Service and Believing
Luke 17:5 And
the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
6 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 should obey
you.
7 But which of
you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him
by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
8 And will not
rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird
thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward
thou shalt eat and drink?
9 Doth he
thank that servant because he did the
things that were commanded him? I trow not.
10 So likewise
ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded
you, say, We
are unprofitable servants: we have done
that which was our duty to do.
The apostles
realized the great importance to believing, so they asked what they
thought was a logical question, “Increase our faith, our believing.”
They wanted to
know what the right formula was to increase their believing. How
many hours of study is needed? How long
do we pray? Do we fast only at the
appropriate feasts or more? What kind of good works should we do?
In verse 7 it
appears that Jesus Christ changed the subject from believing to
service. We will see that the two subjects are related. The word
“but” in verse 7 is “de,” a Greek connective which ties the
illustrations together.
The apostles
came to Jesus asking him how they could increase their believing. He
teaches them that if they had just the believing of a mustard seed,
they could do the impossible. Then he continues his explanation to
them talking about service and the right attitude of a servant.
The mustard
seed was extremely small, hardly visible. It looked like a speck of
dust.
Luke 17:5 And
the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
6 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 should obey
you.
The sycamine or
sycamore tree had an extensive root system that would be almost
impossible to
completely
root up.
Jesus taught
them that if they had just a little information and believed it
enough to act on it, they would get the results; even the seemingly
impossible could be accomplished with believing.
When teaching
about believing, Jesus utilized the mustard seed as an illustration.
One would think that since believing is so important, he would have
compared it to something much larger.
Matthew 21:21
Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have
faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the
fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou
removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
22 And all
things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall
receive.
This is the law
of believing. It opens up tremendous possibilities. Believing is the
contact point that allows the power of God to be evidenced in our
lives. Believing what God tells you, is
the great key to receiving from Him. Until you realize this, life
will be nothing more than trial and error.
Matthew
32 Which indeed
is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest
among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come
and lodge in the branches thereof.
Mark
31 It is like a
grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less
than all the seeds that be in the earth:
32 But when it
is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and
shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge
under the shadow of it.
Another use of
the mustard seed as an illustration is when Jesus returned from the
Mount of Transfiguration and is greeted by a man whose son is
possessed by a devil spirit. Jesus’ disciples could not cast it out,
so Jesus did. Later the disciples came to Jesus asking about it.
Matthew
20 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.
The Greek word
for unbelief is not apistia but rather oligopistia
meaning little or weak believing.
The New English
Bible reads: “Your faith is too weak.” They couldn’t cast the devil
spirit out because they had weak believing.
Mark
29 And he said
unto them, This kind can come forth by
nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
The word
“fasting” is not in many Greek texts. The disciples had the power to
cast out the devil spirit. They had done so on other occasions. This
time they didn’t have proper believing.
Mark 6:7 And he
called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and
two; and gave them power over unclean spirits
12 And they went
out, and preached that men should repent.
13 And they cast
out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and
healed them.
The problem was
not that they didn’t have the power, or the knowledge, or even the
experience; Jesus told them that the problem was their little or
weak believing.
If this type of
devil spirit could only come out by prayer, why is there no record
of Jesus Christ praying before casting it out?
Prayer is what
gets a person in touch with God. Jesus Christ lived a life of
prayer. He didn’t need to “throw up” a quick prayer to the Father.
He was in continuous harmony with God. He was in touch with the One
Who makes the impossible possible.
The Gospels
never say that Jesus Christ had faith or believing. He was silent
about His own believing. However, he was a man of great believing.
Hebrews 12:2
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, of our
believing…
Rather than
talking about himself, he talked about seeking and knowing the will
of the Father. He never tried to accomplish anything independently
of God, instead “he could do nothing of his own.”
John 5:19 Then
answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do:
for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
30 I can of mine
own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just;
because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which
hath sent me
To root up a
sycamore tree and plant it in the sea, to remove a mountain, to cast
out a devil spirit, takes revelation, receiving information from
God. In order to get revelation from God, one must be in alignment
with Him.
