Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Well, this morning I want to share a message called Little Faith, Big God. How many people have got little faith?
[00:00:11] How many people serve a big God? All right, we'll talk about the faith bit in a moment. But as long as we can agree on one thing, that we serve a great big God, that's the most important. Come on, let's get into the Word this morning. Mark 4, 30, 32.
[00:00:26] If you've got a Bible, please feel free to read along with me or we'll have the notes up on the screen as well.
[00:00:32] So Jesus is speaking and he says again, he said, what shall we say? The kingdom of God is like what parable? What story shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants with such big branches that the birds can perch its shade. Let's pray. As we look at God's Word this morning, Father, we thank you, thank you that your word is a lamp to our feet. It is a light to our path. It is a firm foundation that we can build our lives upon.
[00:01:08] Father, today we want to acknowledge that you are a big God, bigger than all of our challenges, our concerns, our circumstances.
[00:01:16] And, Lord, would we be able to put our faith in you, who you say you are and who you say we are?
[00:01:25] Lord, speak to us. We want to lean in and hear your heart for us as individuals and together as a family. In Jesus name, Amen.
[00:01:35] Have you often noticed how God works through the small beginnings?
[00:01:41] A few loaves and fishes feeds a multitude.
[00:01:44] You've seen in nature a small spark and set a forest fire alight.
[00:01:49] Ever had one small word of encouragement that changed the trajectory of your day? You're heading in one direction, and then someone just came and said, you're awesome. Did you know that that one little word can be all that shifts or changes. It can also be the other way around. Right? You're having a good day, and then that one thing happens and your whole day can fall apart.
[00:02:14] In Jesus teaching, he speaks of a tiny seed, a mustard seed.
[00:02:21] And it becomes a symbol of something that is incredibly great.
[00:02:25] Matthew 17:20 says, Truly, I tell you, Jesus said, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say that this mountain move from here to there, and it will move.
[00:02:38] Nothing will be impossible for you today. I want to say, it's not about the size of my faith, it's not about the size of your faith. It's about the size of our God.
[00:02:49] This morning I want to preach on little faith. Big God.
[00:02:54] Now, the mustard seed. In the first century Palestine, it was a small seed, not the very smallest seed, but the smallest seed that people would plant.
[00:03:06] And when planted, the plant would grow up to anything between 6 to 9ft high, strong enough to actually allow a bird to perch in its branches.
[00:03:17] And Jesus uses this familiar image in two ways. Matthew 13:31, 32. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. 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 on its branches.
[00:03:34] And so here the mustard seed shows that it's a process of growth, that God takes us from that place of smallness to greatness, that his kingdom will start small but then become great and large in our lives. Matthew 17:20, it says, the mustard seed symbolizes faith. Even the smallest genuine faith has the ability to see a mountain moved.
[00:04:03] Now, the cultural resonance is clear back then, and it is again today.
[00:04:09] Remain strong, a contrast to the world that says bigger is better, where God says, start small. Put your faith and your trust in the little and see what I might do.
[00:04:22] The Context of Matthew 17 is crucial. Jesus has just come down from the transfiguration. Peter, James and John were up there trying to organize this transfiguration. Hey, we should set up some tents and we should hang out here for a little while. Having no idea what was happening, they come down and Jesus comes down into this situation, this scenario where a desperate father is trying to see a demonic force cast out of his son.
[00:04:51] And the disciples have tried.
[00:04:53] They've given it their best shot with all that they thought they knew.
[00:05:00] I said, why didn't it work?
[00:05:03] Why didn't it happen the way it seems to when you do it?
[00:05:08] And Jesus says, because you have so little faith.
[00:05:11] Truly, I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move nothing. What will be impossible for you?
[00:05:22] And the word Jesus uses for little faith is oligopastia, a recurring rebuke in Matthew's gospel. Matthew 6:30. He says, if God clothes the grass of the field, will he not much more clothe you, oh you of little faith?
[00:05:42] Matthew 14:31 When Peter starts sinking after walking on water, Jesus says, you have little faith. Why did you doubt?
[00:05:54] But notice, Jesus does not demand great faith because he actually says, all you need is a little faith.
[00:06:01] So he wasn't saying that the little faith is bad.
[00:06:05] He's Saying the faith has not been placed in the right place.
