In Mark 9, when Jesus – with Peter, James and John – came down from the Mount of Transfiguration, He found the other disciples at the bottom, unable to heal the boy possessed by an evil spirit. Jesus said two things: firstly, that this kind only comes out by prayer and fasting; then secondly He rebuked His disciples’ lack of faith, saying that if they had faith even as small as a grain of mustard seed they could command this mountain to move. We all accept the need of faith in our lives especially as without it we cannot be saved, but this kind of faith is different. It is a real gift (see the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12), but also it is demonstrably necessary to those who are called into service. It must be a vital part of our experience if we are to engage in spiritual warfare. The believer who has not yet moved a ‘mountain’, has not yet begun the real task of the ministry because Jesus went on to say that ‘nothing is impossible’. I challenge you to begin to act in the power and authority of your faith. So many times I have had to face the impossible and seen God move in power, and I challenge you to begin to do it yourself!
We need to have a spiritual awakening – we need a new power from God – the power of the Holy Spirit in us today, as on the Day of Pentecost – but the key which will release that power into our lives now, is a new level of faith in Jesus Christ!
When Jesus’ disciples failed to cast out the demon from the epileptic boy and then asked him why, He rebuked them for their unbelief, ‘If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, remove hence to yonder place and it shall remove’, AND AFTER IT DOES, ‘nothing will be impossible to you!’ (Matthew 17:20). What a challenge – while I was preaching this, God showed me the hidden key!
Unbelief brings failure...
Jesus rebuked His disciples because they did not have the faith to do what they had to do – they had been given a specific job and when they were left to do it, they failed! Jesus spoke to them very strongly. Because they knew that they had failed publicly and He had rebuked them openly, they came to Him privately to ask what had gone wrong, in those immortal words, ‘Why?’ – ‘Why could we not cast out this spirit and heal the boy?’
...faith is the KEY
There is something hidden here. Yes, Jesus said in answer to their question, ‘If you had faith... you could move mountains.’ But the real secret of power is hidden. We get stuck at the thought that mortal man could move anything bigger than himself! We agonise over the reality of moving that mountain – call our friends to stand with us in believing prayer – because this mountain is proving harder than we thought to move. Then when it happens – that miracle, that healing, or financial solution – we become so excited (as I experienced so many times personally), that we drop the real key down the drain in our excitement!
The disciples had missed the opportunity of releasing the greatest power into their lives – Jesus was putting a key in their hands, and if they would only use this key, their lives would never be the same again!
Of all the gifts of God, FAITH is the greatest – it’s the KEY to the ‘normal’ Christian life! There are nine gifts which you only receive after you have been baptised in the Holy Spirit (have you received... since you believed?): three VOCAL gifts, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy; there are three INTELLECTUAL gifts, the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom, and the discerning of spirits; and there are three PRACTICAL gifts – I love the practical gifts – healing, working of miracles, and the gift of faith, 1 Corinthians 12. These are the normal every-day gifts of the Holy Spirit to the believer. By the same power with which you speak in tongues, you also heal the sick and work miracles! Paul asks, does everybody work miracles? What a challenge! Does every church work miracles? But this is the NORMAL Christian life! Cry out to God that He will fill you with the Holy Ghost and power!
Faith is what you DO!
Are you living a normal Christian life? Do you have the gift of faith? This is NOT an intellectual gift. Faith is nothing to do with your education OR with what you think – it’s what you DO. Faith is ACTION. Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as SUBSTANCE and EVIDENCE, something solid. It’s not something intellectual, it’s the most PRACTICAL gift God can give.