What’s With All the Service?

Mark 10:43-44 “…so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.”

I carefully observed this society and its general perspectives on diverse things. One thing that I’ve noticed is that many people have an inaccurate judgment or even an offense when it comes to any ideas or concepts regarding service and/or authority. Many new members to our congregations do not perceive the logic or perspective whereby we serve. They are asking, “What’s with all the service?” It seems like concepts of service are oftentimes automatically tagged along with feelingsof abusive authority, low self-esteem, weak-mindedness, and brainwashing. Many can’t even imagine why someone would ever want to voluntarily subjugate him or herself in service to another person, especially where money isn’t involved.

It should be obvious to any thoughtful person that the whole of society is sustained and maintained (from the lowest to the highest level) by service. We, as natural individuals, wouldn’t survive a week in this society without serving in some capacity and/or being served in some way.Neither would this society as a whole survive a day without structure, order and delegated authority.  Yet, within most people in this society, there seems to be this sentiment of disdain and offense when it comes to the very idea of serving and being served.

The philosophy of democracy, though it may have many perks and advantages, has some very obvious and inherent flaws. This governmental system tries to give the impression that everyone is important, everyone is equal, and that every vote counts. Everyone is in charge. “I’m a boss!” just like Snoop Dogg says. The president is a civilian just like us, a citizen of these United States. “You matter” and “You count” is the propaganda. You pay the policeman’s salary and so,in turn, you must be his master, right? As it says on the side of the police car “to protect and serve!” He is your servant, right? Of course, that is until you break the LAW and he slaps those steel cuffs on you and throws you into a cold, dark cell. That’s a place where you can geta dose of reality! That’s where everyone gets baptized into a fresh revelation of who’s really the master and who is really the slave.Of course there must be authority within society orinjustice and anarchy will go unabated. But maybe,just maybe,those in true power understandthis. Maybe they know that everyone being a chief and no one being an Indian is an absurd concept! Having no king is lunacy!

We should consider this American eagle, which is the same symbol of the old Roman Empire; an empire that deceived its people into believing that it was a democracy while at the same time secretly operating as an empire behind closed doors. The people were told that they had the power and “every vote counts!” to keep the people docile and compliant while the government yielded to the will of the emperor.

Maybe the truth would be too unbearable for the domesticated,westernized minds of this society. What are you saying, Brother Duffey? I’m not the boss? We aren’t controlling all this here?Are you saying that the fingers of the very rich are pulling the strings of this puppet we call the US? How ghastly! Are you saying that maybe, the military isn’t set up on a democratic system because they know that it won’t work in reality, and that we would be destroyed? Are you saying that maybe the propaganda directed at getting everyone to vote (even if they are voting for opposing candidates) is a ploy to distract from the fact that every vote doesn’t count! Maybe the power isn’t really in our hands, and democracy is a crib for the minds of those not emotionally ready to face reality.

I know that power to the people and governing by popular opinion may seem to be a perfect form of government in the minds of some.  But we must always realize and never lose sight of the fact that Jesus is the true King, and His perfect governmental order is kingdom order. Sure, within this world, filled with many evils, we have seen throughout history many tyrannical kings abuse their subjects in many perverse and ungodly ways. This is due to the human nature resident within earthly kings. We must remember and recognize that we have a perfect king in the heavens. The Lord above is a lord of love. And because of His sacrificial love for us, He is worthy of our highest service. To Him, we pledge our allegiance. To Him, we willingly give subjugation. We must endeavor, in spite of the natural governmental order we see, to live with a continued consciousness of the King and the kingdom.

We not only recognize and subjugate ourselves to the Lord but to those He sets as rulers in our lives. These are men and women he has set to feed us, serve us spiritually, love us sincerely, and watch over our souls. The kingdom is a house of servants. All are serving and being served. We know that if we are appointed by God to serve someone in this kingdom, it is because they have a greater service to accomplish and couldn’t serve in the capacity they are called to by God as successfully if we weren’t there to support them in sometimes the most subtle and simplistic ways. If a person is under a great weight of spiritual responsibility, not having God-appointed servants praying for them, handling certain natural responsibilities, and holding them up could have disastrous consequences. We understand this and that is why we are faithful!Though serving another can be sometimes tedious, sometimes monotonous and sometimes downright cumbersome, we never leave our post!We serve as unto the Lord, always endeavoring with a spirit of excellence to give our utmost for His highest!

