Bible Study
You Can Grow Your Faith (A)
This is Part 19 of this study series.
Not too long ago, someone asked me; ‘Grace, do you need faith to grow faith?’ The answer is Yes! We were saved by grace through faith; that is to say that faith was the currency/ticket that gained us access into the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8). This ‘entry’ level faith is necessary for salvation and belief. We started our Christian walk from faith and we continue in this walk by faith (Hebrews 10:38, Romans 1:17). So yes, you need faith to grow faith.
The measure of faith
God is impartial in his dealings with His children; we are each worth just as much as the Firstborn, Jesus to Him (Colossians 1:15-18). What He does for one, He does for another. We each experience Him according to the measure of our believe and walk with Him. At the new birth, God gives to each one the measure of faith (Romans 12:3 KJV)…. yes, the same measure to everyone!
Levels of faith
Everyone has a ‘baseline’ level of faith that when rightfully applied yields results. However in scripture, we hear Jesus grade faith on different levels- No faith (Mark 4:35-41), Little faith (Matthew 14: 22-33, Matthew 16:8), Great faith (Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:9). In some other portions of scripture we also find faith ‘classified’ differently- Growing faith (2 Thessalonians 1:3), Strong faith (Romans 4:20), Weak faith (Romans 14:1-3), etc. James chapter 2: 14-26 also talks about dead and living faith. So faith has grades/levels. Point is; you can grow your measure of faith, the question is; how?
How you can change your level of faith…
First, let’s consider some instances in which Jesus graded faith into levels.
1. Matthew 8:5-13 (Great faith)
A centurion came to Jesus asking for healing for his ill servant. Jesus offered to go to the centurion’s house in order to perform the healing. But the centurion hesitated, insisting that Jesus’ words alone were as good as His presence. According to the man, Jesus’ physical presence in his house wasn’t necessary, His words would do- “speak a word, and my servant will be healed“. Jesus termed this Great faith.
Jesus marveled at the centurion’s faith because he gave higher priority to the Words of Jesus. If you want to move from the baseline faith to a higher level of faith- give high priority to the Word of God.
Sometimes as Christians we tend to give more priority to individuals, especially spiritual leaders, than we do with the Word of God. We insist on having a particular person pray or lay hands on us rather than subjecting ourselves (patiently) to the Word of God. This shouldn’t be so. And at other times, we encounter some spiritual leaders who ignorantly pride themselves as being the solution to people’s problems. Jesus did not insist on going to lay hands on the centurion’s servant, neither did He misunderstand the centurion’s refusal/suggestion for Him not to come. There is a place for laying on of hands, however it shouldn’t be given higher regard than the Word, it shouldn’t be abused and it is not the exclusive preserve of spiritual leaders (Mark 16:17).
2. Matthew 14: 22-33 (Little faith)
Jesus needed some time alone to Himself. He sent His disciples ahead of Him (on a boat) to the other side of town and dismissed the multitudes following Him (selah). Then He went up to the mountain to pray. Jesus stayed alone to pray till the evening came and then into the night (selah). Out on sea, the disciples weren’t finding things easy, their boat was tossed around by wind and waves. They must have been uncomfortable.
Somewhere in the middle of their troubles, they saw a figure walking towards them on the sea! Their fear must have heightened. Not thinking it was possible for any human to walk on water; they yelled in more terror; It’s a Ghost!!! 🙂 Like how much worse can this night really be? Then Jesus called out to them; “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid‘. As usual Peter was the first to give a response; “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water“. Peter believed he would walk on water if Jesus only spoke the Word of command. Jesus gave the Word, Peter believed, stepped out of his boat and walked on water! WoW!! Peter walked on water!!! But then, the sea got more boisterous, Peter became afraid and began to sink. Jesus got hold of him but not without a reprimand- “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”. Fear ushered in doubt, and doubt stole Peter’s faith.
Doubt and fear will not let you grow your faith level, they will crumble your faith if you let them in.
3. Mark 4:35- 41 (No faith)
This was another sea experience.
After releasing the multitudes, Jesus and His disciples crossed over to the other side in a ‘little’ boat. A great windstorm arose causing waves to beat water into the little boat, so much so that the boat was almost filling up with water. While this was going on, Jesus was asleep in the stern of the ship. All efforts by the disciples to steady the boat was proving abortive. So at some point, almost slipping from frustration into desperation, they went to Jesus. What kind of master sleeps in a sinking boat while his followers struggled? “Teacher, do You not care that we perish?” In response, Jesus simply arose and rebuked (spoke) to the winds; “Peace, be still!” Great calmness returned as the winds ceased. Then turning to the disciples He said to them; “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?
So Jesus expected His disciples to respond to the raging storm in the exact same way as He did….. rebuke (speak) it to stop. But the disciples seemed too crippled by fear to think. It is not even clear if they believed they could stop the storm. We sometimes find ourselves in situations like this; where we are so absorbed and almost overwhelmed by the troubles and problems of life. Jesus wants us to speak back at the storm. You can grow your faith level through speaking what you believe and seeing it come to pass.
Move your faith level…
Yes, you we can grow your faith level, we can move from baseline faith to great faith and this is possible when we give high priority to the Word; place a high premium on it. Do not let fear and doubt usher in unbelief. Speak and act according to what we believe.
Praise God!
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
James 1:5-8 NKJV
Do join me next Friday as we conclude this part of this study by looking at Ways to Grow and Boost your faith.
Remember that you can access previous parts of this study as follows; Part 1: Study Background. Part 2: The Scope of the Christian Victory. Part 3: How Christians Gained Victory. Part 4: How Faith, Love and Hope Mix Together for Victorious Christian Living. Part 5: The Nature of God’s Love. Part 6: Characteristics of God Kind of Love. Parts 7 and 8: Winning Through Love. Part 9: How to develop our love nature. Part 10: Giving Is Not (always) Love. Part 11:Victory Through Faith: Understanding Faith. Part 12: Victory Through Faith: The Righteousness of God. Part 13: The Stimulus for Faith. Part 14: The Faith of Abraham (A). Part 15: The Faith of Abraham (B). Part 16: The Blessing of Abraham. Part 17: Activate The Blessing. Part 18: Abraham’s Righteousness.
