Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations: Praying Against the Wicked

Faith, Little Faith, Great Faith

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2024-04-27

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver explores the biblical distinctions between faith, little faith, and great faith, emphasizing that all saving faith is a gift from God. Using scriptural examples, he shows that little faith is self-focused, concerned with personal needs and safety, while great faith is humble, others-focused, and recognizes God's sovereignty. He concludes with practical ways to increase faith: prayer, study of Scripture, and exercising the faith God has given.

[John Weaver] Matthew 6 in verse 30 and we're going to be looking at a number of scriptures. So keep your fingers flexible The title of the message is faith little faith and a great faith Actually several weeks ago. I was asked a question By a dear friend of mine out in Colorado. I answered the question for him and I got to thinking later on there may be other people that have the same question and so I took the answer to his question and really Developed it into this message. So if you look at Matthew 6 in verse 30 Our Lord says wherefore if God so clothed the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Faith is indeed the gift of God. You may not have faith apart from God's gift. There is a vast difference between a humanistic faith and a saving faith. To say that another way, There's a vast difference between a natural or fleshly faith and a divine faith.

[John Weaver] Now, I may believe that a chair will hold me up, and I may gently ease myself down in that chair, and yes, the chair holds me up, but that is not saving faith. I also may believe that things are going to work out for my good, based on some presupposition, but that is not necessarily saving faith. I also may work myself up into a frenzy trying to make myself believe, and yet that is not saving faith. The Bible speaks of faith, a little faith, and a great faith. And the Bible says in Acts chapter 7 that Stephen was a man that was full of faith. So the truth of the matter is, Whatever amount of faith that one has is indeed the gift of God, if it is a real, genuine saving faith. Now, probably everyone in this room can quote Ephesians 289, where the Bible says, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. And then he goes on to say, for we are his work, which Created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has foreordained that we should walk therein So it's impossible then to please God Or even obey God without faith The Bible says in Hebrews 11 in verse 6, but without faith it

[John Weaver] is impossible to please him for he that cometh to God must first believe that he is and secondly that he is a rewarder of those that diligence and diligently seek him. So if you do not believe that God is, and if you do not believe that God hears and answers prayer, you're never going to seek him in the beginning. So let me just say that faith then is foundational. Faith is absolutely mandatory, and it is an absolute necessity to please God.

[John Weaver] Now, obviously, there are degrees of faith since our Lord Jesus mentions little faith and later on he mentions a great faith. So if there's a little faith and there's a great faith there's got to be some degrees in between. Moreover if you will remember the parable of the sower which you'll find in Matthew 13 Mark 4 and Luke 8. The Bible talks about some who brought forth fruit some a hundredfold some sixtyfold and some thirtyfold. So obviously someone either had more faith, or at least they exercise the faith that they had more than others to produce more fruit. So if you say they just exercise the faith they had, then it would still be a greater faith because it was exercised and strengthened Now, I believe there's another passage that shows you that there are degrees of faith. If you look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Luke, chapter 17, Luke, chapter 17, and look at verse five. And I want you to see this verse just momentarily because of its context.

[John Weaver] So in Luke, chapter 17, in verse five. The apostles said this, And the apostles said unto the Lord, increase our faith. Now, clearly, if faith can be increased, there are degrees in faith. And certainly we would want that for sure. But I want you to see the context in which this request came. If you look back in verse three, our Lord says to his disciples, take heed to yourselves If I, brother, trespass against thee, rebuke him.

[John Weaver] And if you repent, forgive him. If he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him. And the apostles said to the Lord, increase our faith. In other words, they understood But it was going to require a greater faith that they possessed at that particular time to deal with what you and I would call interpersonal relationships between the brethren. When someone hurts us, when someone criticizes us, when people say things that we don't like, we tend not to forgive them. We tend not to rebuke them.

[John Weaver] Our tendency is either to ignore them or just simply cut them off totally and completely. But our Lord said, no, if your brother sins against you, you rebuke him. And if he repents, you're to forgive him. And if that happens seven times in a day, that's exactly what you should do. And so therefore, the apostle said, increase our faith. In other words, it's going to take more than we have to be obedient and to deal with the situation the way our Lord is demanding. Now let me emphasize something, and I'll probably try to do this several times during this message, and that is simply this, that faith is faith. While we may discuss the differences between a little faith and a great faith, At the same time, faith is still faith. It does not matter from one sense of the word if it's a little faith or if it's a great faith, it is still a saving faith. If it is in the Lord Jesus Christ, if it's been given to you, it is still a saving faith, whether it is great or small.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew, chapter 17, Light of this and then I'm going to give you two quotes But look in Matthew chapter 17 and let's be in reading there with verse 19 Matthew 17 look in verse 19 Matthew 17 verse 19 then came to the disciples to Jesus apart and said why could we not cast him out now? We're talking about a demon they were attempting to cast out and they could not Look at verse 20, Jesus said to them, because of your unbelief, for verily I say unto you, if you have faith as a grain of a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, remove hence the under place. It shall remove and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

[John Weaver] Now, the whole point of our Lord's answer is to demonstrate the power of a small or little faith. The grain of a mustard seed is extremely small. When Alice and I were teenagers, it was a common thing to see a young girl with a necklace on and a little clear round globe and right in the middle, a very tiny little mustard seed. That was it. And so our Lord said, if you have faith as the grain of a mustard seed, which is the smallest of many, many seeds.

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you two quick quotes. The first one is from Matthew Poole. It's a little longer, but he's explaining our Lord's answer. And then the second one is from John Gill. And he also is explaining. But here is our first quote. He says the reason signed here by our Lord, by his disciples, could not cast out this demon was their unbelief, not their total want but the weakness of their faith. Christ here again lets us see the power of faith and the mischief of unbelief.

[John Weaver] I take the plain sense of this text to be this, that there is nothing which may tend to the glory of God or to our good that may not be obtained of God by firm exercise of faith in him. Whether our Savior speaketh of a faith of miracles or no, I will not determine. I rather think that he speaks here of any true faith. We must have the power and the promise of God for its object. The promise of working miracles by a divine power committed to them was a particular promise made to the disciples.

[John Weaver] And then he gives you Matthew 10 verses 1 through 42. And so was the only object of their faith. But I take our Savior's words to extend to a further latitude, though as to a miraculous operations, it was applicable only to them. That is the original ones. There is nothing without God, there is nothing which God has promised to give or bestow on any, but faith will obtain it from him if attended by fervent prayer to which fasting is subservient as preparing us to it. There are some things which are obtained by a stronger faith and more fervent and importunate prayers than others. A mercy sometimes seems to us to come out of the hand of God with more difficulty and wrestling for it. But there is nothing within the latitude of a promise but is to be done and obtained by vigorous exercise of faith and by fervent, importunate prayer. The apostles had yet but a weak and imperfect faith. And they had not used such fervent and importunate prayer in this case as they ought to have done, and hence did this work appear so difficult to them.

[John Weaver] Now, here's a shorter one, and yet I think the same explanation. John Gill. You shall say to this mountain, perhaps pointing to the one they just came down from, or which might be inside of the house where he was, Remove hence to yonder place that it shall remove, meaning not that it would be ordinarily or ever done in a literal sense by the apostles, that they should remove mountains, but they should be able to do things equally difficult and as seemingly impossible if they had but faith, when the glory of God and the good of men required it. So I believe scripture supports Gil's view and also the view of the former one in understanding that it's through faith that even small and insignificant as it may be, great and seemingly impossible things can be accomplished. So I want you to turn very quickly to the book of Hebrews chapter 11, which everybody knows is the great chapter on faith. But I want you to look particularly Verses 32 through 38 and look at some of the things that were done by faith Now look what he said Hebrews 11 verse 32 And what shall I more say?

[John Weaver] For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Iraq and of Samson and of Jephthah of David also and Samuel and of the prophets Who through faith look what they did through faith? subdued kingdoms wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the age of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to fight the armies of the aliens. Look at this now.

[John Weaver] Women received their dead raised to life again, and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. And others had a trial of cruel mockings and scourging, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sewn asunder, were tempted, were slain with a sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and in mountains and in dens and in caves of the earth." Now, here's the point.

[John Weaver] It was faith that allowed them to accomplish everything that they accomplished. Moreover, it was faith that allowed them to endure the suffering and the persecution.

[John Weaver] Now, I understand this, that a small faith is just as much faith as a great faith. It's still faith. There may be degrees, but it is still faith.

[John Weaver] Now let me try to give you an illustration. And I'm going to try to give you this illustration of who I'm going to call a small faith, a great faith. It's not the perfect illustration. But yet at the same time, I think it'll show you the difference. Let's suppose that there's a city where everyone has cancer. There are some that have had cancer for years. And their bodies are very, very weak. They can hardly move.

[John Weaver] They've got one foot in the grave. And here are some that just discovered that they had the cancer. And while they have cancer, they're still full of vim and vigor, so to speak.

