This Service to the Saints— Part I.

Paul begins 2 Corinthians 9 by saying, “There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the Saints,” v. 1.  This is the second of four times in these two chs. {8-9} where he refers to this offering for Jerusalem, this “generous gift” of grace, as a “service to the Saints.”  The first was in 8:4 where he said the Macedonians “urgently pleaded with us for the privilege [Wow ...I love this language.  It shows the glory of a gracious heart!] of sharing in this service to the Saints.”

Towards the end of ch. 9 he says, “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s People but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God,” v. 12.  See, that’s what grace does: it brings glory to God and not to self!  There is nothing of self to be glorified in an act of grace.  It is of God, from God and through God.  The one thing we supply is a willingness to be used by the Master’s hand.  Which is probably the number one reason why so many Children of God turn their hearts away from grace.  Like Pharisees of old, they lust for the approval of man rather than the reward of God; they seek “glory from one another,” but “do not seek the glory that comes from the One and Only God” {Jn. 5:44 NAS}!

Finally, in 9:13 Paul say’s, “Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the Gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”  You know what the word Paul uses is in all four of these places?  Diakonia.  It’s a cognate of the term diakonos, from which we get our English ‘deacon;’ and both of them are derived from the root verb diakoneo which means- ‘wait upon as a servant, attend to others’ needs.’  Diakonos was a servant in the ancient world, not a master— he was a table-waiter, ‘one who executed the commands of another.’  Thus, inherent in all three of these terms is the root concept of ‘serving someone else.’

To look at this from another angle, diakoneo is the verb Peter uses when in 1 Peter 4:11 he appears to break the gifts of the Spirit down into two types: speaking and serving.  “When anyone faithfully communicates, he should do so as one speaking the very words of God.  When anyone faithfully and consistently serves, he should do so with the strength which God supplies...” {RR Exp}.  Anyone who’s ever stepped outside their own pain, heartache, and disillusionment long enough to serve someone else can tell you: God generously ‘supplies’ for His Servants.  God gives us the strength to complete the Service!  Here’s my point.  Since the Spirit of God has equipped you to serve, the Spirit of God will empower you to serve.  It’s not your strength, so don’t worry.  It never was and it never will be.  Trust in Him.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously

One For the Critics.

The apostle Paul had his share of enemies and critics— and he knew it— especially in Corinth.  Just as any man or woman of conscience and compassion will have in a fallen world, just as any man or woman standing fast on the Word and having impact in the world will have in a faithless generation full of the self-absorbed.  Remember, though we know this Epistle as II Corinthians, this is actually the fourth letter he’s written to the Churches of Achaia.  And they deal, predominantly, with one problem after another... after another... after another— from divisions due to factious allegiances, to rampant sexual sin {deviance not even pagans indulged in}, to faulty elevation of the more visible spiritual gifts {the outwardly spectacular}, to socio-economic elitism and injustice.  He’s covering the whole ground, from A to Z.

In light of those willing to criticize his any and every move, he takes the steps necessary to ensure no charge can legitimately be leveled against him.  He wisely allows others, “praised by all the Churches for” their “service to the Gospel” and an “honor to Christ” {2 Cor. 8:18b and 23b}, to help him complete the task of carrying this offering to Jerusalem.  In fact, he goes on to say of the Saint mentioned after Titus, “What is more, he was chosen by the Churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, [notice] which we administer in order to honor the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help,” 8:19.

The first man mentioned in v. 18, the one “praised by all the Churches for his service to the Gospel,” has traditionally been identified as Luke, the beloved physician.  The Collection for St. Luke’s Day {Oct. 18th}, observed in Roman Catholicism, the Eastern Orthodox, and even some Protestant circles, pretty much assumes this identification.  Do we know this is Luke for certain?  No.  Can we nail down the identity of the other two mentioned?  No.  And the truth is it doesn’t matter in the least.  There’s a reason these men are left unnamed.  Cause Paul obviously has no problem mentioning faithful servants of the Master by name, over and over in his Epistles.

Like many of us who serve behind the scenes: they stand unnamed but not unacknowledged.  There are, and should be, an enormous number of ‘unknowns’ serving behind the scenes in any Body of Believers.  Abba knows all the unknowns, and He blesses them richly in their ‘service to the Saints.’  You know what being unknown is all about, what Abba is trying to emphasize?  Eternal grace over temporal glory, divine power over human personality.  He’s saying, “You may be unknown by man but you are not unacknowledged by Me, nor unrewarded in My Presence!”

Abba uses those of us who are open to His Word and available to His will as weapons in the Conflict!  Weapons of strength and love, truth and grace, courage and compassion— the only weapons evil cannot overcome.  Abba uses a vast number of ‘nobodies’ as instruments of His grace.  So, here it is.  Every gifting of the Spirit doesn’t carry a maximum amount of exposure!  Some of us are going to be required to fight in the trenches, behind the scenes, on the other side of the curtain.  You savvy?  Good... so it won’t bother you the next time you don’t get praised and applauded for some deed done in the Spirit of Jesus.  Because you know and you trust the One who sees behind the scenes.  Your Day is coming ...stand fast, my friend.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously

In the Embrace of Abba— Part II.

“My son,’ the Father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours’” {Lk. 15:31}.  The Greek word Jesus uses here is teknon, an affectionate form of address from a father to his— literally translated— child: “my child.”

