Servant Life (Just Jesus )

.Welcome.........

.Tonight i want to take something that we spoke about on Sunday, and expand on it a little bit.

. The idea of thinking or believing that we deserve God to do something for us or fix something for us just because we did some good work for him.

. We spoke on Sunday morning about the purpose of salvation and what salvation is.

. Salvation is not for us to just have a perfect simple easy life, salvation was and always will be about, the the restoration of our relationship with God, the forgiveness of our sins, and the promise/ hope of eternal life.

. This is what Jesus came to achieve for us, and this is already so much more than we could ever deserve, this only came about because of the goodness, love, grace and mercy of God.

. We had and have no part to play in our salvation, other then accepting Jesus and believing in him.

.yet something that comes about because of our human nature and the way the natural world works, is we are taught to expect that if we do something good or something nice… we deserve something in return.

. When we put this thought this idea this teaching into our relationship with God it can lead us to forgetting just how much God has already done for us, and how undeserving we were of his sacrifice and his love for us in the first place.

Luke 17:7–10 NKJV

And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”

.Jesus is using this parable to teach his disciples a valuable lesson about humility, and i think as well he is teaching them more about what salvation is actually all about.

. A servant who serves a master, does so because it is his duty, it is his purpose, it is what he life is about serving his master.

. Now i know in the natural there are good and bad masters, and the bad masters would not necessarily be doing what im about to say, but this is Jesus referring to God as the master so we know he is a good one!

. A good servant does everything that his master requires of him and take cares of all of his masters needs before he thinks about or focuses on his own needs.

. a good master provides more then enough food, rest and comfort for his servants, but there role as servants is to take care of his needs first.

. In fact the servants are provided with all that they need, because they faithfully serve there master.

. so when this verse asks “does he thank them because they did what they were commanded to do? i think not.”

.its referring to the fact that the servants should not expect any sort of special treatment, or should not believe that they now deserve or are entitled to more simple because they did what they were supposed to do!

.read verse 10 again with me

Luke 17:10 NKJV

So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”

. I know this topic is not the easiest to hear and we may not want to believe it in some ways.

. but we need to understand this. that Jesus is enough, his sacrifice was enough, it provided us with a relationship with the creator God, Jesus put us back into right standing before him. Jesus paid the price of forgiveness for our sins, and Jesus gifted us eternal life.

. We could serve him everyday for the rest of our lives and never repay what we own him.

. Jesus is teaching his disciples in this don't begin to think or believe you deserve more then what Jesus has already done, just because you are doing what your suppose to do

. God can will and does bless us as we serve him i want to continue to make that clear, however scripture is also clear on Gods view of humility and pride

Luke 14:11 NKJV

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Proverbs 22:4 NKJV

By humility and the fear of the Lord Are riches and honor and life.

Philippians 2:3 NKJV

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

. The blessings of God flow freely to those who will humble themselves and not begin to believe that they deserve, riches or healing or promotion or recognition because they do what God has commanded.

. I said it Sunday and ill say it again now, If what Jesus has already done for is not enough for us to guide up our lives for him, then we truly have missed what salvation was all about.

. We do what we do out of a genuine Love for him who genuinely loved us first.

. Lets finish with one more scripture this is Paul speaking to the Corinthians and i think what he says here is a beautiful expression of how we should also think.

1 Corinthians 15:9–10 NKJV

For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

. My hope and my prayer though these sermons is that we will turn or focus back to what Jesus has done, as the source of our faith and our hope. That we would see and know that just Jesus is enough.

. Lets pray