Entitlement Vs. Rescue

Two of my friends, Dave and Anne had one of the mother of all marital disagreements. And of course both were convinced they were right. Dave is a pastor of what is a storefront church. It’s sort of like a strip mall. And so there’s not a lot of parking right in front of the entrance. And Dave has made a policy that you all staff members will park as far away from the church, the entrance as we can. So that first time guests or or members who need a little extra help can park very close by. And one morning Anne was getting their three young boys ready. It was one of those difficult mornings. She was leaving late. She thought, I’m gonna show up late, which is the pastor’s wife she doesn’t like to do, but by some miracle of God, at least in Anne’s mind, there was this open parking space right in front of the church door she sees, says Kids look at this gift from Jesus. And she happily parked her car and she was so happy until she saw her husband who said, you can’t park there. She goes, why do you wanna take away my gift from Jesus? She said, that’s not a gift from Jesus. That’s a temptation from Satan. I tell the whole staff, we can’t park close. I can’t have my wife park right in front of the church. People are gonna see that. What are they gonna think? She goes, I just don’t know why you won’t let me accept the gift from Jesus.

What do you think? Was it a gift from Jesus? Was it a temptation from Satan? I’m gonna give you my answer in about 25 minutes. But when we come up to questions like that, how do we know? How do we search out our motivations? How do we go through competing issues? One question is convinced this is right. The other one says, no, that is definitely wrong. There’s actually something in scripture that talks about we need to go through an intentional spiritual development that’s largely mental. If we don’t cooperate with this, if we don’t initiate the process, we really won’t be able to determine on situations like that what God’s will is. We’re starting a new series called Loss where we’re trying to help us understand the way we should look at these issues. It begins with Romans chapter 12 verse two. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transform by the renewing of your mind then and only then you’ll be able to test and approve what God’s will is his good pleasing and perfect will.

So there are some things that all of us think they’re just not true. There are motivations we have that lead us astray and we’re convinced they’re right. But what if they’re not? What if they’re wrong? Have you ever been in a situation where what’s wrong feels so right? I’m very directionally challenged. I would be almost hopeless without my maps app on my phone. My wife is the opposite. And when we first moved here to Colorado, just little under two years ago, when I would go from the airport and it was a busy time, I would take the toll road, which would drop me off on another highway and immediately I had to exit. And one exit was left Colorado Springs and one was I 25 North Denver. I don’t know much about directions, but I know I live south of Denver so that it can’t be right to go left.

And so of course I go left. And of course that was wrong as my app frequently reminds me, no rerouting, it took another six or seven minutes, said, well, okay, next time again, I’m on my own. I’m coming across the same thing. Gary, remember you did this wrong last time. Think it through. Okay, right? I I live south of Denver. It’s gotta be, it’s gotta be left. I know it’s, it’s gotta be wrong. I’m not kidding. I, I did it twice in a row. I made the wrong choice because I’m an idiot when it comes to directions and then traveled a bunch of times with my wife. And if it’s not busy, we’ll often take 2 25 home from the airport and of course off 2 25 to get to our house makes no sense to me. You take 25 south I 25 south. And so I did that three or four times until a third time I’m on my own off the tollway.

And sure enough, I did it again. It felt so right and it was so wrong. Now, if my wife is with me who is not directionally challenged, she’s great with direction, she knows that she’ll tell me Now, Gary, remember you go north, but we live south. I know, but it’s just one exit. And then you take, I then you take the old dry Creek road trail and and there it is. And and she’s right. And Paul says the same thing in life that sometimes things feel right. But I’ve gotta trust the apostle Paul as much as I trust my wife for directions. He says, don’t conform to the patterns of this world. There’s a whole force of the world it’s trying to conform. You go this way, believe this, care about this, be motivated by that. And if we don’t think our way through it because the power of this world is the power of blind obedience.

Everybody thinks that everybody does that. Everybody feels that we will just become just like the world. And Paul is saying, you’re not to be like the world. God has a history of calling his people to be an entirely different kind of people to think differently. It goes all the way back to Leviticus 18 three. God has just set as Israel free. He says, you must not do as they do in Egypt where you used to live and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you, do not follow their practices. See, we often like to talk about how messed up the US is on what it believes now in our culture and all of that. But God is saying to Israel, don’t look at the culture. You came from Egypt. They were wrong. Don’t absorb the culture you’re going to Canaan.

