May 24th, 2026 - Rock and Hard Place: Part 4 (10:30 AM)

May 24, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Faith Takes Root Like a Mustard Seed

Jesus didn’t celebrate small faith—He described its explosive potential. A mustard seed isn’t about quantity but unstoppable growth. Faith, like that seed, starts small but overtakes doubt, fear, and complacency when rooted in God’s power. It’s designed to spread, dominate, and transform barren landscapes into forests of trust. [41:56]

“He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’” (Matthew 17:20, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you mistaken “small faith” as a limitation instead of recognizing its God-given potential to grow? What doubt or fear needs to be overtaken by faith’s invasive growth today?

Day 2: Trials as Fertilizer for Mountain-Moving Faith

Trials aren’t obstacles to faith—they’re the soil where it grows. Just as a mustard seed dies to become a towering plant, faith thrives when tested. Struggles strip away self-reliance, forcing dependence on God’s strength. What feels like a setback becomes the setup for unshakable trust. [01:03:20]

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2–4, ESV)

Reflection: What current trial feels like an enemy to your faith? How might God be using it to deepen your roots in His faithfulness?

Day 3: Contagious Faith That Seeds New Growth

Mature faith isn’t private—it’s infectious. Like a mustard plant dropping seeds, your lived trust in God plants courage in others. People watch how you weather storms, pray through impossibilities, and cling to Christ. Your faith story becomes someone else’s starter soil. [59:51]

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1, ESV)

Reflection: Who modeled resilient faith to you? Who might be watching your walk with God right now, needing your example to spark their own?

Day 4: Eyes on the Author, Not the Storm

Faith falters when fixed on waves instead of the Savior. Peter sank when he focused on wind; he walked when locked on Jesus. Like steering into a storm, faith grows by relentlessly orienting toward Christ’s power, not the problem’s size. [01:09:55]

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2, ESV)

Reflection: What circumstance dominates your gaze more than Christ? What practical step can you take today to refocus on Jesus’ faithfulness?

Day 5: Faith Feeds on the Word, Not Worry

Romans 10:17 isn’t a suggestion—it’s a law of spiritual physics. Faith starves without Scripture but thrives when saturated with God’s promises. Reading the Bible isn’t religious duty; it’s weightlifting for your trust muscles, preparing you to move mountains. [55:39]

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” (Romans 10:17, ESV)

Reflection: What specific worry or situation needs to be replaced with active Scripture meditation this week? Which Bible passage will you wield as a faith-building tool?

Sermon Summary

Memorial Day gratitude sets the frame by letting John 15:13 ring out: Jesus lays down his life to secure true freedom. From there, mustard seed faith steps into focus, not as a license for tiny belief but as a picture of how faith is meant to act. Jesus never cheers for small faith. He marvels at great trust, like the Gentile centurion who said, “Speak the word,” and Jesus called it major faith. So the mustard seed is not a pep talk for minimal faith. The seed names certain properties: it starts small, germinates fast, grows tall, takes over, proves hard to kill, and multiplies itself. That is the kind of faith Jesus is after.

Matthew 17 shows the rub. The disciples hit a wall with a demon they could not cast out. Jesus calls out little faith, then says that faith as a mustard seed moves mountains, and he tags on the need for prayer and fasting. The point lands here: when the pressure rises, doubt, stress, anxiety, and fear eat faith alive. So mountain-moving trust must be trained. Matthew 13 seals the picture. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that becomes a tree and gives shelter. By the same principle, faith is designed to grow, spread, and give covering.

Romans 10:17 makes the on-ramp clear. Faith comes from hearing the words of Christ. Sheep need a Shepherd and a Book. Open the Book. In real life, mustard-seed faith starts small and then dies to stay the same. Like a seed that stops being a seed, trust must die to self so it can take root in God. As it grows, it becomes contagious, dropping seed into other lives. It also takes over, serving as the shield of faith that blocks the fiery darts of anxiety, doubt, and fear. With time, sturdy faith becomes stubbornly alive. “Not today, Satan” fits that tone.

