All About Our Faith (Luke 18:15-30)

All About Our Faith

Introduction

A story was told of a farmer who found a hand-like fossil in his field one day. The fossil was like a human fist holding to certain thing tightly. Not knowing what to do with it, he treated it as a decoration and placed it on a table in his living room. One day his wife accidentally broke the fossil and found something sparkling had been hiding inside. With a closer look, she realized there were a handful of ruby and diamond like jewels spread on the floor. With this discovery, they tried to figure out what could have happened right at that place hundreds perhaps thousands years ago. It could perhaps a volcano was erupted and people tried to run for their life. This fossil had shown perhaps a rich man who grasped a handful of precious stones while trying to escape from the natural disaster. Unfortunately he could not make it. He was buried by the volcano lava with the jewels still in his hand. He died with what he grasps. His soul and spirit has gone leaving these precious stones behind so also his physical body. This remind us what Jesus said, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?” (Luke 9:25) Today gospel passages are about Jesus welcoming children and the rich man who enquired about eternal life. It was about the contrary between being welcomed into God’s kingdom and trying to get into it.

1. Some observations

In fact most part of Luke 18 talks about prayer. Here we have 4 stories all together.

a. Vs 1-8 is the parable of a persistent widow who kept on begging the judge to deal with her enemy. Here Jesus used contrast in a parable about prayer. He told of a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. (Luke 18:2) A widow appealed to him to deal with her enemy. The judge had the authority and the responsibility, but he would not act. The widow did not give up however. Instead she kept on begging up to a point beyond the judge’s ability to stand anymore. Finally, in exasperation, the judge decided to settle the widow's case. He still didn't care. It was only because she bothered him so much and in order to get rid of such irritation, he finally acted.

b. Vs 9-14 is a parable of the prayers of a Pharisee and a tax-collector. Here Jesus speaks of the self-righteous Pharisee who prays with fake confidence. No doubt the Pharisee did pray. He came to God however only saw himself and for himself. His vision was cluttered and muddled with the show off things he did and did not do. Due to his self-satisfied and self-righteous, he saw neither God nor his own heart clearly. He prayed not to God but about himself. In the contrary, there was also a tax collector, too ashamed to even raise his eyes to heaven. This man came humbling himself before God and found forgiveness. And Jesus said, "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:14).

c. Vs 15-17 demonstrated in real life terms how the humble inherits the kingdom of God. Jesus said, "Let the little children come, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (Luke 18:15-17). To the adults, including Jesus’ disciples, they thought children have nothing to do with the kingdom of God. But to Jesus, we must be child-like (not childish) in order to inherit God's kingdom. That‘s the simple faith we need! Follow on was a typical example of how complication in our life would jeopardise and endanger our faith in God.

d. Vs18-30 tells of a rich man enquired about how to inherit eternal life. To the children and childlike people, Jesus welcomes and receives them into his kingdom. For people like that rich man, pleaded and begged the possibility of getting in. What’s wrong? This wealthy ruler in Israel wanted to do something in order to inherit the kingdom of heaven. That was the ever biggest mistake we must get away from. The fact is no one ever can do anything to inherit God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom is by invitation just as Jesus invited the children. Jesus listed the commandments that govern relationships between men (Luke 18:20), and heard the ruler claim to have "carefully observed" them from youth. Then, with a single stroke, Jesus revealed the block that kept this man from faith. And Jesus challenged him, "Sell all that you possess . . . and come follow Me" (Luke 18:22). This was no condemnation of riches, nor was it a general command to all disciples. It was a skilled surgeon's competent stroke revealing a cancer. God spoke to the man: "Sell all; follow Me." Which one is easier? Observe the laws or sell all? And the man went away! He went away sad, for he was rich. He chose his wealth over his God!

