30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
Luke 17 3-6 Faith and relationships 10 Because of your unbelief…
📖 Luke 17:3-6
06Jul2020 - *Because of your unbelief…* - _Luke 17:3-6_ - FAITH AND RELATIONSHIPS 10 – Bible reading: _Matthew 17:19-20_
_Luke 17:5 And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." (6) So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you._
We have understood the mustard seed of faith from the response of the father of the boy, who possessed by an evil spirit. _Mark 9:23-24 Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." (24) Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"_
Why did he make an inconsistent statement? He carried with him years of disappointment and pain. The years of trying to find a solution to his son’s problem and only to be saddened at the end were fresh in his mind. He believed. Yes, but it was only a rational understanding of God but there was no reality of God in his life.
When He knew that there was now hope in Jesus for a solution, he broke down and cried with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"_ That was all that was needed for the miracle to take place. This is why we are saying that this is the mustard seed of faith.
Friends, do you identify with the father of the boy? Have there been years of disappointment in your life? Have there been experiences in your life that has given rise in you, a hesitancy to be cast entirely upon God? Maybe you have seen so much of hypocrisy in life that you are now diffident to trust God?
Whatever may be your situation, all that the Lord is expecting from you and me is to have the mustard seed of faith, of the father.
There is no other way to come to God except by faith. Faith in God is a non-negotiable essential in our relationship with God. Anything in our life, which is not out of faith in God, is sin. _Romans 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; *for whatever is not from faith is sin*._
We may be doing something very good. We may be involved in ministry. Yet, if all that we are doing is from within us but is not sourced from God, it is sin. Now, you can see why the Jews were angry with Jesus. They considered themselves righteous. They were doing all that is called the ‘good things’ of life but Jesus was calling them to come to Him by faith.
The Jews found it horrendous that Jesus was asking them to let go of all that they considered as their virtue and place their trust in Jesus. But faith in Jesus is the only way we can please God.
So, to relate with God, we come to Him, to be totally cast upon Him and to seek Him diligently. _Hebrews 11:6 But 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 diligently seek Him._
The disciples had faith in Jesus. It was out of their faith in Jesus that they had sought to drive out the evil spirit from the boy but they could not. The disciples were therefore troubled. They had to have an answer from Jesus as to why they had failed to drive the evil spirit out. _Matthew 17:19-20 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"_
The Lord comes to the mustard seed of faith once again but He added an alarming preamble. _(20) So Jesus said to them, "*Because of your unbelief*; 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._
We thought that the disciples had faith in God but before God, they had no faith in Him, only unbelief.
We will now examine, what causes unbelief in us and prevents us from walking by faith in our relationship with God.
*Thought to ponder*
```As I study these passages, I tremble within, for I’m suspecting that all that I had considered faith in God was not faith in Him at all but only rote.```