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 David Servant ( - )
Read freely text sermons and articles by the speaker David Servant in text and pdf format. David Servant is the Founder of Heavens Family, helping the least of these world-wide. David Servant has been serving in ministry since 1979 as a church-planter, pastor, teacher and missionary. When David Servant read the results of his high-school vocational aptitude test, he laughed. The results told him that he was best suited for a career in ministry or in entertainment. At the time, David's future goal was to live in a log cabin in the wilderness and live off the land for the rest of his life. The Lord, however, had different plans for David Servant. God didn't intend for him to run away from the world, but rather to play a part in changing the world by building God's kingdom. David received his call to ministry during his (reluctant) freshman year at Penn State, and one year later was enrolled in Bible School.
David Servant is the author of eight books, including Forever Rich, and the The Disciple-Making Minister, a 500-page equipping manual that has been translated into more than 20 languages and is being distributed to tens of thousands of pastors.
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showing from 101 to 150 of 542 articles
Day 109, 2 Corinthians 11
The identity of the false apostles in Corinth becomes more clear in today's reading. They were preaching "another Jesus" and a "different gospel" (11:4). That second phrase, in particular, Paul also used in his letter to the Galatians, where he fought the ... read more
Day 11, Matthew 11
Even though he had witnessed the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus at His baptism, John the Baptist---a prophet and the greatest man who ever lived according to Jesus (11:11)---had some doubts as he sat in a prison cell contemplating his possible execution. ... read more
Day 110, 2 Corinthians 12
What a struggle Paul had as he worked to win back the hearts of the Corinthian believers who had been duped by false apostles. He was loathe to boast about himself---knowing that he was a "nobody" yet also "in no respect inferior to the most eminent apost ... read more
Day 111, 2 Corinthians 13
The somewhat foreboding and even threatening tone of this final section of Paul's letter set the stage for his eminent return to Corinth. Imagine if your church received a letter that ended this way from the apostle Paul. I bet there would be some serious ... read more
Day 112, Romans 1
From considering the internal evidence, it is assumed that Paul wrote his letter to the Romans from Corinth during his third visit there, sometime between AD 55 and 57. Paul had never been to Rome himself, but it is clear that he was well acquainted with ... read more
Day 113, Romans 2
Paul's logic is indisputable. When we condemn others for wrongdoing, we testify before the court of heaven that we know what is right and wrong. Moreover, we desire that wrongdoers be justly punished for their selfish deeds, don't we? So when we do what w ... read more
Day 114, Romans 3
As we read through Romans, it helps to imagine Paul debating with an imaginary Jew who objected to his gospel of salvation by grace through faith, a salvation offered to both Jews and Gentiles. In today's reading, Paul answers several objections that he m ... read more
Day 115, Romans 4
Although we wish that today's reading were clearer and that Paul's reasoning made better sense, his general points are not beyond the grasp of our understanding.
Clearly, Paul continues to expose the error of Jews who believed that being right before G ... read more
Day 116, Romans 5
We do not have peace with God through Jesus Christ. Rather, "We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (5:1). Let us not overlook that important distinction. Formerly, we were enemies of God (5:10), destined for His wrath. But by virtue of Jes ... read more
Day 117, Romans 6
Some commentators say that Paul was writing of his personal Christian experience in the very next chapter of Romans---where he refers to "practicing what I would not like to do" and "doing the very thing I hate" (Rom. 7:15). The error of that interpretati ... read more
Day 118, Romans 7
Paul continues to address Jewish objections to his gospel. Imagine one of his Jewish opponents arguing, "It was God Himself who gave us the Mosaic Law! How can you claim that Jews who believe in Jesus need not keep it?" Paul replies with an analogy derive ... read more
Day 119, Romans 8
You have just read what is, in my opinion, one of the Bible's best chapters! I wish I had more than 700 words today!
