Text: Luke 17:1-10
Jesus said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 2 It would be better for that person if a millstone would be hung around his neck and he would 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 and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
6 The Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you could tell this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 7 Which one of you who has a servant plowing or taking care of sheep will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at the table’? 8 Won’t the master tell him instead, ‘Prepare my supper, and after you are properly dressed, serve me while I eat and drink. After that you may eat and drink’? 9 He does not thank the servant because he did what he was commanded to do, does he? 10 So also you, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have only done what we were supposed to do.’”
Sermon
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:2) Amen.
Because we have three campuses for Wisconsin Lutheran School, our faculty and staff work hard to bring all the students together as much as possible. This past Friday we had all 170 plus students at our Early Childhood Campus for their Fall Fun Day.
The students were divided into ten color teams. Their teams met together for Bible studies, crafts, and activities at the ECC. Then the students and faculty spent a beautiful 60 degree fall day at N. Owen Davies Park. The 8th graders were hanging out with the preschoolers and everyone in between. The older students - for the most part - were awesome as leaders working with the younger students.
The most impressive part was all 170 plus students filling up the sanctuary at the Racine campus for chapel. I sat in the back of chapel listening to the little students out-sing the older students as their combined voices filled the sanctuary with the Gloria and Te Deum (like we are singing today).
We are called to strengthen the faith of these little ones. It is our calling as pastors, teachers, parents, grandparents, godparents, and fellow Christians to protect our little ones from those who want to cause them to sin.
Our little ones need our protection. It seems as if the gates of hell have been opened wide to spill out the most deviant and degenerate doctrines. Critical Race Theory in schools, Woke indoctrination in curriculum, transgender agenda in social media, the gay and lesbian agenda in Hollywood and media, drag queen story hours in libraries, Tik Tok and Instagram targeting children for addictive behaviors. As Christians, we rightly see that there are those who are grooming our children with perverted doctrines straight out of the pits of hell!
The evil of this world is attempting cause our little ones to sin. Jesus has very strong words for those who wish to physically, mentally, and spiritually harm our children. “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for that person if a millstone would be hung around his neck and he would be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.”
A millstone was a huge round, flat stone that was used to crush wheat and grains. A millstone would weigh several hundred pounds. Jesus threatens to hang a millstone around the neck of those who harm his children and then throw those millstone-wearing miscreants into the sea.
Doesn’t Jesus sound rather harsh? Unkind? Out of character?
You see, while Jesus was certainly a gentle Man, a kind person, a compassionate Savior, and a loving God, he was also most certainly a Person who had no patience when it came to people who consciously and deliberately sinned. He becomes absolutely furious with those who specifically target “little ones” for sinful actions.
Jesus loves the little children. He has allowed these children to be here with us for a little while, but he wants them returned to him. He wants them to learn about him, be baptized in him, come to faith in him, worship him, love him, respect him, pray to him, and then be with him eternally in heaven. Our job as parents, grandparents, godparents, pastors, teachers, and members is to protect these little ones and keep them safe in Jesus.
A rancher in South Dakota was speaking with his new pastor after service one Sunday. The rancher shared that during the night some coyotes or wild dogs had managed to get at his flock and butchered 40 of his best lambs. Wishing to be sympathetic, the ex-big-city pastor asked what seemed to be a logical question. He politely inquired, “I’m sorry they killed the 40 lambs. How many ewes or rams did the pack slaughter?” The rancher avoided rolling his eyes and kindly and profoundly explained, “Pastor, you should know that coyotes and wild dogs will never, ever, go after an adult sheep when they can bring down a lamb.”
The rancher was right about coyotes and lambs. He is equally right about Satan and little children. The roaring lion of Satan, the coyotes of the world, and the pack of wild demonic dogs find little children to be irresistible. Little children are so trusting, so accepting, so easily swayed. The dark and damned forces of the world know that if they can bring a child down, their initial inroads may have lasting – even everlasting - outcomes. To spiritually slaughter the young is a great goal of all that is evil. And in that cause, Satan has enlisted many adults.
Jesus wasn’t joking about a millstone necklace. It wasn’t an empty threat. He was serious. There are consequences. The day will come when the person who played fast and loose with children’s futures will beg for an end from the unquenchable fires of hell.
When I’ve been on the bike trail, I’ve seen dogs on their leashes bark as strollers with small children go by. When the dog barks or lunges, the parents instinctively put themselves between the dogs and their kids, spreading their arms in a defensive position. That’s what they’re supposed to do as parents.
That’s what we are all supposed to do with the children in our care. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. I see loving parents religiously strapping their children into car safety seats, but they don’t make that child have a seat in the safety of God’s church. I see many concerned parents take their child to the doctor to keep them healthy, but these same parents neglect to make sure their child gets a healthy dose of Jesus, who is the only sure and certain medicine, who can save souls from the ravages of sin.