[00:06:11] So all we need is a little faith. But it's where we put that faith matters because all of the energy of the people who were wondering what they would wear and what clothes they'd wear and whether they would have enough food, whether they would be okay to get through today, Jesus is saying, you're spending all of your time, you're investing your faith in whether or not you're going to be okay.
[00:06:37] Peter walking on the water. He's in the middle of his miracle like no one else has done it.
[00:06:44] And here he is walking in his miracle.
[00:06:48] And then the waves and the wind.
[00:06:51] Anyone got waves and wind in your life?
[00:06:56] Jesus has said, I've got this, we've got this. We're gonna be okay.
[00:07:00] But then we like Peter, we say, but the waves, the wind, too big, too strong, it's too difficult. So Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and he's now looking the waves.
[00:07:16] And Jesus says, the little faith is enough.
[00:07:21] But don't invest your faith in the worry and the concern of the world. He says, invest it in me, put it in me, trust me.
[00:07:33] Jesus rebuke wasn't about the amount of faith.
[00:07:37] It's who we put our faith in that matters.
[00:07:43] The heart of my message today, I hope we can capture this.
[00:07:47] It's not about measuring the size of your faith because we like to do that sometimes, don't we? More faith, less faithful. Actually, Jesus said, just a little faith.
[00:07:58] In fact, as tiny as. And we're going to have a look at these a little bit later.
[00:08:02] Tiny as a little seed. You can all see the seed. No, you can't. It's tiny. Like actually, it's not even. I don't even.
[00:08:11] I had a seed. It's gone.
[00:08:14] Tiny little seed.
[00:08:16] Jesus said, that's enough, that's enough.
[00:08:22] But where do we put that seed?
[00:08:26] We all put our faith in someone or something.
[00:08:30] People, systems, structure. Let me prove it to us all.
[00:08:35] How many people when you came in, took about three or four minutes to consider the structural integrity of the seat you're sitting on right now.
[00:08:44] Anyone?
[00:08:46] If you do, we've probably got some good serves. We could talk later.
[00:08:50] We all came in and we just went ahead without even wondering whether it was safe. And we sat down.
[00:08:59] There we go.
[00:09:02] Complete trust and faith and a seat.
[00:09:09] We put our faith and trust in so many things, don't we?
[00:09:14] I like golf. Anyone like golf?
[00:09:24] I'm not a good golfer.
[00:09:27] I've got a half decent swing.
[00:09:29] My golf is entertaining. I went out and played with Alan Bell, Legend in the house. Want to acknowledge his legendary status.
[00:09:37] But it's boring playing with Alan.
[00:09:40] Honestly, his golf is so boring. He tees up in the tee box, and he just hits it straight down the middle, and he walks straight down the middle. And then he takes another shot, chips it onto the green, putts it in one or two, and it's like. It's boring.
[00:09:55] I hit it there, and it's. Whoo. And so I'm going for a big walk in the jungle and the bushes, and then I hook it out and it goes into the other side. And then.
[00:10:07] Amy, there's a couple of women in my life that I probably need to tell you about.
[00:10:11] Sandy and Heather. I spent a bit of time with Sandy and Heather on Friday.
[00:10:17] Very, very cruel.
[00:10:19] I think one man, one woman. I think there's a reason that we. Just in case you're wondering, it was the sand trap and the heather. Okay? Just where all the sound bites go out, just to make it very, very clear. All right?
[00:10:32] I don't know. Drew, can you help me, please?
[00:10:35] Drew, Drew, come on, come on, come on. Just play. Can you stand on the stage, Drew? Maybe, Amy, you can hold the microphone for me. Don't worry, I'm not going to swing anything at you. All right? Just stand on the stage, Drew.
[00:10:47] All right. How many people have got faith in my golf swing?
[00:10:52] Okay, I got six. I'll take six. All right? How many people think I can hit this plastic golf ball into Drew's hands? How many people think I can do that?
[00:11:02] Eight. Eight of you. Okay. All right, let's have a look.
[00:11:16] Have I not entertained you?
[00:11:20] Okay, Drew. Drew, look. I mean, that went so well.
[00:11:24] That's doing so well. How many people believe that I can hit this real golf ball onto Drew's head and knock that tee off? How many people believe I can do that, Paul? You believe I can do that?
[00:11:47] You've got this. All right, Drew.
[00:11:53] Drew, do you have confidence in me?
[00:12:00] Paul, you had great confidence in my.
