Luke Jackson: It's good to see you this morning.
Luke Jackson: As you've already heard, today is the beginning of Missions Week in our church, and so the purpose of this week is really very simple.
Luke Jackson: It's all about highlighting our local ministries and our short-term trips, and my heart, as your missions pastor, for you, the church, this week, is not only that you would hear about opportunities to serve, but that you would actually go and then act on those opportunities and and live those opportunities out this week.
Luke Jackson: And so that's what this week is all about.
Luke Jackson: If you would turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 17.
Luke Jackson: Luke chapter 17.
Luke Jackson: We're going to be in verses 1 through 10 this morning, and let me give you a little background as you're turning there to what we're going to be talking about this morning.
Luke Jackson: This passage is Jesus teaching his disciples, and he tells them a story in this passage that gives an incredible illustration of what it looks like to be a true servant.
Luke Jackson: And before we can get to that part on service and what it looks like to be a true servant, he instructs them, and he makes it very clear that our relationship to God and our relationship to others is critical for effective service.
Luke Jackson: It is critical for effective service.
Luke Jackson: And so really, before we can get to the place where we're ready to start, we have to look at these two things first: loving God, loving others, serving God, serving others, in our relationship to other people.
Luke Jackson: So let's pick up in Luke chapter 17, and we're going to read the first six verses to get started this morning.
Luke Jackson: It says,"He said to his disciples,'It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him to whom they come.
Luke Jackson: It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.
Luke Jackson: Be on your guard.
Luke Jackson: If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times a day and returns to you seven times saying, I repent, forgive him.' Then, the apostles said to the Lord,'Increase our faith,' and the Lord said,'If you had faith like that of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree,"be uprooted and be planted in the sea," and it would obey you.'" Let's pray together this morning.
Luke Jackson: Dear God, we thank you for today.
Luke Jackson: We thank you for the opportunity to have the freedom to serve God in our country, to serve you.
Luke Jackson: Lord, I thank you for each and every life that's here today, each and every individual.
Luke Jackson: Lord, I pray that you would open their hearts to hear your word, God, that your spirit would come and fall in a mighty way, Lord, and that we would just remember the word"obedience" this morning, God, that you would call us to obedience and humble service, God.
Luke Jackson: Lord, forgive me of my sin, for I am a sinner, Lord, saved only by your grace.
Luke Jackson: Lord, that you would make me a clean vessel, Lord.
Luke Jackson: Hide me behind the cross to allow me to deliver your word to your people this morning, God.
Luke Jackson: And we just ask it all in Jesus' name.
Luke Jackson: Amen.
Luke Jackson: So this morning, as we look at these first six verses and this idea of focusing on our relationship to others first, in verses 1 through 4, is really where we're at with that.
Luke Jackson: And so, the first verse makes it clear that others will cause us to stumble, that there will be stumbling blocks in our path, and it's inevitable.
Luke Jackson: It's unavoidable.
Luke Jackson: There will be stumbling blocks in life, and most of the time, the stumbling blocks often come in the form of other people, that other people will cause us to stumble.
Luke Jackson: And so it's something in life that we have to be aware of and that we have to know is part of the enemy's attack and to see coming.
Luke Jackson: But in the end of verse 1 and into verse 2, we get a very strict warning from Jesus.
Luke Jackson: And the warning is this:"Although sometimes, people are stumbling blocks, although you're going to have stumbling blocks in life, don't be one of those people.
Luke Jackson: Don't be one of those stumbling blocks.
Luke Jackson: Don't be one of those people that cause others to stumble." And it's a very dangerous place, as you see.
Luke Jackson: What would be better for someone like that?
Luke Jackson: It's a very dangerous place to be someone who is a stumbling block.
Luke Jackson: What do I mean by stumbling blocks?
Luke Jackson: Well, I think it would be anything that would hinder others from entering the Kingdom of God.
Luke Jackson: And the truth is that all of us, no matter who we are, how old or young, or how influential we think that we may or may not be, there is always somebody watching us.
Luke Jackson: There is always somebody who's seeing how we're going to respond.
Luke Jackson: It's watching our character.
Luke Jackson: It's watching our Christian witness, and that we can be a stumbling block to if we're not careful.
Luke Jackson: You know, it might be in the form of gossip, or pride, or selfishness, or laziness, or deception, or anger, or bitterness.
Luke Jackson: Whatever it may be.
