Wow that is a lot of food for thought.

thanks


Lelia Struve email [log in to unmask] msn [log in to unmask]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2005 1:35 PM
Subject: Faith - Installment 4


> The Force Of Faith
> Part One.
> Installment Four.
>
> Review.
>
>     We have, thus far, considered the source of faith and the
> strength of faith.  Now, let's consider the final section of Part
> One.
>
> C.  The Size Of Faith.
>
> Question.  How much faith does it take to receive something from
> the Lord?  Does our faith vary based upon the size of what we are
> requesting?  If so, how do we know how much faith is needed?  If
> it takes more faith for a given request, how do we know how much
> faith to use?
>
> Illustration.  More than once, I have been listening to a teacher
> on the radio.  He often has guests whom he interviews.
>
>     One day, he was talking to a man about a miraculous healing
> that the man experienced.  The man was an airplane mechanic.  He
> was working on a small prop pitch engine.  suddenly, and without
> warning, the prop pitch blades spun unexpectedly as the engine
> tried to spin up.  One of the blades struck him in the face and
> literally sliced his nose from his face.  As his cries for help
> were heard, people came from everywhere and medical assistance was
> immediately dispatched to the airport and he was rushed to the
> hospital.  They sowed his nose back on to his face but he refused
> to allow them to give him anything for the pain.  Less than 24
> hours later, he was standing in church, having no pain or
> discomfort of any kind, and giving his testimony of God's healing
> power.  So far, so good.
>
>     As the interview continued, the man was asked, "How should a
> listener proceed with exercising his faith for healing."  The man
> suggested that we all begin with small things.  A headache, for
> example, he recommended, was a good place to begin.  He said we
> could practice exercising our faith when we had a headache.  Once
> we accomplished getting rid of the headache, then we could move on
> to bigger things as our faith grows.
>
>     As I said, I have heard this application of faith offered
> more than once, that is, start with small things and then as your
> faith grows, you will be able to use your faith against the big
> things.  There is only two problems with this.  First, it isn't in
> the bible.  Secondly, what if the medical tests you have just
> taken, show that you have terminal and inoperable cancer and you
> only have a month, at the most, to live.  How are you going to
> practice using your faith until you conquer headaches when you
> have precious little time before you die?  So, I ask again.  How
> much faith does it take for whatever it is we are asking God to
> do?
>
> Increase Our Faith.
>
>     In Luke's Gospel it says, "And the apostles said unto the
> Lord, Increase our faith," (Luke 17:5).
>
> Question.  Did He?  Did Jesus increase their faith?
>
> Question.  When the same disciples came to Jesus and said, "Lord,
> teach us to pray," did He?  The answer, in this case, is yes.
> That's where we first learned about what some call The Lord's
> Prayer.  It isn't the Lord's prayer at all, of course, that is
> found in John Chapter 17, but the one we call the Lord's prayer is
> really the disciple's prayer.  That's a different sermon for a
> different time.
>
>     My point is this.  When the disciples asked Jesus to teach
> them to pray, He answered their request.  When the disciples asked
> Jesus to increase their faith, He didn't.  Instead, He launched
> off into some story about mustard seeds, sycamine trees obeying
> your command to be plucked up by the root and cast into the
> ocean, and mountains being removed.  What's that have to do with
> increasing our faith?
>
> Question.  What was Jesus trying to teach His disciples?
>
> Question.  Was Jesus criticizing the smallness of their faith and
> suggesting, if they had more faith, nothing would be impossible
> unto them?  Let's read some passages which will help us gain a
> better understanding of what Jesus was talking about concerning
> faith.
>
> Matthew 17:14-21
> 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 lunatic, 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.
>
> Mark 9:17-29
> And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about
> them, and the scribes questioning with them.  And straightway all
> the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running
> to him saluted him.  And he asked the scribes, What question ye
> with them?  And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I
> have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And
> wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and
> gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy
> disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.  He
> answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I
> be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.  And
> they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the
> spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
> And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto
> him? And he said, Of a child.  And ofttimes it hath cast him into
> the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst
> do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.  Jesus said unto
> him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that
> believeth.  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and
> said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.  When
> Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the
> foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge
> thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.  And the
> spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was
> as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.  But Jesus took
> him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.  And when he was
> come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could
> not we cast him out?  And he said unto them, This kind can come
> forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
>     Comments.
>
>     These parallel passages raise some interesting theological
> questions about faith in more than one way.
>
>     For example, in Matthew's account, the disciples come to
> Jesus afterward, when no one was around, and asked Jesus why they
> had been unable to do what He did, that is, the casting out of the
> devil.  What was the reply they received from their Lord?  He said
> they were unable to do so because of their unbelief.  Why didn't
> he say it was their faith that was the problem?  If you keep
> reading that passage, the very next thing Jesus illustrates is
> their faith.  He suggests to them that if they had faith even as
> small as a grain of mustard seed, they could command a sycamine
> tree to be removed, plucked up by the roots, and cast into the
> sea.  When it came to casting out the demon, on the other hand, He