Some scholars would agree, that the nicholaitanism of which the scripture speaks in the book of Revelation (a doctrine established by a deacon at Ephesus by the name of Nicholas, meaning: lay conquerors) speaks in regard to common people (laymen), throwing off the reigns of established church authority and going about governing themselves without authority.This, no doubt, resulted in lawlessness and much confusion. This doctrine, which was despised by Christ,appears to correlate closely to the natural establishment of democracy. Bitterness toward the established authority (King George of Britain) was the spirit and driving force behind the North American colonists’ pursuitfor independence.

Though the country has been established for over two hundred years now, this bitterness and wound from abusive authority still stains the hearts of its people. The resulting abnormality retards our perspective of kingdom and, in turn, hampers our relationship to, and understanding of, the things of God:of which retardation we should tirelessly fight to strip ourselves away from. We should continually cast off all bitterness and misconceptions of authority and see all things balanced; knowing that though there have been abuses of authority in many places, there is, likewise, authority that has been established by God.

God has set true leaders in place for the purpose of building us up. True God-given authority should never tear us down. This is the authority that we must discern from the counterfeit. This is the authority that we must discern from the immature. This is the authority that we must honor when we recognize it. As we recognize and serve God’s appointed authorities in our life, we believe that when God sets us up in His authority, He will send those who will discern the sincerity and love within our heart (by which we seek to please Him) and they will faithfully undergird and serve us. We believe that they will serve us with thefaithfulness that we have served those that were in authority over us in times past. Yes, they will serve us in natural things as we seek to serve them in spiritual things; edifying one another in love and fulfilling the will of God.

Now that we have been translated into the spiritual kingdom of Christ, there are things that we now understand. First is that we live in a kingdom of servants, the King Himself being the greatest servant of all; giving His very life for His people for the purpose of saving His subjects from destruction and death. As followers of His great example, our goal is not to serve for the purpose of arriving at a place where service is obsolete. We aren’t trying to get out of service! We serve for the purpose of being entrusted by God with greater service! We look to the cross as the most awesome example of service and the ultimate goal to attain. The Apostles,after being beaten by the Jewish Sanhedrin, rejoiced because they were accounted worthy to serve the Lord with suffering. Our mentality, like those of the Apostles, is that service is not just an endeavor for reward, but that service itself is its own reward only to be trumped by the reward of greater service. To be called a servant of God is our greatest honor.

All service is not natural service. Though there are many kinds of services,the scripture classifies service into two categories. There are natural services and there is spiritual service. Within each category there are diverse abilities, diverse methodologies, and diverse levels of authority. Spiritual service is greater than natural service. The reason for this is that spiritual service has everlasting potential while natural service can only have temporal effect. This is why, generally speaking, natural service is a prerequisite for spiritual service. God will see that you are being faithful to Him in a small, natural labor before He places you into a position that may have long-lasting, and perhaps even everlasting, ramifications.

Now, if you had a loved one that needed a heart transplant, and you could choose the doctor, would you choose a doctor that couldn’t handle the most menial task? If a person can’t clean a dish thoroughly, or can’t sweep a floor, or forgets to pay a bill, or can’t make a bed, or can’t seem to show up to work on time, or can’t drive within the speed limit, or has problems with the complexity of scrambling an egg, I’d say that heart surgery is well above their pay grade. If you can’t serve excellently on a small scale, why would anyone want to give you responsibility? Why would you try to drive a car when you can’t successfully steer a tricycle out of harms way?

MINISTRY IS HEART SURGERY! When a person opens their heart for you to speak into their lives, you have been given an enormous responsibility. You have been given the power of influence. You can affect their marriage, their children, their job, their household, their finances, their relationship to God, their friends, their enemies, their acquaintances, all forms of relationship and every aspect of that person’s life. Ministry isn’t child’s play; neither is it a game. You seriously need to know what you are doing and be faithful to the instruction.Pay attentionand be extremely careful with that person’s soul! You should hold your office as a position of honor and of utmost importance.

