Millstones & Mustard Seeds

Luke 17:1 Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 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. "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." 5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 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. 7 "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.'"

You may have heard last week about a house fire near South Fulton, TN. The fire department arrived on the scene after a 911 call. But then the fire fighters stood there and would not put out the fire because the homeowner had not paid the $75 fee it charges county residents for fire protection.

The fire department did move into action when the fire spread to a neighbor’s house. That homeowner had paid the fee. But they watched the other home burn to the ground.

I’m not sure how you feel about South Fulton Fire Department’s actions – whether they were justified or not. You can debate that amongst yourselves later. Maybe the fire fighters were being harsh. Perhaps they could have saved the man’s house, then charged him the $75 fee or put a lien on his house, or something else. But perhaps they needed to show everybody else in South Fulton County that they were serious and not paying required fees had consequences.

What is the difference in this story and where Jesus threatens to tie a millstone around the neck of a person and throw them into the depths of the sea? Doesn’t Jesus sound rather harsh? Unkind? Is He making sure people take Him seriously?

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.

A rancher in South Dakota was speaking with his 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-boy pastor asked what seemed to be a logical question. He politely inquired: “I’m sorry they killed the 40 lambs. How many ewes 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 was 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 early-on victory may last forever. To spiritually slaughter the young is a great goal of all that is evil. And in that cause they have enlisted many adults.

We may not see their faces, but we know these evil people are out there – pornographers, drug dealers, gang leaders, perverts, movie producers and TV executives. Last month while playing cards with a few other pastors, one asked us, “Are your teens going to see the new Exorcist movie?” Naively, I thought, “Not my teens.” But then in confirmation class I asked, “What are the movies that you are going to see right now?” Right away hands shot up: “Last Exorcism,” “Devil,” “Machete,” they answered. And of course the popular “Twilight” movies about cute werewolves and handsome vampires. I was appalled. Shocked. And deeply saddened. These are the most gruesome, most frightening, most sexually jaded films out there.

Jesus wasn’t joking. It wasn’t an empty threat. He was serious. And 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.

The evil of this world always strives to bring down children. The Lord Jesus knew that and that is why He went out of His way to bless the little ones – holding them in His arms, placing His hands on their heads, placing His divine blessing over them. Jesus loves all 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, come to faith in Him, worship Him, love Him, respect Him, pray to Him and then be with Him in heaven eternally. Our job as parents, grandparents, godparents, pastors, teachers and members is to protect these little ones and keep them safe in Jesus.

The other day I let my dog outside while I went to take out the trash. My dog has a bad habit of barking at any strangers anywhere near our house. One mom, on the other side of the road, saw and heard my dog and immediately, instinctively, spread out her arms in a defensive position, pulling her little child behind her. That’s what she’s supposed to do as a parent.

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 parents feed their children, but neglect to feed them God’s Word every day with home devotions. I see parents reading to their children, but they don’t read stories of the Savior or tell the tale of God’s love. I see parents get their children to exercise in sporting activities but not exercise their faith in worship, Sunday School or outreach events. I see parents who are very diligent in checking over their child’s homework, but neglect to check over their child’s Facebook posts, texts, music selection, computer, TV or movie viewing.

As we would sacrifice our lives to save our children’s bodies, so we must be committed to safeguarding their young souls. We must be dedicated to preserving and protecting these little ones who have been entrusted to us for such a short time. Indeed, that is the most important job that has been given to us. 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 that which is right.

But this sounds hard, doesn’t it? Protecting these little ones from the devil with all his evils, and the world with all its lusts, and even their own sinful flesh which will constantly drive them away from you and God. 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 that, “If your faith is as small as a mustard seed, you could say to that mulberry tree, ‘Go jump in the lake’ and it would.” 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 avails itself of all His 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 Him, faith has no volume knob, only an on/off switch. As long as you have faith, God will carry you through the darkest and scariest of times with your children.

We don’t desire a mustard seed-sized faith. We don’t desire a tiny, mustard seed faith for our children. We fear all the millstone necktie wearing people looking to harm our children. We desire a huge, bright, strong faith – to protect our children and drive away the darkness that threatens to envelop them.

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 encourages, “So watch yourselves.” Protect your little ones from those who wish to cause them to sin. Protect them by throwing off the millstones that drag us down and build their faith upon the Cornerstone of Christ. Teach them about the Son who turns your sinning sons and daughters into sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father. Nourish their faith and yours in your church and home so they may one day stand with you around Christ’s throne in the new home of heaven.

My friends, the roaring lion, 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, 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 safe-keeping. Grow their child-like faith. Do that which will guide and direct them and avoid that which will leave them unprotected.

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. Avail yourself of Jesus’ almighty power. Pray: “Increase our faith!” Amen.

20th Sunday after Pentecost at Epiphany on October 10, 2010