Jesus did what the Law couldn't do. He died in our place "as an offering for sin" (8:3), "so that the requirement of the Law," that is, ... read more
Day 12, Matthew 12
Jesus did what the Pharisees would not, harvesting a little grain to eat on the Sabbath. He did not have a lower standard than them, but rather, a better understanding of what was actually His own law. I'm so glad for this story, because it reminds us tha ... read more
Day 120, Romans 9
The greatest stumbling block to many Jews who heard Paul's message was that his gospel excluded from God's kingdom unbelieving, yet "law-keeping," circumcised Jews, while it welcomed believing Gentile sinners! To Jews who took pride in their heritage, lin ... read more
Day 121, Romans 10
When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, he did not, of course, write it in chapters and verses. He didn't intend that it would be read in short segments over 16 days, as we are doing. Rather, it was meant to be read in its entirety in one sitting. The d ... read more
Day 122, Romans 11
Today we once again read verses about certain Jews whom God chose for salvation and certain ones whom He hardened. Ripped from their context, these verses are sometimes used to promote the idea that God has sovereignly preselected certain individuals for ... read more
Day 123, Romans 12
It has been said, "Anytime you see the word therefore in the Bible, stop and consider what it is there for." The word therefore always indicates that what is about to be said is based on what was just said.
The first word of today's reading is therefor ... read more
Day 124, Romans 13
Paul states that we are "to be in subjection to the governing authorities" because all authority stems from God, and thus any authorities that exist "are established by God" (13:1). This was not Paul's original idea. You may recall that when Pilate said t ... read more
Day 125, Romans 14
This chapter is about scruples. We all have them to a greater or lesser degree. We often refer to them as our "personal convictions." We have them because we love God and don't want to do anything that would offend Him. The problem is, we don't always agr ... read more
Day 126, Romans 15
Today’s reading brings us to the conclusion of the previous chapter's theme of the need for mutual respect between the “weak” (the "Vegetarians for Jesus") and the “strong” (those whose consciences did not condemn them for eating meat). Love was ... read more
Day 127, Romans 16
Although Paul had never traveled to Rome, he knew quite a few saints who were serving there. You may remember Prisca (also named Priscilla) and Aquila, a wife and husband whom Paul mentions today (16:3). We first read about them in Acts when Paul first vi ... read more
Day 128, Acts 20:7-38
Our reading today comforts me somewhat when people fall asleep during my preaching. I say "somewhat" because it was after midnight when Eutychus fell asleep. I've put them to sleep on Sunday mornings, just a few hours after they awoke from eight hours of ... read more
Day 129, Acts 21
As he journeyed towards Jerusalem, Paul and his companions landed in the Mediterranean port city of Tyre. There the disciples "kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem" (21:4). So why did he continue his journey to Jerusalem?
Y ... read more
Day 13, Matthew 13
How blessed we are to gain understanding of some of the "mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" (13:11) from Jesus' parables. Sadly, the mysteries He revealed remain mysteries to two kinds of people---those who do not believe in Him (13:11-15), and more trag ... read more
Day 130, Acts 22
It seems quite amazing that the violent mob, who had just attempted to brutally murder Paul, were willing to listen to him speak as he stood, bound with two chains, on the stairs to the Roman barracks. With a wave of his hand "there was a great hush" (21: ... read more
Day 131, Acts 23
Paul's opening line before the Sanhedrin certainly didn't win him any favor. It was interpreted by the high priest, Ananias, as prideful, while I suspect that Paul was simply expressing the sincerity of his faith, before and after he believed in Jesus. He ... read more
Day 132, Acts 24
Like most earthly rulers who don't realize that their authority is delegated to them by God, governor Felix was a combination of good and evil. He was good enough to grant Paul a fair trial by gathering all the pertinent witnesses, and he was good enough ... read more
Day 133, Acts 25
Do you remember what the Lord said to Ananias when he objected to being commissioned to find and minister to Saul of Tarsus? If not, allow me to refresh your memory. The Lord said to Ananias, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name befo ... read more
Day 134, Acts 26
As he defended himself before Agrippa, Bernice and Festus, it is quite clear that Paul had a higher goal than just to prove his innocence of the charges that had been leveled against him by Jerusalem Jews. He seized the opportunity to proclaim the gospel, ... read more
Day 135, Acts 27
It was now A.D. 59, and Paul had been a Christian for 24 years. He was no stranger to travel by ship, having already endured three shipwrecks, one of which required him to stay afloat for "a night and a day in the deep" (2 Cor. 11:25). But his premonition ... read more
Day 136, Acts 28
Isn't it amazing that Luke, who was with Paul on this journey and authored the book of Acts, never mentioned himself a single time? A very humble guy indeed.