Luke Jackson: All of those things can be stumbling blocks.
Luke Jackson: And that's not the full list.
Luke Jackson: Those are just some ideas of what it could be.
Luke Jackson: But we must be careful not to be a part of that group of people that make others stumble that he talks about and gives a warning to in this passage.
Luke Jackson: Verse 3 goes on and talks about correcting your brother when he sins, that if we really love each other, if we really love one another, we have to hold each other accountable, and when we see our brother fall and we see our brother stumble into sin, it is up to us as fellow believers to pick him back up and to bring him back out of that sin.
Luke Jackson: It may come across as a corrective measure, and maybe it is a rebuking, so to speak, but if we truly love those people that we see fall, they're our brothers or sisters in Christ, then we will help correct them and bring them back up and hold them accountable.
Luke Jackson: Then, in verse 4, it talks about forgiveness and how we must forgive those who repent, and not only do we forgive him, but we forgive him as many times as necessary.
Luke Jackson: That number seven in the Bible, we know it's a number of completion.
Luke Jackson: We know that a lot of times when seven is mentioned in the Bible, it's symbolic for"as many times as it takes" or"an infinity amount of times".
Luke Jackson: You know, and so many times in life, we have such a hard time forgiving other people.
Luke Jackson: We have such a hard time, because after all, this person hurt us in this way or that way, but one of the things that we should really think about, that will really help us forgive any offense from anybody, no matter how many times they offend us, is when we look at how Jesus has forgiven us.
Luke Jackson: Every time I'm tempted to not forgive somebody for something, I'm reminded that someday I will stand before God, and Jesus has forgiven me as many times as it takes because of his love for me, and who am I to not forgive others even if it's more times than I can count?
Luke Jackson: And so, Jesus starts with our relationship to others.
Luke Jackson: That has to be right for us to be ready to serve effectively.
Luke Jackson: Then he goes on in verses 5 and 6, and he talks about our relationship to God.
Luke Jackson: Can you imagine the disciples after hearing these hard truths and these hard things that's required of every disciple?
Luke Jackson: What do they do?
Luke Jackson: They're kind of like,"Man, like, this is going to be tough, Jesus.
Luke Jackson: We need more faith.
Luke Jackson: Give us more faith if you want us to do these things," which is probably a pretty normal human response, right?
Luke Jackson: A lot of us would probably, initially, think the same thing.
Luke Jackson: But as we see in verse 6, Jesus has a very interesting response.
Luke Jackson: What does he say?
Luke Jackson: Instead of granting their request, Jesus points out that it's not about how much faith they can offer, right?
Luke Jackson: But it's about putting their faith into action.
Luke Jackson: Even a small amount of faith, the faith the size of a mustard seed, when put into action, can accomplish incredible things.
Luke Jackson: Right?
Luke Jackson: And so we see that.
Luke Jackson: We see him say that to his disciples.
Luke Jackson: And out of these verses 5 and 6, we see a few things.
Luke Jackson: First one is that we must be obedient to God, that obedience is putting our faith into action.
Luke Jackson: We must trust him enough to do what he says.
Luke Jackson: It's that simple.
Luke Jackson: Sometimes, we try to complicate things about the Christian life, but it's that simple.
Luke Jackson: He tells us to do something.
Luke Jackson: We trust him enough to believe his plan is better than ours, and we do what he says.
Luke Jackson: That's what faith is.
Luke Jackson: But we also see that whenever we step out in obedience, whenever we are willing to step out and to do what God has called us to do, amazing things begin to happen, and God will multiply our faith in so many ways, and that's truly when our faith begins to grow.
Luke Jackson: We see the third point there: that through obedience, our relationship with God grows.
Luke Jackson: And so, as we begin to step out in faith and do what God calls us to do, and we begin to see him do incredible things for the kingdom with that faith, with that little bit of faith, we begin to realize it's not about us at all.
Luke Jackson: It's not about what we can do at all.
Luke Jackson: It's all about what Jesus can do through us when we trust him and when we obey him.
Luke Jackson: And then, as we begin to see him do all of these great and mighty things for the kingdom through us, that's when it increases our faith in him, because we realize it's all him and not us, and even though we're are not able to do on her own anything that God wants us to do, through his power, God can use us to do amazing things.
Luke Jackson: And so, our relationship to others and our relationship to God requires humble obedience.