They were wrong. My people are different. And Jesus doubled down on this. He was talking to disciples, warning them about the false teaching of the Pharisees and the pagans. You, you can be misled by religious leaders and misled by people who don’t believe in God at all. Matthew six, eight do not be like them. And so this series is lost. Is this about figuring out what are the wrong thoughts that we hold? What are the wrong motivations? How do we reject them so that we can have new life? We have to think our way past them because sloppy thinking leads to sloppy living. Sometimes it even leads to evil living.

When you think wrong, you live wrong and you get lost. We wanna help ourselves through scripture, understand what it means to be found. The first mindset we’re going to reject, we’re gonna look at this week is a mindset that all of us grow up with. It is so rooted in me. It takes so much thinking and worship and pursuing God to get rid of it. And that is an entitlement attitude. All of us grow up entitled the biblical attitude to be transformed, become people of active worshiping is to have a rescued mentality. Now, where does entitlement thinking come, come from? It comes first from really not understanding what scripture says is true about human life and what we should expect uh, in this world. Here’s what the Bible says. We can’t expect our sin separates us from God. Isaiah 59, 2. Because of that, we deserve the wrath of God.

Romans one 18. We live in a fallen world where relationships will be hard. We we talk about Dave and Ann, this is Adam and Eve. God said the result of your sin is there’s gonna be difficulty and tension in your marriage. The struggle against sin will be fierce and ongoing. Romans seven 15, the non-believing world will persecute us. John 1518 our bodies will get sick and if Jesus doesn’t return, we’ll experience physical death. One Corinthians 1542 to 45, this is what the Bible says we can expect about life. And Jesus doubles down on that. Remember in six John 1633, he said this, in this world, you read this word with me, will have trouble take heart. I have overcome the world. Now this is a promise. I’ve never seen it on a refrigerator magnet in somebody’s kitchen. Jesus has promised me I’ll have trouble. I haven’t had enough trouble yet.

But God by faith I claim that I’m gonna have trouble ’cause you said I would. But this is as clear a promise as you’ll find Jesus said in this world you will have trouble, but you don’t have to live a second of it without me next to you. So what should we expect as Christians? Life will be really, really hard and Christ offers to walk with us every second of every day He will walk with us. In fact, when the Apostle Paul talks about what we can expect in this Christian life, he actually sets the bar pretty low. If you wanna talk about entitlement thinking, first Timothy six eight. Paul says this, if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. With what? Food and clothing.

Do any of us feel that way? Do any of us feel that we are fulfilled, that God has done his share? If all we really have to, our name is our food and clothing, this is a verse that I see very, very few Christians really practicing or believing. We want food and clothing and unbroken health. We don’t even wanna go through a period of convalescence or food and clothing and this kind of house or that kind of house or this kind of family or this kind of affluence or this kind of job. We add to one Timothy six, eight more than you could imagine. And I would like to suggest the degree to which you add to one Timothy six eight food and clothing is the degree you raise, the level of entitlement, the degree to which you deny John 1633. In this world, you will have trouble if you don’t think Jesus was serious.

To the degree that you doubt Jesus, that’s the degree that you raise your level of entitlement from the Bible’s view, life is hard and disappointing. And this world is hostile even if you believe in Jesus. In fact, I would say especially if you believe in Jesus. But here’s the amazing counter truth. When we accept the world, as God tells us that it is, we can actually become happier. Because when entitlement drops, happiness rises. Doesn’t seem like it’s that way, but I want this line to stick with you. So read it with me. When entitlement drops, happiness rises. Tough things will happen to all of us regardless of whether we have a rescued mentality or an entitle mentality. But the entitlement mentality when tough things happens is this. Why God, how dare you let this happen to me? The rescued mentality, in a minute I’ll just explain how we get to the rescued mentality says this, God treats me better than I deserve.

Entitlement mentality is marked by somebody who, let’s say they’re 35 and single and they don’t want to be single and they look in the mirror and they say, Hey God, I I think I look better than most of these people that are getting married. I’m in better shape. I’m better off financially. I can hold the conversation and God I did everything right. I saved myself for my spouse. I I I’m trying to do all the right things and be on the right places. How come you haven’t brought me somebody who could be my life partner? How come you haven’t done your part? I’ve certainly done mine. Or parents who say, God, we we raised our kids to follow you. We we taught ’em the Bible stories, we brought ’em to church. They knew the gospel, but they’re not following you. Your word says train ’em up in the way they should go.

