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Hi everyone and welcome to our fourth and final installment for The Servant series. We hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have. We felt to present this final episode in quite a different and creative way. Transitioning from The Servant and The Master parable of Luke 17, in this episode we are looking into a modern day parable if you like, which is actually a movie released in 2019 called Knives Out. Using this movie as a springboard into our topic, we draw on the shadows and types revealed in it that lead us to what we believe is a most beautiful conclusion to the series - that a true friend of God emerges out from being a faithful servant. Jesus said: "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you". John 15:12-15 What are the qualities of a friend of God? What does it look like to be called God's friends? How can we be God's friends today? Looking at the qualities found in the main characters of the movie and of Abraham who was called both God's servant and God's friend we discover something very special of our Lord and what it takes for us, the church, to be not only God's servants but truly and most wonderfully, become His friends. Scripture References Psalm 105:42 - For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham Isa 41:8 - But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend 1 John 3:16 - “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren”. James1:22 - “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves”. Phil 2:4-8 - “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, empty yourselves, and take the form of a bond-servant, Humble yourselves by becoming obedient to the point of death”. Matthew 16:25 - He who saves his life will lose it and he who loses his life for my sake will find it John 15:20 - Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. James 2: 22-24 - You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. Proverbs 18:24 - A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother. James 4:4 - You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God Exodus 33:11 - Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Hebrews 3:5-6 - Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.… Revelation 3:20 - Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Philippians 3:7-10 - But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,

In this Part 3 of The Servant series we narrow the focus on verses 7 and 8 of Luke chapter 17, the parable of the Servant and the Master, discussed in Part 2. We discuss in greater depth what (or should we say Who), where and how it is, that we serve God in spirit. We discover that God has an order of things that work in our favour as we give Him first place, i.e. when we feed the Master first. We also discover that the best thing we can serve up to God and others is what He Himself has already given us! What a Lord! He has supplied but where do we find it? What fields do we labour in that we might bring something satisfying for Him to eat? We draw on some New and Old Testament scriptures as well as a couple of personal experiences that highlight what this means and what it can look like in our daily life as individual christians as well as corporately - how we meet with other saints, serving Christ in His body members. How altogether different serving Him in spirit is to what many of us have known in the past and what a wonderful reality that God has given us a spirit in which to know Him this way. As family of God, it is what we long for because its what we've been made for. As in all areas of growth, awareness is one thing but its quite another for that awareness to become our experience, right? So towards the end we suggest some practical help from resources that have helped us in getting to know the Lord more in spirit. We're certain these resources will be a great help to you as you hunger and thirst to know the Lord this way. So let's take this journey together, deeper into knowing and serving the Lord in spirit. Resource Links To view our Web Site Resource page Click here otherwise click on links below: - Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Jeanne Guyon - The Temple Within by Milt Rodriguez - 100 Days in the Secret Place compiled by Gene Edwards - Living By The Indwelling Life of Christ course by Frank Viola Scripture References Luke 17:7-10 Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’? “But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? “He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’” Numbers 18:28 Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the LORD from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the LORD’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. 1 Chronicles 29:6-17 6 Then the leaders of the households, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. 7Toward the service of God’s house they gave 5,000 talentsc and 10,000 darics of gold,d 10,000 talents of silver,e 18,000 talents of bronze,f and 100,000 talents of iron.g 8Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, under the care of Jehielh the Gershonite. 9And the people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given to the LORD freely and wholeheartedly. And King David also rejoiced greatly. David’s Prayer of Blessing 10Then David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly and said: “May You be blessed, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 11Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all. 12Both riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler over all. In Your hands are power and might to exalt and ...

Welcome back for the second episode in The Servant series! If you haven't listened already, you'll want to click here to listen to Part 1 as each episode builds upon the previous one. Now that we've seen just a glimpse into the unfathomable depth of Jesus Christ's servant heart toward His Father and indeed the servant nature of the entire Godhead, it's time to ask some questions. How are we, the church, supposed to serve God? What happens when we try and serve God from our own initiatives? What moves and satisfies our Lord? What moves and satisfies the church? An amazing parable from the book of Luke and some quotes from some spiritual 'big guns' are brought into this episode as the answers to these questions are opened up and explored. Scripture References Luke 17:7-10 "Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come immediately and sit down to eat'? "But will he not say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink'? "He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? "So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'" Titus 1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: ... Acts 16:17 ... following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." … Rom 7:6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.(NLT) Acts 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them...(KJV) Philippians 3:3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, Pro 8:17 I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me. Philemon 1:5 …because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints; Romans 1:9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, Rev 2:4 I know your deeds and your toil…'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love'. Psalm 123:1-2 I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress... 1Co 2:13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit's words to explain spiritual truths. John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word, and My Father shall love him. And We will come to him and will make a dwelling place with him. John 14:17 …that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. Heb 6:10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. 1Pe 4:11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides,

