Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

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TITLE:  Increase Our Faith               SCRIPTURE:  Luke 17:5-10
   
 
The disciples said to Jesus, "Increase our faith!"
What led to their request?
It was this.
Jesus had said:
 
*   "Occasions for stumbling are bound to come,*
*   but woe to anyone BY WHOM they come!*
*   It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck*
*   and you were thrown into the sea*
*   than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble" (17:2).*
So the disciples said, "Lord, increase our faith."
I am sure they were thinking, "Wow!
That's a lot to ask!  How can we avoid ever causing a little one to stumble?  That’s a tough requirement, Jesus.
Increase our faith so that we can do it.
We can't do it on our own."
Then Jesus said: 
 
*   "If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, *
*   and if there is repentance, you must forgive.
*
*   And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, *
*   and turns back to you seven times and says, 'I repent,' *
*   you must forgive" (17:3-4).*
So the disciples said, "Lord, increase our faith."
I am sure they were thinking, "Wow!
That's a lot to ask!  How can we forgive someone who sins against us seven times in one day?
You are asking the impossible, Jesus -- so increase our faith so that we can do the impossible.
We can't do it on our own."
"Lord, increase our faith!
Help us!  Make it possible for us to live up to your impossible standards!
Save us from being merely human!
Save us, Lord!"
It isn't unusual for people to feel overwhelmed when faced with the things that Jesus said.
The Sermon on the Mount is a good example.
Jesus said:
 
*   "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,*
*   you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20).*
"Lord, increase our faith!"
We can't do that on our own.
We can't be more righteous than these super-righteous men.
Help us, Lord!  "Increase our faith."
Jesus also said:
 
*   "You have heard that it was said,*
*   'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'*
*   But I say to you, Love your enemies*
*   and pray for those who persecute you*
*   so that you may be children of your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:43-45).*
Lord, have mercy!
We can't love our enemies.
We have enough trouble loving our friends.
Help us, Lord!  "Increase our faith!"
And then there are the temptations that we face every day.
We face temptation in our workplaces -- the pretty young woman who sits at the next desk -- the handsome man who smiles and says hello.
Lord, have mercy!
Help us, Lord!  "Increase our faith!"
In the movie, Robin Hood, Robin (who is played by Kevin Costner) approaches a young man who is getting ready to shoot an arrow at a target.
Robin asks, "Can you shoot amid distractions?"
That was a good question, because the young man might be asked to go to war with his bow and arrow.
There are lots of distractions in war.
"Can you shoot amid distractions?"
Then, just before the young man released his arrow, Robin reached over and tickled his ear with a feather, and the young man missed the target by several feet.
Everyone had a good laugh at the young man's expense.
But then Maid Marian asked Robin, "Can you?"  Can you shoot amid distractions, Robin?
Can you do what you were challenging this young man to do?
So Robin takes his bow and arrow and prepares to shoot at the target.
But just as he releases the arrow, Marian leans over and blows playfully into his face.
Robin not only misses the target, but his arrow almost kills a bystander.
Lord, have mercy!
"Lord, increase our faith!"
Temptation overwhelms us.
Lord, help us!
Lord, save us!
But it isn't just base temptations -- sex, money, and drugs -- that threaten to undo us.
It is also the temptation to do good things.
Thomas a Kempis put it this way.
He said:
 
   "The devil is continually tempting thee to seek HIGH things,
   to go after honors."
I am reminded of an old cartoon.
The devil is standing in front of an executive's desk.
A window looks out on the executive's domain -- factories, smokestacks.
The devil is obviously trying to find the executive's price.
He asks, "What about your picture on the cover of Time magazine?"
Thomas a Kempis says:
 
   "The devil is continually tempting us to seek HIGH things,
   to go after honors."
Lord have mercy!
"Lord, increase our faith!"
Lord, help us!
Lord, save us!
It happens even in churches.
Someone gets an idea about how we could do it better, and starts rolling over other people in the attempt to change the church to match his or her vision.
Too many times, we are tempted to say, "My way or no way!"
People like that offend other people, who then leave the church -- sometimes for another church, but too often for no church at all.
The people with the Big Idea -- convinced that they are doing the right thing -- split churches and make life difficult for all of us.
Lord have mercy!
"Lord, increase our faith!"
Lord, help us!
Lord, save us!
When the disciples said, "Increase our faith," Jesus responded with these words.
He said:
 
*   "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed,*
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