thankful #4 of 50 - mustard seed faith

 

today, i had my first chance to bring the message at cornerstone christian fellowship. it was a rare opportunity to preach in a church other than lighthouse, something i've only done twice in the last two years -- a strange feeling, given my years of being an itinerant messenger during my time in inter-varsity. for those who might be interested, you can hear or download the message here.

the message was entitled "facing the giants," from numbers 13-14, and i found myself struggling during the preparation. it was less a question of biblical interpretation and more of a personal battle. who was i to be giving a message on having great faith? as i've said a number of times from up front, i know that we are called to walk by faith and not by sight (2 corinthians 5:7), but i so prefer to walk by sight! i thought especially of my brothers and sisters who are gifted in faith -- the ones like my wife, who seem to find it easy to believe God for big things. i, on the other hand, could easily imagine myself among those swayed by the evil report of the ten spies.

as i sank into a spiritual morass, i felt God breaking in. "so where does this story about yourself come from, about the not having faith? is that from me?" i knew immediately that it wasn't. i got significant spiritual insight in that moment (which i shared in the message), but also felt exceedingly grateful -- thankful for the Spirit's intervention but also for the faith i do have, and most of all that the size of my faith matters less than the size of my God.

"for truly i say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you."

matthew 17:20