Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Madison Church Online. I'm Stephen Feith, lead pastor, glad that you're joining us and want to invite you to join us in person sometime soon. Madison Church exists to connect people with God and each other. We're way more than just the content you're viewing and listening online.

Speaker 1: 0:14

To begin this morning, there's a scenario that happened to me a few weeks ago that I bet a lot of you can relate to. I was trying to carry too many things at once. I had grocery bags in both hands, I had my phone on my shoulder. In my ear I was talking to someone. I even had my frozen coffee from Costco in my hand. And then my son, who was empty-handed, running up the stairs to go to the house, turned back and yelled hey, I left my tablet on my car seat, can you go grab it? He should know better. I'm not that kind of parent, but even if I had wanted to help him and I didn't but even if I did want to help him, I simply could not carry anything else. My hands were already too full.

Speaker 1: 0:58

I think that's an illustration most of us can relate to, not just because we've had the grocery bags and the coffee and the phone, but most of our lives feel like that. We're carrying responsibilities, we're carrying expectations, we have relationships in our hands and, by the way, don't forget about those regrets. We have all of these things going on and then it seems like someone else in our lives, maybe someone we love a lot, asked for help, asked for a little bit more, and even if we wanted to help them, we're just not in a position. But I think, worse yet, what happens is that sometimes that voice is God's, and God's not asking for you to go back to the car to grab the tablet, because he's empty-handed and just feeling lazy. But what about those times when God says, hey, this is better for you, this is the direction I want you to walk in? And we said, well, I just can't right now. And I'm not saying that what you're carrying is bad, let me just stop you there. If that's where your mind is going, you're like, oh, I must be carrying a bunch of bad stuff. I don't think that's true at all. I think that we can carry a bunch of good things, but too many. We say we want to follow Jesus. We really do want to grow in our faith, but our lives are just already too full. You just can't. And that's why Lent matters.

Speaker 1: 2:18

We're actually heading into the Lent season on Wednesday that begins but Lent is a season about making space for what Jesus offers. It's not just about giving something up. And so maybe you grew up in and around Lent and you're familiar with this, or maybe you didn't grow up in and around the church but you've heard of Lent, or maybe you have no idea what Lent is. But beginning on Wednesday and leading up to Easter, it's an opportunity for us to give up something so that we might get closer to God and to step in to what he has. Maybe it means putting the coffee down, the phone down, the grocery bags down, so we can do or chase what God wants us to chase after. And you'll notice that the graphics are different now, because the first part of this series we were talking about what do we need to add to our lives so we might better follow Jesus? But now I want to ask you the question what do we need to add to our lives so we might better follow Jesus? But now I want to ask you the question what do you need to give up to better follow Jesus?

Speaker 1: 3:11

Throughout this series, jesus is getting closer to Jerusalem and closer to the cross. Every conversation Jesus has matters. Every lesson is urgent. He still has large crowds following him. The Pharisees are watching him meticulously, the disciples are walking beside him, but nobody's truly ready for what will happen next. None of them are prepared to release their need to be right. They're not going to let go of their resistance to grace. Would any of them be willing to surrender their obsession with control?

Speaker 1: 3:51

In this passage, we're going to Luke 17 today. Jesus isn't speaking to the crowd. There's a crowd. In this passage, there's several hundreds of people listening. He's not debating the Pharisees. They're still there watching, but instead you can imagine the scene. There's the crowds, there's the Pharisees, and in front of them are the disciples. And it's at this point he turns directly to his disciples to address them. And I believe it's a lesson for those of us who are followers of Jesus today that he's turning to us.

Speaker 1: 4:21

And so, as we step into Luke 17, I want you to wrestle with this. What are you clinging to? Believing it will give you life, but it is actually holding you back. So we began in verse one. One day, jesus said to his disciples there will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. It would be better to be thrown into a sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin.

