True Mustard Seed Faith

True Mustard Seed Faith

Scripture: Matthew 17:20-21; First Samuel 15:1-9; 19-22; Luke 5:1-11

Good morning, Strangers Rest! This morning, the title of my message today is “True Mustard Seed Faith.” But before I talk about mustard seed faith, I want to remind you of what the Bible says about faith in general.

Let us start with Hebrews 11:1 which says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.” This verse tells us that our faith brings those things that we are hoping for into reality because we choose to believe what God has said. Because we know what we are hoping for will come, we begin to prepare and make plans to receive it. Our faith is our conviction – our unwavering, you can’t talk me out of it belief – that we have received from God what we have asked for, even though we may not have it in our hands.

Next Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” There is no way possible for us to please God without having faith. Now I want you to hear and understand what I am about to say Strangers Rest. Giving our tithes and offerings out of fear of reprisal does not please God. Singing songs of worship because no one else will does not please God. Preaching does not please God. Our tithes and offering; our singing; and our preaching please God when we do them in faith – when we do them in reverence to Him as our Creator and as our Father.

And Strangers Rest, God loves us so much that He has given all of us a measure of faith to start with. Paul wrote 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.” I want to give you an example to help you understand the “measure of faith” that God has given to each of us. Years ago, my brother and I were talking about suits. He always bought suits off the rack and they never fit properly so I suggested that he go to a tailor and have a suit “tailor-made” or “measured” to fit him. Strangers Rest, God has “tailor-made” for us the faith He knew we would need to accomplish His will. He looked at Sis. Long and said she will need this measure of faith to work with My choirs. He looked at Dea. Jones and said he will need this measure of faith to get a key and pray for My people. What I want you to understand is this: God has given us, individually, the means to please Him – the faith we need to get started doing what He wants us to do for Him.

Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Our faith begins to grow as we hear and process and implant the Word of God within us. I want to pause here for just a minute. It says faith comes by hearing the word of God. If you are entering into a new relationship with someone, how do you get to know them? You get to know them by spending time talking to them – understanding who they are and how they think. With this information you are able to determine if this is someone you want to spend more time with or cut bait and run. The more time you spend with them and talking to them you begin to understand how they respond to different situations based on what you have learned about them. Now stay with me and listen closely, the same applies to our relationship with God. Many people claim to have a relationship with God but they do not know how He thinks. Why? Because they do not spend time in His word! Many people pray to God and then wonder if He is going to answer their prayer. Why? Because they do not know Him well enough to understand how He answers prayers and the promises that He has made to His children. Many people claim to have a relationship with God and still walk around with an attitude of unforgiveness because they truly do not know how God feels about this. It’s in His word but they are not reading and studying it to find out.

My brother’s pastor told this story recently: “A pastor friend of mine was at the hospital bedside of a lady who had but a short time remaining in this life. Though this lady absolutely professed Jesus as Savior, she had for a long time been holding unforgiveness toward someone who had wronged her. The pastor pleaded, begged and implored her to forgive, but the lady refused and said, “No, I will not forgive (that person).” Moments later, the lady’s eyes suddenly opened wide, her face contorted with sheer terror, she sat up and began screaming in horror, “NO! NO! NO!” then fell back dead. Believe what you will, but that is definitely NOT the way a person passes from this life into eternity with Jesus.” If you claim to be in a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ and you are still refusing to forgive, your faith is dead and you could be the one crying out “No! No! No!” when you take your last breath. Faith comes through God’s word and without His word your faith cannot grow!