7-23-12. Luke 17:1-10. THE ATTITUDE OF A SERVANT-devotional

Luke 17:1-10    Key Verse: 17:10

Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF  Monday, July 23, 2012

“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.’”

Dear Lord, thank you for helping me be part of a serious minded group of Christian men who want to study theology. Help me to always learn and grow through these studies. Help me to mature and grow into a servant of the word of God and the Christian faith. I pray for my kids to all know Jesus personally and to voluntarily decide to surrender their lives to Jesus so that God can be glorified in their lives. Thank you for opening the way for me to go to Uganda. Help me to be a blessing there and to see the work of God. May your work grow there. Please help me to accept one word of God in my heart this morning. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: Forgive Them (1-6).

Verses 1-6, “Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 2 It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” 5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”

Good influence and forgiveness are two marks of a genuine disciple of Jesus. Things that cause others to sin are inevitable. However, Jesus warns of woe for the person through whom these things come. We must be very careful not to lead another into sin. I need to think about my influence on others. I must not cause them to sin. I must help them to follow Jesus and give their life to Jesus by setting the example of faith. But we can go overboard with thinking about our influence on others. It can get very tedious and we can begin focusing on things that we don’t have to focus on too much. We can become legalistic and stifle creativity and spontaneity if we think too much about our “influence” on others. We need to be guided by the word of God and by the Spirit of God. I care about my influence without crushing others. I pray for the young generation. The stats say that they have a more loose attitude concerning what sin and they are more willing to accept things that the Bible considers unholy and sinful. (from the book UnChristian.) That means that their daily lives are not influencing others towards Jesus and the narrow way that leads to eternal life as much. My the young people of our nation be a light shining in the darkness.

The best influence is being able to forgive others. If a person sins against us, but repents, we must forgive that person, even seven times in the same day! This is impossible in our own strength. We might feel we need more faith. But Jesus says that it is not the quantity of faith, but the exercise of faith. Faith can move a mulberry tree, and that same faith, when realized in our life, can lead us to forgive those who have sinned against us. It is so hard to forgive someone. It would make it a little easier if the person repents. Forgiveness means complete forgiveness. It means not bringing it up again. It means not emotionally “poking” at the person or pushing them subliminally. It means forgiving.

If a person sins against me and does not repent, then it is very hard to forgive. There have been a few people in my life that I have found very hard to forgive. I end up avoiding them for years and years. But I need to forgive and forget. I need to love my enemies. After all, Jesus did that for me. He died on the cross for me before I repented. Why can I not do that for others consistently? I pray for God to help me to forgive the certain someone. Increase my faith that I may grow as a forgiving person.

Part 2: Do Your Duty (7-10).

Verses 7-10, “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Won’t he 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 Will 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.’”

A servant’s duty is to serve his master. A servant may work in the fields or look after sheep. Afterward, he should prepare his master’s supper and wait on him before preparing his own supper. A servant has no reason to be proud or expect a special reward for doing what he is supposed to do.

This is a good illustration of what our attitude must be as I live as a servant of God. Serving God is a privilege. Jesus’ point here is that we must be humble and thankful in fulfilling our God-given responsibilities. I need to simply do my duty. Whenever my kids seem to be rebellious and don’t want to do their allotted work, I tell them, “Do your job.” and they do it. We have a duty to do and we need to serve it well not expecting a pat on the back. I have many duties that I need to juggle, a father, a husband, a nurse, a Bible teacher and shepherd of the flock of God, as a house church leader. I need to balance these things. For 18 years I have been pushing my whole family to pitch in and build up the house church ministry. But my kids are just coming to know Jesus personally and deeply. My sense of duty to establish a UBF house church ministry in DeKalb was unbalanced as I made unrealistic demands on my family. I need to find balance in how to serve my duties well. May God grant me wisdom.

I also need to learn how to do things without expecting to be praised by others. My wife praises me for the things I do. My young kids do. They are very supportive. A recent vet, who served in the marines for the last 5 years, stated that he had a job to do and he did it. He is very humble. I need to have the attitude of an unworthy servant. This is a humble attitude.

Prayer: Lord, I am an unworthy servant. Help me to fulfill my duty, watch myself, and forgive others.

One Word: I have only done my duty