What's A Messiah Anyway? Who Is The Christ?

SOME PAIN IS NOT OBVIOUS AT EASTER

Most people’s pain is obvious. Their cast, their bruise, their bleeding, or their scar tell a story. But there is a pain, a deep pain, which is not obvious. It is often masked by a happy face and a funny disposition. This pain can not be drugged, counselled, or washed away. The first Easter was about an extraordinary man who felt the combination of infinite physical and inner pain and triumphed over it. 

Christ’s physical pain was obvious during the Passion of the first Easter. Coinciding with his intolerable physical pain was the infinitely deep pain of his soul which was not obvious. We all experience a fraction of an eye-dropper drip of this same soul pain. This is guilt.

There’s actually a lot of things not obvious about the first Easter. Our deepest pain being healed because Jesus who took the accumulation of human guilt and shame upon himself to suffer as our substitute is not obvious when most people regard Easter being about chocolate eggs. Today, the Person behind Easter can do for your unseen pain what no pill, bottle or couch could ever do, even though this may not be obvious. 

Andrew Corbett

[200 words]

DEVILISH SCHEMES

Despite the many paperback books to the contrary, the Bible points its readers to God, not the Devil. Similarly, the Scriptures reveal who God is, what He has done, why we are not naturally at peace with Him, and how we can be. Yet, it does give us some profound insights regarding the spiritual war we are engaged in and how we are to fight.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
First Peter 5:8

THE DEVIL'S PLOY

The Bible reveals that there is an instrument of evil and wickedness in the world who is determined to thwart God's goodness and redemptive plan. He does by deceiving people. In fact, Jesus called him the "Father of all lies" (John 8:44). He is introduced in Genesis 3 as the original liar. He is heard lying in wilderness that he can offer the Christ all the kingdoms of this world (Matt. 4). He is seen at the last supper whispering in Judas's ear that his mission to betray Jesus was a noble cause (Matt. 26). Paul states plainly that often Satan appears as "an angel of light" (2Cor. 11:14).

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Second Corinthians 11:14

The Devil is metaphorically described in Scripture as a serpent, dragon, a wolf and like a lion. These metaphors have teeth. They paint the devil as dangerous and untrustworthy. In John 10 describes the devil as a wolf who looks for the straggling sheep - particularly the lambs. The Shepherd goes out of his way to safeguard the lambs from the Devil's wolf-like attacks. To do this, he secures the sheep in the fold and goes out to seek for the straggling lamb before the wolf ravages them. The shepherd knows that when the sheep gather under his protective and caring gaze they are safe. Each sheep remembers from their lambhood that the shepherd's crook has two ends to it - the hooked end to rescue from pitfalls, and the straight end to give a love-tap on their hind legs to warn them off straying. It is the Devil's scheme to separate sheep from their flock.

He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
John 10:12

The allurement of the Devil's lies seems both believable and attractive to those sheep who make themselves vulnerable. Perhaps you know this? Our spiritual fervour and passion for the Lord is intensified or diminished by how much we are in the flock in a similar way to how close or far away a burning ember in a fire-place is to the main fire. Satan looks to lure the Word-deprived person away from the protective care of the shepherd and the safety of the assembled community of the flock.

And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.
Mark 4:15.

Are you alone a lot? Do you benefit from regular healthy physical touch? Do you have time on your hands? Have you been offended and not offered heartfelt forgiveness? You may then be more vulnerable to devilsh ploys to bring you down than oterwise. We are, as the seasoned apostle wrote, not ignorant of Satan's schemes (designs, ploys, manoeveurs, strategies), as he told the Corinthians (2Cor. 2:11). If we fail to appropriately manage our space, time, and connections, we could be giving the Devil increased opportunities to snare us. Alarmingly, it is possible for the believer to position themselves into spiritual peril which is why the Apostle Paul told the Ephesian belivers, "and give no opportunity to the devil." (Eph. 4:27)

