Jesus approached a crowd of people, “…a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but THEY COULD NOT CURE HIM.” Jesus replied, “Oh, you stubborn, faithless people! How long shall I bear with you? BRING HIM HERE TO ME.” (Matthew 17:14-17)
The boy was possessed by a demon in him that was the source of his trouble, “Jesus rebuked the demon, and IT CAME OUT OF HIM; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “BECAUSE OF YOUR UNBELIEF (apistia: weakness of faith); 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.” (Matthew 17:18-20) Why does Jesus use a mustard seed to describe faith? In Jesus’ day, the mustard seed was used proverbially to represent the smallest of things. And with a diameter of 1 to 2 millimeters, it’s a fitting illustration! Jesus is directing our attention, NOT TO THE QUANTITY OR STRENGTH OF OUR FAITH, BUT TO THE OBJECT OF OUR FAITH. Our faith is only as strong as THE OBJECT in which its placed. You see, It is not necessary for us to have great faith; even a small faith is enough, as long as IT IS FAITH IN OUR AWESOME SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.
Remember the spoken WORD (Jesus is the Word) came forth “LET THERE BE LIGHT” “Then God made two great lights: the greater (Sun) light to rule the day, and the lesser (Moon) light to rule the night. He made THE STARS (all the billions of stars) also.” (Genesis 1:16) “For by Him ALL THINGS WERE CREATED that are in heaven and that are on earth, VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:16) This Jesus, whom we have faith in, says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, HE WHO BELIEVES IN ME, the works that I do HE WILL DO ALSO; and GREATER WORKS than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, THAT I WILL DO, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I WILL DO IT.” (John 14:12-14)
OUR FAITH NEEDS TO BE IN THE FACT THAT JESUS CAN DO WHAT THE WORD OF GOD SAYS HE CAN DO…
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham