Luke 17:7-10 Jesus gives the illustration of the slave who does all that he is suppose to do, and then expects to be rewarded. The slave only did what he ought to have done and Jesus encourages his disciples to do more than what they are commanded to do.

Excel in what:
1. Forgiveness: Luke 17:1-4. Keep forgiving.
2. Faith: Luke 17:5, the apostles ask Jesus, “Increase our faith”
3. Your Walk: I Thes. 4:1 Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.
4. Love: I Thes. 4:10 for indeed you do practice love toward all the brethren, who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more.

* As I studied through scripture I found that increasing or excelling in Faith, Forgiveness, and Love are exhorted the most often.

So what prevents us from excelling still more?
Romans 12:3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think to highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgement, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
* Pride, thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought. Thinking maybe that we have already gone “above and beyond” when really we haven’t even been able to do what we ought.

This was a humbling study. How can I excel when I can’t even manage to do those things that I ought to do. What I ought to do is a whole other long study. The apostles had it right, “Increase our faith” they asked Jesus. We need the Lord’s power in our lives to serve as we ought, and to even hope to excel still more.

1. Pay attention to myself!
2. Rebuke a brother that sins against you (hard to do, but Jesus asks it of us)
3. If he repents, forgive
4. If he sins against you many times and repents, keep forgiving him
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Chapter 17 also taught me how to live as I wait for Christ’s return:

1. Be sober-minded (I loved the discussion we had about being sober-minded and all that we can distract ourselves with in this world. Lord, I repent of being preoccupied! I don’t want to be caught unaware! How can we keep our focus on the kingdom? Reading the word, praying, praising God, meditate on your promises! Psalms 119:148
“My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.”
2. Set my hope fully on GRACE
3. Do not be conformed to my former passions
Looking forward to Chapter 18
~Sadie