Faithful Servants

“It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.” (Lk.12:38)

Jesus is referring to His return as the Judge to recompense everyone at the end of time. Watchfulness is a quality required from His servants along with faithfulness.

Availability of the Servant

The servant of God is on duty always. There is no working hours and resting hours, there is no specific time of vocation and time for vacation. There is no incumbency and superannuation. He must be ready at all times, as Paul says, “… in season or out of season”, to do what the Master says. Whether we are being watched or not we ought to be faithfully doing our duty. The Master will make a surprise visit with rewards for such servants. Others will be ashamed to stand before Him on that day.

This is also a warning for the unsaved. Even after much prophetic announcements the people of Israel missed the first advent of the Messiah. There is ample warning (like this one) in the Scripture about His second advent. Will you be ready?

Accountability of the Servant

The servant of God will be held responsible for all that God had entrusted with him. The gift of salvation, the amount of grace and mercy, the spiritual gifts, all that He has bestowed up on him. The lapse in discharging duty will be punishable.

Every Christian is called to be His servant. We see a lot of irresponsible servants around us and we need to warn them of the impending danger. The Lord will return any day. Are you ready to give your account?

Spirit of Antichrist

“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.” (Lk.11:23)

Jesus and Demons

Demons and evil spirits recognized Jesus as God and trembled. They had to leave the people they had possessed at His command. Jesus said He came to save while the enemy comes to destroy. However, the enemy always comes with alluring options.

Jesus alone can exercise authority over the demonic powers. He declared the war against sin and Satan; announcing the arrival of God’s rule over the lives of people. Later, He thoroughly defeated Satan at His death on the cross. No man can defeat the devil in his strength. Those who have Jesus living in them can resist the devil in the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember, in chapter 10 Jesus sent His followers to demonstrate the power of His kingdom, giving them authority over sicknesses and demons. Disciples discovered that “the One who is in them is greater than the one who is in the world” (1Jn.4:4)

“This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1John 4:2-4)

People and Demons

People doubted the authority of Jesus, some even questioned it openly. Jesus made it clear that He is stronger than the prince of this world and He is there to conquer. He also spelled it out that there is no middle ground when called for a personal decision about Jesus. You are either for Him or against Him, you are either with Him or without Him. There is no neutral position. Those who are not on His side are on His enemy’s side. Those who are without the Spirit of Christ are subject to the spirit of Antichrist.

Pattern for Prayer

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Lk.11:9,10)

Relationship

Jesus demonstrated the need for prayer all through His life and ministry. The disciples watched it and knew they need to do it too. They wanted to master the art of prayer and asked Jesus to teach them.

Prayer is an art to some, a ritual to many, a magic wand to a few and a way of life to others. Jesus corrects them and tells them it ought to be the expression of their relationship with their Father in heaven. No one teaches a child how to talk to his father. In prayer, the disciples of Jesus need to seek the glory of God’s name and the establishment of His kingdom. They need to depend on Him for their daily needs and for protection from the enemy. They also need to practise forgiveness as they receive it from their Father.

Persistence

We need to unashamedly keep asking what we need very badly. It tells God that we have no other option but He. This is when His name is honored and His kingdom established in our lives. God is obviously better than any human father or friend.

Progression

Ask what we need, and in our asking, keep honoring God’s name and seeking His will. Once we discover the will of God we will have the confidence to knock until the door opens. Keep asking, seeking and knocking until the door opens.

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Lk.11:13)

The Joy of being Forgiven

“Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” (Ps.32:1)

Forgiveness-The Act of God

Forgiveness is a happy experience as living with the guilt of sin is a terribly eroding experience as stated in Ps.32:3,4. Forgiveness is just a confession away, provided the sinner is sincere. Forgiveness is only through God’s free grace and not through anything man can do.

