جارٍ تحميل الأرشيف الحي.
The Well Church | April 14, 2024
واصِل الاستكشاف
مرتبطة بالمقطع الكتابي أو بموضوعات مشتركة.
لم تُترجم هذه الصفحة بالكامل بعد. يظهر بعض النص أدناه أو كله بلغة English، وهي لغته الأصلية.
Jesus walked the Earth questioning people about their faith. In Matthew 8:23-27, we find a powerful story: Jesus and his disciples got into a boat to cross a lake. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck, with waves breaking into the boat. The disciples panicked and woke Jesus, shouting, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" Jesus responded with a question: "Why are you afraid? You have so little faith."
This passage introduces us to three different kinds of faith: awkward faith (also called no faith or blind faith), little faith, and great faith.
Awkward faith acknowledges that God can do something but doubts whether He will do it. In Matthew 8:1-4, a man with leprosy approached Jesus saying, "Lord, if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean." He believed Jesus could heal—but wasn't sure Jesus would.
Little faith is not about the quantity of faith you have, but the frequency of how often you use it. The Greek word oligo-pistos literally means "having a small quantity of faith"—but it refers to how often you exercise the faith you do possess.
Great faith knows both the place and the power of Jesus Christ. It doesn't require proximity or emotional connection; it operates on the foundation of God's nature and His word.
Jesus told the disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." This wasn't a question or a suggestion—it was a declaration. Whatever Jesus says must happen. After all, the last time He said "let us," He created heaven and earth and everything in it. Yet when the storm arose, the disciples forgot His word. They forgot that the enemy cannot drown someone who is on assignment from God.
Jesus knew where the turbulence was coming from. On the other side of the lake were two demon-possessed men. That's why Jesus had the audacity to put a cushion under His head and sleep—He knew the assignment that awaited them, and He knew nothing could stop them from reaching it.
The disciples asked Jesus in Mark 4:38, "Don't you care if we drown?" What a strange question to ask your Maker! Yet how often do we ask similar questions?
"God, don't you care that I'm in pain? Don't you care that someone is sick? Don't you care that I don't have the job I'm looking for?"
But here's the truth: proximity to Jesus doesn't automatically change our tendency to doubt. Just because you come to church on Sunday doesn't mean you walk away with greater faith. Just because you have an encounter with God doesn't mean your faith naturally progresses. The disciples had been with Jesus for three years, yet they still doubted His love and care.
Jesus said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." While we may feel alone emotionally, we are not alone. Jesus is with us, in us, and He has the audacity to rest while He's solving our problem.
Matthew 4:40-41 records Jesus asking, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" When fear fills you, you cannot be filled with God. Fear becomes an idol, and God does not war with idols greater than Himself.
Faith doesn't eliminate your distractions—it shifts your attention to the appropriate source. When you're full of fear, you can't invite God into your situation. Fear displaces the opportunity for God to step in.
After Jesus calmed the storm, the disciples asked, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" If I were Jesus, I'd be offended. They had heard all the prophecies about Him. They knew He was the Son of God and that He was present in the beginning. Yet they asked, "Who am I?"
They forgot what the Psalms declared:
"He stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations." (Psalm 65:7) "He calmed the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed." (Psalm 107:29)
God's nature doesn't change with the wind. His essence, His core—what you get from Jesus yesterday is what you get from Jesus today and what you will get tomorrow. He is the I AM. He is the Rock of Ages. He is the shelter in the wind. He is the still, small voice.
When suddenly comes—when things shift and don't make sense—we choose to limit God's ability. We take His place and think for Him and for ourselves. We become the "little g" in our own lives, and God does not compete with idols.
In Matthew 8:5-9, a Roman officer came to Jesus pleading for his servant's healing. But notice—this officer didn't ask Jesus to come to his home. He said:
"Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say 'go' and they go, or 'come' and they come."
The disciples had been with Jesus for three years, but this man encountered Jesus and immediately grasped something the disciples had yet to understand: the absolute authority of Jesus Christ. He didn't need Jesus to be close. He didn't need emotional connection. All he needed was for Jesus to be who He is.
