Luke 17:1-10 (NKJV)

1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! 2 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. 3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying,

Luke 17:1-10 (NKJV)

‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” 5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8 But will he not rather say to him,

Luke 17:1-10 (NKJV)

‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’”

4 Lessons For The DiscipleLuke 17:1-10

4 Lessons•Jesus taught many lessons within the 4 gospels

•If we only drew lessons from those, we would have enough for a lifetime

•John 21:25 – The Bible does not even record all that Jesus said and did, so we know there was so much more

4 Lessons•There were many lessons He taught His disciples that were important

•These are lessons that He expects you and I to carry out as well

•Matt. 28:19-20 - We have a duty not only to keep it, but to teach others to keep it as well

4 Lessons•1. Avoid putting stumbling blocks in front of others (1-3)▫Begins with saying it’s impossible for stumbling blocks not to come (v. 1)

▫Offenses & temptations will happen in this life!

▫It may be that they even come from within

4 Lessons•1. Avoid putting stumbling blocks in front of others (1-3)▫Just because they are sure to come, doesn’t excuse the one who may cause them

▫Woe to him!▫Better for him…▫Those are strong words from our Lord

4 Lessons•1. Avoid putting stumbling blocks in front of others (1-3)▫Take heed to yourselves▫Check yourself, are you a stumbling block to others?

▫You may be by the things that you say and do, even by what you wear

4 Lessons•2. Practice unlimited forgiveness (3-4)▫We shouldn’t seek to lead others into sin, but when someone does sin, what then?

▫The proper response is to rebuke him▫In other words, tell him what he’s done

▫Matt. 5:23-24; Eph. 4:26

4 Lessons•2. Practice unlimited forgiveness (3-4)▫We don’t talk about them or the sin, we go directly to them

▫If he repents, forgive him▫We don’t continue in hostility or holding a grudge

▫What if he doesn’t repent?

4 Lessons•2. Practice unlimited forgiveness (3-4)▫Matt. 18:15-17 gives us further instructions

▫We still need to possess a forgiving attitude

▫If they continue to sin against us, then we need to continue to forgive them as they repent and try to do better

4 Lessons•3. Seek an increase of faith (5-6)

▫The disciples asked to have their faith increased

▫Maybe they were seeking a miraculous increase of faith

▫Interesting this is coming off the heels of Jesus command to forgive others

4 Lessons•3. Seek an increase of faith (5-6)

▫Jesus doesn’t necessarily address how to gain that faith here, but He does describe the great value and power of faith

▫He seems to be telling them that it may not be the quantity that counts, but rather the quality

▫You can have even the faith as a mustard seed

4 Lessons•3. Seek an increase of faith (5-6)

▫Do you have a faith that is living and active?

▫Jesus didn’t say we shouldn’t try and increase our faith, but rather that a little of the right faith can go a long way

▫Rom. 10:17 – “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”

4 Lessons•4. Regard ourselves as duty-bound servants of God (7-10)▫We can sometimes get too proud of ourselves and think that we are superior

▫We must never think that God owes us anything

▫When we do all the things we are commanded, we are simply unprofitable servants

4 Lessons•4. Regard ourselves as duty-bound servants of God (7-10)▫That’s not to say that God doesn’t love us

▫That’s not to say that He won’t reward us

▫However, we need to be careful not to get an attitude or sense of entitlement

4 Lessons•4. Regard ourselves as duty-bound servants of God (7-10)▫It’s important for us to stay humble in our work

▫God doesn’t owe us anything▫How many have fallen by the wayside due to pride?