[00:12:05] Do you want to come and you want to. You want to come and stand and I'm going to hit this off?
[00:12:13] Okay. Come on, Paul. Come on, then.
[00:12:21] This is getting entertaining, isn't it?
[00:12:25] How many people think I'm going to hit him square on the forehead?
[00:12:28] That's more than thought. I could hit the stage.
[00:12:36] Real golf ball. Real golf ball.
[00:12:41] I've got pictures of Dave and Goliath right now.
[00:12:50] There is no way I'm going to hit a golf ball into your head.
[00:13:04] Your faith is seriously misplaced.
[00:13:10] I didn't think I'd find a single person that would stand on. There is no way that I would swing a golf club at somebody and think that I could hit that mark. And if your faith was placed in my golf swing, we would all be in serious trouble.
[00:13:25] However, if we put our faith in the one who is faithful, the One who will never fail us, who through his word declares that he is faithful through all generations.
[00:13:42] Now, if I had a bridge made out of cardboard and I had my car ready to drive across that cardboard bridge, it doesn't matter how much faith I have in that cardboard bridge, that bridge isn't holding me up.
[00:14:01] Now I can have a little bit of faith in this really strong, solid stage to stand on.
[00:14:12] Do you see what I'm saying here?
[00:14:14] We can have faith placed in all sorts of things. And you know where we place a lot of our faith, our thought, our emotion, our focus in all the negative things.
[00:14:25] We put our faith in whether that thing will actually happen, that we're worried about. Anyone worry about something that didn't actually happen.
[00:14:32] Anyone ever done that, hours, days, months, years, worrying about whether or not that's actually going to happen.
[00:14:40] And so we can put a lot of our faith and our worry, our thought, our energy, our focus into the things.
[00:14:48] Or we take a little faith, just a little faith, just enough to say, jesus, I trust you, you've been faithful.
[00:15:01] Some of us, we put our faith in money. Some of us, we put our faith in our relationships, in our careers and the government. We even place our faith in ourselves.
[00:15:13] Jesus was saying, you don't have to have as much faith as you think you do. You just have to put that faith in me.
[00:15:22] That's why I hate to say, because as an official middle aged man at 47 years old, I think sometimes as men we can struggle with this because for a good couple of 10, 20, 30 years, we have been doing our very best to build ourselves and our families and protect and provide and all of those things are wonderful godly things. And then God says, I want you to trust me in this thing. But in order to trust him with that thing, he says, you have to let go of that thing you're holding.
[00:16:02] We struggle with that.
[00:16:05] We struggle because we like the fact that we can be in control.
[00:16:10] We like the fact that we can influence the outcome.
[00:16:16] Come on, we're fixers, we're problem solvers, we pride ourselves in that. And it's good, it's good for the right reason. But when we place our faith in ourselves, we leave no room for God to move in this season. I want to give God room to move in my life.
[00:16:36] I want to put some impossible situations in agreement with God.
[00:16:41] Say, what would it look like God, if we did this?
[00:16:46] You've called me, you've asked me, you put this on my heart. You put this on our heart to do. What would it look like if we stepped out together and this is why we know, or what we know of God really, really matters. If I was to go take the microphone through this place and I was to ask for testimonies of God's faithfulness, we would go for days and days and days of people who said, I was lost, but now I'm found. I was broken, but now I'm healed.
[00:17:19] I was broke. And God came and he provided for me story after story after story. But you know what would be attached to so many of those stories would be evidence from the Word of God that backs up our testimony.
[00:17:34] Friends, we have to be people of His Word.
[00:17:38] If we don't know His Word, then we've got nothing to build our lives upon.
[00:17:45] But if we know His Word, when the storms come, when the waves come, when anxiety and fear and even depression comes and wants to grab ahold of us, what is the truth that we will declare?
[00:17:59] Where is our faith placed? Who is our faith placed within?
[00:18:05] Romans 10:17.
[00:18:07] Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of God.
[00:18:13] Hebrews 10:23. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess. What is the hope you profess?
[00:18:20] I pray and I hope that it's the Word of God.
[00:18:23] I pray that you have the Word of God active and living in your life.
[00:18:30] If you say, well, I'm maybe a little malnourished. Maybe the daily bread has become weekly or monthly.
[00:18:37] No shame, no condemnation.
[00:18:39] There is none in Christ.
[00:18:41] But there is a conviction that the Holy Spirit says, come on, find me again. Find truth, find wisdom.
