Good day
In the previous message we looked at how faith is needed when it comes to asking and receiving from God, and that without faith (without belief, confidence, trust, hope, expectation) in God, we won't be able to fully experience all the promises He desires us to have.
For today's message I want to speak about how, in order for faith to work, we must believe that God is able.
Matthew 9:27-30, When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” And their eyes were opened...
Notice how Jesus says, "according to your faith" - this shows that faith has to do with our ability to believe that God is able. We saw the same in Romans 4:16-22, with Abraham, "He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous."
Jesus knew He was able to heal them, but He wanted to know if they believed He was able to do so. Unless we believe in God's ability to meet our needs, we'll find it difficult to have faith in Him and have any confidence in our prayers.
If someone should say, "I have faith in John Doe", they're saying that they believe, trust and have confidence in him. There's an expectation that he's able to come through and deliver on whatever was promised/asked/required of him. A similar description can be used to describe our faith in God.
Now I won't be taking the time in this message to speak about God's ability - proving that He's able (powerful) enough to take care of us. I'm going to assume that we know that the Creator and Sustainer of this universe is well able, and all-powerful, enough to do anything. Instead, I want to focus more on a different aspect and that has to do with His authority - because authority talks to one's ability.
When someone in authority speaks, their instruction is carried out. A recent example of this is when a president instituted a lockdown over an entire country. This can also be seen more historically when a king or queen issued a decree. Their authority enables them/gives them the ability to bring about change.
In the below passages, we see something similar where Jesus (someone in authority) speaks and it brings about change.
Matthew 21:18-22
Early in the morning, as Jesus was on His way back to the city, He was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then He said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked. Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Luke 8:22-25
Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked (He spoke to) the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”
In the below passage I want to highlight how Jesus connects having authority with faith:
Luke 7:1-10
Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.” Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.
In the above passage Jesus associates great faith with understanding its relationship with authority and power. Here we see how the centurion recognizes the authority of Jesus and relates it to himself. The centurion understands how authority works in that when he gives an instruction to his soldiers he expects it to be obeyed and carried out just as he said. He then asks Jesus to do the same. In this statement he acknowledges that Jesus is also someone who has power and authority and that at the mention of a word, it will be done just as He commands (The servant will be healed). This understanding implies that he's not only trusting in someone's words just for the sake of it but rather that he's trusting their words because of the authority and influence they carry.
An "average" person may be limited in resources, power, ability and influence - but a person who carries some form of authority doesn't necessarily have the same limit or restrictions, they would have access to far more resources, have more power, be able to do more and have far more influence over a situation. The above passage highlights that when we speak about having faith in someone, we're not talking about faith in the ability of some random, "average" person but having faith in the ability of someone who is in a position of authority and power!
... and Jesus hasn't lost any of His authority and power (see Matthew 28:18, Colossians 2:9-10, Ephesians 1:19-22, Colossians 1:13-20)
The encouragement is for us to know that we can have faith in His ability because He's still in authority! He still has the final say! Knowing that when He speaks (gives us an instruction or a promise), His word will come to pass! our job is to say, "I believe in the words spoken by my Heavenly Father. I acknowledge that He is all knowing, that He is all powerful, that He is seated on the throne as the King of kings and Lord of lords. That He is the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. That He reigns supreme over all. That He is in authority. That He has the final say. That there's nothing that He cannot do. No problem He cannot solve. My Faith is in Him and I believe that He is well able to take care of me!"
Amen