Dakota Community Church
May 3, 2009
Better a Millstone II
Luke 17:1-10
Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves.
"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ’I repent,’ forgive him."
The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ’Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ’Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather say, ’Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ’We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ "
Quick Review:
A.) Sin happens
Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come…
i. Can you name anything that happens that “causes” you to sin?
ii. Have you ever been the tempter?
"Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
Last week I mentioned a concept that is growing in popularity these days that everyone will be saved, that there is no eternal consequence for sin, and certainly there is no hell. We looked at the parable of the rich man and Lazarus as an example of Christ’s teaching on the subject:
Luke 16:19-31 (Rich man & Beggar)
"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
I wanted to add a few actual passages this week for you to look at on this subject.
Matthew 25:11-12 (Ten Virgins)
"Later the others also came.’Sir! Sir!’ they said. ’Open the door for us!’
"But he replied, ’I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’
Matthew 25:30 (Talents)
And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 25:41, 46 (Sheep & Goats)
"Then he will say to those on his left, ’Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Matthew 24:50-51 (Day of the Lord)
The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:30 (Wheat & Tares)
Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ "
Matthew 13:48-50 (Fish in the Net)
When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 22:11-13 (Wedding Banquet)
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ’Friend,’ he asked, ’how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
"Then the king told the attendants, ’Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 23:33 (Seven Woes)
"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
Matthew 7:13 (Narrow Gate)
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Revelation 20:15 (Final Judgment)
If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Just a couple more from the apostles:
Hebrews 2:1-3
We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?
Hebrews 12:25-29
See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."
Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in July of 1741 but I fear we have become a generation that has allowed God to fall into the hands of angry sinners because we have abandoned the truth for a more inclusive but false gospel.
"Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
So watch yourselves.
This is the connecting sentence between two thoughts;
Jesus first talks about sin and consequences, tells them to watch themselves and then launches into a discussion about forgiving others.
Why would He connect these two ideas?
Sin happens; it has serious consequences, in order to avoid them we need forgiveness
– SO –
we need to be forgiving of others.
B.) Our approach to others in light of “A”
"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ’I repent,’ forgive him."
We always want to deal with minimums don’t we?
Peter says, “How many times must I forgive, up to seven?”
The religious leader asks, “Who is my neighbor?”
As a youth pastor I must have been asked the “How far is too far?” question 1000 times but young dating couples.
We are caught up in thinking about the cost to us instead of the huge debt we owe.
Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
How much easier it is when we approach others in the light of our own need.
When our need of forgiveness brings us to humility in dealing with others.
Matthew 18:32-35
’You wicked servant,’ he said, ’I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
How big a problem is pride?
C.S. Lewis calls it the “chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.”
A Year with C. S. Lewis – March 28 – Point of Contact
"We must not think Pride is something God forbids because He is offended at it, or that Humility is something He demands as due to His own dignity - as if God Himself was proud.
He is not in the least worried about His dignity.
The point is, He wants you to know Him: wants to give you Himself.
And He and you are two things of such a kind that if you really get into any kind of touch with Him you will, in fact, be humble- delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for once got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life.
He is trying to make you humble in order to make this moment possible: trying to take off a lot of silly, ugly, fancy-dress in which we have all got ourselves up and are strutting about like the little idiots we are.
I wish I had got a bit further with humility myself: if I had, I could probably tell you more about the relief, the comfort, of taking the fancy-dress off - getting rid of the false self, with all its ’Look at me’ and ’Aren’t I a good boy?’ and all its posing and posturing.
To get even near it, even for a moment, is like a drink of cold water to a man in a desert."
- from Mere Christianity
The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
When the disciples hear this one they want to lay it back on God.
Which brings me to the final thoughts on this passage from Luke 17:1-10:
C.) Our approach to God in light of “A”
He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ’Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
First he sets them straight about the faith issue, you don’t need more from me, you just need to use what you have.
Then He deals with the trying to pass the buck to God on this whole thing.
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ’Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather say, ’Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ’We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ "
In light of our sin … in light of God’s wrath … in light of Jesus’ sacrifice… whenever we obey and do anything… we are unworthy servants doing only our duty.
PowerPoint available (Free of charge) on request dcormie@mts.net
