The Power Question and Gelassenheit - Chester Weaver

Lesson Transcript

Those who desire power positions must learn how to work at the bottom, must learn how to serve, must learn how to occupy the very opposite of a power position. They must learn what Gelassenheit really means. Let me sum it up: the people who know what Gelassenheit really means are the same people who understand what Koinonia means, and those who experience Koinonia have already partaken of eternal joy. And they are the people who invite every interested observer: come with us.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. I just bless God for what Brother Bill shared with us this morning. I'm going to be talking more about Shalom, the way the things are supposed to be.

And I'm conscious of David's presence, and I invite his comments and corrections afterwards about this idea of Koinonia. And so, David, please feel free whenever if I'm saying something that's not quite correct, or if you want to add something to it, please feel free to add to it. Many times in messages, we address the individual. This morning, I plan to address the body, the group. And I don't know your group very well. I thank you for allowing us to be here. This is the third time for me.

It's the first time for my wife and daughter. But there's a connection I already feel with you because I've known David for so long. His son, Andre, used to live with Roosevelt's father in our home for a period of time. And that's a real connection. I just really treasure that. And so I do feel organically connected to you. Whether you feel it toward me or not, I feel it toward you. And I'm going to be free to speak this morning, but I'm speaking generically. I would say the same thing in any other context.

So I'm just telling you upfront, I'm not pinpointing you. I'm just saying what I understand the Scriptures to teach. The title of the message this morning is The Power Question and Gelassenheit. This message is a very difficult message to understand if you don't understand some of the terms. And Chester Weaver previously came to our church and preached a whole message on Gelassenheit, so we're very familiar with this term.

So I'm going to put a little excerpt from that sermon into this sermon so that you can get a better grasp of its meaning. And afterwards, I will give some definitions of Koinonia, which will also be very important to understand this sermon. Jesus said that we're supposed to go into the world and teach all nations. That's a command. Usually, that's done one person at a time. There have been some mass movements, but it's usually one person at a time.

We tend to think that teaching and preaching is the primary way, and it may be that that is the primary way that the gospel is shared. But as I would understand how history has indicated, it's this principle at work that is the most compelling for people to come into the faith. Let me give you one story first. A few years ago, I was with my father and my son in Belgium at Ghent. And the castle at Ghent is a place where there were over 110 Anabaptists killed.

And they have the torture, the instruments of torture in that castle. It's quite a place to visit. They at first killed these Anabaptists outside the castle walls to be an example to the townspeople. This is what will happen to you if you take up this faith. But when the townspeople watched these people die, they said, "Wow, what glorious dying. These people have something that I wish I had." It was Gelassenheit. It was Gelassenheit that allowed them to be able to die like this.

And Gelassenheit was so powerful that it invited people into the movement. That's just at Ghent. This has happened throughout history. Anytime somebody dies for the faith in a public way, people always go, "Wow, there's something powerful going on here." And so at Ghent, they got smart. And they said, "Okay, we'll just kill them now inside the castle walls where nobody can see." That is an indication of how powerful this is. Whenever we start out with Christianity, we always start with the why.

Okay, we tend to start with what, but we always need to start with the why. We love Jesus and desire to live in intimacy and oneness with Him. That's where this whole thing starts. And whenever we meet Christ and we surrender to Him in Gelassenheit, this is what happens. We do not lay up earthly treasures. We share with the poor. We make peace and forgive. We do not lie. And just bless me to hear what Mike said this morning. We seek to be humble. We actively seek the lost. We have been born again and baptized.

The fiber of who we are is love. And that grows right out of last Sunday's topic on this number one principle of the kingdom. We overcome temptation and sin. We speak to Jesus often. We love our enemies. We do not seek earthly power. In summary, we radically obey Jesus' commandments. No spin, no complicated interpretations, no excuses. With passion, we live out His kingdom vision while dwelling in oneness with the King. That's how Gelassenheit works out.

I'm saying that Gelassenheit, you cannot have a relationship with Christ without it working out in Gelassenheit. It's just a part of being a Christian. When we get real with how weak we really are in our human powerlessness, then God goes to work. And that's what I was illustrating to you with this story in the castle of Ghent. So here is this list of 17 things, Gelassenheit. This is the best definition that I know of. It's a combination of all these. It's not one of these.

There is, like we said, no English word that translates this way. But it's a combination of yieldedness and humility and calmness and composure and meekness and aplomb and tranquility and imperturbability and serenity and poise and sedateness and letting go. It's the opposite of self-assertion. It's a gentle spirit. It's submitting to God's will, brokenness, esteeming others above ourselves. It's the union and agreement of the inner experience without response.

There's one more word I should put up there: relaxation. And I'll shortly share what I mean by that. What helped me better understand this message while listening to this sermon was to keep this definition of Gelassenheit in mind, that it's a humble submission and a peace that surpasses our understanding. A humble submission and a peace that surpasses all of our understanding. Instead of me sharing a definition of Koinonia with you, I think David Paulson did a perfect job in this video.