> said they were unable to do so as a direct result of their
> unbelief.
>
>     In Marks Gospel account, the event is somewhat expanded for
> our benefit and we gain a little more insight to the situation.
> The man with the demonized son brings him to Jesus, reports that
> our Lord's disciples were unable to help him, and he was now
> requesting that Jesus help his son.  Jesus said to the father, "If
> thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that
> believeth."  Believe?  Wait a minute.  I thought it was our faith
> that removed mountains.  Jesus even called these people a
> faithless generation ins both Gospel accounts.  So which is it
> going to be?  Faith or belief?
>
>     In Marks account of this miracle, the disciples ask Jesus why
> they couldn't cast out the demon.  Wait just a minute.  These very
> same disciples had been given authority to cast out demons and
> they had been doing so right along as Luke records in Chapter 10
> of his Gospel.  So why couldn't the disciples cast this demon out
> of this child?  Jesus said it was directly due to their unbelief
> but then, in both stories, Jesus goes to the trouble of explaining
> what faith is and how it works.  So, again.  Which is it?  Faith
> or belief?
>
>     It would appear to me that Jesus was trying to differentiate
> between faith and belief by doing this miracle.  They wanted more
> faith but instead, Jesus said that their faith wasn't the problem.
> It was what they believed that counted.  In short, Jesus was
> telling His disciples that it wasn't the size of their faith that
> was the problem, it was what they believed about the size of their
> God.
>
> Question.  How Big is God?
>
> Answer.  Whatever you believe.
>
> Note.  You see, Jesus was attempting, in my opinion, to show the
> disciples that it was not their faith which needed to double or
> triple for His name to work in their behalf.  If we believe God
> is only a certain size, that is, He is only so big and can only do
> certain things today, as many preachers and teachers confess they
> believe for today, then your faith, regardless of how big it is,
> won't accomplish a thing.  All you need to do is turn on the
> Christian radio broadcast and it won't be long before you hear
> some Bible teachers and preachers telling us that God doesn't do
> miracles any more in this church age.  Convenient.  If you
> believe that God no longer does miracles today, your faith isn't
> needed when asking God for just such a miracle to occur.  Thus,
> you don't have to believe God for it.
>
> Definitions Of Faith.
>
> Illustration One.
>
>     I awakened one morning and rolled out of bed.  As soon as my
> feet touch the floor and I began to stand, I saw an empty set of
> glistening railroad tracks in front of me.  I had been meditating
> and studying everything I could find on prayer and faith and how
> to believe God for answers to prayer for many months.  When I saw
> those tracks, I said, "Lord, what is that?"  I knew it had
> something to do with faith because I felt such to be the case in
> my spirit.  As sleepy as I was, I promptly forgot about what I
> saw.
>
>     A few hours later, as I was working, the vision of the
> railroad tracks came to mind once again.  I asked the Lord what
> this meant.  He told me to think about it and so I began to
> meditate as I worked.  The Holy Spirit pointed out to me that the
> tracks represented faith.  He told me that anyone who walks up to
> a set of empty railroad tracks knows, if they stand there long
> enough, a train will eventually come.  He also told me that
> believing this was based upon knowledge, that is, what I had been
> taught about trains and how they traveled upon rails.  If I stand
> in one place without moving, I know, believe, a train will
> eventually come.  My faith keeps me waiting.  What I believe
> confirms, by harmonizing with my faith, that a train is coming.
> The Lord furthermore told me that most of His people become
> impatient and begin wondering where the train is.  They begin
> moving up and down the track, moving back and forth, as it were,
> trying to find the train on their own.  Such is not faith nor
> believing.  Faith is standing in one place and waiting, based upon
> what we believe, and letting the train, the answer to our prayer
> come to us.
>
> Illustration Two.
>
>     During this same period of time of my life, another example
> of faith was given to me by the Lord.  I was Struggling with the
> theological concept that faith was a fix value.  That is, we
> receive, at the moment of salvation, the measure of faith dealt to
> every man by God.  Many of my friends were debating with me that
> this concept of faith was wrong.  They pointed out how Jesus
> referred to faithlessness in people, people with no faith, some
> faith, and great faith.  So, they reasoned, this had to mean that
> our faith could grow and strengthen.
>
>     As I meditated one day on all these ideas, the Holy Spirit
> once again spoke to me and answered my questions.  He suddenly
> brought to my mind how I loved to play with our water hose at
> home.  I often got to wash my dad's car.  Not because I enjoyed
> washing the car but because I enjoy playing with the water.
>
>     As I contemplated this time of my early childhood, the Lord
> began to explain His truth about faith to me in a way that made
> sense to me and also allowed me to apply faith in a way I had
> never thought of before.
>
>     The Lord told me the water in the hose was a fixed value.
> Yes, I could place my thumb over the opened end and get a little
> more water pressure that helped in washing the car but it didn't
> help all that much but it was me doing it by my own human power.
> What I really needed is a device that could use the water in ways
> I couldn't.  What I really loved playing with, as a kid, was the
> nozzle I screwed on the end of the hose.  The nozzle had four
> settings.  One setting shot a solid cylinder of water about 30
> feet out into the yard in a huge arc.  Another setting allowed the
> water to be turned into a very fine stinging spray which was so
> powerful, it would actually hurt your hand if held directly in
> front of the nozzle as the needle spray setting was used.  This
> setting was useful in slicing off the dried mud caked on the
> undercarriage of the car.  Other settings were useful in similar
> ways so that a car could be washed quickly and professionally.
>
>     As I meditated on this childhood memory, the Lord clearly
> revealed to me that the hose was what we believed.  The water,
> which was a fixed value, was our faith.  The nozzle could
> represent the Holy Spirit and the different settings were what the
> Holy Spirit could do with our faith if we agree with God's Word.
> Thus, the water never changes in strength unless the nozzle is
> screwed on the end of the hose.  Faith, therefore, works based
> upon what we screw on the end of what we believe.
>
> End Of Installment Four