Cultivating Faith l Pastor Gabriel Olivas l 9/20/26 l Sunday Morning

Luke 17 brings the disciples to a simple request: “Increase our faith.” Jesus answers by turning their attention away from the mulberry tree, away from the ocean, away from the thing that looks impossible, and back onto faith itself. Faith may be as small as a mustard seed, but a seed carries life. Two-thousand-year-old date seeds that were planted and produced fruit show the picture clearly: a seed can hold life for a long time, but until it is planted, it cannot do what it was created to do.

Faith is not meant to stay as an idea, a church word, or something believers talk about when life is easy. Faith must be applied. Jesus repeatedly directs people toward faith because the whole Christian life revolves around it. Faith drives obedience to God’s Word, brings believers to church expecting God to speak, and brings repentance before God knowing that He forgives sin. Human strength, human understanding, and human effort cannot accomplish what God alone can do.

Faith also reveals a person’s view of God. Hebrews says that without faith it is impossible to please Him, because faith shows whether God is truly seen as mighty, willing, and able. Results cannot become the source of faith. A previous disappointment, a prayer that did not unfold as expected, or a circumstance that appears solidified cannot define who God is. God remains bigger than the mulberry tree, the mountain, the sickness, the financial need, and the fear standing in front of a believer.

Human emotions can be real, but emotions cannot be trusted to navigate life. The heart can be ruled by carnal expectation and understanding. Faith makes decisions beyond what can be seen, calculated, felt, or controlled. Jesus marveled at the Roman centurion’s faith, showing that faith gets God’s attention and pleases Him. A life marked by faith-based choices is a life that says God is greater than the situation.

Faith unlocks power, but the order matters. God does not require the miracle first and then faith afterward. Faith is planted first. Then God responds in supernatural power, resurrection, redemption, healing, and provision. The testimonies of healing and financial breakthrough show that God is still able to move when believers refuse to accept the devil’s conclusion over their lives.

Faith will always be needed because need will always come. Repentance itself is the first faith decision. God can restore what sin destroyed, rebuild what the world tore down, and heal what people hurt. Christ calls sinners and backsliders to place their whole lives into His hands, trusting that He is faithful to forgive, save, restore, and change them.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Faith must be planted, not stored. Faith is like a seed carrying real life and real potential, but unused faith cannot produce fruit. God does not call believers merely to agree that He can move. Faith becomes alive when it is planted into decisions, prayers, obedience, and impossible situations. The seed is small, but the God who responds is infinite. [40:16]
• 2. Faith reveals how God is viewed. Faith does not mainly reveal human strength or weakness. Faith reveals whether God is seen as bigger than the circumstance, wiser than personal understanding, and more trustworthy than visible results. A refusal to take the route of faith often exposes a smaller view of God. [52:33]
• 3. Emotions cannot lead spiritual decisions. Emotions can alert a believer that something is wrong, but they cannot become the compass for life. Fear, anger, offense, and disappointment easily push people toward choices that require no trust in God. Faith reaches beyond what the heart feels and anchors itself in what God has said. [60:22]
• 4. Faith comes before the miracle. God does not tell people to wait until the tree moves before they believe. Faith comes first, and supernatural power follows as God responds to trust in His character and ability. The need for proof before obedience reverses the order God establishes. [68:33]
• 5. Repentance is a first faith decision. Salvation begins when a sinner believes that Christ can forgive what sin has broken. Repentance is not religious activity or partial surrender while holding onto hidden sin. Christ receives the person who comes fully, trusts Him completely, and believes He can make a new life.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [34:54] - Opening Scripture: Luke 17
• [37:56] - Two-Thousand-Year-Old Seeds
• [40:16] - Faith Like a Seed
• [42:34] - Faith Is the Focus
• [48:54] - Needing God’s Help
• [52:18] - Faith Reveals the View of God
• [60:22] - Taking Out the Human Element
• [62:29] - Faith Pleases God
• [68:09] - Faith Unlocks Supernatural Power
• [70:14] - Testimonies of Miracles
• [73:42] - The Ongoing Need for Faith
• [75:29] - Repentance and Being Born Again
• [81:18] - A Call to Plant Seeds of Faith

Bible Reading

Luke 17:5-6
“The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!' And the Lord said, 'If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the sea," and it would obey you.” [37:47]

Hebrews 11:6
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” [54:28]

Mark 9:23
“And Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes.” [44:20]

Observation questions

1. In Luke 17:5-6, what request do the apostles make, and what image does Jesus use to answer them? [40:39]
2. What does the seed illustration show about the difference between carrying life and producing fruit? [38:29]
3. According to Hebrews 11:6, what does faith have to do with pleasing God? [54:28]
4. What “human elements” are identified as unreliable guides for spiritual decisions, and what are emotions meant to do instead? [01:00:22]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does Jesus direct attention away from the mulberry tree and toward faith itself? What does that reveal about how believers should view impossible situations? [43:28]
2. How does faith reveal a person’s view of God rather than merely revealing that person’s own strength or weakness? [52:31]
3. Why is it important that faith comes before the miracle rather than waiting for visible proof before trusting God? [01:08:33]
4. Why can repentance be understood as a faith decision, especially for someone who feels that sin, failure, or past choices have gone too far? [01:15:59]

Application questions

1. What “mulberry tree” is most likely to take your focus right now—a fear, need, conflict, sickness, financial pressure, or something else? How can you deliberately turn your attention from the size of that problem to the greatness of God? [43:45]
2. Faith must be planted, not merely stored as an idea. What is one specific prayer, act of obedience, or difficult conversation where you need to plant faith this week? [40:21]
3. Has a past disappointment or an unanswered prayer caused you to expect less from God in a present situation? What would it look like to let God’s character, rather than past results, shape your faith? [53:27]
4. When fear, anger, offense, or disappointment is strong, what kinds of decisions are you tempted to make? What truth from God’s Word can help you respond in faith instead of simply following your emotions? [01:01:16]
5. Where have you been trying to handle something by your own strength, understanding, or control instead of asking God for help? What would trusting Him in that area look like in a practical next step? [51:13]
6. Repentance means bringing a whole life to Christ rather than holding back hidden areas. Is there anything you have been reluctant to surrender to God? What would honest faith and repentance look like there? [01:18:27]