[00:18:50] Long for wisdom like you did in those yesteryears.
[00:18:54] Maybe for those who are new in their faith, you're kind of new in this journey. You're just starting out with God.
[00:19:01] Find the Word of God.
[00:19:05] Take the Word of God. Live by it. Ask questions.
[00:19:09] Those challenging scriptures, don't just let them go by.
[00:19:13] Grab someone.
[00:19:14] Grab someone who's been in the faith and say, can we wrestle with this? I don't understand it. I don't get it, but I need some help.
[00:19:22] Come on. Some of us need to just reach out to somebody in this place and say, can we walk together?
[00:19:28] Would you Disciple me. Would you walk the journey with me so that we can listen and we can pray for one another so that the little faith we would make sure is placed in God?
[00:19:45] What do you know of his love? What do you know of his mercy? What do you know of his justice?
[00:19:52] Is it found in your knowledge of the word of the the challenge to Joshua? Have I not commanded you?
[00:20:03] Do not let the book of the law depart from your mouth, but meditate on it day and night so that you will be careful to do everything that is written within it.
[00:20:13] Then you'll be prosperous and successful.
[00:20:17] That's not more money, that's walking in relationship with God.
[00:20:27] In Jamieson Faust Brown commentary he says it is not the quantity of faith but its quality. It is not faith in faith but faith in God which achieves the impossible.
[00:20:42] When Jesus spoke of moving mountains, he used the Jewish metaphor for the impossible.
[00:20:51] We've got a backyard that we still haven't got to at the moment it doesn't look like a mountain but there's a lot of dirt that still needs to be moved probably a foot or so that we just need to get rid of. Then I looked across to the mountain that's really only about maybe 10, 15 meters up the hill.
[00:21:10] I'm going to imagine moving that like this is feels impossible enough. What about that?
[00:21:19] What's our mountain?
[00:21:22] Because everyone, I think our mountains are different.
[00:21:27] Somebody, it's a relationship, other people, it is your finance.
[00:21:33] For some it might be forgiveness or offence.
[00:21:39] Maybe it's a medical condition that just seems impossible.
[00:21:44] Jesus said, would you place that little faith in my hands and let's see these mountains moved.
[00:21:56] As the team come and join me, we're going to sing the song the joy of the Lord.
[00:22:01] We sung it earlier this morning and I'm going to invite you to join us on a journey faith of planting seeds of faith.
[00:22:14] Because as a church we talked about some individual things but as a church we also face mountains. We've got a city to reach for Jesus along with other churches in this area.
[00:22:30] Where are our students at? Come on, where's our students? We've got a few that have arrived back. We can't wait to welcome more of you back over these next couple of weeks.
[00:22:39] But we've got a few university students that need to know Jesus, right?
[00:22:43] We've got a university and colleges to win for Christ.
[00:22:47] What would it look like if we could support our students as they go and reach those in the university?
[00:22:55] But you know what? As a church we've got a little Mountain that we're going to have to deal with because some of you might have seen in Devon live that this place is now going to be a paddle ball centre.
[00:23:08] We haven't quite been told that yet, but it's going through.
[00:23:12] It is likely that by December we may be worshipping in another venue.
[00:23:18] So that's our wonderful news for this morning.
[00:23:21] The great news is we have a little faith and a big God.
[00:23:30] Come on.
[00:23:35] We had, we had eight months. We were supposed to be in here. We're now at 16 double portion of what we're supposed to have.
[00:23:45] As Mark said, we're not going to be here anymore or any less than God intends us to be here.
[00:23:52] There's an exciting possibility that we're looking at at the moment, stirring a few of us, getting quite excited about it.
[00:23:59] Probably have a partners meeting online. We'll probably do a zoom meeting in the, in the next week or two just to bring everybody into the loop. But I obviously don't want to share details until it's a little bit more concrete.
[00:24:10] But God is so good.
[00:24:12] He has been so faithful to this congregation and I think this congregation has been really faithful to God.
[00:24:22] And some of us probably feel like we didn't have a whole lot of faith, but actually we only need a little faith.
[00:24:32] So I can stand here before you and honestly say I don't know where we'll be at Christmas time.
[00:24:39] Am I worried? Am I concerned? I'm actually not. Will I work hard to get us a place? You betcha I will.
