According To Luke: Overcoming Faith

According To Luke: Overcoming Faith

Opening Illustration

A young driver was in a hurry to get to an appointment and illegally parked his car. He left this note under the windshield wiper of his auto: So sorry, but I have circled the block for twenty minutes. I am late for an appointment and if I don't park here, I'll lose my job! "FORGIVE ME MY TRESPASSES".

When the driver of the car came back, he was shocked when he found a parking ticket on his windshield with the following note: I've circled this block for twenty years as a police officer....if I don't give you a ticket, I will lose my job! "LEAD ME NOT INTO TEMPTATION!"

Point:

We have all been there before. Temptation comes knocking on our door. Question for you this morning, what tempts you? Food? Alcohol? Desserts and treats? Temptation can come in the form of an attractive female or the speed of a hot rod. For some, temptation looks like a brand new pair of shoes that we don’t need or that cute new bathing suit. Temptation is everywhere. It is on the computer. 

I am not sure if any of you have had this experience but somehow Instagram knows what I want before I knew that I wanted it. There are adds on Instagram that I know are directed exactly at me. I don’t know how it does what it does, but it has me figured out. Temptation is on TV. Do you remember the Hardee’s ads from a few years ago? They used attractive female celebrities to sell hamburgers. These women were placed in seductive situations and barely clothed. Hardee’s knew that these sorts of commercials would capture men because men are lustful creatures who are ensnared by their eyes. 

Background and Context:

Temptation is tough and when we act on it, it can lead to tragic circumstances. Last week, Jesus discusses with His disciples the issue of temptation. Last week, we talked about how to overcome temptation and protect ourselves from leading others into temptation. In verse 5 of Luke 17, the disciples ask Jesus to “increase” their faith. You see, the disciples knew that they would never be able to defeat temptation without having an overcoming faith. Jesus’ disciples were powerful, strong men, but they knew they could never match up to the constant barrage of temptation. 

Brothers and sisters, do you have the same self awareness? I can tell you here and now that without Christ’s help, I would be a helpless slave to temptation and sin. We would all be wicked beyond belief. The disciples knew that overcoming temptation was going to require overcoming faith. They asked for it, and they would eventually receive it.

Overcoming Temptation Requires Overcoming Faith!

Scripture:

So, let’s read from Luke 17:1-6 about how to possess an overcoming faith. I am reading this morning from the English Standard Version.

Luke 17:1-6 ESV

And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

3 Ways To Further Our Faith!

I. Peer vs. 3-4

Luke 17:3-4 ESV

Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Point:

This is an important sentence that Jesus has just spoken. Jesus says that if someone sins against you that you are to forgive them. That is pretty difficult depending on the sin. 

What if someone lies about you? Jesus says that we are to forgive them. 

What if someone fires you from your job without cause? Jesus says that we are to forgive them.

What if someone steals from us? Again forgive. 

Forgiveness is hard. No one is really good at forgiving. But then Jesus goes a step further. Jesus says that even if someone sins against you seven times in a day that we are to forgive him. Imagine that, if someone lied to you 7 times in one day you are forgive that person. 

What does it mean “if he sins against you”? If you take that statement back to the original Greek, that word can be boiled down to “violate”. Jesus says that if someone violates you 7 times in a day, that we are to forgive them. 

It was a settled rule of the rabbis that forgiveness should not be extended more than three times. Jesus is bucking the system. Jesus goes far beyond normal rabbinical teaching and says that if a person sins against you 7 times in one day, that we are to forgive. Of course we know that Jesus expects His people, His followers, to be people of unending grace. He wants us to be people of unlimited mercy. 

Point:

Have you ever noticed that forgiveness and faith are tied together. Without faith, you cannot forgive and forgiveness is an act or work of faith. So to boost a forgiving spirit and to grow our faith, where do we go, where do we start?

The answer is God’s Word. Jesus tells His disciples to “examine yourselves”. How do you examine yourself? When you got up this morning you examined yourself. Ladies you checked your hair and make up by using a special object. Men, if you are like me, you shaved this morning using the same tool. Men and women put on their clothes and got all tucked in and situated using this tool. We examine ourselves by using a mirror. That mirror reflects reality. That mirror tells us what we look like, the good, the bad, and the ugly. The mirror pulls no punches and it certainly does not care about our feelings. The mirror is a truth teller. 

Jesus tells His disciples to examine themselves. How? We use another object that is a truth teller. It does not care about our feelings and it reflects ultimate reality. It shows us what we look like, the good, the bad and the ugly. This device is a spiritual mirror and it reflects back to us all the shortcomings and flaws that need work. This spiritual mirror is of course God’s Word. 