GOD'S MEANS OF GRACE FOR HIS CHILDREN

The apostle goes on to tell the Ephesian believers how to become spiritually invincible to the Devil. In chapter 6 of his epistle he describes the believer in military armour. We can easily see that God's means of sustaining and protective grace is to be found in His Word, in prayer, in acts of service, and worship - but most particularly in our church family. Of all the armour that Paul describes, he leaves the believer's back bare! But the astute reader will note that the entire epistle has been about the community of the church. The reason each believer's back is bare is because another believer has their back! This is why we pray fervently for each other - especially for our brothers and sisters in the heat of the battle-front. Individually, the believer may find God's grace in the Word and Prayer, but it is in the community of the church's fellowship that the believer discovers the riches of God's various forms of grace which strengthens them, encourages them, nourishes them, and grows them.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:
1Pet. 4:10

When God's people come together to fulfil the seven purposes of the Church, they receive God's grace in its varying forms. It is immersed in this grace that they become spiritually invincible because they are able to put on the helmet of salvation, take up the shield of faith with which to quench the fiery darts of the Devil, wield the sword of the Spirit, protect their hearts with the breastplate of righteousness, belt up with the truth and boot up with the Gospel. This armoury allows them to live lives which testify to the greatness of God in Christ who shed His blood for them to enable them to overcome the Devil. It is my prayer that we too are fully armed and armoured with the grace of God in this day of spiritual battle. I also pray that when we experience the Enemy's schemes we will remain focussed on God and draw strength from His means of grace for us.

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Revelation 12:11

Andrew

THE WAITING ROOM

For all of the inconvenience of a waiting room, it is perhaps the surest place of hope anywhere in the world! For a person who is in pain, discomfort, or illness has a reason to be dispondent unless they are in a waiting room. The same person is empowered to endure their trials simply because they know that soon they will be tended to. Waiting rooms give their guests hope. But not everyone in a waiting room is in discomfort. I spoke with someone this week who said they had a doctor's appointment. "It's just my annual check-up" they told me. Waiting rooms lead to reassurance and even accountability. And for those who've ever been in a waiting room without bringing your own reading material, waiting rooms become a fount of amazing information sourced from obscure magazines that not only does no-one buy, no-one bothers to steal from a waiting room either (did you know that Tarantual wasps paralyze tarantulas and lay a single egg on the still living spider; when the egg hatches, the wasp larva has fresh food?). Maybe it's time to celebrate the wonders of the waiting room...

Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!
Psalm 27:14

A DIFFERENT KIND OF WAITING

Most people equate waiting time as wasting time. Our instant-expectations fuelled by instant messaging, fast food, microwaves, and 2-Minute noodles, have done much to distort how we regard time. There is, however, great unsung value to be gained by time in a waiting room. It is here that we are forced to cease, slow down, and somewhat: rest. In our Western experiment, we generally take it for granted that we can see a health professional in a reasonable space of time. This is not a luxury shared by the vast majority of the world. We think nothing of "catching the 'flu" in our Western world, butcatching the 'flu is actually fatal in most other parts of the world! Therefore, waiting rooms are a symbol of extravagent privilege. It is a privilege to wait in hope. God sometimes invites us into His grace but not before we have to wait. God's waiting rooms are statements that He is dispensing hope (Psa. 130:5 ¶ I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope). Are you waiting for God at the moment? (Rom. 8:25)

¶ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
Psalm 37:7

Waiting sounds like "do nothing". Ask a waiter what waiting means. It's doubtful that she would say that waiting is doing nothing! Waiting can mean waiting on in the sense of serving. This is definitely what a waiter knows it means! And it seems to be this sense that Scripture calls us to wait on the Lord.

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.,
Isaiah 40:31

When you're in God's waiting room, it can be a time of surprise learning (who would have guessed that Tarantual wasps were so interesting?...sorry I've digressed). It's in God's waiting room that we learn things that we wouldn't be choice seek to learn. If you are in a waiting room season now, what is God teaching you - or more aptly: what are you learning in God's waiting room now?

Then you will know that I am the LORD;
those who wait for me shall not be put to shame."
Isaiah 49:23b .

