Faith

The message was brought by Rev. Eddie Foster on 9/1/24.

Matthew 17:19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20 And 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. 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

A little faith can do mighty things. The mustard seed is used to symbolize this. I don’t think this is about actually moving mountains; remember that regardless of what we ask of God, nothing is impossible for him to do. If I asked how many believe Jesus is the Son of God, you’d all say ‘yes’.  If I asked if you believe Jesus died for sins, you’d say ‘yes’.  BUT we can all trust God a little more.

After coming off the mountain of transfiguration a multitude came around Jesus and a man asked him for his son to be healed.  If you read the proceeding verses and also look at Mark 9:22 we see this boy needed help. He had been sick since a child;  his father said he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. The father was of course afraid. It makes me think that he was concerned these things would happen again and no one would be there to help pull the child out of the fire or the water.  He asked Jesus to have compassion and help him.  If we need anything from the Lord, HE CAN help.  We have a mighty BIG God!  Jesus healed the boy. The father had taken him to the disciples first and they couldn’t help. Then the disciples asked Jesus why they couldn’t do it. He said because of their unbelief.  This kind of thing came through prayer and fasting. We conclude from what the Pharisees said that the disciples did not practice fasting. They wanted to know why. Through the analogy of a bridegroom and bride, Jesus told them while he was still here there was no need; the time for prayer accompanied by fasting would come after he went back to heaven. 

Faith brings blessings. It keeps us going for the glory of God. Things are bad in this old world, but the best is yet to come.  Let’s look at three aspects of this faith.  It’s established. Every promise in the Bible is ours as a child of God. Don’t establish your faith in people. They will fail. People are people. Don’t let what others do deter your faith in God.  Don’t establish faith around circumstances; they change. We change. Our reactions get us in trouble. It’s not in our own feelings. Some days we feel defeated; others we feel victorious. God DOES NOT change. What should we do?  Read the Bible to help establish faith. It’s the living Word of God.  Believe the Word. Act on the Word: obey it–move on it.  This is a working faith. It leads us to pray about everything. It leads us to give. It’s not our money; all we have belongs to God. We are to be good stewards of it.  Know the joy of giving.  It’s a rewarding faith. The saved will one day go to the Judgement Seat of Christ. The Bible talks about our works being tried in the fire. Some will survive because they are built on precious metals and stones; others will burn because they are built on wood, hay and stubble. Let’s strive for a good result of our faith.  There is joy in seeing the work of God progress. There is joy in seeing souls saved.  There is joy in knowing we can stand unashamed when we face the Lord.  Are you ready to face him?  We will die. We will meet him. Be ready.

Faith changes situations.  It turns defeat into victory. The life of a victorious Christian points upward. Faith changes despair into joy.  It changes danger into safety.  Let’s be like this boy’s father.  Jesus told him  If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. This dad cried out with tears: Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.  Do you need a stronger faith?