2. What are the lessons?

a. From the story of the widow who pleaded the judge, we learned to be persevering in our prayer. Sometimes we pray, and when no quick answer comes we thought that God isn't listening. We easily became discouraged and eventually stop praying, feeling that He doesn't hear or care. Or perhaps we have done something wrong to prevent an answer from God. But Jesus wants us to learn to put our trust in Him totally. We may not see immediately what He is doing and what He will do, but we can trust the Lord. Faith, then, is a central element in prayer. Faith moves us to persevere, not desperately, but with confidence in Him. For faith lets us look beyond our circumstances and fix our eyes on the Father who cares.

b. From the story about the Pharisee and tax-collector, we learned to be humble in approaching God. Self-righteousness is one of the worse sins that cut us off from God. The self-righteous trust in himself and does not believe in God’s love and forgiveness. Only faith, a faith that lets us see God, frees us to discover our real selves which need God’s love and forgiveness. The self-righteous would try to hide their sins from God and even from himself. Only the humble will fall on his knees and see with faith God’s love and forgiveness. Similarly, like little children, we must each take our place before God, looking up and see a Father's face of love. And then, in a timeless portrait of what it means to trust, we may reach out, to take the Father's offered hand and opened arms. The rich man who has been observing the laws from young still asking and wanted to know how to inherit eternal life while the little children were already resting at Jesus’ bosom. What a contrary? As the man went sadly away, Jesus remarked to His disciples that it is hard for a man with riches to enter the kingdom (Luke 18:24). Why? Because such men tend to misplace their hearts and their faith. With God set aside in one's life, a person seeks something else to have confidence in—good works, morality, respectability, even adherence to orthodoxy. Yet so many of our lives are empty today of Jesus' new life because we fail to admit that God is not our priority. That our ground of confidence has drifted, and shifted to become something other than Him. The disciples were amazed and asked who then could be saved? (Luke 18:26). The answer is never as clear as this: only those who look to God for what they themselves can never do. Salvation, impossible with men, is like all things, possible for God (Luke 18:27). Let us fix our faith in God. He alone can do the impossible.

Conclusion

a. First and foremost, God is the solid subject of our faith. "Faith" is not just a subjective phenomenon: it is not something simply inside us, whose reality is measured by how "strongly" we believe. Faith must have an object. And faith is only as solid as that object; only as valid as the thing we put our confidence and trust in. If you put your faith in money, your limitation will not supersede what money can do for you. If your faith is all about worldly position and prestige, you know the end result. Let us rest our faith in God and God alone.

b. Secondly, right manner and right attitudes are essential in our prayer to God. If we do not humble ourselves, God will humble us. Let us learn to pray like the persistent widow pleaded the judge to do her a favour yet be humble. God surely hears our prayers whether our prayers are right or not. If our prayers are right, God will answer rightly. If our prayers are wrong, God will answer accordingly. For instance, if we are too proud, God will answer our prayers by humbling us. If we have no patience, God will certainly delay in answering our prayers so that we will be more patience.

In response to the theme today, I challenge you to join me in prayer. As mentioned sometimes ago, I have set every Saturday morning 6.30 to 7.30 for prayer at the church. This coming Saturday, we are going to do things a bit different. We will do prayer walk. That’s mean we will walk around the town and say prayers accordingly. You are welcome to join me. For those who think morning is a problem, I have set another time for you, that is every Wednesday 12.00 noon except the first Wednesday where we have Noontide Eucharist. If you think noon time is not convenient too, Wednesday evening 8pm should be a good one. You see, we are going to have 3 prayer time slots for your choice. If you cannot come to any of these, don’t be down hearted. You can always pray wherever you are.

c. Thirdly, we need to pray specifically. I would like you to concentrate on praying for the lost souls and unchurched people. They could be your family, your friends, your neighbours, even strangers. Pray for the Mandarin service to be launched on 14 Nov. Pray for other ministries and ministries yet to come as well. Please help by filling up a prayer request form so that we know what to pray for. Prayer is not just important. Prayer is essential.

The Spirit of Thankfulness

Luke 17:11-19

¹¹Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance ¹³and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" ¹⁴When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. ¹⁵One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" ¹⁹Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." (NIV)

Introduction

Imagine one day on your way to the market a beggar came to ask you for money. Out of your compassion and kindness, you gave him $6 and left only $1 in your wallet. When the beggar saw that you have another dollar left, instead of feeling sorry for you, his covetousness ruled over, grabbing the $1 remained and ran away. What would be your first reaction towards such a ruthless and unthankful person? Furious? Angry?

