The Mesure of My Faith
Notes
Transcript
Luke 17:5–6 (KJV 1900)
5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
15 Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly,
15 Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done. Instead, we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended.
I have been born in this beautiful Gospel, the apostolic faith.
My first trip was to the church...
I slept under an apostolic pew as a kid...
My mom has pictures of me playing my guitar on the platform between my dad and grandpa at 4 yrs old...
You didn’t know I played the guitar did you...
I don’t but it was grandpa’s church to apparently I could do what I wanted!
One thing that was apparent from the very beginning was this word FAITH!
Faith is the absolute corner stone of our relationship with God!
Faith:
noun
confidence or trust in a person or thing
belief that is not based on proof
belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion
belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.
a system of religious belief
the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.
the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.
The bible simply says:
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
I know I have talked about this before but I want you to understand this...
Faith is the currency of the spirit realm.
To move the spirit realm you have to have faith!
You can be stoned out of your head...
You can be drunk...
You can be living in the worse kind of sin and perversion...
Cry out in faith and God will respond to you!
Every one has God-given faith!
Rom 12:3 = God has given every man a measure of faith!
Always taught that as a specific unit of faith.
Everyone born is given a specific unit of faith - 1 cup - 1 gallon - a pound
Not sure that that is what it means...
marker of continuance in time up to a point, until
Here is what I feel that passage means
I have the faith that my experiences dictate or define!
Not that we all started off with the same scoop of faith BUT
Our life experiences give us the parameters of our faith!
This is why WE must pray that God increase our faith!
As our faith grows
Faith becomes the shield that protects you!
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
That measure of faith that God gave you from birth is as valuable as the breath that he gave you!
When your faith begins to waver
Fiery darts find their mark and your trust begins to waver!
The less faith you have
The less trust you have
The less you ask for
Pause: what is the biggest thing you are praying for right now?
How big is it?
How specific is it?
Can it happen without God’s intervention?
Can it be credited to circumstance?
How will it change your life long term?
How soon will you forget about the answered prayer?
The size of our prayers are a revelation of our faith in God!
Why do we pray safe prayers?
God I need a financial blessing
vs
God I need a 60k dollar a year raise!
Why do we add safe words and phrases to our prayers?
“If it be your will!”
“According to thy will”
We pray prayer in a way that leaves us a way out if it don’t happen!
This type of praying is high interest praying!
I’m short on faith this week so I’m going to take a payday loan out at 29% and hope it works out!
We pray in a way that protect my personal image!
If it don’t happen then I have a way out!
You can’t promote God’s purpose and protect your image at the same time!
IF WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT GOD IS SO BIG, WHY DO WE PRAY SO SMALL?
Challenge: look at what you are praying and begin to pray God increase my faith!
24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.