“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son, who as to His earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for His name’s sake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

“To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be His holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” -Romans 1:1-7

Opening Prayer

Lord, would You anoint our minds and our spirits to receive a transformative word of our identity and purpose just like Paul did? He knew without hesitation to whom he belonged and what he was called to. May it be no different for each of us in this hour.

The Bond Servant’s Heart

The Greek word doulos is the word by which Paul described himself as a bond servant of the Lord Jesus. It implies complete and utter devotion, where all rights of his own are subjugated to his Master. Paul belonged to Jesus, and his life was therefore not his own. So, what was produced in Paul’s life and others in Scripture, like James, who also described themselves as slaves or servants of Jesus, was this fruit of belonging and partnering. Out of the identity of a bond servant came Paul’s mission: the gospel of God.

Paul knew his calling was clear—to be an apostle was to be a messenger or a special ambassador. His message was the gospel of Jesus to both the Jew and the Gentile. The gospel gave Paul his life mission, vocation, message, and vision. It was the roadmap to which all things tied together and led toward one destination: the reward of Christ Jesus.

The Roman Church

The church in Rome was born out of what took place at Pentecost in Acts 2. Paul had longed to get to them, but before he could, he wrote this letter. They were a church who were incredibly persecuted. Nero would take Christians and sew them into dead animals’ carcasses and let the wild animals devour the carcasses and then devour the Christians. He would post their live bodies in the streets and set them on fire to light the streets of the city. Why did Paul not write a letter on how to survive persecution? Why did he reference God 153 times in the book of Romans? God was the most important word in his entire letter to them!

Identity in Christ

It was imperative that these young believers knew their identity and purpose in the face of extreme darkness and opposition. It was handed to them to also bring the gospel to Rome, the Roman empire, and the nations outside of that. It was not Paul’s duty, and they were just called to support him. The same commission that Paul received upon conversion was what every ambassador of Christ Jesus also received: identity and purpose unto Jesus for the gospel. The message of Jesus is our calling! The gospel is our purpose!

Belonging and partnering with Christ until He returns is the goal of every believer born into the family of God, adopted as His son or daughter, infused with the ‘dunamis’ power of the Spirit, and commissioned to a very dark world.

A Word of Encouragement

Hear these words of encouragement the Holy Spirit placed on my heart as I processed this passage of Scripture with the Lord.

A time is coming when the Bride and Bridegroom will have the same voice. We will be speaking the same language. I will not be informing; I will be confirming My Word. I will not be pulling her along; we will move in synchronized rhythm together. It’s going to be effortless for My people to move in the Spirit. They will pray, and I will answer! They will ask, and their eyes will immediately see the answer. Miracles will become normative! People will testify of My power that will be on display through every submitted vessel.

Do not grow weary because of self-defeat and lack of confidence. You are where I have placed you, and I have not forsaken the work I am doing in you. I am committed to your full restoration. What will result is total confidence in who I am in you. You can do nothing apart from Me. Keep your heart bonded to Me. Apart from Me, you can do nothing.

“And consider the example that Jesus, the Anointed One, has set before us. Let his mindset become your motivation. He existed in the form of God, yet he gave no thought to seizing equality with God as his supreme prize. Instead he emptied himself of his outward glory by reducing himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human! He humbled himself and became vulnerable, choosing to be revealed as a man and was obedient. He was a perfect example, even in his death—a criminal’s death by crucifixion!” -Philippians 2:5-8, TPT

Saints of God, we must know who we belong to. You and I are bond servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in a permanent place of belonging to our King as royalty on the Earth. We need not beg or fret; we are bonded to Jesus for all of eternity. Therefore, our lives are not our own. Our Master’s business is our assignment on the Earth. We belong with our other family members in unity, so the Earth can see Jesus (John 17). Jesus bought us with the highest price: His very life. In humility He came to us, and we became prisoners of hope (Zechariah 9:12). When we abandon ourselves unto salvation, we abandon ourselves for this life, too. All rights are given to Him for His perfect pleasure and purposes. We know who is King and who sits on the throne of our lives. There we rest securely, confidently, and safely. We take the way of the cross just like Jesus did so that His resurrection power can flow like living waters through the streets.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” -Galatians 2:20, emphasis added

Saints of God, we must therefore know what we have been called to. Our identity of being a bond servant underscores what flows out of our belonging: the calling and partnering with Christ Jesus to fulfill the mission of God. Paul could state his life mission in seven succinct words—he was set apart for the gospel of God. A bond servant indicates complete and utter devotion to the Master for the Master’s business. Here’s where we hit the pause button because here is where the battle lies for you and for me. The enemy wants our total devotion and our hearts’ passions to be for everything. So, we tend to our assignments, vocations, relationships, duties, and obligations with excellence and passion and vigor and strength. Our hearts become full of the devoted things, but did Jesus ask us to do all of this? It all begins when we are just toddlers here in America. We train our children to max out their schedules so they have ample opportunities in college. We train them to be human beings who are addicted to constant stimulation and busyness and wonder why they grow up and don’t have any time or desire for Jesus.

If we are going to fulfill the words that the Lord shared with me as I was sitting with Him quietly, we have to eradicate this love affair with busyness. We must break agreement with the idea that everything but being set apart for the gospel is our purpose. We will move in rhythm with Him because we let Him set the pace and determine the course. We have to cut these chains of bondage with busyness if we are going to get on His agenda. It’s the way of the cross. It’s the fruit of belonging and partnering that will bring the world the gospel of God. Not my will or my plans or my passions, but Yours, Lord Jesus. It’s the only way forward, saints of God.

For the sake of this hour of great urgency, I want to implore your heart as I do mine. Let us commit to Jesus our identity as a bond servant and ambassador. Will you ask Him to reset and realign your life with these two identity statements so that your life can be what Paul’s life was—set apart for the gospel of God? If you ask Him, He will faithfully do it. I promise.

To God be the glory!

A Few Key Notes

• We have a $40,000 match in place from now until December 31 to expand the impact of Arise in our nation and the nations. Please consider making a year-end contribution to Arise by giving online.
• Have you followed us on Instagram? Check out @eastwest_arise for the latest updates and encouragement!
• Register for the Arise Christmas Luncheon at The Hope Center in Plano. Join us on December 12 as we hear from Safeeya Schnaufer, who will share stories of women who risk it all. Reserve your tickets and table sponsorships today!
• Christmas has come early thanks to a generous business partner. Burnett’s Christmas Lights has promised to donate half of the cost of light installation to Arise if a Dallas-Fort Worth area customer mentions “Arise” or “East-West.” Go to burnettschristmaslights.com to learn more or call Tim Burnett at 214.791.3777 for a free estimate!
• Love your neighbor and join us in sharing about Jesus during Dallas Harvest Day! We will teach you how to share the gospel and then go and evangelize together. Join us on the first Saturday of each month. Meet at La Victoria, 1605 N. Haskell Ave., Dallas, TX 75204, at 9 a.m. for the next Harvest Day on December 2. Tell us you’re coming by emailing [email protected].