[John Weaver] Now, let's suppose that there was a machine that was invented in this technological age, which could cure cancer. And the only thing you had to do was to touch that machine, just touch it. So here's a man that's had cancer for several years, and he hears about machine, and it's not too far away. And he begins walking. Then he walks as far as he can until he stumbles and falls. And then he crawls, crawls on his hands and knees until he could reach that machine. He was almost out, but he got just in time and was barely able to touch it with the tip of his finger. And he was healed. On the other hand, here's a younger man who just discovered that he had cancer. And he heard about this machine. And so he ran to that machine as fast as he could run. And when he saw that machine, he dive straight to it. And he hit that machine so hard and grabbed it. He knocked it over. But he was healed. So here's my question.

[John Weaver] Which one was healed? What's the answer? Both. The requirement to be healed was touching the machine. It was not the degree that you touched it. So it's the same thing when we're talking about saving faith. Faith touches and receives the person and work of Jesus Christ. However small it is, If it touches and receives the person and work of Jesus Christ, it is not only a divine faith, it is also a saving faith.

[John Weaver] Now in that, I want you to see this. Look back in your Bibles to Matthew chapter nine, Matthew chapter nine. And let's begin reading there with verse 18. Look at this. Matthew chapter nine and verse 18. I'm sure that you know this story. Matthew 9 verse 18 While he spake these things unto them behold there came a certain ruler and worshiped him saying my daughter is even now dead but come and lay thy hand upon her and she shall live and Jesus arose and followed him so did his disciples and Behold a woman which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years came behind him and touched the hem of his garment For she said within herself, if I may but touch his garment, I shall behold. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Woman or daughter, be of good comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. What did she say? If I may just touch the hem of his garment.

[John Weaver] So a little faith or a small faith that touches the Lord Jesus Christ and receives his person at work is just as saved as the one who was knocked down on the road of Damascus and struck blind, who eventually became the mighty Apostle Paul. So the truth of the matter is, faith is faith in one sense of the word. I'm going to share with you, I hope, the difference between a little faith and a great faith. But we must understand, again, that faith is faith.

[John Weaver] Here's an interesting thing as I have prepared this message. Did you know that a little faith is spoken of more frequently in the Bible than a great faith? Hmm. And here's another interesting thing. Surprisingly, three out of the five times when a little faith is mentioned, it is in relationship to the 12 apostles. Wow.

[John Weaver] Now, what I'd like to do is this. Very quickly, I want to read for you the scriptures where the phrase little faith occurs. And I want you to just listen because We're going to come back to these passages. The first one is Matthew chapter 6 in verse 30, where the scripture says, wherefore God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Then in Matthew 8 in verse 26, and he said to them, why are you fearful, O you little faith?

[John Weaver] Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. Then Matthew 14 in verse 31. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him, O thou little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Then in Matthew chapter 16 in verse eight, which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O you little faith, why reason you among yourselves? Because you brought no bread. And then the last one is found in Luke 12 in verse 28. Again, it's comparable to Matthew six.

[John Weaver] If then God so clothed the grass, which today is which day is in the field and tomorrow's cast in the oven. How much more will he clothe you? Oh, you little faith.

[John Weaver] Now, all these passages, every time you see the two words, little faith, it is based upon one Greek word. aliaptismos, or pistos. It is made up of two Greek words, oligos, which means small or little, and pistos, which means faith. So the word actually means a little faith or a small faith, or one that is believing or trusting too little.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to combine Matthew 6 and Luke 12 because they are teaching basically the same thing. They're both the Sermon on the Mount. So when you look in Matthew five, six and seven, you have the Sermon on the Mount. And when you look in Luke chapter 12 and you have the Sermon on the Mount as well. Now, in this passage. Our Lord was speaking to his twelve, but other disciples as well. For instance, the Bible tells you In Matthew chapter six, well, let's see, he goes on to say this, and seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and when he was set, his disciples come unto him. And then, of course, in Luke chapter 12, in verse one, it says like this, in the meantime, when they were gathered together, an innumerable people, multitude of people, insomuch that they trod one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples, First of all, beware you of the 11 of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. So the truth is, our Lord was there.

[John Weaver] Matthew five verse one is where that is. And then Luke chapter 12 and verse one as well. So I want you to look, if you would, in Matthew chapter six, Matthew chapter six. And I want you to look at the context. And let's begin reading there with verse 30. And then we'll look in Luke 12 in verse 28. Look at Matthew 6 in verse 30. He says, Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast in the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

[John Weaver] Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles or the unsaved seek. For your Heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. But seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for tomorrow, for tomorrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

[John Weaver] Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Now, if you will look in your Bibles very quickly to Luke chapter 12, and just look at verse 28, Luke 12 verse 28, just so you can see the context, Luke 12 verse 28. Again, he says, if in God so clothed the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is cast in the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you little faith?

[John Weaver] And then he goes on saying, seek not ye what you shall eat or what you shall drink, and neither be you of a doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after that is the Gentiles and your father knoweth that you have needed these things but rather Seek ye the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you now I Want you to note that in both of these passages when he's talking to these people about having a little faith a little faith is concerned with your own life and with your own necessities. Both of them. He's saying, don't be going around saying, what are we going to eat?

[John Weaver] Where is it coming from? How are we going to get it? How will we pay for it? What are we going to wear? Where will we get our clothes? Where will we get the money to pay for our clothes or the ability to make our own clothes? What is it? From whence will it come? Will it come in time? I mean, our Lord answers all of these questions by pointing to the grass of the field. And he says. Don't be concerned.

[John Weaver] And then he points at the lilies later on and said, consider the lilies. He said Solomon and all his glory was not clothed as one of these? No. He said, I am going to take care of you. I know that you have these needs. I know that. And then he went on to say this, here's what you must do. Don't be concerned about these everyday necessities. But rather seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. Here's the point that he's making.

[John Weaver] I want you to listen carefully. He is saying he is to be first. And our needs are to be second. A little faith. Puts oneself first and God second. Everyone knows the Lord's Prayer, sometimes called the disciples prayer, the model prayer. But it goes like this, our father, Lord in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.

[John Weaver] And what's the next one? Give us this day our daily bread. In other words, God's glory and God's honor and God's kingdom comes first. Our needs, our necessities come second.

[John Weaver] Now, a little faith seemingly does not go beyond ourselves. We're just tied up with our stuff. We're concerned with ourselves and the necessities of our life. More so than we're concerned with God's honor, God's glory, and God's kingdom. So let me show you another one. Look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 8, Matthew 8 and verse 23.

[John Weaver] Now, here we have the 12 apostles again. Look at this. And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And behold, there was a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves, but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us. We perish. And he said unto them, Why are you so fearful? Oh, you little faith. Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him? Wow. Wow. Isn't that amazing? In Matthew 6 and Luke 12, little faith was concerned with the necessities of life in this passage a little faith is concerned with safety and the preservation of our lives now the scripture tells us that our times are in his hands that he holds our souls in life fear And fretting displays a lack of trust and a lack of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Our Lord does not need to be physically present to protect us and preserve us. In this instance, he was asleep in another part of the ship. The ship, it seemingly was about to be swamped. And they ran to him and said, Lord, carest thou not that we perish? And he accused them rightly of having a very little faith.

[John Weaver] Now, let me point something out. Our Lord is not telling us to be stupid. He is not telling us to tempt the Lord. I believe in doing everything I can to keep myself safe. If we have a thunderstorm and lightning is hitting everywhere, I'm not going to stand out in the rain and just tempt the Lord to hit me. No, I may be in my house trying to stay dry and trying to stay away from the lightning.

[John Weaver] But I understand that my times are in his hands. And he is the one who can protect me. The same thing with a hurricane. Same thing with a tornado. There's no reason to get bent out of shape. Yes, you must do what you need to do to be safe, which is our responsibility. But at the same time, it is God who must absolutely protect us. So we need to understand this one little principle.

[John Weaver] That is, we are immortal. Until God is through with us. Nothing's gonna happen to us God is not only appointed the day of our birth. He's also appointed the day of our death and So far little faith is concerned What we eat what we drink and how we can stay safe now. I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 14 and Look if you would please At verse 31, you know the story Our Lord was walking on the water, and his disciples, his 12, supposed it to be a ghost. And our Lord said, being unafraid, it is I. And then Peter said, Lord, if it is thee, bid me come unto thee. And of course, Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water. So look, if you would, let's begin reading with verse 29. Peter asked for permission to come. Verse 29, he said, come. And when Peter came down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

[John Weaver] But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid. Hmm. And beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said to him, Oh, thou little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Hmm. I want you to note this very carefully. The living faith, although it may be a saving faith, is also a doubting faith. So here's what Peter did. He actually walked on water until he saw the wind boisterous and the waves.

[John Weaver] Well, surely he had seen those things before. because they were in a storm and he had been through storms before but the point is this he ceased focusing upon the Lord Jesus Christ and focused on the circumstances and the situation a little faith sidelines Jesus Christ, puts him over here while we look intently at the circumstances and at the situation. I want you to know that Peter was indeed saved, that is for sure. But our Lord said, wherefore didst thou doubt, O ye of little faith? So, interestingly, a lot of these passages deal with the little faith applied directly to the 12 apostles, whom we hold up as giants in the faith. Wow. Well, look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 16, because here's the last occurrence of a little faith. And I want to take the time to read the first 12 verses. And then we're going to go to another passage that will Hopefully tie things together for you now watch this Matthew chapter 16 And verse 1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven And he answered and said of them when this

[John Weaver] evening you say it will be fair weather For the skies red in the morning. It will be foul weather today for the skies red and lowering Oh you hypocrites You can discern the face of the sky, but can you not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seek that for a sign, and there shall no sign be given under it but the sign of the prophet Jonas.

