Jesus' Teaching & Jesus' Power

Well the time is quickly ticking down in our Lord's life as he approaches the end of his life. He's well within the last three months of his life but I think one of the most fascinating lessons to learn from our Lord at this juncture in his life and ministry is that he is although he is aware of how much time he has left and think about that. Jesus knows when he's going to die. He knows the father's time table. He keeps saying it's not the time yet. It's not the father's time. We'll even see when we get to John 11. He says that again. So he knows how much time he has left but there is no sense of panic. He knows that he is within a couple of months maybe of his death but there's no sense of panic. There is no sense that Jesus is rushing to get more done than can possibly be done in the limited time he has left. There's no sense of that. He is calmly almost methodically in the father's will of course progressing with exactly what God has before him each day. And that's a real lesson to learn about life. You know, none of us knows how much time we've got. We may just have one day. We may have three months. We may we may have ten years who knows but the way to live no matter how much time we have is to live each day as though it were our last but not in a panic just living as though this is a day God has put before us and as it unfolds we do what he's put before us to do and that's in the will of the Father and that's exactly the way Jesus is ministering and living even though he knows the time table. You know I think about that a lot as we get to this point in our Lord's life I'm not sure if I knew that three months from today I would die. I'm not sure I would have the same calm approach toward life and ministry that he had. It's just an amazing thing really to that's been impressed on my heart. Well we are in Luke 17 tonight as we trace those final weeks of our Lord's life he he has been sparring with the Pharisees because they're following him even though he's moved away from Jerusalem to get away from some of the intensity of the pressure and heat from the Pharisees they still following around and are trying to attack him and so forth but he has we've seen recently he has again focused on his disciples and he's he's saying to his disciples he's instructing them and it is almost as though he's he's got their attention and he's saying that you keep your head in the game and it's almost as if anybody we would be thinking anybody would be losing focus or panicking it would be him but not him. He's focused on his men exactly what they need to learn and that's what he's focusing on in these these weeks. We ended last week in chapter 16 verse 18 of Luke and I'm not going to do verses 19 through 31 the reason for that is I'm not afraid to do that it's it's on the subject of hell but the next message I will preach in the prophecy series on Sunday morning is on hell and it will probably be I expect to be in this passage so I'm and by the way I'm not going to do that this Sunday this is Mother's Day so I promise I'm not preaching on hell on Mother's Day there are too many you know bad connections that could be made by some of your folks there so I'm not going to do that but the next time then we have a dedication service for the building but then on May 27th I'll be preaching on that subject and I'll probably be using this passage so I don't want to do that tonight let's skip on to chapter 17 where we find Jesus continuing to instruct his disciples and several things he will instruct them about tonight and if we finish those in the first 10 verses we'll skip over to the next event which is the raising of Lazarus in John chapter 11 but Jesus first of all instructs them about influence again notice first one says in chapter 17 Jesus said to his disciples so although there's a huge crowd around although there are Pharisees still dogging his steps Jesus said to his disciples he's focusing on them right now and he says this in the first three verses things that cause people to stumble are bound to come but woe to anyone through whom they come it would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble so watch yourselves we'll stop there at the middle of verse three this is instruction about influence particularly bad influence but Jesus really says three things you notice maybe the breakdown of that he says three things there things that cause people to stumble are bound to come that's the first thing he says and basically what he's saying there he's talking about the reality of sin the reality of sin things that cause people to stumble and the the Greek word there is literally a word which was used for a bait in a trap it was actually the word for the stick that served as the trigger of the trap you know the stick that's that's leaning against something that serves when it is touched as the trigger for the trap so basically the idea here is Jesus is saying things that trigger sin things that set off or lead us or tempt us to sin allurements temptations those kinds of things are bound to come Jesus is realistic to know realistic enough to know that sin is going to happen sin will come we're all sinners we all live in a sinful world of sinful environment with all kinds of temptations and allurements and causes leading towards sin and that's what