Luke 17:7-10
As most of you know, one of my favorite hobbies is
songwriting. It’s a lot of fun to sit down with a new set of
lyrics (usually they’re Bible verses) and create a tune that
will underlay the words. One of my goals in writing music is
to make it pleasant to listen to. My notes usually fit in well
with the chords. This was not the goal of a composer whose
song I sang when I was in college. His name was Charles
Ives. When I was taking voice lessons at Valparaiso
University I sang a song of his called “The Children’s Hour”.
(#2)
It had the weirdest, most discordant melody line I had ever
sung. He seemed to delight in choosing notes which
wouldn’t match the chords. In fact, the only way I got
through the song was to choose whatever notes sounded
bad and sing them with all the tenacity I could muster.
Our Lord Jesus sometimes did the same thing in his
teaching. He knew the notes that his audience and his
culture expected him to sound. He knew what common
wisdom expected him to say. And, knowing this, he would
sometimes say the opposite, sometimes throw in a
discordant note which grated against the hearts and ears of
his audience. He might, for example, say:
(#3)
Luke 14:26
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife
and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my
disciple.
JN 6:53 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son
of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Matthew 19:24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Why did he do this? Some of the discord is only on the
surface. Jesus stated things in a colorful way which jarred
his listeners into paying attention. For example, he really
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didn’t want them to hate their families. Elsewhere he
teaches that hatred is wrong and that we’re to love even our
enemies. He was just saying that our love for him should be
so strong that our love for our families seems like hatred in
comparison.
Some of the discord, however, is real. Remember that
when Jesus came to earth, he came to a planet in rebellion
against God. Sin had corrupted the minds and hearts of its
people. They had lost a taste for God’s music, for the
melodies of righteousness. So Jesus said things that went
against their sinful grain. Yet, as jarring as these sayings
were, they were truth, the notes that the people desperately
needed to hear and they were spoken in love.
The same is true today. Our culture is still resistant to
God and the music of his truth. We still need to hear these
truths from Jesus which push us away from the cultures’
sinful thinking and toward God’s values
I heard one of those messages this week as I went
through the 17th chapter of Luke. It made me sit up and say
“Whoa! I’d forgotten about that passage!”
(#4)
Luke 17:7
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep.
Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, `Come along now
and sit down to eat'? 8 Would he not rather say, `Prepare my supper, get yourself
ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? 9
(#5)
Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you
also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, `We are
unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "
How do those words hit you? I find them
humbling. They put me in my place. What’s he saying?
(#6-1)
MT: God calls me to live as a servant fully dedicated to
him and his service
Why is this teaching needed today? Because a major
part of spiritual maturity is learning to serve God in a fully
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dedicated way. This isn’t an easy place to come to.
By nature we’re resistant to serving anyone. Too often we
serve God part-time, or selectively, or grudgingly. Too often
we see him as our servant rather than the other way around.
In our passage today Jesus tells us what a fully
dedicated servant of God looks like.
(#6-2)
1. A fully dedicated servant of God puts the Master’s
concerns ahead of his own
Luke 17:7
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after
the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the
field, `Come along now and sit down to eat'? 8 Would he not rather
say, `Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I
eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'?
My wife has discovered that I am not patient about
eating when I come home after work. If the food isn’t
ready, I find food of my own rather quickly. I love to
relax after a long day and eat while I read the paper.
I’m not good at waiting.
Jesus describes a servant who has been working
hard all day long. He’s probably tired and hungry as he
steps back into the house. It would be delicious to get
his meal and relax. Yet he can’t. Why? Because he
still has more work to do until he can focus on his own
needs. The master’s needs come first. When the
master has his supper, then the servant gets to relax
and eat.
You say, that doesn’t seem fair. Maybe not, but
that was how things worked. Jesus’ listeners would
have understood what he was saying. The Master’s
needs and concerns had top priority.
Was the servant cared for? Sure he was. He got
food and clothing and shelter. But it was given in the
way chosen by the master, in his timing.
One of the toughest lessons for us to learn about
serving God is that our service isn’t primarily about us
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and our self-actualization, our happiness and our
dreams/goals. It isn’t mainly about impressing others or
making our families happy.
We serve in order to accomplish God’s purposes.
Period. In the process, we will get our needs met as
well, but that’s not to be our primary focus. In fact,
often, as in the verses we read, we may have to set
aside our own wants and desires for a season in order
to put God first. If He is happy, then we are successful.
If he is not pleased, then all the success in the world
means nothing.
This is a different way of thinking. Instead of
dwelling all the time on our own needs and concerns
we begin asking: “God, what do you want from me?
Lord, what is your goal in this situation? What glorifies
you?” If God has been honored, if his work has been
done, then we can rejoice, even if we didn’t get
everything we wanted at the moment.
(#8)
1. A fully dedicated servant of God puts the Master’s
concerns ahead of his own
2. A fully dedicated servant of God accepts that
obedience is just his normal duty
I went out to breakfast with my family on Friday. Every
time the waiter did anything for us we said “Thank you”
Water? Thank you. A-1 Ketchup? Thank you.
