Jesus Teaches about Authentic Faith

Scripture: Luke 17:1-10(NIV)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 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. “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 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.’”

Devotional

Being a follower of Jesus comes with great responsibilities:

Don’t tempt others to sin. God’s wrath awaits the tempter in ways that make a violent death seem mild.

Be willing to confront believers when they sin, and be willing to forgive them every time they ask for forgiveness.

Grow your faith. Learn to trust in God so completely that nothing is impossible.

Consider it an honor to obey God. We don’t serve in order to get blessings, but simply to be grateful, responsible followers of Jesus.

Too often, we look at faith in Christ as a transaction: I believe, I receive. There is truth in this. We are co-heirs with Christ. However, we receive for a purpose. We receive in order to serve, give, love, minister, and bless others and God.

Being a follower of Jesus is not for the lukewarm, the unforgiving, the faithless, or the self-seeking. No health and wealth, name it and claim it gospel here.

Discipleship is an all-out surrender of self to Jesus.

It is our duty.

It is our privilege.

How is Christ calling you to deeper discipleship?

Poem

There'll Be A Change In You

If you lose something precious
You'll leave something behind
You'll go out searching
You'll hunt high and low
You'll hope greatly to find it
You'll rejoice when you do
Though others might not notice
There'll be a change in you.

If you're hurt by a neighbor
You'll be tempted to brood
You'll have to move toward him
You'll have to pursue
You'll have to be honest
You'll have to be true
Though others might not notice
There'll be a change in you.

If you're stating a sentence
You'll say yes or no
You'll not be able to change it
You'll have written in stone
You'll have marked it in heaven
You'll have made it a prayer
Though others might not notice
There'll be a change in you

If you think someone owes you
You'll have to be careful
You'll have to remember your own debt
You'll have to be humbled
You'll have seven times seventy times
You'll feel the exhaustion of forgiveness
Though others might not notice
There'll be a change in you.

Podcast: Week 31

Sermon: Week 31

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