Luke Jackson: That humble obedience is required to serve God and others.
Luke Jackson: The humility part comes in in how we relate to other people: that if we're not humble, then we can't have a right relationship with other people.
Luke Jackson: But if we're not obedient, we can't have a right relationship with God, and so humble obedience is really what he's trying to get to in these first 6 verses to his disciples.
Luke Jackson: That you have to be right in these places, in these areas with other people and with God.
Luke Jackson: You have to have a humble obedience to really be ready to do anything as far as service goes.
Luke Jackson: And so, as our relationship with God and others comes into focus, that's when we will be truly unleashed for effective service.
Luke Jackson: The chains will come off, and we will have an opportunity to freely run with all that we have by serving Christ and following him and to do what he has called us to do.
Luke Jackson: When those chains come off, we are unleashed for service.
Luke Jackson: When our relationship with God and others is right.
Luke Jackson: We can't have a desire to serve someone that we don't love.
Luke Jackson: If we don't love others, and we don't love God, why would we want to go serve them?
Luke Jackson: Service is the ultimate action of what love looks like, and so, that has to be right with other people and with God first.
Luke Jackson: And so, in the next few verses, Jesus gives us an incredible picture of what a true servant really looks like.
Luke Jackson: Now that he's prepared them and has them ready and helps them understand what they must first kind of take care before they're unleashed to serve.
Luke Jackson: Then, he gives us an incredible picture of service.
Luke Jackson: Look at what he says in verse 17:7.
Luke Jackson: He starts with a series of questions to his disciples as he tells them this story of a servant.
Luke Jackson: Verse 17 is where we'll pick up, or 7 is where we'll pick up.
Luke Jackson: It says this, it says,"Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field,'Come immediately and sit down to eat,' but will you not say to him,'Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you may eat and drink.' He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?"And look at what Jesus says to his disciples.
Luke Jackson: Here's the teaching moment right here that really throws them for a loop, verse 10:"So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded, you say,'We are unworthy slaves.
Luke Jackson: We have done only that which we ought to have done.'" We see this story, this teaching moment that Jesus is teaching his disciples, and he begins to paint this picture of what it would be like to be a master.
Luke Jackson: And He begins to talk.
Luke Jackson: He begins to ask them questions, and you can kind of just imagine they're hanging on the edge of their seat, right?
Luke Jackson: Because you've got to remember, these guys came from humble beginnings.
Luke Jackson: A lot them were fishermen, tax collectors, those kinds of jobs, right?
Luke Jackson: They weren't these wealthy, rich guys that were used to being in charge or in control or masters or whatever you want to call it.
Luke Jackson: And so, these guys are thinking about what it would be like to be a master, and I can just imagine them hanging on every word that Jesus is saying as he kind of paints this picture after each question, the thing more and more, what it would be like to be a master.
Luke Jackson: And you can imagine them nodding their head in agreement with Jesus.
Luke Jackson: Well, of course a master, that's how he would respond to a servant.
Luke Jackson: And then, the teaching moment happens in verse 10, and Jesus immediately flips it back on them, right?
Luke Jackson: And he says,"Actually, guys, you're actually not the master at all.
Luke Jackson: You're the servants." What an incredible moment.
Luke Jackson: Could you imagine how that must have hit them?
Luke Jackson: I mean, everybody likes to be served, right?
Luke Jackson: I mean, I don't get to be served very often, but have you ever been on, like, one of those cruises or, like, all-inclusive resorts, where you get there and you pay for everything ahead of time?
Luke Jackson: And you get there, and for, like, however long you're there, you can eat as much as you want.
Luke Jackson: You can, you know-- you get unlimited service.
Luke Jackson: I mean, it's just incredible if you've ever done that.
Luke Jackson: Everybody likes to be served, right?
Luke Jackson: And Jesus is painting this picture of his disciples in the same way.
Luke Jackson: They're thinking about what it would be like to be served.
Luke Jackson: And so, let's look back at this passage, starting with verse 7, and see what kind of principles we can glean from this passage this morning and what it looks like to be a true servant.
Luke Jackson: Back in verse 7, we see that the first question that Jesus asked his disciples is implying a negative answer.
Luke Jackson: Now, we do this all the time in the English language, right?
Luke Jackson: It happens a lot between children and parents.
Luke Jackson: And the parents, you know, maybe it's a question like,"What did you do wrong?" Right?