In all this, one word figures quite prominently, and that's the word Koinonia, which is translated in our Bible fellowship. But that's a word we really haven't understood. Fellowship or Koinonia is a very profound relationship. We talk about, "We'll have a bit of fellowship over a cup of tea in the hall after the meeting." As if a cup of tea creates fellowship, it creates a bit of friendship, but fellowship is far more than a cup of tea. Koinonia was a word that was used of partners in a business.

We would say partnership. So that if that business fails, everybody involved in it goes down. They have fellowship in the business. They are bound up with each other so that if one goes, they all go. If one survives, they all survive. That's fellowship. Or to give you an even more startling illustration, in those days, as today, they occasionally had Siamese twins born. Of course, there was no hope of separating them in those days. Even modern surgery doesn't always succeed.

But when Siamese twins are born, if they're joined side by side, they have the same bloodstream. And that's one of the difficulties of separating them if the blood is circulating through both their bodies. And when Siamese twins were born in the ancient world, they were said to have Koinonia in blood, which means that if one died, the other would die, you see. They're so bound up together that what happens to one will happen to the other. That's Koinonia.

It's not just having a nice friendly cup of tea together in the church hall after the service. It's being so bound up together that what happens to one happens to the lot. Jesus said, "Watch out for those Pharisees. Watch out for their teaching." And later, when asked by the disciples, "Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Jesus set a little child among them.

And when the mother of Zebedee's boys requested a power position for them, Jesus said, "You don't know what you're asking." Accompanying His object lesson with a little child, He said authoritatively, "Be childlike." In other words, power questions have no place in His kingdom. Consequently, the rich young ruler simply walked away sorrowfully. By contrast, Jesus made a power statement one day. He said, "When I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself." That sounds like a naked power statement.

What did He mean? Something is upside down. And then He said in Matthew 18:1-9, "Whoever interferes with this admirable childlikeness should be drowned." He followed that astonishing power statement with another. This kind of interference will surely happen. But woe to the power move which destroys childlike trust. And then He followed those two astonishing statements by an even more astonishing one. He said, "It's better to be maimed and blind than to ever do such a thing." What is going on here?

Jesus simply comments that angels who gaze at the face of a heavenly Father are involved with childlike people. The childlike people are the found people. And Jesus Christ Himself sets out to find even more. It's not God's plan that any childlike person would be lost. As long as the gaze upon the Father's face continues, no childlike person will be lost. Such is the face of Gelassenheit. The heavenly host is composed of beings who experience Gelassenheit. So why is this happening?

Jesus comments that where two or three people are gathered in His name, He's present with them. Now, not just any gathering of two or three explains why He is present.

It's two or three childlike persons communicating with each other, sharing burdens with each other, fellowshipping at heart levels, together, reverently obedient, exhorting and encouraging each other, rebuking sin in each other, praying together, working together, trusting each other, blessing each other, forgiving each other, learning together, and more explain why this is happening. Gelassenheit. Gelassenheit. Collective Gelassenheit. Childlike—sorry—collective childlikeness has been known to history as Koinonia.

Koinonia is so precious that it must be preserved at all costs. A sinning brother is approached privately and then semi-privately. Usually, that's sufficient. By its nature, Koinonia compels human beings to retain it. To lose it is to suffer the loss of gazing on the face of the Father. To lose it is to lose the opportunity to gaze upon other childlike souls. Nobody needs to be persuaded that Koinonia is a good idea. Human beings already know this in their very bones.

Most human beings unconsciously seek Koinonia in marriage, the very closest human bond. Some find it, most do not. And then authority enters into Koinonia, not from without, but from within. Koinonia is its own authority because in Gelassenheit, it naturally agrees with the divine in all matters, spoken and unspoken. No coercion, no reluctance, no timidity. It's just yielded, relaxed, powerful, quiet, and unperturbed. Why? It's because the Holy Spirit is present.

He speaks unlimited forgiveness for human sin, unfailing trust while quietly waiting before the thrice holy God, and joy so deep that it cannot be fathomed. Koinonia is where God is found on the earth. The scripture says that when Jesus finished His teaching on Koinonia, which is focused a lot on Matthew 18, we'll look at that a little later here. The scripture says when He was finished teaching on Koinonia, great multitudes followed Him. And we understand why. Who would not desire the experience of Koinonia?

Who would not desire the experience of Koinonia? The Pharisees, the power people, the rich young ruler, Zebedee's wife. And conditions are no different today. The Koinonia blind still desire to be served. The Koinonia blind still seek power. The Koinonia blind still grasp for wealth, for more and more things. The Koinonia blind still remain locked up in their own little selfish prisons, totally uncomprehending Koinonia freedom and Koinonia treasure.

Yet all the while, the Koinonia blind still desperately seek Koinonia reality. Koinonia exists at the very center of the doctrine of the church. Yes, the church can function organizationally without Koinonia. We can gather Sunday after Sunday without Koinonia. We can sing and pray and preach without Koinonia. Mechanics and mechanics and machines, we call them technology, coupled with mechanics, can manage quite awesome feats. But not Koinonia. It's because Koinonia is divine.