Trials become the gym where God trains perseverance. James says do not expect instant patience. Expect trials that forge it. Hebrews 11 and 12 call for running with endurance while fixing eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. A hard month of vertigo becomes its own parable of small, daily gains. The big takeaway lands simple and sharp: faith grows where attention goes. Set attention on Jesus, and watch trust go from seed to tree.

Key Takeaways

1. Mustard seed faith invades and multiplies Faith does not stay tiny. It behaves like a living force that establishes itself, spreads, and becomes hard to root out. Real trust drops seed into other lives until whole spaces are reshaped by God’s life. [44:40]
2. Doubt, stress, fear erode faith Pressure is not neutral. When doubt and anxiety get the steering wheel, faith shrinks back and the hands fall off the plow. Naming these intruders lets the church lift the shield of faith and stand steady again. [50:05]
3. Scripture hearing grows durable trust God has not left trust to vibes or wishful thinking. The words of Christ are the pipeline that builds sturdy confidence in God’s character. Open the Book, and the roots go down where storms cannot reach. [55:29]
4. Trials build persevering, storm-proof faith The path to patience is not a shortcut but a training plan. God uses hardship to strengthen spiritual muscle until faith can carry weight without buckling. This is why mature trust can say, not today, Satan. [63:51]
5. Fix eyes on Jesus, always Attention is formation. Looking at wind and waves invites sinking, but locking eyes on Jesus reorders the heart and restores footing. Faith grows where attention goes, and Jesus is the target that grows it. [69:37]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[34:31] - Memorial Day and Greater Love
[36:13] - Travel hiccup and series setup
[38:04] - Rethinking mustard seed faith
[43:12] - What mustard seeds actually do
[45:06] - Matthew 17 - the stuck exorcism
[46:34] - Little faith, prayer and fasting
[50:05] - Doubt counteracts faith
[51:21] - Kingdom like a mustard seed
[55:29] - Faith comes by hearing Scripture
[58:50] - Die to self, faith grows big
[61:03] - Shield of faith in the fight
[63:20] - Trials produce perseverance
[66:15] - A simple reading plan
[72:52] - Closing prayer and sendoff

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Matthew 17:20 (ESV)
“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.’”

Matthew 13:31-32 (ESV)
“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.’”

Romans 10:17 (ESV)
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Observation Questions

According to Matthew 13:31-32, what specific qualities does Jesus highlight about the mustard seed’s growth? How does the sermon connect these qualities to faith? [44:40]
In Matthew 17:20, Jesus links “mustard seed faith” to moving mountains. What practical example from the sermon illustrates a situation where faith was tested and doubt crept in? [50:05]
Romans 10:17 says faith comes from “hearing the word of Christ.” What analogy in the sermon explains why Scripture is essential for growing faith? [55:29]

Interpretation Questions

Why might Jesus compare faith to a mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32) instead of a larger plant? How does this contrast with the common misunderstanding of “small faith”?
The sermon mentions that trials are like a “gym” where God trains perseverance. How does James 1:2-4 support this idea, and why is patience not developed instantly? [01:03:51]
In Matthew 17:21, Jesus adds that prayer and fasting are necessary to overcome certain challenges. How might these practices strengthen faith in moments of doubt or fear?

Application Questions

Doubt, stress, and fear are described as “intruders” that shrink faith. What specific area of your life currently feels pressured by these forces? What practical step could you take this week to “lift the shield of faith” against them? [50:05]
The sermon compares faith growth to incremental daily progress, like recovering from vertigo. What “small, daily habit” (e.g., Scripture reading, prayer) could you prioritize to nurture your faith? [01:06:15]
Faith is meant to be contagious. Who in your life might be watching your response to trials? How could you intentionally model reliance on God’s character this week?
The phrase “faith grows where attention goes” challenges us to fix our eyes on Jesus. What distractions or “storms” tend to pull your focus away? What tangible reminder (e.g., a verse, song, or practice) could help you refocus? [01:09:37]
The sermon warns against praying for patience without expecting trials. How might reframing your perspective on hardships help you see them as opportunities to grow “storm-proof faith”?

