Faith: Using What God Has Already Given You

Faith does not need to be piled up like something missing. Faith needs to be exercised. The body shows how that works: muscles that have not been used begin to hurt when they are finally put to work, and faith can be the same way. Jesus tells the disciples in Matthew 17 that their failure was not because the demon was too strong, but because they were not using the faith God had already given them.

The mustard seed shows how God works through what looks small. A single seed can hardly be seen, yet thousands of seeds make mustard, and one seed can grow twenty to thirty feet high. The kingdom of heaven is like that mustard seed. God puts a seed in people who may feel insignificant, overlooked, or unable to do much, but that seed is not insignificant to God. God can grow it into something that gives shelter, life, and room for others.

Jesus in Nazareth also shows the danger of seeing only what is natural. The people saw a carpenter’s son, Mary’s boy, and somebody whose family they knew. Their unbelief kept them from seeing the Son of God standing in front of them. Unbelief still looks at a person’s past, their hometown, their weakness, or their lack of resources, and then says nothing great can happen. Faith sees what God has placed in a person, even when that person cannot yet see it.

God’s vision does not require human ability before it can begin. God called a man into ministry who could not see himself behind a pulpit, and God placed gifts in people who once said they could never sing, lead, or stand before others. God sees what is inside before it ever comes out. God provides what belongs to His will, because if it is His will, it is His bill.

The mustard seed also teaches patience. A building, a town, a ministry, and a restored temple do not come together overnight. God builds one step at a time, and faith does not quit just because the answer has not appeared yet. A child jumping into open arms shows the kind of trust faith requires. God calls people to move when they cannot see every detail, knowing that His arms do not fail.

Faith may look like one mustard seed, one drop of hot sauce, or one little bit of seasoning, but small things can make a big difference. God calls His people to use what they already have and let that faith be exercised for the ministry.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Exercise the faith already given [04:33] Faith is not only a thing to admire or talk about. Faith becomes strong as it is put to work in real situations, especially where fear, delay, and uncertainty are present. Unused faith can become weak in practice, even though God has already supplied what is needed. Jesus calls for active trust, not passive agreement. [04:33]
• 2. Small faith is not insignificant [09:29] The mustard seed looks too small to matter, but God uses it to show that size is not the point. A person may feel unnoticed, limited, or unqualified, yet God does not measure usefulness the way people do. God can bring great growth out of what looks like almost nothing. The issue is not whether the seed looks big, but whether it is planted and trusted to God. [09:29]
• 3. Unbelief sees only the old identity [12:29] Nazareth saw Jesus as familiar and ordinary, and they missed the Son of God in their midst. Unbelief can trap people inside what they used to be, where they came from, or what others remember about them. God sees calling, purpose, and growth where others see only history. Faith learns to recognize God’s work beyond human labels. [12:29]
• 4. God’s vision carries God’s provision [13:10] God does not give vision merely to frustrate His people. God can provide the people, resources, timing, and open doors needed for what He has ordained. Faith does not deny practical needs, but it refuses to make present lack the final word. If God has truly willed it, God remains able to make a way. [13:10]
• 5. Growth takes time and steady trust [18:30] A mustard seed does not become a great plant in one day, and a building is not completed without foundation, block, and labor. God often works through slow growth that tests patience. Faith does not throw away confidence because the promise has not arrived on a preferred schedule. God is still building when the progress seems small.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:18] - Faith Must Be Exercised
• [02:54] - The Disciples and the Demon
• [04:13] - Faith Like a Mustard Seed
• [05:12] - How Small Is a Mustard Seed
• [08:21] - Small Seed, Big Significance
• [09:54] - The Mustard Seed Grows
• [11:01] - Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
• [13:10] - God’s Vision and God’s Bill
• [13:33] - Faith Believes What Cannot Be Seen
• [16:07] - The Kingdom Like a Mustard Seed
• [17:25] - God Builds One Step at a Time
• [19:19] - Childlike Trust in God
• [21:04] - Using Faith Makes a Difference
• [24:20] - Exercise Faith for the Ministry

Bible Reading

Matthew 17:20
“He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” [04:33]

Matthew 13:31-32
“He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” [16:07]

Matthew 13:54-58
“And coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.” [11:01]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 17, what problem brought the father to Jesus, and what had the disciples already tried to do?
2. What reason does Jesus give the disciples for their inability to cast out the demon, and what image does He use to describe faith? [04:13]
3. In Matthew 13:31–32, what happens to the mustard seed after it is planted, and who benefits from its growth? [16:07]
4. When Jesus returned to Nazareth, what did the people recognize about Him, and what familiar details kept them from receiving Him rightly? [11:24]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does Jesus connect faith with a mustard seed rather than with something large and impressive? What does this show about how God measures significance? [09:54]
2. In Nazareth, the people’s familiarity with Jesus became an obstacle to faith. How can knowing a person’s past keep people from seeing what God may be doing in that person now? [12:01]
3. The mustard seed becomes large enough to provide shelter for birds. What might this picture teach about how God intends the growth of His kingdom to bless and make room for others? [16:07]
4. The disciples faced a failure before they asked Jesus why they could not succeed. How can failure reveal places where faith needs to be exercised rather than abandoned? [19:19]

Application questions

1. Where have you been waiting for “more faith” when God may be calling you to use the faith He has already given you? What is one specific step of trust you could take this week? [04:36]
2. What “mountain” in your life—fear, a strained relationship, a ministry need, or an uncertain decision—have you been viewing as too big? How might you bring that situation to God in faith instead of only focusing on its size? [09:10]
3. Have you ever felt insignificant, unqualified, or overlooked? What gift, opportunity, or calling might God be growing in you even if it still seems small? [16:53]
4. Is there someone you have been tempted to define by their past, their family, their hometown, or their weaknesses? How could you begin to see that person through the possibility of what God can do in them? [12:14]
5. What vision or burden has God placed on your heart that feels beyond your present resources? What would it look like to trust God for provision while still taking the next faithful step? [13:20]
6. Where are you becoming impatient because growth or an answer is taking longer than you expected? What small signs of God building may be present even now? [18:30]
7. A child jumps because the child trusts the arms that are waiting. What is one area where God may be asking you to obey before you can see all the details? [19:42]