A Faithful Servant
The Book of Beginnings • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 39:46
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· 2,879 viewsDo you want to serve the LORD? What are some steps we can take to do this?
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INTRO
INTRO
Illustration of need addressed.
Connect illustration to present day hearers.
Transition = Show this need or similar issue was also the question behind the biblical text.
Clearly state the theme of the text/sermon.
In the military what is it called when a soldier disobeys an order?
What about as an employee, have you ever been disobedient?
What about bending the rules even a little bit, ever done that?
Do any of you have children that are ever disobedient?
Were any of you disobedient as children?
Why does our faithfulness in obedience matter?
Employer / Employee
What about bending the rules even a little bit, ever done that?
Parent / Child
Master / Servant
Christ / Christian
How can I be a more faithful follower of Christ?
Illustration of need addressed.
How can I be a more faithful servant?
Connect illustration to present day hearers.
Transition = Show this need or similar issue was also the question behind the biblical text.
Clearly state the theme of the text/sermon.
Title & Text
A Faithful Servant
And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
Theme
Abraham entrusted his most important task to his most faithful servant.
And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
Pray
God our Father in Heaven you have called us into your family and into your service. We want to serve you the best we possibly can because we love you. As we look at the service of this man that Abraham called on to serve their family give us your Spirit that we might discern from it something to apply to ourselves today. God show us today how we might grow in our faithful service to you!
Amen!
THE SERMON BODY
THE SERMON BODY
Chapter Structure
vv. 2-9 Abraham Commissions The Servant
vv. 10-61 The Servant Obtains Rebekah
vv. 62-67 Isaac Marries Rebekah
Main Points
To be a more faithful servant we must:
Start Small
Pray Fervently
Seek Diligently
Recount Accurately
Respond Quickly
First Point: We must start small.
2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh,
Gen 24.
This man does not gain this position over night...
2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
Gen 15
2 A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
The Parable of the Talents =
The Parable of the Ten Minas =
23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
4 but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
If we cannot be trusted with the small things we will never be given the greater things.
Anything that we are asked to do is no small thing for God.
Are we being faithful in the small things?
Second Point: We must pray fervently.
12 And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”
17 pray without ceasing,
36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Luke 6
12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.
The servant understands that he is not greater then his master and therefore he asks for leadership.
What do you call a servant / soldier who goes his own way without consulting command?
How is our prayer life?
Third Point: We must seek diligently.
5 The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?”
21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.
49 Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Jer 29
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
The best servant is one that knows and does what is needed before it is specifically asked of him.
The best servant is the one who acts to the best of his ability wether given recognition or not.
What are we looking for?
Fourth Point: We must recount accurately.
33 Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” He said, “Speak on.”
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
let him be accursed
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
A servant who misrepresents his masters message, wether purposefully or not is disgraceful.
As a servant it is our duty to know, understand, and communicate the masters message.
10 To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband
1 Cor 7.10
12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.
What are we saying?
1 Cor
Fifth Point: We must respond quickly.
54 And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my master.”
25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.
8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
Heb 3.
8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
A servant who delays to serve the master only seeks to serve himself.
Servants serve at the speed concurrent with the respect they have for their master.
How quick are we serving?
How can I be a more faithful follower of Christ?
How can I be a more faithful servant?
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
Main Points
To be a more faithful servant we must:
Start Small
Pray Fervently
Seek Diligently
Recount Accurately
Respond Quickly
Expose the structure of the text.
Main points should support the theme.
points should follow textual sequence unless good reason to change.
use simple and clear transitions to give structure to movement.
Use verse references before quoting so that listeners can read along.
Use personal observances to illustrate difficult concepts.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
Be brief.
Don’t introduce new material.
narrow the focus don’t expand it.
Clinch the goal.
Give concrete applications.
Theme
Abraham entrusted his most important task to his most faithful servant.
God has entrusted His most important tasks to the most unlikely people!
Because of the gravity of the commander and His commission of us to cary His communication...
Be brief.
Don’t introduce new material.
narrow the focus don’t expand it.
Clinch the goal.
Give concrete applications.
Goal
We must seek to be the most faithful servants we can be.
Application
9 Marks of a Healthy Church - Mark Dever
Worldliness - C.J. Mahaney
Don’t Waste Your Life - John Piper
What are you doing to serve Him?
How can you be more faithful in what you are currently doing for Him?
Start Small - What is one small thing you can start doing to serve the LORD / One small change you can make to better serve Him?
Pray Fervently - What or who is one thing that you can purpose yourself to pray for more fervently in the future? When is the last time you have been in fasting prayer over something to do with His church?
Seek Diligently - Are you asking the Elders and Deacons how you can get plugged in? Are you asking your brothers and sisters how you can serve them? Are you actively looking for opportunities in your life to share the testimony you have in Christ Jesus?
Recount Accurately - How is your study time? Are you reading and study Scripture? Do you feel you have a real grasp of biblical doctrine and the gospel message?
Respond Quickly - Today is the day beloved! Seek a greater degree of faithfulness today!
Respond Quickly
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Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life - Donald Whitney
9 Marks of a Healthy Church - Mark Dever
Worldliness - C.J. Mahaney
Don’t Waste Your Life - John Piper
My Favorite Illustrations Choose Your Approach
You can perform Christian service in two ways. One is sort of mechanical, simply carrying out an assigned task. For instance, you are given a card bearing the name of a prospective member for your class or for the church. You make the visit but only as an assigned task.
You make the visit but no one is home. So you write on the card “Not at home” and return it. Mission accomplished! Or was it? Actually, the card screams, “No concern.”
The other approach to service is one of concern. This approach is motivated by a genuine compassion for people. This method is the only one worthy of the name “Christian.”
CLOSE
God our Father we serve at your pleasure. We want more of you, we want to serve you for you are worthy! LORD we cannot serve you with the excellence you deserve unless you help us to. We beg you therefore to send us your Spirit today to lead and guide us in the path we should go. Help make us aware of the small things in our life, let us not be blind to them. Cause us to see the areas that we are neglecting or that can be improved upon for you deserve the most excellent service we can give!
A faithful servant is invested in the prosperity of the master
A faithful servant is willing to forgo his own personal comfort for the sake of the master
A faithful servant joyously serves his master
A faithful servant is one who desires to continue to grow in his ability to serve his master
COMMUNION
What it stands for
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Warning
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
Communion Verses
26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”
27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
COMMUNION TOGETHER
Fellowship With Each Other
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.