Whether we
receive God’s Word spoken, written, or by the revelation
manifestations, if we believe the information we have received from
God, it will come to pass.
If it is not
God’s will, it will not come to pass. In fact, we cannot accomplish
anything worthwhile in life if it is not according to God’s will.
There is no scriptural warrant to support the idea that I can decide
whatever I want in my life, and if I believe and say it, it will
come to pass.
Lamentations
In Mark 9,
concerning the devil spirit that could only come out by prayer,
Jesus was teaching his disciples that the great key to the work they
were called to do was to consistently seek God’s will in prayer. If
they had done this, they would have been prepared to cast out this
devil spirit. In that situation their believing was too weak. A weak
connection with God can keep His power from flowing and being
manifested in a particular situation.
When the
apostles wanted more believing Jesus Christ instructed them not to
be concerned about the size of their believing, but be concerned
about getting the proper information from God.
Greatness is not
in the size of the seed but in what God has intended the seed to
produce. A mustard seed will produce a mustard plant. God set that
law up back in Genesis 1:11,12;
“everything after its kind.” Every seed produces the plant or tree
God has designed it for.
I Corinthians
38 But God
giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own
body.
A plant or tree
looks nothing like its seed. God has determined what each seed will
produce. God has arranged the type of plant or tree it will become.
Man has no role in determining what the seed produces.
Mark
27 And should
sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow
up, he knoweth not how.
28 For the earth
bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear,
after that the full corn in the ear.
Man is not only
incapable of making a seed grow, he doesn’t even know how it grows.
Man just recognizes that if he plants a seed and the conditions are
right, the seed will grow. This is true in nature as well as when it
comes to the
Isaiah 55:6 Seek
ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is
near:
7 Let the wicked
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him
return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our
God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith
the LORD.
9 For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the
rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not
thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud,
that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my
word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto
me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
God’s Word
accomplishes that which God intends and it prospers where He sends
it. Man needs to forsake his own thoughts and ways and accept God’s
thoughts and ways. God’s Word was not given to us to make our ways
and thoughts more successful.
Proverbs
Jeremiah
Proverbs 16:9 A
man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
The great key to
our believing is getting our thoughts and ways in harmony with God’s
thoughts and ways. Trying to muster up our believing when we are
outside the will of God is foolish. No matter how much we confess,
pray, visualize success, maintain a positive attitude, or act on our
own believing. It will bring no godly profit.
Jesus’
statement: “faith [believing] as a grain of mustard seed,” indicates
that believing is not a hard thing, and yet it can accomplish
plenty. In the Gospel records we read, the believing action required
specific revelation from God.
Believing is
simply acting on information received, whether the information comes
from the written Word of God or by direct revelation. It is carrying
out God’s Word. It is doing what the Lord wants done. His Word will
accomplish that which He pleases as we act on it. The results are
not up to us – being obedient is.
When we line our
thoughts up with God’s thoughts and our ways with His ways, then His
Word will produce great results in our personal lives and in our
ministries of reconciling men and women back to God.
Back to Luke
17:5. We were investigating how service and believing tie together.
Luke 17:5 And
the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
6 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 should obey you.
7 But which of
you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him
by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
8 And will not
rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird
thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward
thou shalt eat and drink?
9 Doth he thank
that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I
trow not.
10 So likewise
ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded
you, say, We are unprofitable servants:
we have done that which was our duty to do.
[Read Wuest:
verses 7-10]
The servant
served the master until he was finished eating and drinking.
Afterward, when his work was completed, the servant could eat and
drink. The servant however, did not have to provide his own food and
drink. That was the responsibility of the master.
A servant
carries out the work of his master, and in turn the master supplies
the needs of the servant. That makes the servant’s life an
uncomplicated one. When a servant has a loving, benevolent master,
he has a beneficial relationship.
Matthew
25 Therefore I
say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or
what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is
not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the
fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather
into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much
better than they?
27 Which of you
by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take
ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they
grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say
unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these.