[00:24:47] And I think we probably all will because I think we're invested in this. We're invested in this journey. But church, we're gonna be picking up the tent.
[00:24:57] We're being led by Fire in the Cloud.
[00:25:01] We're just moving.
[00:25:02] Maybe it's the permanence, a place where we can settle for some time. We don't know yet. That would be my hope.
[00:25:12] But are we okay? Are we gonna be okay to move? Come on. We're gonna be okay.
[00:25:18] Of course we are.
[00:25:22] Because we have a big God.
[00:25:26] And in a moment, as we sing the song, the joy of the Lord, we're going to clap our hands and we're going to celebrate who God is.
[00:25:39] And right down the front, I'm going to get the camera team. They're going to come and have a look at the size of these seeds because I've got some soil and I've got some seeds.
[00:25:55] Look at that.
[00:25:57] We're going to take the little faith that we have and maybe it's For a miracle that you need in your life.
[00:26:06] Maybe. Actually, you're good. You're in a really good place. Praise the Lord.
[00:26:11] Would you plant a seed for what our family might look like in this next season?
[00:26:18] Bring some faith.
[00:26:19] That little faith, that's all we need.
[00:26:23] And then sing about the joy of the Lord that is our strength.
[00:26:29] But before we sing that song, I've been talking about putting our faith in a big God.
[00:26:39] For some people here, the reality of your journey is you haven't yet done that.
[00:26:47] That actually you've heard rumors of God. Maybe you've experienced some of his love, some of his power.
[00:26:55] Maybe for some, this is the very first time you found yourself in this building. And you're listening to what's happened today.
[00:27:02] There's questions in your heart saying, would God love me?
[00:27:08] Is there hope for me with the life I've lived and the things that I've done? And would God love me? I can tell you, you are one of his children.
[00:27:17] You are so dearly loved by your Father in heaven.
[00:27:21] I want to encourage you today that God loves you so much that he was prepared to send his only son, Jesus, to die on a cross so that the sins you committed, the selfishness, the pride, the lying, the stealing, all of those things that separate us from God.
[00:27:44] Jesus died so that that sin would not be held against us.
[00:27:49] Bible says all of us have sinned. We've fallen short of the standard of holiness that God demands.
[00:27:55] He's a loving God, but he's a just God.
[00:27:59] So therefore sin has to be punished.
[00:28:01] And God, in his great mercy, took the punishment upon himself on Jesus who died, that he didn't stay dead because he was raised to life after three days, and he has ascended into heaven, and he will return one day. For all of those who have called upon the name of the Lord and all of those who have believed in him, how much do we have to believe?
[00:28:27] Just a little.
[00:28:28] A little faith. And as we plant that seed of faith and we say, jesus, I put my trust in you. You watch your faith grow.
[00:28:38] You watch your relationship with God grow.
[00:28:43] So I wonder in this place with every head bowed, every eye closed, if you'd like to be included in a prayer where you would acknowledge your sin, saying, jesus, I've sinned. I've messed up. I need forgiveness.
[00:28:58] But I want you to forgive me. I want you to come into my life, become Lord of my life.
[00:29:04] I want to walk with you. I want to follow you all the days of my life, to put my faith into your hands.
[00:29:12] If that's you and you would like me to include you in that prayer, could you raise your hand up nice and high so I can see Anyone here today? Thank you, ma'. Am.
[00:29:21] Anyone else here this morning?
[00:29:23] You can put your hand down now. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else?
[00:29:29] Come on, church. Will we stand to our feet? Will we pray this prayer together?
[00:29:34] And maybe you've prayed this prayer once before.
[00:29:37] Maybe this is you praying again, saying, God, I'm recommitting my life to you.
[00:29:41] As you come and you plant the seed, would you also come and stand by the first steps banner over here? We've got a team that would love to meet with you, to talk with you, to get a Bible into your hands and help you take your next step. But come on. Would we pray this prayer together?
[00:29:56] Thank you, Jesus, that you died on the cross.
[00:30:01] So that my sins could be forgiven.
[00:30:06] I turn from my old ways.
[00:30:09] I repent and ask you to forgive me.
[00:30:14] Today I choose to follow you.
[00:30:19] You are Lord of my life.
[00:30:21] I put you first.
[00:30:24] Please lead me.
[00:30:26] Please fill me with your spirit so that I can be empowered to live for you.
[00:30:36] In Jesus name, Amen.
[00:30:40] Amen.
