EXTRAORDINARY FAITH: A FAITH THAT MOVES THE MOUNTAINS

Pastor Jonathan Falwell 

Hebrews 11:39–40 (CSB) All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, 40since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us. 

• The image given in these two verses is that we can be encouraged today because God has given us the same great hope that inspired the faith leaders mentioned in this chapter. We can have faith that God will always be there when we need Him most.
• Thus, the faith we must have is the faith Jesus speaks of Matthew 17.

Matthew 17:14–20 (CSB) When they reached the crowd, a man approached axnd knelt down before him. 15“Lord,” he said, “have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.” 17Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” 18Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and from that moment the boy was healed. 19Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 20“Because of your little faith,” he told them. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

1. The doubts of the faithful

Vs 19 Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

• Jesus used this instance to teach the disciples an important lesson about prayer, fasting and faith.
• Mark 9:29 – “So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
• Often times, our greatest moments of fear are caused not by the difficult situation we are facing, but rather a lack of faith in the God who has already overcome

2. The focus of our future

Vs 20a “Because of your little faith,” he told them…

• The disciples inquired of Jesus why they couldn’t overcome this great obstacle. His answer is simple…because of your little faith!
• The same is true of us

3. The faith that changes everything

Vs 20b …“For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

• Matthew 10:8 (CSB) Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you received, freely give.
• Jesus had given the mission and the ability to do the work required here.
• We often mix up this truth in our application of faith.
• Someone once said, “Some people think they need faith as big as a mountain to remove a mustard seed.”[i]
• In truth, our ability to overcome is not based on our ability or even our faith, it is based on the One in whom we have faith. 

Hebrews 11:6 (CSB) Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

[i] John Blanchard, The Complete Gathered Gold, A Treasury of Quotations for Christians, Evangelical Press, 2006.