Mustard Seed Faith
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~Easter Service Outreach Promo
In this series I have been building a foundation. 1st I discussed Salvation by Grace alone, Water Baptism, Communion (It is an important first step every believer should take after salvation), HS Baptism and now today, Faith!
Faith is so vital to the Christian life that Scripture tells us that, without it, it is impossible to please God ().
Yet faith is such a powerful gift from God Christ told His disciples that, with just a tiny measure of it, the size of a mustard seed, they could move mountains. So, what does it mean to have “mustard seed faith”?
My message today is meant to help those of you who believing God for something really important and your struggling to hang on. Your going to find help today!
My message today is meant to help those of you who believing God for something really big and your struggling to hang on. Your going to find help today!
You are going to see things through the eyes of Faith today!
PRAY-
Matthew 1
And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:14-2
But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
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
Faith IS - a gift
Faith IS - a gift
Faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is an act of a single moment when you repented of your sin and accepted His forgiveness and yielded your life to Jesus Christ. That is saving Fatih! It is a gift from God!
ILL: Deciding that He is Who He said and that you will put your trust in Him!
But it is also an ongoing active trust in God that continues to grow and gain strength. This is a fruit of the Spirit that comes as a result of our union with Jesus.
But it is also an ongoing active trust in God that continues to grow and gain strength. This is a fruit of the Spirit that comes as a result of our union with Jesus.
ILL: Peter: “You are the Christ...” but he also Stepped out on the water...
Faith is Ongoing, Active trust in God.
Faith is Ongoing, Active trust in God.
Faith is Ongoing, Active trust in God.
Faith is Ongoing, Active trust in God.
Faith is Ongoing, Active trust in God
Faith is NOT - Feelings
Faith is NOT - Feelings
- Feelings! They come and go!
ILL: Peter was faced with opposition and struggle!
Faith - It is deciding that you will trust in God and His Word and not waiting on feeling like it. Your feelings will follow!
Faith is Ongoing
Faith is Ongoing
Faith is a continual believing in God.
It is important for you to understand that true faith must be ongoing.
This means that we have to put our faith into practice by continuing to rely on God for things in our lives.
This means that we have to put our faith into practice by continuing to rely on God for things in our lives.
ILL: My mom placed an avocado in a bowl of water. She planted it outside. For 3 years it did nothing but grow. No fruit! Until now. I was just there and those avocados are huge.
APP: We cant plan a tree and expect to get fruit the next day.
Preach - Don’t be frustrated by the struggles in your life! They are opportunities in your life to use your faith! It is important that it is being used and that it grows!
Why? - Because This kind of faith forges a deep personal relationship with Jesus and even works to preserve us until He comes back for us! He is using it for our Good!
ILL: When you gave your life to Christ you were like an avocado. Finally you started to sprout and then you were planted so you could grow some roots and eventually fruit. Sometimes that process is a while. Its hard. It hurts. But it is happening.
We cannot measure faith only by the results we want to see. That is important, but it is doing more!
The holy Spirit is bring you to a place that when you face something you can confidently believe without a doubt that when you act or speak in Jesus Name it will come about!
APP: This morning I am asking the Holy Spirit to give you a vision of your future. Health, Family, Wholeness, Ministry.
HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED today?
You only need a little
You only need a little
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.
-6
The mustard seed is one of the tiniest seeds found in the Middle East, so the conclusion is that the amount of faith needed to do great things is very small. Just as in the parable of the mustard seed in , Jesus uses this to make the point that little is much when it comes from God. The mustard seed in the parable grows to be a huge tree, representing the tiny beginnings of Christianity when just a few disciples began to preach and teach the gospel. Eventually, the kingdom grew to huge proportions, encompassing the entire world and spreading over centuries.
The mustard seed is one of the tiniest seeds found in the Middle East, so the conclusion is that the amount of faith needed to do great things is very small indeed. Just as in the parable of the mustard seed (), Jesus uses rhetorical hyperbole to make the point that little is much when it comes from God. The mustard seed in the parable grows to be a huge tree, representing the tiny beginnings of Christianity when just a few disciples began to preach and teach the gospel. Eventually, the kingdom grew to huge proportions, encompassing the entire world and spreading over centuries.
So, too, does the tiniest bit of faith, when it is true faith from God, it will grow to immense proportions in your life as a believer and it will spread out to influence all who come into contact with you.
ILL: When I was young I wasn't serving Jesus. My parents decided to turn me over to the Lord. Faith! They had learned they could trust Him! In turn, I accepted Christ, but I couldn't see what God might do with my life! I learned that I could turn it over to him.
Jesus supplies the Faith we need: It Always produces fruit! THE WORD!
All we must do is decide that it is true and put our faith in it for our lives and those around us!
Jesus says: All things are possible to Him who believes!
The amount of faith is not the issue here.
A mustard seed is really small.
By Gods Grace all believers posses mustard seed faith! The key is exercising it!
APP: You may feel like you have no more faith… You don’t have to muster it on your own - its already been mustard!
Faith can grow!
Faith can grow!
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Faith is not something that you have to create out of thin air or grow by putting a lot of effort into it.
It is a gift from God
It is the awareness in us that God is able to do above and beyond what we see and its created by the Holy Spirit.
Its an awareness that he hears your prayers and will answer them.
This faith awareness is created by the Holy Spirit.
We cant produce it in from our own minds.
WE BUILD IT OR WE DESTROY IT!
WE BUILD IT OR WE DESTROY IT!
HOW do we build it and how do we destroy it?
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
JESUS IS THE WORD and HIS WORD BRINGS LIFE!
ILL: Our words and our worry can destroy our well placed faith in God.
The Scripture is the basis of our faith. Our words establish it!
Our minds and our feeling lead us astray.
Our feelings follow our faith!
APP: Jesus said that apart from me you can do nothing. He is the founder and the one who is perfecting our faith! It is therefore critical that we grow in the knowledge of God’s Word and in intimate relationship with Him.
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Speak what God says about the situation!
Speak what God says about the situation!
This does not mean that we avoid the facts! It means in light of the facts I make a conscious decision to believe God over the circumstances of the situation!
APP: It is therefore critical that we grow in the knowledge of God’s Word and in intimate relationship with Him. Jesus said that apart from me you can do nothing. He is the founder and the one who is perfecting our faith!
CLOSE:
CLOSE:
CLOSE:
How do you see the situation your in right now?
Is it an overwhelming unmovable mountain?
This is actually the perfect opportunity God is using for you to exercise your Faith!
Don’t miss this opportunity by letting your feelings of doubt worry or sadness cause you to miss what Faith in God can do!
1. God is merely using it to prepare you for more fruitfulness and to keep you close to Him!
1. God is merely using it to prepare you for more fruitfulness and to keep you close to Him!
2. You only need a little and Jesus already provided what you need! Don’t destroy it!
2. You only need a little and Jesus already provided what you need! Don’t destroy it!
3. Faith comes by the WORD of God! Therefor Grow intimate with the WORD, Jesus! and your faith will increase!
3. Faith comes by the WORD of God! Therefor Grow intimate with the WORD, Jesus! and your faith will increase!