"And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith."
--Luke 17:5
As we look at this, we see much the same move happening on the part of the disciples as they were growing in their faith under the guidance of Jesus. What the disciples wanted was to do great things for God, and then seeing the faith Jesus possessed and the miracles He performed, they asked Jesus to increase their faith so that these great things could be
I believe this is at the heart of God, that is, He wants our faith to increase so that we can do those great works He has called for us to do. I don’t think that Hebrews chapter 11, God’s Hall of Faith, was written by chance.
Look at just a portion of this with me. The bible says in Hebrews 11: 33-34, “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to fight the armies of the aliens”.
We can to do the same great things for God as well, but it begins with our faithfulness to what God has given, which is what Jesus said in Luke 16:10, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much”.
Like the disciples we want to move directly to the big stuff of faith, because it gratifies our flesh.
You see, in our fleshly pride we want to have the biggest and the best. We want to move those mountains for God. We see the disciple’s frustration over this when they tried to cast out a demon from a young boy who was possessed, but were unable to do so. They asked Jesus why, and Jesus responded it was due to their lack of faith.
The bible says in Matthew 17:20, "Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
A mustard seed is a very small seed, but it grows into a very large plant. And what Jesus is saying is that with this small amount of faith, they could, and we can, do great exploits for God. A little faith can have incredible results. Or to say it like this, “A little faith can go a long way.” Here is where the rubber meets the road: “Faith in what, or in who?”
The faith we need, and the faith the disciples needed wasn’t to be found within themselves, and it isn’t to be found in their or in our abilities or capabilities, but rather it should be in the Lord God and in Him alone. We don’t need a lot of faith in our ability, we just need a little faith in God and in His ability.
What I believe is that God gives us the exact amount of faith that we need, and then it is up to us to both increase and then release our faith.
Then we will see within the church and within our lives the miracles and wonders that is talked about when Jesus said that greater things we will do, and that signs and wonders follow those who believe
Go with me to John 14:12. Jesus says, “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”.
And so, if I were to surmise a conclusion from what we have read and looked at so far, God has given to each of us a measure of faith to use for Him and in His service, and that this faith is a gift that has been given from which all the other gifts flow.
Faith then is what brings God’s gifts and ministries from the spiritual realm into the physical realm. We see this in the writer of Hebrew’s description of faith. The bible says in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
And so, by faith we need to ask God for that greater measure of faith to believe. So, will you bow your heads and pray with me?
“O Lord, thank you for our faith. Sustain it. Strengthen it. Deepen it. Don't let it fail. Make it the power of our lives, so that in everything, You get the glory. Amen”
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