The Faith Factor

(This is an abridged version of the sermon preached at Epworth Chapel, Baltimore on 10/9/11)

"(Jesus) replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”" (Matthew 17:19-21)

It is clear that the primary purpose of the life and ministry of Jesus was to help people see and know the face of God, and to help people come to belief in God. The nature of faith is belief in God – belief that God is the creator of all that is – the belief that God is at work in Christ seeking to save humanity from sinfulness and brokenness, and the belief that the Holy Spirit continues to be at work bringing forth transformation through the work of the church today.

The matter of faith was centermost in the mind of Jesus here in Matthew 17. It’s clear that the problem for Jesus here was the “smallness” of the faith of the people of his day. Maybe the people of the Lord’s day were a lot like many people today - even many religious people – people in the church. It seems that one of the critical dilemmas facing us today is the paucity of faith among people, even among many people of faith.

Jesus begins by reminding those who had gathered they had “so little faith.” The context of the Lord’s comment here is questioning among the disciples as to why they were unable to perform miracles, as Jesus had done, and as Jesus said they would be able to do. And Jesus explicitly attributes the inability of his disciples to perform miracles to the “smallness” – the “littleness” – the “pettiness” - of their faith. And he points out that even a mustard seed's worth of faith would be sufficient to not only cast out demons, but to move mountains.

Jesus speaks of the mustard seed within the context of faith and moving mountains. His encouragement for those who would hear was to understand the power of faith in their lives. And what are we really talking about when we talk about faith?

Too many people in the Lord’s day, and today, seem to have put their faith in too many things that are not God, and too many which are not of God. We tend to put our faith in the stock market and stock portfolios, politicians, celebrities, athletes, and even our jobs.

In Baltimore over the past few years, there has been a preponderance of signs that simply say “Believe.” We see the word “Believe” across the city in virtually every neighborhood on school buildings, on billboards, on buses, and at bus stops. But the signs often beg the question for me, “Believe what”, and “Believe in what?”

As Christians, we are called not simply to believe, but we are called to believe in God. We are called to have faith that God in Christ can change our lives and make a difference in our life and in the world. And what Jesus was pointing those of his day is that with a mustard seed’s worth of faith, they could (we can) move mountains.

What mountains was the Lord talking about? Certainly, we will all encounter the proverbial mountains of life. Situations will confront all of us that will seem insurmountable. Circumstances will enter into our lives to challenge our faith. Mountains in life – sickness and death, disappointments and discouragement, trials and tribulations will show up in our lives. Mountains in life – trouble in our homes, trouble on our jobs, trouble in our communities, even trouble in the church from time-to-time. And the question is ultimately, how do we deal with the mountains that confront us?

The point that the Lord was trying to make was that it took just a modicum of faith for God to begin to move in their lives. It took just a little faith, a mustard seed’s worth of faith, for the Lord to begin to manifest himself in their lives and begin to work on their behalf. And not only that – with a modicum of faith – a mustard seed’s worth of faith – we can move mountains. This is the “faith factor.”

Jesus concludes his teaching on faith here with a declaration that nothing will be impossible for you. Nothing is impossible. This is the faith factor.

The Lord says," nothing is impossible." What a bold declaration, that if we have faith – even as small as a mustard seed - we can move the proverbial mountains in our lives. If we have faith the even as small as a mustard seed, nothing will be impossible for us.

The good news is that with faith in God, nothing is really impossible for us. The faith factor in our lives means that through our belief in God, through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the mountains can (and will) be removed from our lives, and nothing is impossible for us.

We’ve come this far by faith
Leaning on the Lord
Trusting in his holy word
He’s never failed me yet.
Oh, Oh, Oh, can’t turn around
We’ve come this far by faith.