While Jesus was on the earth, He made many bold and challenging statements. At least, many of His statements challenge human beings in this day and age. However, His disciples, after being filled with the Holy Spirit, didn’t seem to have any trouble in taking Jesus at His word.
They had listened to the Words of our Savior:
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” (Mk 9:23 NIV) Jesus says that EVERYTHING is possible for the person who believes. But believes what, exactly? We need to place our faith in God and in His Word.
And he saith unto them, Because of your little faith: 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. (Mt 17:20 ASV) We must use the faith that we have. Remember that faith is a gift from God (Eph 2:8); it’s not something that we need to TRY to have or to whip up. It is a matter of taking God at His Word, and trusting Him to fulfill His Word.
I tell all of you with certainty, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ if he doesn’t doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. (Mk 11:23 ISV) Here, Jesus has given us an instruction for how to use the faith that we’ve been given.
Romans 12:3 reminds us that each one of us has been given a measure of faith.
The Lord said, “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. (Lk 17:6 MEV) A grain of mustard seed is a very tiny, round seed. It would be easy to lose and easy to miss if it was in your hand. But Jesus says that even so small an amount of faith the size of a mustard seed is enough to uproot, move and plant a mulberry tree in the sea! What an astonishing image of faith!
And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive it all.” (Mt 21:21-22 NASB) In this passage of Scripture, Jesus teaches us that pure, unwavering faith is able to move mountains and cast them into the sea. And He added that WHATEVER we ask for in prayer, believing that we have already received it, will be done. This demonstrates to us that pure faith that has no doubt or fear mixed into it will bring results that are unstoppable, inevitable, and unalterable. This faith is the gift of our good, loving and merciful God. Praise God!
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