We increase our faith by using God’s Word to reveal, to renew, and to renovate our souls. Just listen to what Paul and Peter say about examining and testing ourselves. 

2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV

5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

2 Peter 1:10-11 ESV

10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Point

If you want to know God and grow closer to Him, take time, every day, to study His Word. Do not confuse this with prayer time. Getting into His Word means setting aside time to study the Bible. Before you can grow in Christ, you must understand His Book. Do not feel overwhelmed by its size or unfamiliarity, and do not race through it, either. Instead, read it, one passage at a time, until the message of each book permeates your mind and heart.

3 Ways To Further Our Faith!

I. Peer vs. 3-4

II. Pray vs. 5

Luke 17:5 ESV

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”.

Illustration:

A wife invited some people to dinner.

At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said,

"Would you like to say the blessing?"

"I wouldn’t know what to say," the girl replied.

"Just say what you hear Mommy say," the wife answered.

The daughter bowed her head and said,

"Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

Point:

Have you ever not prayed because you just didn’t know what to pray or maybe you felt that you did not have the right words to pray? I have been there before. After all, we have some tremendous prayer warriors here at Eastern Shore Baptist Church. I love listening to Elaine Helms pray. Her prayers have such sincerity to them. I love listening to Gary Whittle pray. His prayers are so earnest, thoughtful and real. I love listening to Deborah Smith pray. She speaks to God like He is a close friend, a family member, a Dad. When you listen to these brothers and sisters pray, it can make you feel humble, like my prayers aren’t very good in comparison. 

Point:

Notice that after Jesus discusses temptation, that the disciples don’t offer up some exquisite discourse that might impress those that were standing around. They did not offer up an address that would be remembered forever, a homily that would impress, or dissertation for the academic. Lord, increase our faith. Notice that they went straight to the point. They asked what was clearly in God’s will to give them. 

Friends, there is power in prayer and God is always listening. 

Point:

God is not looking for a formal prayer with big words and fancy language. He wants your heart and authenticity. He wants your gratitude and honesty. He wants your time! Commit to praying on a consistent basis. From saying a prayer of thanks before you eat to talking with God before going to bed, develop a consistent prayer routine. Spending time with God through prayer will fill your soul with His truth, light and love, ultimately changing your heart to be more like His. 

Point:

Friends, can I give you a couple of pointers on how to enrich your prayer life? First, schedule prayer. That’s right, set aside time during your day to pray. I work off of a daily to do list and each day I put down multiple times to pray. I pray in the morning, during my quiet time, while I am in the car, over meals, and with Angela when I close my day. What I have noticed is that if I do not schedule my prayer time, my prayer time does not happen. Second, journal your prayers. I use a journaling app called Day One to journal. Every day, I jot down my prayers, thoughts from Bible study, quiet times, and meaningful Scriptures. I journal names of family members and church members who I am praying for. In journaling your prayers, you will have a record of God’s faithfulness that will encourage you and enlighten you to His movement. Lastly, when you pray, limit distractions. Remember what Jesus says in Matthew 6:5-6.

Mathew 6:5-6 NIV

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Trust me, your prayers will be more effective with the TV off, the phone silenced, the laptop closed, the music lowered, and the door closed. 

Remember, there is a direct correlation to prayer and faith. The more quality time spent in prayer, the stronger your faith will be. 

Luke 11:9 ESV

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

3 Ways To Further Our Faith!

I. Peer vs. 3-4

II. Pray vs. 5

III. Perform vs. 6

Luke 17:6 ESV

6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Point:

In order to increase our faith, we have to read God’s Word. We need to have quality time in prayer. Next Jesus says that with faith like a mustard seed, we can command the mulberry tree to be uprooted and cast into the sea. Don’t get lost on the illustrative devices of a mustard seed and a mulberry tree. The point of what Jesus is saying is that with faith, you can DO! Do something. Do anything. Do the impossible. Do the improbable. Do what others say cannot be done. Do when others do not believe in you. With faith, you can simple do. Do things for God and do for His glory. You will be able to do things that you never thought that you could do. You can do and go to places that you never knew existed. 

To see your faith grow, you must do. What good is having faith in a God that can do the impossible if we never actively let Him work in our lives. 

Remember what faith really is…

F-orsaking

A-ll

I 

T-rust

H-im

Recall the words of James…

James 2:14-17 ESV

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

James 2:14-17 TM

14-17 Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

Closing Illustration:

You might not have ever heard of the Fantastic Blondin. He was a daredevil from an era gone by. His life was all about having a “doing” faith. He understood that greatness existed when faith was on full display. When we hide our faith, we hide a great gift of God and we limit His exposure in our lives. Take a moment and watch this video and we will close with a prayer and invitation. 

Remember, It’s God’s Desire to Increase Our Faith!