Title: What is Living Faith?
Content □ Faith is quality, not quantity.
The text begins with the apostles' request, “Give us more faith.” The disciples are now asking for more faith because they cannot keep and do the things the Lord has said with only their faith. The word “add” here means “to add” or “to add” to something that already exists. So, the disciples now know that faith exists within them. But they cannot live like that with their own faith, so the Lord asks for more faith.
But the Lord spoke about faith like a mustard seed to the disciples who asked, “Give us more faith!” Why did the Lord answer the alumni? Because the disciples had misunderstood their faith. So what are the disciples' misunderstandings about their faith? It is the fact that we see faith as a sheep. It is the fact that we see faith as a quantitative concept. It is the fact that I thought of faith as some kind of knowledge or talent I had. But the Lord is saying that faith is a matter of quality, not quantity. Faith is a matter of quality, not quantity. So the Lord explained faith by taking a mustard seed, a symbol of the smallest thing.
□ The essence of faith lies in life.
So, when we say that faith is a matter of quality, not quantity, what does quality of faith mean? It means life. So, by comparing faith to a seed, the Lord said that the essence of faith is not in the sheep, but in life. “If you had had faith the size of a mustard seed” (verse 6), the Lord said that faith was like a small dust. He did not say anything, but said that faith is the size of a mustard seed. Why did the Lord speak of faith with a mustard seed, a symbol of the smallest thing? This is because the mustard seed, though small, has life in it. That's why it grows terribly when planted in the ground. So later it becomes a large tree where the birds of the air nest in its branches. Life is always moving, changing and growing. Look at live and dead fish. Live fish also ride up waterfalls. However, dead fish float as the water flows. Check my faith today. Is my faith really a living faith? Or is it a formal belief? Check Is It Religious Belief?
□ What is a living faith?
First, it is a faith that proclaims and commands.
The command is to command the mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea (verse 6). From this, you can see that the living faith is the faith that commands and proclaims the problem. According to the Bible, God's people had faith to proclaim and command. Look at Joshua. During the war, Joshua commanded, “Sun, stay on Gibeon, and stay in the Valley of Aijalon” (Joshua 10:12). Then what happened? The sun and moon stopped at the command. Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea. Then the wind stopped and the storm calmed down. Even when he raised Lazarus, he commanded Lazarus to rise. Jesus' disciples Peter and John also saw the crippled man sitting at the beautiful gate of the temple begging and commanded, "I have no gold and silver, but in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, get up and walk!"
God has given us the power to command. The words that come out of our mouths have power. In Mark 11:23, Jesus also said, “Command the mountain to be thrown into the sea.” Now command by faith. Declare it. When God's will and God's time are right, the prayer of command will appear as an amazing work.
Second, it is a working faith.
Living faith is a faith that proclaims, and when we proclaim and command by faith, a mulberry tree is uprooted and planted in the sea. “It would have obeyed you” is what it means. The mulberry tree has exceptionally deep roots and is a tree that is rarely uprooted. So this tree stands firm in any storm. Matthew describes the impossibility before us in Matthew 17:20 not as a mulberry tree but as a mountain. Therefore, the mulberry tree and the mountain symbolize the impossibility before us. However, if we proclaim and command in faith, a miracle will happen in front of that faith: mulberry trees will be uprooted, planted in the sea, and mountains moved. That's right. A living faith inevitably makes history. Experiencing the history of faith is living faith. That's why Jesus said, "If it is possible, what do you mean? Nothing is impossible for him who believes" (Mark 9:23). This living faith is a faith that experiences history.
□ How can I have a living faith?
First, we must listen to the Word.
Faith comes from hearing the Word (Romans 10:17). Because the Word of God is spirit and life, strangely, hearing the Word gives you confidence and strength. Therefore, in order to have a living faith, not a fossilized faith, a religious faith, or a formalized faith, we must listen to the Word.
Second, we must pray.
Jesus said, “How can we cast out the demon?