The hymn we just sang was composed by Thomas Chisholm. During his 94 years, he wrote 100’s of hymns, including my wife’s favorite, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” Now “Living For Jesus” is a wonderful hymn, & over the years I suspect I’ve sung it countless times. The chorus is uplifting:
“O Jesus, Lord & Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ for Thee alone.”
Good words … good thoughts … which we sang 4 times, but did you mean what you said? “O Jesus, Lord & Savior, I give myself to Thee.”
Jesus, you’re my Lord & Savior.
We talk a lot about Jesus being our Savior, especially during the Christmas season. Remember what the angel said to the shepherds?
“Don’t be afraid! I am here with good news for you,
which will bring great joy to all the people.
This very day in David’s town your Savior was born.”
(Luke 2:10-11)
We have a cross prominently displayed here. Jesus died on the cross to save us. The cross has a vertical & horizontal beam. God has come down in order to save all who have come to faith. We cannot earn our salvation. We can never pay for our own sins. (Ephesians 2:8-9) But Jesus has done for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He has saved us. Jesus is our Savior. (Actually, that’s even what the name “Jesus” means … “Savior.”) (Matthew 1:21)
And I think we all understand this. This is basic theology for we who have come to faith. But we usually say in the same breath that Jesus is our “Lord” as well as our “Savior”. “Jesus is my Lord & my Savior.” And that adds a whole new
dimension to our walk of faith. So, what does His “Lordship” over us mean?
When we say, “Jesus is my Lord”, what are we indicating?
The dictionary defines “Lord” as: “ruler … master … owner … head.”
So, when I confess that … “Jesus is my Lord” …
I’m acknowledging His ownership of me, His rule authority over me. And in reality, it’s not just me, but everyone, whether they worship Him or not, will one day ultimately recognize who Jesus really is. (Luke 24:31) Scripture announces that the time is coming when …
“All beings in heaven, on earth, in the world below will fall on their knees,
all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Philippians 2:10-11)
But sadly, for those who have ignored Him during their life here on earth, (2 Corinthians 6:2) that acknowledgement will come too late to save them. With that in mind, let’s listen to Good News with the words of Jesus, as recorded by Dr. Luke, to us who have come here this morning for worship.
Within our hearing now, comes the Word of God.
Now the setting of this passage is that we’re closing in on Jesus’ final months of earthly life. And He’s been teaching the crowds, He’s been teaching His disciples, both with parables Scriptural truths about life with Him. And it’s here that we pick up the story.
The apostles said to the Lord, “Make our faith greater.”
The Lord answered, “If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you.”
“Suppose one of you has a servant who is plowing or looking after the sheep.
When he comes in from the field, do you tell him to hurry along and eat his meal?
Of course not!
Instead, you say to him, ‘Get my supper ready,
then put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may have your meal.’
The servant does not deserve thanks for obeying
orders, does he? It is the same with you; when you have done all you have been told to do, say,
‘We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.’” (Luke 17:5-10)
Jesus said, “Heaven earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Mark 13:31)
May the Lord grant that we may engage in contemplating the mysteries of His Heavenly wisdom with really increasing devotion, to His glory and to our edification. Amen Jesus’ disciples had been listening to Him for some time. They’d heard Him say that they were to be the “salt for the whole human race” the “light for the whole world.” (Matthew 5:13-14) Those were huge expectations, they couldn’t imagine doing all of that on their own, so they asked Jesus … “make our faith greater.”
Jesus responds, “Your problem isn’t that you don’t have enough faith … it’s just not the right kind of faith. You need a living expectant faith. “And if you had faith as big as a mustard seed, (which is pretty tiny), you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots plant yourself in the sea!’ it would obey you.”
Imagine the ripple of conversation that must have gone through the 12 when they heard that promise!
“Hey, did you hear that? If we have just a little bit of faith, we can do some amazing things. Jesus just told us that we can even pull up trees throw them into the ocean. Wow! … we might even be able to moonlight in the landscaping business! This is going to be terrific! What a promise!”