Well we did our part. You haven’t done yours ’cause our kids certainly aren’t following you. Or I should enjoy my job. It’s important I see everybody, they they love their job, they’re challenged by their job. Well my job does provide food and clothing. That’s not enough. I want a job that provides challenge and excitement. God, why won’t you get me a better job for this? I’ve seen this a lot. I should be able to spend everything I own. In fact, I should be able to spend more than I own. Run up credit card debt, not save for emergencies or retirement because God you said you’ll provide for me and now I got the collectors calling and I’ve got a lot of bills. And Lord, why won’t you answer my prayers to miraculously deliver us from this terrible situation. I’ve even seen people blame God for their sin. Entitlement management. God I should be able to drive, drink and drive and not get a DUI ’cause I don’t do it very often. I wasn’t really that drunk and, and and I just, I just got the better of me. God couldn’t you just blind the police officer? Couldn’t you just once gimme a pass. Why do I have to go through this house? So why do I have to have this on my record?

All of this is

Entitlement thinking and it’s about the worst attitude that a Christian can have. We need to exchange it for people who are rescued, who believe that God treats us better than we deserve. And why do I keep saying that? That God treats us better than we deserve. I think one of the great challenges in Christian life to maintain a life of worship, to maintain a life of happiness is we can’t forget the depths to which our sin has lowered us. The harm we’ve done, the offense we have been to God. Because then we are blinded to the heights and the graciousness and the and and the amazing quality of God’s grace and mercy. God didn’t just forgive us for jaywalking. Yeah there might be a log against, come on, everybody does it. He didn’t just forgive us for driving six miles over the speed limit. Technically that’s breaking the law.

But is it really that big of a deal? We have to remember just what God forgave us for. John Calvin does this, his magisterial work the institutes. And he says, we must tell ourselves, we must tell each other. We must constantly remind ourselves of what our spiritual condition was before Christ saved us. Or we’ll never thank God appropriately for all that he’s done. Here’s what he says. Scripture teaches that we are estranged from God through sin, heirs of wrath, subject to the cause of eternal death. Excluded from all hope of salvation. There’s nothing we can do on our own beyond every blessing of God. The slave of Satan captive under the yoke of sin destined finally for a dreadful destruction and already involved in it. I could back up every phrase with the scripture. We don’t have time to go through all of that. But don’t we kind of know this is true?

Haven’t we felt like what it feels to be a slave to sin? Haven’t we known we have offended God? Don’t we really know there is no hope? And when we admit our situation, how dire it is, then we can understand how incredible the rescue has been on our behalf. ’cause here’s what John says after this, but Christ interceded as our advocate. What if he had said, I’ve proven that you’re gone and he’s gonna stamp us down rather than save us. No, he came to be our advocate. He took upon himself and suffered the punishment that from God’s righteous judgment threatened to all sinners. We couldn’t, our punishment still wouldn’t take away our sin. He purged with his blood, those evils which had rendered sinners hateful to God that by this expiation he made satisfaction and sacrifice duly to God the Father, that as intercessor he has appeased God’s wrath that on this foundation rest the peace of God with men and only this foundation that by this bond his benevolence is maintained toward them.

You see, I love this maintained. It’s not just that I need to be forgiven for my past sins. I dunno about you. I need to be forgiven every day. So Jesus not only forgave me, he keeps forgiving me. He not only rescued me, he keeps rescuing me. Will we not then be even more moved by all these things which so vividly portray the greatness of the calamity from which we have then rescued? I know this is a lot of theological and some weird words and whatnot. So if, if you’ve kind of fallen asleep in the midst of it, let me explain it in a very simple way that we all can understand John Calvin is saying, I’m a mess in a mess. Can you believe that? Can you say that with me? Say it with me. I’m a mess. In a mess. God recognizes that.

He says, you know what? But you’re precious to me. I will adopt you. I will forgive you. I will save you. You were hopeless on your own, but you’re not alone. You’re not on your own through me. You can be saved and receive grace and salvation. Downplaying what we’ve been rescued from. It’s not to make people feel bad about themselves, it’s to make ’em feel exultant about God, grateful to God in wonder of what God has done. That he hasn’t left us where we are. But we will never understand ourselves. We will never understand God. We won’t maintain worship if we forget that we have been rescued. And that covers everything else that happens to us. And here’s the surprise, first Timothy, six, eight Christians, those who really believe that after all God has done that, if I have food and clothing, I will be content with that.