Speaker 1: 4:55

Jesus turns to his disciples and he gives them a pretty strict, sobering warning. Temptation is inevitable, but causing other people to stumble is a serious offense. He acknowledges and this might be a good thing for some of you to hear that temptation will always exist in the world. If you feel tempted, it doesn't mean you're doing something wrong. It doesn't mean you're in the wrong place of life. The sinless son of God himself, jesus, the sinless son of God himself, jesus, was tempted. We will all be tempted the rest of our lives. It's not a sign of failure. Temptation is just part of being a human being. But the real danger is not just temptation. Jesus says to his disciples with everybody listening yeah, yeah, yeah, you're going to have temptation, but don't you be the reason somebody else stumbles. He's saying that what you say as my followers, how you act, the way you represent this faith, it all matters because it influences the faith of other people, it shapes how they go about this and Jesus is so serious about you. Know you're going to face temptations. Don't cause anyone else to stumble. He is so serious about this.

Speaker 1: 6:12

He uses this wild, terrifying image. He uses a millstone, and for many of you you don't know what that is, but it's not the stone on the ground but the one above it. That is the millstone, and they used it for grinding down grain. I mean, this thing weighs a ton, hundreds of pounds actually, literally. And in ancient times drowning was feared as a way of execution. You see, if you drown, they thought you couldn't be buried, you couldn't be put back to rest. So if you drown, it was like your soul was forever lost. And so Jesus paints this image grab one of these heavy things, chain yourself to it and throw it off in the middle of the ocean. Jesus is saying essentially it would be better for you to just disappear, soul and all, than to cause someone else to stumble.

Speaker 1: 7:01

Why the strong warning? Well, as we've talked about many times here at Madison Church, sin is not just personal. My sin affects you, your sin affects me, our sin affects those around us. And when we misrepresent Jesus, when we live hypocritically or when we live judgmentally, when we cause doubt in others instead of building up the faith, we are not just failing ourselves, but we are bringing other people down with us. So Jesus says hey, watch yourself. I know you're going to screw up, but don't be the reason someone else does. We ask ourselves this morning when I look at my own personal walk am I leading others closer to Jesus or do I make it harder for people to follow Jesus? Are my words and actions, do they strengthen someone else's faith or do they cause them to doubt? Do I build people up or do those who are around me, those who follow me as I follow Jesus, are they stumbling? Are they stumbling? This isn't just a warning for his disciples 2,000 years ago. I think it's just as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago.

Speaker 1: 8:17

But Jesus doesn't just warn against sin, he doesn't just say hey, you know what it's going to happen, you're going to be tempted, but don't be the reason. Somebody else falls. He teaches us how to respond. I mean, if it's inevitable, it's going to happen. So what then, jesus, do we do? Well, he says in verse 3, if another believer sins, rebuke that person. Then, if there's repentance, forgive. And even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks for forgiveness. You must forgive. I just know that some of you you hate this. I know it, I get it. I totally do, because you're like well, if you screw up and you say you're sorry, like I'll forgive you. But what about the person who, like six times in one day, does the same thing to you? You're like Jesus, I can't forgive that person. He's clearly not sorry. Well, no, jesus is saying let's hold on, let's look at this.

Speaker 1: 9:09

Having warned other people about sin, jesus now shifts how we respond when someone sins against us. If you are like me and imagine that some of you are when you are wronged, your natural response is resentment. I hold on to the hurts, I want to seek revenge. I want them to feel the pain that they have inflicted on me. Other times it's avoidance. I just want to cut them out of my life and ignore them altogether. Have you ever felt those things? Resentment, revenge, avoidance.

Speaker 1: 9:46

But Jesus calls us to something different, as he usually does, something more difficult, something that doesn't quite make sense to us. He calls us to rebuke and to restore and then to release. Jesus doesn't say well, just ignore the sin. He doesn't say just tolerate the sin. He says to rebuke it, however he's watching or listening online.

Speaker 1: 10:10

Rebuking is often misunderstood. Many in our society, in Western society you grew up in or in the church we take rebuking as a license to be rude. We take rebuking to be a license to be harsh and we justify our own self-righteousness under this umbrella. Well, jesus says I am to rebuke, but that is not at all what Jesus is saying. The Greek word for rebuke means to warn or correct, with the goal of restoration. With the goal of restoration, we're not beating someone down, we are lifting them up. So let me be clear what rebuking is not.

