February 24, 2021
Wednesday
Luke 17:1-2 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.
In this passage, the “little ones” mentioned is not a reference to children. It is talking about those newly coming into the faith. It should be harder to offend a seasoned Christian, than people who are new to the faith. But, because we know that, we have to handle it a little differently. The Lord takes this very seriously. In verse 3, He is warning us.
Luke 17:3-4 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, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
“Take heed to yourselves” is another way of saying, “Pay attention to yourself,” or “Always be on guard.” See how important this is? Rebuke in this context does not mean you attack them verbally. It means to approach your brother or sister in Christ and say, “you and I both know this is not right.” If they will acknowledge that and apologize, you must forgive them. Forgiveness is something we cannot put limits on. It does not matter the number. Unforgiveness is something you do not want in your life and you should avoid it at all costs.
Matthew 18:1-7 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. 6 “But 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 depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
When offenses come (and they undoubtedly will) what does pride do? It does not humble itself and forgive. Pride won’t admit wrongdoing. What would humility do? Admission of guilt and ask for forgiveness. You will have to have God to help in those moments. We know that we are not supposed to live in strife. We must set an example to the “little ones.” Do not cast a stumbling block or cause them to be offended! It don’t matter how painful it is, get unforgiveness out of your life!
Luke 17:5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
They realized the seriousness of this matter and asked God for help. They were saying something along the lines of, “Add to me so that I can be this kind of person.” We have been taught that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. But, that is not what this is teaching. Faith has been redeemed in us when we were born again. We were dealt the same measure of faith. Romans 12:3 says it like this: “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Faith is simply awakened by hearing the Word of God. The measure of faith that was dealt to you was the amount you need to fulfil His purpose for your life and overcome anything that comes against you that tries to defeat you as you go about that purpose. All of our purposes are different. You’ve got the faith in you! So, asking for MORE faith is ineffective.
Luke 17: 6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this sycamine tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
What is it that increases faith? Jesus points to a sycamine tree. This is a huge tree! It is something they can look at with their eyes and comprehend in their thinking. Then He points to something the size of a mustard seed. He is saying that it is not the size of your faith that is the problem! Because just the least bit of faith can take care of the biggest problem. It is not your faith that needs to be increased! If you’ll deal with these things in you that causes you to offend others, your faith will work like it should. You speak, and the mountain moves. The problem is not your faith, it is the other things in your life. How do you straighten those areas of your life? It is difficult to do when you don’t even realize you have them.
When you got born again, a lot more happened to you than you think. Your whole nature changed on the inside and the nature of God was born inside of you. When Adam and Eve ate of the apple, they went from life, to death. They took on a nature and capacity like the devil or darkness. That means they now have a capacity to become like a Hitler. They didn’t do it in that moment, but they had the capacity to do it. Well, we got born again, we went from death to life. We got a new capacity to be taught and understand the things of God. You now have the capacity to love like God loves and forgive like God forgives. God can’t pour His love out on you any more than what you posses right now. If He could, He would. The reason He can’t is because your capacity is so small. You have to increase that capacity by getting into His presence. The longer you are in His presence, the more your capacity is increased and the more He is able to pour in. He will increase the more you go into His presence. It will grow and develop! When that happens, it will overtake that part of you that can offend. The two cannot coexist. You must take the time with Him!
Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
You got life and light, and you’ve got darkness and fear. The two cannot coexist. If the Lord is your light and strength, you won’t be a person of fear. They can’t live in the same vessel. Thank Him for being God in your life, and it will increase His capacity to be that to you. Fear will have no chance! His love coming into your life pushes that out. A person who is unforgiving or could hurt people, are not making God the light of their life. It’s impossible to have it both ways. You think you need to meditate His word and increase your faith, but God is saying to get in His presence and let Him increase the love in your life so that He can take care of that for you. It works from the inside out. You won’t have to stand and grit your teeth when someone is acting out! You must decide you don’t want to be that way! Get in the presence of God! It can’t be done by will power! That will eventually break down.
Jude 1:20-21 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
When you go sit down and pray in the Spirit, you are building yourself up on your most holy faith. It’s the part of you where faith comes from, your spirit. “Keep yourself in the love of God”? How? Spending time in the presence of God and with the Holy Spirit. Let Him pray for you! He can’t pour if you don’t increase the capacity! It’s up to you! God wants you to get there, but you have to work with Him! You can’t keep constantly praying in tongues and getting in His presence by worshipping Him, without being delivered to the Love of God. You let that light shine in your life, and the darkness must go!