[John Weaver] And he left them and departed. And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Jesus said to them, take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Are they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said to them, O ye of little faith, why reason you among yourselves because you brought no bread?

[John Weaver] Do you not yet understand? What's this? Neither remember the five loaves or the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? neither the seven loaves or the 4,000 and how many baskets you took up? How is it then that you do not understand that I spake it not unto you concerning bread, but that you should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he made them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Now, it's interesting.

[John Weaver] Our Lord, again, said to them, oh, ye of little faith. Wow.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Mark, chapter eight. I want you to see this because here's the same scenario. Mark, chapter eight. And we're not going to read the entire section again because it's the same story. But skip down, if you would, please, the verse. Note 16, we'll start there. And they reasoned among themselves saying, it is because we have no bread. And when Jesus knew it, he said to them, why reason you because you have no bread? Perceive you not yet? Neither understand? Have you your heart yet hardened? Having eyes see you not and having ears hear you not?

[John Weaver] And do you not remember? When I break the five loaves among the 5,000, how many baskets full of fragments took you up? They sent him 12. And with the seven among 4,000, how many baskets full of fragments took you up? And they said seven. And he said unto them, how is it that you do not understand? Wow. What Mark and Matthew do is tell us and give us the reason for their smallness faith that is number one they did not remember number two they reasoned unscripturally or unbiblically Which meant, therefore, they did not understand, they did not comprehend the real spiritual impact and the truth that our Lord was giving,

[John Weaver] and consequently, they were making the wrong application. You cannot make a right application of Scripture unless you understand the Scripture. And you're not going to understand the Scripture unless you remember the Scripture. Wow! Think about this. According to these two passages, our Lord, number one, expects us to remember. The Bible says, take heed lest you forget. He expects us to remember. He expects us to study. He expects us to understand. He expects us to comprehend. And He expects us to make a proper application.

[John Weaver] And if we do not, we will continue to be those who have a little or small faith. So, when you notice this, the small faith is always associated with oneself. Our necessities, our food, our realm, our safety, our preservation. We think humanistically in the sense that The apostle said it's because we brought no bread Our Lord said not I'm not talking about physical bread. That's no problem to me He said you need to understand you need to reason biblically now I Want you to turn to Luke chapter 7 I Luke chapter 7, because here is the passage concerning a great faith. Luke chapter 7, and I want to begin reading with verse 1 and read through verse 10. Luke 7, verse 1.

[John Weaver] Now when he had ended all of his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. And a certain centurion servant who was dear unto him was sick and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent of him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him, instantly saying that he was worthy for whom this should be done.

[John Weaver] He should do this for he lived with our nation. He built for us a synagogue. Evidently, he was quite well off. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, The centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself, for I'm not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof. Wherefore, neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee, but say the word and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man of set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say to one, go and he goeth, to another come and he cometh, and to my servant do this and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him and turned him about and said to the people that followed him, I say to you, I have not found so great faith. No, not in Israel. And they that were sent returning to the house found the servant whole that had been sick. Wow.

[John Weaver] Now, there's much to say on this passage, but allow me to give what I'm going to call some noticeable observation. If you will remember now, all of these passages dealt with the little faith, dealt with one's self and the necessities of life. Here is a Roman soldier who is concerned about one of his slaves, and yes, the word servant literally means slave. It's an unusual fact in and of itself When you begin to think of the Roman soldiers they were warriors they were fighters They killed relentlessly and a centurion would be someone would have at least a hundred soldiers under him And the very fact that this man was a soldier and concerned about his slave is unique in and of itself.

[John Weaver] So let me just point this out. The soldier was high up the slave was low down. So here's a good question. Are you concerned about those that are beneath you? Are those that you consider beneath you? Are you concerned about others who are not quite up to par according to your vision? Are you concerned about others who do not have your abilities, your opportunities? Are you concerned about others who criticize you and condemn you?

[John Weaver] Evidently, there was a loving relationship between this Roman centurion and his slaves, clearly he was a probably a very humble man and probably a very moral man as well. So first of all you've got to understand, listen carefully, that a great faith is concerned about others. It's not just concerned about oneself. He was concerned about someone who is exceedingly beneath him militarily, politically, economically, and every way that you can imagine. The man was a slave. Here's the second observation. A great faith is also a humble faith. This man, this Roman centurion, was obviously, clearly, and truly a humble man.

[John Weaver] He did not even think himself worthy to go to the Lord Jesus Christ. Others went, and they said to Jesus Christ that he's worthy. This man loveth our nation, and this man has built us a synagogue. But when Jesus started approaching, he sent more friends and said, Lord, I am not worthy for you to even enter under my roof. I want you to understand that real humility stems from the realization that we are poor and wicked sinners and that God does not owe us anything but justice. And anything that we get from God is grace and mercy. Everything that we are, everything that we have, everything we ever will be, everything that we ever will have is only based upon God's absolute mercy and grace.

[John Weaver] And when you realize you do not deserve any of it. May I point something out? And you may apply it to your life as well. I am thankful for life. I am thankful that God has allowed me to live to be as old as I am. But I do not deserve to live. Neither do you. Because the wages of sin happen to be death. And yes, we are going to die. But look, if you would, at how long God has been gracious and merciful to us. And the soul that is truly humble understands that he deserves nothing and therefore he could be thankful for anything and everything.

[John Weaver] And so this Roman centurion said, Lord, I am not worthy. Here's the third observation. The man with the great faith who recognized divine sovereignty and divine authority. He said, Lord, you don't even need to come under my roof. You don't even need to come to this house. I'm a man said under authority that is I take orders. I have to take orders. There are others over me.

[John Weaver] But he said, I also have men under me. I say to one go and he goes to no one come and he comes. I send my servant he does exactly what I say. And Lord, all you have to do is just speak the word. You don't have to be present. Just speak the word. A great faith not only recognizes God's sovereignty, it recognizes God's sovereign authority. Have you ever considered God's authority?

[John Weaver] I told someone in Bible study on Thursday night You know, you've heard that old expression, God said it, I believe it, and that settles it. No, God said it, and that settles it, whether you believe it or not. Because God is the sole and complete and total authority. He is God. He is sovereign. He has all authority. So a great faith, then, is one who is concerned about others. A great faith happens to be one that is exceedingly humble. And a great faith happens to be one that recognizes God's sovereign authority. In other words, it's a faith that is more concerned with God and his kingdom than ourselves. A great faith is one that can truly, honestly pray and say, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. I will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I want your will. I want your kingdom. I want your honor. I want your glory.

[John Weaver] And Lord, while I'm wanting that, if it please you, give me this day my daily bread and forgive me of my trespasses. God goes first and man goes second. God is to be honored and man is to be humbled. So let me make a couple of applications and I want to ask you this. Since there are degrees in faith, there's a little faith, there's a great faith we know for our Lord said so, so there has to be some in between. How do we increase our faith? How do we increase our faith? Well, the first answer should be obvious, because the apostle said, Lord, increase our faith. We must pray to the Lord that Lord will give us a greater faith, that he would indeed increase it, because faith is his gift. He alone can give a divine faith. The second way is by a serious and honest study of his word. The Bible says in Romans 10 and verse 17, so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So it's not just that we also read the word of God.

[John Weaver] And we study the word of God. We must also hear the word of God expounded, explained and applied. That means if you really want to increase your faith, you have to be faithful to the preaching and the exposition of the Word of God. I tell people I do not know everything. One thing Dr. Bob Jones Sr. used to say, and I certainly agree with it, he would say, you can borrow brains, but you can't borrow character.

[John Weaver] In other words, I may not understand a certain mechanical issue, but Steve does. And so I would ask Steve, what about this? He could explain it to me. If I had the character to carry it through, I could do it. If I didn't have the character, all of this explanation would be falling on deaf ears. You follow that? Here's what I tell people. I do not know everything.

[John Weaver] I will be the first to admit that. I do not know everything about the Bible. And I don't know anyone that does know everything about the Bible. But I've preached it for 59 years. And I know something about the Bible. And I probably know more than you. If I don't know more than you about the Bible, you should be teaching me. You follow me? So what I'm trying to say is this.

[John Weaver] God does not call everybody to be a mechanic. God does not call everybody to be a doctor. God does not call everybody to be a preacher. I can borrow brains, but I cannot borrow character. And I learned a long time ago, you cannot beat a man in his own game. That's all there is to it. And when you understand that God does indeed call men and ordain them to preach his word, there are going to be things that you're going to be learning from the preaching of the word of God that you're not going to learn from your private study. Because surely the Lord God will do nothing except he reveal it to his service the prophets I'm just simply saying You need to hear the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. There's a third way that we increase our faith It's not just that we pray to the Lord. We should pray to the Lord. We should study we should listen we should Understand, not forget and apply. But the third way is we are to use the faith that God has given us.

