Matthew 17:20 “If you have faith…nothing will be impossible for you.”
VIDEO
Warren Wiersbe said, “It’s not the fact of life that determines hope, but the faith of life.”
Rock solid faith is needed for the dark days we live in and I believe that rock solid faith helps to bring light to anyone’s life – no matter what! Please don’t think of strong faith as a nicety for life, but rather a necessity for life! When the bottom drops out of life, rock solid faith will support us every time!
The scriptures teach that no one can really say they don’t have faith, because Romans 12:3 tells us that “The Lord has dealt to every man a measure of faith.”
Please don’t think faith is some card game to God! He takes faith, strong faith, rock solid faith very seriously in our lives!
Maybe someone here today feels like this 4th grade boy who was riding the bus home from church feeling very proud of the big card he had made, which had a picture of a sunny sky and a caption that read: “Have Faith in God.” Then all of the sudden the card slipped from his hands and flew out the window of the bus, then he yelled out, “Stop the bus! I’ve lost my faith in God!’”
Hebrews 11:6 “For without faith it is impossible to please God.”
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves, it is a gift of God.”
The CHALLENGE is - if we can place faith in Christ as a saving Savior for eternity, why can’t we place faith in Christ as a sustaining Savior for every day?
1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your cares on the Lord, for He cares for you.”
• “Casting” = continuous action of throwing something.
• “Cares” = anxiety
• “Cares” = intense concern
BALL ILLUSTRATION thrown to the audiance. Now notice what I can’t do – grab them back!
So you can literally read that verse like this: “Continually throw anything far way that causes anxiety, because God is intensely concerned about your life.” PDV-Pastor Dave Version
If you want to get rid of a hurt – you have permission to throw it on the Lord!
If you want to get rid of anger – throw it on the Lord!
If you want to get rid of anxiety – throw it on the Lord!
If you want to get rid of depression – throw it on the Lord!
If you want to get rid of an addiction – throw it on the Lord!
If you want to get rid of fear – throw it on the Lord, He’s intense about you!
It’s the greatest transfer we can ever experience!
Another reason solid rock faith is so important is because it affects 3 major areas of our relationship with God:
• Our loyalty to God.
• Our labor with the Spirit.
• Our legacy in Christ. Abraham, David and Paul’s example!
LIFEPOINT: God’s responsibility is to give us a “measure of faith”, while our responsibility is to go with whatever “measure of faith” we have!
Rock Solid Faith Comes Through:
1. The Object of Our Faith. Vs. 1-4
Faith is never any better than its object and the object of our faith is GOD! That means our greatest ambition in life is to know God and the better we know God the more solid our faith will be!
Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.”
Fix your eyes on just how great and awesome He is!!
Psalm 9:10 “Those who know His name will put their trust in Him.”
Daniel 11:32 “The people who know their God shall be strong and hold fast their faith.” CEV
Side note: strong faith is not positive thinking about self, but powerful thinking about God!
Matthew 17:20 “…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.” NIV
The object is not in the size of your seed, but the size of your God!
FOLKS: here’s the key - you can have the biggest faith with the smallest God and get nothing done or you have the smallest faith with the biggest God and nothing is impossible!!
This is no excuse to neglect the development of your faith! Faith is a dynamic muscle that has to grow!
Seed has its stages just as our faith has stages of growth over time.
2. The Origin of Our Faith. Vs. 8,14
So if the object of our faith is God then the origin of our faith is His word!
John 17:6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.”
James 1:21 “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted (engrafted) in you…”
This is my most important job as a Pastor – is to get that seed of faith manifested through the word of faith in the person of faith!
Everyday we live in natural faith and pass the test well - the doctor tells us we have a disease that we’ve never heard of, he writes a prescription that we can’t read - which we take to druggist who we may not know, he gives us a bottle of liquid that tastes like poison and then we go back for more!
But when it comes to living in supernatural faith we stumble all over the place! When God says, “I am the God that heals you” – so many times we fail to believe Him! God tells us to stand strong, believe in faith, and we’re falling all over ourselves! The reason supernatural faith is so powerful next to natural faith, is because it comes from God and His word! How do we display that we’re standing and believing in faith?
There were 3 farmers who gathered daily in a field during a horrible drought. The men are down on their knees, looking upward, and praying the skies will open and pour forth a much-needed rain. Unfortunately, the heavens were silent, and the farmers became discouraged.
One morning an uninvited stranger approaches and asks the men what they are doing. They respond, "We’re praying for rain." The newcomer looks at each of them and shakes his head, "No, I don’t think so." The first farmer says, "Of course we’re praying. We are down on our knees pleading for rain. Look around; see the drought. We haven’t had rain in more than a year!" The outsider continues to nod his head and advises them their efforts will never work. The second farmer jumps in and says, "We need the rain; we aren’t asking only for ourselves, but for our families and livestock."
The man listens, nods, and says he still isn’t impressed. He says, “You’re wasting your time.” The third farmer can’t take it any more, and in anger he says, “Okay, what would you do if you were in our shoes?” The visitor asks, “You really want to know?” The farmers answered, “We really want to know - the future of our farmland is at stake.” The man says, “If I was believing for rain, I would have an umbrella with me!”
3. The Objective of Our Faith. Vs. 12, 15
Is your faith something you can put in your pocket and spend it how ever you want? Do you use your faith to get whatever you want? Faith is not about getting man’s will done in heaven.
If God is your cosmic bellboy, I feel sorry for you!
Vs. 12, 15
Get saved then get glad tidings to all you come in contact with! If your faith doesn’t get down to your feet, shoes and leather don’t tell me your Spirit filled! Faith without works is dead!
Think of your life as being hemmed up in the will of God! Just like a fish is hemmed up in a fisherman’s net!
King David’s life is an example of this! Strong faith keeps you a prisoner of faith rather than a prisoner of fear and doubt!
Hebrews 11:34 “By faith…escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the enemies.”
1 Samuel 17 – the Valley of Elah, about 15 miles south of Bethlehem.
5 smooth stones in hand.
You see faith is not about what you have in your hand, it’s about whose in your heart!
