Extraordinary Faith

Luke 17:5, 6

“And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.”

Introduction: How many of us would like to “Increase Our Faith”? Do you need “increased faith”? Perhaps we all do! Extraordinary Faith is available for ordinary believers….who believe BIG! “Faith” in Jesus does not mean everything always turns out the way we want it to. Rather, “Faith” in Jesus means we trust Him no matter what (see Heb 11:1-6). Like the New Testament disciples, we must learn to depend on His Word regardless of the circumstances. Luke, the historian and physician, recommends (3) remedies for EXTRAORDINARY FAITH!

1. Why do we need EXTRAORDINARY FAITH? (Luke 17:5)
“And the apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith.”

• Because of our problems {What’s yours?}
• Because of God’s promises {Do you know them?}

2. When can we expect EXTRAORDINARY FAITH? (Luke 17:6)
“And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.” {Sycamine tree is sometimes translated mulberry}

• Faith in the Old Testament demonstrated
* Abel
* Enoch
* Noah
* Abraham
* Jacob
* Moses
* Joshua
* Gideon
* Deborah
* Ruth
* Jeremiah
* Elijah
* Elisha

• Faith in the New Testament illustrated
* Centurion (Matt 7)
* Syrophoenician woman (Matt 15)
* Sinful woman (Luke 7)
* Lydia
* Barnabas

3. How can we have EXTRAORDINARY FAITH? (Luke 17:6)
“If ye…have faith as a grain of mustard seed.”

• Look back to God’s Provisions
• Look forward to God’s Vision

Conclusion: Simply put, the way to have EXTRAORDINARY FAITH is to remember to LOOK “BACK” in CELEBRATION to what Jesus has done; LOOK “IN” to see the TRANSFORMATION in your life what the Holy Spirit is doing; and LOOK “OUT” with EXPECTATION to what our Lord is going to do as we trust Him! Faith impresses Jesus… after all… He is the author and finisher of our faith.

Love y’all,
Dr. Randy Reese