A growth in faith

A growth in faith

Matthew 21:21 ‘Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.’

                We the children of God must never forget this verse as this is very important for our spiritual lives.  In this verse, our Lord Jesus teaches his disciples to grow up to the next levels of faith. When we read this whole chapter of Matthew 21 we can understand that it is like a module for the trainings on faith. We read in Matthew 21:1-2 ‘And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.’ Here when Jesus gives a clear instructions to bring the donkey, his disciples did not ask any questions. The Lord starts his intense training on faith to his disciples. He wanted to train his disciples as his time for crucifixion is nearing. Even in our lives, we are living in the end of times. Why did God allow this lockdown period? Why did God permit us to face all these fatal situations? It is to make our faith stronger. The Lord God is training his children to move to the next level in their faith. Today let us meditate on how Christ trained his disciples to have a growth in faith.

Trust

Matthew 21:19 ‘And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.’

                Over here Jesus showcases a live example to his disciples. We see the Lord curses the fig tree as it had no fruit. When Jesus cursed it, the fig tree withered away. In Matthew 21:20 ‘And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!’ The disciples on witnessing this act were astonished and they might have not understood the reason why this had happened. Our Lord Jesus wanted to increase the trust of the disciples. In Matthew 21:21 ‘Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.’

                Therefore, when we put our trust on the Lord and when we have faith without a doubt, we will eliminate all kinds of doubts and questions. We need to understand that faith and doubt cannot coexist. We should have a strong faith on the Lord that he will help us overcome anything in our lives. When we whole heartedly trust in the Lord God, nothing is impossible. When we have a doubtful mind, no matter how much we strive to handle certain things, it will fall apart. Unwanted doubts will never lead us into the right place. May the Lord God give us his divine trust and help us to tackle all the obstacles.

Prayer

Matthew 21:22 ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’

Secondly, our faithful prayer should have a growth. When we pray and ask for things, it should be according to the will of God. If God thinks our prayer requests are genuine and appropriate, the Lord will surely grant such requests. There are certain prayers that are more or less like accusations and complaints. Some people will pray asking God to punish someone. Our Lord God will not pay heed to such requests. We need to check if our prayers are centered based on the will of God. Tis we read in I John 5:14 ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:’ When we look into the prayer of Hannah, it is true that she had a sad face when she began our prayer. But when she finished her prayer, her sad countenance was changed. Though she did not receive an instant answer to her prayers, she had a firm faith that the Lord will grant her request. Our faith must grow to the point where we should be confident in praying once and believing in God. Let us examine our prayers and should make sure that is in line with the Lord’s will.  Believing that praying once is enough to work out miracles is the next level of faith.

Action

Matthew 17:20 ‘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.’

                Here the Lord Jesus sets a measure for our faith. The Lord insists that we have a bigger faith. In the verse above, we see if we have faith as a grain as a mustard seed we can move the mountains. When we read in Matthew 17:1 ‘And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,’ We see the Lord along with his three disciples went up to the transfiguring mountain leaving the rest of the disciples down.

                In Matthew 17:15-16 ‘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. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.’ This person directly complained to Jesus that his disciples could not cure his son.  When we read in Matthew 17:17-18 ‘ 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. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.’ Before Jesus could rebuke the devil in eighteenth verse, he lost his cool towards his disciples. The nine disciples failed miserably in exorcising the demon after completing adequate trainings with Jesus. When they ask as to why they were not able to exorcise the devil, Jesus jots down the below reasons:

·         Matthew 17:20 – They did not have faith as mustard seed.

·         Matthew 17:21 – They lacked fasting & prayer.

·         Matthew 10:1,8 -  They lost the authority that was given by Jesus.

These three were the major reasons for their failure. The disciples did not reflect their actions by faith. Though they had adequate trainings and authority, they failed to put it in action.  When we have faith prayer through fasting and God given authority, nothing is impossible. May our faith grow where God expects us to be placed. Amen.