Speaker 1: 10:54

Rebuking is not shaming someone, privately or publicly. It's not about embarrassing them and it certainly shouldn't make you feel superior. Rebuking is not unleashing your anger or frustration. You're not venting about how what this person did to you really hurt you. It's about offering correction in a loving way and it certainly is not judging someone's worth. We're called to correct behavior, not condemn a person. So if that's what rebuking is not, can we talk about what rebuking is?

Speaker 1: 11:27

Rebuking is confronting sin that invites someone into a conversation, invites them to a relationship with you. It doesn't push them away. It's about restoration. It's not about punishment and it's about being humble enough, knowing that we also need grace. Before I could ever rebuke you, before I could ever come to you and offer to help you, I got to look inward at myself first. Am I even in a position to offer help? Am I in a position to point out that you do that wrong when I'm also struggling with it or struggling with something worse? We must examine our own hearts first, and so when Jesus tells us to rebuke, he's not giving us permission to be self-righteous or judgment or hypocritical. He's asking us to have a relationship with someone and to be willing to walk with someone. And so my ask for you, if you're part of this Madison Church community and you're a member and you're like, I really feel like there's this sin and I've got to rebuke it. What I ask is you don't do it unless you are willing to walk with that person until it's resolved. Don't point out that what they're doing is wrong. Anyone can do that, and they already are. The internet is full of people who will do that. But if you're going to point something out to someone, are you offering this takes one year or 10 years or the rest of your life, I will be there? Then by all means go ahead and give it a whirl.

Speaker 1: 12:49

Now let's go back to this part. There's rebuking, but he talks about radical forgiveness. He says forgiving others is not optional. It's not based on whether or not you feel like forgiving them, and it doesn't even matter how many times that person messed up. You don't forgive someone because they deserve it.

Speaker 1: 13:08

But forgiveness also doesn't mean excusing wrong behavior. But forgiveness also doesn't mean excusing wrong behavior. Forgiveness doesn't mean excusing it. Sin still has consequences. Forgiveness doesn't mean pretending something didn't happen. Forgiveness does. It acknowledges the hurt, but it chooses to not be consumed by the hurt.

Speaker 1: 13:27

Forgiveness also doesn't mean automatically restoring trust. I know that for a lot of us that's kind of maybe what we grew up thinking Well, I'm going to forgive and forget. That's not the ask. The ask is forgiveness, not to forget. Forgiveness is freely given, but trust must be rebuilt. Forgiveness means releasing the burden of resentment, because bitterness only poisons your own heart, choosing to not seek revenge and instead we trust God to get justice. We live in freedom. Forgiveness doesn't set the other person free. It sets you free.

Speaker 1: 14:04

Jesus intensifies the challenge. Even if the person wrongs you seven times a day and each time asks you for forgiveness, you must forgive. The context between that number seven is that in Jewish thought, seven symbolized completeness. It was a full completeness. So Jesus is saying always and forever. You're like well, what about the eighth time? Nope, it's a reset. We're going to keep going back and forth.

Speaker 1: 14:26

The disciples, maybe you're here today and you're thinking about something in your life that's happened to you, something very traumatic, something very difficult, something very challenging. For some of you. This week has been very challenging, I know that, and so you're realizing how hard it is. Maybe in your mind you're like yes, this makes sense. I can read the black and white words of Jesus, but I can't convince myself to think or feel that way or even to respond that way. The disciples are just like you.

Speaker 1: 14:50

In this next section they said knowing how hard what Jesus just said it's going to be, show us how to increase our faith. That's just honesty. Well, if I'm going to do what Jesus says, I'm going to need more faith. But the Lord answered if you had faith, even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to the mulberry tree, may you be uprooted and thrown into the sea and it would obey you. So yes, jesus' command to forgive people without limits, it does seem impossible. And so the disciples are like well, I'm going to need more faith.