[John Weaver] Everybody knows what going to the gym is all about. You're going there to exercise your muscles, to strengthen your muscles, to build them up. Well, the Bible tells us that we're to build ourselves up in the most holy faith. How do you build yourself up in the most holy faith? By exercising the faith that you have. that God has given you. The Apostle Paul said in Acts 24 and verse 16, and herein do I exercise myself, listen to this, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man. And then he said in 1 Timothy 4 and verse 7, but refuse profane and old wives' fables and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. The word exercise is the Greek word you not so from which we get our words Gymnastic and gymnasium from literally what he said is gymnastic eyes yourself under Godliness work at it Exercise at it and in it That's why he said in Proverbs chapter 3 beginning with verse 5 trust in the Lord with all thine heart And lean not to thine own understanding in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths Be not wise in thine own eyes listen to this fear the lord and depart from evil and it shall be health to thine able and merit of thy bones Trust in

[John Weaver] the lord with all thine heart lean not to thine own understanding learn Exercise to lean toward the word of god not to your own understanding Exercise ask the Lord to help you to believe and whatever you need to believe and how you need to believe It is all him we can go from a little faith to a great faith and only tell you something I Could be wrong I could be dead wrong But I believe before this year is over We're going to need all the faith that we can get. I really do. It may be faith to suffer. It may be faith to prepare. It may be faith to fight through. But I'm just simply saying we need to be praying, Lord, increase our faith. We need to be studying. We need to be listening. We need to be exercising and strengthening what we have. What did our Lord tell the churches? strengthen what thou hast.

[John Weaver] That's what we must do. I want to say this. Alice and I passed a church building this morning. And they had a sign out front. I just shuddered when I read it. It said, I'm quoting verbatim, I did my best, God did the rest. That is blasphemous. You know what that sign just said? I started it, God finished it. Had I not started, God could not have done a thing. No. No. We must say everything we are, everything we have is of God. Everything we are and everything we have, God gave us.

[John Weaver] And we're to exercise it and use it for his honor and for his glory. He receives the honor and glory, not us. Let's see. I think it's Psalm 115 that begins, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us give glory, but give glory unto thy name. And let's give God the glory. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask you for your grace, your mercy, your goodness and kindness. We thank you for the truth that you've given us and enable us, Lord, to cry unto thee. Lord, increase our faith. Give us a great faith that we may be discerned, not just with ourselves, but with others, that we may be more humble, that we may also, Father, honor Thee and put Thee first and recognize Thy divine sovereignty and authority. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

[John Weaver] So,

Faith, Little Faith, Great Faith

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	5CKnPDmTybE
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations: Praying Against the Wicked
Genre	Sermon
Date	2024-04-27
Dictation Name
Book	Book 137: Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations - Volume 2 — Chapter 37
Source Timed Segments	73

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: Faith as God's Gift

Faith is a divine gift, distinct from humanistic or natural faith. Saving faith is given by God and is necessary to please Him.

Matthew 6 and verse 30, and we're going to be looking at a number of scriptures, so keep your fingers flexible. The title of the message is "Faith, Little Faith, and Great Faith." Actually, several weeks ago I was asked a question by a dear friend of mine out in Colorado. I answered the question for him, and I got to thinking later on there may be other people that have the same question, and so I took the answer to his question and really developed it into this message. So if you look at Matthew 6 and verse 30, our Lord says,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 6:30

"Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?"

Faith is indeed the gift of God. You may not have faith apart from God's gift. There is a vast difference between a humanistic faith and a saving faith. To say that another way, there's a vast difference between a natural or fleshly faith and a divine faith.

Now, I may believe that a chair will hold me up, and I may gently ease myself down in that chair, and yes, the chair holds me up, but that is not saving faith. I also may believe that things are going to work out for my good, based on some presupposition, but that is not necessarily saving faith. I also may work myself up into a frenzy trying to make myself believe, and yet that is not saving faith. The Bible speaks of faith, a little faith, and a great faith. And the Bible says in Acts chapter 7 that Stephen was a man that was full of faith. So the truth of the matter is, whatever amount of faith that one has is indeed the gift of God, if it is a real, genuine saving faith. Now, probably everyone in this room can quote Ephesians 2:8-9, where the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:8-9

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."

And then he goes on to say, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." So it's impossible then to please God or even obey God without faith. The Bible says in Hebrews 11 and verse 6, "But without faith it

is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must first believe that he is, and secondly that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." So if you do not believe that God is, and if you do not believe that God hears and answers prayer, you're never going to seek him in the beginning. So let me just say that faith then is foundational. Faith is absolutely mandatory, and it is an absolute necessity to please God.

Degrees of Faith

Scripture speaks of little faith and great faith, indicating degrees. The apostles' request to increase their faith shows faith can grow.

Now, obviously, there are degrees of faith since our Lord Jesus mentions little faith and later on he mentions a great faith. So if there's a little faith and there's a great faith, there's got to be some degrees in between. Moreover, if you will remember the parable of the sower, which you'll find in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8, the Bible talks about some who brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold. So obviously someone either had more faith, or at least they exercised the faith that they had more than others to produce more fruit. So if you say they just exercised the faith they had, then it would still be a greater faith because it was exercised and strengthened. Now, I believe there's another passage that shows you that there are degrees of faith. If you look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Luke, chapter 17, Luke chapter 17, and look at verse 5. And I want you to see this verse just momentarily because of its context.

So in Luke chapter 17 and verse 5, the apostles said this:

Scripture Reading — Luke 17:5

"And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith."

Now, clearly, if faith can be increased, there are degrees in faith. And certainly we would want that for sure. But I want you to see the context in which this request came. If you look back in verse 3, our Lord says to his disciples, "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." In other words, they understood that it was going to require a greater faith than they possessed at that particular time to deal with what you and I would call interpersonal relationships between the brethren. When someone hurts us, when someone criticizes us, when people say things that we don't like, we tend not to forgive them. We tend not to rebuke them.

Our tendency is either to ignore them or just simply cut them off totally and completely. But our Lord said, no, if your brother sins against you, you rebuke him. And if he repents, you're to forgive him. And if that happens seven times in a day, that's exactly what you should do. And so therefore, the apostles said, "Increase our faith." In other words, it's going to take more than we have to be obedient and to deal with the situation the way our Lord is demanding. Now let me emphasize something, and I'll probably try to do this several times during this message, and that is simply this, that faith is faith. While we may discuss the differences between a little faith and a great faith, at the same time, faith is still faith. It does not matter from one sense of the word if it's a little faith or if it's a great faith, it is still a saving faith. If it is in the Lord Jesus Christ, if it's been given to you, it is still a saving faith, whether it is great or small.

The Power of Small Faith

Even faith as small as a mustard seed can accomplish great things. The disciples' inability to cast out a demon was due to weak faith, not absence of faith.

Now, let me show you. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew, chapter 17, in light of this, and then I'm going to give you two quotes. But look in Matthew chapter 17 and let's begin reading there with verse 19. Matthew 17, look in verse 19.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 17:19-20

"Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?"

Now, we're talking about a demon they were attempting to cast out, and they could not. Look at verse 20:

Scripture Reading — Matthew 17:19-20

"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

Now, the whole point of our Lord's answer is to demonstrate the power of a small or little faith. The grain of a mustard seed is extremely small. When Alice and I were teenagers, it was a common thing to see a young girl with a necklace on and a little clear round globe and right in the middle, a very tiny little mustard seed. That was it. And so our Lord said, if you have faith as the grain of a mustard seed, which is the smallest of many, many seeds.

Now, let me give you two quick quotes. The first one is from Matthew Poole. It's a little longer, but he's explaining our Lord's answer. And then the second one is from John Gill. And he also is explaining. But here is our first quote. He says, "The reason assigned here by our Lord why his disciples could not cast out this demon was their unbelief, not their total want but the weakness of their faith. Christ here again lets us see the power of faith and the mischief of unbelief.

I take the plain sense of this text to be this, that there is nothing which may tend to the glory of God or to our good that may not be obtained of God by firm exercise of faith in him. Whether our Saviour speaketh of a faith of miracles or no, I will not determine. I rather think that he speaks here of any true faith. We must have the power and the promise of God for its object. The promise of working miracles by a divine power committed to them was a particular promise made to the disciples. And then he gives you Matthew 10 verses 1 through 42. And so was the only object of their faith. But I take our Saviour's words to extend to a further latitude, though as to miraculous operations, it was applicable only to them. That is the original ones. There is nothing without God, there is nothing which God has promised to give or bestow on any, but faith will obtain it from him if attended by fervent prayer to which fasting is subservient as preparing us to it. There are some things which are obtained by a stronger faith and more fervent and importunate prayers than others. A mercy sometimes seems to us to come out of the hand of God with more difficulty and wrestling for it. But there is nothing within the latitude of a promise but is to be done and obtained by vigorous exercise of faith and by fervent, importunate prayer. The apostles had yet but a weak and imperfect faith. And they had not used such fervent and importunate prayer in this case as they ought to have done, and hence did this work appear so difficult to them."