Jesus is talking about here things that cause people to stumble but the stick that that triggers the trap the allurements and temptations are bound to come that's reality in a fallen world with people who have fallen natures okay so that is bound to happen but Jesus says woe to anyone through whom they come and he moves into a second realm of thought here which is the danger of a bad influence reality of sin yes sin is going to happen as long as we're here in this world we're not gonna overcome it completely although that should be our goal but Jesus now moves into the area of you better not be the one that's the bait or the the stick that sets off the bait you you shouldn't be the one that is the causing the allurement or the temptation don't you dare be the one that leads someone into sin whoa to you if you do cause someone else to fall into sin by our actions and our influence on others we can be the trigger we can be what causes someone else to be pulled towards sin and Jesus says don't do that and he speaks particularly of that kind of an influence on little ones who do you think he's talking about there okay someone said kids someone said immatural levers all right any other ideas that that was quick that's the two things I had written then you got them just just like that wow I think both are in mind in view here obviously little ones would refer to children so let's explore that a little bit Jesus is saying you had better not be the trigger that leads a child into sin that's a very serious thing as parents as teachers as pastors as leaders as role models Jesus is saying you better you better be careful about your influence you know don't be the one who leads a child who sets the kind of pattern for them that would lead them into sin but I think he is also talking about immature believers little ones can also as John said refer to immature believers young believers we have to be careful about our influence there too don't we what do you think in what ways do we need to be careful about our influence on young believers children in the faith they'll believe everything you say okay yeah young young believers are eager to learn and they figure someone has been in the faith longer they know more that they take what you have to say so that kind of influence is very very important okay what other ways go ahead if we're living a lifestyle that's contrary to the Bible then they'll look at us and they go that's okay must be okay they've been a Christian for a long time and they do that or they you know whatever okay good someone else say something over here yes yeah anybody in a position of authority that has responsibility to lead those who are younger in the faith need to make sure that our example is what it should be yeah that's right now is okay yeah yeah sometimes we can throw too much at young believers and overwhelm them and so if to be careful you know leadership any kind of leadership whether it's in family or church or wherever it may be leadership is understanding where people are and starting with where they are and moving them forward leadership is not saying well here's the idea come on get up here you know leadership is is bringing people along knowing where they are and how much they can handle that's a great point that we can sometimes overwhelm people with too much too quickly I'm also thinking in the areas of Christian Liberty you know that in the areas of liberty remember when Paul talks about Christian Liberty in Romans 14 for Corinthians 8 through 10 he talks about those who have weaker consciences about certain activities and so forth and a lot of times young believers are those who are weaker in that way their faith has not yet developed enough they've not yet grown enough in Christ to understand there are some areas of liberty and and so we have to be very careful not to to harm a younger believer with the insistence on our liberty and that can be a very tenuous thing you know because a very delicate thing because young believers need to grow in that area we need to bring them along but to treat them with disdain because they're young believers and may not have developed clear understanding yet of Christian liberty we have to be very careful very careful about that careful about our testimony and if something we do is causing a younger believer to violate his or her conscience it's very thing Paul was talking about Romans 14 you know a lot of people think Romans 14 is all about understanding liberty and flexing my liberty and really the the purpose of Roman 14 is to help us understand when to restrain our liberty so that we don't cause someone else to stumble and so that we need to be very careful about that so the danger of a bad influence Jesus says whoa whoa that's a strong word of judgment whoa to anyone through whom those traps and allurements and temptations come and then notice what he says the third thing in verse two it would be better for them who's the them the bad influence yeah people who are having the bad influence be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck then to cause one of these little ones to stumble so watch yourselves he says now this this is the judgment for a bad influence Jesus is talking here about the judgment for a bad influence he doesn't tell us specifically what that judgment will be but it's