Word of Salvation – Vol.22 No.14 – January 1976
Faith as a Grain of Mustard Seed
Sermon by Rev. J.J. Van Wageningen, B.D. on Luke 17:5,6.
Scripture Reading: Psalm 27; Luke 17:1-10.
Suggested Hymns:
Psalter Hymnal: 259 (Opening Psalm); 438:2,3 (after proclamation of grace); 431:4 (after 10 Commandments); 48:1,3 (after sermon); 408:1,3 (before benediction).
Do you ever think about what it means, TO BELIEVE? No, I do not mean the content of our faith, WHAT we believe, but the FACT of our believing, the ACTIVITY of believing, the DEED of our faith.
It is good and necessary to think and speak about it, because God’s Word does so. Some take everything for granted. They are members of the church, but they just go along with the crowd. They never think about the question whether they themselves personally believe; whether they are living members of the church through a personal faith, partaking in Christ and His benefits. They lightly pass over all questions concerning their own spiritual life. We may ask in such a case, is there true spiritual life… or is the heart empty and cold?
The Lord wants us to believe CONSCIOUSLY, in accordance with His Word. For it is possible to think and speak about faith in a wrong, in an unbelieving way.
In our text the Lord instructs us what it means to believe, by speaking about FAITH AS A GRAIN OF MUSTARD SEED.
1. Faith is not like petrol.
2. Faith is a living relationship of trust and obedience.
1. The apostles said to the Lord: “Increase our faith!” Why did they ask this?
There is a connection with the foregoing. Jesus had just warned them against temptations to sin. “Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.”
“Temptations to sin”; the original Greek word means “stumbling-blocks”. It is a terrible thing if you put stumbling-blocks in the way of your fellow-believer, so that he stumbles and falls into sin.
It is a terrible thing if you are the cause of his fall. You must realise your responsibility with regard to your brethren and sisters, and live very carefully. “Take heed to yourselves.” Instead of causing your brother to sin, you should rebuke him if he sins; and if he repents, you should forgive him with inexhaustible patience and never-ending love. “If he sins against you 7 times in the day, and turns to you 7 times and says, ‘I repent!’ You must forgive him.”
Well, this is a heavy responsibility, a tremendous calling!
The disciples are deeply impressed with these demands. Who is able to meet them? This is squarely against the mentality of our sinful heart, against the spirit of this world. The disciples realise that they have to live a NEW life, as NEW men, – and if you realise this, then you do not say: “O.K.! I’ll fix it!” On the contrary you feel your own weakness. You CANNOT fix it yourself. This is the reason why the disciples turn to the Lord. They think, we cannot fulfil these demands. We lack the power to do so. We have not enough faith. This is the reason why they ask, “Lord, increase our faith!” Give us some more faith!
We should say, this prayer is understandable. The calling to live as believers, as spiritual men, is enormous. We must be a lighting light, a salting salt. We must live a life of humility and self-denying love. We must be thankful and joyful children of God, cheerful witnesses, faithful unto death.
If we realise what this means, and we know ourselves, then we agree with the disciples, who feel themselves unable to do so. “Lord, increase our faith!”
This prayer is not only understandable, it is praiseworthy as well: they turn to the Lord Jesus; they recognize Him as their Lord. He alone is able to fulfil their needs. They cannot give it to themselves, they cannot give it to each other, but Jesus is Lord, He has the power to give faith.
What is the response of the Lord Jesus?
“If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine tree, ‘be rooted up, and be planted in the sea’, and it would obey you.”
From this answer it is clear, that the Lord rejects this prayer of His disciples.
This is something we do not expect. We are inclined to agree with the disciples, supposing that their attitude would be pleasing to the Lord.
However, the opposite appears to be true. Jesus does not say, “Yes, you are right, I’ll increase your faith.” No, His answer is, “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed.” Literally: “if you HAVE faith as a grain of mustard seed.” The Lord does not deny that they have faith, but He refuses their request for MORE faith.
Why?
Because this request shows that the disciples have a wrong idea concerning faith; they have a wrong insight into the nature of faith. They do not understand what faith really is. They think they have not enough to fulfil their calling, their task, and they want some more; as if faith is given in certain quantities, or weights, or measures. As if you can ask, e.g. for a gallon of faith. Faith is not like petrol! If you run out of petrol, your car stops, and you cannot go further. Therefore when you notice that the needle is getting near the empty-mark, you drive to the petrol station, and ask the attendant, “Please, fill it up again.” You need some more petrol, otherwise you cannot reach your destination.
A lot of people have this idea about faith, (and about the Holy Spirit). They feel spiritually weak, they are depressed. They cannot live up to their task as believers. And then they pray, “Lord, please, fill me up! Add some more faith, (or add some more Holy Spirit.)”
This is not right. Then you seek the power of faith in faith itself, in its quantity, in its measure: the more faith, the more power. Then faith becomes a POWER of MAN HIMSELF, smaller or bigger.
Lord, increase our faith, give us some more spiritual power.
In this way you ACTUALLY SEEK TO REST IN YOURSELF. You ask for more power, so that you will be able to help yourself, and to overcome the difficulties yourself.
But IN THIS WAY you REMAIN STILL ON YOUR OWN. THIS IS NOT THE ATTITUDE OF FAITH. The power of faith does not depend on the quantity of faith. Faith is not like petrol. The Lord speaks about faith as small as a grain of mustard seed, and says, that if you have such a small faith, you will be able to command a sycamine tree to be rooted up and planted in the sea, and it will happen.
