I want to speak to you today from the twenty-fourth chapter of Genesis. And, in fact, I am thinking seriously about preaching to you again this evening from the twenty-fourth chapter of Genesis as well. Of course, being an entirely different approach each time. This morning, I want us to take a look at a theme which is very important for us as servants of God or as children of God, to realize and to follow after something that's shown pretty clearly here in this twenty-fourth chapter of Genesis. And the theme that we want to look at in this twenty-fourth chapter for this morning is this, "The Model Servant." "The Model Servant."

We have a picture here which is an exceptionally good picture of how a servant of God should be. It's an almost perfect picture of how a servant of God should operate, how a servant of God should be and how he should work, how he should practice his service to God.

We want to notice several things, so I've divided it up into seven divisions. You know, that's what we always try to do if we can on a sermon, seven points. Because seven is supposed to be the number of perfection. (Modern "sermonette preachers" always want it to be 3 Points and a Poem). But let us look at these seven things about the model servant shown to us in Genesis chapter 24.

In the first place, we notice immediately, I won't read the chapter. It's a rather long chapter, and we won't read it all this morning; we'll just read portions of it, but we'll also read some more portions of it tonight, the Lord willing, if I do continue with a different message from this same chapter tonight, as I'm thinking. Let us notice first --- the very first thing about a model servant or a proper servant of God, as shown here by this model servant in Genesis 24, is that he does not go out or does not run about un-sent.

I think we've got a big problem with that today. We've got men and women who say, "Well, I believe I'll go over here and do this for God." But you can't go over there and do this for God unless God sends you over there. If God didn't send you, then you're completely out of place in doing this or that or something else. That's not to say that you're supposed to sit on your backside and wait until God gets a bat and beats you over the head with it before you listen to Him when He says go do something.

That's not what we're talking about at all! But we are talking about this very important factor that's involved in being a proper servant for the Lord, and that is that the proper servant or the model servant does not run unsent. He doesn't just go out there and say, "Well, I think I'll see if I can do this or that or something else for God." What we do for God is His choice, not ours!

Let's read verses 2 through 9, and we see that he does not go out, except when he's sent by God, or when he's sent by his master in the case of this model servant. And it's a perfect picture of how we should be in our service to God. Verses 2 through 9, showing us that he does not go out or run unsent.

Genesis 24:2-9 -- "And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again. And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter."

Remember, we are thinking of this servant here as a picture of the present day servant of God, and we're emphasizing at this time the fact that he does not run unsent.

Notice that in these verses we read to you, this servant of Abraham didn't say, "Well, I believe I'll just go up there and get Isaac a wife from such and such a place." He didn't say that at all, did he? He didn't say, "Well, I like the looks of these girls over here. They look like they're strong and healthy and might bear lots of sons for my master's son Isaac. I'll just go over here and get a wife from them." He didn't do that at all! In fact, he didn't do anything, until he was moved by the words of his master.

In our case, the model servant of God would be moved by the leadership of God, the Spirit of God, leading him into doing thus or so. So, this servant did not just say,"Well, I'm going to go up there to the place where Abraham's relatives are, I'm going to go up there and get a wife for my master's son." Didn't say that at all. We also must realize that we cannot just go out in our own strength and find a bride for our Master's Son. We can't do that. We don't have the power to do it, nor do we have the authority to do it, nor the ability to do it. But we should not go, except where we are sent. He doesn't just run around here and there and somewhere else.

There's a particular thing that we want to call to your attention, among the Canaanites here in verse 3. He could easily have found a wife for Isaac, couldn't he? He could have just gone out there and nearly any of those Canaanite girls would have been glad to marry Isaac. He was a handsome, young fellow, and a wealthy young heir. Why shouldn't they be happy and ready to marry him? But they were not suitable for him; the bride was to be chosen in a certain particular way. And so, he couldn't go out here and take a wife to the son of Abraham, from among the daughters of the Canaanites.

This fifth verse here tells us another very interesting thing. We said he does not go out unsent. We notice that when he goes out in the proper way, that he does get some results, doesn't he? What's the promise there in verse 5? The servant said, "But what if she won't come? What if this woman is not willing to come to this land?" He says, "Shall I go and take your son to her?" And Abraham said, "No." So he goes ahead then in verse 7 and says, what God has told him to do, Abraham says it there in verse 7, and describes it further in verse 8. And then the servant made the oath that he would do exactly as Abraham had said he should do. So he did not just go out under his own steam, under his own imagination, under his own power, to do the job, did he? The Master's work can't be done that way. It just cannot be done that way. There is no possibility that it can be done that way. He does not run unsent.

