Faith for Spiritual Growth

Scripture:

Luke 17:5   The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ⁶ The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Observation:

This conversation comes on the heels of Jesus’ commendation of the disciples to forgive. Maybe it’s the challenge of forgiving that seems too great for them. Religious officials were working tirelessly to destroy Jesus’ reputation, and therefore the very way of life to which they were clinging.

The disciples had watched the way in which the Pharisees responded to Jesus. The rich young ruler had been unable to follow Him. Now, they are wondering about themselves. Do they actually have the kind of faith that would be necessary to follow Jesus the way in which he wanted them to follow? 

We tend to think that this verse is about signs and wonders, or even magic tricks. It’s about grace and faith that transforms the ordinary, mustard seed faith of the disciple, and makes it mighty and powerful. By just planting small seeds, God could do miraculous things. 

 Application:

Throughout my life I’ve heard sermons, and read plenty of articles on “faith the size of a mustard seed.” Quite honestly, I’ve never heard this passage, or the one in Matthew refer to spiritual growth. Instead, it’s in the moment that a loved one is on their death bed that we challenge all of those within praying distance to have enough faith for them to be healed. However, that’s not the context, and I’m thinking that entire spiritual healing is more of a miracle in God’s economy than physical healing. One is eternal, the other is temporal. 

I’ve been doing some studying on the growth of the early church and impact of Christianity. Within ten years of Jesus’ death, it’s believed that there may have been 1000 believers in this world. That’s it. That folks, is a group of people with faith the size of a mustard seed. Who would have ever believed that the mustard seed could change the world? Evidently Jesus did! He was telling them that if they had spiritual faith in Him, they would have far greater impact than they could have imagined. 

Throughout the first three-hundred years the church grew at an average of 34.2% per decade, or 3.42% per year. We often put pressure on ourselves and think that the church ought to grow at a faster rate. The world has success models that push for something more, but mustard-seed faith was slow and steady. It means, in your church of 30, you need to invest in one new disciple this year. Slow, deep and steady. 

Mustard seed faith led to spiritual growth. There was time to teach new believers about Jesus and the transformational work he could do in the life of an individual. Rich and poor, great and small, all began to become a part of the fledgling church. By the year 100 about 7500 people had become followers of Christ. 

If you keep doing the math, something amazing begins to happen around the year 250. Now, there are 200,000 people who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ. What if the mulberry tree was the Roman Empire? This is a tree with thick deep roots and should not be able to be moved, but the slow and steady growth of the mustard seed continued. The mustard seed was uprooting the mulberry tree. By 300 there were 6.3 million Christians making up 10% of the Roman Empire. The Emperor was furious and legislated some of the harshest persecutions yet for the early church. Instead of quenching the fire of their faith, the persecutions only added fuel. By 313 Constantine created the Edict of Milan where the persecutions ceased and there was an acceptance of the Christian faith. Whether he was a true believer, or simply saw this as expedient in his desire to unite the Empire, we may not know, but the mulberry tree was being thrown into the sea. By the year 350 there would be nearly 34 million Christians, making up 56.5% of the population of the Empire. 

We may not always see the results of mustard seed faith, for it may not happen in our lifetime. Mustard seed faith is about slow and intentional spiritual growth, one generation after the next. There may be new mulberry trees today, but dealing with them requires an understanding of mustard seed faith. Small faith, daily trust and the long walk will make the difference. 

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for trusting us with mustard seed faith. amen.