pretty bad first of all he says whoa which is a strong word for judgment Jesus will use that word the last week of his life seven times in one conversation of the Pharisees whoa to you whoa to you whoa to you it's a strong message of judgment it's found in the prophets in the Old Testament the woes upon that's God's judgment it's it's strong it's severe and so we don't know exactly what judgment is he doesn't tell us here what it is but it's bad it's bad severe judgment for those who lead children or young believers astray he says in fact it's it's better to suffer a horrible death than to face this kind of judgment he says now to have a millstone tied around your neck and thrown into the sea that's a very graphic picture of a horrible death look at what a millstone looks like this is a millstone two millstones actually but this one is really the millstone this is the stone on which and right here in this cavity where whatever your grinding would be put whether it was grain or whatever it might be grapes or whatever there'd be a horse or a person here that would push this bar which would cause this millstone to go around in a circle and this is the millstone a small millstone would be about 130 pounds they can go up to a thousand pounds if they're large enough so it's a pretty graphic picture isn't it have one of those tied around your neck thrown into the sea the idea is you're going to go to the bottom real quick it's just a graphic picture of a horrible death and Jesus says that would be better than the judgment you'll receive if you cause a little one to stumble look for serious words John the Pharisees yeah the Pharisees yes that is now Jesus is talking to his disciples but the Pharisees were they're shot they're within air shot they can hear what he's saying and now Jesus is warning his disciples that's not the kind of spiritual leader you want to be okay so yeah they're um they think the Pharisees think they're leading people in the right way but they're not they're not okay yes yes yeah that's really that to boil it down is what Jesus is saying it would be better for you to die than to be that kind of an influence on it on a child or young believers life I'd be careful with that but you know the there is repentance and forgiveness and restoration too that's the other option obviously if you find that you've been a bad influence don't immediately take this option don't go looking for a millstone and that's not what Kishti is saying but you but what Jesus is saying be better better off to die than to have that kind of an influence well yeah yeah yeah right yeah certainly by their other influence and example they would teach others to approach holiness the same way that is really public show really what's external yeah serious warning isn't it serious warning serious for us as parents grandparents serious for any of us who have any responsibility for children or for young believers it's very serious okay so instruction about influence is going to the next one and this this is difficult too I mean these are some of the difficult sayings of Jesus that we find in the gospels and this one is no less difficult instruction about forgiveness in verses three and four we stopped in the middle of verse three again Jesus basically says three things first of all if your brother or sister sins against you rebuke them that's the first thing second thing is and if they repent forgive them third thing is even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying I repent you must forgive them hard saying hard saying of Jesus okay let's break it down three things he says the first one if your brother or sister sins against you rebuke them first thing Jesus is saying about forgiveness is that forgiveness is not indifferent it is not indifferent to sin and that needs to be understood right up front I think that's why Jesus says that first forgiveness is not an attitude that anything goes everything's okay doesn't matter what you do that is not what forgiveness means because the very first thing Jesus says about forgiveness is if they sin against you rebuke them that's the first thing we have to maintain standards of righteousness we don't ignore sin we don't treat it with indifference we don't just sweep it under the rug the first step is confrontation rebuke all right that's the first step we must be committed to righteousness first I think some people think that to have a forgiving spirit is to be a spiritual pansy just to have no backbone you know and say well everything's okay you can do anything you want to do to me you know I'm supposed to forgive you no no no wait a second the first thing is confrontation you're wrong this is sin rebuke the person that's the first step okay it's not just a step back and say well anything goes and I just let everything be okay because I'm supposed to forgive you that's not true forgiveness forgiveness is the next step okay any comment or question about that Dallas okay well you you're rebuking the person but you can do that in love with grace and it it is because of their sin you love the person but you are rebuking them for what they've done yeah that mean you don't love them though rebuking can be done in love and with grace and and that will be seen if the person repents then then you forgive you forgive yeah okay the second thing Jesus