Imagine that you are a rich man providing free meals with only one condition: every tenth meal received must be given out for free. Believing that there are still many people struck with hunger, your kind act would help many to survive. And the only condition set would help those who survived, in return helping others also. Unfortunately, one day you found that one of the people you have been helping turned round and exploited the meals you provide. He did not share the tenth meal received with the poor and needy. Worse still, he misused the provided meals for extortion and illegal trades, to earn more than he should have. Again what is your reaction to such an unthankful man then? Will you be angry with him? Will you still provide him with free meals or will you put him to jail until he repaid every cent he owed you?

The story in Luke 17:11-19 is about 10 lepers being healed by the Lord Jesus and only 1 returned to give thanks and praises to God. Where were the other 9 persons? Why were they so ruthless and unthankful? What are the lessons we could learn from here?

1. Some observations

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus heard 10 lepers calling to Him from a hill some distance away. They stood far away because they were lepers and were considered unclean in those days. They were socially outcast and abandoned by their families. Perhaps they have heard about the miracles of Jesus and that’s why they cried out for mercy (Luke 17:13). In response Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests according to the Jewish customs. A person who had been healed of an infectious skin disease was told in the Law to show himself to a priest so that he might be examined and then certified well. And the declared healed person was then to required offer the prescribed offering to God (Leviticus 13:2).

Hearing what Jesus said, the 10 lepers hurried away to do just this. And the bible says, “as they went, they were cleansed” (Luke 17:14).

The story did not stop there. Unfortunately out of the 10 lepers healed, only 1 turned back, praising God in loud shouts, and thanked Jesus. Interestingly this only 1 returned was a Samaritan, a race that was considered impure by the majority Jews. The other 9 were so called children of God who should have understood what was meant to offer a thanks offering once they found themselves cleaned. Yet they did not perform their duty.

2. What are the lessons?

a. The lepers demonstrated their faith with action.

When the lepers heard that Jesus asked them to go and be examined by a priest, had not waited for the outward evidence of the disease to disappear. That showed the faith they had in Jesus. They went, confident that their need had been met, and that healing was theirs. Faith impels us to obey before we see the full evidence of God's work within us.

Many people said that seeing is believing but real faith is not by sight. Real faith is like a young child resting in his daddy’s bosom, crossing a rough river in the darkest of night. Real faith is like some chicks resting peacefully under the wings of the mother bird in the stormy blasts.

b. Real faith accompanied with real action.

As mentioned above, according to the OT laws, whoever is cleansed from leprosy was required to be examined by a priest. The declared clean person then offers a prescribed offering as thanksgiving to the Lord. The 9 lepers had knowledge about this requirement as they were Jews and yet they did not fulfil it. On the other hand, this Samaritan leper acted accordingly. His faith is accompanied with action in thanksgiving. He took his head knowledge down 18 inches into his heart and made it into action. As James said, “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:17)

Conclusion

Though all 10 lepers were cured physically, only 1 cured also spiritually. It is my prayer that all of us are like the one thankful leper who gave thanks to God for his healing.

Do you still remember the imagined story of you being robbed by a beggar? When we are angry with the beggar who robbed the $1 remained, we need to ponder for ourselves. Sometime we acted like the beggar ourselves. God has given us 6 days to work and many a times we wanted to rob the remainder 7^th day.

Again, do you still remember the imagined story of you being the rich man who supplied free meal to the poor and needy with only one condition: that was to give freely to others the tenth meal received? When we feel angry with whoever exploited your good deeds, we need to be mindful of ourselves also. We sometimes do forget to offer one tenth of our income for the house of the Lord. May God help us to be grateful and thankful.