WARNING!!! If you ever feel tempted or obligated in any way to give a person who has a proven track record for stupid decisions and bad judgment a position of ministerial importance, DON’T YOU DO IT! It would be foolish to give a moron serious responsibilities over a person’s life. Observe and prove people before placing them in an arena critical to you or those you love. Likewise, find out the reputation certain people have in their congregation and/or community before you let them speak into your life. If everyone is saying that that person is a booboo head, then maybe, just maybe, you should pass up that party’s counsel.

Faithful service is a sign of spiritual maturity within the body of Christ. As money is the customary currency whereby most people trade, money is a symbol and represents everything that it can buy.  Money is a symbol whereby all things natural are assigned value. So the only logical position that a natural person can assume is the position of exchanging service (time and effort) for money.  When exchanged, money then becomes service and the giving of money becomes the giving of service. In this way, money becomes time and money becomes labor.

Money is your new car, your new shoes, your new TV, the clothes on your back, the roof over your head, and your morning cup of coffee. Money represents all things natural. To love money is to love the world. To serve money is to serve the world. To have money is to have the world. Through money, you can literally purchase a piece of the world. A spiritual man serves for that which money cannot buy. He sees value in what men cannot see! He has an appetite for something more valuable than anything in this world: Power with God!

Power with God is His support. What if God Himself backed up everything you decided to do? What if you had God’s bank account backing your financial decisions?When He appoints you to greater service, there are benefits. There’s even a great medical plan (we have a great physician). When you are in alignment with His will in service, God will even give you a salary for the natural things you need. When you are operating under His call and commission, He will finance you with heaven’s currency. You will have all the forces of the universe on your side. Nature will bend to your will. Time will back up so that you may cross. God will make the sun stop to lengthen your day. God will have the birds sing choruses at your window. God will make lions into pillows just for you. The very angels of heaven will be at your disposal. Where God leads,He feeds. Where He guides, He provides. God’s will is God’s bill. And God will always pay for what He orders. There is nothing like being a servant of God!

All things money can buy are temporary, but the things of God are everlasting. We use money, but we don’t love money. This is not out of willpower or religious observance, but because we see something more valuable. Heaven’s gold is more beautiful than old pictures of dead men. Once the glory of God has entered your heart, you will be in love and desire Him more than diamonds, rubies, emeralds, or pearls. When you truly see the beauty of God in your heart, it will capture your heart and you won’t trade it for paper and you won’t exchange it for rocks or stones.

Do you want power with God? I know you do. Would you simply want enough money to buy food for a thousand hungry souls or would you prefer power with God? Wouldn’t you like the power that Jesus had, who multiplied enough food to feed five thousand with His word? Or how about enough money to simply buy a 50ft yacht to sail on the waters? Well, I tell you I’d prefer power with God!Can you believe that Jesus WALKED on the water! Would you like the money to buy a top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art wheelchair for your dear old mother if she were unable to walk or would you like power with God? Jesus healed the lame with His word and they went about leaping and dancing and praising God! How about being able to purchasefor your dead loved one the best funeral money can buy with bells and whistles and a hovercraft casket? Would youlike to glide your loved onesafely to the gravesite powered by a jet engine without needing the assistance of pallbearers or would you like power with God? Jesus raised the dead! Casted out devils! Cured cancer! Replaced limbs! I’ll tell you what I’m voting for! Power with God! Power with God! I need POWER with God!

Here is the counsel of the Overseer: There is nothing else you have to do. There is nowhere else you need to go. Be still and know that He is God. Devote all you have to Him:whether it be a talent or a gift, whether it be tangible or intangible, whether it is physical or financial. Find your place in this house. Discern and get into alignment behind the God-ordained leadership. Serve where you are planted faithfully with all your heart as unto the Lord and get power with God!

Your servant,

Dr. Nathaniel Duffey, III