IBS Luke 17:8 (3-4-14)

Inductive Bible Study Method for Luke 17:8 (3-4-14)

“”But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?””

In this verse, the master is saying that he needs to be served food before the servant can rest and eat. The servant just got done with a long day of hard work - yet his time isn’t done. He still has to serve his master dinner before he gets to eat. A servant does not get to decide when he is done working - the master gets to decide because he is the one who has authority. The point I see in this is that we are to serve our Master and others before we serve ourselves. 

Even when it seems like our day will never end, our purpose in life is still to follow Philippians 2:3 “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” and Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness...”. When we put ourselves under the submission of Christ by becoming His disciples, and make a decision to daily die to self, our flesh will become disciplined and trained to put God and others first.

Put God first. Put others before myself. Deny my flesh. These are all things that I was born to blatantly disobey. This is a result of the curse of sin - no longer walking in God with perfect communion. Instead, human beings are born into a spiritual death and can only have a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus. Even after repenting and receiving Christ, we all still struggle every second of every day to walk worthy of the Gospel we preach. 

This is where sanctification comes in. If we are walking in the Spirit, then we are daily dying to our flesh, giving our will to Christ, and being transformed in the renewing of our minds through reading the Word and prayer. It’s really about remembering our decision to be a bondservant of Christ and seeking to do His Will. I’m going to write “Let go and let God” on my hand to remind me that I’m His servant and I need to let Him work in me.