Now, here's a shorter one, and yet I think the same explanation. John Gill: "Ye shall say to this mountain, perhaps pointing to the one they just came down from, or which might be inside of the house where he was, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; meaning not that it would be ordinarily or ever done in a literal sense by the apostles, that they should remove mountains, but they should be able to do things equally difficult and as seemingly impossible if they had but faith, when the glory of God and the good of men required it." So I believe scripture supports Gill's view and also the view of the former one in understanding that it's through faith that even small and insignificant as it may be, great and seemingly impossible things can be accomplished. So I want you to turn very quickly to the book of Hebrews chapter 11, which everybody knows is the great chapter on faith. But I want you to look particularly at verses 32 through 38 and look at some of the things that were done by faith. Now look what he said: Hebrews 11 verse 32, "And what shall I more say?

Faith Illustrated: Touching the Machine

An illustration of cancer patients touching a healing machine shows that the degree of touch does not matter; what matters is touching. Similarly, saving faith simply needs to receive Christ.

Now let me try to give you an illustration. And I'm going to try to give you this illustration of what I'm going to call a small faith and a great faith. It's not the perfect illustration, but yet at the same time, I think it'll show you the difference. Let's suppose that there's a city where everyone has cancer. There are some that have had cancer for years, and their bodies are very, very weak. They can hardly move. They've got one foot in the grave. And here are some that just discovered that they had the cancer. And while they have cancer, they're still full of vim and vigor, so to speak.

Now, let's suppose that there was a machine that was invented in this technological age which could cure cancer. And the only thing you had to do was to touch that machine, just touch it. So here's a man that's had cancer for several years, and he hears about the machine, and it's not too far away. And he begins walking. Then he walks as far as he can until he stumbles and falls. And then he crawls, crawls on his hands and knees until he could reach that machine. He was almost out, but he got there just in time and was barely able to touch it with the tip of his finger. And he was healed. On the other hand, here's a younger man who just discovered that he had cancer. And he heard about this machine. And so he ran to that machine as fast as he could run. And when he saw that machine, he dove straight to it. And he hit that machine so hard and grabbed it, he knocked it over. But he was healed. So here's my question.

Which one was healed? What's the answer? Both. The requirement to be healed was touching the machine. It was not the degree that you touched it. So it's the same thing when we're talking about saving faith. Faith touches and receives the person and work of Jesus Christ. However small it is, if it touches and receives the person and work of Jesus Christ, it is not only a divine faith, it is also a saving faith.

Little Faith in Scripture

Little faith is mentioned more often than great faith, often in relation to the twelve apostles. It is characterized by concern for personal necessities, safety, and doubt.

Here's an interesting thing as I have prepared this message. Did you know that a little faith is spoken of more frequently in the Bible than a great faith? Hmm. And here's another interesting thing. Surprisingly, three out of the five times when a little faith is mentioned, it is in relationship to the twelve apostles. Wow.

Now, what I'd like to do is this. Very quickly, I want to read for you the scriptures where the phrase "little faith" occurs. And I want you to just listen because we're going to come back to these passages. The first one is Matthew chapter 6 and verse 30, where the scripture says, "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" Then in Matthew 8 and verse 26, "And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?

Scripture Reading — Matthew 8:26

Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm."

Then Matthew 14 and verse 31: "And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Then in Matthew chapter 16 and verse 8, "Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?" And then the last one is found in Luke 12 and verse 28. Again, it's comparable to Matthew 6. "If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?" Now, all these passages, every time you see the two words "little faith," it is based upon one Greek word, oligopistos. It is made up of two Greek words, oligos, which means small or little, and pistos, which means faith. So the word actually means a little faith or a small faith, or one that is believing or trusting too little.

Characteristics of Little Faith

Little faith focuses on self: food, clothing, safety. It puts personal needs before God's kingdom and fails to remember and apply God's past works.

Now, I want to combine Matthew 6 and Luke 12 because they are teaching basically the same thing. They're both the Sermon on the Mount. So when you look in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, you have the Sermon on the Mount. And when you look in Luke chapter 12, you have the Sermon on the Mount as well. Now, in this passage, our Lord was speaking to his twelve, but other disciples as well. For instance, the Bible tells you in Matthew chapter 6—well, let's see, he goes on to say this: "And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him." And then, of course, in Luke chapter 12 and verse 1, it says like this: "In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." So the truth is, our Lord was there.

Matthew 5 verse 1 is where that is. And then Luke chapter 12 and verse 1 as well. So I want you to look, if you would, in Matthew chapter 6, Matthew chapter 6. And I want you to look at the context. And let's begin reading there with verse 30. And then we'll look in Luke 12 and verse 28. Look at Matthew 6 and verse 30. He says, "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Now, if you will look in your Bibles very quickly to Luke chapter 12, and just look at verse 28, Luke 12 verse 28, just so you can see the context. Again, he says, "If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

And then he goes on saying, "And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after"—that is the Gentiles—"and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you." Now, I want you to note that in both of these passages, when he's talking to these people about having a little faith, a little faith is concerned with your own life and with your own necessities. Both of them. He's saying, don't be going around saying, "What are we going to eat? Where is it coming from? How are we going to get it? How will we pay for it? What are we going to wear? Where will we get our clothes? Where will we get the money to pay for our clothes or the ability to make our own clothes? What is it? From whence will it come? Will it come in time?" I mean, our Lord answers all of these questions by pointing to the grass of the field. And he says, "Don't be concerned.

And then he points at the lilies later on and said, "Consider the lilies." He said, "Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." No. He said, "I am going to take care of you. I know that you have these needs. I know that." And then he went on to say this, here's what you must do. Don't be concerned about these everyday necessities. But rather, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you." Here's the point that he's making. I want you to listen carefully. He is saying he is to be first. And our needs are to be second. A little faith puts oneself first and God second. Everyone knows the Lord's Prayer, sometimes called the disciples' prayer, the model prayer. But it goes like this: "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

And what's the next one? Give us this day our daily bread." In other words, God's glory and God's honor and God's kingdom comes first. Our needs, our necessities come second. Now, a little faith seemingly does not go beyond ourselves. We're just tied up with our stuff. We're concerned with ourselves and the necessities of our life, more so than we're concerned with God's honor, God's glory, and God's kingdom. So let me show you another one. Look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 8, Matthew 8 and verse 23.

Now, here we have the twelve apostles again. Look at this.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 8:23-27

"And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!"

Wow. Wow. Isn't that amazing? In Matthew 6 and Luke 12, little faith was concerned with the necessities of life. In this passage, a little faith is concerned with safety and the preservation of our lives. Now, the scripture tells us that our times are in his hands, that he holds our souls in life. Fear and fretting displays a lack of trust and a lack of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Lord does not need to be physically present to protect us and preserve us. In this instance, he was asleep in another part of the ship. The ship, it seemingly was about to be swamped. And they ran to him and said, "Lord, carest thou not that we perish?" And he accused them rightly of having a very little faith.

Now, let me point something out. Our Lord is not telling us to be stupid. He is not telling us to tempt the Lord. I believe in doing everything I can to keep myself safe. If we have a thunderstorm and lightning is hitting everywhere, I'm not going to stand out in the rain and just tempt the Lord to hit me. No, I may be in my house trying to stay dry and trying to stay away from the lightning.

But I understand that my times are in his hands. And he is the one who can protect me. The same thing with a hurricane. Same thing with a tornado. There's no reason to get bent out of shape. Yes, you must do what you need to do to be safe, which is our responsibility. But at the same time, it is God who must absolutely protect us. So we need to understand this one little principle.

That is, we are immortal until God is through with us. Nothing's going to happen to us. God has not only appointed the day of our birth, he's also appointed the day of our death. And so far as little faith is concerned, what we eat, what we drink, and how we can stay safe. Now, I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 14 and look, if you would please, at verse 31. You know the story. Our Lord was walking on the water, and his disciples, his twelve, supposed it to be a ghost. And our Lord said, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." And then Peter said, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." And of course, Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water. So look, if you would, let's begin reading with verse 29. Peter asked for permission to come. Verse 29: "And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Hmm. I want you to note this very carefully. The living faith, although it may be a saving faith, is also a doubting faith. So here's what Peter did. He actually walked on water until he saw the wind boisterous and the waves. Well, surely he had seen those things before, because they were in a storm and he had been through storms before. But the point is this: he ceased focusing upon the Lord Jesus Christ and focused on the circumstances and the situation. A little faith sidelines Jesus Christ, puts him over here while we look intently at the circumstances and at the situation. I want you to know that Peter was indeed saved, that is for sure. But our Lord said, "Wherefore didst thou doubt, O thou of little faith?" So, interestingly, a lot of these passages deal with the little faith applied directly to the twelve apostles, whom we hold up as giants in the faith. Wow. Well, look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 16, because here's the last occurrence of a little faith. And I want to take the time to read the first 12 verses. And then we're going to go to another passage that will hopefully tie things together for you. Now watch this. Matthew chapter 16 and verse 1: "The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is

evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?

Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." Now, it's interesting. Our Lord, again, said to them, "O ye of little faith." Wow.

Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Mark, chapter 8. I want you to see this because here's the same scenario. Mark chapter 8. And we're not going to read the entire section again because it's the same story. But skip down, if you would please, to verse 16, we'll start there. "And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not?

and do ye not remember? When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?" Wow. What Mark and Matthew do is tell us and give us the reason for their smallness of faith. That is, number one, they did not remember. Number two, they reasoned unscripturally or unbiblically. Which meant, therefore, they did not understand, they did not comprehend the real spiritual impact and the truth that our Lord was giving,

and consequently, they were making the wrong application. You cannot make a right application of Scripture unless you understand the Scripture. And you're not going to understand the Scripture unless you remember the Scripture. Wow! Think about this. According to these two passages, our Lord, number one, expects us to remember. The Bible says, "Take heed lest thou forget." He expects us to remember. He expects us to study. He expects us to understand. He expects us to comprehend. And He expects us to make a proper application.

Great Faith: The Centurion's Example

The Roman centurion demonstrated great faith by being concerned for his servant, showing humility, and recognizing Jesus' divine authority to heal with just a word.

And if we do not, we will continue to be those who have a little or small faith. So, when you notice this, the small faith is always associated with oneself. Our necessities, our food, our raiment, our safety, our preservation. We think humanistically in the sense that the apostles said, "It is because we brought no bread." Our Lord said, "No, I'm not talking about physical bread. That's no problem to me." He said, "You need to understand, you need to reason biblically." Now, I want you to turn to Luke chapter 7. Luke chapter 7, because here is the passage concerning a great faith. Luke chapter 7, and I want to begin reading with verse 1 and read through verse 10. Luke 7, verse 1.

"Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue." Evidently, he was quite well off. "Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick." Wow.

Now, there's much to say on this passage, but allow me to give what I'm going to call some noticeable observations. If you will remember now, all of these passages that dealt with the little faith dealt with one's self and the necessities of life. Here is a Roman soldier who is concerned about one of his slaves, and yes, the word servant literally means slave. It's an unusual fact in and of itself. When you begin to think of the Roman soldiers, they were warriors, they were fighters, they killed relentlessly, and a centurion would be someone who would have at least a hundred soldiers under him. And the very fact that this man was a soldier and concerned about his slave is unique in and of itself.

So let me just point this out. The soldier was high up, the slave was low down. So here's a good question. Are you concerned about those that are beneath you? Are those that you consider beneath you? Are you concerned about others who are not quite up to par according to your vision? Are you concerned about others who do not have your abilities, your opportunities? Are you concerned about others who criticize you and condemn you?

Evidently, there was a loving relationship between this Roman centurion and his slave. Clearly, he was probably a very humble man and probably a very moral man as well. So first of all, you've got to understand, listen carefully, that a great faith is concerned about others. It's not just concerned about oneself. He was concerned about someone who is exceedingly beneath him militarily, politically, economically, and every way that you can imagine. The man was a slave. Here's the second observation. A great faith is also a humble faith. This man, this Roman centurion, was obviously, clearly, and truly a humble man.

He did not even think himself worthy to go to the Lord Jesus Christ. Others went, and they said to Jesus Christ that he's worthy. "This man loveth our nation, and this man has built us a synagogue." But when Jesus started approaching, he sent more friends and said, "Lord, I am not worthy for you to even enter under my roof." I want you to understand that real humility stems from the realization that we are poor and wicked sinners and that God does not owe us anything but justice. And anything that we get from God is grace and mercy. Everything that we are, everything that we have, everything we ever will be, everything that we ever will have is only based upon God's absolute mercy and grace. And when you realize you do not deserve any of it—may I point something out? And you may apply it to your life as well. I am thankful for life. I am thankful that God has allowed me to live to be as old as I am. But I do not deserve to live. Neither do you. Because the wages of sin happen to be death. And yes, we are going to die. But look, if you would, at how long God has been gracious and merciful to us. And the soul that is truly humble understands that he deserves nothing and therefore he could be thankful for anything and everything.

And so this Roman centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy." Here's the third observation. The man with the great faith recognized divine sovereignty and divine authority. He said, "Lord, you don't even need to come under my roof. You don't even need to come to this house. I am a man set under authority"—that is, I take orders. I have to take orders. There are others over me.

But he said, "I also have men under me. I say to one, Go, and he goeth; to another, Come, and he cometh; to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. And Lord, all you have to do is just speak the word. You don't have to be present. Just speak the word." A great faith not only recognizes God's sovereignty, it recognizes God's sovereign authority. Have you ever considered God's authority? I told someone in Bible study on Thursday night, you know, you've heard that old expression, "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it." No, God said it, and that settles it, whether you believe it or not. Because God is the sole and complete and total authority. He is God. He is sovereign. He has all authority. So a great faith, then, is one who is concerned about others. A great faith happens to be one that is exceedingly humble. And a great faith happens to be one that recognizes God's sovereign authority. In other words, it's a faith that is more concerned with God and his kingdom than ourselves. A great faith is one that can truly, honestly pray and say, "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." I want your will. I want your kingdom. I want your honor. I want your glory.

How to Increase Faith

Faith is increased by praying for it, studying and hearing God's Word, and exercising the faith we have through trust and obedience.

And Lord, while I'm wanting that, if it please you, give me this day my daily bread and forgive me of my trespasses. God goes first and man goes second. God is to be honored and man is to be humbled. So let me make a couple of applications and I want to ask you this. Since there are degrees in faith—there's a little faith, there's a great faith, we know for our Lord said so, so there has to be some in between—how do we increase our faith? How do we increase our faith? Well, the first answer should be obvious, because the apostle said, "Lord, increase our faith." We must pray to the Lord that the Lord will give us a greater faith, that he would indeed increase it, because faith is his gift. He alone can give a divine faith. The second way is by a serious and honest study of his word. The Bible says in Romans 10 and verse 17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." So it's not just that we also read the word of God.

And we study the word of God. We must also hear the word of God expounded, explained, and applied. That means if you really want to increase your faith, you have to be faithful to the preaching and the exposition of the Word of God. I tell people I do not know everything. One thing Dr. Bob Jones Sr. used to say, and I certainly agree with it, he would say, "You can borrow brains, but you can't borrow character." In other words, I may not understand a certain mechanical issue, but Steve does. And so I would ask Steve, "What about this?" He could explain it to me. If I had the character to carry it through, I could do it. If I didn't have the character, all of this explanation would be falling on deaf ears. You follow that? Here's what I tell people. I do not know everything.

I will be the first to admit that. I do not know everything about the Bible. And I don't know anyone that does know everything about the Bible. But I've preached it for 59 years. And I know something about the Bible. And I probably know more than you. If I don't know more than you about the Bible, you should be teaching me. You follow me? So what I'm trying to say is this.

God does not call everybody to be a mechanic. God does not call everybody to be a doctor. God does not call everybody to be a preacher. I can borrow brains, but I cannot borrow character. And I learned a long time ago, you cannot beat a man in his own game. That's all there is to it. And when you understand that God does indeed call men and ordain them to preach his word, there are going to be things that you're going to be learning from the preaching of the word of God that you're not going to learn from your private study. Because surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. I'm just simply saying you need to hear the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. There's a third way that we increase our faith. It's not just that we pray to the Lord. We should pray to the Lord. We should study, we should listen, we should understand, not forget, and apply. But the third way is we are to use the faith that God has given us.

Everybody knows what going to the gym is all about. You're going there to exercise your muscles, to strengthen your muscles, to build them up. Well, the Bible tells us that we're to build ourselves up in the most holy faith. How do you build yourself up in the most holy faith? By exercising the faith that you have, that God has given you. The Apostle Paul said in Acts 24 and verse 16, "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men." And then he said in 1 Timothy 4 and verse 7, "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness." The word exercise is the Greek word gumnazo, from which we get our words gymnastic and gymnasium. Literally what he said is, "Gymnasticize yourself unto godliness." Work at it. Exercise at it and in it. That's why he said in Proverbs chapter 3 beginning with verse 5,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 3:5-8

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones."

Trust in

the LORD with all thine heart; lean not unto thine own understanding. Learn, exercise to lean toward the Word of God, not to your own understanding. Exercise. Ask the Lord to help you to believe, and whatever you need to believe, and how you need to believe. It is all him. We can go from a little faith to a great faith. And I'll tell you something. I could be wrong. I could be dead wrong. But I believe before this year is over, we're going to need all the faith that we can get. I really do. It may be faith to suffer. It may be faith to prepare. It may be faith to fight through. But I'm just simply saying we need to be praying, "Lord, increase our faith." We need to be studying. We need to be listening. We need to be exercising and strengthening what we have. What did our Lord tell the churches? "Strengthen what thou hast."

Conclusion: Give God the Glory

All we are and have is from God. We must exercise faith for His glory, not our own, and pray for increased faith.

That's what we must do. I want to say this. Alice and I passed a church building this morning. And they had a sign out front. I just shuddered when I read it. It said, I'm quoting verbatim, "I did my best, God did the rest." That is blasphemous. You know what that sign just said? I started it, God finished it. Had I not started, God could not have done a thing. No. No. We must say everything we are, everything we have is of God. Everything we are and everything we have, God gave us.

