Luke Series #75 August 11, 2002
Title: 5 Things We Need to Know Concerning Our Relationship with God
Email: pastorsarver@yahoo.com
Website: www.newlifeinchrist.info
Introduction: Welcome to New Life in Christ. This morning we are in Chapter 17 of the Book of Luke in our verse-by-verse teaching series out of that book.
Read Luke 17:7-17
Opening Prayer
Many years ago I was a low-level employee at Winn-Dixie supermarket. I had been working there for a couple years and during those my years attitude and actions and changed dramatically. I started off very humble and submissive doing whatever I was told without question, but after a couple years I forgot my standing in the company and began to argue with the managers, do my own thing, and so forth. At that point the managers called me into the office for a private conversation and for a well-needed attitude adjustment. They reminded me of my position and of their position. They reminded me that they were in charge and that they signed the paycheck. The reminded me of where I stood, what my responsibilities were, and what my attitude should be. In essence they reminded me of what was expected in an employer/employee relationship.
Sometimes the same thing needs to be done for Christians. Sometimes our attitude does need adjusting. Sometimes we forget what our responsibilities are and what our attitude should be in our relationship with God. Sometimes we need to be reminded of what is expected of us in our relationship with God. In a sense that is what Jesus does for his disciples in this passage. Jesus knows of the tendency we all have to develop a wrong attitude about ourselves in regard to our relationship with God, so he uses an illustration and a miracle to teach us how we should view ourselves, our relationship and responsibilities with God. He used a slave and a leper as examples of our relationship with God. Neither comparison is particularly flattering, but they are very enlightening. What do we learn about our relationship, attitude and obligations with God in these two passages? There are five things in particular.
1. Our relationship with God is comparable to that of a slave.
In verses 7-10 where the word "servant" occurs, the original Greek text has the Greek word for a slave. A slave was quite different from an employee or hired helpers. A slave was the property of the master 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A slave had no rights of their own and had many obligations expected of them for their master. The slave did not receive a paycheck nor did he expect too. Sometimes a particularly kind master would bless the slave with a gift, but this wasn’t something the master was obligated to do or the slave had a right to expect. All these things about slaves were well known to the disciples, so Jesus uses this analogy to teach them and us about our relationship with God.
1. Our relationship with God is comparable to that of a slave.
It is very clear that Jesus is comparing the disciples to slaves in the entire passage. This point is especially clear in verse 10 where Jesus specifically says that Christians should view themselves as "unworthy slaves" who have only done their duty. In John 15:15 Jesus did say, "I no longer call you servants but friends. . ." but this in no way changes or contradicts this text because Jesus’ point in the Gospel of John was that he revealed his purposes and will to his disciples unlike a master would normally do with a slave. Jesus point in this text is that our obligations and attitudes to God are similar to that of a slave to their master.
1. Our relationship with God is comparable to that of a slave.
Now let’s look at the second thing we need to know concerning our relationship with God.
2. Christians should always make a priority of doing God’s will.
Read Luke 17:7-8
A slave in those days worked very hard from early morning to evening. As verse 7 says, he had to plow the fields, look after the sheep, and perform other laborious task associated with agricultural and farm work. After spending his entire day in the hot sun, he would be hungry and tired. Nevertheless no master would say to his servant at the end of the day, "Come along now, sit down and eat." No master would say, "You have worked hard all day, my dinner can wait." No, the master’s will and desires had priority over the servant’s will and desires. As verse 8 tells us, the master would rather say, "Prepare my supper, get yourself ready, and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink."
In the slave/master relationship, the master’s desires and commands always took priority over the servant’s desires. If this is true of the master/servant relationship, then certainly it should be true of the Christian’s relationship with God.
2. Christians should always make a priority of doing God’s will.
This story reminded me of an incident that happened to Amy and I at the local Denny’s restaurant. We had been seated and given our drinks but our order had not yet been taken. We waited quite a while but our waitress never came back. I happened to see her resting and drinking a soda near the counter so I went to her and told her that we were ready to order. Her response was that she was on her break and that we would just have to wait! Well, needless to say, Amy and I decided eat elsewhere.
