Bold Move! Series

Note: Reference about the 4 Kinds of faith in from the website www.bible.ca. I used it as an introduction and lead into talk about mountain moving faith.

Bold Move!

Theme: To get people to understand the importance of faith and stepping out with the Lord.

Text: Matthew 17:14-21

Offering: Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;

Mat 17:14-21 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, (15) "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic [81] and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. (16) So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." (17) Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." (18) And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. (19) Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" (20) So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; [82] for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. (21) However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." [83]

Introduction

This was very discouraging to the disciples. While Jesus was away there was a young boy that was brought to them. The father expected them to heal this young boy. You could imagine that they prayed and prayed. They probably did all kinds of things to no avail.

Finally Jesus arrives and is confronted with the situation. He first rebukes the disciples and the crowd, calling the people “a faithless and perverse generation” Then he turns to the boy and heals him, by casting out the demon.

The disciples are curious so privately that ask him why they couldn’t do this. Jesus said it was because of their unbelief. Their lack of faith. Then He goes on to tell them the power of this faith.

We need to look at this word faith so we can understand what he means.

Faith is . . .

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

NIV "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see"

LB 'What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.

Wuest " Now faith is the title-deed of things hoped for, the conviction of things which are not being seen.

substance-title deed, ground on which on builds hope.

Hebrews 11:27 "as seeing him who is invisible"

Vincent, "Faith apprehends as a real fact what is not revealed to the senses. It rests on thet fact, acts upon it, and is upheld by it in the face of all that seems to contradict it. Faith is real seeing."

1. Faith is the substance of hope

a. "Substance": Lit. Greek: "a standing under"

b. Faith "stands under" our hope, is the foundation of our hope: Rom 8:24.25

c. Faith is the "title-deed" our pledge to things hoped: Heb 3:14

2. Faith is the conviction of things not seen: Heb 11:3

a. We accept God not only exists but He created everything in 6 days

3. Faith accepts even that which appears unreasonable: Rom 4:17

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Four Kinds of Faith from bible.ca

Saving Faith: A Personal Belief, Mental Acceptance & Acknowledgement Of God's Existence:

1. Heb 11:1,6 Assurance of things hoped for conviction of things not seen

2. 2 Cor 4:18 We look at not at things seen, but at things not seen

3. 2 Cor 5:7 we walk by faith not sight

4. Jn 20:27-29 how blessed are they who have not seen but believe

The Faith: The System Of Doctrine And Morality Peculiar To Christianity:

1. Statements encouraging us to properly maintain the system of faith

a. Jude 3 contend earnestly for the faith

b. Gal 1:23 preaching the faith he once tried to destroy

c. Eph 4:5 only one faith

d. Eph 4:23 until we all attain to the unity of the faith

a. Acts 14:22 encouraging them to continue in the faith