As A Grain Of Mustard Seed

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And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying: Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

Then Jesus answered and said: O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said: Why could not we cast him out?

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, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
~ Matthew 17:14-21

It is interesting, how Jesus relates the devil to a mountain!

Not only are the disciples taught to follow and believe, but they are taught fasting and prayer. It is a combination of all four things, which work together to cast out the devil.

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Belief, sometimes, can be a fleeting thing. To trust absolutely, without wavering is a skill that can be practiced. Oft times, the scriptures are clear, that we need to believe completely, nothing doubting.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, never wavering; for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.
~ James 1:5-7

At first glance, this scripture seems kind of harsh, but a second look reveals the key to receiving that wisdom, the use of which key is entirely at our discretion.

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Often thought of as an abstract quality, faith is really a principle of action. It is no different than other words that are principles of action, like ‘want’, ‘need’, and ‘desire’. It is this faith that Jesus referred to when he said; “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

But what does it mean to have faith as a grain of mustard seed?

“And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
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 thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.”

Jesus tells them that it is the quality of faith that matters, not the quantity. It’s singleness of purpose. The mustard seed has only one goal, one purpose, and that is to be a mustard bush. And if we, as the mustard seed, have only one purpose, that being to glorify God, to have an eye single to His glory, doing His will, then nothing shall be impossible for us.
Pure faith, … quality, not quantity.

If we have faith in Jesus, pure faith in Jesus, in what Jesus taught, then we will do what He taught. Faith is action, so saying we have faith and not doing anything, is a lie. Faith is action.

Faith is a principle of action. Remember Jesus acted, he did not just believe, he acted upon that belief, which made it faith. Faith is to act. When the apostles asked him why could we not cast him out, Jesus answered “Because of your unbelief: … Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” It took more than belief. It took action. It took prayer and fasting. Faith is action.

There is no such thing as faith without action. Just like bread without flour is not bread, faith without action is not faith. In order for belief to be turned into faith, we must add action.
Belief + Action = Faith.

If we want our faith to produce results, we must act, or it is not faith, it is only belief, and belief alone does not produce any results. What good would it do for the children of Israel to believe that the serpent on the staff would heal them, if they wouldn’t do the work of looking? Those who didn’t look, died.

Belief must be accompanied with action to produce results. Belief must be accompanied with action to become faith. “But without faith, it is impossible to please him”. We must have faith. Jesus didn’t just talk about doing good, he went out and did good. He acted, and we must act. “Shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”

So let’s all imitate Jesus, and do as he did. Let’s go out and show our faith by our actions. Let the Saviour be our guide, our example. Let’s be a faithful people.