2. Here we have arrived at our second point.
The Lord teaches His disciples, and us, something about THE TRUE NATURE OF FAITH.
Faith as small as a grain of mustard seed enables you to do the greatest things, even things which are humanly impossible.
In other words: it is not a matter of a small or a big faith – the question is: HAVE YOU GOT FAITH, true, living faith, and DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE, do you practise it?
Then, how small your faith may be, (and a grain of mustard seed is small…!!) then you are able to do all that has to be done in the service of your Lord.
Why?
Well, because faith is a LIVING RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, a relationship of trust and obedience.
The nature of faith is: to trust in God, to rely on God, to expect all of God, to obey God.
The content, the object of faith, is God Himself, the Almighty God, Who is our God and our Father in Christ. And when you have received true faith, when God the Holy Spirit has opened your eyes and renewed your heart, then YOU MUST USE WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU.
You should not say, “The difficulties are so many, my task is so heavy. God, give me more faith, otherwise I cannot pull through.” No, God demands that you exercise your faith, that is, that you look at Him, that you rely on Him, that you expect all of Him, with childlike trust and obedience.
Doing this, what do you still lack? Then you have all you need! No, you do not receive an extra dose of power, to get a little bit further, but you have God. You are weak in yourself, but when you are weak, then you are strong. (2Cor.12:10), for God is your God and your Father in Christ, as He reveals Himself in His Word, and you trust in Him, Who comes to you with His rich promises, and you rest in Him, you surrender to Him.
This is faith.
The question is, do you really believe? Do you really trust in the Lord? Do you really rely on His Word, His promises?
Do not worry about a big or a small faith.
Do not ask: is my faith big and strong enough? Is it sufficient?
Do not balance the weight of your task against the power of your faith.
Do not calculate and measure, doubtful about the result.
Listen only to Christ’s Word, “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed!” It is almost nothing, but it enables you to do all that has to be done, if only you use it; if only you believe; if only you trust in God!
Maybe you have a question: Does not the Bible speak about LITTLE FAITH?
Yes, you are right. The Bible speaks about little faith. But what does this mean? Does this mean that you did not get enough from the Lord, and therefore you must ask for more? Lord, add something to my little faith and then I am alright again?
No, not at all! Little faith; it means that you make light of God; it means, that you do not confidently look up to Him, but you look anxiously at man and circumstances and yourself; it means that you do not rely on God and His Word, that you do not trust in His grace and power.
Then there is darkness in your life, you are in great distress. It is due to the SIN of little faith, of which you must repent.
Finally, we want to say something about that sycamine – or black mulberry tree. Nowadays they are still very common in Palestine. The roots of the sycamine tree were regarded as extraordinarily strong. It was supposed that the tree could stand in the earth for six hundred years!
The Lord Jesus uses this as an example. There is no doubt that where He said this, there was such a sycamine tree growing, and he pointed it out.
On another occasion He used not the sycamine tree, but something far bigger – a mountain. Matthew 17:20 “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this MOUNTAIN, “move hence to yonder place’, and it will move and nothing will be impossible to you.”
It is clear that Jesus spoke about this subject several times and used different examples. However it boils down to the same. In both cases Jesus referred to something which is humanly impossible.
Does this mean that, if we truly believe, we can do everything we like? Or everything we deem necessary or desirable?
No! Faith is a living relationship with God, a relationship of trust AND OBEDIENCE. Therefore, we CANNOT EXERCISE FAITH IN GOD IN DOING ANYTHING THAT WE DO NOT KNOW TO BE THE WILL OF GOD.
We shall never say to a sycamine tree, “be rooted up and be planted in the sea,” unless we know, God wants that sycamine tree rooted up and planted there.
We shall never say to a mountain, “Move hence to yonder place”, except we know it is God’s will that that mountain should be removed.
The apostles had a special calling and task in the Kingdom of God. After Pentecost, led by the Holy Spirit, they had to preach the Gospel and establish the church.
They were confronted with embittered Jews full of hatred. They stood in the midst of a world covered with spiritual darkness, full of satanic powers. Humanly speaking, it was an impossible task. But still they believed. Theirs was a living relationship with God. They trusted and obeyed.
They uprooted trees and removed mountains – God did so through them. Their Lord and Master was with them.
Thus it happened through the ages.
It is still going on. The Word is preached; the Holy Spirit works; the Kingdom comes; and men are used, men, weak in themselves, but strong in the Lord; men who believe, who trust and obey, for this is the victory that overcomes the world, our FAITH (1 John 5:4).
This must be a reality in our lives as well.
* We do not all have the same task, but all of us are called to serve God; to seek His Kingdom and righteousness before all other things; to follow the Lord Jesus Christ; to live a life worthy of our calling; to pass on the good news of salvation.
Perhaps you complain that your faith is small, and your spiritual life dull. Maybe you feel discouraged and depressed, and you do not know how to live as a true Christian to the glory of God, to the upbuilding of His church, and to the wellbeing of your fellowman.
There is only one answer: faith! True, living faith!
That is, trust in the Lord, rely on His Word, and obey, seek to act wholly and only within the will of God.
And you can be sure, God is for you, Who is against you? God is at your right hand, you will not be moved.
Your faith may be as small as a grain of mustard seed, but it is alive, a living relationship with the living God!
“The LORD is my light and my salvation,
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?”
Amen.