Let's go a step further and look at something else. Not only does he not run unsent or go where or when he's not sent, but he does go exactly where he is sent. He goes ONLY where he is sent. You know, sometimes God gives us opportunities and leads us to be witnesses or to do something for him, and we don't always do it, do we? Or sometimes, God says, "Do this," or "Go there," and we want to go somewhere else. But this model servant in Genesis 24, he goes where he's sent. He doesn't go just where it is convenient for him. He doesn't go just where he would like to go. He doesn't go to this beautiful, easy place over here to win souls or to that beautiful place to live, over there to do his master's bidding. But what does he do? He goes exactly where he is sent. We find that in verse 4, "But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac." Then in verse 10, "And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor."

Here he's clearly showing us that he didn't go anywhere, except just where he was told to go. And that's a problem a lot of times with us as servants of God. We sometimes don't go where He tells us to go --- too often we want to pick the place where we would like to go. When we do this, there is no hope for real success, is there? If the servant had gone to some other place than that told him by Abraham, would he have been pleasing to his master? No, he would not! Had he gotten a different kind of bride from what he was told to get by his master, would he have been pleasing to his master? No, he would not! And that's the way it is today. In serving God, there's only one way to serve Him properly and successfully, and that is the way God tells us, the way God leads. All this talk about, "Oh, these great and marvelous things that are being done in the name of God," much of it is just foolishness and has nothing to do with God but a lot to do with the devil. And it's because they are running out unsent and they're not going where God would have His servant to go. In fact, most of these people are not servants of God at all; they are just servants of the devil, and using God's name in vain.

And by the way, oftentimes that's what using God's name in vain means in Scripture, not cursing at all. We can use it to mean that as well, but it very often means using God's name in vain in the sense of falsely claiming to be His servant or falsely claiming to serve Him. Falsely claiming to be one of His, when they're not. That is often what the expression, "using God's name in vain," means; pretending to be a Christian, pretending to be a servant of God, when they're not. But a model servant, a proper servant, he doesn't go out until he's sent by God. And then secondly, he goes exactly where he's sent, not somewhere else.

Now, notice the third thing about this model servant. He does nothing else, except that commanded or instructed by his master. You say, "What do you mean?" "You mean that I just can't do anything, except what God tells me to, if I'm going to be a proper servant of His?" Yes, that's exactly what I mean. If you're going to be a proper servant of God in doing His service, you do nothing else, except that which is commanded by your Master, the Lord. That is, you don't go out and do just what you think might work, or you don't go out and do this system or that system or some other system, you do only what God leads you to do in His service. The model servant does nothing else, except that commanded or instructed by his master.

You say, "Well, where do we get our instructions?" Well, the Lord speaks to us still through His Holy Spirit, but He also gives us our instruction book here to go by, the Bible. This is our guide book, our instruction book for all service to Him. And unless we follow this instruction book, this pretending, "Well, now God said to me thus and so," and then you check up and that thus and so doesn't fit with this, then you know that God didn't say that to you! God's Spirit didn't say anything to you if it does not agree with the Bible.

Anything that people tell you that God said to them, if it doesn't fit clearly into what the Bible itself teaches, then it's a lie, isn't it? Because the same Holy Spirit that they claim is leading them, is the same Holy Spirit who wrote the Bible, inspired men to write the Bible word by word. And the same Holy Spirit, being God, is not going to contradict Himself. We men sometimes contradict ourselves, but God does not contradict Himself, EVER! God's Word is our guide book, and the proper servant does nothing else. This model servant doesn't go out and say, "Well, now I believe it'd be easier to win this girl if I do thus and so," different from what Abraham said. He didn't do that at all, did he? He followed his master's instructions to the letter!

I believe it would be easier to get a crowd here at the Independent Baptist Church, if we had a big campaign --- if we offered to give a new bicycle, a ten-speed racing bicycle, to the child who brought the most children to Sunday school. Now, that would be easy to fill up the building in a few weeks that way, wouldn't it? It would be easy. In fact, it would be a problem to not have riots around here with the crowds, wouldn't it, if you were doing things like that and promoting it? And yet, at the same time, remember what we said about the proper servant, the model servant. He doesn't do anything except that which he's commanded or instructed by his master.