Luke Jackson: Or,"Did you do something you shouldn't have done?" And maybe that would be a better way to say it.
Luke Jackson: "Son or daughter, did you do something you shouldn't have done?
Luke Jackson: What's the answer?" If you ask it like that, then it's an implied,"Yes, right, well, yes, I did this, and I shouldn't have done this, and this is what I did wrong." Right?
Luke Jackson: Then maybe the next question would be,"Well, are you-- you're not going to do that again, are you?" And what's the answer?
Luke Jackson: There's only one good answer.
Luke Jackson: "Of course, Mom and Dad, I'm not going to do that again, because I know what the consequences are going to be." Well, that's the same kind of question that Jesus is asking his disciples.
Luke Jackson: It has an implied answer that he's leading them on how they should answer the question.
Luke Jackson: And the first question has an implied negative answer, that no, of course the master will not ask the servant to eat first.
Luke Jackson: That would be crazy.
Luke Jackson: That's not how it works with a master and a servant.
Luke Jackson: The word"slave" in this passage literally means"bondservant".
Luke Jackson: A bondservant is someone who is tied to his master, and we, too, as Christians, as followers of Jesus Christ, are tied to our master.
Luke Jackson: We are tied to Jesus Christ through his death and resurrection, through the Gospel.
Luke Jackson: We are forever tied to Jesus Christ.
Luke Jackson: We are his servants.
Luke Jackson: We're his bondservant.
Luke Jackson: But we also see that there's only one servant in this passage, and I think that what we can get out of that is that we are to serve our master as if we are the only one.
Luke Jackson: So many times, when God calls us to do something, we are tempted or fail in that we don't do it, and we expect somebody else to do it, when God has called us to do it.
Luke Jackson: And so many times, we think there's so many other people out there that God is calling to do this, and they can do it.
Luke Jackson: I'm not going to do it.
Luke Jackson: And we miss out on a blessing.
Luke Jackson: We miss out on obedience, because we start thinking about how somebody else should do it instead of us.
Luke Jackson: But the Lord wants us to focus on him and serve him as if we are the only one.
Luke Jackson: That if he has called us to do it, we must do it.
Luke Jackson: He's also working to please his master.
Luke Jackson: We see that.
Luke Jackson: There are so many times that people serve for the wrong reasons.
Luke Jackson: They serv to get some kind of public recognition or to get a pat on the back or to be somebody that everyone looks up to or respects or so that they can be seen as a good person or so that they can feel good about themselves.
Luke Jackson: And all of those reasons or for the wrong reasons.
Luke Jackson: All those reasons are to please man instead of God.
Luke Jackson: But we are to serve to please only one person.
Luke Jackson: We're to serve only to please our master, Jesus Christ, and not to please men.
Luke Jackson: We also see that he's moving from one act of service to another.
Luke Jackson: In this life, our service never ends.
Luke Jackson: In this life, the end of one service is the beginning of another.
Luke Jackson: So many times, we think,"Man, if I could just-- I've done so many great things over the last few months.
Luke Jackson: I'm really feeling good about myself, and man, I've just really been doing a great job serving, and so I deserve a couple months' break," or,"I deserve a few years' break because man, I've been really doing well." And that's not what God calls us to.
Luke Jackson: God calls us to always be serving him.
Luke Jackson: Different seasons of life may bring different types of service, different ages.
Luke Jackson: As we grow older, maybe we're not able to do everything that we used to be able to do, but God is calling us all to do something.
Luke Jackson: There is something for all of us to do.
Luke Jackson: The work is never over in this life.
Luke Jackson: God may call us to something different in a season, but he doesn't call us to take breaks in the Christian life.
Luke Jackson: So we see the end of one service is the beginning of another.
Luke Jackson: But then in verse 8, look at that.
Luke Jackson: He asks them another question.
Luke Jackson: Look what he says.
Luke Jackson: It says,"But will he not say to him,'Prepare something for me to eat and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you may eat and drink.'" The second question is an implied positive answer.
Luke Jackson: Certainly the servant will wait on the master.
Luke Jackson: Yes, the servant will wait on the master.
Luke Jackson: We see that he is focused on finishing his work.
Luke Jackson: It kind of goes back to continually serve in this life, that we're never done as long as we're living and breathing.
Luke Jackson: But serving his master is his top priority.