If you're in a waiting room, it means two simultaneous things: you recognise you have (or might have) a problem and secondly you have an appointment with the One who can solve that problem. This is why waiting rooms are hope-zones! And here's the wonderful news about our access to God's waiting room. The believer can come into God's waiting room with the need to phone ahead, get an appointment, or even a referal. You are invited to before God anytime!

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

Ps. Andrew

Jesse Owens

In 1936 Hitler purposed to show the world the supremacy of the Arian Race. Jesse Owens, an African American upset Hitler's plans by winning Olympic gold. What is not so well known about Owens, is that he was a devout Christian who was committed to his local church from his earliest years - so much so that he walked 9 miles to attend it, and then walked 9 miles back home -- twice a Sunday! That's a total of around 60kms in a day, each week.

THAT'S TOUGH

Jesus Christ was the toughest man who's ever lived. He was a tough leader. He had a tough assignment. He chose tough disciples. He spoke tough things. He was tough on those who considered themselves 'religious'. And judging by the thousands that rejected and abandoned Him in His final months before He returned to Heaven, He was a tough guy to listen to and follow. But if you only have a Chuck Norris' definition of "tough" (where, 'tough'='rough') you are never going to understand the toughness which Jesus modelled and expects of His followers. What's more, we live in a period of phenomenal ease and comfort, where being tough is simply not necessary. This makes toughness seem foreign - and dare I say it, "unChristian"! Perhaps it's time to re-examine Christ and His call to follow and discover why one of the most needs for today's Church is to toughen up!

if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
2Tim 2:12

A DIFFERENT KIND OF TOUGH

The toughness that Christ exhibited was an expression of deep love. Christ's toughness is not like the world's toughness. In the world, the tough guy is the bad guy who's mean. But Christ's toughness is courageous endurance in the face of adversity and opposition. To be 'tough' in the worldly sense almost implies that you are rude and inconsiderate. But tough in Christ's sense is: the courage to be kind, gentle and considerate while standing your ground.

¶ Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
First Corinthian 16:13

A TOUGH AUDIENCE

The first step in toughening up is to make sure you understand who your audience is. If your audience is the world, you'll always be soft and weak. If your audience is God, you'll soon toughen up.

not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
Eph. 6:6

¶ Obviously, I'm not trying to be a people pleaser! No, I am trying to please God. If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ's servant.
Gal. 1:10

The Father was Christ's audience. This is why Jesus could say what He did and do what He did - because even though it was offensive to human ears and eyes, it was not their approval Christ sought. If you live to please people, or win people's praise, you need to toughen up! If the opinions of others determines whether you obey God or not, you are soft and weak. This might sound harsh, but consider the words of Christ in this light and you'll soon realise why it was that so many were offended by Him and then offended by His servants.

¶ "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
Matt. 6:5

You have to be tough not to go along with the crowd. If you know that you're not as tough as you should be, ask the Father for help. Pray that God will change your heart from being a people-pleaser to being a God-pleaser.

¶ Many among His disciples heard this and said, "This is tough teaching, too tough to swallow."
John 6:60

TIME TO BE TOUGH

Ease, comfort, affluence, and political favour tend to make Christ-followers soft. It's difficult to be tough when you don't think you need to be! Put another way, it's tough to be tough when life is easy. Ease lulls the tough into softness. I don't think I'm advocating for hard times, but tough times produce tough people. If your times are tough right now you can be sure that Godis toughening you up to be more than a conqueror.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
¶ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.Romans 8:35-37

Times are going to get tougher for those who want their commitment to Christ to inform how they live and contribute to society. Unless. 

  - Unless we make some tough choices to put Christ first.
  - Unless our Christ-of-Nazareth-following men man-up and get tough and show their wives what it means to be a genuinely responsible and tough, and their children what it means to be tender and tough.
  - Unless our Church leaders get tough and take up the mantle of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and take their place "in the gate" (note Psalm 127:5 and Jeremiah 7:2) and speak up and out for the welfare of the vulnerable and the glory of God.
Unless.

