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Why could we not cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, because of
your unbelief: For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain
of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to
yonder place: and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to
you. Mt17:19b-20 The fact that a mustard seed is small is secondary to the fact that it is a seed. We must first uncover the significance of faith being like a seed before we discuss the significance of it being the smallest of seed. In the gospels, parables run together, are connected and derive meaning from each other. This being the case, we can learn more about this parable by examining it in the light of the other parables. In Mt13:3-23 we have the parable of the sower. In Mt13:24-30 we have the tare and the wheat. In Mt13:31-3 we have the mustard seed becoming a great tree. Let us first consider the sower. In the parable of the sower, the seed is the word of God. That seed will only produce a harvest if it is planted in good ground yielding a 30, 60, or a 100 fold harvest. To get to the good ground that seed or word must pass through lack of understanding, trial and tribulation, and the success and concern of the world before the ground is fertile to produce 30, 60, or 100 fold crop. So the person who has mustard seed faith to move mountains must have first gone through the trial of faith that is much more precious than that of gold (1Pet1:7) To have faith to move mountains, one needs to have understanding, patience and perseverance, and a focus on the kingdom and on the goal rather than worldly riches or the lust of other things. Secondly from Mt13:31-32, the seed has to grow into a tree which attracts birds for shade and lodging. In order to move mountains the word has to grow into a system of belief and a person that will attract the poor, the sick, and the lame who seek healing through that ministry. The word must become the Christ. It must be anointed by God. The word must become incarnate in us, a way of life, and a system of belief. We know this is true because in Math13:38 from the parable of the wheat and the tare, Jesus tells us that the good seed are the children of the kingdom. We become the living word. The conclusion to be reached for all of this is that only people who have fought the good fight of faith can lay hands on moving mountains. It is accomplished only after the person has matured, learned scripture and applied it to his life successfully. Finally that the word is the smallest of seeds indicates that the word is so powerful that we can only handle the smallest amount as human beings but as we grow, we are able to manifest the full power of God under the anointing. Our faith rests on the word of God, a mustard seed, that produces in our spirit, the Christ, which is our hope of glory (Col1:27), our ability to move mountains. And when he saw the fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only and said Unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away...Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, if you have faith, and doubt not, you shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if you shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, it shall be done. And all things ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Mt21:19.21-22 Just as the wrong kind of seed produces the wrong kind of tree that bears no fruit so too does the wrong kind of word produce the wrong kind of person and world system that bears no fruit. In this story Jesus is telling us that the Jewish people and leaders in particular had built their faith on keeping the law and following the flesh and had become a self-righteous people and fruitless. For them to receive their salvation and be made whole, the first thing that had to be done was to curse the old tree, the world system based on following the law so that the living word, faith in Jesus, could cast the mountain of sin, sickness, and poverty into the sea. If healing is to take place, the figless tree, self-righteousness and the world system based on personal worth has to wither away in order for another seed to grow to become a system of belief that would move mountains in other people's lives. In other words to move mountains, we must curse the spirit of unbelief and religious pride. It is only when that spirit is withered away can the spirit of faith dislodge sin, sickness, and poverty. How we handle sin, sickness, and poverty is first to handle the spirit of unbelief based on a world system of religion and self-righteousness in keeping the law. For others, moving the mountains is easy because they readily put their faith in Jesus and know their poverty of spirit and their need for a redeemer and Lord. Finally, Jesus says that in all cases mountains are removed by prayer, and sometimes prayer and fasting. Jesus often went to the mountain to pray. At the mountain as in the desert Jesus dealt with evil spirits, temptation, and darkness so that the full force of his ministry could operate in the lives of the blind, the lame, and the dumb. That is a different spin on prayer. Rather than petition, praise, thanksgiving, and adoration, it is dealing with the prince of this world. To be mountain movers we must confront those spirits in our life that are contrary to God before we can remove sickness, poverty, sin, and evil spirits from others. First remove the log from your own eye before you remove the splinter from another (Mt7:5). To have faith to move mountains requires that we become new creatures in Christ and grow into a house built on a rock and not sand. It doesn't happen all at once but over time. But when the mustard seed has entered into the good ground all Jesus promised will be accomplished and the will of God will be manifest in the world. Amen. |