IF YOU HAVE FAITH

PROCLAMATION

“He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith.  Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.’ ”  Matthew 17:20 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, according to the Apostle Matthew.  After six days in the region of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him and led them up a high mountain. (Matthew 17:1)  There He transfigured Himself right in front of them, and Moses and Elijah appeared before them. (Matthew 17:2-3)  Then a cloud covered them and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.” (Matthew 17:4-5)  After they came down from the mountain they came to the place where the multitude was, and a man approached Jesus and knelt before Him.  The man said that his son was demon-possessed and suffered from seizures and His disciples could not heal him. (Matthew 17:14-16)  Jesus, The Christ, told them to bring the boy to Him.  He rebuked the demon and the boy was healed instantly.  Later on, in private, His disciples asked Him why they could not cast the demon out of the boy.  Jesus replied to them, ‘Because of your unbelief …”  If they had faith as small as a grain of mustard seed, then they could move a mountain.  Nothing would be impossible for them.  But some things require prayer and fasting before they could do them. (Matthew 17:20-21)

APPLICATION

The problem that we as believers have today is that we have so little faith in God.  We believe but we have doubts and therefore our faith is weak.  Jesus, The Christ, said that if we had the faith as small as a mustard seed, then nothing would be impossible for us. (Matthew 17:20)  We need to exercise our faith in order to strengthen it.  In addition to believing and having stronger faith, some things require that we fast and pray in order to accomplish them. (Matthew 17:21)  But remember, when we pray for an increase in our faith, we may be put in situations where we can exercise our faith to make it stronger.

THE LORD CAN CALM OUR STORMS

Proclamation:

"Then He got into the boat and His disciples followed Him.  Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.  But Jesus was sleeping.  The disciples went and woke Him, saying, 'Lord, save us!  We're going to drown!'  He replied, 'You of little faith, why are you so afraid?'  Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.  The men were amazed and asked, 'What kind of man is this?  Even the winds and the waves obey Him!"  Matthew 8:23-27 (NIV)

Explanation:
In the gospel according to the Apostle Matthew, he records this account, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, regarding The Lord Jesus rebuking the wind and the waves.  Jesus spoke and calmed the storm. (Peace, be still. Mark 4:39)  He questioned His disciples and asked them why were they afraid.  Jesus already knew that they were men of little faith.   They did not yet really understand exactly who He was and is.  

Application:
Today, we act like we do not understand just how powerful The Lord God really is.  Everything on earth is subject to His will.  When Jesus, The Christ, rose from the dead, He said that all power in heaven and in earth is given unto Him. (Matthew 28:18)  When we were created, we were given the free will to choose to serve God, or not to serve Him. (Joshua 24:15)  We have the option to believe in Him, or not to believe. (John 3:15, John 3:16, and Acts 10:43)  He will knock on the door of our hearts, but we must open it and invite Him inside. (Revelation 3:20)  If we choose to believe in Him, He can calm the storms in our lives.   He can also give us His peace and protection in the midst of our storms and troublesome situations, and deliverance through them. (Jonah 2:1-10)  Sometimes He will move our mountains and calm our storms, and other times He will give us the strength to endure them.  As He told the Apostle Paul, His grace is sufficient. (2 Corinthians 12:9)  

RIGHTEOUSNESS IS CREDITED TO US NOT EARNED BY US

Proclamation:

"Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.  This is why 'it was credited to him as righteousness.'  The words 'it was credited to him' were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness, for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."  Romans 4:20-25 (NIV)

Explanation:

Under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God the Apostle Paul wrote these words in a letter to the believers in the church at Rome.  Paul used Abraham as an example to prove his point that we are justified by faith alone and not by works.  Abraham, the father of the faithful, was not a sin free man, but righteousness was credited to him because of his belief and his faith in God. (Genesis 15:6)

Application:
It is not our previous sins that get in the way of our being used by God, but it is our disbelief and our lack of faith, or our insufficient faith, that gets in the way.  Our righteousness is not something we earned or worked for, it is credited to us by God because of our belief and faith in Him.  Our faith is weak because we do not exercise it enough or very often.  We need to trust in God and step out on faith more often and let God use us as an example to others of what He can do for those who believe.

BLESSED ACCORDING TO OUR FAITH

Proclamation:

"As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, calling out, 'Have mercy on us, Son of David!'  When He had gone indoors, the blind men came to Him, and He asked them, 'Do you believe that I am able to do this?'  'Yes, Lord,' they replied.  Then He touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you'; and their sight was restored." Matthew 9:27-30 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were spoken by Jesus, The Christ, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew.  After His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus came down from the mountain side and healed many people.  Before He blessed the two blind men by giving them their sight, Jesus asked them if they believed that He could cure their blindness.  After they said that they believed He blessed them according to their faith in Him.

Application:

Sometimes we are blessed without our having to ask.  There are other blessings we receive only if certain conditions are met first.  Most blessings are such that we either received them or we miss out on them.  However, the blessings mentioned here are given out based upon a sliding scale, the more faith we have in Jesus, the more blessings we receive from Him.  No faith, no blessings.  If we have a little faith, then we receive a little bit of the blessing.  The issue here is not if He can, but the issue is do we really believe that He can.  Our doubt, our lack of faith, or our limited little faith can interfere with our blessings and we do not receive all that is available for us. On five occasions Jesus talked about His disciples (and indirectly about us) having “little faith". (Matthew 6:30, 8:26, 14:31, 16:8, and 17:20)  We need to pray like the man with the son who was possessed by an impure spirit, “Lord, I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)  Our “intelligence” gets in the way of our believing the whole Bible.  We need His help with our unbelief and our “little faith” so that we may receive the full and complete blessing of The Lord.  We have to believe in Him and step out on faith in order to be blessed.  Believers walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)  Without faith in Him, it is impossible to please Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

The Lord Can Calm Our Storms

"Then He got into the boat and His disciples followed Him.  Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.  But Jesus was sleeping.  The disciples went and woke Him, saying, 'Lord, save us!  We're going to drown!'  He replied, 'You of little faith, why are you so afraid?'  Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.  The men were amazed and asked, 'What kind of man is this?  Even the winds and the waves obey Him!"  Matthew 8:23-27 (NIV)

In the gospel according to the Apostle Matthew, he records this account of The Lord Jesus rebuking the wind and the waves.  He spoke and calmed the storm. (Peace, be still. Mark 4:39)  He questioned His disciples and asked them why were they afraid.  Jesus already knew that they were men of little faith.  They did not yet really understand exactly who He was and is.  

Today, we act like we do not understand just how powerful The Lord God really is.  Every thing on earth is subject to His will.  When Jesus, The Christ, rose from the dead, He said that all power in heaven and in earth is given unto Him. (Matthew 28:18)  When we were created, we were given the free will to choose to serve God, or not to serve Him. (Joshua 24:15)  We have the option to believe in Him, or not to believe. (John 3:15, John 3:16, and Acts 10:43)  He will knock on the door of our hearts, but we must open it and invite Him inside. (Revelation 3:20)  If we choose to believe in Him, He can calm the storms in our lives.  He can also give us His peace and protection in the midst of our storms and troublesome situations, and deliverance through them. (Jonah 2:1-10)  Some times He will move our mountains and calm our storms, and other times He will give us the strength to endure them.  As He told the Apostle Paul, His grace is sufficient. (2 Corinthians 12:9)