This past Sunday, Pastor David continued in Matthew 17:16-20. Here, the disciples are given the opportunity to perform a miracle while Jesus is away praying and the disciples come up short, finding themselves unable to heal this father's epileptic child. Last week we talked through the idea of works without faith and how worthless they are in such a state as the disciples were. This week, jumping off from that topic, Pastor David preached over what kind of faith it is that is described in verse 20 as "faith like a grain of mustard seed" which can allow you to say to a mountain "'move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."
In our sermon reflection Sunday night, we were given the question from Pastor David's sermon: What kind of faith is it that moves a mountain? As we discussed this, we found links to some other very interesting passages in the Bible. For instance, after agreeing that (in this context) doing the impossible (like moving a mountain) is solely within the realm of believers, we wondered whether the father of the young child believed. In looking at the parallel passage to this one in Mark 9, we found the father exclaiming "I believe, help my unbelief!" The father seems to have a genuine faith which is still working itself out within him. This idea of deliverance through genuine faith is echoed in the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3:17-18. These three faithful servants of God boldly proclaim that God will save them from the fiery furnace but that whether they are saved or not, God is still God and he can do as He wills. This connection really blew my mind, especially in the context of Pastor David's sermon. He explained that when Jesus said "nothing will be impossible," he meant that nothing which serves your created purpose will be impossible. That created purpose is to do God's will and glorify Him. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a genuine faith that God's will would be done regardless of whether they were saved from a fiery death or not. That is the faith that moves mountains.
When talking more about the impossible via Romans 8:28-29, we recognized that, honestly, all things are impossible for us as fallen humans, especially our salvation. Though we are saved initially from death through belief in Christ, we are going through progressive salvation in that we are daily being saved from our sinful nature by being molded into the image of Christ. So how is it that we are being conformed into the image of Christ when we are in circumstances from which we are not being saved? How is that sanctifying? Well, just as Christ cried tears of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane for God to take his cup from him if it be God's will and God did not, we must see that in our circumstances, God's will is still working and that His glory is still supreme over all our plans. When we look at it this way, we see that God is saving us and gaining glory for His name IN our circumstances, whether it be through deliverance or enduring through our hardships. Also, we see that Jesus' example, as always, shines through as a wonderful example for what we are to do in our own lives. We are to be about the same business as Jesus was, namely, God's will and His glory. That begs this question: Do I have genuine faith in the sovereign will of God? Am I allowing myself to be molded into the image of Christ daily through radical submission to God's will? Am I praising God daily through every situation, good or bad? Or even more challenging, am I relying upon God and His will through every situation, big and important AND mundane and small?
--Sermon Reflection Small Group (Sun pm @ Peron's)
