“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” (Luke 17:6).
TEXT — Luke 17:1-10
Message
When Hudson Taylor went to China, he made the voyage on a sailing vessel. As it neared the channel between the southern Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra, the missionary heard an urgent knock on his stateroom door. He opened it, and there stood the captain of the ship. “Mr. Taylor,” he said, “we have no wind. We are drifting toward an island where the people are heathen, and I fear they are cannibals”. “What can I do?” asked Taylor. “I understand that you believe in God. I want you to pray for wind”. “All right, Captain, I will, but you must set the sail”. “Why? That’s ridiculous! There’s not even the slightest breeze. Besides, the sailors will think I’m crazy”.
Finally, because of Taylor’s insistence, he agreed. Forty- five minutes later he returned and found the missionary still on his knees. “You can stop praying now,” said the captain. “We’ve got more wind than we know what to do with!”
From our text, we see that faith is a genuine force that controls our terrestrial and celestial existence. By it, God established every visible and invisible reality of this and future life. We can see why the disciples of Christ asked the Lord to increase their faith. The Master showed them how to put their faith to work in order to do great things. Mountains represent difficulties and challenges in life.
There are challenges in life that only an active faith in Christ can overcome. Faith is stronger than fasting. In fact, fasting without faith is a mere hunger strike. Faith is defined as: Forsaking All I Trust Him (FAITH) while fear is defined as Forsake Everything And Run (FEAR). Faith is an anchor that keeps our soul through times of tempest and storm.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
Wonderful
Many thanks, indeed.