TITLE: RADICAL FAITH
The turkey shot out of the oven
and rocketed into the air,
it knocked every plate off the table
and partly demolished a chair.
It ricocheted into a corner and
burst with a deafening boom,
then splattered all over the kitchen,
completely obscuring the room.
It stuck to the walls and the windows,
it totally coated the floor,
there was turkey attached to the ceiling,
where there’d never been turkey before.
It blanketed every appliance,
it smeared every saucer and bowl,
there wasn’t a way I could stop it,
that turkey was out of control.
I scraped and I scrubbed with displeasure,
and thought with chagrin as I mopped,
that I’d never again stuff a turkey
with popcorn that hadn’t been popped
Now that’s a radical Thanks Giving!
Everything about Jesus is Radical
His birth, life and death were all Radical
He was not conceived in a usual way
The events of His life were certainly not usual
His resurrection from the dead is certainly not usual
Radical does not mean weird
Radical means - a departure form the usual.
Jesus was RADICAL.
So it is no accident that the life we are called to live will be a departure from the usual.
If we are going to Follow Jesus our life will look just as RAICAL as His.
The world offers the path of the usual and many take that path
But God has called the believer to make the foundation of their walk
Radical Faith
……………..
This morning you are going to be presented with a choice
The Holy Spirit is saying to the church “So what’s it going to be “
-are you going to live for God or follow your own path
………………
We are looking at A parable known as “THE SERVANT AT HIS DUTY”
Luke 17:7-10
"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’?
[8] 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’?
[9] Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?
[10] 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.’ "
Prayer….
In order to get to the parable and see the message of radical faith
we are going to follow along with Jesus and his disciples as they walk down the road on their way to Jerusalem
Beginning with verse 1
They are walking along when Jesus declares to His disciples
1. PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE TRAPPED BY SIN
Luke 17:1 (NIV)
Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come.
Luke 17:1 (KJV)
Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!
There will be offences
Notice that Things that cause people to sin - come through people
The word translated offences is very picturesque –
When I was a little kid we would take my moms laundry baskets and a stick – tie a rope to the stick and lay out some bait to try and catch birds or a squirrel.
The word translated offenses refers to the stick that holds the trap open… It has to be set by someone
The same word is used in the NT 3 other times the verses give us an idea of what kinds of OFFENSES Jesus was referring to…
A. FALSE COUNSEL
Matthew 16:23
Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
B. LEADING A BROTHER INTO SIN BY YOUR "LIBERTY"
Romans 14:13
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
C. DIVISION AND FALSE TEACHING
Romans 16:17
I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
Notice that in context each of these snares is laid by a BROTHER
We like to blame Satan for all our problems….
The Bible is clear that certain BROTHERS are the source of the problem
(Transition)
Jesus then makes a judgment statement about brothers who cause others to stumble…
Verse [2] 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. [3] So watch yourselves.
Now if you can imagine with me Jesus and the disciples walking down the road a little further,
They are mulling this over in their minds
Yea, that dirty brother who causes me to sin….it would be better if He had a giant boulder put around his neck and be thrown into the sea then to do that to me….
Then Jesus pipes up again……..
"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. [4] If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ’I repent,’ forgive him."
He is saying,
2. WHEN SOMEONE SINS AGAINST YOU, MUST TAKE ACTION.
RADICAL ACTION
WHEN SOMEONE SINS AGAINST YOU IT REQUIRES RADICAL FORGIVENESS
Which involves two things specifically
A. YOU NEED TO REBUKE THAT BROTHER IN LOVE
What does he mean????
Are you to go to that brother and say, "I Rebuke You in the Name of Jesus…”
(That misses the point. It is as meaningless as reciting the Lords Prayer as though it were a prayer and not an outline)
The word Rebuke means to admonish “go tell them that hurt me”
IT IS A RADICAL NOTION
What do we do when someone hurts you
GET OUT by running away
GET MAD and fume at the person
OR WE GET as many people as we can on our side
We devise a way to GET EVEN so we can
GET BACK at the one who hurt us
Jesus says
Matthew 18:15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
IT’S RADICAL
Just a thought….
When you feel you must give a talking-to another Christian for a sin, check your attitudes before you speak.
And remember to carry with you three important things
2 Cor. 13:14
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
(transition)
Radical forgiveness involves communication with the person who offended us
Once we have confronted the offender
B. THEN WE ARE TO FORGIVE
Luke 17:3-4
So watch yourselves.
"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. [4] If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ’I repent,’ forgive him."
I am going to approach this passage by asking a couple of questions
1. Can we forgive a person who has not repented?
• God does not forgive us apart from repentance; Our relationship with the father is not restored until we do
We can forgive, but if they have not repented their can be no reconciliation.