I don't believe God ever instructed anybody to give away a new ten-speed racing bicycle to get people to come to church. I don't believe He did. I know a lot of that is going on all over the world, including here in the Republic. It's going on in the USA. It's going on in Europe. It's going on right here in the Republic, right now. But that's not the way God works, is it? God never instructed anybody to give away a new ten-speed racing bicycle to get people to come to church. Or some of them give away ponies, that's so sweet isn't it? So nice, to give a pony to the kid that brings the most to Sunday school over a period of two months or something. Isn't that nice? Well, it may be nice when you think about it from the human viewpoint, but it's just an abomination in the eyes of God! Hiring people to go to church.

The proper servant does nothing else, except that which is commanded or instructed by his master. He doesn't just think of, "Well, now I believe if we have enough social affairs at the church, if we have a "bribe" out every other week, and then in between we have a social affair for the young people, and then on Wednesdays we have tea after services every night, then maybe we'll get a crowd that way." Well, there's nothing wrong with doing any of those things occasionally, just to have fellowship.

But there's plenty wrong with doing those things to attract a crowd, isn't there? Plenty wrong! And yet, did you know that that's where a lot of the churches are getting crowds today? That very same kind of thing. They're not model servants, they're not servants at all, of the King we serve. Because they don't follow the instructions of our Master. Therefore, they don't work for the same Master we do. They're working for some other master. The real servant, the proper servant, the model servant does nothing, except that which is commanded by his master.

Let's look at I Chronicles 29:5. Here in this passage, David is speaking to the people, exhorting them to serve the Lord in an exact, detailed manner, according to the instructions of God, when he said, "Who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?" in I Chronicles 29:5, the last part of the verse. And that's what we're talking about here, isn't it? --- Consecrate. Now, what is consecrate? Well, it means pretty close to the same thing as concentrate in a sense, doesn't it? Consecrate, dedicate, or concentrate our efforts in doing the things that God has commanded and doing nothing else, except what God has commanded when it comes to His service, when it comes to living a proper Christian life.

If we look on further in the Bible in Matthew 26, there's an interesting reference that fits here, in verse 39. Remember, we said the model servant must do nothing, except that which is commanded or instructed by his master. Matthew 26:39 says, and this is speaking, of course, about the agony of the Lord in the garden: "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." Even the King of Glory, His attitude as a model servant --— He became a servant, remember Philippians 2:8-9, He became a servant, He became obedient, even to the death on the cross, as it tells us there in Philippians. But even the Lord, the King of glory, here clearly shows in Matthew 26:39 that He Himself was not attempting to do and not even willing to think about doing anything, except according to the will of God. "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt."

And what's He praying about here? He said, "Lord, if it be possible --- Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." Now, what is He talking about there? He's not talking about death! The thing that Jesus dreaded was not death; the thing that He dreaded was the sins of the world being poured upon His holy body and the face of the Father being turned away from Him. That was the thing that He dreaded. It wasn't the pain of death, it was the much more horrible pain to Him of having our sins put upon Him and of the Father's face being turned away from Him. That's what He's talking about. Yet, even in this He says, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt."

If we look on over in John 4:34, we find another suitable reference. We find in this verse, it tells us very clearly, briefly and to the point that the whole aim of Jesus was to do just one thing. And that is, it was His aim and His purpose and His whole cause in life to do nothing else, except just exactly that which had been determined for the redemption of mankind by God. In verse 34, "Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." That should be our aim too, shouldn't it? To do the will of him who saved us and sent us here, and to finish the work that He's given us to do in this place. So, a proper servant, the model servant, does nothing else, except that commanded and instructed by his master.

Now going a step further, to the fourth step about a model servant. The model servant is prayerful and thankful. Sometimes I wonder if we are nearly as strong on this as we should be. I know we don't pray nearly enough, and I'm quite certain we're not nearly grateful enough to God for His blessings. It is as we've said so many times to you --- we don't think about God's blessings; He gives them to us so freely and in such unlimited and various kinds and types, that we just never even think of most of them as God's blessings, do we? What about the water we drink? God made it, didn't He? What about the air we breathe? God made it, didn't He? And He made it with just right for us to breathe. He made it even better than it is now. And the same way with the water as well. What about the food we eat? Who makes it grow?