Luke Jackson: We must make sure that as we, as Christians, grow in our faith, and we remember our priorities, that serving God should always be primary.
Luke Jackson: That is our purpose in this life.
Luke Jackson: That is why we were created.
Luke Jackson: That is why we live and breathe is to glorify God with our life, to serve him because of what he's done for us and because of who he is.
Luke Jackson: We must make sure that our priorities are straight and that we focus on finishing our work.
Luke Jackson: And then, someday, the reward will come.
Luke Jackson: But the reward will not come in our timing.
Luke Jackson: The reward does not come in the timing of the servant, but it comes in the timing of the master.
Luke Jackson: And we see this: the example in this passage is eating and drinking, that eventually, the servant will then get sit down and eat and drink.
Luke Jackson: But not in his timing; in the masters timing.
Luke Jackson: So many times, we want to get an immediate result, right?
Luke Jackson: We want to get immediate rewards for what we do.
Luke Jackson: But we must be patient and trust that it will come in time, that someday, we will be able to eat and drink at the marriage supper of the Lamb with the Lord.
Luke Jackson: And someday, our reward will come in eternity.
Luke Jackson: But not only do we have a reward in eternity for our service, but we must remember that the joy of the Christian life truly comes in serving, that we have an opportunity in this life to have-- be blessed and to have the joy of serving, but knowing that when we serve, it also increases our faith.
Luke Jackson: Just like the disciples wanted an immediate faith increase, so many times, we want immediate rewards for what we do.
Luke Jackson: But we see that God caused them to step out in obedience first, and then, as they see God work with their obedience, that is when their faith grows.
Luke Jackson: Are we willing to labor for the Lord and grow in our faith?
Luke Jackson: Look at verse 9.
Luke Jackson: The final question implies a negative answer once again.
Luke Jackson: And this one is even more clear in the English language.
Luke Jackson: "He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?" Well, no, of course not.
Luke Jackson: Of course the master didn't thank the servant, because he was just doing his duty, right?
Luke Jackson: You know, God doesn't have to thank us.
Luke Jackson: We don't need a thank-you note from God or other men to be able to serve, because he is not indebted to us, but we are indebted to him because of the cross.
Luke Jackson: He has already done everything that we could ever ask for.
Luke Jackson: I mean, more than we could ever ask for, in eternity, to save us from our sin, to give us hope, to give us an eternity with him someday in heaven, to have the joy of serving him in this life.
Luke Jackson: We simply serve because we love him so much that we want to give back for what he's already done for us.
Luke Jackson: He is not in debt to us, but we're in debt to him because of the cross.
Luke Jackson: And then, the teaching moment comes in verse 10.
Luke Jackson: Look at it again with me.
Luke Jackson: Jesus is such an example, the greatest example of the greatest teacher the world has ever seen.
Luke Jackson: And he flips it back on the disciples, and what he really tells them is, as we talked about earlier, Jesus reveals that the disciples are actually the servants and not the master.
Luke Jackson: Could you imagine the objections that are going off in their mind?
Luke Jackson: Could you imagine what they were thinking after thinking about what it would be like to be the master and then, all of a sudden, they realize they're the servants.
Luke Jackson: They're thinking,"Objection! This is not easy!""Objection! This is not normal! Objection! The world says that it's all about me! The world says," you've heard the phrase,"You do you." Right?
Luke Jackson: The world says,"It's all about my pleasure and my joy and my happiness!" Everything that we're taught is contrary from the world, is contrary to what God says is the true key to joy in life.
Luke Jackson: It's all about him.
Luke Jackson: It's all about service.
Luke Jackson: And this is the the very job description of a disciple.
Luke Jackson: This is what we agree to as a believer.
Luke Jackson: And so, Missions Week is designed to talk about what it means to serve and then to actually go and do it, to actually go and act in obedience to serve others.
Luke Jackson: There are so many opportunities.
Luke Jackson: I want to point out first that we have an opportunity every single day, as a missionary ourselves, to go out and to do what God has called us to do.
Luke Jackson: Wherever it is, whatever he's called us to do, we can do it for him every single day and be on mission for him.
Luke Jackson: We can do it for him every single day, and we are all missionaries for the Lord.
Luke Jackson: We're all called to serve in everything that we do, but this week, we're giving you some special opportunities, inside the church and outside of the church, to serve the Lord.
Luke Jackson: And one of those is to learn about our local ministries.
