Title: It's a useless species
Contents
Title: It's a useless servant.
Bible: Luke 17:5-10
The words of today's text are very practical in our life of faith. While we are living our religious life, our faith may disappear, we may feel tired from our religious life, or we may experience powerlessness in family and social life. This is because we did not have faith. Others see weak people who started with good intentions to do God's work, but then turned away from discouragement. Also, if you are looking for the reason, it is because you did not have the kind of faith that we are talking about in today's text.
We all know the story of Solomon asking God for wisdom in the Old Testament. When God appeared to Solomon in a dream after offering a thousand burnt offerings at the high place of Gibeon and said, “Ask for what I will give you” (1 Kings 3:5), Solomon seeks the wisdom he needs as a ruler. At that time, "The word met the Lord's heart" (1 Kings 3:10). As a result, Solomon lived not only in wisdom, but also in unprecedented wealth and glory. What we need to think about here is that the wisdom itself that seeks wisdom is considerable, and that faith itself that seeks faith is not considerable. If God could come to us at this time and ask for one thing, what would you ask for? Can you give me a clear answer in one word?
The disciples felt that they needed faith the most. That is why they are begging the Lord to increase their faith.” This means that their standards have risen. The disciples were also people who thought about all these things, such as money, fame, and career. But for three years, Jesus I learned a lot while working with him.
I still do not know it well, but it seems that I thought that faith is the best. If you look closely, you can see that the faith of Jesus was great. He even raised Lazarus, who had been dead for four days. It was through these incidental beliefs that I came to know faith. I have come to realize the value of faith. I realized the need for faith. So they petitioned, "Lord, give us more faith!" In other words, it can be said to be prayer.
"Give me more faith!" You must have faith in order not to stumble. To forgive others, you must have faith. You must have faith to love. The decisive factor in performing miracles is faith. That is why those disciples who realized the absolute necessity of this faith are seeking this faith. At that time, Jesus said it would be good if you had faith the size of a mustard seed. He explains the greatness of faith that he will obey if he tells this mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea, even if he has this little mustard seed and a small living faith.
Today's text is a parable that tells us that we must have this kind of heart to have faith. That mind is not something else, but it is necessary to have a thorough self-consciousness called a servant. Jesus didn't just call us servants. In John 15, He said that we are His friends. However, we should not be arrogant on our part to say that Jesus is my friend. If you say, 'Dad is my friend!' just because your father treats you like a friend, you become an ugly child. In this way, even if Jesus treated us as friends, we should always have an attitude to treat Jesus as Lord.
Now, with those things in mind, let's think about the servant in today's text.
1. A servant has no ownership.
He has nothing, but even his life is not his. Because of that, I can't even die on my own. Their talents, of course, even if they have children, become theirs. Everything belongs to the owner, none of mine is mine. If you have this kind of heart, your faith will grow. We claim to be mine, and we also say that we will pray to God to receive more blessings and make God's things our own.
But you need to know that faith does not grow as long as you have faith. Everything belongs to God. I have none of mine. Do you think I did something? Even if I have expressed an opinion, it is only that the Lord has revealed it through me. Also, even if I preached the word, the Lord was working through my lips. It's not like I didn't do any of that. I have no ownership of any material, no function, even myself. This is the form of a servant, and this is the servant's consciousness.
2. The servant is absolutely obedient.
It is not about asking why, when, where, how, or arguing about something. If you go, you go, if you come, you come. Even in bad weather with heavy rain, the bell has no reason. According to today's text, he came back after working hard all day outside.
So now I am hungry and tired. But the owner said again that he prepared the food, and while I was eating, he served as an attendant and told me to eat after running errands. The servant has no right to reason or judge in this way. If the master is tending the sheep, he will tend the sheep, and if he plows the field, he has to plow the field. Even if you work all day and come back, if you have to work again, you have to do it. You have to stay up all night and there is no rejection. What complaints and questions do you have here?
When we serve the Lord with this kind of heart, we have faith, and that faith will grow. Compared to this, we have too many things to cover up and follow. That is why we need to know that our faith does not grow. If you really want your faith to grow, you must have absolute obedience to the Lord and absolute trust. At that time, the word of the master is empowered in the servant, and it produces power in the servant. A servant has no wisdom. However, if you do what the master has given you wisely, you will become a wise person. Also, the servant has no powers. However, when you do what the master tells you to do, there is power.
3. The servant has no reward.
Workers who do the work are paid in return. But there is no reward for the servant. Not only that, but this species doesn't even say a word of thanks. Even if there is no compensation, I should know it, but it is not. Aren't they complaining that everyone doesn't notice in the end? But those who really have a servant's heart don't want to know. So don't be discouraged. Why are we all discouraged? I am willing to receive some. At first they want to give, but later they want to receive, and at first they say that they will give unconditionally, but then they give on condition. It is said that a person's mind is said to be Jo Seok-byeon, but the mind when they go and the mind when they come are so different. That's why I didn't do it when I started to work hard, but since I've done it quite a bit, I'm just saying that it deserves a good response, or at least a compliment. But faith cannot grow with that heart.
Rather, Jesus said the opposite. It says that because you are chosen to do the work of God, the world will naturally hate you and persecute you. Moreover, since they persecuted me first, they will persecute you as well, so if you become my disciples, it is natural for you to be persecuted. The important thing is that nevertheless, there is a promise that blessed are those who are persecuted and the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Therefore, this is the servant and slave of Jesus Christ, with no reward and no remuneration. In any case, those who live with a pure heart that does not ask for praise or remuneration at all have the power of faith. Here's a suitable analogy.
4. The servant has no complaints.
Tiredness, complaints, and resentment do not work at all. There is only absolute duty and absolute obedience. Time, place, and personality do not matter. Guys, I'm not saying it's hard. If you do it until you die, then you die. I am not saying that doing God's work is difficult. There have already been countless martyrs before us working for the name of the Lord. If so, wouldn't our death be martyrdom or martyrdom? Therefore, those who do God's work should not have the heart to say anything or complain about anything. This is the heart of a true servant.
Jesus says: If you really want to increase your faith, you have to have a self-consciousness that says, "I am a useless servant." That way your faith will grow. Now, our faith, our loyalty, our humility, and our servanthood, we hope that we can grow even more in the self-consciousness of "we are useless servants."