30 Wherefore, if
God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow
is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of
little faith?
31 Therefore
take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink?
or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after
all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father
knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye
first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you.
Christians often
get anxious about their physical needs being met. Christ taught his
disciples that, if they served God and sought His kingdom first, all
of their needs would be taken care of. This is true when we place
ourselves in the relationship of a servant to the Master. It is not
an unconditional promise that no matter what we do, God will take
care of us!
God doesn’t ask
the birds to serve Him and seek His kingdom first. However, He does
request that of us. When our priorities in life are right, there
needs to be no anxiety concerning the receiving of physical needs.
God knows what you have need of.
We don’t have to
struggle and strain trying to “believe for” those things. We are not
responsible to make God’s Word work. It will work if we don’t hinder
it by seeking to meet our own needs first.
Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that
he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he
spoken, and shall he not make it good?
We already have
God’s promise that those things will be added to us. If we believe
what God has said, we will accept and act upon the information He
has given us.
Christ
confronted those of “little faith [believing].” The Greek word is
again oligopistos and refers to
those whose contact with the Father was impaired. Since their
connection with Him was weak, they were overly concerned about
getting their needs met.
In the Church
Epistles there is another section of scripture that deals with the
physical needs of the believer getting met.
II Corinthians
9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also
sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also
bountifully.
7 Every man
according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not
grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
8 And God is
able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all
sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
God’s declared
will for a believer’s prosperity involves giving bountifully and
cheerfully from the heart. When a believer gets in alignment with
God’s plans for his prosperity, it becomes quite simple. God’s
promise is “always having all sufficiency in all things.”
While this is
incredible, it is not the end all to Christianity. You do not give
just so God can take care of you. The believer has every need met so
that he “may abound to every good work.” That’s the greater reason.
Our lives are not to be lived just to have our own needs met, but
that we may carry out the work God has intended for us to do.
A servant
doesn’t hold his position to be served but to serve. Yet a loving
master would always see that his servant was well taken care of. It
shouldn’t be too hard to believe that God will provide for our needs
as we do the work He has given us to accomplish. Moreover, we are
not responsible to figure out what good works we are to do.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained [prepared] that we should walk in
them.
When it comes to
Christian service, we need to realize that God has already prepared
the works for us to do. Children of God want to do good works, but
they feel the burden is on them. They put themselves under great
stress trying to figure out how they are to serve.
Does a servant
have to decide what he is going to do that day? No. He simply goes
to his master to get his daily instructions. God has prepared the
works for us to do. What’s more, He provides whatever we need to
carry them out.
If a servant is
to do his master’s work, he is not expected to supply his own
resources. He is entitled to take his master’s provisions. Likewise
he has to be given the authority to carry out the business in his
master’s name.
Genesis has a
great illustration of a servant doing his duty.
Genesis 24:2 And
Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over
all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
3 And I will
make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the
earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters
of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
4 But thou shalt
go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son
Isaac.
5 And the
servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to
follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the
land from whence thou camest?
6 And Abraham
said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.
7 The LORD God
of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land
of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me,
saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel
before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.
8 And if the
woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear
from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.
Was this servant
sitting around one day thinking about Isaac? Was he thinking, “I
think it’s time for Isaac to have a wife?” Then did he figure out
where he could find a wife for Abraham’s son? No. He didn’t initiate
the plan. The master initiates, the servant obeys.
Abraham told him
exactly what he wanted him to do. Thus the servant knew what the
master expected from him. When he wasn’t clear on what could happen
if the woman refused, he asked his master. The first thing he did
was to find out precisely the intentions of his master and his
responsibilities.
Genesis 24:10
And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and
departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he
arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
Abraham’s
servant did not have to supply the camels from his own herd. Since
his servant was commissioned by him, the resources needed to
accomplish his mission was provided by the master. Everything the
master had was made available to the servant. The servant didn’t
need to come up with the plan nor did he need to provide for his own
needs on the journey.
Genesis 24:12
And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me
good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.
