Luke 17:5-10 (NKJV)

 “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. And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?

Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.” –  

 Jesus defined faith to be “what kind” rather than “how much”.  In other words, the “quality of our faith” is more important than “quantity”.  The amount of faith we have does not need to be more than a grain of mustard seed…but the quality of our faith should be such that the mustard seed can grow and be productive. That is the issue.

 Do You Have Faith?

The apostles asked Jesus to “increase” their faith.  Jesus, instead, dealt with how to “develop” the faith they already had.  So, let’s ask ourselves this question…”Do you have faith?”  Now, let’s answer the question….

            1.    Do you believe that God exists?

            2.    Do you believe that God rewards people who   

                 sincerely seek Him? If you answered yes to these questions then you have faith…all the faith you will ever need to move the largest mountain.  “You can never please God without faith, without depending on him. Anyone who wants to come to God must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely look for him.”-  Hebrews 11:6 (TLB) 

With this in mind we will approach this lesson not with the idea of how to “get more faith”…but how to develop the faith we already have. The Bible identifies six ways for the Christian believer to develop their faith.  The first is…

Faith Is Developed By Completely Obeying God.

(words of Jesus in response to the disciples request to increase their faith)  “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.” -Luke 17:10.

 Obedience is easier said than understood…or done. It begins with total respect and reverence…to realize and accept the absolute authority of our Creator and His laws. There is no negotiation or plea bargaining. God maintains ultimate sovereignty.  Humility is another ingredient to obedience.  It identifies our weaknesses and limitations to realize that we need God in every part of our life…even for those things we take for granted…such as rain and sunlight for our food. A third aspect of obedience is commitment.  To respect God and to realize our dependence upon Him are prerequisite to making a full commitment to do His will. 

 Faith Is Developed By A Full Understanding Of God’s Word

 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” – Romans 10:17 (NKJV) “Hearing” the word of God is more than just listening to a sermon or reading the Bible for ourselves. The word means to understand and to react to what we have heard or read. Hearing means to receive it as God intended for us to receive.

 Jesus gave us a parable about how people will receive His word. It was the parable of the sower of the seed, which identified four ways to receive God’s word.  The first was to “not understand” what we hear or read. The second is to “have other priorities” that would tarnish the truth of God’s word in our mind. The third is to be “insincere and artificial” so that the word of God will not penetrate to help us grow in His grace. The fourth way to receive God’s word is with a fertile and open life that seeks God for understanding, is open to God’s guidance and is totally sincere to follow the truth that God reveals to us. A fertile field of mind and heart that will allow the seed of God’s word to grow to our great benefit.

Faith Is Developed By The Exhortation or Encouragement Of Others

 “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” – Ephesians 4:11-16 (KJV) 

God has called different ministries to help His children. Some are pastors, others are teachers and evangelists.  Each has a three-fold responsibility to the body of Christ.   The ministry is called to (1) perfect the saints.  In other words, to help the born-again believer grow (mature, perfect) in the faith.  The ministry is called for (2) the work of the ministry. In other words, to minister to the needs of God’s children in whatever area they have a need. This would involve counseling, prayer, visitation, etc. The ministry is called to (3) edify the body of Christ.  In other words, to encourage God’s children as they go through life. 

These are three responsibilities of all God’s ministers…perfect, minister to and encourage. If you have a pastor or teacher who consistently fulfills those three responsibilities, you are well blessed. 

   Faith Is Developed By Our Christian Service (Works)  “So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. You must also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good works is no faith at all–it is dead and useless. But someone may well argue, “You say the way to God is by faith alone, plus nothing; well, I say that good works are important too, for without good works you can’t prove whether you have faith or not; but anyone can see that I have faith by the way I act.” -James 2:17-18 (TLB)  

Our eternal salvation is not dependent upon our good works. Man cannot earn God’s mercy or grace.  But once we have been forgiven and born-again, it is a natural desire that we reach out to help our fellowman…especially with their spiritual needs. The Lord has admonished us… “freely you have received…freely give”. As we witness and do good works in the name of our God, the result is not only that another human being is helped, but our personal faith is helped as well.

Faith Is Developed By Prayer

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

The apostles knew that they had a need … so they went to Jesus with their request. God knows what we have need of even before we ask, but He is wise enough to know that we need to ask. A spoiled child is one who gets everything he or she wants without any responsibility or effort. Such a child is destined to become unthankful and unappreciative of what it has been given. 

A deeper faith is a gift that God wants to share with His children, but we must put forth and effort to ask…so that we be not spoiled spiritual children who expect and demand from our Heavenly Father. 

 Faith Is Developed By Love 

 “And we to whom Christ has given eternal life don’t need to worry about whether we have been circumcised or not, or whether we are obeying the Jewish ceremonies or not; for all we need is faith working through love.”  -Galatians 5:6 (TLB)

The more love we express to God and to our fellowman, the more our faith is improved.  It is that simple. Love is the motivation to obey God, to read His word with sincerity, to do good works, to be exhorted, and  to pray.  These are things that develop our faith to be what God desires for us to be.

Source: http://www.siscom.net/~direct/christianfaith/faith_increased.htm

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