This final exchange leaves no doubt as to the tenderness of the father’s heart.  He is a man of incredible generosity, a man of grace and compassion, he is a man of great strength, and now we see, of great tenderness.  Those two qualities go hand in hand, by the way {and were always meant to}: great tenderness and great strength.  The harsh words of the elder son are met with neither judgment nor condemnation; his bitter reproach is not exchanged for another.  There is no recrimination nor accusation, no shame, guilt-tripping, or emotional manipulation.  None of the psychological weapons we routinely employ to control, maneuver, and manipulate the lives of those around us.  The father doesn’t defend himself because there is nothing to defend; he doesn’t even comment on his older son’s behavior.  He moves beyond it with the glorious ease of grace, beyond all evaluations and into the realm of relationship.  “You are always with me” are words of intimacy, of tenderhearted affection.

The father’s unqualified love and unconditional compassion eliminate all possibility that the younger son is more loved than the older.  Take courage and take hope, all you elder sons and daughters, for Abba say’s, “Everything I have is yours.”  The Father has given us everything, and held nothing back.  Paul said in Ephesians 1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”  There is no clearer statement of the Father’s unlimited love for all His Children.  It is offered equally, generously, fully and unreservedly to both his Sons and Daughters, older and younger, whichever one you are.

In v. 32 the words of the Faithful Father to the self-righteous elder son are, “But we had to celebrate and be glad,” we had to celebrate and “rejoice” {NAS}.  “We were compelled to....  Don’t you see?  There was no other option.”  Luke, skillful writer that he is, expresses this as a necessity in the father’s heart: that the joy of his son’s return justifies a celebration and the lavishness of the feast.  And why?  “Because this brother of yours....”  Notice his Father returns him to the proper perspective: not “this son of mine,” but “this brother of yours.”  He brings it back to the relational realm.  Whether the older brother likes it or not, that relationship will never cease.  “This brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

The father goes out to his elder son just as he did the Prodigal and urges him, pleads with him, to come in, to rejoice in the Return, to celebrate his brother’s safety… alive and home again, back where he belongs.  He calls him to the deeply-seated joy, the divine passion of God Himself, over the son or daughter who runs headlong into the open arms of grace.

He “was dead and is alive again;” He “was lost and has been found.”  Isn’t this an accurate statement about all of us: we once were “dead” and are “alive again,” we once were “lost” {and more than once} and now are “found”?  Found, rescued, and redeemed by the same gracious God, the same loving and merciful Father.  How many times have we been there— in our own lives and our own lost-ness— how many times have we found ourselves in this condition: a Son of God in need of his Father’s tender touch, a daughter longing for the embrace of her Abba?  You see, this is the promise of following Jesus and the consequence of His Victory: restoration from a shattered condition ...fullness of Life, freedom of soul ...Love, Light, and joyous Celebration!  Forevermore.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously

In the Embrace of Abba— Part I.

Jesus’ Parable in Luke 15 is not a story which separates the two brothers into good on one hand and evil on the other.  The father alone is good, is righteous, is true.  And the most beautiful thing about him is he loves both sons the same.  His love toward either of them never wavers.  He runs to meet them both, at totally different times but with the same tenderness and desire for something deeper relationally.  You see the point?  Ours is a God who seeks out and searches for sinners, who pursues us to the end of ourselves.  He wants us, just like the faithful father of both brothers, to sit down with Him and feast at the Banquet Table of His Grace, to share in His joy and luxuriate in His provision.

Yet the contrast between the brothers stands— as it does between many of us who claim the name of Christ— the younger brother longs for and allows himself to be held in the embrace of a forgiving father.  The older brother will not.  He will not move beyond his anger and self-pity; he will not take a single step toward love and let his father heal him.  I wonder how many of us find ourselves in this dark and lonely place, day after miserable day, but will not do a thing about it.  We will not take a stand against our own misery and unhappiness, because we will not pursue the holiness of intimacy with our Abba.

The Father’s love is passionate and pursuing, it is powerful and perfect, but it will not force itself into the life of the beloved.  We must choose to respond to Abba’s initiation.  We must decide for ourselves whether to accept it or reject it.  God longs to heal us of all the darkness which resides in the sub-strata of our souls, but we are still free to stay there or step into the Light of His love.  This much we know.  Abba’s love is always there, always ready to give and forgive, independent of our response.  His love doesn’t depend on our remorse or repentance, on any change— either internal or external— we might make.  God’s love is as unchanging as it is unending.  So, whether you are the younger son or the older son, the reckless rounder or the self-righteous scoundrel, God’s only desire is to have you Home.  If that’s not the perfect image of fatherhood ...then none exists.

In his book The Heart of George MacDonald {1824-1905} the author writes,

In my own childhood and boyhood my father was the refuge from all the ills of life, even sharp pain itself.  Therefore I say to son or daughter who has no pleasure in the name Father, ‘You must interpret the word by all that you have missed in life.  All that human tenderness can give or desire in the nearness and readiness of love, all and infinitely more must be true of the perfect Father— of the maker of fatherhood.  {Italics mine.}

“My son,’ the Father said,” in Luke 15:31, “‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.’”  These are the words you must believe in, words you must allow to penetrate to the centre of your soul, to the deepest regions of your heart.  Whether you’re the younger brother or the older, God calls you His “Son,” His “Daughter.”  And this is your Eternal Identity— Abba’s Child.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously