HOW TO HAVE MORE FAITH IN ONE EASY LESSON

"The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 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." Luke 17:5-6

What do you do when you hear promises from God that seem impossible? What do you do when God asks you to do things that seem foolish? What do you do when God calls you to take a step of faith? Do you trust? Do you step out? Do you waver? Would you build a boat like Noah? Would you get out of the boat like Peter? Would you march around Jericho silently for six days? Would you chase a giant with a slingshot like David? Would you raise your staff over the Red Sea? Would you promise meat in the middle of a barren wilderness? Do any of you struggle like me with these things? I must confess that there is a huge chasm between the faith I am called to have as a Christian and the faith that I actually have. Sometimes I feel that I don't have enough faith to lift the wings of a gnat!

I read the scriptures and what they say about faith and believe them all to be true. Hebrews 11:1, 6 tells us “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Romans 1:16 says, “the just shall live by faith.” Paul exhorts us in 1 Timothy 6:12 to, “Fight the good fight of the faith.” Paul calls the fight of faith good because it focuses upon overcoming our opponent which is unbelief! At the end of his life the apostle Paul looking back on his life said in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith.” The measure of his life was whether or not that he had “kept the faith”. Not just for a moment, or a year, or a decade, but all the way to the end! Faith is how we please God, how we are to live, yet it is a daily battle in our lives. Oh how I desire more faith! I so desire like I wrote last week to...

to believe the unreasonable, love the unlovable, do the impossible, follow the invisible and defy the inevitable.

Do you? We not alone. When it comes to faith, the disciples of Jesus felt exactly the way you and I feel.

In Luke 17:1-4 Jesus was teaching them the way life is in God’s Kingdom, a life of unlimited forgiveness towards those who wrong you. And no wonder, for that is the way that God is towards us. In response, the disciples cry out, “Increase our faith”. Another time a mourning father over the state of his demon possessed son approached Jesus about casting the demon out of his son in Mark 9:22-24. He said to Jesus, “if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" And Jesus said to him, ""if you can?' All things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief." Do you feel like that Father or the disciples? Well, Jesus is more than willing to increase our faith and help us in our unbelief!

He gives us the therapy of His word and spirit by telling them truth. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ”. He will increase their faith by teaching them about faith. So even in the way he responds he shows us that faith comes by hearing. Knowing certain things should increase our faith.

He says, "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you." By referring to the tiny mustard seed after being asked about increased faith, he deflects attention away from the quantity of faith to the object of faith. God moves mulberry trees. So to move mulberry trees does not depend decisively on the quantity of our faith, but on God’s power and wisdom and love. In knowing this we are helped not to worry about our faith and are inspired to trust God's free initiative and power.

In other words, the issue in your life and ministry is not the strength or quantity of your faith, because that is not what uproots trees. God does. Therefore, the smallest faith that truly connects you with Christ will engage enough of his power for all you need. Moving trees is a small thing for Christ. The issue is not perfection for Christ, but connection to Christ.

So take heart, the smallest seed of faith connects with all of Christ's enabling POWER, GRACE, STRENGTH, and MERCY. If Jesus tells you to cast out a demon, overcome sin, forgive a brother, endure, love, be holy, walk on water, love your enemies, and on and on, He will never ask you to do something that He cannot do! He will give and enable you to do what He commands you to do!

So Jesus tells us that the simple way to increase you faith is knowing that God himself and not the quantity of our faith is the decisive factor in flinging mulberry trees out of the way. A mere mustard seed of faith taps into the grace and mercy of God's tree-moving power. You can pray “Lord increase my faith” and know with absolute confidence that He will do just that for us.

Asking the Father to open my eyes to see a mulberry moving God!

Pastor Bill