"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT FAITH AND UNBELIEF"
Matthew 17:20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
Matthew 13:58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Hebrews 3:19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Some explanatory thoughts and application:
1. The issue in these verses has to do with 2 things, faith and unbelief. What faith will do, and what unbelief cannot do.
2. Jesus identified to His disciples why they had been unable to perform a certain ministry when asked to do so. Jesus in Matt 17:20, explained to them, that it was because of their unbelief. Unbelief in scripture means, to not believe God. The word unbelief itself, means, unfaithfulness, faithless, want of faith, and weakness of faith. Jesus was not chiding them, but He was explaining to them, what had happened. They had asked Him they were unable to minister as they expected, and did not. Simple, they did not believe. It was because of their unbelief.
3. The NLT renders Matt 17:20 this way, “You didn’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
4. Not having faith, actually can and will keep God from working as He would like to. Matthew 13:58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Normally Jesus did many mighty works, but in this case He did not, and the reason is given, it was because of a lack of faith. Faith, prevents if you will God from working. For example, a person could not and will not be saved, unless they believe. One must have faith in God for Him to save you. He never saves anyone who will not believe.
5. Unbelief, caused the children of Israel to not inherit the promised land when they were supposed to. The promised land by the way, is a type of the fruitful, and blessed life of the Christian, it's the picture of the Christian who believes God, and is then filled and led by the Spirit into the blessings that God has for them. Without faith in God, Christians live in a wilderness experience just as the children of Israel did for 40 years. Faith in God on the other hand, leads us into the will of God for our lives.
6. Please notice this verse again. Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. It's telling us what happens without faith. We cannot please God. The opposite is true also. That with faith we do please Him. And, for the person who comes to God, they must simply have faith in Him, believe Him, and the result is that He will reward Your life. Faith in God, will bring rewards. No faith in God, means we will not come to Him, and hence we will not be rewarded by Him.
A prayer:
Father, thank You for faith. Please keep us believing. Please give us faith. We know that faith comes to us through Your Word, thus, we need to be in Your Word. So, Lord, help us to get into Your Word, and to stay in Your Word. That's how we get faith, faith to believe You, and to see You do great and mighty works. And, Lord, keep us we pray from the sin of unbelief. Yes, it is a sin not to believe You. NLT Joh 16:9 The world’s sin is unbelief in me. So, Lord, keep us from unbelief.
And, Father, we also want to thank You for giving us faith through Your Word, may we hunger for Your Word, and read it, meditate in it, memorize it, believe it, and act upon it. We pray for those we know who are suffering needlessly, simply because they will not believe in You. God, we pray for them, and ask that You bring a life changing conviction into their lives.
Finally Lord, we pray for our church body, that each and every believer would grow in their faith, and that they would simply believe You. Trusting in You, for then Lord we know that You will do many great things for us, and in the lives of those around us.
We ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