says then is forgiveness does restore the repentant he says in middle of verse three there in the verse three and if they repent forgive them so when a person truly repents when they turn from their sin turn away from it then we are to forgive we are to to completely forgive them no grudge no no no holding them in the mock of what they've done and holding it over their heads and constantly reminding them of their past failures that's not forgiveness forgiveness means restoration now there may be a need for some time or some work to be done to to deal with the problems that led to the sin okay it's not just like well everything's okay and you're just free to repeat this over and over and over again their forgiveness does not rule out the fact that the person may need help with addressing the behavior or the the attitudes or patterns of thought or whatever it may be that led to the sin in the first place but once they have confessed and turned away from that sin we need to let the blood of Christ do what it does and and forgive them and restore them okay we don't and that's part of what Jesus is going to address next it is not for me to judge whether or not they're truly repented because Jesus is going to say if he comes to you seven times in one day and says I repent you forgiving only God knows the heart now obviously if someone comes to me in seven times in one day we're pinning over the same thing then I've I have a pretty strong feeling the repentance is not genuine but Jesus is saying that's up to God to take care of now remember remember the issue and forgiveness there's a lot a lot that needs to be addressed here the issue and forgiveness is your heart attitude toward the person who's sent okay full restoration of a relationship may not be able to be accomplished may not be able to be made if the person is not genuine in their repentance if they keep going back to the same sin for instance then you may not be able to have full restoration in that case but repentance first of all is is you taking any attitude of grudge or resentment or bitterness away making it possible for the relationship to be restored your mind is cleared and you turn them over to God to deal with that's that's what forgiveness really is and that's why Jesus goes on to say the third thing about forgiveness here and that is forgiveness should be without limit notice what he says in verse four even if they sent against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying I repent you must forgive them is Jesus saying that we're to keep count and the eighth time they're done we can shoot them you know is that what he's saying take away the shoot in part is is that what he's obviously not saying that is he saying okay count seven times and that's the limit is that what he's saying he'll think so I see a lot of head shaking why okay talking about the repetitive nature if this happens seven times in a day again it's not it's not saying count them up and at a certain point you draw the line this this is a this is a figure of speech Jesus is purposely using hyperbole a purposeful exaggeration to get his point across his point is not the number of times a person sends we're not to count we're not to keep record but what Jesus is saying is our attitude is to be whenever a person repents we forgive it is not our place to judge the genuineness of their repentance God handles that because God knows the heart it is possible for a person to commit an offense more than once against you have you ever committed the same offense more than once against God of course you have I have to does God count to seven and then say okay that's it forget it you you talk like that one more time you think that thought one more time you say that that word that that tone of voice one more time that's it no of course he doesn't and so Jesus is not talking about the number of times he's talking about the spirit of the heart of the one who's in a position to forgive we are to have the attitude of unlimited forgiveness now again obviously if someone were to come seven or eight times in one day and say well you know I'm sorry we would have every right to to question the genuineness of their their repentance but that's not Jesus' point here Jesus' point simply is your spirit is to be one of forgiveness let God take care of the genuineness of the heart of the person who's coming you just guard your heart and really that is the key issue in any forgiveness is to guard my heart against any bitterness against that person did you know that the the word for forgiveness one of the words that's used in the New Testament is remission if familiar with that word the word remission means to let go of to release someone so when someone comes and says I repent I'm I'm sorry please forgive me I am to release them I release them to God if they're not genuine God will deal with them but I'm not going to hold grudge bitterness resentment against that person I'm going to release them that's the issue and forgiveness the attitude of my heart I can't control the attitude of the other person sorry I can only control the attitude in my heart and that's what Jesus is driving at you may not be able to trust them based on recurring behavior and for that reason like I said earlier you may not be able to fully restore a relationship you may not be able to