No Pick and Choose • Luke 17:1-10

59:11 Teaching begins

Notes

Have you ever thought, it’s not practical to follow Jesus? You hear Him command something and think, “That’s too much! I don’t know if I want to do that. I don’t know if I can do that.”

If you believe in Jesus you’ve already obeyed Him one time and done something you didn’t want to do: you turned to Him and believed that He died for your sins. You found that He helped you and took your sins away.

Being Jesus’ disciple means that you take that little tiny beginning and live your whole life like that.

As you hear and obey, He enables you. As you disobey, you are on your own.

I’m reading in Luke 17 from verse one.

1. Jesus warns His disciples to avoid stumbling blocks.

A. A stumbling block is an Old Testament idea, a hidden trap that leads a person into sin against God.

1. It’s a temptation competing for your obedience that should belong to God only.

2.  Like a trap, it’s hidden, not obvious, looks harmless until it suddenly snaps shut. Then you stumble, you can’t remain upright, you fall, maybe never to become upright ever again.

3. You can’t afford to stumble, get up, stumble, get up. Jesus commands to walk carefully.

B. Jesus has just said, “You cannot serve God and Mammon.” Money and riches are a stumbling block in the Old Testament, money is the answer to everything. Whatever you obey instead of God is a stumbling block. It’s idolatry, serving the creation rather than the Creator.

C. Interesting that Jesus shows stumbling blocks come through people.

1. Deuteronomy 13:6-8 If your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him.

2. Someone is an influencer. That’s why online media is subtle: someone influences you to think in a certain way. The whole video is an advert, turning your attention to focus on what they want you to think about, because then you think about buying it or doing it for yourself.

D. Woe to these people who are attempting to ensnare others and make them fall. Just know that nobody gets away with anything. God sees everything, knows everything. You think being drowned with a 200 pound millstone around your neck would be gruesome, that’s better than what is going to happen to those who cause people to stumble. Eternal punishment is what they deserve.

E. You do not want to lead people into sin. Don’t be an influencer for sin.

2. Stumbling blocks can’t trip you when you see them. So be on guard.

A. Jesus says stumbling blocks are inevitable. They’re all around you.

1. To think you’re going to have a smooth life without temptations is wishful thinking.

2. The problem is not just influencers, it’s that this is a fallen world controlled by spiritual forces of wickedness. As long as you live you will be attacked and ambushed when you least expect it. So you are to prepare for it and not be surprised as though something exceptional was happening to you.

3. This world is not a playground, it is a battlefield. You are a soldier, and your Commanding Officer is commanding you to watch out.

B. You avoid temptation to sin by actively pursuing happiness and satisfaction from God.

1. You should be aware that temptation works better on you when you are unhappy and dissatisfied. Then here comes a quick and easy solution, don’t think, do it right now because you hate to wait. Instant relief!

2. Ultimately God is going to solve all your problems and answer all your prayers, but you have to wait for God to do it His way, and it’s hard to wait, isn’t it? Waiting on God means all the relationships will be preserved and no one will be burned by your going ahead and satisfying yourself right now. You can do that, but you mess up yourself and everyone around you. Doing your own thing burns relationships.

3. Don’t wait for just any solution to come along and trip you up. You pursue God and say, “I have to have happiness and satisfaction from You while I’m waiting.”

4. Psalm 90:14 O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. If you get God’s love in your heart right now, that’s eternal, it’s encouraging, and it satisfies like no temporary thing can. You can wait for God to answer His promise without losing the plot.

5. Let’s say you’ve just eaten an epic Christmas dinner, and someone tempts you to eat Pop-Tarts. Satisfaction in the right way protects you from temptation to satisfy yourself in the wrong way.

C. Another major way to be satisfied and happy is through taking in the Scriptures.

1. Psalm 19:11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. You can see temptations coming and know them for what they are: an attack on your life.

2. Psalm 119:165 Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble.

3. When your heart is satisfied by God, you’re safe.

E. Another way to seek the Lord is to pray.

1. Especially when you can’t pray. You can groan to the Lord and He understands that prayer.

2. Just casting your cares on Him is satisfying.

3. Giving thanks for everything you can think of satisfies.

4. Thanking God for everything you don’t like is pretty good, too. You’re trusting Him to work it together for good.

3. Jesus commands to keep relationships.

A. If your brother sins, rebuke him.

1. That means communicate with your brother. You don’t assume that your brother is Satan incarnate. You talk to him and say, “Is this what you meant to do? Because this hurt me. Are you aware of what you did?”.

2. If your brother meant to do it, then you rebuke him. “Jesus says, don’t do what you just did. This isn’t right. Is this your love for Jesus, that you mess up a brother?”

3. The point is to win your brother, not take revenge or throw him away.

B. Your brother might see that he did sin against you, and he’s sorry. You forgive him. You don’t want to kill him, you want to restore your relationship.

