INCREASE OUR FAITH

INCREASE OUR FAITH

Luke 17:5 (NKJV) And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

They did not say to the Lord to keep their faith burning or sustain their faith -- but rather to Increase their faith -- It is necessary to see a GROWTH IN OUR FAITH

Luke 17:6 (NKJV) So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Matthew 17:19-20 (NKJV) Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

If you compare the two verses in Luke and Matthew -- God talks about three impossible situation:

1. It is not easy to uproot a mulberry tree. If you are a student of botany, you would know the mulberry tree has deep and invasive root system. You probably can cut a mulberry tree, but is extremely difficult to uproot it.

2. Mulberry trees cannot grow in a sea. it is impossible to plant in the water allow to survive, grow and bear fruit.

3. Thirdly, very clearly you cannot even shake a small hill, let alone moving a mountain from here to there.

WHAT Jesus was actually saying was a faith small as a mustard seed would make the IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE IN YOUR LIFE

Whether It’s Deep-Rooted Habits In Your Life That Refuses To Move

Whether IT’s a Mountain-Like Problem That You’re Facing That You Cannot Move

God Says -- Your Faith Is Enough To Solve Those Problems.

HERE ARE four reasons you need increased faith in your life .....

1. YOU NEED FAITH TO FULFILL YOUR CALLING IN YOUR LIFE.

All of us believe that we are called by God -- we have purpose in life & we need TO FULFILL THEM in our lifetime.

God has placed you where you are, the time frame you are, the people you are around with, with a clear purpose.

Acts 17:26 (NKJV) And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,

HE HAS MARKED IT -- which means you are expected to fulfill the call and purpose for which God placed you where you are.

When God calls you for a task -- sometimes -- it requires that you move out of your comfort zone. And that’s not always easy. And it requires a great deal of faith.

When I compare the calling of two people in the Bible, it particularly surprises me.

LOOK AT PAUL

Paul had a strong Jewish background. He was a learned man, well-versed in scriptures, Paul had studied under the feet of Gamaliel – a great scholar. He almost memorized the first five books in the Bible. Humanly speaking, he would have been the perfect choice and ideal candidate to minister to Jews. Because he had all the qualities to minister unto the Jews.

While Paul did minister to the Jews -- his ministry was predominantly to Gentiles?

The Gentles had little appreciation for his great learning. they did not even know what it means to know the first five books in the Bible. Paul had to get rid of human wisdom and put complete faith on God to minister to Gentiles.

Philippians 3:4-6 (Phillips NT) If it were right to have such confidence, I could certainly have it, and if any of these men thinks he has grounds for such confidence I can assure him I have more. I was born a true Jew, I was circumcised on the eighth day, I was a member of the tribe of Benjamin, I was in fact a full-blooded Jew. As far as keeping the Law is concerned I was a Pharisee, and you can judge my enthusiasm for the Jewish faith by my active persecution of the Church. As far as the Law’s righteousness is concerned, I don’t think anyone could have found fault with me.

Philippians 3:7-9 (GW) These things that I once considered valuable, I now consider worthless for Christ. It’s far more than that! I consider everything else worthless because I’m much better off knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. It’s because of him that I think of everything as worthless. I threw it all away in order to gain Christ and to have a relationship with him. This means that I didn’t receive God’s approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God’s approval through faith in Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith

LOOK AT PETER.

Acts 4:13 describes Peter as unlearned and ignorant man. He was an ordinary fisherman. But God uses him to minister to pious and educated Jews. Probably Peter would have been a perfect choice for Gentiles. But if Peter’s calling had to be fulfilled, he has to put complete faith in Jesus.

God has marked each of us for a definite purpose and has a high calling. None of us have an ordinary calling.

That is what Paul says in Philippians 3:14 - I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

All of us know of David. He was someone who was highly commended by God. But, David was actually a second choice -- because someone else failed to fulfill God’s calling.

We seldom realize the calling that was upon David was originally upon Saul.