He prays to God
for a successful journey. This prayer was not based on who he was,
but rather on who his master was and the relationship his master had
to God.
Our master or
lord is Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten son. Consider his
relationship with the Father. Think about our prayers going to God
in his name. Should we expect God to do less for us today than this
man did praying to God in the name of Abraham?
Genesis 24:13
Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the
men of the city come out to draw water:
14 And let it
come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy
pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink,
and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou
hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that
thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.
15 And it came
to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came
out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor,
Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
16 And the
damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man
known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher,
and came up.
17 And the
servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a
little water of thy pitcher.
18 And she said,
Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her
hand, and gave him drink.
19 And when she
had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy
camels also, until they have done drinking.
20 And she
hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto
the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
26 And the man
bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.
27 And he said,
Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left
destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way,
the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.
The servant is
never named throughout this record. The identity of the servant
wasn’t that important. What really mattered was the master he
served.
Genesis 24:34
And he said, I am Abraham’s servant.
35 And the LORD
hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath
given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants,
and maidservants, and camels, and asses.
37 And my master
made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the
daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:
The servant came
in the name of Abraham, and he spoke about the business of his
master. This record is about a servant carrying out his master’s
business. God blessed him for Abraham’s sake so that his journey
could be successful.
Was this servant
doing his will or his master’s will? It was Abraham’s will that he
go to Nahor. He have to believe in his right to use his master’s
name and his resources to accomplish his mission? He couldn’t have
performed his mission very well without them.
The servant was
successful because he was in alignment with his master’s will.
What's more, he gives the Lord God the credit for his success in
finding a wife for Isaac.
What about us
doing the work of the Lord? Today we are to carry out the work of
our lord in his name.
II Corinthians
5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did
beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled
to God.
We are the
servants who are on earth doing our lord’s work in his stead. We
have the authority needed to get his work done.
Colossians 3:17
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
24 Knowing that
of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye
serve the Lord Christ.
As we carry out
the lord’s work we will be rewarded. Today, there is much available
to us through the authority of his name.
John 14:12
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works
that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he
do; because I go unto my Father.
13 And
whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father
may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall
ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
What kind of
works did he do? Jesus did the works his Father gave him to do. He
never did his own works. He didn’t wake up in the morning and think,
“This looks like a great day to cleanse some lepers. Then I think
I’ll heal some blind people, and, I know, I’ll really shake this
town up by raising a person from the dead. Let me check the obituary
page in the Jerusalem Gazette.”
Our lord only
sought to do his Father’s works, to do His Father’s business. This
started at an early age. On a trip to Jerusalem when he was 12 years
old.
Luke 2:49 And he
said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must
be about my Father’s business?
Doing his
Father’s business was what he did his entire life.
John 19:30 When
Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished:
and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
What was
finished? His work on earth. He had accomplished all that God needed
done for the redemption of mankind. He had completed all that the
Father needed him to do. His purpose for being on earth was
completed.
If we desire to
do the same works and the greater works that Jesus Christ did, we
must seek to do God’s will and not our own. We must choose His ways
and not ours. Then whatever we ask in the name of Jesus Christ will
be done to the glory of the Father.
It is not a
matter of our mustering up believing within ourselves to do these
things. We simply believe what God has declared to be true in His
Word, and we act on the authority of the name of Jesus Christ. If
Abraham’s servant could act in his lord’s name, certainly we can act
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To have the
believing as a grain of mustard seed is to be in alignment with
God’s purposes. Obviously a mustard seed does exactly what it is
designed to do, produce a mustard plant. Since man has freedom of
will, he can choose to follow God’s thoughts and ways or his own.
When we seek
God’s kingdom first and forsake our own thoughts and ways, believing
becomes as simple as a servant carrying out the business of his
master. Our contact point with God will not be broken, but instead
we will be solidly connected. Our believing will not be weak, but
powerful since we are doing the will of our Master.
God’s Word will
accomplish what He pleases and prosper where He sends it. We will
begin to realize the great possibilities that believing God’s Word
brings to our lives. Then true service toward God will follow.