If you want some inspiration to be tough, try some biographies of great Christ-followers. Get acquainted with William Carey. Invite John Foxe to tell you his stories (Koorong can introduce you to him and his stories for just $6.99). Read Dr. F.W. Boreham's A BUNCH OF EVERLASTINGS. If you take my advice and then tell me that you found these to be tough reads, don't be surprised at the almost tender look I give you. If you hear me get tough and plead for some tough Christ-followers to write some tough letters and submissions to our State Government in order to protect the elderly, frail, and pre-born, then simply ponder that time and eternity changing word: "unless".

You keep me going when times are tough—
my bedrock, GOD, since my childhood. 
Psalm 71:5 THE MESSAGE

 Andrew

TRANSFORMING WORSHIP

You will worship. You can't not worship. And those who discover the incomparable joy of worshiping the only One we were created and authorised to worship, also discover something else. Those who worship undeserved objects of their devotion can never make this same joyous discovery. While Who is worshiped is the single biggest difference between Christianity and any other 'religion', and what happens to the worshiper is the joyous discovery for the Christ-adorer, it is how this ongoing transformation happens that makes supernatural Christianity utterly unique.

For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit."
Romans 8:5

Those who are now children of God (as distinct from those Jesus Christ described as "sons of the devil" - John 8:44; also 1John 3:10) are led by the Spirit. And where does the Spirit begin to lead the new child of God? Into God's Word? Into God's House? Into prayer? Into sharing the Gospel? Each of these are true because they point to the first act of transformation that the Spirit of God leads His child into: Worship of the One True God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This first act of the believer's transformation becomes the means by which further necessary transformation occurs. Are you being transformed?

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Second Corinthians 3:18

Supernatural Christianity inspires melodic worship. "Melody", as J.S. Bach showed the world, is a reflection of the Ultimate melody and harmony: the Triune God. As we combine our different voices, with different musical instruments to produce melodic and harmonious praise, we are adoring the Sovereign God who created, redeemed, and adopted us. Because we worship the One and True God, Father Son and Holy Spirit, Christianity is a musical/singing expression of worship. And when we worship, we are transformed. Here's how.

Worship Causes Us To Forget.

It is true that everything the child of God does should be an act of worship. If you get this revelation it will transform the way you wash your dinner dishes! It will transform the way you view your "miserable" job! Worship causes us to forget the drudgery of the mundane as it transforms it into an act of worship. "Father, I wash these pots, these pans, these dishes, these cups, these knives, these forks, these spoons, as an act of my worship to You. I do this for Your glory!" "Lord, I go to this job today even though I don't enjoy it, but I go to give you glory and as an act of my worship to You." Worship transforms us because it causes us to forget our drudgeries.
Yet, there is something very special about setting time aside each Lord's day to come together to worship God in a more intentional fashion. We approach the House of God to worship with all kinds of things swirling through our minds. They weigh on us. Worship transforms us by causing us to forget these distractions.

Worship Causes Us To Remember.

Thankfulness is major ingredient of right worship. Thankfulness requires remembering God's blessings. Wise parents teach their children to worship at their family dinner table by showing them how to remember God's blessings. It's difficult to get down when you are worshiping God by remembering His good blessings. When we recall God's provision, His protection, His guidance, and His peace in times of turmoil, and thank Him, we are being transformed by our worship of Him.

Worship Causes Us To Be Distracted.

You approach corporate worship unable to forget your pressing concerns or even remember God's good provisions - but as you worship, God's greatness is positively distracting! Right worship transforms us because it causes us to be rightly distracted by what really matters: God and His glory. Get distracted this Sunday!

Worship Causes Us To Be Focused.

Worship transforms us by causing us to forget what grips our minds. It causes us to remember God's goodness to us. Worship distracts us from those illegitimate attention seekers. And worship transforms us by bringing our vision back into focus. Eugene Peterson (the translator of the MESSAGE Bible) says that when we assemble to worship Jesus it is like we "calibrate" our focal lens. So much of what the world does to us causes our clear vision of Christ to get out of focus.

¶ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 
Romans 12:1

When a child of God worships they undergo transformation. What they say is transformed. What they do is transformed. What they think is transformed. Who they are is transformed. Are you being transformed? Have you surrendered to Christ? Have you worshiped Him by laying down your agenda, your dreams, your wants, your life? It's easy to tell the ones who have. These are the ones who are being transformed by their worship of Christ.

