Ways of the Mustard Seed 2

"If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you." Luke 17:6

Mustard seeds are tiny. But one seed holds a lot of potential.


Faith, when it is borne of hearing and believing God's Word, is like a little packet of dynamite with so much potential it could move a tree from the top of a hill to the bottom of the sea.


Mark 11:22 has a similar verse to Luke:

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Derek Prince, in His teaching 'Gifts of Power' said that the original Greek actually implies, "have the faith of God". (Check out Derek Prince's teachings. If you sign up to the free newsletter, they often give away free CDs of his teachings.)


If so, this means:

• God wants to give us His faith
• We are able to receive His faith & work in it
• Nothing will be impossible for us when we agree with God's Word on something!

This agrees with something else Jesus said (on this same topic) in Matt 17:20:

So Jesus said to them, “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.

Nothing is impossible for God, and therefore if we are acting by God's leading, and step out in His faith, the impossible becomes possible. It's important to realise that this is the important caveat to all the above verses.


We have no business acting on something outside of God's leading. If we decide to do something that runs against the character and will of God as revealed in His Word, we step outside the right to act in God's faith. We also step outside His blessing and protection. 


It's not that He doesn't want to bless and protect us - it's more that He cannot endorse our actions or words if it doesn't agree with His Word. God will always be true to His Word. 


Moreover, if we willingly step out of His Word, God will not override our choice since He gave us the freedom to choose our own paths. So if you choose to step out, He'll let you go out from under the umbrella of His blessing and protection, although not without some warning. 


God's grace is amazing - He may step in to prevent something from going too far, or to protect someone else, but that same grace also allows you to taste the fruit of your choice so that you know God's way is still the best way.


However, just because God is not in something doesn't mean that we won't accomplish something amazing without Him. The human will is amazing -- it can complete astonishing feats, but any feat without God is potentially destructive - both to yourself, and to others, no matter how amazing or innocent it might seem at first.


Notice also that Jesus' example of the potency of a small measure of pure faith is something that seems bizarre and impossible -- that a tree would uproot itself from the ground and plant itself into the sea, or that a mountain could do the same. 


As with anything about God, the faith of God overrides physical and natural laws. Look at the parting of the Red Sea, the healing of blind eyes, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego's fiery experience -- all of them defy natural laws. God is not bound by the physical laws He made. So don't expect God to do things your way, or the way that looks the most logical. Do you trust Him?


How do you get such faith, or apply it? It's simpler than you think. More on that another time.