48 Luke 17:1-19 (Increase our Faith)

* While Jesus has been teaching the multitudes, we have seen Him addressing the faithlessness of the Pharisees, scribes and lawyers. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus revealed the callousness of the Jewish religious leaders towards the revival that was going on amongst the "common people." * Two weeks ago, we saw Jesus address this again with the Pharisees while presenting the Parable of the unjust, or unrighteous, steward to His disciples. The Pharisees understood that Jesus was referring to Him and responded with derision. * Last week, we continued that interaction with Jesus' response to the Pharisees - showing them the contrast between their hypocrisy and the fervent desire of the "sinners" to repent and enter into the Kingdom of God. Jesus revealed their hypocrisy and failure to live according to the dictates of the Law, regarding treatment of the poor, through the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. * Today, we see Jesus build on this moment by providing instruction to His "disciples" that causes alarm in His "apostles." Jesus continues to teach in a manner to transform the mindset of those listening to Him - from trusting in their works, to trusting in the work of God alone. Jesus has continually revealed that according to your works you will never attain the righteousness of God. It is only through faith in the power and work of God, that we can truly walk in righteousness. We must believe that God is able to "work in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13) and in so doing, we "can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!" (Philippians 4:13) * This message was presented by Bob Corbin on February 9, 2025 at Family Bible Church in Martinez, Georgia.