Now, please allow me to conclude by considering Zebedee's wife's power question. Kneeling before Jesus, she humbly requested that her sons enjoy power positions on the left and right hands of Christ in His kingdom. Jesus responded by saying that she did not know what she was asking. He asked her if she was able to drink the cup of suffering just before Him and whether she was willing to be baptized with His kind of suffering.

And she and her two sons declared, "We're able." And Jesus noted, "This will happen to you." But then He said, "The power positions are not power positions. God Himself will fill those positions with His own choices." And then He hinted at the kind of occupant for those positions. He said, "Those who desire power positions must learn how to work at the bottom, must learn how to serve, must learn how to occupy the very opposite of a power position. They must learn what Gelassenheit really means." Let me sum it up.

The people who know what Gelassenheit really means are the same people who understand what Koinonia means. And those who experience Koinonia have already partaken of eternal joy. And they are the people who invite every interested observer, "Come with us." Amen. Now turn with me to Matthew 18. Brother Bill this morning was giving us the big picture. And I thoroughly agree with him. We have to look at the big picture. And many times we focus on the microscope. But the world has both microscopes and telescopes.

There is a big picture and there is a micro picture. And so I tried to give a big picture view of Matthew 18. Now, I realized that when I read Matthew 18 that I'm missing some of this that I've already talked to you about. I've taken some of the things that should be read in chapter maybe 16 already. And maybe some things that should be read beyond chapter 18. But I would just like to read chapter 18. Think about Koinonia the whole way through. I'm reading from the New King James.

"At that time, the disciples came to Jesus saying, 'Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' Then Jesus called a little child to Him and set him in the midst of them and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me.

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses, for offenses must come. But woe to that man by whom the offense comes. If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It's better for you to enter into life lame or maimed rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out, cast it from you, for it's better for you to enter into life with one eye rather than having two eyes to be cast into hellfire. Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven, for the Son of Man has come to save that which is lost. What do you think?

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the 99 and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the 99 that did not go astray. Even so, it's not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. Moreover, if your brother sins against you, and let me pause here, some manuscripts, many manuscripts do not have the word against you in it.

We can reread this. Moreover, if your brother sins, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Let me pause to insert. If he will not hear the church, he's like a power person.

Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. And again, I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they shall ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them. Then Peter came to him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me?

And I forgive him up to seven times." Let me pause to say, Peter is saying, "Lord, how often shall I have to put up with power plays?" And Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to 70 times seven. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents.

But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him saying, "Master, have patience with me. I will pay you all." Let me pause right there. There was a power position from the master. The person who owed is not in a power position. He's in a childlike position. And he says, "Be patient.

I will do what I can as a child to pay you." The master of the servant was moved with compassion because he moved out of his power position into a forgiveness position, which is not a power position. And it says here, "Released him and forgave him the debt." But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denary. And he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, "Pay me what you owe." He moved from a childlike position into a power position.

He assumed something that he should not have done. So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you all." The very thing that he had just previously done himself as a child in a childlike position, but he would not. He maintained his power position and went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved and came and told their master all that had been done.

Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, "You wicked servant." Let me pause to say, you went from a childlike position and assumed a power position. I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you? And his master was angry and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. In other words, the old debt was all called back. Brothers and sisters, that is so significant.

I don't know what to say. If that doesn't move our hearts, I don't know what will. That underscores the importance of Koinonia. So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you from his heart does not forgive his brother his trespasses. Or we could rephrase it in terms of what I'm saying here. So will the heavenly Father do for everyone who is not childlike with his attitude. And brothers and sisters, when we have attitudes like this, Koinonia happens.

And whenever there's power positions at work, Koinonia does not happen. Amen. Let's stand to pray. Eternal Father in heaven, you are so clear with what you have to say. And we humans are so prone to power positions of one kind or another. And you know that this is a very common problem. It's a perpetual problem down through the years. And even if we do assume a childlike position, we can remove ourselves from that childlike position to take a power position. But you will deal with us.

And so our Father, we beg your divine mercy upon us. And I ask that you would call us to understand our own hearts and to move in our hearts so that we would not take a power position, but we would be in Gelassenheit so we can be in Koinonia with others who have the same Gelassenheit. And Father, I acknowledge that the human spirit around the world is longing for Koinonia. And you have made it very possible. And I thank you for this.

And I thank you for the opportunity to have your Holy Spirit work in our hearts so that we can actually experience things like this. So our Father, I pray your special blessing upon this group of people that they might actually have Koinonia happen regularly, week by week, decade by decade in this congregation so that you can do your work, put your power on display to everybody who is watching, both this group as a whole and also as individuals in their homes and their communities as they touch the world.

Thank you for the opportunity for allowing us to be salt and light in our generation. And I pray that you would give us the spiritual qualities to be able to actually do that to a watching world, to be the salt and the light in this generation you're calling us to be. So bless us as you see we have need. In Jesus' name, amen.