Sermon Clips

39s

#LetGoLetGod

“The seed must die in order for the plant to grow. It has to stop being a seed. The minute a root stops coming out of it, we stop referring to it as a seed. We start calling a plant, but it is transformed. It is changed. The seed must die to grow. And you and I, we must die to ourselves. We must let go and let God. We can't stay the same. It's uncomfortable. It's messy. It's weird. It's painful. But it's growth.”

44s

#UnstoppableFaith

“Last thing is this, it's impossible to kill. I love strong faith. Not today, Satan. I've got faith. When you develop that mountain moving faith, it becomes impossible to extinguish. It becomes impossible to kill. Nothing overrides it. You might be in the storm, but the storm breaks over you. I love that. There's a I don't know exactly how it goes, but I read it from time to time, different variations where where Satan says, the storm is coming. And the response is, I am the storm.”

43s

#FaithTakesOver

“Our faith is for us and our relationship with God. It comes through trials and tribulations, but it's designed to be contagious so that other people can look at us and be amazed at what God is doing. Here's the third thing. It takes over. I love this. Our faith takes over. It becomes impervious to other things. Doubt? No problem. Ah, the situation comes up. Oh, doubt throws a narrow at you and, bing, bounces off. Faith. You ever wonder why when we talk about the spiritual armor, it's the shield that gets the faith? It's the shield of faith.”

32s

#TinyFaithBigImpact

“Then the disciples came to Jesus in private. I love that part. They tried. They failed. Jesus did it. They're like, just wait. We'll talk to him later. We don't wanna embarrass ourselves in front of everybody else. Alright? So in private, they went to Jesus, and they asked, why couldn't we drive it out? He replied, because you have so little faith. Truly, I tell you, if you have the faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move.”

35s

#FaithNotFormula

“And they they what happened? We did all the things that we knew what to do. We did the the the Jesus thing. We prayed. We we laid the hands on. We did the oil thing. All all the things that Jesus and it didn't work. It failed. We failed. I came back to Jesus in private and said, why didn't it work? Why why did it fail? Did did we use it all up? Do we need to get more? Do you have to pour in? Why what's we don't understand. Jesus said, no. That's not the problem. The problem was your faith.”

36s

#WeAreSheep

“But we get this idea that sheep are cute and cuddly little things, and they're not. They're stinky. They're oily. They're dirty. They're messy. They're belligerent. They're dumb. They're ignorant. We are sheep. Get over it. Thank God we have a shepherd. Because without him, I'd be eating weeds and I'd just I'd just be all over. I'd be dumb. I'd I'd be like the I'd be the one that he had to go after. You guys are smart. You stayed in the paddock. I'm like, what's over here? You know? Jesus, we've coming after me all the time.”

34s

#MustardPlantTakeover

“It took over the land. Wherever you planted the mustard seed, it would grow. A a nine foot stalk would shoot up. It would drop more mustard seeds. Those would grow. It would take over. It had this takeover property. It was an amazing plant. It was hard to kill. If you decided back then that you wanted to be a mustard farmer, I'm not sure that's what they called it. Okay? You don't really harvest. I don't know. I don't know what they called it, but if you were a guy who did mustard, alright, and you decided to change crops, forget it.”

27s

#SpeakAndItIsDone

“And when Jesus said, I'll go, he said, no. You don't have to go. I know that all you have to do is say it, and it will be done. Speak the word, Jesus, and my son is healed. And Jesus was in awe. He said, nowhere in all of Jerusalem, nowhere in all of the the land have I seen a man with such major faith. To the Jews listening, that must have been a slap in the face.”

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May 24th, 2026 - Rock and Hard Place: Part 4 (10:30 AM)

Devotional

Day 1: When Faith Takes Root Like a Mustard Seed

Day 2: Trials as Fertilizer for Mountain-Moving Faith

Day 3: Contagious Faith That Seeds New Growth

Day 4: Eyes on the Author, Not the Storm

Day 5: Faith Feeds on the Word, Not Worry

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

May 24th, 2026 - Rock and Hard Place: Part 4 (10:30 AM)

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