One of the greatest gifts we received from God is salvation in Christ. We were once like the lepers spiritually unclean and humiliated with sins and guilt. This spiritual uncleanness kept us far from God’s presence until one day He met us in Christ. In Christ we are now cleansed thoroughly, washed in His blood and eternally pure in God’s sight. Our spiritual cleanliness is examined by the Holy Spirit as Paul testified: The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. (Rom 8:16)

Also, as the author of Hebrews said, “The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. (Heb 10:15-18)

Since we have received this spiritual healing and cleansing, let us share this extraordinary joy with others. As a gesture of thankfulness, let us offer our time, our talents, our money for God’s ministry.

This year we set the month of November as mission month. In the mission month we will emphasise mission and evangelistic outreach. We also set aside a weekend to train our people for mission and evangelism. Let’s begin with praying for this project, praying for church leaders, praying for all members of St Mark, that we shall work hand in hand and side by side. May God stir our spirits and hearts so that we will be strong and courageous to go and tell all nations that Jesus is Lord. We have plenty of room for new comers, friends and relatives.

Let us dream for the Lord that one day we will see the church be filled with people from all directions and experience a mini scenario as described in Revelation 7:9-10 -- After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Amen.

The Little Faith We Need (Luke 17:5-10)

Introduction

We have people born in Christian families and people converted from other religions. I once was a staunch follower of Chinese folk religion, a kind of mixture of Buddhism and Taoism. By God’s grace and his choice, I became a Christian in 1977.Through the reading of God’s Words and listening to sermons, soon I realised one of the greatest differences between Christianity and all other religions is the saving grace of Christ offered. In all other religions, believers have to work hard and even do sacrifices in hoping to please and gain favour from the deities they worship.

I remember watching a documentary about a follower of certain religion was ordered to stand up day and night and not allowed to sit on chairs not to say to lie on beds. He explained his action was to please the deity so that he might be blessed with good luck etc. Whether sleeping, eating or even doing his big business, that poor man had to be in straight up position. In order for him to stand straight, he had many swing like ropes and hooks everywhere for him to hold on to. He would tie himself straight up when he need a “deep sleep” for instance.

Another story was told by a convert from certain religion. He was a religious guru. Every time they celebrate birthdays of their deities, together with many others, he would have many spears like bars pierce through his tongue, his nose, his chin and many hooks hooked on to his back with ropes attached pulling those status and shrines from a temple to another. In his testimony he said that during that time, people see him as a hero but nobody knows how much he suffered especially the aftermath pain and hurt which usually took many months for him to recover. When he finally turned to Christ, he became a new person, fully free from all those bondages and unnecessary sufferings.

I can tell you many more stories of how people lost their health, their money, their families and even their lives just because they tried to please their deities they served. For those who are in Christ, we experience the opposite. Jesus offers us life abundantly. (cf. John 10:10) Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). When we are in Christ, we shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free. (cf. John 8:32) Also, as Paul said, “therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor 5:17) We are all saved by the grace of God, not by our merits. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Eph 2:8-9) God did not demand anything from us in order for us to be saved. Salvation comes through faith and faith alone, for the death of Jesus purchased our forgiveness and new life granted. This doesn’t mean that Christians should therefore abandon doing good works. Christians do many good works but good works are not done in order to gain salvation and should not be treated as duties performed to gain favour from God. When a person has new life from God, that life will be expressed. Just as a living infant cries and moves, so a person with new life from Christ will express that life—in works. It is not that works bring life, but that those who are alive in Christ will work. These works are good works of mercy and kindness towards others. These are works that bring glory and honour to God, not to bring harm and sufferings to ourselves or to others.

1. Some observations

In the first few verses of Luke 17, Jesus rebuked those who cause others to stumble. Jesus’ words were severe. He said, “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” (NKJV) However, if the person repents, we must forgive him. Jesus was very specific. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him" (Luke 17:3). Even if he offended us 7 times and repent, we still have to forgive him. "If he sin against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." We understand that 7 is a complete number. It does not mean that we do not need to forgive that person if he offended us the eighth time.

When the disciples heard this, they were furious and cried out, “Lord, increase our faith!” Apparently they were furious because they did not have enough faith to forgive such persons who constantly offending them. Marvellously Jesus did not answer them directly. Instead of promising needed faith, He seems to dismiss their concern. He said, "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" (Luke 17:6).