Man cannot obtain forgiveness except through the divine act of propitiating for man’s sins. God is absolutely holy and man is sinful. Sin is nothing but falling short of God’s standard. Man can never reach God’s standard of holiness howmuch ever he tries. Even the best act of man falls short of God’s standard of holiness. God cannot tolerate sin even in its minutest degree. God’s justice cannot be over looked when it says a sinner should die. So, God had to step in and solve this problem. That is why God had to come as a human. That was Jesus. He bridged the gap between the holy God and sinful man by taking the punishment of man’s sin upon himself. Now, God offers forgiveness freely to all those who acknowledge their sinfulness and Jesus’s substitutionary death on their behalf.

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1John 1:8,9)

“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” (Pro.28:13)

The Contrast

Godly men will set things right without delay. They know that the time of free grace will not last for ever. The godly will be spared at the time of the great waters of judgment. They will sing songs of deliverance. The godly will experience God’s guidance and instruction in their daily walk.

But the ungodly are like senseless animals - they refuse to heed to God’s warning or accept God’s counsel to repent. They will have to controlled by harsh methods. The ungodly will thus continue in sin and guilt and suffer the consequences as David experienced in his life. (Ps.32:3,4)

The godly will experience God’s loving kindness and rejoice. They will express the joy of their salvation and celebrate.

The Only Refuge

“In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness…. Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth…. My times are in your hands; …Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I have cried out to you….” (Ps.31:1, 5,15-17)

Taking a Stand

David acknowledges that God is his only place of refuge. All other sources will fail us and we will be terribly ashamed for trusting them. However, though it is not the ‘in thing’ to do, if you place your trust in the Lord God you will be happy at the end. It may look foolish to trust the God of heaven when there are human ways to tackle your problems. It may not be the wise thing from the human point of view. But to a person who has found the God of heaven as his only refuge it is an open confession, though it may look ridiculous. David was a valiant warrior yet he found God’s ways were always the best. We must be prepared to openly confess our dependance on our God in all circumstances. God cannot help someone who is ashamed of Him in front of people. While on earth Jesus committed Himself to do the will of God and placed His life into the hands of the Father using the words in Ps.31:5a. David was not ashamed to own his God in public. “But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”" (Ps.31:14)

Giving Thanks
After receiving God’s protection and experiencing His preserving grace, we need to express our gratitude as a testimony. David praises his God and tells others to trust in Him. He says God has stored up His grace for those who depend only on Him. “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you” (Ps.31:19). Another rendering of this verse says that God bestows His abundant grace upon those who take refuge in Him openly, in the sight of men.

We need to stand out in the open as Christians, taking refuge in our God and giving thanks to our God, ‘in the sight of men’.

The Question of Life

“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”" (Lk.10:25)

Jesus had to face lots of questions during His lifetime - from all kinds of people. Some were genuine while many were with malicioius intentions. Jesus handled them all tactfully, yet communicating the truth.

The Ultimate Question

There are people who try to evade this question that determines their eternal destiny. Young people fool around with this, thinking they have a lot of time at hand to consider serious issues. But time never waits for anyone. Here this scholar and expert of the Law is asking Jesus life’s most pertinent question but with malicious intention. Jesus catches him on the area of his expertise and drives the point home.

Loving God

This is the ultimate and “the” core issue of human existence. God has wired us with the ability to love Him and honor Him, but left it to our choice. But if someone choses to do it He has set the standard - 100% Total. Over and above everything else, involving our whole being, without any reservations whatsoever. Anything less than that is not acceptable to His standard. Loving God begins with accepting His Son Jesus, who died for your sins, as your Savior.

Loving others

This is the outgrowth of one’s loving God. This is relative to our loving God because “God is love” (1John 4:8, 16) and He loves all people (John 3:16; 1John 4:9). Loving others can be proportionate to our love for ourselves.

Reason to Rejoice

“However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)

The Mission

Jesus sent out 72 disciples on His mission. It was an on the job training for them. They were given authority over sicknesses and the power of darkness. They could see results on the spot. What a great experience!