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe
Hebrews 12:28

Andrew

FEAR IS BUSY

Lazy people are some of the busiest people I know. And I should know! I am plagued by bouts of self-inflicted laziness. If you call us lazy people "lazy" and we are deeply offended and will immediately defend ourselves with a list of our many and varied activities. But the unacknowledged problem is that we are busy with everything but what we should be doing!  This is because our laziness is actually fear. Because we lazy people fear what we have to do, we find lots of other things to do so that we have an excuse for not doing what we should have done. My laziness looks busy. But I'm learning how to overcome this crippling fear.

The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!
I shall be killed in the streets!"
Proverbs 22:13

There are things that I should have done by now. Instead of doing them I have found what I call 'reasons' as to why I can't get to them yet. My 'reasons' look convincing. They sound reasonable. They take up my time. They draw me away and justify their distraction. But still, the important things that need doing remain undone. But to the outsider my busyness makes look productive (the arch-enemy of laziness).

I know why I look for distractions rather than attending to whatneeds to be done. Fear. I fear that if I bear my soul to that person that need to resolve things with I will be rejected - and I deeply fear rejection. I fear that if I attempt that project that I've been putting off, I will botch it and look incompetent. I fear that if I make a start on that book I must read I will not enjoy it or understand it. I fear that if I start this new exercise and diet program I will not be able to keep going, so I neer start it. I fear trying this new thing because I feel I am a slow learner and far more comfortable with what I already know and I don't want to feel like a dope.

To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home."
Luke 9:59, 61

Jesus Christ was the most undistracted person in the history of the entire world. Jesus Christ was the most productive person who has ever walked our planet. Jesus Christ is the only person to have ever breathed air who has never offered an excuse in the place of His obligations. Yet He encountered distracted, unproductive, excuse-making people all the time. And thanks to me, He still does. In Luke 9 we read how he called certain people to action who instead of appropriately responding, offered excuses for why they were too busy to do what He summoned them to do.

¶ I suggest that you finish what you started a year ago, for you were the first to propose this idea, and you were the first to begin doing something about it. 
Second Corinthians 8:10

There is a difference between doing nothing and being lazy. There is difference being busy and being productive. There may be no difference between being lazy and busy. The difference is determined by answering the should question. What should I be doing? The difference is obscured if I am continually answerin: What can I be doing?
The businessman who spends all day making courageous decisions and works late simply because he's afraid to get home and talk with his teenage daughter, is disovering that fear is busy. The wife who always finds a problem with one of her children that demands her attention simply because she fears making time for her husband who she thinks has lost interest in her. The student who jus has to support her struggling friend over Facebook because she's afraid that her maths homework is going to be too difficult for her. The pastor who always finds a crisis in his church that needs his attention because he's afraid that people might think he lacks good leadership skills. Fear is busy.

FOR FREEDOM HE HAS SET US FREE
Author unknown"For freedom, Christ has set us free!"
What joy is ours to claim!
No more enslaved, humanity
Finds life in Jesus' name.
We try, Lord, to be justified
Through all the works we do.
Yet you adopt us, saying, "Child,
It's Christ who makes you new."
We're clothed in Christ and we belong;
Now no one waits outside.
In him we find our common song;
Old ways no more divide.
"It is no longer I who live,
But Christ who lives in me."
He died for us, new life to give —
And new identity.
Now, Spirit-filled, may we be led
From ways that would destroy.
May we your people turn instead
To lives of love and joy.
May we find peace that makes us whole
And patience everywhere.
God, give us kindness, self-control,
And hearts and hands that share.

The most productive thing we can do is to follow Christ where He leads us. In the Old Testament we find Jonah busily avoiding God's will. We have Kings Saul and David sharply contrasted by Saul's continual pandering to fears and busyness and David's courage and action. When Goliath challenged, King Saul was busy looking for someone to fight him - even though God had called him to be Israel's leader! We see that King Solomon was very very busy with his wives - but utterly lazy to what heshould have been doing. In the famous Biblical love chapter, First Corinthians 13, we see this same point made. Someonecould be busy doing good works for the poor but actually miss the point about why they should be doing good for the poor.

each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
First Corinthians 3:13

Here's some things that I observe in people who live with less fear and have a higher ability than most to be productive.