They’re the happiest people on the planet. ’cause if they ever get a little bit more than that, they’re like, surprise. I can’t believe it. I have food and clothing and, and I get to be married or I get to live in this house. Or I get to have a job that I sort of kind of like. And, and it seems like a bit of an addition when they’re not a first Timothy, these six eight Christian, they want not only all of this salvation, not only all that God gives, they want everything else. And if they get 80% of it, they feel like they’re cheated. That God hasn’t given them all that they think they deserve. I’ve even seen people get bitter over God because of the sin of others. They forget that life’s gonna be hostile toward us. Let, let, let me be honest ’cause I’ve worked in marriage ministry for 30 years. God doesn’t promise me that my spouse will be faithful.

He promises me that he will be faithful. God doesn’t promise me that my boss will be fair or that my kids will be grateful. He promises me that he will reward those who seek him. And it’s so key to have that. Because what happens is with an entitlement mindset, Satan uses the sin of others to turn you away from a loving perfect God so that you blame God for what others do. Now I’ll admit I would’ve been offended at one point in my life if you had told me I’d been entitled. It sounds so awful. And I like to say others are entitled something we talk about. But you know, it’s just kind of passive. It’s latent in our life, isn’t it? Something happens where we just have a really tough season. Things don’t turn out just the way we won. We’re like, God, is that really fair? I mean, I’m serving you. I I give you money all the time. I’m, I’m focused on you. Can’t you do your part here? And as soon as I hear those words your part, that’s where I know entitlement has taken root in my mind.

’cause here’s the biblical view. When Christ died and rose again and sent his Holy Spirit, he did his part. It was done. It is finished. Literally everything else is gravy. I’ve been rescued from not just a terrible fate, an eternal, terrible fate. What more must God do to prove his love to us? What more must he do to show he has given us more than we have deserved? The Bible implores us to view Jesus as our rescuer. Look at these verses. Colossians one 13 through 14, for he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the sunny loves in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Romans, what a wretched man Paul, he understood. I, I don’t do what I wanna do. I do what I don’t wanna do. I just, I know I don’t live up to it. I need someone to help me who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death. Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord. Or to the Galatians, grace and peace

To you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Can we go to seminary for three minutes? I, we don’t like to get too technical and I, I know this isn’t that fun of a sermon. It’s asking a lot, but we’re trying to change our mind. So let me just take you to seminary for three minutes to explain how important this rescue is in the western branch of the church. When they look at what Jesus did on the cross, what we use the word atonement. How do we describe it? The word they use is this penal substitutionary atonement. What that means is that Christ paid the ransom for our sin and rebellion. He was punished in our place so that we could be forgiven.

Christ died because we were guilty. God needed a ransom. Jesus said, all become that ransom and we’re forgiven because Jesus absorbed the father’s wrath that should have fallen on us. I believe this to be true. This is a, a big component of most evangelicals would say, this explains the atonement why Jesus had to die. Many scriptures, including some directly spoken by Jesus speak of this as true. But in the 11th century there was what was called the great schism. The eastern branch of the church broke off from the western branch. Um, part of it was a fight about papal authority from Rome and other things we won’t get into. But they developed not theological emphasis that took on a different hue. And the way in the eastern branch of the church, they would describe the importance of the atonement. Why Jesus died on the cross was entitled Christus Victor, which means Jesus’ death and resurrection triumphed over the powers of evil including sin, death, and the devil. In other words, in the Eastern view, we were helpless. We couldn’t say no to sin, we were enslaved to it. We were imprisoned by death. And Satan and Jesus died and rose from the dead to set us free. So that he is the victor more than they focus on him being the ransom. And so theologians will fight about these two views ’cause it sells a lot of books and it keeps theologians employed. Can I say something that might seem a little bit radical?

Aren’t both true? Yes. Aren’t there scriptures that speak of both? Isn’t Jesus’ work on the cross so big that we could recognize? Yeah, I was guilty, I needed someone to step in penal, substitutionary gentleman. I believe that. But can I also believe there are scriptures that saying I didn’t have a chance

If Jesus wasn’t my victor. I was born defeated. Because I think there are a lot of scriptures that speak of that as well. In Romans three, nine, Paul says that we are all under, all under the power of sin. Romans 7, 4 14, we are sold into slavery under sin. Galatians 3 22, the scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin so that we receive God’s promise of freedom. This word is so key. If you’re new to the faith, only by believing in Jesus Christ, not by trying to be a good person, not by following another religion or God. The only place, the only person who died for our sins. The only person who can rescue us is Jesus Christ. And he has done that. So I think I can know both. I can believe both. I am guilty. I need a ransom. But I also need a victorious one who will defeat the power of sin that I know I never could have defeated on my own.