And we're to exercise it and use it for his honor and for his glory. He receives the honor and glory, not us. Let's see. I think it's Psalm 115 that begins, "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory." And let's give God the glory. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask you for your grace, your mercy, your goodness and kindness. We thank you for the truth that you've given us and enable us, Lord, to cry unto thee. Lord, increase our faith. Give us a great faith that we may be concerned, not just with ourselves, but with others, that we may be more humble, that we may also, Father, honor Thee and put Thee first and recognize Thy divine sovereignty and authority. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Faith as a Divine Gift

Summary: Saving faith is not human-generated but a gift from God, distinct from natural belief.

Evidence: Faith is indeed the gift of God. You may not have faith apart from God's gift. There is a vast difference between a humanistic faith and a saving faith.

Degrees of Faith

Summary: Scripture acknowledges little faith and great faith, implying growth is possible.

Evidence: Our Lord Jesus mentions little faith and later on he mentions a great faith. So if there's a little faith and there's a great faith, there's got to be some degrees in between.

Self-Focus of Little Faith

Summary: Little faith is preoccupied with personal needs, safety, and circumstances rather than God's kingdom.

Evidence: A little faith puts oneself first and God second... a little faith is concerned with your own life and with your own necessities.

Humility and Others-Focus of Great Faith

Summary: Great faith is marked by concern for others, deep humility, and recognition of God's authority.

Evidence: A great faith is concerned about others... a great faith is also a humble faith... a great faith happens to be one that recognizes God's sovereign authority.

Means of Increasing Faith

Summary: Faith grows through prayer, engagement with Scripture, and active exercise.

Evidence: We must pray to the Lord that the Lord will give us a greater faith... faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God... we are to use the faith that God has given us.

Key Arguments

Saving faith is a gift, not human effort

Summary: True faith is given by God and is not something we can produce ourselves.

Evidence: Faith is indeed the gift of God. You may not have faith apart from God's gift.

Even small faith is powerful

Summary: Faith as small as a mustard seed can accomplish the impossible when it is genuine.

Evidence: If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Little faith focuses on self

Summary: Little faith is characterized by anxiety over personal needs and safety, putting self before God.

Evidence: A little faith puts oneself first and God second... a little faith is concerned with your own life and with your own necessities.

Little faith fails to remember God's works

Summary: The disciples' little faith stemmed from forgetting Jesus' miracles and reasoning humanly.

Evidence: They did not remember... they reasoned unscripturally or unbiblically... they did not understand.

Great faith is others-centered and humble

Summary: The centurion's faith was great because he cared for his servant, acknowledged his unworthiness, and trusted Jesus' word.

Evidence: Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof... but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.

Faith must be exercised to grow

Summary: Like physical exercise, faith is strengthened by using it in trust and obedience.

Evidence: Exercise thyself rather unto godliness... Gymnasticize yourself unto godliness. Work at it.

Scripture References

Matthew 6:30

Context: Jesus addresses worry about clothing, calling the disciples 'O ye of little faith.'

Ephesians 2:8-9

Context: Salvation by grace through faith is a gift of God, not of works.

Hebrews 11:6

Context: Without faith it is impossible to please God; one must believe He exists and rewards seekers.

Luke 17:5

Context: The apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith after being taught about forgiveness.

Matthew 17:19-20

Context: Jesus explains the disciples' failure to cast out a demon was due to unbelief; faith like a mustard seed can move mountains.

Hebrews 11:32-38

Context: Examples of what was accomplished and endured through faith.

Matthew 9:18-22

Context: The woman with the issue of blood is healed by touching Jesus' garment; He says her faith made her whole.

Matthew 8:26

Context: Jesus calms the storm and asks the disciples why they are fearful, calling them 'O ye of little faith.'

Matthew 14:31

Context: Jesus catches sinking Peter and says, 'O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?'

Matthew 16:8

Context: Jesus perceives the disciples' reasoning about bread and calls them 'O ye of little faith.'

Luke 12:28

Context: Similar to Matthew 6, Jesus tells the disciples not to worry about clothing, calling them 'O ye of little faith.'

Matthew 6:31-34

Context: Jesus instructs not to worry about food and clothing but to seek first God's kingdom.

Luke 12:28-31

Context: Parallel passage on not worrying, seeking the kingdom instead.

Matthew 8:23-27

Context: Jesus calms the storm; the disciples marvel at His authority.

Matthew 14:29-31

Context: Peter walks on water, becomes afraid, and begins to sink; Jesus calls him 'of little faith.'

Matthew 16:1-12

Context: Jesus warns of the leaven of the Pharisees; disciples misunderstand, and He calls them 'of little faith.'

Mark 8:16-21

Context: Parallel account of the disciples' failure to understand, highlighting their hardened hearts and lack of remembrance.

Luke 7:1-10

Context: The centurion's great faith: he believes Jesus can heal his servant with a word, and Jesus marvels.

Romans 10:17

Context: Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Proverbs 3:5-8

Context: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Historical References

Matthew Poole (commentator)

Context: Quoted on Matthew 17:20, explaining that the disciples' failure was due to weak faith, not absence of faith.

John Gill (commentator)

Context: Quoted on Matthew 17:20, explaining that moving mountains refers to doing difficult things through faith.

Dr. Bob Jones Sr.

Context: Quoted: 'You can borrow brains, but you can't borrow character.'

Important Quotes

Faith is indeed the gift of God. You may not have faith apart from God's gift. There is a vast difference between a humanistic faith and a saving faith.

Significance: Establishes the foundational premise that saving faith is divine, not human.

If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Significance: Shows the power of even small faith.

A little faith puts oneself first and God second.

Significance: Defines the core problem of little faith.

I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Significance: Jesus' commendation of the centurion's faith as great.

A great faith is concerned about others. It's not just concerned about oneself.

Significance: Highlights the outward focus of great faith.

Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Significance: Key means of increasing faith.

Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory.

Significance: Concluding call to give God all glory.

Discussion Questions

What is the difference between humanistic faith and saving faith, and how can we discern which we have?

Context: Weaver distinguishes between natural belief and divine faith.

Why do you think the apostles, who walked with Jesus, were often rebuked for little faith?

Context: Three of five 'little faith' mentions are directed at the twelve.

In what areas of your life are you most tempted to have little faith (provision, safety, doubt)?

Context: Little faith is associated with worry over food, clothing, and safety.

How does forgetting God's past faithfulness contribute to little faith, and what can we do to remember?

Context: The disciples forgot the feeding miracles, leading to misunderstanding.

What practical steps can you take to shift your focus from self to others and God's kingdom?

Context: Great faith is concerned with others and God's honor.

How does humility relate to great faith, and why is it essential?

Context: The centurion's humility was key to his great faith.

What does it mean to 'exercise' faith, and what might that look like in daily life?

Context: Weaver uses the gym analogy for building faith.

How can we balance taking practical precautions with trusting God for safety?

Context: Weaver says we should do what we can but ultimately trust God.

Applications

Pray for increased faith

Summary: Since faith is a gift, we should regularly ask God to increase our faith.

Evidence: The apostle said, 'Lord, increase our faith.' We must pray to the Lord that the Lord will give us a greater faith.

Study and hear God's Word

Summary: Faith grows through serious study of Scripture and faithful attendance to preaching.

Evidence: Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God... you need to hear the preaching and teaching of the Word of God.

Exercise faith actively

Summary: Use the faith you have by trusting God in decisions and obedience, strengthening it like a muscle.

Evidence: Exercise thyself rather unto godliness... Gymnasticize yourself unto godliness. Work at it.

Seek God's kingdom first

Summary: Instead of worrying about personal needs, prioritize God's honor, kingdom, and righteousness.

Evidence: Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Remember God's past works

Summary: Combat little faith by intentionally recalling how God has provided and worked in the past.

Evidence: They did not remember... He expects us to remember.

Cultivate humility

Summary: Recognize your unworthiness and dependence on God's grace, which fosters great faith.

Evidence: Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof... real humility stems from the realization that we are poor and wicked sinners.

Focus on others

Summary: Move from self-concern to caring for those beneath you or in need, as the centurion did.

Evidence: A great faith is concerned about others... Are you concerned about those that are beneath you?

Trust God's sovereign authority

Summary: Believe that God can act with a word, without needing physical presence or human help.

