Seeking Jesus First Aug. 28, 2025
If you have faith…
“And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, 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. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17:14–21, NKJV)
The only time Jesus seems to rebuke his disciples openly like he did in this passage is when they do not believe. “Faithless and perverse generation…”. Faith is the reason we follow and obey The LORD Jesus Christ. If we do not believe His word, we do not obey it in faith.
If we believe, then we do it. “Faith without works is dead”. Faith without corresponding action is faithless. It is not faith without corresponding action. Faith is birthed in our hearts by hearing and receiving the word of God. We can hear it without receiving it. But faith comes when we hear and receive it.
Example: Question - Why does my wife accuse me of not listening to her sometimes? Answer - Because there was no corresponding action.
One time, The LORD Jesus asked His disciples, “Where is your faith?”
On the other hand, He said here, “If you have faith…”. You can have faith. It is your faith if you have it. You choose when you use it. When you use your faith, it becomes evident to others. Faith reveals itself through action.
Keep reading: “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say…”. The first action of faith is speaking. Faith calls those things that be not as though they were. Faith calls those things that do not yet exist into existence. Faith speaks things into existence. Faith speaks the end of something before the end is manifest. Faith speaks the beginning of something before it can be seen with the eyes.
Faith speaks contrary to fact. Faith speaks in opposition of natural sight or feelings. Yet, Faith is not a liar. Faith is believing that God’s word will create something new out of the current circumstances. Faith is believing that God’s word is higher and more powerful than what is currently manifesting. Faith is speaking the word of God in a manner that creates a different existence than the one you are currently experiencing.
If you have faith, you will decree a thing and it will come to pass. If you have faith you will command your circumstances to change and they will. It may change in an instant and it may change over the next week. However, faith is persistent. “that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:12, NKJV)