But before the disciples could start making any plans along those lines, Jesus brought them quickly back down to reality. “My promises aren’t given so that you can have a good time. They’re not simply just for your enjoyment. Remember, I’m the Master you’re the servants.”
This relationship of Master servants is found throughout Scripture. We read of the great saints of God who enjoyed warm fellowship with their Lord. And we almost get the impression that they were on a “1 st name” basis with Him. But no, it was always, Master servant.
Look at Abraham. “Abraham was called God’s friend.” (Isaiah 41:8) Wow! What a thing to be called … “God’s friend.” Yet, at the root of that relationship God tells Abraham to leave his idle worshipping environment “ go to a country that I am going to show you.” (Genesis 12:1) “Obey Abraham!”
And Abraham got his hat obeyed. Abraham was “God’s friend”, but still he had to obey.
Or think about Moses. Whoever had the kind of face-to-face fellowship with the Lord that Moses enjoyed? God even made a special point of it. “When there are prophets among you, I reveal myself to them in visions speak to them in dreams. It is different when I speak with my servant Moses; … I speak to him face-to-face, clearly not in riddles; he has even seen my form!” (Numbers 12:6-8) Moses had privileges that people only dream of.
And yet Scripture refers to him as “the LORD’S servant.” (Joshua 1:15) Has anyone ever enjoyed communion with Jesus on such a deep
personal level as the Apostle Paul? But Paul, sharing his conversion experience, tells how he saw “an angel of the God to whom I belong.”
(The Acts 27:23) This great Apostle, who had such close fellowship with God, saw himself as one who served the Lord as a normal course of duty. That’s the proper connection that we must begin with. Yet, it’s not a fearful relationship. God isn’t some tyrant.
We don’t need to be afraid of Him. (Hebrews 4:16) Our servanthood is wonderful because Jesus is a good Master, a kind Master, a compassionate Master. He’s saved us. Evil masters would have destroyed us, our souls. He’s saved us from our own egos. He’s saved us from that walk of life in which we live only for ourselves. There are those who live worthless lives, useless lives, empty lives, self-centered lives, because they only care about themselves.
He’s saved us from worshipping serving money; that great “god” that people fall down “worship” everyday … money the things it can buy. He’s saved us from a life ruled by drugs alcohol, all those things that trap human beings. He’s saved us from the worship of sex pleasure that our whole society is so oriented to … has destroyed so many people. He’s saved us from the slavery of fear that consumes so many individuals.
He’s saved us from worshipping the trends, the “what’s happening now” … this week.
He’s saved us from all these things.
Jesus is a good Master who calls us to be His servants.
Yet, at the same time, it’s difficult to have a servant’s heart mind, isn’t it?
And the main reason is because we just simply don’t like authority structures. We don’t like the idea of someone telling us what to do.
We’ve all thought that, right? … “You can’t tell me what to do!” When Jesus spoke about a servant coming in from the field, the disciples understood exactly what He was talking about. That scenario was part of their society’s makeup. They were used to a class structure.
But not so with us. We don’t want or like any authority figures/structures.
And that, of course, goes right along with our own sinful nature, which wants to say … “You’re not the Lord, I am. I’m going to run my own life.”
We’re a lot like the Apostle Peter. Do you remember the story in The Acts where Peter was visiting a Roman soldier named Cornelius? … Peter wanted some alone time; he wanted an opportunity to pray, so he went up on the roof of Cornelius’ house. And since he was up there for some time, he got hungry. And the Lord recognized Peter’s need made a provision for it. (John 6:5-6) God lowered a sheet full of animals so that Peter would have some food. The Lord said, “Get up, Peter; kill eat!”
Peter looks sees that these were not kosher animals. (Leviticus 11; Numbers 14:3-21) (It doesn’t matter that God had given them to him for food.)
Then comes Peter’s staggering contradiction … “certainly not, Lord!”
(The Acts 10:9-14)
Well, when the Lord tells us to do something, we don’t go around saying, “certainly not.” And, if we do say that, then He’s really not our Lord is He?