Hi and welcome to Part 1 of our series on The Servant. As the series goes along we will definitely be looking into the what, how and why of the church's service to the Lord. However, today we start with discovering more of Christ The Servant as displayed in a shadow and type found in God's creation. Everything in this Christian walk must start with Christ, He who has the preeminence in all things. Join with us as we gaze into the humility of our Lord Jesus, the greatest Servant there ever was, is and will ever be. As a result we discover together the way to serve Him, to the glory of God the Father. The servant heart of our Lord is a profoundly beautiful aspect of who He is and is the essence of His nature and His person, and the nature and relationship of the entire Godhead. Scripture References Isaiah 42:1 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. ... Matthew 12:18 "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. ... Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels… Phil 2:5-11 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus; Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a bond-servant being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God has exalted Him to the highest place, and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow , in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Ps 89:1-6 I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself. You said “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations”. The heavens praise your wonders O Lord, your faithfulness too in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord? Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings? Ps 89:37 I will not lie to David that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; It will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky Rev 1:5 …and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Rev 21:23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light and the Lamb is its lamp Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart Romans 1:1 ... Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, … 2 Cor 5:14 For the love which Christ has presses on me from all sides, holding me to one end and prohibiting me from considering any other, wrapping itself around me in tenderness, giving me an impelling motive, having brought me to this conclusion, namely, that One died on behalf of all, therefore all died, and that He also died on behalf of all in order that those who are living no longer are living for themselves but for the One who died on their behalf and instead of them, and was raised.(K Wuest) Act 13:2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

Welcome to Part 2 of Three Years Later - the continuation of our last episode. In this episode we continue our free flowing conversation touching more on such topics as learning Christ, what revelation is and does, the nature of the Godhead, the Eternal Purpose of God and even spiritual gifts! There's a little interview and sharing of personal testimonies relating to our own walk in discovering Christ, experiencing Him in His corporate expression and how that looks practically. Again, the recording quality is not to the standard we would prefer due to the fact that we didn't expect the recording to become a podcast episode. However, we do hope that the content blesses our listeners.

Wow. That was a long break between episodes! In Episode 4 we sat down at the mic and just talked. We had no topic in mind, no prior discussion as to the content, and really didn't expect it to end up being a legitimate episode. We ended up talking for almost two hours! When we listened to it again a few weeks later we felt to make two episodes out of it. In our unscripted conversation we touch on a variety of things, including how our absence from the podcast came into being, our experience in community life over the last 3 years, the role of a worker, the need for revelation among Christians, God's ways, the effects of 'religion' and just how enormous Christ really is. The content weaves in and out of our own personal story as we get used to being behind the microphone again. Since we weren't expecting to post the recording, the quality is not to the standard we would like although after many hours working on it and identifying some hardware issues, it's not too bad. We're very happy to be back on the airwaves to proclaim Christ and share on God's Eternal Purpose. Be sure to tune in next time for the second half in Episode 5.

Have you ever wondered WHY God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whoever believed in Him would have eternal life? (John 3:16). What motivated God to have us reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ? What motivated God to include us in His purpose and plan? What motivated God to create mankind in His image? God. Is. Love. Therefore, everything God does, everything God desires, is motivated by Love. Before there was anything, there was just God. The Father was loving the Son, the Son was loving the Father, and all this through His Spirit. Love bursting at the seams said "Let us make man in our own image". Out from Him we were created as the outflow of His love. We were conceived by Love itself. God's love is something more than what He does or how He feels toward us, LOVE is WHO GOD IS. God loves us more than we could ever comprehend because God IS Love. (1 John 4:8, 16). 'Out from' Love (God) we were predestined in Christ since before creation, and 'out from' God flows the expression of His Son Jesus Christ, through us, the church. We were not an afterthought, or a side-thought toward God achieving His purpose. His purpose is one with us. His purpose exists and we exist together, 'out from' Him. God being Love, has made it so that one does not exist without the other. Saints, we share in God's story, His Life, His expression, His family, His love, His plan, His purpose, His intention. We live a life of purpose inside of Christ, that He be displayed as Gods manifold wisdom in all realms, to His glory. And this is how it was always meant to be.

