"Prepping Us for the Road Ahead"
Luke 17:1-10
A sermon for 5/14/23 – Sixth Sunday of Easter
Pastor John Bright
Luke 17 “1 Jesus said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. 4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 So the Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
7 “Would any one of you say to your slave who comes in from the field after plowing or shepherding sheep, ‘Come at once and sit down for a meal’? 8 Won’t the master instead say to him, ‘Get my dinner ready, and make yourself ready to serve me while I eat and drink. Then you may eat and drink’? 9 He won’t thank the slave because he did what he was told, will he? 10 So you too, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, ‘We are slaves undeserving of special praise; we have only done what was our duty.” New English Translation
Pause right there. Why are you listening to this? Do you want to become more like Jesus? The power of the Holy Spirit is available to you right now – right here! Do you want to become more like Jesus? It’s a question only you can answer.
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Today, we are celebrating Mothers, not because every woman is a mother, but because every one of us has a mother. Some are still living and others have gone on to glory. In the Bible, mothers were very important. John Piper wrote this – “There is that wonderful story of Lois and Eunice in 2 Timothy where Paul says to this young man, “Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it” (2 Timothy 3:14). And who is that? Paul already mentioned this in 2 Timothy 1:5 when he said, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well” (2 Timothy 1:5).”
“We know from Acts that his father wasn’t converted. He was a Greek, and he wasn’t a Christian. It appears that Paul chose as part of his missionary band a young, and I think we would say timid man, who had been almost entirely schooled by his mother and his grandmother. I think that should raise the stakes of a mom, a single mom or grandmother in particular.” https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/a-mothers-role-in-raising-boys
I have to agree. The very things that mothers give to their children to prepare them for the future are the building blocks of discipleship. Mothers are in the business of making future adults. The church is in the business of making disciples that, in the future, continue to make disciples.
Teaching right from wrong, v. 1-3a
“1 Jesus said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 Watch yourselves!”
Jesus’ teaching on discipleship begins with a warning – do not lead others into sin. In the church, we teach the Word of God because it is the path to righteous living. This is what we call holiness of heart and life. Parent’s need the same teaching in the house.
As a mother, you start off with a little baby that is completely dependent on you for his or her needs. Then comes the day the baby becomes a toddler and a new child emerges. When I am teaching on prayer and let folks know that God can and will answer prayer with a “NO,” I usually remind that that everyone who has raised a toddler is well aware that “NO” is a good answer.😊
In our children, we are reminded that every person is born with a Sin nature (big S) and we are charged to teach them what is right. Mothers can start early by reading Bible stories and teaching Biblical virtues like mercy and sharing with others. Mom, you keep that up until your children accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Then, you keep on teaching – especially by the way you live your life. Mom, are you a good example of a Believer for the children, or do you use the old cope out – “Do what I say, not what I do”?
There is an old story that mothers would do well to remember as they keep teaching right from wrong – “One evening, an elderly Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside each of us. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you—and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one that you feed the most.”
Teaching forgiveness, v. 3b-5
“If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. 4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
When my children were young, we started something that I read about in a Christian Parenting magazine – can’t remember which one. Everyone in the house had the freedom to repent. That included children and parents. Anyone could say, “I made a mistake” or “I messed up” or “I was wrong.” Everyone else spoke words of forgiveness – “It’s ok, I forgive you.” That was supposed to be the end of it. My children have all told me it was hard to admit the wrong, but each one loved to hear “I forgive you.”
When children are taught to forgive, they are given the key that God has given us for peace and joy in this life. We pray it every Sunday – “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Matthew 6:12 It is put another way in Mark 11:25 “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Paul also wrote about forgiveness giving instruction for the Early Church - Colossians 3:13 “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” And Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Forgiveness is what we need from God and forgiveness is what others need from us, but really, it’s all about us. Holding onto unforgiveness can cause physical, emotional, and spiritual problems. Unforgiveness has been described as “drinking poison and expecting it to hurt the other person.” Moms, you can teach your children the same forgiveness practice that we teach to adults.
• If you can forgive someone as soon as it happens – that’s the best
• If the hurt feelings are there from the past – make a written list of who hurt you
• Then, for each name, pray “Lord, I choose to forgive __________________________(name) for ___________________(what they did to me) because it made me feel______________. Amen”
• Pray that prayer for each name, every day, until the hurt feelings no longer bother you.
I have seen lives radically transformed as folks learn to walk in total forgiveness. They have peace and joy. Moms, don’t you want the same for your children?
In our Beginner’s Prayer Class, we talked about forgiveness in the very first meeting. Why? In Matthew 18, the Unforgiving Servant is taken from the presence of the master to be tortured. When there is known sin in the life of a Believer, it creates a barrier to closeness and communion with God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Lynn and I wanted our children to know the blessing of James 4:8 – “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” That’s why we wanted them to practice forgiveness from an early age.
Teaching faith, v. 5-6
“5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 So the Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
Let me say, I don’t believe Jesus is talking about an amount of faith, but rather the presence of true faith. Faith is a basic element of our Christianity. We need to trust that God can make a way where there is no way – like through the Red Sea – but I also have to trust God will do what’s best. My faith is in God who has already proved that He is for me and willing to help me. Sometimes the help I need is NOT what I want. Faith is about accepting that reality.
It is a simple act of faith to pray for your children, mothers. Let me share one story of a praying mother with you – “She went to her room alone and turned the key in the door, to plead with God for her son’s salvation, and resolving not to leave that spot until her prayers were answered. She stayed on her knees until her heart flooded with a joyful assurance that her prayers were heard, and answered.”
“This is the prayer of a mother for the salvation of her only son one Saturday afternoon in 1849. Later that day her son told her that he had become a Christian. His name was Hudson Taylor, one of the great missionary leaders of all time. He spent 51 years in China, founding the China Inland Mission. He trained and sent well over a thousand gospel missionaries to China, and personally brought countless thousands of Chinese people to Christ.” https://www.fjm.org/daily-devotional/hudson-taylors-praying-mother
Teaching service v. 7-10
7 “Would any one of you say to your slave who comes in from the field after plowing or shepherding sheep, ‘Come at once and sit down for a meal’? 8 Won’t the master instead say to him, ‘Get my dinner ready, and make yourself ready to serve me while I eat and drink. Then you may eat and drink’? 9 He won’t thank the slave because he did what he was told, will he? 10 So you too, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, ‘We are slaves undeserving of special praise; we have only done what was our duty.”
This mini-parable reminds us that serving God, for the Believer, is not optional. Our mothers teach us about serving through their lives and how they cared for their families. Moms – we know you have a tough job and you deserve to be celebrated on this second Sunday in May. Most of the year, there’s no celebration for washing clothes and cleaning the kitchen. You complete these needed duties, not for the praise, but rather because they need doing. Thanks!
There are so many ways God calls us to serve and disciples are the ones that step up to serve. If you were raised in the church, you saw moms and grandmothers and other women who kept the doors of the church open by their selfless service. It wasn’t easy but they did what needed to get done. Mothers today can remember those women who came before them – serving family and God. They can pray for their children as an act of faith - believing each one will be saved. They can walk in forgiveness – drawing near to God. Finally, mothers can set the right example of holding on to what is good and rejecting what is wrong in our world.
Moms, keep up the good work! You are needed and appreciated! Amen.