Jesus' next words explain His reaction. He asked them about a servant—literally, a bond slave. Doesn't his master have him work and do the tasks assigned? Don't both master and slave expect the servant to put his master's needs before his own? (Luke 17:8) And, when the servant has done what he has been commanded, does he deserve any special commendation? Obviously not. A servant's role is to obey his master. Obedience is nothing extraordinary for a slave. And so Jesus applied the analogy. He said, "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' " (Luke 17:10).

What did Jesus mean? Jesus had given His disciples a command. When a person sins, he is to be rebuked and forgiven. This is not optional. This is the way every disciple is to live with others. This is a matter of obedience to the Lord! In other words, Jesus said, "Faith is fine for moving mulberry trees, but faith has nothing to do with this!" When it comes to living by Jesus' commands, the issue is not one of faith but of obedience! We don't need extra faith to obey! What we need to do is to remember that Jesus is Lord, and we who are Jesus' servants are called to do as He commands!

This incident revealed the disciple's confusion about the function of faith in the life of a follower of Jesus. It is a confusion that many believers share today. While this incident does not give direct teaching about the nature of faith, Jesus does settle one thing. We can never draw back from doing God's revealed will because we feel we have inadequate faith. As servants of Jesus Christ, we are to obey when He speaks.

2. What are the lessons?

a. Here we learned one of the many aspects of faith. It is about faith in trusting every single word of God and obeys accordingly. As mentioned above, we do not need more faith to forgive our offenders. What we need is obedience to God’s words. Jesus himself set an extreme example of obeying God by dying on the cross for the remission of the sins of the world. Paul described Jesus who humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (cf. Phil 2:8)

b. Another aspect of faith could be found in the NT reading from 2 Tim 1:5 – These are the words of Paul to Timothy his spiritual son, “when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.” (NKJV) Here we see that faith was being passed on from one generation to another. Lois did not hold on to her faith and be satisfied herself. Knowing that the faith in Christ was so precious, she passed it on to her daughter Eunice and eventually to Timothy.

This good news of Christ’s salvation is too great to retain by an individual. We see many other examples in the bible where people who came to know Christ’s saving grace, they just could not keep silence without telling others. For instance in Matt 9:29-31, Jesus healed two blind men and warned them not to let others know, yet they spread the news about Him in all that country. Another example found in John 4:39 The Samaritan woman who experienced Christ testified him and eventually many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him.

c. Again in 2 Tim 1:7, we learn that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (NKJV) By saying that Paul meant to remind Timothy not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, who has saved them and called them with a holy calling. (cf. 2 Tim 1:8-9) In other words, the faith granted to us by God’s grace is for us to bear witness for Him boldly without fear.

In the history of the early church, many disciples boldly testified for Christ not with prices to pay. Many of them were persecuted, imprisoned and gone through much hardship. And some even martyred for the gospel sake.

Conclusion

In my conclusion, I think the above 3 points about faith are enough for us to ponder over for the week and beyond. We learn to obey Christ’s command in every single detail not to gain eternal life but as a sign of our faith in Him. That faith makes us different inside, and love for God, not fear of Him. That faith motivates holiness.

We also learned to pass on our faith to our younger generations. In baptism, the parents and sponsors are challenge to express their trust and commitment to the promises of God, and their intention to bring up their children in the faith and practice of the Church. They are requested to set good example in prayers and services in the life and faith of the Christian community.

It is our prayer that our next generation and generations to come shall able to claim as Joshua did in thousands years ago: But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Josh 24:15 NKJV)

The blessing we received should not be retained within ourselves. We want to reach out to as many people as we can. In order to be effective in reaching out, I would like you to digest the words of our Lord in Matthew 28:19-20 -- “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”(NKJV)

Let us set aside some times to pray for St Marks and for each other at least once a week. Besides the time slot for your own, you are welcome to join me at the Dawn Prayer at 6.30am every Saturday morning.

May God revive His church.