This officer understood authority. He understood what it means to walk in authority and to command. Jesus was amazed and said, "I tell you the truth, I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel."
Romans 10:17 says, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ."
The Roman officer had heard about Jesus. What he heard became a revelation in his spirit. Great faith is absolute faith in the word of God. Great faith recognizes the authority that is revealed in reaction to God's word.
I cannot see if you have great faith until I see how you react in a situation. It's not obvious until what you believe comes out of your mouth. What you have heard should influence what you say. But if what you're hearing doesn't influence what you're saying, you're still operating in little faith or awkward faith.
In Matthew 11:22-24, Jesus taught:
"Whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours."
Jesus emphasizes this in different translations: He said "say" three times and "believe" one time. Jesus is saying all you need to do is stand in faith and believe God's word, but concentrate your efforts on what you're saying.
We spend so much time saying, "I believe, I believe, I believe," but God is saying, "Turn around and speak." When Jesus awoke in the boat, He simply turned around and addressed the storm. He didn't have a long conversation with God about it—He spoke.
In Genesis, God saw a vast wasteland and said, "Let there be light." He believed and then spoke. Fourteen times God spoke creation into being. How many times are you speaking? How many times are you using the word of God to transform what's happening around you?
You may say, "I believe," but I can't see your belief. What I can see is what you say. What do you say when people see you? What do you say to yourself when nobody's listening? Those conversations count.
James 1:6-8 warns us:
"When you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalties is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord."
A double-minded person is unstable in all their ways. Jesus is asking: Do you want the storm to stop or not?
God has given you everything that pertains to life and godliness. He lives inside you. He created you in His image. The word of God is on the inside of you. Now get busy speaking it.
The Bible says the world was formed by the words of God's mouth. Isaiah 55:11 declares:
"So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty."
When you get a revelation from scripture about your situation and you begin to speak that scripture, God must act. It's His word. It's not about your emotions. It's not about what you think you're supposed to do. It's not about someone else's revelation about their situation. It's your revelation about what's happening in your life that gives you the ability to speak.
The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. When you speak the word, you generate power and authority. The spirit realm must now obey you.
Jesus told the Centurion, "Go your way. As you have believed, so let it be done." The servant was healed in that very hour. The Centurion didn't wait for manifestation in the natural—he obeyed in faith.
Jesus created the Earth from what wasn't. Everything the spiritual realm possesses already existed in the supernatural before it manifested in the natural. We need to stop standing still, looking at what we don't have and paying attention to our difficult situations. We need to begin moving. We need to begin applying what we know.
Sometimes in Christianity we know too much of the Bible intellectually—it's storytelling rather than activation. God is calling us to activate the word and release things on our behalf.
You are just one hour away from your breakthrough. You are just a moment away. You are just a season away. The question is: What word of God have you heard that you're now practicing?
If you haven't memorized the specific scripture yet, that's fine. Write the promises of God on an index card. When difficult situations arise, confess:
"I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. My body is healed. I have strength."
This is where God begins to pay attention. Before, you were speaking gibberish—emotions and fear. But now that you're speaking God's word, He recognizes what you're saying. The word of God is Christ, and it became flesh and dwells inside you.
Talk more about the goodness of God. You don't get your breakthrough and healing through worship alone or fasting alone. Worship makes you sensitive. Fasting makes you sensitive to the spirit realm. But results come through the word of God.
John 1:3 says the word gave life to everything that was created. That same word—the thing we read in Scripture—existed in Genesis, manifested in the New Testament, and is now what we use to transform our lives. There should be no sickness among us because Jesus resides inside us.
Invest time in the word of God. Give God's word time to take root inside you so you can speak from a place of revelation, not emotion. Don't let your storms distract you. Yes, you're in this world and storms will come. But just as suddenly as they arise is as suddenly as God can silence them.
Storms are coming. Use the word of God. Speak it. Believe it. Act on it. That's how you move from little faith to great faith.
