Trinity Baptist Ministries
“Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.”Matthew 6:9-13, NRSV
I want to talk to you about my call to ministry fifty years ago and the place where that call became servanthood. All church leaders are called to serve. But the fact is, it took some time before servanthood was in my sights or became my goal.
My first goal was to mean something in the church, to be seen and noticed. For too many years, I was not satisfied with being second chair in the trumpet section of God’s orchestra, the church.
In the summer of 1980, during National Guard annual training, I worked with the brigade chaplain. I had the chance to help a soldier who was a new convert to Christ. He needed help with family issues and his discipleship at home.
At the time, I was thinking of dropping out of Bible college. The chaplain took me aside and scolded me. He told me that he had seen a shepherd’s heart in me and urged me not to quit.
I spent many years exploring this gift, which I had truly wanted to receive. Life has its pulls. I served four churches, started two churches along the way, and served God as a pastor and assistant pastor in various places.
I retired from the military and thought I had retired from ministry in 2015. But God had other ideas, and I found myself serving as an assistant pastor again.
Old age has a way of closing your mouth and opening your ears, which opens your heart wider! Recently, I realized that I was content in my ministry, even though I had thought otherwise. After all this time and God’s work in me, I have found not just ministry for Him, but servanthood.
The Model Prayer
First, I have found the key to the door I was looking for in the model prayer. We call it the Lord’s Prayer, and some call it the servant’s prayer. And rightly so.
St. Paul describes how Christ made Himself of no reputation, took the form of a servant, and humbled Himself (Philippians 2:7-8). In the incarnation, the second person of the Godhead became a servant to the Father.
The lights came on. I saw in Christ’s example a different path for us as pastors, teachers, deacons, and elders. It turns our priorities around. We give first place to God and make His plan our plan.
Servanthood
We start with the identity of the One who called us and why He called. The Creator called from heaven. Hallowed is His name to us. He is our sovereign Creator and our Redeemer, who paid for our sin and rebellion against Him.
God sent His only begotten Son to take our place on the cross and bear our judgment, even the judgment of the great white throne. Through Christ’s finished work on the cross and the Spirit of adoption, we can now call God our Father.
These are reasons to come to Him, obey Him, and follow Him in all we do. This is servanthood! It is the foundation of our total trust in Him for daily bread and eternal life. Obedience is no longer compulsion. It is our daily response to His love, as we love Him in return.
Can we leave this subject without saying something about Christ, the object of our faith? Acts 2:36 declares that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ. What do all those words mean? Do they not call us, as good servants, to take up our cross and follow Him? We follow the One who was obedient to the Father all the way to the cross.
Thy Kingdom Come
Second, the One who called us is in control. God is the sovereign Lord of His creation, especially His children, a people set apart for Himself.
This is not an invitation. It is an appointment from our Creator and Redeemer. He gives us a way of life, a message to send forth, and work to do for His glory. We are active members of His people, called to do His will and answer His call.
Romans 9:17 tells us that even the reprobate have an appointment, one that will bring glory to God.
“Thy kingdom come” asks God to rule. It asks Him to overrule our personal and corporate ambitions for the church, our lives, and our service to Him. It aligns our hearts with His heart and with the Master’s plan.
Thy Will Be Done
Third, “Thy will be done” means the surrender of self-reliance. It means the end of the notion that I can take credit for what I have done for God’s kingdom. My calling is to follow Christ and serve the sheep He has entrusted to me, in whatever capacity I have been assigned.
The gifts I use and enjoy are His, only lent to me for a while for the glory of His kingdom. I am not self-sufficient!
Matthew 6:34 is my guide:
“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Matthew 6:34, NRSV
And I boldly say that we should view the future and our plans down the road through this same teaching. God is in control. We live each day trusting Him for our daily provision.
When I think about this kind of trust, I am reminded of George Müller and the children in his orphanage. In a well-known account, the children had no food for breakfast. Müller thanked God for the food and waited. A baker arrived with bread he had prepared for them. Then a milkman’s cart broke down outside the orphanage, and he offered the children his milk before it spoiled.
God’s will always has hidden doors that open only at His signal. That day, a baker and a milkman became servants of God’s will and providence, in ways Müller had not planned.
The Point of Meeting
My humility must meet God’s call. Redemption, election, and calling are never about privilege or entitlement. They are about God’s sovereign will, mercy, love, and favor. They do not rest on our merit.
The service I do for God is never about my skills, education, or talent. It is about availability! If you are consumed with the thought that you have been shortchanged in the calling you received, you are not available. Your heart is not aligned with God’s.
I have learned that God’s daily provision meets both our temporal and eternal needs, the physical and the spiritual. This is my daily bread. His provision and my calling meet in servanthood. His gifts are providential extensions of His grace, meant to be shared with others.
A good steward receives God’s mercy and offers it to others through acts of mercy and the preaching of His Word. He forgives even when those he serves do not forgive him. He feeds even his enemies and works to leave as few people hungry as he can. Day by day, he waits for the Master’s guidance.
That, my dearly beloved, is how we find contentment in servanthood.