SER170312
Measuring Spiritual Growth
How to Grow in Faith
Romans 12:3
Introduction
The Chapel theme for this year is Measuring Spiritual Growth. Last week we began this series on how to grow in faith by progressing from little faith to great faith to perfect faith. The goal throughout our journey through this life is to bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ. In this lesson we will examine the first of six principles that govern the development our faith.
According to scripture every believer has faith. In Romans 12:3 the Apostle Paul writes, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to thinkof himselfmore highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” You don’t have to pray for faith, you don’t have to fast for faith, you don’t have to earn your faith, you simply exercise and use the faith you’ve already been given. Christians need to learn how to develop and use the faith that we already have.
In our last lesson we learned the Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God; that whatever is not of faith is sin; and that whenever we come to God we must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him. From these lessons on faith we will learn how to develop a strong and positive and perfect faith.
There are six principles revealed in the Word of God that teach us how to develop the kind of faith that God wants us to have. In Matthew 21:22, according to Jesus, when your faith is the same as His faith, you can have what you believe for. Every believer can develop a strong, dynamic faith by practicing six principles of faith found in the Word of God.
1. Principle #1 – Faith is developed by what you hear. Romans 10:17, “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”
2. Principle #2 - Faith is developed by what you see. Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things unseen. Faith is developed by what you see.
3. Principle #3 -Faith is developed by what you think. Romans 12:2, Be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.
4. Principle #4 - Faith is developed by what you say. Matthew 21:21 “Jesus answered and said unto them, “Verily, I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea it shall be done.”
5. Principle #5 - Faith is developed by what you do. James 2:17-18 says, Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
6. Principle #6 - Faith is developed by what you praise. Romans 4:20 says, “Abraham grew strong in faith giving glory to God.”
Faith hears, faith sees, faith thinks, faith speaks, faith works and faith worships.
These are the six principles of faith every believer needs to develop in order to grow in faith.
I. Faith Begins As a Seed
Faith is a seed that is sown into the heart of every believer but God does not want faith to remain as a small seed. Christ wants us to grow in faith until our faith becomes a strong, positive and perfect faith.
I read an article some time back about the famed Egyptian ruler King Tut. He was buried in a Pyramid in 1357 B.C. And thirty-three hundred years later his tomb was discovered. When they opened his coffin, they found buried with him some seeds of wheat and seeds of corn and some honey. A Montana wheat farmer named T. Mack Quinn took some of those seeds and planted them in the fertile soil near the Nile River. After being entombed in darkness for over thirty-three hundred years, those seeds were planted in the earth and produced a bountiful harvest.
This natural illustration emphasizes a spiritual truth. The moment a person receives Jesus Christ as Savior they receive the seed of spiritual faith. Jesus said if you have faith the size of a grain of mustard seed, you can speak to the mountain and say, “Be removed and be cast into the sea.” When you allow Christ to release his faith within you, you only need the seed of faith the size of a grain of mustard seed to move a mountain. Luke Chapter 17:5-6, “And the apostles said unto the Lord, “Increase our faith.” And the Lord said, “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this Sycamoine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea and it should obey you.” Mark 11:24, “If you have the faith of a grain of mustard seed you can say to the mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea and it shall be done.” It doesn’t really matter whether it’s a tree that being removed or a mountain, the principle is the same. Jesus is saying, that when you simply exercise even the tiniest bit of the faith Christ has given you something is going to happen. With faith the size of a grain of mustard seed, you can speak to the challenge, problem, crisis, sickness or frustration and say, “Be thou removed and be cast into the sea.” Why? Jesus said, when you begin to act upon the faith He has placed in your heart and begin to believe what Jesus reveals to you is possible, you can have whatever you speak in faith.
II. The Source of Faith
At the moment of salvation every person who receives Christ as Savior receives the seed of faith. Unfortunately, the bottleneck is that as believers we must exercise the faith of Christ in order to increase our faith and grow in faith. Who is the Source of Faith? Jesus. Hebrews 12:1 says that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. The source of faith is not the six principles of developing a strong faith.
These six principles are revealed in the Word of God to help us to grow and develop and increase our faith. The source of faith is not a principle, it’s a person. The source of faith is Jesus. Jesus uses these spiritual principles to develop the seed of faith that he has sown into our heart. The bible says in the Epistle of Peter, that the new birth experience is one of being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God which lives and abides forever. Then he advises us as newborn babes, to desire the sincere milk of the Word that we may grow thereby.
Jesus is the Living Word. When you hear the Word of God, the Holy Spirit takes the seed of the Word of God and translates black print on white paper into a living seed of eternal life within your heart! The bible is a living book. It is a book that gives life! The Word of God is not a simply a book of principles and words; it’s a real, living, vibrant, and dynamic personality whose name is Jesus. It is the life of Jesus that comes alive within your heart; not some principle or holy ideal! Jesus, the Messiah of God, is the source of faith. Jesus is the author and finisher of faith. The bible says that as many as received Jesus, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. While we receive the seed of faith and the seed of the Word, we need to realize that the source of faith, the source of love, the source of life, the source of power, is Jesus.
