Text: Matthew 17:14-17
- Quality, not quantity-Jesus: Matthew 17:17
• Here Jesus used a mustard seed as a measure of quantity.
Measure of Quality
• Matt. 13:31. Jesus was telling us that it is not the quantity of the faith that matters, but the quality/potency. If a person has the right kind of faith in even the amount of a mustard seed, it is sufficient to move a mountain!
• Matt. 17:20. The meaning of the word “unbelief” in the original Greek translation refers to “little faith” or “undeveloped faith.” - Measure of Faith-Paul: Romans 12:3
• God has given to each one of us a specific “measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).
• What you do with it is what determines the outcome. - Faith grows in stages
• Faith could be any one of the following:
❖ Little faith
❖ Great faith
❖ Very great faith
❖ Exceeding great faith. - Mustard Seed Faith-Jesus (Matt 17: 20)
• The Lord was teaching us that faith that GROWS as a grain of mustard seed can heal the sick, cast out demons and see signs following it (Mark 16:17-20).
• It is not little faith but growing faith that does big things (Matt. 13:31-32).
• Little faith will do some things, and big faith will do bigger things, but faith that grows was the ideal Jesus was teaching.
• It is from “faith to faith ” (Rom. 1:17) that we progress toward ultimate, mature faith. - Mountain Moving Faith-Paul (! Corinthians 13:2)
• Paul recognized that it took all or total or full-grown faith to move mountains.
• You don’t move mountains with seed faith; you move mountains with all faith.
• It takes fully developed faith to relocate a mountain! Paul recognized this and Jesus taught it. - Solution-Developed Faith
• Nothing shall be impossible to you if you have developed faith, faith that has grown — and continues to grow! (Matt 17:20).
- Conclusion
Growing faith is a scriptural concept. In Paul’s writings, he talks to us in this metaphor: he says that we are changed “from glory to glory” and “from faith to faith”(I Cor 3:18; Rom 1:17). Faith grows in a series of steps or seasons. The key question in your mind is, ‘how do I move from seed or little faith to mountain-moving faith. This question is our next teaching.