lord, nobody but you.

(other verses as desired and/or moan)

[You’ve been a lawyer in a courtroom]

[You’ve been a doctor in a sick room]

[You brought my mother]