Speaker 1: 15:24

But Jesus doesn't say this is how you get more faith. He doesn't say you know what, instead of praying for 15 minutes in the morning, pray for 20. And instead of reading one chapter a day of the Bible, read two chapters a day. And oh, have you thought about fasting ever? And oh my gosh, if you've never done Christian meditation, holy smokes, this is really going to increase your faith. He doesn't do any of that. He doesn't tell them to study more, memorize more. He doesn't say go to seminary and have deeper theological knowledge. He says the faith you possess is already enough. What you have is already enough.

Speaker 1: 16:01

It's common in Christian circles to believe that going deeper means accumulating more knowledge, and so some will chase after deeper teaching, convinced that faith grows with endless studies or mastering theology. And some people and you may know them they flex their spirituality by reading stacks of books, quoting theologians and making sure that they know. Everyone else in the room knows how much that they know. But that's not deep faith, according to Jesus. We look at this passage, look at the other passages. We've been in Luke for over a year now. Faith isn't measured by how much you know, but by how much you trust in God. Faith is not about accumulating knowledge, but rather putting it into action. Faith is not about showing off God's wisdom or your wisdom, but demonstrating God's love. It's not about your wisdom, it's about demonstrating God's love.

Speaker 1: 16:52

Jesus says even the smallest faith faith the size of a mustard seed something you can barely see If you're in the room and you're, like I'm, struggling to hold on to my faith, it's hurting Jesus says that is enough to produce extraordinary results in your life when placed in the right hands. In Jewish agricultural life, mustard seed was the smallest known seed. Its size was insignificant and yet it could grow into something far greater than expected. How great. Well, jesus uses a mulberry tree as an example. Now, that's weird. It should be like why a mulberry tree and why not something else? Well, the mulberry tree had the deepest, strongest root systems known in the region.

Speaker 1: 17:35

Uprooting a mulberry tree was impossible. It took a great amount of work. A lot of people had to come together and do different parts, and what Jesus is saying is with just a little bit of faith, you can do something that seems quite impossible. It was a perfect symbol of the deep wounds, the bitterness and the unforgiveness that often take deep roots in our own hearts, our own lives. And yet Jesus says even a mustard seed of faith can uproot what seems impossible. Is bitterness deeply rooted in your life, faith can remove it. Does the unforgiveness feel permanent? Faith can break it. Does hurt seem immovable? Even our faith in Jesus can heal it. Faith is not about size, is what Jesus is saying. It's about surrender. And even the smallest, seemingly insignificant faith in God's power, not our own ability, is enough to move what we never could. But faith alone Jesus is going to unpack. Faith alone is not enough.

Speaker 1: 18:43

Jesus now teaches, in the heart of discipleship, obedience. He says when a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say come in and eat with me? No, he says prepare my meal, put on your apron and serve me while I eat, then you can come eat later. And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. In the same way, when you obey me, you should say we are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty. This is the important part for us to recognize that he is talking to his disciples, knowing the Pharisees are listening, knowing the religious leaders are listening. It challenges the mindset of entitlement with discipleship. Jesus describes a servant who, after working all day, does not expect special treatment. The servant was simply doing his duty. Now contrast this with the Pharisees who believed that obedience to the law earned them special status before God. In Jesus' radical statement he says you don't serve God to earn some sort of special favor or recognition. You serve God because of calling.

Speaker 1: 19:55

There's this quote by the author and late pastor theologian Tim Keller. He says religious people obey God to get things, but gospel people obey God to get God. When we're following after Jesus, when we approach God in prayer, reading the Bible, meditation, whatever spiritual practices and disciplines in our own life, when we approach those, are we doing it to get something out of God? Are we doing it to get God? In our culture, we expect appreciation for what we do. I think that's okay. All our volunteers at Madison Church know how much I appreciate them. I like feeling appreciated. But discipleship is not about what we get. It's about who we follow. And obedience is not merit-based. Forgiving, having faith and serving are not acts of earning, simply a natural response of being a disciple, and so I want to ask you again today what we began with? What will you let go of? Each section of today's passage speaks to a fundamental part of our relationship with God and with one another.

