So much of what we hear about faith today is designed to motivate us to pursue faith for ourselves and the things we desire. And because of a “me first” attitude, many in the Church are not walking in their faith potential. They don’t understand the purpose of faith and what they can do to help their faith grow. Why is this?
The Church is not being taught to pursue faith because it pleases our Father.
Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
Now, let’s read how our Father responds when we please Him with our faith. “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) We must pursue faith, ladies and gentlemen, to partner with our Father in building His kingdom.
The Bible provides an analogy to help us understand why God equipped us with faith and what’s required of us to increase our faith. But first, what is our “faith potential”? We find out in Romans 12:3. It says, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
When we are born again, we receive “the measure of faith” we need to fulfill the calling God places on our lives. When we are born again, we receive “the measure of faith” we need to fulfill God’s plan for our lives. In the context of this verse, “measure” (Gk., metron) is “the portion, required measure, the due, fit, measure.” As I read this definition, I could see God measuring each of us with the amount of faith He knows we will need to serve Him.
Now notice that the verse says we receive “the” measure of faith, not “a” measure of faith. Faith is not something you can divvy up and distribute. For example, if the total percentage of faith is 100%, my measure may be 2% and someone else’s may be 5% and so on. It wouldn’t take long to get to 100%.
But this is not what this verse is saying.
The “measure” our Father gives us is 100% of the faith we will need to serve Him. Colossians 2:10 says, “And ye are complete (Gk. pleroo, filled to capacity) in Him, which is the head of all principality and power.” Everything Jesus had when He was on earth now lives in us.
Do you remember the story in Matthew 17 about the father who brings his son to the disciples so they can cast a devil out of him? They couldn’t, and Jesus tells them why – “because of your unbelief” (verse 20). This is a “teaching moment.” Jesus tells them that any unbelief, any doubt, will derail their faith. The “teaching moment” continues in verse 21 where Jesus says, “Howbeit, this kind (of faith, not devil) goeth out not but by prayer and fasting.” Why is Jesus teaching us that we must pray and fast to grow our faith?
The Schoolmaster Analogy
Earlier, I mentioned an analogy that exemplifies how our Father equips us with faith and what we must do to grow that faith. In the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul is writing to Gentile believers who are being told by Jewish Christians that, in addition to grace, they need to keep the law. In essence, the epistle is Paul teaching them again why they are no longer under the law.
In Galatians 3:16-19, Paul says the law had come 430 years after God’s promise to Abraham and his seed. The Children of Israel had a sinful nature, and the law provided guardrails for them until the promised seed, Jesus, could be born, crucified, and resurrected.
Now let’s go to verses 23 and 24. “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. (24) Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
In the Hebrew culture, the master’s most trusted and faithful slave was the heir’s schoolmaster (paidagogos). From the time the heir was 3 or 4 years old, the slave watched over him and was by his side whenever he left the house. The title originally identified him as a guardian. It was later used to describe the slave as a teacher or educator.
The schoolmaster had three principal responsibilities:
1) To help the heir begin to know his father.
2) To help the heir begin to learn how to be a son in his father’s house.
3) To help the heir begin to understand his father’s business.
Until the heir understood who his father was, what it meant to be his father’s son, and what was important to his father, he was not ready to steward his inheritance. The schoolmaster initiated the learning process.
Now let’s look at Galatians 4:1-2. “Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; (2) But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.”
The heir must grow into the responsibility of stewarding his inheritance. Even though he is a child, he has standing in the family, but he doesn't have any authority or power. Now, what I am about to say is important: the father is not withholding the son’s inheritance.
The son’s inheritance is waiting for him to grow into it.
Paul says in verse 2 that the heir is under tutors and governors “until the time appointed of the father.” The “time appointed” is when the father has determined that the son is ready to access his inheritance. Who else determines when the heir is ready? The heir himself.
The schoolmaster tutors and prepares the heir for the day he will be presented to his father, which is usually around the age of 13 or 14 years old. The father’s goal is to assess the heir’s readiness to receive the inheritance. For example,
? When he speaks, does his demeanor and voice communicate self-confidence?
