Our message for this evening is entitled, “A Measure of Faith,” and it’s taken from a passage of Scripture that’s sometimes called, “Faith and Duty.” Have you ever felt inadequate in your relationship with God, or perhaps in your ability to bear spiritual fruit? Have you ever felt that you don’t have enough faith? Have you ever asked the Lord to give you more faith? Many times we ask God for more faith, thinking that this is the correct thing to do, and believing that the Lord will be well-pleased with us for this sincere request. However, in the following parable, Jesus shows us that we shouldn’t be asking God for more faith. So, why is asking for more faith the wrong thing to do? Well, that’s what we’re about to find out from tonight’s parable!
A Request for More Faith (vv. 5-6)
5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” 6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
We read here how the apostles, or disciples, asked Jesus to increase their faith. Instead of responding by telling them how to gain more faith, He told them what they could do if they would just use what they had. The disciples were probably hoping that Jesus would tell them, “Yes I can see that you need more faith. I am pleased with you for asking Me for more; and therefore, I will increase your faith.” We see, however, that Jesus only stated the obvious result of one’s existing faith, which was the ability to uproot a mulberry tree. He didn’t tell them how to acquire more faith.
Jesus shared with them about the faith necessary to move a mulberry tree into the sea. When the disciples heard this, they were probably thinking the reason for someone being unable to move a tree into the sea was that the individual needed more faith; however, Jesus was meaning something totally different. When He spoke about how faith would allow them to move a mulberry tree into the sea, He wasn’t telling them the result of having “more” faith. He was telling them what they should be able to accomplish with the faith that was already in their possession.
The disciples didn’t seem to understand that they had enough faith to begin with; therefore, Jesus went on to illustrate His point through the use of a parable. He wished to show the disciples that they didn’t need more faith, because they already had faith. The reason why they weren’t seeing much happen in their lives is because they hadn’t realized the potential of the faith already in their possession. Faith is some powerful stuff if people will just realize what they have and use it for God’s glory!
Use What You Already Have (vv. 7-8)
7 “And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8 But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?”
Warren Wiersbe comments, “The servant in the story was evidently a ‘jack-of-all-trades,’ for he was responsible for farming, shepherding, and cooking. It was not unusual for people with only modest means to hire at least one servant, but Jesus described a situation which in that day was unthinkable: a master ministering to his servant! In fact, He introduced the story with a phrase that means, ‘Can any of you imagine?’ Their answer had to be, ‘No, we cannot imagine such a thing!’”(1)
The servant in this parable is symbolic of any servant of the Lord; and the master of the servant represents God. In verses 7-8, Jesus asked what master in his right mind would give his servant some food to eat, when the servant hasn’t even yet prepared his master’s table in order for his master to eat. The servant would not have received food until after he had first served his master. So, what does this imagery about service and receiving food represent in the Christian life?
Christians are servants of the Lord, and God is our Master. The food that we receive is God’s blessings, or His daily provision. Before we can experience His blessings, we must first use what we have for God’s glory. When we look at the servant in this parable, we see that he had food in his possession while preparing to serve the master, but he wasn’t able to have his fill of that food until he had first made proper use of it. The priority was to feed the master first. Likewise, we have faith already in our possession, but we can’t have our fill of abundance until we first serve the Lord.
God is not going to allow us to partake of more, until we use the faith we have for His glory; and before we can ever use our faith for God’s glory, we must realize that the Lord has already allotted us faith. Listen closely as I share some words from the apostle Paul found in Romans 12:3: “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” We each already have “a measure of faith,” which is an amount sufficient to serve the Lord’s purposes.
Many people will ask for more faith, because they don’t see God moving in their life. Jesus tells us that we don’t see God moving in our life, not because we lack faith and need more given to us, but because we haven’t realized that we already have enough faith to begin with. Once we realize that we have sufficient faith, then at this point, we can begin to put that faith into action.
Don’t Be Expecting More (vv. 9-10)
9 “Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do’.”
Those who adhere to prosperity theology believe that if they have more faith, or do more for God, that they deserve a blessing. The master in this parable didn’t thank the servant for doing what was required of him. The servant wasn’t blessed with anything more than usual. He had simply made proper use of the food that was in his possession by going ahead and serving the master at his table. This tells us that even if we realize that God has given us faith, and we somehow realize the potential of that faith and use it for His glory, the Lord is not necessarily going to give us more. When we use our faith for God’s glory, we are doing what we are supposed to be doing as children of God.
Warren Wiersbe elaborates, “A faithful servant should not expect any special reward, since he did only what he was told to do. The word translated ‘unprofitable’ means . . . ‘nobody owes us anything.’ The servant was indeed profitable; after all, he cared for his master’s fields, flocks, and food. The statement means, ‘My master does not owe me anything extra.’ The fact that Jesus will reward His servants is wholly a matter of God’s grace. We do not deserve anything because we have obeyed Him and served Him.”(2)
How to Use What You Have
Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, “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.” According to Jesus, it only takes the smallest faith to move mountains, or perhaps that troublesome mulberry tree. He didn’t say that if you have the “amount of faith” as a mustard seed, that you can move mountains; He said you only need “faith” as a mustard seed. We are the ones who mistakenly assign a quantity to His statement.
Why should we ask for more faith when we haven’t even learned to use what we have? The problem is that most of us simply aren’t tapping into our full potential. So, how do we learn to use our existing faith? Michael Green says,
Faith is the gift of God. So is the air, but you have to breathe it. So is bread, but you have to eat it. So is water, but you have to drink it. So how do we accept this gift? Not by a feeling, for “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). It is not for me to sit down and wait for faith to come upon me with a strong feeling of some kind. Rather, faith comes when we take God at His word.(3)
In order to use the faith that God has placed within us, we must take the Lord at His Word. God’s Word tells us that we can move mountains, and even those blasted mulberry trees. His Word also tells us that if we are faithful servants, then we will one day sit in His presence in the kingdom of heaven. We will one day eat with the Master. If we take God at His Word for this, then we will joyfully serve Him as He expects of us, and we will be joyfully obedient to the Great Commission.
Time of Reflection
If we have ever asked God to increase our faith, then we are correct in identifying that we need faith, or that we’re experiencing some kind of spiritual problem. However, we don’t need “more” faith. What we need is the faith already allotted to us. Therefore, instead of asking for more faith, we need to ask for obedience as God’s servants. Are we masking our need for obedience with protests of inadequacy and with a plea for more faith, thinking we can fool God? Will God excuse us from obedience, as we sit idly by asking for more faith? As Jesus said in verse 9, “I think not!”
It is God’s desire to fellowship with those whom He calls His servants. The way to become one of His servants is to enter into a personal relationship with God by knowing His Son, Jesus, and by confessing Jesus Christ as Lord. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” If you will open your heart to Jesus tonight, and be bold enough to confess Him as Lord and Savior, then you will one day sit at His table in the kingdom of heaven.
NOTES
(1) Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books), p. 244.
(2) Ibid., p. 244.
(3) Michael P. Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1997), p. 133.
