Have you ever wished your faith was stronger? Have you ever asked God to strengthen your faith?

In Luke 17, disciples where gathered around Jesus, listening to him speak. After he had explained to them the nature of Sin, the apostles asked Jesus to “increase [their] faith.” They had followed Jesus for some time and had seen him do amazing things. Jesus heals the sick, He creates food from nothing, and He commands the weather. Jesus even brought people back from the dead.

When Jesus teaches, he speaks not as a man but as one with true authority. With that same authority he commands the elements. The disciples, seeing his great faith desire to know God as He knows God. They ask Jesus to increase their faith. Jesus responds in a most unexpected manner. He does not perform a miracle, He does not explain the mysteries of the universe, He does not call upon angels. Jesus compares faith to a mustard seed. “He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.” Luke 17:6

If you were able to make it to FUEL this past week, you will know intimately how tiny a mustard seed is. Pastor Chris asked us to hold a mustard seed in between our fingers during the entire message. That posed much more of a challenge than you might otherwise think. Mustard seeds are so tiny they are almost impossible to even pick up individually. Yet, Jesus compares faith to a mustard seed. He goes on in Matthew 20, “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even 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.”

A mustard seed. The smallest of all seeds. Faith does not need to be a bolder. Faith does not need to witness miracles, faith does not need to fathom all things, faith does not require legions of angles singing of God's glory. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1. It is commonly accepted that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews to the Hebrew church of Palestine from his jail cell in Rome sometime in the first century. He was writing to Jews who had given their lives over to Christ but their faith was in danger. Trouble surrounded them.

Write this down right now: go read Hebrews 11. The next time you have quiet time explore in Hebrews 11 how faith even as small as mustard seed transformed the heroes and heroines of the Old Testament into the instruments of God.

Blessings, 

Spencer Roberts