The Mindset For Ministry | Luke 17:7–10
Introduction:
One of the most important lessons for any follower of Christ is a lesson about our mindset regarding service.
How do we think of service — service to God, and service to others? Or to say it another way, it is a lesson about indebtedness.
IT IS A VITAL LESSON ABOUT WHAT WE OWE, AND WHAT WE ARE OWED.
Our thinking either reflects the light of the grace of God, or it reflects the blindness of the curse.
God gives to those whom He saves, a renewed mind. We have the mind of Christ.
ESV 1 Corinthians 2:16 "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
God is renewing our minds in a way that transformed us in righteousness.
ESV Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
And if our minds are being renewed in accordance with grace then we recognize something about indebtedness.
God is never in debt to us. God never owes us. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT?
Before we answer yes too quickly, we need to take an honest account of how we sometimes think and feel.
THINK OF HOW OFTEN WE FALL PREY TO A MERIT-BASED MINDSET.
WE DO THIS WITH RESPECT TO OUR PERCEIVED SUCCESSES:
Somehow, we believe that we are earning the right to be treated positively by God based upon our performance.
God will view me favorably because I’ve been obeying Him.
God will treat me favorably because of these decisions I’ve been making.
God will bless me because of how I’ve served someone else in His name.
WE DO THIS WITH RESPECT TO OUR DIFFICULTIES:
-How often have we felt that we deserved better circumstances than we had?
-How often have we been upset because we felt that we were dealing with something unfair?
-Have you ever found yourself ready to quit in some area of service because you felt you deserved better?
-Have you ever found yourself grumbling because things were not the way you thought they ought to be?
-Have you ever threatened (perhaps within your own mind) that because you aren’t properly appreciated, or your talents and abilities are not properly acknowledged, you will just take your abilities somewhere else, where they will be appreciated?
All these kinds of thoughts reveal how merit-based we are in our thinking, even though we think we have a grasp on grace. And whether we realize it or not, when we think in these ways, we are thinking in a way that says WE CAN PUT GOD IN OUR DEBT.
“God if I live this certain way, then you owe me.” Or, IF PEOPLE DON’T TREAT ME RIGHTLY THEN I WON’T DO “RIGHT” ANYMORE. As if your mistreatment at the hands of people means you owe nothing to God.
In the previous verses the disciples of Jesus have been given a set of spiritual responsibilities:
-We are to live lives that don’t cause little ones to stumble.
-We are to help others not to be a stumbling block by humbly confronting their sin.
-We are to practice forgiveness without limit
-We are to obey God by exercising the faith that He has given us
If we obey in these areas, which are admittedly difficult, how do we feel about ourselves?
If we were to be like the Pharisees (which throughout these sections, the disciples of Jesus are contrasted with) we would take note of every act of obedience. We would go down the list and give ourselves a check mark for each of these. We would congratulate ourselves, and we would expect that we are earning the favor of God.
Jesus told a parable that demonstrated how the Pharisees thought about these things.
ESV Luke 18:10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luk 18:10 ESV)
AND AS SOON AS WE BEGIN TO THINK THAT WAY, JESUS TEACHES US HERE, OUR THINKING IS ALL WRONG.
PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THIS: THE MAJOR POINT OF CONTRAST BETWEEN THE PHARISEES AND GENUINE DISCIPLES IS THE PRESENCE OF A GOD-TAUGHT, GOSPEL-TAUGHT — GENUINE HUMILITY.
It is REAL humility because it is accurate.
It is not choosing to assume a humble posture when we really deserve an exalted one.
It is adopting a humble position because we can recognize that that is our actual state.