1. They prioritise the important over the urgent (they answer the should question before the can question).
2. They keep prioritised lists (deadlines keep them creative and productive).
3. They keep short accounts with those in their key relationship circles (they forgive, seek forgiveness, and listen well).
4. They embrace their failures and mistakes by redeeming them as learning opportunities (they have learned the art of "drafting" before completing).

If you're like me, struggling with this busy form of laziness, then perhaps we both realise that we need the grace of God to help us. And maybe as we learn to walk closely with Christ those things which which we should do will increasingly get priority over those things we can do. This grace-shift can help a church transition from good intentions about evangelism to actually evangelising. It can help a family procrastinating with reaching out to an estranged family member to actually sitting down together and clearing the air. It can help a marriage where hearts have steadily grown distant to move a little closer back together with an overdue date. Don't be fooled by the demon of laziness - especially when it comes dressed as busyness, because it's really not laziness at all, it's fear. And fear is busy.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Second Timothy 1:6-7

Andrew Corbett

CAMEL CARERS

WANTED: RELIABLE PERSON, MUST BE GOOD WITH CAMELS

Camels, dromedaries, ships of the desert. One hump or two. Smelly, noisy, flea-hosting. I have asked many children what they hope to be when they grow up. Firemen, policemen, rock stars, sports champions, usually top the list. I have never, ever, had a young child aspire to be a "camel carer". Ever! Wealthy nomads owned slaves and hired servants to do this horribly humble job of watering socially insensitive camels. What might surprise you is that Jesus Christ was a camel-carer. Nearly everything Jesus said was from the perspective of a camel-carer...

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark 10:45

By all reports the ships of the desert drink a lot. It is their ability to trek for days across deserts that helps to make them the ideal means for nomads to travel with their wares. If you were asked to water several camels by pouring water into troughs for them to drink out of, you would be very busy for the next hour or so. It wouldn't be a pleasant job. It was a lowly job. In Genesis 24, Abraham asks his unnamed servant to travel back to his place of origin to find a wife for his son Isaac. The servant loads up the camels for the long trek. When he arrives at a well near the country of Abraham's kin, he prays a prayer asking God for the seemingly impossible. As he waits for the owner of the well to arrive, he asked God that -

1. It would be a woman who came to the well.
2. This woman would offer him a drink from the well.
3. This woman would also offer to give all of his camels a drink as well (she had to be a camel-carer).

Let the young woman to whom I shall say, 'Please let down your jar that I may drink,' and who shall say, 'Drink, and I will water your camels'—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master."
Genesis 24:14

The most convincing answers to prayer are always the most coincidental. Coincidences tend to coincide most often just after praying for them to occur. Coincidentally, coincidences almost cease when prayer stops. Abraham's servant experienced the most remarkable coincidence to his prayer because even before he uttered "Amen" God was already answering his prayer.

¶ Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder.
Genesis 24:15

What Rebekah does is literally extraordinary. She offers the stranger a drink, then offers to water his camels! Rebekah was a camel-carer! Camel-carers add value to others - often without being asked. This is what makes them so inspirational. When Rebekah turned up at the well she must have been on a mission. It's not that camel-carers haven't got anything better to do. What contributes to them being very inspirational people is that despite their opinions, their feelings, their energy levels, or their needs, they serve. But if that's all they did I guess they'd be called "camel-servers". They care for things that people care about and by doing so they are actually caring for people. One of the secrets to very inspirational people's success at life is that they have learned you can bless a person by caring about what they are about. Abraham's servant had just been on a long bonding trip with his dromedaries. He cared about his camels. When you care about what those you care about care about, you may be becoming a camel-carer.