? Will he communicate the family’s values in what he says and in what he does?
? Will he properly represent the family’s interests in his decisions?
The true measure of readiness will be determined by the heir’s interactions and conversations with his father. The heir’s readiness will be determined as he spends time with his father. In other words, it will be determined by the amount of time he spends in his father’s presence. This will allow the father to probe a little deeper into his son's character.
? Are his values in line with my values?
? How would he respond if this happened, and would I have responded the same way?
? How will he treat those who love and depend on him?
? How will he treat those who oppose him?
? What standard will guide him as he conducts the family's business?
? How will he use the family’s resources?
These are the types of questions the father asks to see if the son is ready – mature enough – to handle his inheritance, to become a partner in his father’s business. Are you seeing the picture?
The father is looking for himself in his son
The father will assess his son’s knowledge, ability, and willingness to steward the inheritance exactly like he himself would steward it. The father must know that his son will do the same thing in a given situation that he himself would do. He must know that his son’s heart beats with his heart.
The Schoolmaster Analogy for us
When we are born again, we receive a tutor – the Holy Spirit.
John 16:13 – “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.”
The Holy Spirit is responsible for helping us understand
? Who our Father is,
? Who we are as our Father’s sons and daughters, and
? What’s most important to our Father.
Do you remember in Matthew 17 that Jesus told His disciples that the faith needed to cast out the devil would result from prayer and fasting?
Jude 20 says, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.” As we spend time with the Holy Spirit praying in tongues, we begin to build our faith as He shares with us the greatness of our Father, the authority we have as His sons and daughters, and why the Father needs our hearts to beat with His heart to bring the lost into His kingdom.
Romans 8:13 says, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” When we fast, we slowly put our flesh to death so that our spirit man can reign unhindered in our lives. When that happens, Jesus’ words in John 14:12 becomes a living reality in our lives.
John 14:12 – “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”
As we build our faith, we begin to understand and know our Father’s heart. As we build our faith, we begin to understand and know that there is nothing more important to our Father than saving people from an eternity without Him. First Timothy 2:4 says, “(God) Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” As we build our faith, we begin to understand and know our Father’s heart and how to demonstrate His love to a lost and dying world.
As we grow in this understanding, we please our Father as we saw earlier in Hebrews 11:6 and when we do this, our Father is pleased to give us access to more of our inheritance. Luke 12:32 says, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Why? He knows that as we mature, we will use our inheritance in the same way He would use it if He were here on earth.
Jesus is our model
John 5:19 records, “Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”
How did Jesus “see” things like the Father “sees” them? How did He know that what He did, the Father would do? Jesus spent time with His father. He developed a relationship with Him by spending time in His presence.
Luke 6:12 – “And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”
John 5:30 – “I can of Mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me.”
John 7:16 – “Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me.”
What is the key to increasing our faith?
We must pursue a deep and intimate relationship with our Father, and we do this by spending time with the One who has been sent to tutor us, the Holy Spirit.
When we look at the life and ministry of Jesus, He shows us who our Father is.
When we look at the life and ministry of Jesus, He shows us who we are in our Father's family.
When we look at the life and ministry of Jesus, He shows us what is important to our Father.
? He opened blind eyes because that’s what our Father would do.
? He healed lame legs because that’s what our Father would do.
? He healed sickness and disease because that’s what our Father would do.
? He opened deaf ears and gave sight to the blind because that’s what our Father would do.
As sons and daughters of God, we must do what our Father would do if He were physically here on earth.
Are you pleasing your Father? Is your life a reflection of His life? As your faith grows, as you spend time with the Holy Spirit, so does your Father’s pleasure and your access to your inheritance. Why? Because you are developing a heart for people. You are developing a heart that beats with your Father’s heart, just like Jesus's did.
Right now, my heart is not fully in rhythm with my Father's heart. But as I spend time with the Holy Spirit, it will beat more in rhythm with His until one day there will be no difference. How about you?