1 Samuel 9:17-21 (NKJV) And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, “There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.” Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Please tell me, where is the seer’s house?” And Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. But as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?” And Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?”

Saul did not have the faith to accept God’s calling.

Our calling does not depend on our ability but rather on the ability of the One who called us.

1 Samuel 13:9-14 (GW) Then Saul said, “Bring me the animals for the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” So he sacrificed the burnt offering. As he finished sacrificing the burnt offering, Samuel came, and Saul went to greet him. Samuel asked, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “I saw the troops were scattering. You didn’t come when you said you would, and the Philistines were assembling at Michmash. So I thought, ‘Now, the Philistines will come against me at Gilgal, but I haven’t sought the LORD’S favor.’ I felt pressured into sacrificing the burnt offering.” “You did a foolish thing,” Samuel told Saul. “You didn’t follow the command of the LORD your God. {If you had,} the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel permanently. But now your kingdom will not last. The LORD has searched for a man after his own heart. The LORD has appointed him as ruler of his people, because you didn’t follow the command of the LORD.”

His plan was to mark Saul and his family line throughout -- But his disobedience resulting from lack of faith disqualified his whole family

What is God specifically calling you to do?

Are we stepping out of our comfort zone and doing what God is asking us to?

Or are we ignoring God’s call -- so he can go and choose someone else.

2. YOU NEED FAITH TO SEE GOD’S WORKS AND WONDERS IN OUR LIVES

All of us want to experience God’s miraculous hands in our lives in some way of the other.

But remember you cannot experience God’s miracles unless you have faith.

Matthew 13:58 (GW) He didn’t work many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Numbers 11:18-20 (GW) Tell the people to get ready for tomorrow. They must be set apart as holy. Then they will eat meat. I, the LORD, heard them crying and saying, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!’ So I will give them meat. They won’t eat it just for one or two days, or five, or ten, or twenty days, but for a whole month, until it comes out of their ears and they’re sick of it. This is because they rejected the LORD who is here among them and cried in front of him, asking, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”

When the Israelites were in the wilderness and they hated the manna, when they craved for meat and murmured before Moses, Moses cries out to God. In response to Moses’ cry, God promises him a miracle.

And since God said it -- it would happen -- no matter what. Wouldn’t it?

It really isn’t Moses’ job to figure out how this would happen -- That’s God problem.

But Moses couldn’t just believe what God said? He kept on wondering how can God ever do this?

DON’T we act like Moses when we face problems? We find it so difficult to trust God’s words -- trust God’s provision and God’s care when we go through hard times.

But FAITH Requires You To See Beyond.

Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

You can never see or imagine what God has in mind for you -- WITHOUT FAITH

God did not explain to Moses how he is going to do the miracle.

Numbers 11:23 (MSG) GOD answered Moses, “So, do you think I can’t take care of you?

Because when God does something, He usually does so in a way that you KNOW it is God. People around you know that it is God who is working in your life.

Prayers made in faith will bring answers from God however tough or seemingly impossible the situation may seem.

GOD has called OLC to be A PLACE OF HEALING -- ALL of us moving IN FAITH is what it will take

James 5:15 (GW) Prayers offered in faith will save those who are sick, and the Lord will cure them. If you have sinned, you will be forgiven.

YOU NEED FAITH TO PLEASE GOD.

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Which means FAITH is not an option -- It is absolutely essential if you want TO PLEASE GOD.

Matthew 15:22-28 (NKJV) And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

The root cause of her coming to Jesus -- was her love for her daughter. She loved her so much that she made her way through all the crowd and also when the disciples tried to send her away -- because somehow she wanted her daughter to be delivered.

AND God says, “HER FAITH IS GREAT” And she received what she wanted because of her FAITH.

That is why, Bible is very clear “without faith, it is impossible to please God.” , because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

James 2:14-17 (MSG) Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

CONCLUSION

1. You need faith to fulfill your calling in your life.

2. You need faith to see God’s works and wonders in our lives

3. You need faith so you please God.