Over the 18 years I have been pastoring Legana, I have bonded not just with our people, but with the things we share - our property, our plants, our carpark, our buildings, our kitchens, our toilets, our creche, our playground, our grass, our fences, our microphones, and our musical instruments. If this list makes you think, "That's a sad, dull list" then you're probably not a camel-carer. I guess not everybody is. But some of you are. I've seen you caring for our camels. I've seen you on a Sunday at the door half an hour before our services start because you care. I've seen you making drinks for our thirsty camels at the end of our services because you care. I've seen you at our Sunday night prayer meeting because you care about our camels. I've seen you in one of our Home Groups listening and sharing with other camels, because you care. I've seen you down at our facilities through the week sweeping our pavements, pruning our plants, washing our windows and walls, weed-spraying our car-park, tidying our garden-beds, bringing our bins in, replacing our broken lights, and watering our parched plants. Camel-carers.

Camel-carers are often mistaken for being task-driven because they take care of such practical matters as washing dishes, setting up tables, cooking choc-chip shortbread cookies, or pressing RECORD on the audio computer in the sound-desk. Mistaken. By now you're probably connected the most obvious traits of camel-carers and realising that a person's measure as a camel-carer is commensurate with them being an inspirational person. Enter, Jesus Christ. He was the ultimate "camel-carer". He is clearly the ultimate Very Inspirational Person. If you want to transition from being a Very Draining Person to being a Very Inspirational Person, become like Jesus! But don't just see Jesus from the Gospels - see Jesus in Genesis when Rebekah volunteers to water a herd of camels. See Jesus in Exodus when Moses shepherds a nation of wandering whining people. See Jesus in First and Second Samuel when a young goat-herder volunteers to do battle with an obscene giant. Jesus.

THE SERVANT KING
Author unknown

1. From heav'n You came helpless babe
Entered our world Your glory veiled
Not to be served but to serve
And give Your life, that we might live 

This is our God, the servant King
He calls us now to follow Him
And give our lives as a daily offering
Of worship to the Servant King

2. There in the garden of Tears
My heavy load He chose to bear
His heart with sorrow was torn
"Let not My will by Yours" He said 

3. Come see His hands and His feet
The scars that speak of sacrifice
Hands that flung stars into space
To cruel nails surrendered 

4. So let us learn how to serve
And in our lives enthrone Him
Each other's needs to prefer
For it is Christ we're serving.

I met a new camel-carer in our church two weeks ago. She asked if it would be OK if she came down through the week and trimmed up the dead fronds on our ferns. I thought to myself, "Hallelujah! A camel-carer!" This past week I have been surrounded by camel-carers. These people aren't idle. Yet they volunteer to serve. They don't just do the minimum - they water our camels as well. They aren't looking for thanks, accolades, encouragement, or medals with colourful ribbons, or their photo in the newspaper. Camel-carers care for things because they care for people.

¶ When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels,

Gen. 24:22

The Genesis 24 account doesn't end though with a bunch of camels rejuvenating their saliva stores. In what many Bible teachers have seen over the years, Rebekah is a type of New Testament believer. Her innocent faithfulness to her unseen spouse is honoured with treasures beyond her wildest imagination. This will be case for every faithful believer whose works will be tested by fire. And in a serendipitous way, if Rebekah hadn't watered these camels at this time, the world might not have hosted the Saviour since Rebekah went on to become the ancestor of Jesus Christ!

each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
First Corinthians 3:13

Abraham, a type of the God the father, has sent his servant, a type of the Holy Spirit, out into the world looking for a bride, a type of New Testament believer, for his son, a type of Christ. What distinguishes the believer from the world? Camel-caring. When we say don't kill unborn camels or exterminate old ones, it's because we care for people, not politics. When we volunteer, we show the care of Christ, our Servant-King.

Will you let me be your servant
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I might have the grace
To let you be my servant too(The Servant Song, by Richard Gillard of New Zealand)

"I'm not watering those stinking, flea-infested, slobering camels!" is usually translated into: "I'm really busy at the moment. Couldn't you find someone else for the creche roster?" and various other statements. But, "Let me get you a drink and I'll pour water for your camels to." - is most often translated not with words but with actions. If you really want to show someone you care, water their camels.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28