“And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.”
Luke 17:5
The saying of “we need more faith” has been around for thousands of years and continues to this day. The answer Jesus Christ gave to the Apostles of centuries past is the same answer we should receive today. All the faith we need is faith the size of a “grain of a mustard seed” (Luke 17:6). Though not the smallest seed in the world today (the orchid seed), but it was possibly the smallest seed known to Israel at that time. The seed is small, but planted on fertile ground, it will blossom into a large tree. Putting all botany aside, or lack thereof, this lesson should teach us today that it is not necessarily about the amount of faith we have but having the correct object of faith. With our faith properly planted in what Jesus Christ did for us at Calvary’s Cross, then can the Holy Spirit help us grow into the man or woman God has called us to be.
When Jesus says to, “Take up the Cross daily and Follow Me,” this does not mean we take up a literal crucifix on our backs and start walking. It means we take up the benefits of the Cross looking exclusively to what Jesus Christ did there to meet our every need. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” Our faith should be anchored in the Finished Work of Jesus Christ at the Cross of Calvary as the means for walking in the Spirit and having the Power of God activated in our lives. Unwavering faith in the Cross of Christ gives us the help of the Holy Spirit to bring our Spiritual Position (Justification) in line with our Spiritual Condition (Sanctification).
Our faith starts to waver when we look to things other than Jesus Christ and Him Crucified as the means for living an overcoming Christian life. Our spiritual growth becomes static over time due to our wavering faith. If we are not growing in the Lord, we could slowly fall backwards if we do not return our faith to the source of our victory over sin. Backsliding is not a one-time blowout event. Like letting air out of a tire, backsliding is a slow and gradual process that results in an individual becoming flat over time. Regardless of how me may feel on a given day, an inch forward in the mud is better than standing still on a smooth paved road. The Holy Spirit desires to molds us into the image of Christ making us better and better through every smooth sail and stormy gale if we keep our eyes fixated on Jesus and all that He has done for us.
Faith positioned in the Finished Work of Christ never changes. It is unwavering. Our faith should never change, but it is our faith that should change us. Want revival in your church and your own life? Come back to the Cross with a full heart of faith and guide others back with you. Want an active faith that moves mountains? Focus on the Cross. Want a greater worship experience? Magnify the Cross with songs of praise. Want a deeper, more intimate prayer life with the Lord? Thank Him for the Cross. Want victory over that problem area in your life? Remember the Cross and the Blood of Jesus that was shed there as the means of healing for your mind, body, and soul as well as your victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil.
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”
Colossians 2:6-10