entrust them with the same level of commitment or trust if the behavior continues to but you've released them in the sense that you're not holding bitterness or grudge against them and you're letting God take care of that I think Holly had her hand up next and then we'll go to the others that's a that's a that's a great question if you fail at step one if you treat sin indifferently then are you responsible for the bitterness when that sin continues to occur I think in to some degree at least you are if you have not dealt with it it's like it's like it's kind of like rebuking or discipling a child if you let rebellious behavior continue to go and and you're just continuing to boil inside because of what the child's doing you're partly responsible as a parent for the condition of your heart because you didn't deal with it in the first place and I think the same principle applies to relationships outside the family if we have not you know confronted rebuked lovingly and and graciously then if the behavior continues and we get all upset about that then we're probably partly to blame for reaching that level no now there's a there's a delicate balance here I'm thinking of a couple scriptures first Peter three eight is it says love covers a multitude of sins okay there are some things that love can just cover and say I'm not I'm just gonna let that go and and sometimes it's because you're not in position to address it and so so that it doesn't contaminate your spirit you just let it go and you leave it with God but it is possible to rebuk um and do it in a gracious and gentle way and the other passage I'm thinking of is Galatians 6 1 brothers and sisters if someone is caught in a sin you who live by the spirit should restore that person okay that means going to them it means confronting them with what they've done but he says restore them gently but watch yourselves or you may also be tempted and and of course Matthew 18 if your brother sins against you go to him and deal with that he says so it is possible to confront and rebuked but to do it with a gentle spirit you know you don't have to go with both guns blazing and knock their head off you you go in a gentle and gracious spirit and make them aware of some sin or problem or difficulty in your relationship or in their life or whatever but it can be done gently and graciously yes John like yeah that certainly fits certainly fits here yeah proverbs 27 wounds from a friend can be trusted blows from a friend can be trusted open rebuke is better than secret love I think it's proverbs 27 maybe verse 5 somewhere around there that says that open rebuke is better than secret love so yeah it um sometimes it's necessary important and can be done in in the right way to rebuke someone root I think we associate the word rebuke with harshness it doesn't have to be a rebuke can be done graciously and gently and there have been times when people have done that with me there have been plenty more occasions when I could have had that done with me than when it wasn't but there have been times when people came to me very graciously and boy did I ever get the point I mean when someone comes at you with you know boom boom just knocking you down in the dirt then think we have a tendency to become defensive and want to defend ourselves but when someone you can tell is genuinely concerned about you but points out something in your life boy that's when it really sticks at least it does with me so it is I think it's possible to do that and it's more effective to do it that way Steve please don't go through the two A7R okay something that we did to do is not saying which tag uh yeah Yeah. Right. I'm not going to hold this over you. I'm not in position to judge you anymore. My spirit is free. I'm going to move on. And I'm going to move on. I'm going to move on. I'm going to move on. I'm going to move on. I'm going to move on. My spirit is free. And God will take care of you. That's kind of the spirit of this forgiveness. Have we beat this one in the ground enough? That's not the right way to say it. Are we clear on this? Yes. Sure. Great. I mean, say that someone that is really defensive themselves is wrong or taking advantage of. Is it the power to step in and kind of act for that person like a child or a student that doesn't understand? Yeah. Great question. And I think it is. I mean, you go back to the Old Testament prophets and time and time and time again. The prophets pronounced judgment upon the leaders and people who are in a position of ability to deal with justice because they did not help the poor. People who did not have a voice for themselves and they did not come to their defense. And Proverbs, what is it? Proverbs 24, I think, verses 11 and 12. Say something about if you see someone being taken to judgment and you know that they're being mistreated. And you don't say anything. You're in the wrong. God will hold you accountable for that. So yeah, it is important for us to come to the aid of those who do not have the ability to defend themselves. Good point. Okay. Steve? That's okay. To be double or defend. That's a good, a good point. That's a good question. So I'm glad you asked it. If he doesn't repent, are we still to forgive them? And here I would say yes and no. Not to be a good politician. But I would say we have to understand