This is an excerpt from ABNGLOBAL.COM
http://www.abnglobal.com/community/f...c.asp?TID=1582
Brother Garrett asked:
I HAVE A QUESTION FOR BRO RON HARVEY!
And to anybody else who might shed some light on this.
I was studying on the Power of Faith last night. And I noticed something that caught my attention.
Mathew 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 move from here to yonder place; and it SHALL move; and NOTHING will be impossible unto you.
Okay now, that was after Jesus cast the demon out of a child, and his apostles asked him, "Why couldn't we do it?" and
Mathew 17:20 was Jesus's Response.
Luke 17:6 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 planted in the sea; and it SHOULD obey you.
Now this was after Jesus talked about offending one of the little kids, it would be better to cast yourself into the sea, and then he said, take heed, if your brother trespasses against you 7 times 70 times in a day, thou shalt forgive him. And then his Apostles say "Increase our faith."
Anyways, my point is these are two separate stories of mustard seed faith, at two different times.
So Finally, I pose my Question.
Why is it in
Mathew 17:20, Jesus said that you CAN move a mountain with Faith, and it Will obey you
But in
Luke 17:6 Jesus said, that with small amount of faith, you might be able to pluck up a sycamine tree and cast it into the sea, an it should obey you.
Obviously the tree is a smaller task than the mountain, but the success rate is lower.
So yeah, Why?
MY Reply:
Quality, not Quantity
Brother Garrett,
Very astute observation about the time frame, this gives the answer to the different examples used. The circumstances are indeed different but the SOLUTION remains the same in both cases.
The word 'FAITH' as used in English is a NOUN that encapsulates the Greek VERB pistis
(Running used to only be a verb until it became a sport. Now it is also a NOUN that encapsulates the whole of the sport.)
Faith (pistis) is "An embodiment of knowledge thats prompts an action."
Pistis is "belief," apistis is "unbelief." (In Greek when you place the letter 'a' in front of a word or sentence, it reverses the meaning.).
The ancient world did not have the concept of ZERO. This is why B.C. 1
and A.D. 1 is the selfsame year.
1. There is no middle (neutral) ground with God, you either are, or you are not doing.
2. You therefore either believe or you don't believe.
3. You either have faith or you have unbelief.
3a. Unbelief e.g. reverse faith.
3a1. Belief that runs in the opposite direction than that God has said...
3a2. Like bringing into question [in a negative way] what God has said.
EXAMPLE:
Luke 1:20 wrote:
"And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season"
All because... "And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this?"
Luke 1:18
Look at it, he tried excusing himself because he was old (Guess he had not read about Abraham.)
I bring you back to the "as" statement...
"faith as a grain of mustard seed," and "increase our faith."
Think of all the "as" statements you could make.
1. as I am
2. as you were
3. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
4. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night
5. as a brother
6. All these things did Araunah, as a king
7. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ
8. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter
The list could go on.
The point I would like to introduce is that the reference is not to the SIZE of the faith, but the QUALITY of the faith.
I have always had problem with the "little bit of faith" approach.
Though the mustard seed it self is the smallest of all the seeds, yet its faith (determination to accomplish its task) is pure. It therefore breaks through the soil and can grow into a plant that is commonly called a tree up to 10' high.
It is not the task in question, no more than it was the amount of talents given to each of the three men. One had 1, One had 2, and One had 3 talents of money.
Two were faithful in DOING the task and one wasn't.
It was, did they DO or were they DOING the task given and not HOW MUCH of the task was done when the master called them.
The mustard seed has an inborn nature to do or die doing. Not just 'trying' to do. Trying lends to the notion that if you decide it is too hard, you will quit and say, "Well, I tried."
The success rate is the same; accomplish the task, or be in the work of accomplishing the task.
Tasks are stepping stones to greater feats that will exercise our faith and give us a greater stick-to-it-ness.
So, "as a grain of mustard seed" is a reference to the seed's determination to do rather than its 'amount/size' of faith.
Romans 12:3 wrote:
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man THE MEASURE of faith
All have equal measure through the Word.
Romans 10:17 wrote:
So then FAITH cometh by hearing, and hearing by the WORD of God.
Hebrews 5:14 wrote:
But strong meat (FROM THE WORD) belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their SENSES exercised to discern both good and evil.
This is why it is important to listen to the Word (when preached, taught, or spoken) and to SPEAK your FAITH with out using the wrong verbiage. Then, ACT on what you know and accept the Word for what it says by doing what it says to do.
Accomplishment is the same no matter the task. So long as we are found faithfully doing the task given.
Yes, like anything else; it takes time, effort, and focus...
James 1:6,7 wrote:
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
Let's understand the MIGHT phrase.
Luke 17:4-10 wrote:
Luke 17:4 "And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him."
Luke 17:5 "And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith."
Luke 17:6 "And the Lord said, If ye had faith as (ref:quality) 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."
See, If... you MIGHT say (If you on your own; choose to say...whatever.), it SHOULD obey.
Quote:
Luke 17:7 "But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?"
Luke 17:8 "And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?"
Luke 17:9 "Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not."
Luke 17:10 "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do."
Jesus is giving an example to change the disciples' VIEWPOINT from observer/servant to that of MASTER, that things SHOULD obey.
Remember the question "What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?"
Since both cannot exist in the same universe... It is all about dominion.
Hope this helps.
Ron
Sorry, read at it not through it 
Linear Mode
