“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.”
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’”
The orphan spirit causes a child to be independent and unattached with feelings of the need to be self-made, self-reliant. Mistakes are their own and any successes are because they have performed correctly. This is such a painful process.
Children of the Father never have to perform for Him. Never.
There is inter-dependence and partnership when being led by the Spirit of God. God is not working alone and neither is the child who is led. There is such a rewarding and confident feeling when we work with God in lieu of working for God. Faith then works as a synergism of love between the believer and the Father of lights!
“Heavenly Father, I know that Your love is abounding toward me and I want to work, love, live and believe with You. I never want to be performing for You so that I believe You accept me according to what I have done instead of Your powerful love for me. I feel that You watch me with loving eyes and not supervisory eyes. I am confident that You are all and in all and I am Your child. All that I have and all that I am belongs to You. Let’s go forth and build Your kingdom together! Thank You Papa for the confidence that You give to me by being with me in all that I do and inviting me to be part of all that You do. Amen.”
“I always find creativity when I get to serve. I need creativity in order to be excited about life and living. Serving is just one of the ways that my creativity can begin to flow.”
What is the motive of my heart when I serve others? That question is asked by way too few people. The orphan has a pressing need for personal achievement. It’s close to seeking to impress God (and others), or, simply no motivation to serve at all.
Yet there is another way of life for our hearts to be at rest and our joy to be made full through service! What if our serving was motivated by a deep gratitude for being unconditionally loved and accepted by God? Period.
The Servant-Heart is the heart of a child of God and not the bondage of the orphan spirit. The orphan is a slave and works like a slave.
The orphan will think like a slave and either have the need to to be at the top of the heap or have no initiative to serve at all. Serving is work and strictly un-enjoyable. If there is any joy in serving others to the orphan it is in the recognition or reward that is expected.
I really don’t want to be the leader all the time. I just can’t be. There is an inward need for me to serve others, and I cannot go for very long without doing so. Jesus showed the importance of this need when He put on his servant’s attire and washed the feet of His disciples.
There is the “inward need” that needs to be talked about. If you have never been a servant, or if you have never lost your servant’s heart, then you may not know of the emptiness that this syndrome causes. Then again, there are some who may not know what that “missing” feeling in their life is all about and are ready for the revelation.
The lack of a servant-heart can stunt your growth and even make life very boring and unproductive. I always find creativity when I get to serve. I need creativity in order to be excited about life and living. Serving is just one of the ways that my creativity can begin to flow.
In many ways, Hollywood has been a great detriment to our servant-heart. We have watched too many movies about heroes and way too many dramas that cast insults at every form of servanthood. To be served is the “American way!” It’s no longer just with “Americans.” The nations have now bitten into this. Thus, leaders are destroying the world around us because they are self-motivated; self gratified and do only that which will bring attention to self. People are de-valued. If a leader begins to serve those whom he leads, there is a whole new perspective to life.
God is looking for great followers and not great leaders.
“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more;” 1 Corinthians 9:19 NKJV
Consider Jesus, Who, in His last hours, put on His servant’s attire and washed His disciples’ feet. Now, consider earnestly your servant heart. Having a servant’s heart is not a “behavior,” it is in fact a matter of the heart. You make the decision in your heart every day to have a servant’s heart or take on a slave’s mentality. There is an inward difference between having the freedom of a servant’s heart and just doing the labor according to your wants and desires. You get power and liberty from a servant’s heart. From the works of a servant heart will come the works of Jesus. Jesus demonstrated the ministry of the towel, which was the ministry of the servant, by picking up the towel and washing his disciples’ feet. There is therefore no more identity crisis in the servant hearted. The servant hearted is identified by Christ Himself.
Something to think about:
If Jesus came into the room right now, would He be wearing the robe of a King or the towel of a servant? He probably would not enter a room with His kingship on His mind because He already knows that He is the King. Therefore, He would enter the room with purposed power and it would be received through His serve.
A true child of God the Father has a servant’s heart that is not based on the behavior or thought patterns of the orphan’s “slavery.” The child of God’s heart will work with a heart desire to serve others with joy.
The child’s servant heart wants to be a blessing and his/her heart is based and founded in the prosperity of the First Born Son.
There must be a change of heart and attitude. (Also, remember that attitude affects the atmosphere)
Slavery is often just being told what to do. So, an orphan slave will wait to be told. An orphan slave may labor diligently and do all that is told him/her. Performance becomes the issue and poverty of soul will then set in. Complaining about how they have been passed over for the acknowledgements and promotions are sure to come forth.
Slavery is laziness, (at least lazy mindedness), and will lead to poverty. A slave will feel that they deserve something for what they’ve done; whereas the child of God’s servant’s heart simply wishes to be a true blessing to those he serves.
Examples of a servant:
The child of God sees a mess, and even though he isn’t responsible for it, he cleans it up. That is a manifestation of the true child of God’s servant’s heart.
Or take for example, two people doing the same job. When the job is complete, the servant will feel joyful, but the slave will feel discontent.
In all you do, do it with joy, have a joyful perspective. Labor with joy and a passion to get the job done well, and do it with the purpose of honoring God and others.
So, the child of God has a servant’s mentality, the servant’s heart will show through in everything that is done and said. We all need to grow into this mentality. The purpose is not to get favor but to increase our “servant’s heart.”
Don’t be discouraged when someone tries to lay a slave’s mentality upon you and make it a slave’s job. Leaders are orphans too. You have the ability to go the extra mile to break the power that people try to place upon you. This takes an offensive position instead of defensive. You might just consider Joseph’s life in prison and in the house of Potiphar, in Genesis chapter forty.
The child of God falls in love with the Father of lights and the result is a servant’s heart. That heart will learn to hate the things that God hates and learn to love what God the Father loves. The greatest thrill in love’s experience is to love through the eyes of our heavenly Father! When we begin to do that we just watch that love work it’s way out of our hearts and that is called service!
A child of God’s servant’s heart has the ability to serve the King whereas the slave heart gains nothing but spiritual famine and pain. There is never enough recognition for the orphan slave heart.
“Heavenly Father! I desperately need for You to burn, with Your refiner’s fire, that orphan-spirit-slave-heartedness out of me, completely. I want to love what You love, look upon others with a view from Your heart toward them and I want to let that love that I have for You and that You have for them work through me – letting love serve. Lord, rekindle that child of God’s servant-heart in me! Let the fire of Your love and passion burn within my heart unto the depths of my heart. Renew a right spirit in me. Renew that wonderful Spirit of adoption within me in order that I might cry out to You in loving excitement! Abba! You are my Father and in You my hope is built! I give thanks and praise You for renewing me so that Your love will have its way with me and that love will work wonders through and from me towards others! Amen.”