there are two levels of forgiveness. The first level we do, the second level you can't because he hasn't repented. The first level of repentance is that I cleanse my spirit of any holding anything against you. And I will leave you to God for him to judge. But the second level is I cannot restore the relationship because relationship cannot be restored until the person repents. And both parties are willing to reconcile. That's exactly the way God forgives us. God forgives us in the sense that he reconciled the whole world to himself with the cross by making the provision through Jesus' death for the wrath of God to be satisfied for everybody. So that God no longer is turned away from mankind. He has turned his face toward mankind and is willing to receive us. In that sense, he's forgiven everyone. But unless the individual center repents of his sin and turns in faith to Christ, there can be no restoration of the broken relationship. So forgiveness is on two levels. So if the person does not repent, then I'm retreating just like God treats a sinner who never repents. The way has been made possible and I've made the provision. But the relationship cannot be restored until you repent. I think so. On one level we do, one level we don't. And that can be tricky. It can be very tricky. But forgiveness is a difficult issue, isn't it? Lots of nuances and shades to this. Okay, and let me retract my statement about beating it into the ground. This is a subject that that was not the right twist of onwards. We have discussed it thoroughly and it needed to be discussed thoroughly because it's a burning issue. Okay, I'm sure not all the questions have been answered, but we'll move on. I will just mention quickly in the last minute or two, Jesus instruction about faith because I think it's tied to what he's just talked about. The Apostle said to the Lord, increase our faith. Now, they say that because of what Jesus has just taught them. The hard saying is about forgiveness. If someone comes to you in seven times in one day, says, I repent, you'd forgive them. And the Apostle's response is much like ours. Lord, increase our faith. I don't have the faith to do that. We might almost think they would say increase our love or increase our grace or increase our patience. But I think they recognize that to have this kind of forgiving spirit takes faith in God. Okay, because if we're going to release them to God to deal with, we've got to trust that God will take care of everything. And in his time and in his way, certainly in eternity, all the records will be set straight. That takes faith. That takes, you know, if you release it from your hands and you say, I'm not going to try to deal with this anymore. It is not mine to judge this person, then you have to have faith that God will do it. That God will take care of it. So they were asking the right question or making the right statement. Increase our faith. And Jesus' response is, guys, it's not the amount of faith. That's not the issue. He says, if you have faith that's small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and planted in the sea and it will obey you. Jesus' point basically is the kind of faith needed. It's not the amount of faith that is important. And we have a tendency to slip into that same thinking. I just need more faith, more faith, more faith. It's not the amount of faith. It is the object of our faith that's important. If you trust God, God's big enough to handle anything. So the amount, the size, is covered in the person we trust, not in the amount of faith I have. The issue is not how much faith I have. The issue is, am I really trusting God? Am I really releasing it to Him? The object of my faith is the most important thing. So that's a very important lesson in lots of areas. In prayer, in lots of areas. The issue is not, okay, I've got to have more faith, more faith. I just got to trust more. I need to trust God. That's what I need to trust. I need to trust in myself. I need to trust the level of faith I have. I need to trust in my prayers. I need to trust God. In other words, I need to rest in Him and have complete reliance and dependence on Him, recognizing who He is and recognizing that He is trustworthy. And if I have faith, the size of a mustard seed, but it's faith in God, I'm trusting Him, with all of my doubts and insecurities and so forth, my faith is well placed. Times up and Oana is over and we need to go. So let's pray. Father, thank you for our Lord dealing with such difficult issues when He could have been thinking about His own life and how I feel. I feel like I've been thinking about Him in life and how short the time He had, but He's teaching His disciples issues that we still struggle with today and grapple with all the ramifications of what He said. And Lord, I know that they did too. They grappled with it. And I pray, Father, that you would help us to go over these hard sayings of Jesus, these teachings of Jesus. To the point they become, they become the very fabric of our minds and hearts and lives that we begin learning how to live them out. Help us not to be the reason why anyone would stumble into sin, help us to keep our testimony pure. And I pray, Father, that we would also learn how to forgive, how to release people to you in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.