And there’s that thing inside each one of us that keeps saying, “Certainly not, Lord!” “I’m able to do things pretty well myself, thank you.”
Jesus is telling His disciples, He’s telling us, that we need to see ourselves as servants. How easy it is to go through life deciding about what we want to do 1st … then if there’s any spare time left, well then, we’ll
consider the Lord. We have this attitude, “We’re giving Him an hour or so on Sunday morning, He’s getting His share … what more does the Lord want from us?” Well, Jesus’ words plainly contradict that mindset. We must train ourselves to ask the question, “what does the Master
want me to do? Not after I’ve done my thing, but right now.” What happens when we ask that question?
Well, we know that prayer Scripture reading are the heartbeat of the Christian life. Without them, one can hardly be a follower of Jesus at
all. So, we ought to pray, we ought to read Scripture. If we really believe that Scripture is more important than the Brown County Democrat,
or AARP magazine, then It ought to be read. “Yes,
Lord, that’s what you want me to do. You want me to study the Scriptures.
And, you want me to come talk to you, acknowledging your presence, tell you what I’m thankful for, what I’m going through, what I need.”
“Lord, what do you want me to do?” We can begin by seeing what we are doing in the areas of prayer reading Scripture.
But God wants more from us than praying reading the Bible all day,
He wants us to help those who are in need. And certainly, there are “needs” all around us. It’s what Jesus was talking about when He said we were to look out care for “the least important.”
“I was hungry you fed me, thirsty you gave me a drink; I was a stranger
you received me in your homes, naked you clothed me; I was sick
you took care of me, in prison you visited me.” (Matthew 25:35-36,40)
We all know of people who are discouraged depressed. Put up your sensitivity antennas look around for people who may need a card, a phone call, a visit. Even a little acknowledgement would be so welcomed by them.
The Lord could tell us any # of things … if we’re only listening.
Scripture is clear; the Master wants His servants to be looking out for each other. (Philippians 2:4) And not just in the overwhelming things,
but those everyday tasks, the basic ones that annoy us to no end.
Scripture commands, “Work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord.” (Colossians 3:23)
“Lord, what do you want me to do?” … “I want you to cook the family’s meal. Do that; it needs to be done. Do your task, whatever that might be. You’re not serving someone on earth, you’re serving me.”
When we ask, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” … the answer will come, it won’t always be exactly what we expect. And it may not even be something that’s visible or special. But who are we doing it for anyway?
At times He’ll ask us to do what’s challenging humbling. “Go straighten out that friction you had with your neighbor yesterday.
It’s unsettled … fix it.”
And as a Church we need to be asking that question. We need to be seeking the Lord’s direction. What does Jesus want to do with Bear Creek Church? We might have to take a few risks. We might have to step out on faith. But if we’re not seeking His will … then we’re only winging it.
Are we serving the Master, or do we expect when we come in from the “field”, to have a life of leisure? “Hey, I’ve done my work. I’m retired. I’ve paid my dues. It’s time to serve myself. I’ve earned it.”
Elizabeth Elliot has had a powerful impact upon my own spiritual pilgrimage. She was the wife of Jim Elliot, who was martyred by the Auca Indians in Ecuador back in the 1950’s. Betty was a missionary herself, as well as a Christian writer conference speaker, was part of the faculty at G.C.T.S. where I went to school. (Our Lord took her “Home” 10 years ago.)
Well, she tells a story that’s purely imaginary, about Jesus His disciples.
Jesus tells them each to pick up a rock follow Him up the mountain.
They all pick up sizeable rocks … all except Peter. After all, he reasons, it’s a long way up that mountain. No minimum size was specified, just a rock.
So, he grabs a small stone starts up the mountain.
When they reach the top, the Lord turns their rocks into bread.
“There’s your lunch!” Peter’s got a bran muffin.
All his friends have large loaves of whole wheat bread!