III. Faith That Grows
Unfortunately some people never allow the seed of Christ within them to grow and develop until it becomes a strong and dynamic faith. A person can be saved for 5 years, or 10 years, or 50 years and never become a strong believer because they never exercise the seed of faith that has been placed within them. Many Christians have been saved for years and even though they carry within them the seeds of Christian greatness they have never developed them. They have never exercised their faith in Christ and consequently they are not growing in their Christian life.
Jesus doesn’t want your faith to remain small. He doesn’t want your faith to remain as a little seed. Jesus wants your faith to grow and develop. Jesus is saying that if you have the faith of a grain of mustard see, which is so small you can’t hardly even see it if you place it in your hand, you can watch even the smallest faith grow. Your faith can grow and develop until you can move the mountains in your life and see God’s promises fulfilled in your life in spite of the obstacles and circumstances.
Jesus is not saying that all you need is the seed of faith like a grain of mustard seed. He’s saying that’s where it all starts! You start with the seed of faith, but the potential of that seed must be released. That seed has the potential for growth but it’s got to be planted and developed in order to harvest the fruit. Jesus wants to grow his faith within your heart so you can become a mighty witness and testimony for Him. Through Christ you can do all things as you allow him to release the power and strength of his Spirit within you.
In Mark Chapter 4 verse 30 Jesus is trying to illustrate for the disciples, the Kingdom of Heaven. He says, “Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what comparison shall we compare it?” What is the kingdom? How can we describe it? Where is the kingdom of heaven?” The point is the kingdom of heaven is within us! You cannot see the kingdom of God, because the kingdom of God is in the heart. It is a spiritual kingdom. The bible says that the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy, in the Holy Ghost.” While the Holy Spirit is everywhere He is also within us! The New Testament truth is, if you are saved, you’re filled with the Spirit! If you’re born again, you’re spirit-filled.
The kingdom of heaven is under Holy Spirit control and management. The kingdom of God is righteousness. And we’ve been declared the righteousness of God in Christ. The kingdom of God is joy. Jesus said, “These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. The kingdom of God is peace. We have the peace that passes all understanding to keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. But the kingdom of God is within you. You can’t see it. Jesus says, “How shall I illustrate it for you. In Mark 4:31 he says, It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it grows up, and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed. That’s what you receive when you accept Christ as your personal savior. Jesus wants you to understand the potential that you now have in Him! He wants you to develop that seed until you become a giant in faith. He wants you to accomplish the absolute impossible and exercise great strength and ability in the power of the Holy Spirit.
People need more than just an intellectual understanding of Jesus. People today are looking for something real, something that works, and something that can help them! Unfortunately, there are people today are leaving the church in droves because there’s no real power in the message of the church! There is no way the seeds of Christian greatness can produce a harvest if you keep them entombed in darkens and unbelief. Even though you have received the seed of eternal life and the seed of faith, you still must allow that seed to grow within you and produce a harvest and multiply until it becomes a dynamic life style of faith and belief!
Too many believers keep those seeds of Christian greatness and victory entombed in doubt and insecurity and human weakness and consequently they’re not growing in Christ. They’ve buried those seeds in negative thinking and disappointment and in the blackness of bitterness and resentment and criticism and they’ve quit growing in faith. But when you get rid of the darkness and you bring those seeds out into the sunlight and start practicing trust and confidence in the positive promises of God’s Word and you start believing for positive results. Start blessing those who have caused you hardship and you start learning to love your enemies; it won’t be long and you will grow to the point where you are able to do good to them that despitefully use you. Then you’ll find that you are exercising your faith and exposing that seed of faith to the sunlight of God’s love and presence.
When the rain of the Holy Spirit begins to fall upon your mustard seed faith you begin to develop and become strong and mighty in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus says in verse 31 of Mark Chapter 4 that the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard see, which when it is sown in the earth is less than all of the seeds that be in the earth, but when it is sown it grows up and becomes greater than all the herbs and shoots out great branches and so that the birds of the air can lodge under its shadow. Even though we receive the seed of faith the moment we give our heart to Christ, we must allow that seed to germinate and grow and develop until it becomes a mighty tree of faith within us.
Conclusion
Jesus finishes by saying, “And with many such parables spake he the word onto them, as they were able to hear it!”
This brings me back to the first principle of developing faith. Principle #1 Faith is developed by what you hear. Faith comes by what you hear. What are you listening to? Have the sounds of this world made you deaf to the voice of Christ?
What do you hear? Next week we’re going to talk about how faith is developed by what you hear.
Let me challenge you to let the seed of Christ that has been sown into your sprit to begin to grow and develop until you have the kind of faith that moves the mountains and sees God’s promises fulfilled in your life. That may mean you need to bring the light of the Christ into some of those dark areas of your life and dispel the hurt and resentments and bitterness that have kept you from going forward. If you really want to grow, the Holy Spirit will help you today to begin to develop those seeds of Christian victory and strength as you allow Christ who lives within you to take control of those areas of your life. Only you can decide to grow in faith and experience all of God promises and blessings in your life.