Luke Jackson: There's a list up here that you're going to see: all these local ministries that you see on this screen right here.
Luke Jackson: We have so many different ministries that our church has partnered with financially, that our church has partnered with to come alongside and encourage and agree to be a part of serving and helping.
Luke Jackson: And you have an opportunity to learn about those ministries today.
Luke Jackson: Going out into the mall area and learn all about each of these ministries, to learn how you can serve.
Luke Jackson: We have incredible mission trip opportunities.
Luke Jackson: And I can say this because this was way before I ever came along, but we have so many different mission trips that you can go on.
Luke Jackson: You know, some churches don't even have one mission trip that they have an opportunity to go on a year.
Luke Jackson: And our church has opportunities for at least six or seven mission trips a year that you can go, and you can fulfill the Great Commission all over the world.
Luke Jackson: Don't take that opportunity for granted.
Luke Jackson: Take advantage of those opportunities.
Luke Jackson: Learn about the trips.
Luke Jackson: Learn about an opportunity.
Luke Jackson: Some of you have been on mission trips before; some of you have not.
Luke Jackson: But I can tell you: my heart, as your missions pastor, is to cast a wider net, to get more and more people from our church going on short-term mission trips, because when we get people to go and to serve in those ways, it lights a fire in the church back home.
Luke Jackson: It begins to get people excited back home, when they come back, about serving Jesus Christ.
Luke Jackson: Don't let it scare you, but take that step of faith to go on a short-term mission trip.
Luke Jackson: Maybe you're not able because of your health to go, but you can give.
Luke Jackson: I encourage you to do that as well.
Luke Jackson: So we have so many different opportunities.
Luke Jackson: One of the opportunities that was mentioned this morning is our fall festival next Sunday from 4:00 to 7:00 PM.
Luke Jackson: You have an opportunity to come and serve and to love on people from our community that come and show them the love of Christ.
Luke Jackson: What an incredible opportunity, just next Sunday, to serve inside the church as well.
Luke Jackson: You know, Jesus doesn't need us, but it is a privilege for us to serve God.
Luke Jackson: The fact that he has given us the opportunity to serve him is a privilege, because if we're not willing to do it, he will find somebody else to accomplish his mission.
Luke Jackson: He doesn't need us.
Luke Jackson: We need to see that we have the opportunity to serve him.
Luke Jackson: We have been given a blessing.
Luke Jackson: It's not a chore.
Luke Jackson: It's a blessing to serve the Lord.
Luke Jackson: You know, there's a difference between choosing serve and being a servant.
Luke Jackson: Let me explain that.
Luke Jackson: When you choose to serve, you are in control.
Luke Jackson: When you are a servant, God is in control.
Luke Jackson: So how do we know if we're a true servant this morning?
Luke Jackson: I think there's a great measuring stick for this, and this is the statement: if there's anything that we will not do or anyone that we will not serve, then we are not true servants.
Luke Jackson: Let me say that one more time.
Luke Jackson: If there is anything that we will not do or anyone that we will not serve, we are not true servants, because we're choosing when and how we serve.
Luke Jackson: Then, we are in control in that point.
Luke Jackson: We can only arrive at this place when we see Jesus and others as the most important and we see ourselves as least important.
Luke Jackson: That's the only way we can get to that point in the Christian life, to see things the way that God wants us to see them.
Luke Jackson: You know, one of the things that helps us: this is a hard message.
Luke Jackson: This is a hard message to hear, because service is not always easy, but aren't you glad that Jesus never asks us to do anything that he hasn't already done?
Luke Jackson: Let me say that again.
Luke Jackson: Jesus never asked us to do anything that he hasn't already done.
Luke Jackson: Luke chapter 22, verse 27, if you want to flip over a couple of pages.
Luke Jackson: This is a verse that shows that.
Luke Jackson: Verse 27 of chapter 22, it says,"'For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves?
Luke Jackson: Is it not the one who reclines at the table?' Jesus speaking to his disciples says,'But I am among you as the one who serves.'" Jesus Christ is the greatest example the world has ever known of what it looks like to be a true servant, someone who was such a servant that he laid down his life for every single one of us, somebody that was such a servant that he stepped out of heaven, the most incredible place we could ever even fathom, and spent 33 years on this earth because of his love for us.
Luke Jackson: Can you imagine what this earth would have been like after being in heaven?