Clearly this waitress did not understand her position if she thought her break took precedence over my order. The same can sometimes be said of Christians. Sometimes we act as if we have a choice about doing God’s will, especially if it interferes with our desires. Sometimes we may feel that we’ve done enough like the servant working in the fields, but at no point in our lives does our will, our desires, or our comfort take precedence over God’s will. We are servants and he is the master.
2. Christians should always make a priority of doing God’s will.
It is probably no coincidence that this passage comes immediately after Jesus’ teaching about forgiving those who have sinned against you repeatedly. This teaching on forgiveness was a tough command and one that often went against personal desires and inclinations. In fact the disciples were so flabbergasted by such a radical command that they cried out, "Lord, increase our faith!" In this story Jesus reminds us that no matter how difficult God’s will is to do, and no matter how much it may interfere with our own desires, we are obligated to do it in the same way as a slave is obligated to obey his master’s desires as the priority. This means each of us needs to examine our own lives to see if there any areas where we are not acting as servants and giving God’s will the priority.
1. Our relationship with God is comparable to that of a slave.
2. Christians should always make a priority of doing God’s will.
Read Luke 17:9-10
In these verses we learn a third thing about our relationship with God.
3. Christians are never owed anything by God.
As verse 9 makes clear, no slave would ever expect a thank you from the master for doing what he was supposed to do. The slave did not feel that the master owed him anything or was obligated to him in any way. Neither should a Christian think that somehow we deserve a medal for obeying God wholeheartedly. Even if we were to do everything that God told us completely and quickly, we would only be doing our duty. If we spent every night and every day giving earnest effort to the kingdom of God, we still should not expect a "pat on the back." Rather our attitude according to verse 10 should be "We are unworthy servants; we only done to our duty."
3. Christians are never owed anything by God.
Let me illustrate this by using an example of paying taxes to the IRS. You can make sure that your tax form is neatly filled out. You can make sure that all the math is correct. You can even make sure that the form is mailed in a timely manner and that a check for the full amount of the taxes is in the envelope. Despite doing all these things, I do not think you could expect a thank-you letter from the IRS or the President of the United States. After all, all you have done is your duty. You have done what is expected of you and are therefore not owed anything by the government.
It is the same with serving and doing God’s will. We can pray daily, tithe regularly and give offerings, read our Bibles, help others, forgive readily, go to church regularly, and serve in ministry and we’ve still not done anything that obligates or indebts God to us. We’ve only done our duty!
Many years ago, at another church, I became aware of a situation that may illustrate the problem and wrong attitude Jesus was confronting in this passage. In this church one of the single women had fallen on hard financial times so another single woman opened up her home for her to live in free of charge. So far so good, but the problem was that the woman who opened up her home continually talked about how God was going to bless her and answer her prayers for doing this good deed. She made very clear the she felt that God owed her for doing this, but she needed to listen to the principle that Jesus expressed in this illustration.
3. Christians are never owed anything by God.
Before moving on, I want to point out that God does commend and reward his faithful servants but he doesn’t do this out of obligation or because we deserve it. He does it out of his loving kindness, despite the fact that we never deserve his blessings. Any good thing we have is the result of his grace and not our hard work.
Now let’s move on to the second story which illustrates two more things we need to remember in our relationship with God.
Read Luke 17:11-19
I believe this healing account fits well with the previous text because it shows us that instead of God owing us anything, we owe him everything. This text reminds us of what we once were, how Jesus changed us, and what our response should be. Let’s me share with you the fourth thing the Christian needs to remember about their relationship with God.
4. Christians were sinners hopelessly separated from a right relationship with God before Jesus saved them.
This story reminds us that it is only because of Jesus mercy that we have any type relationship with God. That is something we never want to forget because it changes our whole attitude about God and serving him. Leprosy in the Bible was more than another physical disease; it was also a spiritual picture of the consequences and characteristics of sin. Those who had leprosy were forbidden to come into the temple God. They were considered unclean and unable to have a right relationship with God and they were not allowed to participate in or experience the blessings of a relationship with God in any way. They were separated from God. Their situation was so hopeless that they wore mourner’s clothes that were associated with death. They were considered walking dead men. All these things are pictures of sin and what it does to our relationship with God. This is a picture of us before Jesus showed us mercy.
