Small Faith Can Accomplish Great Things,

The mustard seed is a very small seed. Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed [Matthew 13:31-32].

Matthew 13:31-32New International Version (NIV)

31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

Jesus used the mustard seed to illustrate the principles of the Kingdom of God for several reasons:

• A seed carries within itself the DNA or the blueprint of the parent plant.
• An acorn produces an oak tree not a hickory tree. A mustard seed is going to produce a mustard plant.
• The Word of God will produce the Kingdom of God within you.

[Luke 17:20-21] ²⁰ And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

²¹ Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.   [Mark 4:24]

The Mustard plant grows to a remarkable size in comparison to the original mustard seed. Jesus referred to the principles of the Kingdom of God as a living thing that grows within us to produce remarkable things

[Mark 4:30-32].

Jesus says, “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” [Matthew 17:20, Luke 17:6]. Jesus promises “it will move” [Matthew 17:20]; “it will be done” [Matthew 21:21]; it “shall come to pass” [Mark 11:23]; and it will “obey you” [Luke 17:6].

Jesus talks about the quantity of faith that it takes to do the impossible. It is not the quantity of your faith but the quality of faith (confidence) you have in God and God’s Word.

Jesus compares mustard seeds to mountains. Jesus says that it only takes a mustard seed amount of faith (confidence) in the principles of the Kingdom of God to remove huge barriers such as mountains. Jesus said if you have a mustard seed amount of faith in the Word of God, nothing would be impossible to you.

Jesus says that it is the believer’s responsibility to speak to the mountain. Because I believe Jesus, I can say to a mountain (barrier) move here to there. Nothing is impossible to me because I am a believer and not a doubter. [Matthew 17:20, Mark 9:23, Mark 5:36].

• Matthew 17:20King James Version (KJV)

²⁰ And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

·        Mark 9:23King James Version (KJV)

²³ Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

• Mark 5:36King James Version (KJV)

36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, be not afraid, only believe.

·        Luke 17:5-6King James Version (KJV)

⁵ And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

⁶ And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

I don’t need to increase my faith to do God’s will. I just need a pure faith [no mixture of doubt and unbelief], the size of a mustard seed [Mark 11:23, Matthew 17:20]. It is not the quantity of faith you have but the quality of faith (confidence) you have in God and God’s Word .If I have a mustard seed amount of faith; I will say to the sycamine [mulberry] tree be plucked up by the root and be planted in the sea [somewhere that I am not]; and it will obey me.

Mark 11:23King James Version (KJV)

23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Do You Need to do the Impossible?

“Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief (apistia); for verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, moved here to there; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. However this kind (of unbelief) goes not out but by prayer and fasting” [Matthew 17:19-21].

Jesus said that it only required a pure faith the size of a grain of a mustard seed to remove a mountain. You just need a pure faith the size of a mustard seed to do the impossible.

It is not usually your faith, or your unbelief, but your doubt that causes a faith failure [Luke 17:5-6, Mark 11:23, Matthew 21:21, Matthew 17:20].

If you believe Jesus, you can say to a mountain (problem) move here to there. Nothing will be impossible to you, because you are a believer and not a doubter [Matthew 17:20, Mark 9:23, Mark 5:36].

Faith and unbelief both come by what you are hearing or giving your attention to. You must choose to have faith come in your heart by hearing the Word of God [Romans 10:17, Mark 4:24].

    Only unbelief will stop you from doing the supernatural.

You must deal with any area of unbelief by increasing your time with God in prayer. You must also fast or decrease your dependency on your flesh, worldly input, and sensory input. This kind of unbelief only comes out of your heart by prayer and fasting [Matthew 17:19-21, Mark 9:29].

You must recognize that even Jesus was limited by an environment of unbelief [Mark 6:6, Matthew 13:58, Mark 9:24, Mark 8:32].

• You must surround yourself with believers when you need to do the impossible [Luke 8:51].
• You must deal with your unbelief [Mark 5:36, Luke 8:50].
• You must remove the scoffers and the unbelievers as Jesus did [Mark 5:38-40, Matthew 9:24-25].
• You must establish an environment of faith by removing the interior and exterior unbelief.