Luke Jackson: And what he went through?
Luke Jackson: But we also see another passage of scripture, Luke chapter 12, verse 37.
Luke Jackson: Look what that says.
Luke Jackson: Luke chapter 12, verse 37.
Luke Jackson: It says,"Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on alert when he comes.
Luke Jackson: Truly I say to you that he will gird himself to serve and have them recline at the table and will come up and wait on them." We see, back in Luke chapter 17, verse 9.
Luke Jackson: It talks about the master won't thank his slave, obviously, because he's the slave, right?
Luke Jackson: That word"thank" literally means to grace someone.
Luke Jackson: It's saying that that master wouldn't grace his slave, but we know that Jesus Christ, from the verse I just read, is the only master that graces his servants.
Luke Jackson: He's the only master that graces his servants, that someday instead of just being his slaves, he has given us the right to be his heirs, to be his children, to be with him in eternity someday and to be able to celebrate with him.
Luke Jackson: And he's going to include us in-- bring us into his family in eternity, that we have an opportunity to be his heirs and his children, the children of God.
Luke Jackson: What an incredible master we have! We have the perfect master.
Luke Jackson: So because our master is perfect, there is no reason why we wouldn't want to serve our master because of who he is and what he's done.
Luke Jackson: So as you think about the video we saw earlier, kind of just reiterate that the joy of the Christian life comes not in just doing church.
Luke Jackson: Obviously we come to church to be full of the Lord and for him to fill us with his spirit and to fellowship with other believers and to be able to serve him in that way and to grow in him in that way, but he does all of that-- all the purpose of church is for us to be filled up so that we can then go out and share the gospel, to share the hope, the joy that we have, to a lost and dying world.
Luke Jackson: You know, someday at the end of our lifetime, every single one of us will stand before God.
Luke Jackson: And the greatest thing that we could ever hope to hear from our Lord and Savior, on that day, is,"Well done, thou good and faithful servant." That is the prayer of my heart.
Luke Jackson: If we are blessed enough, someday, to be able to be obedient enough in our life, to be able to hear those words, and someday, you imagine yourself standing in all of the power and the glory and the majesty and the joy and the love that surrounds us.
Luke Jackson: When we stand in the presence of God someday, and we we think about, visualize what it would be like to stand in his presence and to feel all of his holiness.
Luke Jackson: There's only one response that will ever be appropriate in that moment.
Luke Jackson: We will be so overwhelmed at that moment that there will only be one appropriate thing to say, and that thing that will be appropriate to say in that moment is,"We are unworthy slaves.
Luke Jackson: We have done only that which we ought to have done." Is that the attitude of your heart this morning?
Luke Jackson: Are you willing to be a true servant?
Luke Jackson: Are you willing to serve anyone and do anything because of what Jesus has first done for you?
Luke Jackson: Let's pray together this morning.
Luke Jackson: Dear God, we thank you so much for today.
Luke Jackson: Lord, we thank you for your word and what a great teacher you are to us, God.
Luke Jackson: Lord, and there are people here this morning that are already serving you, God, and Lord, I pray that you would not allow them to get weary, that they not get tired, Lord, but to remember the joy of the Christian life comes in serving.
Luke Jackson: Lord, that you would direct them as they move forward in their life and how they should serve and what you called them to do, Lord, that you would help them to use their gifts for you, inside and outside of the church, in their families, in their workplaces.
Luke Jackson: That they would serve you, God, through our local ministries and our opportunities here, that they would serve you.
Luke Jackson: Lord, those that are here this morning, that if they were honest, Lord, as all of us at times fail, Lord.
Luke Jackson: If they were honest to say,"I'm not really serving.
Luke Jackson: I'm just coming and sitting on a pew.
Luke Jackson: I'm not really doing anything to advance the kingdom." Then Lord, I pray there would be conviction, Lord, but even more so than the conviction, I pray for obedience this morning, God, that every person in this room would not leave this place this morning until they are truly obedient to what you have called them to do.
Luke Jackson: That you have made each of us uniquely with different gifts and abilities for the purpose of not keeping it for ourself, but to give it back to you because of what you've done for us.
Luke Jackson: God, that we will be faithful servants and that we would just do our duty, God, what you have called us to do.
Luke Jackson: So this morning, whatever it is, I pray for obedience all across this room, in this place, and we just ask it in Jesus' name.
Luke Jackson: Amen.