Faith as a seed

Faith as a 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 shouldobey you

Luke 17:5-6

Most Christians would like increased faith. With increased faith we are empowered with more financial resources, healed bodies, more strength, and greater wisdom and confidence. Increased faith gives us a more fulfilling and richer life which assists us to bring forth more fruit for the Lord's kingdom. In the above passage Jesus gives us insight into how we can increase our faith, and therefore enjoy the benefits and fruits of a more divinely empowered life.

There are four key words in the above passage which can help us focus our attention, and discipline our actions, to increase our faith: faith, seed, say, andobey.

Faith

The subject of the parable is how to increase faith. From other parts of scripture we know that for faith to work effectively is must be without doubt (James 1:6-7). So Jesus is teaching us how to eliminate doubt in our lives. We also know that faith is based upon God's Words or promises (Romans 10:17, Hebrews 6:12), and therefore we can develop faith upon different promises, in different areas of our lives. We can have faith for healing, financial provision, eternal salvation, God's leading, and many other areas of life. To increase our faith we will need to understand the concepts which Jesus introduces in this parable: seed, say, and obey.

Seed

Jesus said if ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed; or, to put it more simply;faith as a seed. For a mustard seed, or any seed, to be effective and bear fruit it must be planted, watered, protected and given time to grow. As faith is likened to a seed, for faith to increase it must be planted, watered, protected and given time to produce.

It is worth mentioning at this point that Jesus said all parables need to be understood in the light of the foundational, "parable of the sower". Jesus said,know ye not this parable, and how will ye know all parables? (Mark 4:13). "The parable of the sower" teaches that the power, or fruit, of the Lord's kingdom is dependant upon the ability of the human to grow the seeds of God's Word in his, or her, heart (Mark 4:1-29). The "mustard seed parable" is consistent with the "parable of the sower" by teaching how to plant, grow and develop the seed of God's Word, which will produce God's faith, which will bring the fruit of God's power into our lives.

Say

The way we plant the seed of faith is to speak God's promises to the ungodly circumstances in our lives. Jesus said to speak to the sycamine tree! Jesus said a similar thing, when teaching on faith in Mark 11:22-23, when he said we could speak to the mountain. To increase our faith we are to speak the promises of the Lord to the ungodly problems, or mountains, we face in life: like - lack, poverty, sickness, disease, fear, worry, weakness, un-forgiveness, sin, and devils.

One of the beautiful aspects of this teaching is that faith is likened to a seed. We plant the seed by speaking to our ungodly obstacles, but we don't stop there! We all know that a seed needs to be watered repeatedly. We water our faith by repeatedly speaking God's promise to our ungodly situations. This is consistent with the Lord's teaching on meditation (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:2). Meditation is to be day and night - continually. The example in Psalm 1 is like a tree planted by the rivers of water. The tree by the rivers of water prospers and bears fruit because is has continual access to the nourishing water. The meditation of the Lord's Word is like drinking water. The tree beside the rivers of water drinks the water from the river continually, which nourishes the tree to be able to bring forth the fruit. As we continue to repeatedly speak the Lord's promises to our ungodly circumstances we are watering our seeds of faith.

The seed also needs to be protected. If you have ever grown vegetables you know that many plants need to be protected from predators until the fruit comes. The same is true in the spiritual world. The devil comes immediately to steal our faith seeds (Mark 4:15). Affliction and persecution can also arise to kill our faith seeds (Mark 4:17). We need to protect our faith seeds through continued meditation of the Lord's promises, continually speaking to our ungodly obstacles. Otherwise our mind may fall into doubt and unbelief, and our faith seeds may not bear fruit.

The understanding of faith as a seed has really helped me to take responsibility for the level of my faith, and subsequently the ungodly circumstances I face. In the past, I spoke to my mountains (ungodly circumstances) and then neglected my faith seeds. (An ungodly circumstance is one which contradicts a covenant promise of God). I wondered why my faith was so weak and I was getting little results. With the teaching of 'faith as a seed' I have become more diligent to continue, day after day, speaking the Lord's promises to my various situations. Each day my speaking is with more confidence. I remind myself each day that my faith seeds are growing. I am not as concerned, and am less discouraged, if I cannot see the fruit as I understand the process of seed growth. Eventually the seed will produce if I do not give up speaking the Lord's Words to keep the seed well watered and alive.

Obey

Jesus said that the sycamine tree shall obey you. In Mark 11:23 Jesus said, you shall have what you say. He said the mountain shall obey us if we do not doubt in our heart the words that we speak. In both of these passages Jesus teaches that physical substance (a tree and a mountain) will obey our commands! The onus for success, in Mark 11:23, is not upon God but upon our belief in the words we speak. If we can gain enough faith in our commands then physical problems which we face will obey us.

This teaching is empowering as it helps us understand that we am not helpless victims, but rather we are the Sons of God who have been given the supreme privilege of speaking God's promises authoritatively to the ungodly circumstances which present themselves into our lives. As we continue to walk with Jesus, Jesus teaches us how to increase our faith to experience the power of all His covenant promises. After all: all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us (2 Corinthians 1:20). And, as Jesus said, if ye continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31). Let's walk in the freedom Jesus has purchased for us, and bring glory to God, by understanding the seed principle, and continually speaking God's covenant promises to our ungodly circumstances - until they obey us!

Pray with me: "dear Father God, thank you for the teaching of your Son, Jesus Christ who said that faith is like a seed, and we can speak to the mountains in our lives and they will obey us. Please strengthen us to understand the seedprinciple of your kingdom (Mark 4:26). Strengthen us to continually water our faith seeds by speaking your promises, every day, to our problems. Thank you that over time the seed of your Word will grow and increase our faith… until one day the problem will obey us and we will experience your mighty power of salvation and enjoy true freedom. We thank you in Jesus Christ name, Amen."

 Teaching - Faith as a Seed

Copyright © Andrew J. Shreeve 2014