Later, having finished their time on the mountain, the Lord says, “pick up another rock carry it down to the bottom.” This time Peter’s not
going to be left out. He picks up the biggest rock that he can possibly handle, significantly larger than everyone else’s.
He’s sure that something good awaits him at the bottom.
When they get there, Jesus says, “Throw your rocks into the sea.”
Peter dumps his in … then turns to the Lord with a look of puzzlement.
And Jesus asks him, “for whom did you carry it, Peter?”
For whom are you I doing the things we do?
Do we do them because of what’s in it for us? Do we do them for our own glory recognition?
Peter thought he’d get a super birthday cake out of that rock.
Jesus said that servants do their work because they ought to.
And when we’re finished, we simply say, “we are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.
The Master doesn’t owe us a thing. We owe it all to Him.” It’s gracious when He does reward us. It’s grace when He says, “Well done, you good faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:23)
But the Lord doesn’t owe us blessings. Would you serve Him if He didn’t bless you? … Think seriously about your answer.
There was a man in the O.T. who was a servant of God.
One day Satan came before the throne in Heaven the Lord asked him,
“What have you been doing?”
Satan responded, “I’ve been walking here there, roaming the earth.”
“‘Did you notice my servant Job? the LORD asked.
‘There is no one on earth as faithful good as he is.’” (Job 1:7-8)
Satan replied, “Well, look at all you’ve given him.
You’ve made him a wealthy man. He’s got a large family.
Who wouldn’t be faithful with all that? Take it away see what he does.”
And the LORD allowed Satan to take everything but Job’s life. And Job vowed that even,
“if God kills me, I will still trust Him.” (Job 13:15)
Imagine for a moment, God & Satan are talking right now. God says,
“Have you noticed Bear Creek Church? Not a bad Church, huh? And how about my servants: Blake Cindy Mary George Eddie Kay George Tina George Mary Rachel Jon Kathy Jerry Lousie Leon Janis Duane Lois Mike Debby Jim Susie? Pretty faithful, huh?”
Satan replies, “well, yeah, but look at what you’ve given them. He’s happy. She’s safe. They have what they want. Take it away see what happens.”
What would happen? Who would serve the Master, just because He’s the Master, for no other reason? You see, that’s what we’re called to do. We’re here to serve our Lord. (Matthew 6:24)
Let me repeat that … we are here to serve our Lord.
Jesus said, “when you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘
We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.’”
And our duty is to serve. (Joshua 22:5) And let me point out, serving doesn’t make us a servant … but if we are a servant, then we will serve.
It all revolves around our attitude.
Ray Stedman, who was another of my heroes in the faith, tells the story about a missionary couple who had returned to the U.S. after
years of service in Africa. And it just so happened that they were on the same ship as President Theodore Roosevelt, who was coming back from a big-game hunting expedition. When they sailed into the NY harbor there was a band playing the President’s favorite songs, all the high officials of the city were there to meet him. There was all kinds of pomp circumstance.
But the missionary couple slipped off the ship completely unnoticed. When they finally settled into a rundown flat on the eastside of the city,
the man was utterly crushed. He said to his wife, “It isn’t fair, it just isn’t fair!
Here we are, we haven’t got any money, we don’t know who’s going to take care of us, or where we’re going. God has promised great things, but nothing’s happened. We’ve given Him everything we’ve got, what has He done for us?
But just look at what happens when the President goes on a big-game hunt! It just isn’t fair!”
When he had finished his rant his wife said, “Yes Dear,
I know it doesn’t seem fair. Why don’t you go into the bedroom talk to the Lord about it, see what He has to say?”
The man went in knelt by his bed, alone. He was there a long time, when he finally came out his face was shining. His wife asked, “what
happened?” He said, “I got down on my knees poured out the whole story to the Lord. I told Him that I thought that He was treating us all wrong. And do you know what the Lord said to me? … you’re not “home” yet.’”
My friends, this earth is not our home. (1 Peter 2:11)
But while we’re here, our prayer must be … “Lord, make my faith greater. …
Lord, give me a servant’s heart.”
MARANA THA
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