Apply Your Faith

Where is your faith?

Mark 6:3-13 CEV

......Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary? Aren't James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon his brothers? Don't his sisters still live here in our town?" The people were very unhappy because of what he was doing. But Jesus said, "Prophets are honored by everyone, except the people of their hometown and their relatives and their own family." Jesus could not work any miracles there, except to heal a few sick people by placing his hands on them. He was surprised that the people did not have any faith.

All they could see was the man Jesus son of Joseph, and they never saw the Christ and Messiah Son of God.

we too need to recognise Jesus as being the son of God, then we will see his miricals in our own situation of need.

Jesus taught in all the neighboring villages. (7) Then he called together his twelve apostles and sent them out two by two with power over evil spirits. He told them, "You may take along a walking stick. But don't carry food or a traveling bag or any money. It's all right to wear sandals, but don't take along a change of clothes. When you are welcomed into a home, stay there until you leave that town. If any place won't welcome you or listen to your message, leave and shake the dust from your feet as a warning to them." The apostles left and started telling everyone to turn to God. They forced out many demons and healed a lot of sick people by putting olive oil on them.

The disciples of Jesus, son of God, did what he asked of them and they saw many miracles and they saw that what Jesus said would happen, did actually happen just like he said it would.

Luke 7:9....In that town an army officer's servant was sick and about to die..... I am certainly not worthy to come to you. Just say the word, and my servant will get well..... When Jesus heard this, he was so surprised that he turned and said to the crowd following him, "In all of Israel I've never found anyone with this much faith!"

The army officer did not let his difficult circumstances take his eyes off God or crush his faith, but it was his circumstances that showed that his faith in Jesus the Son of God, was real and active and he applied his faith in Jesus the Son of God, to his circumstances.

God uses circumstances to train us in the application of our faith. ( James 1:2 My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested. But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything. )

This 'maturity not lacking in anything' is the strong foundational faith in the reality of Jesus the son of God on which all of what we do is built upon. When this is properly established then all the aspects of our lives will stand up to all the gale force storms of life.

Luke 8:23 -25 CEV...and while they were sailing across, he went to sleep. Suddenly a windstorm struck the lake, and the boat started sinking. They were in danger. Then he asked them, "Where is your faith?"The disciples were terrified and amazed. "Who is this man?" they asked each other. "When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey.

The storm was supposed to encourage the disciples to use the authority they had in being a disciple of the Son of God, to calm the storm. Jesus' response to them 'where is your faith' demonstrates that Jesus knew that they could have commanded the storm to become quiet but when the opportunity came they did not use it. There is no doubt that we too, do and will, face many storms in our own lives. Will we ( like the army officer ) tell the storm how big our God is or will we ( like the frightened disciples in the boat ) tell God how big the storm is?

Matthew 17:16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn't heal him." Jesus said, "You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well. Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, "Why couldn't we cast out that demon?" "You don’t have enough faith," Jesus told them. "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."

The disciples were tested again while Jesus was not there. Jesus explained that they could have taken authority over the illness and cast out the infirmity but they did not have enough faith in what God could do through them. Their eyes were on the difficulty rather than the solution, despite their earlier experience when they went out in twos proclaiming the gospel.

Mark 11:21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, "Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!" Then Jesus said to the disciples, "Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too."

This was not a test for the disciples faith on this occasion but Jesus was still showing the disciples that they really do have authority, as disciples of the Son of God, over the earth and creation.

James 2:14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." But I say, "How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds." You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

If the circumstances are arguing with our faith then put the circumstances in their right place and apply the force of your determined unwavering single minded faith in the Son of God and push through until the circumstances fall in line with God's will.

It's like if you pull out your cooker to clean behind it and then you need to push it back into its right place and keep pushing until it lines up with the worktops. If it won't line up, find out why and sort it out, but don’t just leave it in the middle of the kitchen. If your circumstances do not line up with God's will find out why and sort it out. Don't just leave it sticking out and getting in the way. God's promises are promises not just theories.