You know, the scientists have taken a grain of wheat and they have analyzed it and scrutinized it as the old preacher says, and taken it into little bits and pieces scientifically and otherwise, and they have made a grain of wheat. And they can take this grain of wheat over here, the real grain of wheat, and this synthetic grain of wheat and they can analyze them. And they can't find any real difference in them, no difference at all, in this synthetic grain of wheat and this real grain of wheat, this live grain—living grain of wheat. But, you know, they can always tell the difference between them, because they can plant this synthetic one and it won't grow; it'll just rot. And they can plant this real grain of wheat and it'll sprout and make some more wheat. So, who furnishes our food for us? God. Oh, they've worked out these synthetic systems, but they just can't make something from nothing, can they? And they cannot make life come from what is dead either. Only God can do that. Only the power of God can make life come from that which is dead. So, the model servant is prayerful and thankful.

Let's read here in Genesis 24:12-14 and see about this servant of Abraham. Let us see what his example is in this matter of being prayerful and thankful. Verses 12 through 14: "And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master."

Now, before he even did this, what else had preceded? In the first place, he didn't go out there until he was sent out there, did he? The second place, he went exactly where he was sent. The third place, he did nothing else --- he didn't stop by the wayside, he didn't work out some human scheme for getting there easier or quicker or better, or for selecting the bride when he got there, he didn't do any of those things, did he?

He only did what he had been commanded and instructed by his master to do, which was to go there, to go there directly and pick the wife for his son Isaac. And then, after he had done those things, he engaged in this prayerfulness and thankfulness to God about this matter of serving his master as he should. When he said that about giving the camels drink also, that was to be his sign, and he said, "And thereby shall I know that thou has shewed kindness unto my master." So, here he's being prayerful and thankful both in those verses 12 through 14 in this twenty-fourth chapter of Genesis.

Now notice something else, you say, "Well, that makes it sound like to be a servant of the Lord, you've got to be a real dummy." Or as we used to say when I was a youngster, "a dumb-dumb." I don't know if you use that expression here or not, meaning a real dummy, just a stupid clod, a dumb-dumb. But that's not true. This servant was not a stupid clod, was he? He was a very intelligent, trusted and beloved servant of his master! And he showed it by what he did. He showed his wisdom by one thing, in doing exactly what he was instructed to do, didn't he? That's not being stupid, that's being smart. That is being intelligent, being obedient. And it ends up in being successful too, doesn't it? When we do exactly what God tells us to do, the way He tells us to, where He tells us to, when He tells to, then we get some action, don't we. Things happen! But he's wise to win here.

The fifth thing about this model servant, he is wise to win. If we look here at verses 17 and 18 and then jump on down to verse 21, we'll see an example of this in Genesis 24. He is wise to win. Verse 17 says, "And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her her hand, and gave him drink." And then verse 21, "And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not." He did exactly what he was instructed to do, when he was instructed to do it. He went where he was instructed to go, and nowhere else. He was prayerful and thankful about it, even before it happened. And now, God is blessing, isn't He? He's wise to win.

If we look over in John again, there's an interesting verse for comparison. A very similar incident occurred in John 4:7, to what happened to this model servant over there in Genesis 24. "There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink." A very similar incident involving the Lord Himself, in which He went to the well there and this woman of Samaria, whom we won't take the time to really discuss right now, but you remember that eventually she came to realize that this was truly the Messiah. She believed. She was saved. She went into the city. She witnessed to others and they came out and also heard the message from Jesus, and many of them were saved as well.

But, there's another interesting passage in connection with this idea of being wise to win. In Matthew 10:16 --- This is the Lord himself, instructing the twelve as He sent them forth to preach the gospel. He said: "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." In other words, don't be a dummy about your service to God. Be smart about it. Be sensible about it. But yet, at the same time, we've got to fulfill all these requirements of the model servant, haven't we? Be wise as serpents; what's he saying there? Use your head. Be reasonable. That is, reasonable with a spiritual eye at the same time; not just reasonable from the human viewpoint. But be wise as serpents, and yet be as harmless as a little dove. Don't hurt anybody by your wiseness and in your efforts to serve the Lord.

Going on to the sixth characteristic of the model servant, we find that he speaks not of himself, but of his master's riches and of Isaac's heirship. And this is the place where so many so-called servants of God fall down today, isn't it? They get up and they tell about, "What a great work I have done." "What a great church I have built." "How many places I've visited for the Lord, how many souls I've led to the Lord, how many of this and that and something else, how great I am," that's about what it amounts to, a lot of the preaching that we hear now days, isn't it? Well, I don't really hear it when I hear that kind, I just turn it off. And I don't go to places where they do that kind of preaching in person, so I don't really hear much of it. But there's an awful lot of that kind of preaching being done.

