This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

I want to welcome you to Daily Drive Time Devotions, we're looking at verses 7
to 13 of Ephesians 3 today, our third day look at this incredible chapter of the
Bible. We've been talking about the fact that we serve our way into
significance. As a servant of Jesus Christ, I need to see myself as a servant of
Christ.

A couple of things that Paul has already taught us in this chapter about how to
see yourself as a servant is that I see myself as a prisoner of Christ. That
doesn't mean I see myself as a prisoner, that means regardless of the
circumstance, I realize that Christ is there. That's how servants see
themselves.

I also see myself as a manager or a servant, a steward of God's grace. There's a
third way that I see myself in these verses. In verses 7 to 11 you'll pick up on
it pretty quickly.

As a servant of Jesus Christ, I'm to see myself as a servant of the good news.
Let me begin reading in verse 7. "I became a servant of this gospel by the gift
of God's grace given me through the working of his power.

Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me
to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to make plain to
everyone the administration of this mystery which for ages past was kept hidden
in God who created all things. His intent was that now through the church the
manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the
heavenly realms according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ
Jesus our Lord. " If you're going to get anything done in life you've got to
have the right tools.

I mean imagine trying to sew clothes with a hammer and nail or to build a house
with a needle and thread. You've got to have the right tools. Most of us we grow
up learning to put a few tools in our getting things done box.

If I want to get something done I need energy for the task. I need management
skills. I need knowledge.

I need to push people for results. So those are some of the tools that some of
us put in that box and some of those tools can help servants but some of them
are as detrimental to trying to be a servant or as frustrating to trying to be a
servant as trying to paint your fingernails with an eight inch paintbrush.
Ladies I thought I'd throw that in for you.

I certainly didn't want you to think that I paint my fingernails. We all need,
I'm saying we all need to recognize some tools that every servant needs and in
these verses as Paul talks about being a servant of the good news he talks about
three tools that servants cannot do without. He talks about grace.

He talks about God's power and he talks about humility. If I want to be the kind
of servant that shares the good news with other people that exemplifies the good
news of Christ for other people and that's what I want. I don't want to be a bad
news kind of servant talking about Jesus out of my mouth but my life says oh
that's bad news I don't want that.

I want to be a good news servant. I've got to have grace and God's power and
humility in my life. Grace.

Servanthood grows out of grace. God's gifts to me. God's power.

Servanthood is energized by God. It's not energized by me in the end. It is
energized by God and humility.

To be a servant is to be enabled by humility. In fact Paul talks about in verse
eight I am less than the least of all God's people. With all that he had done in
his service for Christ he couldn't forget the fact that he had persecuted the
church before he became a believer.

He couldn't get past the fact that he hadn't understood the gospel at the
beginning and because of that he had hurt believers in Jesus Christ. First
Corinthians chapter 15 verse 9 Paul also calls himself the least of the
apostles. Less than the least is the idea he gives himself here.

First Timothy 1 15 he calls himself the chief of sinners. It's interesting that
Paul changed his name from Saul to Paul. Saul means asked for.

That's a pretty prideful name. Here's exactly what I asked for. Paul means Paul
means little and God said I want you to change your name.

Do you think he was sending him a message? This man whom God named little he
says I'm less than the least. It's a play in one sense on his name.

This man named little ends up having one of the greatest impacts on the world
for Jesus Christ and part of it was his humility. He understood the deep truth
that God's word does not give you pride. It gives you a humble heart.

It doesn't make you feel like you're above or beyond others. It makes you
realize you're to be a servant of others. And as Paul talks about being a
servant of the good news he talks about not only these tools that we have for
service he also talks in these verses about what I would call four spheres of
influence for God's servants.

Where does grace make an impact? Well he says this grace was given to me there's
one sphere to preach to the Gentiles there's a second one to make plain to
everyone there's a third one and to make it known in the heavenlies there's a
fourth sphere of influence. First he says grace is given to me that's where it
has to start first grace has to impact my own life if it doesn't impact my life
it's not going to it's not going to impact the lives of the people that are
around me that's where it starts but that's not where it ends grace was given to
me to preach to you Gentiles.