Text:
Matthew 17:14-20:
14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
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.
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.
Theme:
Something Going On On The Inside
Introduction:
- The Gospel according to St. Matthew, the first book of the New Testament and of the Gospels of Jesus, the Christ, is the book that contains this first scripture.
- Matthew, the disciple of Christ, wrote in more detail of the life of Christ and His ministry than any other Gospel writer even though the book was written over 5-10 years later than the rest of the Gospels.
- This text outlines the story of Jesus who is confronted with a certain man who had a son who was a lunatick, or mentally ill.
- His condition had gotten pretty severe, and it was shown in how he often would go into “fits” and fall into the water or the fire.
- The man the man had brought his son to the disciples and they could not cure him.
- Jesus got a bit upset at this news…shown when he says in verse 17:
“O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.”
- Jesus accuses them of being faithless AND perverse
- FAITHLESS – They have not faith.
- Hebrews 11:1 defines faith, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
- PERVERSE – They are “turned around”…they have turned from God
- Deuteronomy 32:5 explains their situation, “They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.”
- The key word in this sentence is “AND”
- If you are FAITHLESS, then you are also intrinsically PERVERSE.
- Luke 11:23 says, “He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.”
- Jesus then cured the man’s son instantly.
- Then can’t you see us in the disciples when the caught Jesus when others weren’t around and asked Him why couldn’t they cure the boy.
- Verse 19 says, “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?”
- Jesus’ response to the question in verse 20 was short and bitter to taste for the disciples:
- If you are FAITHLESS, then you are also intrinsically PERVERSE.
- FAITHLESS – They have not faith.
“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief”
- It is the cold, hard truth for us also!!
- No faith means that you have turned from God!
- When we turn from God, it is proof that we DON’T BELIEVE!
- What you LIVE is what you BELIEVE!
- It all begins with FAITH!
- The old folks always said that prayer is the key, but then they would follow that up with the statement that FAITH UNLOCKS THE DOOR!
- You can’t get in, be in, and live in Christ without faith
- You can’t get a prayer THROUGH without faith
- Simply put, you can’t get into the Kingdom without FAITH
- 1Corinthians 13:13 starts with, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity,”
- Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
- Hebrews 11:32-33 reminds us, “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.
- You have to have SOMETHING GOING ON ON THE INSIDE!
- The old folks always said that prayer is the key, but then they would follow that up with the statement that FAITH UNLOCKS THE DOOR!
Body:
- Then Jesus uses a profound analogy to further explain the power of FAITH in verse 20b/c:
- “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”
- Jesus compares Faith to a Mustard Seed!
- A normal seed planted in fertile soil will take root and grow into a blossoming plant
- Everything that defines the growth of the plant and prosperity of the fruit is in the seed
- The same spot of ground can be used to produce different crops: beans, potatoes, tomatoes, etc.
- That seed has SOMETHING GOING ON ON THE INSIDE that defines and enables it’s growth!
- What makes fertile soil à The ground has many things going on inside of it:
- Remnants of past crops that have died
- They leave behind nutrients from the dead plants
- Dead insects of parasites that used to inhabit the dirt
- Their dead bodies become fertilizer
- Seeds of various weeds that are just awaiting the opportunity to grow
- If the soil is left unattended, they will grow and destroy the plant
- Nutrients and moisture critical to the growth of the plant
- What do we have on the inside of us to nurture the “Seed of the Word of God”?
- Remnants of past crops that have died
- Matthew 13:23, “But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
- Know that you have to have SOMETHING GOING ON ON THE INSIDE!
- However, a mustard seed is not normal for two reasons:
- Firstly, it is soooo small that most would not believe that it could even grow.
- Matthew 13:31-32, “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” (also in Mark 4:30-32, Luke 13:19)
- The amount of faith is not the issue. The issue is WHETHER YOU HAVE FAITH OR NOT!
- Romans 12:3 explains, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
- God gives us “the measure of faith” in accordance with His Will for us in our lives.
- We must RECEIVE it and LIVE by it
- 1Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight:”
- Secondly, a mustard seed does not necessarily need a “good” environment to be able to grow.
- Most seeds react to a good environment, but a mustard seed reacts well to almost any environment.
- Doesn’t need “good” dirt but just “any” dirt à it’s so powerful that it does not need much to grow.
- Faith works the same way!
- Matthew 11:28 says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
- Just a little faith can make our lives blossom
- Can grow through any obstacles placed before it à has been known to grow through concrete.
- Verse 20b explains, “ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove;”
- Then Luke 17:6b explains, “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.”
- Faith in God knows no boundary
- We can’t stop it
- The enemy can’t stop it
- Our enemies can’t stop it
- The government can’t stop it
- Our bills can’t stop it
- Faith works the same way!
- Doesn’t need “good” dirt but just “any” dirt à it’s so powerful that it does not need much to grow.
- Most seeds react to a good environment, but a mustard seed reacts well to almost any environment.
- Firstly, it is soooo small that most would not believe that it could even grow.
- Everything that defines the growth of the plant and prosperity of the fruit is in the seed
Conclusion:
In Verse 20c we get the climax of Jesus’ message to the disciples in this exchange when He says,
“and nothing shall be impossible unto you”
- Faith works wonders
- Because God can!
- Psalms 77:14, “Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.”
- Because with Faith we can also!
- For example, Acts 6:8 said, “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.”
- Because God can!
- It is all summarized in Philippians 4:13 when it says,
- “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
- NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!
- I CAN MAKE IT!
- I CAN DO IT!
- I CAN ACHIEVE IT!
- I CAN BE IT!
- I CAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- I know that I can because there is SOMETHING GOING ON ON THE INSIDE!
- Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God….”
- Then God is the “active ingredient in the seed of His Word!
- Then the seed of His Word is the substance of Faith
- Then Faith is the seed in my life as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen
- To explain another way:
- The seed in me is FAITH
- The seed in Faith is GOD’S WORD
- The seed in God’s Word is GOD HIMSELF
- To explain another way:
As the hymn exclaims:
“Something within me that holdeth the reins,
Something within me that banishes pain;
Something within me I cannot explain,
All that I know there is something within.”
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