I see grandparents feed their grandchildren, but neglect to feed them God’s Word when they are together. I see godparents stand at the baptismal font for the baptism but forget to remind their godchildren of the promises contained in their baptism. I see caregivers reading to their children, but they don’t read stories of the Savior or tell the tale of God’s love. I see families exercise in sporting activities but not exercise their faith in worship, Sunday School or Bible studies. I see adults who are very diligent in checking over their child’s homework, but neglect to check over children’s social media, texts, music, internet searches, or viewing habits.
As we sang a few minutes ago in the Hymn of the Day, brothers, sisters, let us gladly give to God our all, our best. Together let us give our best in protecting children’s young bodies, minds, and souls. All of us in this church – whether it is our own children or grandchildren or the children within our church and school – must dedicate ourselves to preserving and protecting these little ones who have been entrusted to us for such a short time. The Lord has enlisted our help in teaching our children to take a stand against temptation and to stand with the risen Redeemer who gave his life that they might live forever. We are to do - not what is fashionable - but what is right.
But this sounds hard, doesn’t it? Protecting these little ones from the devil with all his temptations, the world with all its attractions, and even their own sinful flesh with all its weaknesses. It seems impossible. We can’t possibly do this on our own, can we?
That’s why we cry out with the disciples to the Lord Jesus, “Increase our faith!” This kind of diligence in protecting our little ones from all the predators that surround them is going to require a huge faith, a committed faith, a heroic faith. We feel the same way as those early disciples – our faith is too small. “Increase our faith. Super-size us.”
But Jesus says, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you could tell this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” Now Jesus isn’t saying that we want a small faith. But he is saying that even a small faith connected to the right power source can do great things. You could move mulberry trees with that little mustard seed faith … if the Lord needed you to move mulberry trees.
Faith is as great as the Jesus it clings to. And even a tiny, mustard seed-sized faith that clings to Jesus is able to exercise Jesus’ divine devil-crushing, death-destroying, grave-opening, soul-redeeming, life-restoring power. To us faith has a volume knob – big/little, loud/soft, strong/weak. But not God. To the Lord, faith has no volume knob, only an on/off switch. If you have faith, God will carry you through the darkest and scariest of times with your children.
We are rightly afraid of all the millstone-necklace wearing people looking to harm our children. We need faith to protect us and our children. You can have a 5,000-watt faith, but if it’s plugged into the wrong outlet, it doesn’t matter how powerful you are. But even if you’re a little 15-watt bulb, as long as you’re plugged into the right place, you’re going to work and light up the room. And so, if you’re looking to increase the wattage of your faith for what you need in protecting and preserving your children, then you need to be plugged into the proper outlet – Jesus!
And that is why we come here, week after week. It is why we don’t sit in a circle, looking at each other. We sit facing the altar – the symbolic presence of our Lord. To focus not on ourselves, but on Another. You look forward and see Jesus the Good Shepherd. He gathers the sheep around him. He holds his precious lambs in his arms. He laid down his life for his sheep. No one can snatch them out of His hands.
You see the font, where instead of drowning us millstone-laden sinners in the depths of the sea, our Lord drowns us in Holy Baptism, throwing off the millstone and drowning our sins in the depths of his love. You see the altar, where instead of demanding our service, our Lord comes and serves us, feeds us with his forgiveness, life, and salvation in his very real and present body and blood. You see the tree of the processional cross, where instead of looking to flying mulberry trees for evidence of how strong our faith is, we see the real strong One who gave his life on the cross as evidence of his strong love for us. He is the strong One who bound Satan in hell so Jesus might protect us and our little ones from those who wish to destroy Christian faith.
Jesus warns, “So watch yourselves.” Brothers, sisters, the roaring lion of Satan, the coyotes of the world, and the pack of wild demon dogs are after you and your children. But they will go after your children most of all because they love the taste of these little ones. You are God’s designated defense against these predators. I encourage you, all heaven urges you, Jesus Christ gives you the calling, stand for these little ones and do what is right, not what is fashionable or popular or expedient. Connect them to the Savior. Place them in the Shepherd’s arms for safekeeping. Grow their child-like faith. Avoid what will leave them unprotected. Give them faith – even if it’s as small as a mustard seed – in Jesus Christ. That small faith is enough to lead them to repentance, forgiveness, and service to their Savior.
Jesus may sound harsh here speaking of millstones and mustard seeds, but he loves his children. He’s serious about his little ones. We cannot protect them alone. Exercise Jesus’ almighty power he’s given you by praying, “Increase our faith!” Amen.
We are always praying for you, that our God will make you worthy of your calling and use his power to fulfill every good desire and work of your faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in him. (2 Thessalonians 1:11, 12) Amen.