"When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care
of sheep, does his master say, "Come in and eat with me'? No, he says,
"Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat
later.' And does the master
thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not.
In the same way, when you obey me you
should say, "We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.'" --
Luke 17: 7-10 (NLT)
The devil runs amok in the modern
American church. Yesterday a prominent mega church pastor with a congregation
of over 12,000 people tweeted that the worst sin a ministry leader can make is
to "bore people with the Bible." I kid you not. This is the same pastor who
wrote an op-ed piece in a national newspaper advocating for the Easter Bunny.
This is the end result of secularism invading the church. This is the end
result of compromise. This is the end result of carnal church growth theories
such as the seeker friendly heresy. The fallen sinful world becomes something
the church strives to be relevant to and the Bible becomes boring. Dear Lord,
forgive us for our stubborn, prideful, sinful selves. This is a difficult
message today for those who are neck deep in the showiness of modern
churchianity. For those who think that somehow it has a sliver to do with them
instead of having everything to do with Jesus. But it is a message that needs
to be preached and taught more. Who is God and who do we think we are?
The key verses are from Jesus Himself,
teaching His disciples. The interesting thing is that this is in response to
the disciples asking Jesus how they could increase their faith! So many of us
today seek the same thing -- to increase our faith. Jesus is teaching that we
cannot even address how to increase faith until we ensure that the nature of
our relationship is correct in our hearts. The first truth from the key verses
today is going to sting some a bit but Jesus is our Master and we are His
servant. Ouch. I know this flies in the face of a lot of contemporary cultural
teachings and the whole "friend of God" theology. You see the devil is very
smart beloved. He knows the best way to cripple the church, God's chosen instrument
to reach the lost, is to have them spread their own bad theology. Because we
see churches that are more interested in padding pew numbers than spreading the
Gospel, we see a watering down of the true Gospel. Instead we see a fluffy
cloud gospel where everything is grace and love. Within these bad theologies
Jesus gets turned into our buddy or our next door neighbor instead of our Lord
and our King.
This
letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. Grace and
peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come;
from the sevenfold Spirit
before his throne; and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful
witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all
the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us
from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All
glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. -- Revelation 1: 4-6 (NLT)
He is the ruler over all of the kings of
the world! He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! He is not your next
door neighbor -- He is your Lord. That means He is someone you are supposed to
turn your lives over to as a servant. Was Abraham called friend of God? Yes but
not in Genesis! He was called that later on in the Bible and only after
reviewing two steps of faith that I will venture none of us have ever had to
face -- leaving everything we know behind at the behest of God and being willing
to sacrifice our only child for Him. I am glad that I am friends with God but
that is only after I recognize His sovereignty in my life. The church is
teaching you can be friends with God without giving your life over to Him and
that is dangerous theology.
Not only is He the Master, but we are
the servant! That is right; our role is to serve God. According to the key
verses we are servants to God first and foremost. We prepare His meal and serve
Him before we get to sit down and eat. Now, Jesus is using this as a metaphor.
What He is teaching is that serving God must come in our lives before pleasing
ourselves. We must think about the things of God before the things of self. Too
often we try to fit Christ into our busy lives instead of making our life about
Christ. Church today doesn't teach us to have a servant mentality but rather a
consumer mentality. Sure, maybe once a year we will hear a sermon about Jesus
washing the disciples feet but the rest of the year congregants are catered to
as if they are doing the church a favor by attending! People leave churches
when their consumer needs are not being met. They leave because the nursery is
too small, parking is not spacious enough, or the music isn't to their
preference. Yeah, those are the reasons Christ died on an old wooden cross -- so
we can have unmolested parking. We need to get over ourselves and realize that the
transaction we made with God was a life for a life. Christ gave His life to
save ours but in return, we are supposed to give our life right back to Him in
servitude.
"If you love your father or mother more than you
love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter
more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to
take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.
If you cling to
your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find
it. -- Matthew 10: 37-39 (NLT)
Father and
mother? I know Christians who love golf more than they love the Lord. That may
sound harsh but we need to take a serious look at what we choose to spend our
time on and see where God ranks. You might be shockingly surprised. We cling to
so much in our lives and in this world. Things God is trying to get us to let
go of for our own good.
Two final points remain from the key
verses and the first one has to do with another word the modern church shies
away from -- obedience. Note that Jesus does not say if you obey but rather --
when. There should never be a question about obedience for a Christian. Today however
we see so many excuses being offered up constantly for why obedience is not
adhered to. The bottom line is we like to do what we like to do and we will
cling to it with all sorts of excuses. I have heard the most twisted and
contorted arguments for Halloween from Christians. Even non-Christians will
admit to the evil nature of the holiday before participating Christians! The
Bible says that we are to run away from the mere appearance of evil. We are to
come out from among them. Jesus died to defeat the devil not so we can go
celebrate his holiday. I know, I know, everyone else is doing it and how can I
deny my child. We deny our children every single day beloved -- that is what
parenting is. Deciding what is and is not in the best interest of your child.
Obedience is obedience is obedience.
The final point is the conclusion of the
verses where Jesus says what our attitude should be like when we do what we are
supposed to do. It should not be a showy praiseworthy event when Christians do
what they are supposed to do. We are simply doing our duty. I write this
because there is a spirit of haughtiness invading many churches these days. It is
easy to spot if you have discernment but difficult if you are in the middle of
it because it is always wrapped up in the name of Jesus. Remember, we are in
church to glorify God, not man. So if you see worship that is overly showy in nature
with a lot of bells and whistles drawing attention away from God and onto man;
that is the narcissistic spirit I am speaking about. Volume jacked up to
ear-bleeding levels to overcompensate for the lack of the true Holy Spirit of
God. Things choreographed in a fake way, forcing participation as if it were a
concert. Showy costumes, florescent clothing, and excessive movement. Remember,
- ANYTHING that distracts from God cannot be considered worship. The same thing
goes for the rest of the service. The speaker having a style that distracts
from God. Over-usage of props and illustrations. Topical sermons instead of
expository -- not using the Word of God to back up points being made. Overemphasis
on tithing. Beyond the services you will see the proud spirit running rampant
throughout the church. Ministries will behave in a very showy manner as well. Obvious
secularism will be present and explained away as trying to "reach as many as possible
for Jesus." The faithful of these churches will take to Facebook and social
media every week to brag about their church -- not their God. Lip service might
be paid to throw off those easily confused but the glory will be going to man
or to the building instead of to the Almighty. This is what Jesus is speaking
against here as the key verses close. When we obey the Master and do our job,
we should humbly realize that we have merely done our duty. Who do we think we
are today? Jesus next door neighbor or servant? Humbly serving or boasting and braggadocios?
Let us all be mindful and careful because obedience is not merely implied -- it is
expected.
Rev.
Anthony
