Side Study: Serving the King

April 16th, 2006

Happy Easter!

Malachi 3:2-4
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.

This was forwarded to me, and I thought it was very informative, and I wanted to share it here. Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.” If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. “Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once.”

Also, a good quote that was sent to me: Jay Leno: “With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?”

Well, there is a lot of things going on… May the 6th will be the celebration of my sons’ birthday, which in all actuality is May the 10th. Also, I did mention that at 1:02.03 4/5/06 occurred earlier this month. But there is something that I came across that I didn’t think about, but it made sense. June 6th, 2006 could be a date of trouble… I don’t know if it will be, but there is the possibility of it being that way. I am not sure of how the pagans play or Satan worshipers dance around in goat skin pants around ancient ruins (see the Dragnet movie), but I can’t think that it would be of dancing around handing out flowers and petting little cats and dogs as they walk down the street.

Devil Worshiper (noun):

• Someone who loves and is devoted to evil spirits and demons.

Great night, that doesn’t sound like the role model of the year… Now, a change in thought: I was thinking yesterday, brainstorming my little head to pieces wondering was is the harder job, to be a servant or to be a king? And irregardless of the answer to that question, what job would I rather have? I rolled it around my brain for a bit and thought of some scriptures. This is going to be a detour from the tongue study, which I will return back to tomorrow.

Side Study: Serving the King

King (noun):

• A male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom.


• One that is supreme or preeminent in a particular group, category, or sphere.

Servant (noun):

• One who expresses submission, recognizance, or debt to another


• A person who serves others


• In a subordinate position

Matthew 4:10
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

Serve is translated from latreno.

Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Serve is translated from douleuo. Douleuo can also be translated into the words slave (as to be a slave to), bondage (as to be in bondage to), or simply what is what translated into: serve. I think the word serve was used to make it easier for us, me in particular, to read. I mean, if I were to pick up the bible and read: “No one can be a slave to two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot be a slave to both God and Money.”

I don’t want to be a slave. I mean, the word slave is a horrendous word in the United States. It’s a word that people hate. It’s the worst word in the English language. But this is the word that God wants me to take on. And here comes the scripture I was really thinking about that spurned this QT.

Matthew 20:24-28
When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

So the road to being a king is that of a servant. And I have thought about the kings throughout history. The bible is filled with great kings and horrendous kings. And it is when the people moan about how bad the king is, that generally changes get made. I pray for George W., that he gets his ducks in a row, as they say. I can’t say that he’s the best president this country’s ever had, but there is some tough competition when you look back. And the great thing with time is that mistakes get smudged and the good things get glorified. When Regan was in office, people cracked some serious jokes and poked a ton of fun at him. He was a co-star to a monkey. But people look back to the early 80s and reminisce about how great he was… the society of now hates the present, dooms the future, and glorifies the past. What president has a chance in this country? The people did moan in Iraq and they continue to moan. Sadam was not a great leader. The difference between the great leaders and the bad ones is how they act… (work with here), now I know this may be a “No-Duh” thought in your head, but even if the bad leader does nothing, he still gets forgotten and lost in the history books. The really bad ones act selfishly. They do what they want and do nothing to help the people. They serve themselves. And this is the world we live in. It’s me first and maybe you later… if I can muster up the two minutes for you that I don’t even have for myself, I may take care of you then. The great leaders take care of the issues for the people. World War two… President Roosevelt, elected to four terms, the only President to be elected more than twice, was loved by the people. He didn’t rush into war but was attacked and forced into the war. He served his people by taking care of the Great Depression. And those are just the most popular things that history remembers him for. He served his country, and thus made himself a king in history. Back to the bible:

What if the bible was written this way: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your waiter, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave, just as the Son of Man did not come to be waited upon, but to wait upon, and to suffer his spirit as a price for many.” Now, as a slave, which is what Christ became on this earth for me, he became a waiter. Waiting tables is the most humbling job a person can have. You run and try to take care of customers who are constantly judging you, minute by minute. My drink has been “half empty” for over a minute now (and when you wait tables, the customer is always seeing the glass as “half empty”). And in the case of Christ, when I don’t get that blessing when I want it, I’m cutting his tip down ever so slightly. And the price of his spirit goes up, along with the suffering. The best of waiters couldn’t measures up to Christ. And Christ still doesn’t get the best tips out there. But he’s the best king out there… because he’s the best servant. I only hope to be the best servant I can… I do have the right role model. Johnny Out.