From my calculations using Google Earth, a ship being blown in a westward direction in the Med ... read more
Day 137, Luke 1
We now turn the clock back about 68 years on our chronological journey through the New Testament, to the events surrounding the birth of John the Baptist. Interestingly, however, we're not changing authors, as we've been reading Luke's other book for the ... read more
Day 138, Luke 2
The Greek word translated “inn” in 2:7 is the word kataluma, which really doesn’t describe an inn or hotel as we know it. It refers to a temporary shelter where overflow crowds would sleep during times such as Passover when masses of people would co ... read more
Day 139, Luke 3
According to Luke, John the Baptist “preached the gospel to the people” (3:18). Yet how different was John’s gospel compared to what is often called the gospel today. John not only told his audience that Jesus was coming, he warned them of God’s w ... read more
Day 14, Matthew 14
Once again, evil had triumphed over good. Herodias, who had divorced Herod's brother to marry him, and her dazzling dancing daughter, succeeding in silencing John by having him beheaded. When John's friend, relative, and ministry associate, Jesus, learned ... read more
Day 140, Luke 4
Before Jesus could begin His public ministry, two things had to take place. First, He needed to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Up until that time, Jesus had no special anointing for ministry. If Jesus needed to be baptized in the Holy Spirit before He be ... read more
Day 141, Luke 5
Just for your information, the Lake of Gennesaret (5:1), the Sea of Chinnereth and the Sea of Galilee are all the same body of water. It is rather small, about eight miles wide and thirteen miles long.
This story of Peter’s catching so many fish illu ... read more
Day 142, Luke 6
Why were Jesus and the disciples going through someone else’s fields and eating his grain? Isn’t that stealing? Under the Law of Moses, it was not. God said in Deuteronomy 23:25: “When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck t ... read more
Day 143, Luke 7
You can't help but appreciate this centurion. He cared about his dying servant. He loved the nation of Israel. He paid for the construction of the synagogue in Capernaum. He didn't consider himself worthy to come to Jesus personally to make his request, s ... read more
Day 144, Luke 8
Isn't it interesting that Jesus and the twelve were financially supported, at least in part, by women of some means (8:2-3)? It would certainly seem likely that Joanna, for example, the wife (or perhaps the widow) of a steward of Herod Antipas, was likely ... read more
Day 145, Luke 9
Luke 8 begins with an account of Jesus expanding His outreach as He traveled from "one city and village to another, proclaiming the kingdom of God" (8:1). Today, at the beginning of chapter nine, we read of His sending out the twelve (9:1). They could obv ... read more
Day 146, Luke 10
Jesus was doing a very significant amount of traveling, as He sent out the seventy "in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come" (10:1). At a minimum, they announced His coming to 35 cities. Like the twelve sent out be ... read more
Day 147, Luke 11
The Lord's Prayer, as it is commonly called, already seemed quite short in Matthew's rendition. But Luke truncates it even more. Long prayers are not necessarily better prayers. When you think about it, it does seem a bit odd, in a relationship between on ... read more
Day 148, Luke 12
Jesus' solemn declaration, “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known" (12:2), should terrify every hypocrite. It should also motivate those of us who profess to be Christ's followers to purge our lives ... read more
Day 149, Luke 13
Apparently, two contemporary tragedies during the time of Jesus' ministry had people talking. For some reason unknown to us, Pilate had ordered the execution of certain Galileans who had come to Jerusalem to make sacrifices. Also, a tower in Siloam had co ... read more
Day 15, Matthew 15
According to Jesus, honoring one's father and mother could involve providing for their needs in their old age. Keep in mind that, even today, most people around the world depend on their children to take care of them in their old age, as saving money for ... read more
Day 150, Luke 14
At more elaborate banquets in Jesus’ day, there were always certain “seats of honor,” just as there are often head tables at modern banquets. At this particular meal attended by lawyers and Pharisees, the "men of God” were vying to sit in the plac ... read more
Day 151, Luke 15
All three of the parables we've just read were aimed at the Pharisees and scribes who were grumbling that Jesus was spending time with sinners. For that reason, what is commonly referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son should really be referred to a ... read more
Day 152, Luke 16
The parable of the unrighteous steward often raises questions because it appears as if Jesus was sanctioning dishonesty and thievery, as exemplified by the swindler in His story. But let us erase that thought from our minds, as it is an impossibility. No ... read more
Day 153, Luke 17
Take note that Jesus did not say in 17:3, "If your brother sins against you, forgive him!" No, he said, "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him." So if I have been offended by a brother (or sister) in Christ, I am not to forgive ... read more
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