In this generation everyone wants to be a general in God’s army. Prophecies abound that tell people they will be rich and finance the Kingdom. They will have a worldwide dynamic ministry. They will win thousands to the Lord and so on. No one seems to get a prophetic mission to be a good parent, a respected worker in some career, a deacon or an awesome spouse. They are all glory positions that are prophesied, but who gets the glory? Where are the privates and sergeants in God’s army?
If you cannot serve well as a private or sergeant do not expect to be promoted to Captain or General. Indeed, many ministers that have problems in their churches may have them because they have a church full of privates with the same attitudes as they had when they were under the leadership of a different Captain. They might be called buck Privates because they buck everything the Captain says. They are like the Corinthians that even had the gall to question Paul’s apostleship when he had led them to the Lord.
While there are some great Captains and Generals in the Word, there are also many Privates and Sergeants. Indeed, Jesus called us to be Privates if we wanted to be great in the Kingdom.
Luke 9:48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.
Contrary to our corporate thinking, the way up is down. The least shall be great.
Mark 10:42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.
43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:
44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Jesus furthers clarifies the concept of least being great when He says that to be chief, you have to be a servant of all. The lowest servant, which is the place the Lord took when He washed the feet of the Disciples. Not just a servant, but the lowest. By the way, minister meant servant as in one who waits on tables. It was later assigned to pastors because they were to be God’s servants serving His people, not Lords of the flock to be glorified or served. No demanding a limousine to pick you up at the airport with your beverage of choice and the best room in the motel and other frivolous luxuries. No kissing of rings and bowing down to them. Respect, yes. Glorification, no.
Acts 14:11 And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
12 And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.
13 Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
16 Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
Paul had to tell them they were men just like them, not gods. Only Jesus is God in the flesh. King Herod accepted praise from the people who said he spoke as a god and not a man. An angel struck him down and he was eaten of worms. It is good that God has not sent angels like that lately, or has He from time to time?
Acts 10:25 And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
26 But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.
We have a natural tendency to exalt men. Hence we have our Hollywood and sports celebrities. We also have celebrity preachers. We have to beware of celebrity preachers. After all, there were nine potential kings by man’s standard but God chose the one they did not even consider a private and made him a king. There were many grand prophets in the king’s courts and yet God chose a picker of sycamore fruit and a man whose name we do not know to call those much higher in rank to task. We love the Hall of Faith and know the names and their deeds, but we forget that the unnamed and forgotten of men are there as well.
Hebrews 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Many do not like reading this side of the Hall of Faith as it does not meet their agenda or prosperity gospel, which is not the gospel. Paul said all who will live godly will suffer persecution and it was given for us to not only believe on Him, but to suffer for His sake. We are to endure hardship like good soldiers. I do not see earthly prosperity in any of that.
Privates and Sergeants usually do not live in the best of conditions nor have the best of meals. No one salutes them or caters to them like officers. A good officer will be concerned for the welfare of his troops and a good Sergeant makes sure his soldiers are fed before he eats. The officer who is in it for the glory is not one that is followed for his character. He is leader by rank and position, but not in the hearts of the troops. The same goes for servants of God.
Luke 20:46 Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;
47 Which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.
There are many who live like kings in mansions with private jets. Some rule with an iron hand. They do not really conform to the concept of a servant. Indeed, many people will go to Hell because they look at the lifestyles of the celebrity pastors and turn away from the christ they represent rather than the true Christ. Those might have been saved if they had seen what a servant of God should be like.
Earlier, I mentioned about a man wanting to be picked up in a limousine. They exist. I have been told of famous preachers having various requirements before they will come to speak. One has to come by his private jet so you have to pay for his gas, which as of 1 April 2021 was $165.97 a gallon. A first class airline ticket is anywhere from $500 to $1700 in the continental US. For a small four passenger jet the lowest cost of operation I found is over $600 an hour. So, if he is four hours away and he requires all of the expense be paid then it will cost a church $4800 just for the air travel versus $1000 to $3400. You would think they want to travel coach so they can maybe win a soul or two or minister to some depressed person.
Many have a minimum speaking fee. How much can that be? Whatever they ask. There was a calculator online that tells you how much a speaker should charge for a one hour speech. Just using my data it came up to $1700. Imagine what it might be for a celebrity anybody. Fortunately, there are still those who come for whatever the church can afford or raise in an offering with some even willing to come without a charge of any kind.
I may have told this story before and it needs repeated because too many people do not serve as they should because they think only the Generals and celebrities can make any impact. When I was first saved, I went with my pastor door-to-door seeking to win people to Christ or bring backslid sheep back into the fold. At first, I was just amazed because if you had asked me the day before I was saved if I ever saw myself doing such a thing I would have rolled on the floor laughing.
When I felt somewhat confident, I went alone. I knocked on this one person’s door and after I introduced myself he asked if I were the pastor. I said no. Are you a deacon? No. A Sunday School teacher? No. Then who are you? I said, just a member. JUST A MEMBER!! No one told me I had to have a title or position to witness. I missed that memo.
1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
We are all supposed to be able to witness about our salvation. Paul says we are ambassadors of the kingdom so we should be able to bring people into the Kingdom.
1 Corinthians 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
God called for more privates than He did generals. No general ever won a battle by himself. If Teddy Roosevelt had charged up San Juan hill by himself, he would have been killed or captured going down in history as a foolish man if history recorded him at all.
Celebrity worship keeps people from serving because they feel like they cannot do anything like that. Well, some of “that” ought not be done and some of the most popular preachers have some really bad doctrinal issues. Some believe that Jesus went to Hell, was beat up by demons and became the first born-again man. Not even close to true. Yet, they have a large amount of fans and their books sell well. In fact, I know some of you like one of them and if I called their name you would bristle up and get mad at me. Still, they are on YouTube making that statement. It makes for some “bombastic” preaching, but it is heresy. They failed Christology 101.
Too many people expect the church staff to do all of the evangelistic work as well as everything else in the church. They feel like it is their calling to warm the pew and maybe say Amen now and then. Pew warming and cheer leading are not spiritual gifts.
Fortunately, we have a great number of privates and sergeants in this church, but I am afraid there are still many that are not exercising their gifts because they think they are not needed or not qualified. If you are born-again you are needed and you have a gift given to you that Jesus will empower and qualify you. He often cannot empower the qualified because of pride, but he can empower the “unqualified.” Man has many more levels of qualification and certification than God has.
Many of us come from pretty dark pasts before we were saved or backslid badly so we think there is no place for us in ministry so we are destined to sit on the back row and be glad Jesus will save us by the skin of our teeth. No, He saved us through His skin bleeding and dying for us. He came to turn darkness into light and to bring beauty out of ashes. Paul said he was the Chief of Sinners or the worst of all sinners. If God used the Chief, he can use the rest.
Indeed, you may be the best pick to be the minister or servant of us all because you are not full of pride. Just find a place to serve. Try several things. I have trouble saying no and I have served in many things that were not within my gifts. Treasurer and Secretary are the only two positions I have not filled. Still I gathered experience and could fill in wherever for a period of time in a pinch. The acronym JOY stands for Jesus, Others, You. Ask Jesus and seek a spot where you can serve Him and others. You will find that you will think less of you as you are busy for Him and others.
If you just have no clue what to do there are some surveys that you can take that can help though you may find He will use you in a way you would have never imagine. Just be a good private and Jesus may make you a sergeant and if you stay humble He may make you a captain or general. Don’t go AWOL! Serve until He comes! Maranatha!!
Nobody
Am I a nobody?
I may not see fame or wealth,
But Jesus knows me.
2/27/21