I have been rescued. I don’t deserve grace. I don’t deserve forgiveness. I don’t deserve the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus has given me that will convict me, that will comfort me, that will open up the truth of the scriptures. I don’t deserve the scriptures. They’re this brilliant work of insight. They give me life and point me in a new direction. I don’t deserve the church that Jesus calls me into a fellowship with brothers and sisters who encourage me and walk with me. I don’t deserve any of that. But God has given me all of that having given me all of that Dare I say, God, that’s not enough. If you really want me to believe that you love me, I just need a little bit more. See, that’s entitlement thinking and it perverts and distorts. The way you look at life yourself and God, if you think that you are entitled to all that God has done, is if it’s not that big a deal and everything the world offers affluence a great reputation, unbroken health, even if you get sick, it shouldn’t be that sick or that bad, then you feel like God isn’t doing his part.

Rescued thinking is God has already done more than I could imagine, more than I could ever deserve. And if he gives me anything else, he has been so gracious and kind to me. Because what you think you deserve sets the standard for your happiness. It works. How happy are you? First question I have to ask is, what do you think you deserve? That will determine how happy you are. When we look at life through the lens of the gospel, we were hopeless. We were enemies of God, deserving of his wrath and he saved us. Then entitlement is obliterated and we feel rescued and worship God. And here’s the surprising thing that happens when entitlement drops, happiness rises ’cause we’re grateful for all the extra that’s added in instead of bitter about all the rest that hasn’t happened. Tough seasons will happen regardless of what you think about them.

But how you think about them determines your level of joy as a pastor, one of my primary calls is to keep reminding us of Psalm 17, seven. So look at this. Show me the wonders of your great love. You know who said this? It was a psalm of David, David whose father so disrespected him. He thought God can’t have a special call on David, not even gonna bring him in front of the prophet David whose wife ridiculed him for worshiping God. A little too enthusiastically. David, whose son rejected his kingship, took over his kingdom and then tried to have him hunted down and killed. All of his earthy relationships had abandoned him. But David knew the secret was, God, show me the wonders of your great love. My mind isn’t big enough. My heart isn’t large enough to contain how wondrous this great love is.

We have to live out of this because we can’t love others if we don’t. One John four 19 says, we love why, because he first loved us. If I forget that God has loved me with a wondrous and great love, I can’t love you. I can’t even love my family. And when I find as a pastor, when people are bitter at God or angry at God, I’m not gonna say a hundred percent of the time. I will say 90% of the time it comes down to entitlement thinking. They think God hasn’t done his part. They’re not one Timothy six, eight Christians. They think that God really hasn’t rescued him. They really weren’t that bad and God really hasn’t done all that he could do. And it turns them against God and it makes them bitter against God. Instead of worshiping God. See the entitled Christian praise God, why won’t you answer all of my prayers just the way I want you to answer them. The rescued Christian praise. This sounds shocking to some of you. God, how come I’m not in hell when I think that’s what I deserve? And you’ve given me so much more. I’ll spend every waking hour worshiping you. And when we do that, when entitlement drops, happiness rises and we believe we’ve been rescued. So let me wrap this up with the question I said I would answer at the start. Was Ann’s parking spot a gift from Jesus or a temptation from Satan? What do you think?

I think it was a gift from Jesus. I get why her husband, the pastor thinks I wanna set a good example. I want to be a man of integrity. Sure, I get that. But I wanna look at it not through how others view her, but how God views the situation. A younger mother with three small kids having to get ’em ready because her pastor, her husband is a pastor having to open up the church. She had a harried morning and by some miracle, here’s a spot right in front of the church. So she’s actually gonna walk in on time. If you believe in a God who shows us the wonders of his great love, doesn’t it seem like that’s what he’s doing? Yes. Doesn’t it seem like that’s just how he is salvation? And then he gives us even this. Now you might disagree with that, but what we wanna do in this series is to recognize when we discuss these things, we wanna get to the heart of the motivations. We wanna think hard. Okay? This is what the world values, reputation, fame, numbers, all of these things. Is that what God values? How do we look at all these components of life through the lens of scripture so that we are not conformed to the pattern of this world which will get us lost, but how we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds? So I hope you continue to join us as we go through some more different thinking mindsets to understand that.