4. Christians were sinners hopelessly separated from a right relationship with God before Jesus saved them.
This is a especially evident in verse 10 which specifically notes the lepers "stood at a distance." The law required this distance as a way of illustrating the distance between the sinner and God. It is only after Jesus heals the lepers that one of them actually is able to come close, bowing at Jesus’ feet.
The story reminds us that at one time we were separated from the joy and hope of a healthy relationship with God. We were walking dead man spiritually and headed for Hell, but God in is love purchased us, redeemed us by the precious blood of Jesus! God owes us nothing and we owe him everything!
4. Christians were sinners hopelessly separated from a right relationship with God before Jesus saved them.
It was only when we cried out to Jesus for mercy and put our faith in him that we were saved. This point is illustrated in the next two verses.
Read Luke 17:13-14
In these two verses we see that a healthy relationship with God comes from placing faith in Jesus and asking for mercy.
This is exactly what happened to these 10 lepers who are representative of sinners outside of a healthy relationship with God today. They "called out in a loud voice, ’Jesus, Master, have pity (mercy) on us’ " They were not asking for what they deserved, but for mercy and that is the humble cry Jesus always hears from sinners today. Jesus tells them to "go show yourself to the priest." He is referring to the Old Testament priesthood. Before a leper could regain entry into society and temple worship they had to have a priest to inspect them and prove that they were cleansed or healed. The unusual part of this story is that Jesus tells them to do this before they were cleansed of their leprosy. That required faith in Jesus’ words. As they acted in faith and proceeded to the priest in town, "they were cleansed." In verse 19 Jesus pointed out to the one leper who returned that faith in Jesus was instrumental in the man’s cleansing!
Sinners will be made righteous if they ask Jesus for mercy and respond in faith.
It is the same today as it was for those ten lepers 2,000 years ago. As people ask Jesus to cleanse them of their sins in his mercy and place true faith in him, they are made clean or righteous. How should we respond to such mercy? The answer to that question is found in verses 15-17. It is also where we find the fifth thing that Christians should remember concerning their relationship with God.
Read Luke 17:15-17
5. Christians who been made righteous ought to respond to Jesus with exuberant praise and thanksgiving.
This is how the one leper who returned and was commended responded. With the same "loud voice" that he cried out for help, now he came back "praising God..., threw himself at Jesus’ feet, and thanked him." Nothing less than heartfelt praise and thanks is fitting when we consider what Jesus has done for us. In fact Jesus is bewildered and grieved that he could do something so wonderful but only have one person (Samaritan) out 10 respond appropriately.
5. Christians who been made righteous ought to respond to Jesus with exuberant praise and thanksgiving.
Charles Spurgeon was a famous preacher in the 19th century. One day a woman who was seeking to be right with God told him, "If Jesus ever saves me, he will never hear the end of it!" Shouldn’t it be the same with us? Shouldn’t Jesus never hear the end of our praise and thanks? Hasn’t Jesus already blessed us so much that we cannot help but praise and give him thanks every day?
Illustration: The story is told of two old friends who bumped into one another on the street one day. One of them looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, "What has the world done to you, my old friend?"
The sad fellow said, "Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, my great-aunt whom I hardly knew passed away. I inherited almost 100 million dollars. ”His friend replied, "That’s a lot of money."
The sad friend continued, "Then, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand free and clear."
"Sounds like you’ve been blessed...." "You don’t understand!" he interrupted. "Last week an uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars."
Now the other friend was really confused. "Then, why do you look so glum?" The sad friend replied, "This week... nothing!"
Sometimes we act the same foolish way. Our attitude is, "What have you done for me lately?" Well, we may not perceive how God has blessed us this week, but the big blessing of cleansing from sin is already ours. We have reason to praise and thank him joyfully for the way he has blessed us and saved us from Hell and given us the sure hope of Heaven, no matter what we may have received this week!
Conclusion: In today’s passage we have learned five things concerning our relationship with God.
1. Our relationship with God is comparable to that of a slave.
2. Christians should always make a priority of doing God’s will.
3. Christians are never owed anything by God.
4. Christians were sinners hopelessly separated from a right relationship with God before Jesus saved them.
5. Christians who have been made righteous ought to respond to Jesus with exuberant praise and thanksgiving.