C. Imagine your brother sinning against you seven times in a day. Or seventy times seven. Jesus says, “Forgive him.”

D. The reason is, he really is your brother.

1. Brother means a common Father who is in heaven. It means a common Lord over all. It means sharing the life of God and the Spirit of God. It means being in the Family of God and that is not a virtual reality role playing game. It’s real. The rule in this family is: Everybody loves everybody, or else.

2. Christians use this term glibly and loosely. It’s Christian-speak: Hi, brother, hi, sister. We’re all nice. But get offended and it’s cut them off. No mercy. No patience.

3. You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family. You have to deal with them because Jesus saved that person. He loves them, you love them.

E. What if I don’t like that? If you can pick and choose who you will love, it calls into question if you’re really born again. Does the Spirit of Jesus live in you? He could forgive those who envied Him, hated Him, and were killing Him.

F. You say, “Well, He was perfect, it’s not reasonable for Him to command me to go that far.” Don’t take refuge in your sin. It’s not safe.

4. Quite naturally, Jesus’ commands overwhelms the disciples, and they say, “Increase our faith!”

A. They’re saying, “Help! We’re not sufficient!” We need something more, we need more faith or we can’t obey You.”

B. Jesus says, “If you have faith like a mustard seed…” That is a condition of the first class, meaning if, and it’s true. You have faith. It might be as small as a mustard seed, but you have real faith.

C. He’s saying to them and to us, “Since you have real faith in Me, you can do impossible things. You can do something as powerful like rip up this here mulberry tree and plunk it in the sea. There are no limits.” In other places Jesus talks about pulling up mountains and throwing them in the sea as well. There are no limits because Jesus has no limits. Remember He woke up once during a storm on a lake and told the winds and waves to knock it off! And it got calm immediately. “Who is this Man, that even the winds and waves obey Him?” Jesus has no limits. Except…

D. There is one limit to what you can do through faith. It has to be what Jesus commands.

1. Isn’t it interesting that no one has ever ripped a tree or mountain and cast it into the sea? Don’t you think everyone would want to do that if it was what Jesus meant? I think it would be fun. Big-name preachers would be doing it all over the place. It’s dazzling, it’s impressive. It’s power!

2. But Jesus has never commanded us to move mulberry trees or rip up mountains. It’s not there in Scripture. He does command us to obey Him. Watch out for temptation. Keep relationship.

3. So when Jesus commands you to do impossible things He expects you to obey Him because you can, you do have faith.

5. In order to obey Jesus you must realise that there are no limits to what He commands you.

A. He gives this example of a slave coming in off the field at the end of a day of plowing, and he still has to fix dinner, change clothes so he’s presentable, and serve the master. And the master doesn’t even say thanks. Isn’t that awful of him?

B. Jesus appeals to what everyone knows is true: when you have a slave, his job is to serve, and serve, and serve. That’s what he’s there for. That’s reasonable.

C. Jesus ought to know. He is the Servant of God from Isaiah 42: “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights.” He’s come to do all the will of God, right to the point of death. “Anything You want,” says Jesus, “Here I am.”

D. You’re His slave, and anything He wants, you say, “Yes, Sir.”

E. Knowing that you are His slave guards you from burnout.

1. That’s exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration.

2. We get frustrated because in the back of our minds we haven’t settled that we are slaves to Jesus. We think, “I shouldn’t be asked to do all this, it’s just too much.” You signed up to become just like Jesus, and you submit yourself to God in just the same way.

F. Therefore you can’t take credit for all you have done. You say, I only did what I was supposed to do. I obeyed Jesus’ command. That’s what a slave does. That’s who I am.

6. So what?

A. Do you realise that when you obey Jesus you guard yourself?

1. You protect yourself from temptation so you’re not surprised.

2. You protect yourself from bitterness against others. If you communicate and forgive no one can hurt you.

3. You protect yourself from burnout. A guy can only do so much! What do You expect out of me, anyway? Everything He commands. That’s what you signed up for.

B. All Jesus’ commands enable you to do them.

1. Just like the man with the withered hand. He couldn’t extend it. Jesus says, “Extend your hand.” “Well, You know, if I could do that very thing, I wouldn’t be here, talking to You.” But he obeys Jesus, and look, he can do it.

2. All of Jesus’ commands enable you to obey them as you use that mustard seed-sized faith.

C. A miracle happens there, too: you obey Jesus, your faith grows. Your faith can’t grow apart from obeying Jesus.

D. You don’t want to obey Him? You won’t grow up. You will stay immature indefinitely. You will cause people to stumble. You will be burned out. People will wonder if you’re even born again. You will wonder if you are born again.

E. This is how you live as a disciple of Jesus. You hear His command, you trust Him, you do what He says. He will do the impossible through you.

Let’s pray.