FAITH – Part 4: If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed… nothing shall be impossible unto you.
In Matthew 17 we read:
Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them…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.
And in Luke 17 we read:
Luke 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, “Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea;” and it should obey you.
In these passages, Jesus is using parabolic language; that is, He is using a physical representation to portray a miraculous event. In other words, Jesus is teaching us here that faith is so powerful, that by having faith the size of a mustard seed, (which is tiny in size), we can bring about miraculous events, as He stated; "and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Let's look at some of the miraculous events that are recorded in the Old Testament to get a perspective on this.
Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was 90 years old and had not only been barren all her life, but she had also entered into menopause; but yet the Lord opened her womb and she gave birth to Isaac.
Genesis 17:15-19 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Genesis 18:9-14 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is anything too hard for the LORD?
After Sarah laughed at the idea of giving birth in her old age, Jehovah God asked her a rhetorical question; “Is anything too hard for the LORD?”
In the account of David and Goliath, the Israelites were so afraid of Goliath that as soon as they saw him, they all fled away.
1 Samuel 17:23-24 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
David, still only a teenager, was not at all afraid of Goliath and had absolute unwavering faith that just as God had delivered him from the paws of a lion and a bear, God would also deliver Goliath into his hands.
1 Samuel 17:32-37 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
As David was preparing to go up against Goliath, he refused to wear any armor or take a sword because he had never needed to use it and therefore had no confidence in it, but preferred rather to arm himself with only five smooth stones.
1 Samuel 17:38-44 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
David was a man after God’s own heart and he also wanted to prove to everyone that Jehovah God was the true God of the Jews.
1 Samuel 17:45-51 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands.
In Daniel 6, we read about king Darius who threw Daniel into the lion’s pit because Daniel was caught praying to Jehovah. The curious thing is that the king loved Daniel and he truly believed that Jehovah would deliver him.
Daniel 6:16 Then the king commanded , and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
From what is written about this account, and because king Darius loved Daniel, I truly believe that king Darius might have said a prayer to Jehovah that night to save Daniel from the lions. The king was distraught and could not sleep all night and was very glad to see that Daniel was still alive that morning.
Daniel 6:17-23 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
In Hebrews chapter 11 there is a list of events that were done by faith.
Hebrews 11:5-6 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Hebrews 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Hebrews 11:24-29 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season...By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible...Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them...By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
Hebrews 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
Hebrews 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
When Jesus tells us we can move mountains with the power of faith, it means that we can accomplish miracles; (if it is according to God's will of course). I have prayed to God and seen miracles occur in my own life, and so I can personally attest to the fact that miracles do happen. Just as by faith Noah saved his family by building the arc, and Sarah gave birth to Isaac, and David slew Goliath, and God preserved Daniel in the lion's den, we who are living today are not any different people than they were. Jesus has taught us that the power of faith is so powerful, that by having faith that is even the size of a mustard seed, we can bring about miracles, "and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Therefore we can believe with all certainty, that this is a proven fact that is abolutely and undeniably true.
Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them…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.
And in Luke 17 we read:
Luke 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, “Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea;” and it should obey you.
In these passages, Jesus is using parabolic language; that is, He is using a physical representation to portray a miraculous event. In other words, Jesus is teaching us here that faith is so powerful, that by having faith the size of a mustard seed, (which is tiny in size), we can bring about miraculous events, as He stated; "and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Let's look at some of the miraculous events that are recorded in the Old Testament to get a perspective on this.
Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was 90 years old and had not only been barren all her life, but she had also entered into menopause; but yet the Lord opened her womb and she gave birth to Isaac.
Genesis 17:15-19 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Genesis 18:9-14 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is anything too hard for the LORD?
After Sarah laughed at the idea of giving birth in her old age, Jehovah God asked her a rhetorical question; “Is anything too hard for the LORD?”
In the account of David and Goliath, the Israelites were so afraid of Goliath that as soon as they saw him, they all fled away.
1 Samuel 17:23-24 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
David, still only a teenager, was not at all afraid of Goliath and had absolute unwavering faith that just as God had delivered him from the paws of a lion and a bear, God would also deliver Goliath into his hands.
1 Samuel 17:32-37 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
As David was preparing to go up against Goliath, he refused to wear any armor or take a sword because he had never needed to use it and therefore had no confidence in it, but preferred rather to arm himself with only five smooth stones.
1 Samuel 17:38-44 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
David was a man after God’s own heart and he also wanted to prove to everyone that Jehovah God was the true God of the Jews.
1 Samuel 17:45-51 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands.
In Daniel 6, we read about king Darius who threw Daniel into the lion’s pit because Daniel was caught praying to Jehovah. The curious thing is that the king loved Daniel and he truly believed that Jehovah would deliver him.
Daniel 6:16 Then the king commanded , and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
From what is written about this account, and because king Darius loved Daniel, I truly believe that king Darius might have said a prayer to Jehovah that night to save Daniel from the lions. The king was distraught and could not sleep all night and was very glad to see that Daniel was still alive that morning.
Daniel 6:17-23 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
In Hebrews chapter 11 there is a list of events that were done by faith.
Hebrews 11:5-6 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Hebrews 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Hebrews 11:24-29 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season...By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible...Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them...By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
Hebrews 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
Hebrews 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
When Jesus tells us we can move mountains with the power of faith, it means that we can accomplish miracles; (if it is according to God's will of course). I have prayed to God and seen miracles occur in my own life, and so I can personally attest to the fact that miracles do happen. Just as by faith Noah saved his family by building the arc, and Sarah gave birth to Isaac, and David slew Goliath, and God preserved Daniel in the lion's den, we who are living today are not any different people than they were. Jesus has taught us that the power of faith is so powerful, that by having faith that is even the size of a mustard seed, we can bring about miracles, "and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Therefore we can believe with all certainty, that this is a proven fact that is abolutely and undeniably true.
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