Illustration
Joseph was sold into slavery by His brothers
Years later he told his brothers
you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20),
he didn’t come to that realization at that moment.
That was the state of his heart for a long time;
but relationship could only really be restored after the brothers had repented and Joseph spoke healing, forgiving words to them - and backed it up with actions
So YES, WE CAN FORGIVE – even if the person has not repented…
2. If someone sins against me seven times in a day, and keeps asking for forgiveness isn’t it possible that they are not sincere?
and based on their insincerity I could withhold forgiveness right?
We may feel tempted to do this…….
But Jesus command for RADICAL FORGIVENESS does not permit us to stand in judgment over another’s repentance.
If they repent we are to forgive them and restore them
You know what – its Radical
It’s the way Jesus operates
(Transition)
After hearing this the apostles respond
Luke 17:5
… Lord, "Increase our faith!"
Why did they respond so, Increase our faith for what?
They wanted increased faith in order to be able to forgive like God forgives.
When you think of faith in action you may think of miracles and healings
But Forgiveness
Now I want you to notice something important
The apostles said “Lord Increase Our Faith”
In other words “Lord, if they are ever going to be able to forgive others like that Jesus “we are going to need some additional faith.”
As though they had some faith to see increased
As they walk on a little bit further
Jesus makes a proverbial statement
3. MEN DON’T NEED A BIGGER FAITH THEY NEED A BETTER FAITH
Luke 17:6
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.
Some have taken this passage to mean that just a pinch of faith can do wonders
The disciples said increase the faith that we have
Do you have faith this morning?
What is the size of your faith?
The size of a watermelon
A Honey Dew
Grapefruit
Lemon
Grape
walnut
A mustard seed
The proverb Jesus declares teaches that The Kind of faith Jesus wants us to have is of a certain order
NOT of a certain size…
Let me explain the proverb – Proverb = wisdom statement
a. The mustard seed was the smallest thing known to man
The disciples said they had faith
Jesus says if the QUALITY of your faith were even the size of the smallest thing
You would be able to obey my command
Jesus statement about a mustard seed faith Is really a reprimand
If you really have faith it would be visible through your deeds.
b. A Mulberry tree is proverbial of Un- forgiveness
It is a huge thing with sprawling roots
It reaches into things and rips them up
The disciple does not need faith the size of a watermelon or a grape to forgive as Jesus commanded
The disciple needs faith that is of a certain quality
(Transition)
The conversation does not end there…
So they travel down the road a little further and
Jesus tells our parable to DEMONSTRATE THE TYPE OF FAITH WE NEED
4. TRUE FAITH (ITS QUALITY) IS VISIBLE IN THE LIFE OF THE SERVANT OF GOD
Luke 17:7-10
There once was a small farm that had only one slave
His slave was kind of, a jack-of-all-trades,
He did the plowing and the planting and tending of sheep,
when the day was done, He would set the table for His master and prepares his Dinner.
The story is centered around - How astonishing it would be if the master, called to his servant and invited him to dine with him.
THE POINT IS HE WOULD NOT
TO do so would suggest that somehow the Master owes the Slave some recognition
Or that the master is in debt to the slave in some way for His service
Luke 17:8-9
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’? [9] Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?
In this parable the master is God
The servant is the Christian
The point of the parable is not to describe our whole relationship with God
But it concerns the attitude of A Servant
An attitude which is necessary if your going to follow Jesus
1. He Hears the Masters COmmands
2. He Obeys and does as the master commands
3. He knows that no thanks is due him for doing what’s required
This is the attitude we should have
Luke 17:10
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.’ "
The key to having a RADICAL FAITH is SERVANTHOOD
Having a heart that does not seek after reward
or desire to be great
Or first
Or lifted up
But the heart of a servant
Mark 10:42-45 put it this way,
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. [43] Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, [44] and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. [45] For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
The people of greatest faith ’are those who serve the Lord faithfully and say
We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty
Conclusion
As Christians we have become accustomed to calling ourselves "servants" of God,
Someone has said,
You can tell whether you are becoming a servant by how you act when people treat you like one
The fact is Servants serve!
If it bothers you to be a servant than your probably not going to be much of a person of faith
Nor are you going to have much success performing acts of faith like forgiveness
If you bothered by being a servant - Most likely
As Luke 17:1 says
The Things that cause people to sin THAT are bound to come will entangle you…
Or you’ll spend your life as a Christian being the one who trip everyone else up
I don’t know about you,
But I want a radical faith
So that one day I will hear the master say
Well done thou good and faithful servant –
To that end TODAY we must take stock in Jesus words and commit ourselves to His service…
He stands at the door of our hearts and says – whats it going to be, are you going to go your own way in a religious life
Or are you going to follow me – and have a Radical Faith
Stand with Me
Prayer…