The Joy

It was indeed a wonderful experience for them and they came back rejoicing to express it to their Master. Jesus too rejoices in the Spirit but warns the followers not to be carried away by what God is doing in and through them. Rather, they should consciously rejoice in the truth that they are given a heavenly inheritance.

The Inheritance

This inheritance is offered to all those simple hearted who accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord. The wise are seeking to find God through their wisdom, the mighty through their might. But God was pleased to reveal Himself to those who were simple enough to trust the free gift through God’s Son. Only the Son of God who came from God can reveal God and no one else is qualified to do it.

The Harvest

“Jesus told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves….” (Luke 10:2-3)

The Lord Jesus taught and trained His disciples to be workers in God’s harvest. He gave them authority and send them. He gave them instructions to follow. They were to be like their Master who came “not to be served but to serve”.

They were to pray
The harvest belongs to God and Jesus wanted them to pray before they launch out. Pray for the field, for the work and for workers. They were to pray for more workers, for guidance and for protection as they were not to expect a very favorable situation in the field.

They were to trust
They were not to worry about themselves too much, as to “what they will eat or what they will wear”, because, God promises His workers their pay. They should not accumulate material possessions or try to find security in them. God is to be their security. They were not to worry even about people’s response.

They were to leave the results to God
They were asked to do their part of the job and leave the rest to the Lord of the Harvest. If people rejected the message they still have done their job. They just need to take care that they are not entangled with the things of the world and end up working for people instead of the Lord. Each listener will be responsible for what he does with what he has heard.

Jesus has commissioned all those who believe Him and follow Him to be His workers, praying, trusting and serving the Lord of the harvest till the end.

Being With Jesus

“As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus….” (Lk.9:29-30)

Jesus lived before His disciples and taught them through His life and words. He set an example before them in everything He taught and told them to just follow Him. Here Jesus takes His core group of disciples to a mountain top to pray. They could not keep awake while Jesus prayed, let alone catch His vision.

Being with Jesus should make us more like Him

When the trio were awakened from their slumber, they witnessed the glory of their Master. They were so carried away that they wanted to permanently dwell there. Jesus revealed His Father’s glory. Being with Jesus demands our total commitment, body, mind and spirit. Being with Him is for the purpose of being ’sent out‘ to reveal His glory. Unless we capture at least a glimpse of His glory how can we reveal it.

Moses spent forty days with God on the mount Sinai (Ex.24:15-18). When he came down from the mountain his face was radiant and he did not know it. The people could see it and they knew it was because of his being with God (Ex.34:28-35).

Being with Jesus should prevent us from glorifying people

Moses and Elijah appeared on the mountain alongside Jesus. They were recognized by the disciples of Jesus, and, most importantly, recognized as ‘men’. It was true they were radiating the glory of heaven, but it was as a result of their being with God. They were just reflecting the glory of their Master. They were great people who performed great feats during their ministry. But they were mere men. Peter and his friends wanted to errect tents for them. They equated Jesus with these men for that moment and God from heaven had to drive it again into their dull heads through His vocal declaration that Jesus has no equals. The cloud had to be pulled away before they could see things in the right perspective. Jesus is God while others are mere human.

What a serious reminder for us who venerate humans and degrade the Son of God.

Being with Jesus should stop us from running to other sources for help

As the three were on the mountain top the rest of them were in the valley trying to handle a crisis. They have seen their Master in action driving out the evil spirits. They were sent out very recently on a mission to exercise their delegated authority over sicknesses and demonic forces. After experiencing all these, they still had problem. The father of the demon possessed boy vouches to the fact that they could not drive it out. Jesus rebukes them and drives the demon out.

The disciples were not the source of power. Jesus had delegated them with authority and they were to exercise it in His name. The father went to them thinking they could do the job. They could have done it through the authority of the Lord Jesus, had they realized it.

Approaching other sources in times of crises will only worsen the situation. Go to Jesus and Jesus alone. He is the only one who can help.