Increase our Faith! Lesson 1

Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!

² It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

³ Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

⁴ And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

⁵ And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

⁶ And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

Luke 17: 1-6 

The Apostle said to Jesus; "Lord, increase our faith." 

This request doesn't come after a miracle performed by Jesus. They were present when Jesus fed 5000 man! They saw him raise the dead like Lazarus! They saw Him walk on water and witnessed many other great miracles! Yet, this desperate request to increase faith was not asked after such great miracles, signs and wonders! This request comes because the subject of the day that Jesus taught was on offense and unforgiveness!

  "It is impossible but that offences will come..."

"If he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him."

 

Jesus is teaching how to deal with a trap called offense and unforgiveness.

Jesus states that offenses are sure to come and He is teaching us how to deal with offenses.

Offense in Greek means 'Scandalon'. Scandalon is a trap, a bait set to trip, to capture and hurt you! 

Offense and unforgiveness is a trap set by the enemy to hurt and wound you and stop your progress.

Wound is one of the greatest weapon Satan has! 

Wounds can bring division, separation, exclusion, loneliness, danger...

These wounds are words and deeds spoken that put a hole in the soul of an individual. It has caused divorce in marriages.  Separation between parents and children. The end of friendships AND it is the primary reason why many people leave a church!

And it was a trap call OFFENSE and UNFORGIVENESS that Satan set in order to hurt you and wound you. AND the enemy uses those closest to you to offend and hurt you. Even David went through it:

¹² For it is not an enemy who reproaches and taunts me—then I might bear it; nor is it one who has hated me who insolently vaunts himself against me—then I might hide from him.

¹³ But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend.

¹⁴ We had sweet fellowship together and used to walk to the house of God in company.

Psalms 55: 12-14

• People get offended by what someone say or said
• People get offended by what someone did not say.
• People get offended by what someone does or did.
• People get offended by what someone doesn't do or did not do. 

Lesson 2 to follow soon...

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The tortoise and the scorpion...

There once was a flood on an island and a scorpion who could not swim panicked.  

To save his life he needed to get across the waters to a safe place. The water was rising and so too was his fear…

He found a rather unsuspecting tortoise and asked if he would give him a lift to cross the waters.

The tortoise knowing the reputation of a poisonous scorpion refused!

But the Scorpion begged the Tortoise to save his life…He confessed that he didn’t know how to swim and needs help to get across.

The Scorpion said: “You swim like a dream, and you have what I lack. Let’s say you take me across on your back?”

The tortoise exclaimed, “Are you joking? You’ll sting me while I’m swimming and I’ll drown.”

“My dear tortoise,” laughed the scorpion, “If I were to sting you, you would drown and I’d go down with you! Now where is the logic in that?”

The tortoise replied: “You’ve a less than ideal reputation preceding:

there’s talk of your victims all poisoned and bleeding.

You’re the scorpion — and how can I say this — but, well,

I just don’t feel safe with you riding my shell.”

The scorpion replied, “What would killing you prove?

We’d both drown, so tell me: how would that behoove

me to basically die at my very own hand

when all I desire is to be on dry land?”

The tortoise considered the scorpion’s defense.

When he gave it some thought, it made perfect sense.

The niggling voice in his mind he ignored,

and he swam to the bank and called out: “Climb aboard!”

But just a few moments from when they set sail,

the scorpion lashed out with his venomous tail.

The tortoise too late understood that he’d blundered

when he felt his flesh stabbed and his carapace sundered.

As they both sank to the bottom, the tortoise, resigned to his fate and as he fought for his life, turned to the scorpion and said, “Do you mind if I ask you something? You said there is no logic in you stinging me. So why did you do it?”

“It has nothing to do with logic,”  the drowning scorpion replied.  “It’s just my nature!”

Moral: It is in the nature of some to hurt others. Even when you want to be kind to them. So please be careful who you allow in your life.