In Matthew 17, we find the story of a man bringing his son to Jesus for deliverance. The boy would have seizures and often fall into fire and water. When Jesus had first arrived on the scene, the man told Jesus that His disciples could not cure his son. Jesus then called them a “faithless generation.”1 Why? Because just prior to the healing of this boy, we see in Luke’s account of this same event that Jesus had given His disciples authority to cast out demons.
“Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:1-2)2
Think about this: how much more should WE, this side of the cross today, walk in heaven’s authority? The devil has been overcome by the blood of Jesus! I believe that the issue is not that we don’t have enough faith. Honestly, we aren’t faithLESS. We have the faith OF God because we have the Holy Spirit joined to our spirit. The issue is that our unbelief is overcoming the faith that we do have.
After Jesus set the boy free, His disciples asked Him why they couldn’t cast the demon out. Here was His answer:
“Because of your UNBELIEF; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)
What was Jesus saying? He was saying that all you need is the mustard seed of faith: the incorruptible seed of the word of God. Jesus is the Word. The Word was standing in their midst, and Jesus was revealing the Gospel when He performed this miracle. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation – eternal life, wholeness, healing, deliverance, and provision – for all who believe.3
“But the Word of the Lord (divine instruction, the Gospel) endures forever. And this Word is the good news which was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:25, Amplified Bible)4
Today, if you are born again, you have the seed within you. You have JESUS within you. His faith, His power, His life is joined to your spirit. All the potential for the release of every spiritual blessing in heavenly places is within you. When Jesus spoke of the mustard seed, He wasn’t talking about something small. He was talking about a small seed that grows into a HUGE tree! He was talking about huge potential. Jesus said the Kingdom of God is like mustard seed that grows larger than all the other garden plants.5 The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds, but it grows into a treelike shrub that tends to grow out of control, spreading in every direction. It’s been likened to the Kudzu vine that we deal with in the southern United States. It is a rapidly sprawling plant that climbs over trees or shrubs and grows so fast that it overcomes everything in sight.
Each one of us has the seed of potential for God’s life to work in us and through us! The key is to see HIS faith working in us. Nothing is impossible to HIM (Jesus!) who believes! Try this: forget about trying to believe for yourself. Just look to Jesus, the Author of faith, and ask yourself do you believe that HE believes? If the answer is yes, then ride on His faith by keeping your eyes on Him.
(from pages 341-342 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1Mark 9:19
2All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
3Romans 1:16
4Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible,Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman FoundationUsed by permission.”” (www.Lockman.org)
5Matthew 13:31-32