"Oh, God gave us a great time here last Sunday." Well, there's nothing wrong with rejoicing about God's blessings, but that's about the only message they have, isn't it? --- A lot of them? "Here we started two years ago and we've got 3,000 now." And they talk about that all the time. Well, the devil could come up here tomorrow and start a church and he'd have 35,000 demons in it if he wanted to the next day. It wouldn't mean a thing, would it? As far as any blessings from God, it wouldn't mean a thing. But the servant, the proper servant, he doesn't speak of himself, but he speaks of his master's riches and of the heirship of Isaac, as this example here shows us.

We see that in verse 22. Verse 34 through 36. Let's read there. He didn't say now, "I'm the great servant of the great man Abraham." He didn't say that, did he? "Or, I'm the great servant of God," as they say today. "I've got the power to just lay my hand on the microphone and the power of God flows out through it to heal you." Rubbish. And I've heard plenty of them say that. I've heard Oral Roberts say it. And, you know, the funny thing was, the end of that same broadcast, I listened to it just to see what it would say at the end of it. It said, "The preceding program was transcribed."

Prerecorded. So, not only did he have the power of God in his hand, put it into the microphone, but he even canned it up and put on the recording so that the power of God would come out of the recording through the radio to heal people. That's blasphemy, isn't it? Now, I heard that with my own ears. Oral Roberts. And that's the same way that all these fellows operate. They're all just as blasphemous as that, if you really start listening and figuring out what they're doing and what they're saying and how they're saying it and why they're saying it. But this servant here, he didn't say a word about himself, did he? Oh, he didn't have a vision of a ninety-foot Jesus standing up there. Oral Roberts again. Of course, there's hundreds of Oral Roberts types running around in the world today. Claims he had a ninety-foot vision of Jesus standing up there telling him to do thus and so, a special revelation of God just for him. And he tells it to the rest of us and we're supposed to follow him.

You know, that's the way all these false servants have to operate. They cannot possibly operate on the basis of what God's Word says, because God's Word doesn't say anything near what they want it to say. Therefore, they've got to pretend that they've got a special revelation or a special power or something special from God that the rest of us don't have, and therefore they can lead us contrary to what the Bible says. And, of course, the whole thing is just rubbish, and of the devil! Anything contrary to God's Word is not of God. It couldn't possibly be of God. But this servant, this model servant, didn't speak about himself. He didn't tell about his ninety-foot vision of Jesus. He didn't tell about anything that happened to him. He didn't say a word about himself, did he?

Let's read it here in verse 22. "And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; And said, Whose daughter art thou? Tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?" Now, there's not one word there praising himself or bragging on himself or saying anything about himself specifically, is there? Not a single word. "And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor." Miraculous thing here, he was sent up here to get a bride for Isaac from the family of Abraham. And who's the first beautiful, young, virgin girl that comes out to the well where he is waiting?

The very first one is from the family of Nahor, which is the family he's looking for, isn't it? The first one that comes out to the well. And she speaks to him and is friendly and courteous to him. "She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord. And he said, "Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren.

"And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things. And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well. And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well. And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standeth thou without? For I have prepared the house, and room for the camels." Then just read straight on down, we're only two verses from it now. "And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him. And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat," notice this, this model servant wouldn't even eat --- he said, "I will not eat, until I have told mine errand." His master's business came ahead of even eating food, didn't it?

You know, if we'd do that today, I'm just pretty sure that we'd get more results, aren't you? If we were so much more interested in the Master's business than we were in even eating our food, so that we would put His work ahead of eating we'd get more done, as this model servant here did. He said, "I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on. And he said, I am Abraham's servant."

Notice, he did not say, "I'm the great leader of God's people today." That's not what he said, is it? "Or, I'm the special prophet that God has sent." He didn't say that, did he? He didn't say, "I'm the great supervisor of all of Abraham's house," which he was. He didn't say a word about that, did he? "I say to several hundred servants, ‘Go,' and they go." "I say to several hundred servants, ‘Come,' and they come." And he could do that. This servant, this chief servant of Abraham could do that. He didn't say a word about that --- Didn't even mention it. He just said simply, "I am Abraham's servant." And we need to realize that today. We are nothing at all; we're just servants of the King. And if we'll realize that, it'll make a difference in the results from our work. We're just servants of the King, nothing more or less!

