467. Walking in the Word - Lead Well, with Forgiveness & Faith

Are you called to be a leader? Do you know how and where to lead others? In today's scripture, Jesus teaches His followers not only the importance of leading well for His glory, but also how to harness God's power in the process. (Luke 17:1-10)   ****   Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins, and I am honored to walk with you as we open the Bible and ask God to teach us what He wants us to know today. We are busy at Women World Leaders as we continue to put in place offerings to help empower you to walk in your God-given purpose. To accomplish this goal, we use a three-fold effort – first, we teach the Bible – standing on the Word of God together in all that we do; second, we offer community as we connect women in Christian fellowship; and third, we offer teaching and guidance to help equip you for your ongoing service to our Lord. To learn the specifics of how we are fulfilling this mission and how you can get involved, please visit our website: womenworldleaders.com. While you are there, make sure you fill out our contact form so you can stay up to date and join us as your schedule permits and as God prompts you. On this, the Wednesday edition of the podcast, we are currently walking through the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John chronologically. Recently, we have been studying the book of Luke, which we will continue today as we embrace Luke 17:1-10. Before we begin, let's pray… Dear Most Holy God – I don't know what is going on today in the life of the woman who is listening right now, but you do. You are ever-present, even when we don't recognize it. And you know what it is that we each need to hear. So we come to you today, asking for a miracle: speak directly to each of your listeners. Allow her to hear your voice and your words as we open Scripture together. God, I ask that you remove me, and allow only your thoughts to be heard. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.   As we have been following Jesus in the book of Luke, He is making His way to Jerusalem teaching and preparing His disciples, not only for the events of the crucifixion that were to occur, but also for the life they would soon lead after His death and resurrection. In short, Jesus is rising up leaders for His church. The Pharisees thought THEY were the leaders, but we've seen time and again how they let Jesus down. And, in that day, Jesus had chosen His 12 very unlikely disciples. And as we read today, we know that Jesus has chosen US to be His leaders. WE are His followers. WE are His disciples. And WE are those whom He has chosen to lead others in the way of Christianity. Aren't we lucky that Jesus left US the SAME training manual He gave those original 12 disciples? I don't know exactly what your calling is – but I know it is important because it has come from God Himself. And I also know He is continually equipping you exactly what He is calling you to.  Keeping that amazing thought in mind. Let's give our attention to HIS words today, as recorded in Luke 17:1-10 from the New Living Translation. 17 One day Jesus said to his disciples, "There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting! 2 It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. 3 So watch yourselves! Remember, Jesus had been teaching as He traveled, and the Pharisees and other religious leaders continued to outwardly scoff at His teachings. Have you ever been influenced by someone else's attitude toward something? Perhaps you've been swept up in the exuberance of a political rally. Someone starts yelling something, good or bad, about the leader, causing you to think…hmmm…what side should I believe? There is no doubt that, as the Pharisees scoffed, there were some who were there wondering, "Is this Jesus-guy for me?" And you can bet that the scoffing of the Pharisees caused some of them to question Jesus' words. Jesus warned the disciples… what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. Our words, actions, and responses carry influence. And we MUST take that responsibility of influence seriously. When my daughter was just 4 years old, her leadership skills had already become very apparent in her pre-k class. As I noticed this, I was careful to guide her, telling her that she had a remarkable power – people listened to her. And so, along with that leadership power, she had the responsibility to carefully choose how and where to lead others. A couple of weeks after I had that conversation with her, her teacher pulled me aside, wanting to relay the day's happenings to me. There was a boy in my daughter's class who was not well-regarded. He didn't come to class very often, often came late, and spoke in a thick accent – all causing the kids to not have much interaction with him. That day, a few minutes after the day started, an announcement came from the office that that boy had arrived and would be entering the classroom momentarily. My daughter, who had noticed written on the board that it was his birthday, quickly told all the kids to hide so that when he came in, they could jump out and wish him a happy birthday. She led. And the kids listened. And the boy was thrilled. We ALL have an opportunity to lead. But we must CHOOSE how and where we lead others. With our words, written or spoken, and our actions, we can lead for peace or for strife. And we can choose whether we point others to the glory of God or to the waywardness of the world. There are people around YOU who are watching you in your Christian walk. What are you showing them? Where are you leading them? Do they see, by your words and actions, that Christians are judgmental and harsh? Or do they witness a love that is beyond their worldly comprehension? Jesus says… It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. "Little ones" are not just little children…"little ones" are those who are younger than you in their spiritual walk. Are you leading others well? Do your actions lead others to react in kindness, graciousness, mercy, and generosity? Do you model forgiveness that makes Jesus smile? Jesus continues… "If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. 4 Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive." Forgiveness can be so difficult. It can feel like cleaning your own wound. Have you ever had to pour alcohol on a wound to kill anything that might lead to an infection? Oh, it can sting! Yet we know it is necessary to allow the wound to heal. And not only is forgiveness difficult,  but it can also be exhausting. HOW many times do I need to forgive? As God's children, we are to forgive as often as it takes. Because forgiveness allows healing to occur…DESPITE the fact that it can sting, is difficult, and exhausting. The disciples were listening. They heard the urgency with which Jesus taught about the necessity of forgiveness, but they were also very aware of their own fleshly limitations, so they responded to Jesus…  "Show us how to increase our faith." Have you ever been there? You KNOW what you need to do – in this case, forgive someone despite the pain it may cause you to clean out that dirty wound, but you ALSO know that you need God to grab you by the hand and walk you through the process…so you cry to Him … INCREASE MY FAITH! I think we've all been there. The struggle to do what is right can be SO REAL. Next time you cry out to God to help you do the right thing…remember His response… 6 The Lord answered, "If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you! To do what God calls us to, we don't need much…just the tiniest bit of faith leading us to the next simple step of obedience. The black mulberry tree has a large root system that gives it the ability to live up to 600 years. Uprooting a tree like this would be nearly impossible. AND … planting it in water would also be impossible as the roots could not reestablish themselves. BUT….THE LORD said… ALL THIS is possible with faith the size of a tiny mustard seed. God sometimes calls us to do VERY difficult things – like choosing the stinging pain of forgiveness. But, He promises that we can do what we are called to by simply holding onto Him in faith and taking the next right step. Jesus illustrates the power that He gives us when we hold onto just the tiniest bit of faith…verse 7 7 "When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, 'Come in and eat with me'? 8 No, he says, 'Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.' 9 And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. 10 In the same way, when you obey me you should say, 'We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.'" Our job, as servants of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is to simply do the duty Jesus has set before us – just one step at a time. When we do, our faith will grow like the mustard plant.   Jesus was teaching the disciples, and He is teaching us, how to lead well.  He starts with a warning – choose carefully how and where you will lead others. You ARE leading them somewhere, so, as He says in verse 3, "watch yourselves." After the warning, Jesus gives an instruction: always offer forgiveness. Then Jesus reminds us that we have the POWER to do all God calls us to. That power comes from holding tightly to even the little bit of faith we have. And finally, Jesus wrapped it all up in a story, telling us that we are servants of an amazing master who will always lead us the right way – our job is to walk in obedience to Him. One step at a time. And in the process, watch Him grow our faith AND the faith of those He has called us to lead. Dear Most Holy God – we cling to you and to the faith that you are growing within us day by day. Father, it is not by our own might that we have the power to lead, forgive, and serve – but it is by the power you grant us when we actualize the faith you have gifted each of us. Give us the courage and strength to go wherever you call and to lead others well – with a positive influence and in the right direction, straight into your arms. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.