In this episode we begin looking into God's Eternal Purpose which was revealed by God in the very beginning. At the time of creation, God the great Gardener, planted a garden and called it Eden, which was for His pleasure. In this beautiful garden God revealed a purpose and plan that He had in His heart from Eternity. In this garden there was a certain Tree, a man, a law, a choice and a will. God placed the Tree of Life at the centre of the garden, indicating its value and He desired Adam (mankind) to ingest The Life by partaking of its fruit. God wanted the life of His Son to be expressed in mankind, expanding the love of the Godhead, to the glory and pleasure of the Father. God wanted man to live by the Life of His Son, for the increase of Christ. In this garden, God's original intention was lost to Him - when Adam made the choice to take up his own will over God's will by partaking of knowledge over Life. In a second garden named Gethsemane, meaning 'olive press', God revealed again the purpose and plan that He had in His heart from Eternity. For in this garden there was a certain tree, a man, a law, a choice and a will. The tree, the Cross of Calvary was at the centre of the purpose of the garden of Gethsemane. The Son of Man, Jesus, the last Adam and the Second Man, had a choice to either take up His own will or lay it down in order to take up the will of His Father by enduring the shame of the cross. “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Luke 22:42 The cross which represents the law of sin and death was death for Jesus and for all believers, in that we who are in Christ were also crucified with Him when He was crucified. The cross whilst bringing death, also became the Tree of Life by being the means by which we share in the resurrection life of Jesus Christ. In this garden, Jesus restored God's original intention to His Father, when Jesus chose His Father's will over His own and said yes, to the cross. We too, are a people of the 'nevertheless' in that it is no longer us who live but it is Christ who lives in us (Gal 2:20). The outworking of our Christian life is the learning to live by His life and not ours, just like Jesus lived by His Father's life and this is in accordance to God's Eternal Purpose and desire. This one purpose of God's heart is spoken of many times in scripture; Eph 1:4-5 ... the intention of His will ... Eph 1:9 ...the mystery of His will... Eph 3:3-11 ...made known unto me the mystery....the intent...the Eternal Purpose... Eph 5:32 ...the mystery...Christ and the church ... Eph 6:19 ...the mystery of the gospel... Philippians 3:14 ...the high calling of God... Col 1:26-27 ...the mystery...now been made manifest...Christ in you... Col 2:2 ...God's mystery... Col 4:3 ...the mystery of Christ... When we realise that God only ever had one purpose and not multiple purposes or wills for all individuals, we can stop our searching and simply get on board with God's will for Himself which includes us! This desire of God to have a family, a dwelling place in humanity and a corporate body for His Son is being fulfilled inside of space and time as the church grows in her maturity toward knowing Christ. In the book of Revelation we see this one purpose of God is realised in the holy City of the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. We read of God dwelling amongst His people who will see Him face-to-face, just as Adam and Eve did so in the first garden. We see in this city that Jesus as the Lamb slain before creation is the Light of the city - just as Jesus came as light into the darkness to redeem what was lost for His Father's joy and pleasure. And in this glorious city we find a third garden where The Tree of Life stretches out along both sides of the River, bringing healing to all the nations.

G'day and welcome to our very first ever episode! We kick off our introductory episode by briefly discussing what are The Ancient Pathways.The word 'ancient' refers to the original, the first and the earliest. In the Old Testament, God calls His people back to The Ancient Pathways. They are the original pathways of God. God has an original pathway that He intended for mankind and this was revealed straight up, right there in the Garden of Eden - a tree of Life for mankind's partaking. In Jeremiah 6:16, God wanted His people to get back to knowing Him and following His ways for they had strayed far from Him. God told Israel that if they walk in the ancient pathways, they would find rest for their souls. (This indicates that God's original pathways are not burdensome and that it is burdensome to not walk those paths). In the book of Matthew, Jesus says that His yoke is easy and His burden is light! And that if we learn from Him, He will give us rest for our souls. Jesus said of Himself that He is The Way, The Truth and The Life. And we know that Christ is the fulfillment of the Law of the Old Testament and that all scripture points to Christ. You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! John 5:39 So, could the Ancient Pathways actually be Christ Himself? We believe so. As Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father except through Me". By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place...Hebrews 10:20 As we recorded this podcast episode it became apparent that God was making His appeal to be known. How can we truly love and serve a God we don't really know? God's will, His intention, His mystery, His eternal purpose, His high calling, has been made known to us through Christ. Have you ever asked the question, What Does God Want? Perhaps like many others including ourselves, you have spent many years as a Christian serving God according to what YOU think He wants. God wants us to know what HE wants instead, but to do that, we have to really know Him. Just like buying a present for a loved one, it's so much better when we know what they would really like because we truly know them. God's pathways speak of God's intent, His purpose and the delight of His heart. That indicates that God has desires, right? We believe God is speaking to His church in these days, and saying again as He said in Jeremiah 6:1; This is what the Lord says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. It's time the church got back onto those Ancient Pathways of discovery into truly knowing God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, and there discover what He wants and align ourselves to His eternal purpose. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3