The Bible tells what Jesus Himself said to the Jews when they were bragging about the fact that Abraham was their father. He said, "Why, don't you know that God could even raise up children to Abraham from these stones here." He really put them down, didn't He? "He could even raise up children to Abraham of these stones," He says! And another place Jesus told them, "If they didn't tell the truth about me," He said, "even the stones would cry out." Even the stones would give out the message if we didn't tell it. It's God's way and God's will to spread the message by His servants. But He said, "If these people were silent," said, "even the stones would cry out with the message that this is the Son of God." So the proper servant speaks not of himself but of his master's riches and of Isaac's heirship.

Going on a little further here in verse 35, remember that all he said about himself was, "I'm Abraham's servant." Nothing else, didn't say another word! "And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly, and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses." Now, he's really doing some bragging there, isn't he? But what is he bragging about? He's not bragging a word about himself, is he? It is not about anything he's done, about anything connected with himself --- he's just bragging about his lord, his master, Abraham!

"And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath." Now he's doing some more bragging. What's he bragging about now? He's talking about the same thing here in this picture that God hath given all things into the hand of His Son, hasn't He? That's what he's talking about here, isn't he? --- In this allegorical story or type. He's not bragging a bit about himself, but he says, "Unto him," that is unto Isaac, the type of Christ, the picture of Christ here in this story, "Unto him hath he given all that he hath." Of course, Abraham here is a picture of God the Father. He says, "He's given everything to my master's son." Jesus said Himself, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Everything has been given into the Son's hands, just as Isaac here had been given everything by his father.

"And my master made me swear," he's still telling about his errand now for Abraham, his master, "My master," verse 37, "Made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son." Now, let's stop there and continue to the seventh thing about this model servant.

Not only did the servant not go where he was not sent, nor go except when he was sent, but he went where he was sent; he did nothing else, except what was commanded by his master; he did it in a prayerful and thankful manner; he is wise to win — that is, wise as serpents and harmless as doves, as Jesus commanded we should be; and when he got there to do the job, he spoke not of himself but of his master's riches and the of the heirship of Isaac. And we today should be speaking about the heirship of Jesus. That's what we need to tell people about. There's only one name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved, and that name is the name of Jesus, isn't it? We need to be telling them about Jesus. That's from Acts 4:12.

The last thought now, seventhly, the servant presents the true issue and presses for a clear decision. That's what we need to do today. When we go out to visit, when we go out to witness, or even when we preach from the pulpit here at the church, it doesn't do any good to go off chasing rabbits here and there and somewhere else about little silly things that people bring up, does it? What good does that do? It just wastes our time and their time as well. What we need to do is to present the true issue to them, which is heaven or hell! Salvation or damnation! Christ or the devil! Light and darkness! Right and wrong! Not some mealy-mouthed, wishy-washy, split the road in the middle type of approach to anything. That won't get the job done. We need to present the true issue to people and require a clear decision, just as the servant here did.

In verse 49, let's read that together. "And now," he's seeking a definite decision from this one whom he is asking to be the bride of his young master Isaac, or the bride of the son of his older master, "And now, if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left." He's already given them the message in detail. Although we've not taken time to read all of it, he has given them the detailed message from his master.

The model servant spoke exactly thus and so, what happened and all about it, saying nothing about himself, and talking all the time about his master and the heir, Isaac (typical picture of Jesus as the type shows here). And now he says, "I want an answer." "I want a direct answer. I don't want a maybe so, and if so, a perhaps, or anything but I want an answer." He says, "If you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if you won't tell me."

We need to do this today. We must plainly present the true issue and press for a clear decision from men. And that's what each man needs to do. Each person needs to make a clear decision; either for God or against God, either for heaven or for hell. And there's no middle ground. This business of thinking that there's a little maybe so situation about salvation and about God, and about right and wrong, is just not so. It is either right or it is wrong. It's either God or it's the devil. It's either heaven or it's hell. There is no other choice. There is no purgatory involved. And there's no hope of getting out of purgatory after you get there because there's not any purgatory, no middle ground.

Right now, today, we need to do just like this model servant did. We need to speak not of ourselves, but rather speak of the Master's riches and the heirship of the Savior. And the Scripture says, "He's heir of all things," doesn't it? And we are heirs and joint heirs with Him, we who have come to know Him as Savior and King. So, a good servant presents the true issue and requires a clear decision. And that's what we need to do today as servants of the Lord --- present the true issue and require a clear decision.