The Cosmic Butler

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Scripture

‘Father, give me the share of the estate that will belong to me.’ 

~Luke 15:12, NET

Quote

How much joy does one get from serving their own interest?

~Ray Comfort

If you know me well, you know I love Luke 15. There is more gospel in Luke 15 than anywhere else in the Bible. I have preached more from this chapter than any in the Bible. The younger son, the prodigal’s question or request of his father to give him his portion of the estate early was prompted by a very selfish heart. His question was out of place and very disrespectful. His older brother wouldn’t think of asking such a question but it was only because he lacked the courage and he had too much pride to reveal the vanity of his heart. Both boys wanted what the Father had and neither wanted the Father himself. Neither were focused on the relationship but only on the Father’s vast wealth. To put it in a nutshell, they wanted their Father to serve them and their interest when it should have been the other way around. Thank God, the younger son came to his senses and discovered the pure joy of being the Father’s servant. Unfortunately, the elder brother was lost in religion and he never came to the light as far as we know. He may have died miserable and unhappy because he never saw himself as a wretched sinner and he never experienced the joy of serving his Father out of pure love and devotion.

Currently, I am preaching a series entitled, THE MIRACLES IN MARK. Mark’s gospel moves swiftly as he covers Jesus’s Galilean ministry. In those early days, Jesus drew huge crowds and had many followers. Many followed him from village to village and some followed him into Syria when He took His extended mission trip to Tyre and Sidon. But they were not following Jesus because they loved Him; they were following Him so they could see the next miracle and get in on the next free meal. They were not in love with Jesus; they were fascinated with His power and the things HE COULD DO FOR THEM. They were fully convinced that He could be their next great KING and lead them to victory over Rome. Don’t you see, it was all about what HE COULD DO FOR THEM. As Jesus concluded His ministry in Galilee and His mission trip to Syria; He began the third and final leg of his earthly ministry, Jerusalem and the cross. As Jesus moved toward Jerusalem, He began losing followers. The only ones who stuck with Him were those who had grown to LOVE HIM as a person. His most devoted followers were a group of women that included His mother. They loved HIM; not His power or His gifts but HIM, Jesus the man, the man of sorrows.

God is not our butler and He is not our servant. He is not some cosmic Santa who grants us all our wishes. This is a very disrespectful view of God. God is God and we are His miserable and wretched servants. We are subject to do His will but He has no obligation to do ours.

We had our first warm night last night with humidity of 80%. It is good for the tomatoes but it means two showers for those of us who sweat. The weather apt on my phone is usually right but it was wrong this morning. He gave rain from 3:00 am and through the day but no rain on 1120 Iron Man.

I got some disappointing news late yesterday evening: Doug is taking a church is Hueytown and not coming to the POINT. It’s like the last election: there is a reason, I just don’t know what it is, not for sure. This means GP is looking for a praise and worship leader from 30-45 years of age, who can sing, play instruments, work with a band, pull rabbits out of a hat, and please all five generations. Good luck huh? Seriously, we had a good one and finding another good one is not going to be easy.

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