Speaker 1: 21:01

For Jesus's original audience, these teachings were deeply disruptive. Religious leaders, those who were in positions of power and authority within their churches, focused on rule keeping Do this, live this way, don't do this, don't live that way. And faith was a system of earning merit before God. Forgiveness was conditional, spiritual authority was about the status, and service was a way to gain favor. We did not do it out of an act of love. But Jesus flips all of that upside down, and I know we don't live under the same religious structures today, but I believe that we still struggle with the same issues.

Speaker 1: 21:39

We hold on to cultural mindsets, traditional mindsets, religious habits. We hold on to things that feel familiar but, I think, actually keep us away from truly following Jesus. And so, since Lent is a season of letting go, not for the sake of self-denial, but to make space for something better, I want to ask you what do you need to release? Are there cultural expectations that distort faith, traditional mindsets that no longer point you to Christ, religious habits that focus on performance rather than transformation. You see, sometimes the biggest obstacles to discipleship and you walking with Jesus are not about faith at all. It's about culture. We approach church oftentimes like customers asking what do I get it instead of how can I serve? We equate a full schedule with a full life, but we don't really leave room in our schedule for God. Faith becomes a private matter rather than something lived out in community. Jesus calls us to a counter-cultural way of life where service replaces self-interest, stillness overcomes hurry and community matters more than independence.

Speaker 1: 22:51

So there's culture, but tradition. And for those of you again, I recognize that within Madison Church there are a bunch of people who come from more liturgical streams of faith. So tradition can be seen very holy, very sacred. But when our tradition, when our liturgy, when our practices replace Jesus as the center of our faith, it becomes a barrier to our faith, equating church with a place we attend rather than a people we belong to, holding on to ideas of acting right or dressing right instead of just welcoming people as they are, expecting faith to be comfortable, when everything we've read in Luke is that discipleship requires sacrifice. Now, not all traditions are bad, that's not what I'm saying, but when they distract us from Jesus rather than draw us closer to Jesus, we need to let those traditions go. They served a purpose a long time ago that they no longer serve anymore.

Speaker 1: 23:48

So there's culture, there's tradition, and Jesus constantly confronted faith that was about appearance rather than transformation. Those were the ideas of religious beliefs, religious theologies that people held, and maybe today we need to sacrifice some false ideas we have. For example, you don't have to earn God's love. I think some of us believe that we have to earn God's love. You get the rest in his grace. You don't have to earn it, you get the rest.

Speaker 1: 24:20

Some of us struggle with this idea of valuing the right beliefs over loving people. We turn faith into a debate instead of an act of compassion, or we expect the church to cater to us rather than seeing it as a place to serve, to grow, to surrender. And Jesus made it clear Faith isn't about checking boxes, it's about becoming like him. And so, as we enter this season of Lent, on Wednesday again leading up to Easter, I want you to ask what am I clinging to? Is it tradition? Comfort, control up to Easter? I want you to ask what am I clinging to? Is it tradition, comfort, control that Jesus is asking me to surrender? Or who in my life have I refused to forgive? And what would it look like to finally let go? If faith the size of a mustard seed can uproot even the deepest obstacles, what's stopping me from trusting God with what feels impossible? What will you let go of so that you can follow Jesus more fully?

Speaker 1: 25:22

Jesus challenges the disciples to let go, to release the weight of pride, bitterness, entitlement, and to step into a life of trust, of grace and humble service. And at first that kind of surrender sounds like loss. But the kingdom of God, in the kingdom of God, surrender is where true life begins. When you let go of bitterness, what you will find is that you gain peace. When you let go of control, you find deeper trust in God. And when you let go of a comfort-driven faith, you step into greater purpose, one that transforms you from the inside out. So this morning, take a breath, imagine releasing whatever burden you've been carrying. Hand it to Jesus, because when we let go we are set free, not just for ourselves, but also for the sake of the world around us.