Check? Thank you. I’m big on thank you’s, so this
comment of Jesus, at first, goes against my grain.
(#9)
Luke 17:9
Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told
to do?
I think that the point Jesus is making is not that a
master shouldn’t be gracious to his servant, but that a
servant shouldn’t expect applause every time he or she
simply does their job.
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Luke 17:7-10
Are we doing God a big favor every time we serve
him? Does our simple act of obedience make us some
sort of hero? Not really.
It is exciting when we obey God. It is good to
obey. But remember, it’s God who made us in the first
place. He gave us arms, legs and minds. He provides
all our resources-light, water, food, fuel, family and
friends. He saved us with the blood of his own precious
Son. He gives us the HS to strengthen and guide us.
God is the hero. We’re just fortunate to be allowed to
be part of his kingdom in the first place.
Why is this important? Because, quite frankly,
God sometimes passes out the “thank you’s” sparingly.
Have you ever noticed that the more faithful you are in
serving that the more others take you for granted? How
often do we thank the piano player or the ushers or the
person teaching our children? Or Mom? Or Dad?
Nor do we always know what God is thinking
about our service at the moment. A mature servant of
God learns to serve faithfully, not for the applause, but
because it is part of his duty toward the master he
loves.
(#10)
2. A fully dedicated servant of God accepts that
obedience is just his normal duty
3. A fully dedicated servant of God is humble about the
service he does give to God
Why does God ask us to serve him in the first place? Is it
because he needs us? Is it because we do such a great
job? Jesus concludes:
(#11)
Luke 17:10
So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do,
should say, `We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "
Some of the other translations translate the word
“unworthy” as “unprofitable”. The point here is not that we
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can’t do anything worthwhile for God. Jesus promised, for
example, that if we remained in him we would bear “much
fruit”.
The point seems to be this, none of us has any reason
to harbor an exalted opinion of our service for God. We’re
only giving God what we already owe him. Furthermore, our
service is quite imperfect and the only reason we succeed at
all is due to his grace.
We are, at our best, “unworthy servants”. Is that meant
to be a putdown or a cause for discouragement? Not at all.
(#12-1)
This teaching about “unworthy servants”:
1) Punctures our pride.
God is not “lucky” to have us, we are the fortunate ones to
be able to serve him. We’re not doing him a favor, he’s
doing us one. Do we believe that today? In an era in the
United States where jobs are harder to find you and I have
the top assignment in the universe. This is a plum job and
what’s more we don’t deserve it. As we grow to understand
this we’ll begin to complain less and to express more
gratitude. It’s a privilege to serve God; whatever that
involves. The word “sacrifice” hardly applies to us when we
consider what God has given us.
(#12-2)
2) Causes us to rely on God’s grace.
Only he can make us productive servants. It doesn’t
matter that we are weak or imperfect, God can make up
the difference through his power in our lives. He will make
you and I useful servants if we yield to him and trust him
fully. Someone has said “God doesn’t need our ability.
He needs our availability.” I’m discovering more and more
that unless God moves through me all my so-called talent
doesn’t amount to much. On the other hand, when the
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Spirit is working in me everything I do can be effective for
the Lord.
(#12-3)
3) Brings the glory to God.
Again, the purpose of our service is not to glorify
ourselves, but to lift up the name of God. Did you watch
any of the U.S. athletes on the podium this week receiving
their medals? What a wonderful moment for them! I
respect their achievements. Yet, ultimately, what will
matter most in all of our lives is not who applauds us.
What matters most is who applauds God because of us.
Read the throne room scenes in Revelation. It’s not
Moses being worshiped. Or David. Or Mary. Or even
mighty angels. It’s God. The glory belongs to him,
anyway. He made us. He sustains us. Let’s give it to him
willingly and then it benefits us as well.
(#13)
LK 17:7
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep.
Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, `Come along now
and sit down to eat'? 8 Would he not rather say, `Prepare my supper, get yourself
ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? 9
(#14)
Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you
also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, `We are
unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "
Where are you and I at today in our service for God?
Are we fully dedicated to serving him? Are we willing to
make any sacrifice that he calls us to make and to do it with
a good attitude? Is our whole life wrapped around
accomplishing his goals, making him look good, serving his
people? Are we at least growing in these directions?
Or are we still too much in love with our own comforts
and pleasures? Do we want God’s blessings, but not his
lordship? We live in a “me” culture. God wants to free us
from that. It is, in fact, when we become servants to God
that we experience the greatest freedom of all.
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A hymn I grew up with captures the spirit Jesus is
seeking for in our lives.
“It may not be on the mountain height
Or over the stormy sea
It may not be at the battle’s front
My Lord will have need of me
But if by a still small voice he calls
To paths I do not know
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Thine
I’ll go where you want me to go
I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord
O’er mountain or plain or sea
I’ll say what you want me to say, dear Lord
I’ll be what you want me to be.”
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