Evidence: Lord, all you have to do is just speak the word. You don't have to be present.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T17:36:15Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T08:44:50Z

Clean Transcript

Faith, Little Faith, Great Faith

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Matthew 6 and verse 30, and we're going to be looking at a number of scriptures, so keep your fingers flexible. The title of the message is "Faith, Little Faith, and Great Faith." Actually, several weeks ago I was asked a question by a dear friend of mine out in Colorado. I answered the question for him, and I got to thinking later on there may be other people that have the same question, and so I took the answer to his question and really developed it into this message. So if you look at Matthew 6 and verse 30, our Lord says, "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" Faith is indeed the gift of God. You may not have faith apart from God's gift. There is a vast difference between a humanistic faith and a saving faith. To say that another way, there's a vast difference between a natural or fleshly faith and a divine faith.
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Now, I may believe that a chair will hold me up, and I may gently ease myself down in that chair, and yes, the chair holds me up, but that is not saving faith. I also may believe that things are going to work out for my good, based on some presupposition, but that is not necessarily saving faith. I also may work myself up into a frenzy trying to make myself believe, and yet that is not saving faith. The Bible speaks of faith, a little faith, and a great faith. And the Bible says in Acts chapter 7 that Stephen was a man that was full of faith. So the truth of the matter is, whatever amount of faith that one has is indeed the gift of God, if it is a real, genuine saving faith. Now, probably everyone in this room can quote Ephesians 2:8-9, where the Bible says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." And then he goes on to say, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." So it's impossible then to please God or even obey God without faith. The Bible says in Hebrews 11 and verse 6, "But without faith it
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is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must first believe that he is, and secondly that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." So if you do not believe that God is, and if you do not believe that God hears and answers prayer, you're never going to seek him in the beginning. So let me just say that faith then is foundational. Faith is absolutely mandatory, and it is an absolute necessity to please God.
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Now, obviously, there are degrees of faith since our Lord Jesus mentions little faith and later on he mentions a great faith. So if there's a little faith and there's a great faith, there's got to be some degrees in between. Moreover, if you will remember the parable of the sower, which you'll find in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8, the Bible talks about some who brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold. So obviously someone either had more faith, or at least they exercised the faith that they had more than others to produce more fruit. So if you say they just exercised the faith they had, then it would still be a greater faith because it was exercised and strengthened. Now, I believe there's another passage that shows you that there are degrees of faith. If you look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Luke, chapter 17, Luke chapter 17, and look at verse 5. And I want you to see this verse just momentarily because of its context.
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So in Luke chapter 17 and verse 5, the apostles said this: "And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith." Now, clearly, if faith can be increased, there are degrees in faith. And certainly we would want that for sure. But I want you to see the context in which this request came. If you look back in verse 3, our Lord says to his disciples, "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him;
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and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." In other words, they understood that it was going to require a greater faith than they possessed at that particular time to deal with what you and I would call interpersonal relationships between the brethren. When someone hurts us, when someone criticizes us, when people say things that we don't like, we tend not to forgive them. We tend not to rebuke them.
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Our tendency is either to ignore them or just simply cut them off totally and completely. But our Lord said, no, if your brother sins against you, you rebuke him. And if he repents, you're to forgive him. And if that happens seven times in a day, that's exactly what you should do. And so therefore, the apostles said, "Increase our faith." In other words, it's going to take more than we have to be obedient and to deal with the situation the way our Lord is demanding. Now let me emphasize something, and I'll probably try to do this several times during this message, and that is simply this, that faith is faith. While we may discuss the differences between a little faith and a great faith, at the same time, faith is still faith. It does not matter from one sense of the word if it's a little faith or if it's a great faith, it is still a saving faith. If it is in the Lord Jesus Christ, if it's been given to you, it is still a saving faith, whether it is great or small.
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Now, let me show you. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew, chapter 17, in light of this, and then I'm going to give you two quotes. But look in Matthew chapter 17 and let's begin reading there with verse 19. Matthew 17, look in verse 19. "Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?" Now, we're talking about a demon they were attempting to cast out, and they could not. Look at verse 20: "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
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Now, the whole point of our Lord's answer is to demonstrate the power of a small or little faith. The grain of a mustard seed is extremely small. When Alice and I were teenagers, it was a common thing to see a young girl with a necklace on and a little clear round globe and right in the middle, a very tiny little mustard seed. That was it. And so our Lord said, if you have faith as the grain of a mustard seed, which is the smallest of many, many seeds.
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Now, let me give you two quick quotes. The first one is from Matthew Poole. It's a little longer, but he's explaining our Lord's answer. And then the second one is from John Gill. And he also is explaining. But here is our first quote. He says, "The reason assigned here by our Lord why his disciples could not cast out this demon was their unbelief, not their total want but the weakness of their faith. Christ here again lets us see the power of faith and the mischief of unbelief.
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I take the plain sense of this text to be this, that there is nothing which may tend to the glory of God or to our good that may not be obtained of God by firm exercise of faith in him. Whether our Saviour speaketh of a faith of miracles or no, I will not determine. I rather think that he speaks here of any true faith. We must have the power and the promise of God for its object. The promise of working miracles by a divine power committed to them was a particular promise made to the disciples.
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And then he gives you Matthew 10 verses 1 through 42. And so was the only object of their faith. But I take our Saviour's words to extend to a further latitude, though as to miraculous operations, it was applicable only to them. That is the original ones. There is nothing without God, there is nothing which God has promised to give or bestow on any, but faith will obtain it from him if attended by fervent prayer to which fasting is subservient as preparing us to it. There are some things which are obtained by a stronger faith and more fervent and importunate prayers than others. A mercy sometimes seems to us to come out of the hand of God with more difficulty and wrestling for it. But there is nothing within the latitude of a promise but is to be done and obtained by vigorous exercise of faith and by fervent, importunate prayer. The apostles had yet but a weak and imperfect faith. And they had not used such fervent and importunate prayer in this case as they ought to have done, and hence did this work appear so difficult to them."
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Now, here's a shorter one, and yet I think the same explanation. John Gill: "Ye shall say to this mountain, perhaps pointing to the one they just came down from, or which might be inside of the house where he was, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; meaning not that it would be ordinarily or ever done in a literal sense by the apostles, that they should remove mountains, but they should be able to do things equally difficult and as seemingly impossible if they had but faith, when the glory of God and the good of men required it." So I believe scripture supports Gill's view and also the view of the former one in understanding that it's through faith that even small and insignificant as it may be, great and seemingly impossible things can be accomplished. So I want you to turn very quickly to the book of Hebrews chapter 11, which everybody knows is the great chapter on faith. But I want you to look particularly at verses 32 through 38 and look at some of the things that were done by faith. Now look what he said: Hebrews 11 verse 32, "And what shall I more say?
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for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: who through faith"—look what they did through faith—"subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." Look at this now.
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"Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." Now, here's the point.
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It was faith that allowed them to accomplish everything that they accomplished. Moreover, it was faith that allowed them to endure the suffering and the persecution.
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Now, I understand this, that a small faith is just as much faith as a great faith. It's still faith. There may be degrees, but it is still faith.
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Now let me try to give you an illustration. And I'm going to try to give you this illustration of what I'm going to call a small faith and a great faith. It's not the perfect illustration, but yet at the same time, I think it'll show you the difference. Let's suppose that there's a city where everyone has cancer. There are some that have had cancer for years, and their bodies are very, very weak. They can hardly move.
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They've got one foot in the grave. And here are some that just discovered that they had the cancer. And while they have cancer, they're still full of vim and vigor, so to speak.
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Now, let's suppose that there was a machine that was invented in this technological age which could cure cancer. And the only thing you had to do was to touch that machine, just touch it. So here's a man that's had cancer for several years, and he hears about the machine, and it's not too far away. And he begins walking. Then he walks as far as he can until he stumbles and falls. And then he crawls, crawls on his hands and knees until he could reach that machine. He was almost out, but he got there just in time and was barely able to touch it with the tip of his finger. And he was healed. On the other hand, here's a younger man who just discovered that he had cancer. And he heard about this machine. And so he ran to that machine as fast as he could run. And when he saw that machine, he dove straight to it. And he hit that machine so hard and grabbed it, he knocked it over. But he was healed. So here's my question.
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Which one was healed? What's the answer? Both. The requirement to be healed was touching the machine. It was not the degree that you touched it. So it's the same thing when we're talking about saving faith. Faith touches and receives the person and work of Jesus Christ. However small it is, if it touches and receives the person and work of Jesus Christ, it is not only a divine faith, it is also a saving faith.
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Now in that, I want you to see this. Look back in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 9, Matthew chapter 9. And let's begin reading there with verse 18. Look at this. Matthew 9 verse 18: "While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: for she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour." What did she say? "If I may just touch the hem of his garment."
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So a little faith or a small faith that touches the Lord Jesus Christ and receives his person and work is just as saved as the one who was knocked down on the road to Damascus and struck blind, who eventually became the mighty Apostle Paul. So the truth of the matter is, faith is faith in one sense of the word. I'm going to share with you, I hope, the difference between a little faith and a great faith. But we must understand, again, that faith is faith.
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Here's an interesting thing as I have prepared this message. Did you know that a little faith is spoken of more frequently in the Bible than a great faith? Hmm. And here's another interesting thing. Surprisingly, three out of the five times when a little faith is mentioned, it is in relationship to the twelve apostles. Wow.
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Now, what I'd like to do is this. Very quickly, I want to read for you the scriptures where the phrase "little faith" occurs. And I want you to just listen because we're going to come back to these passages. The first one is Matthew chapter 6 and verse 30, where the scripture says, "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" Then in Matthew 8 and verse 26, "And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?
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Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm." Then Matthew 14 and verse 31: "And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Then in Matthew chapter 16 and verse 8, "Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?" And then the last one is found in Luke 12 and verse 28. Again, it's comparable to Matthew 6.
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"If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?"
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Now, all these passages, every time you see the two words "little faith," it is based upon one Greek word, oligopistos. It is made up of two Greek words, oligos, which means small or little, and pistos, which means faith. So the word actually means a little faith or a small faith, or one that is believing or trusting too little.
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Now, I want to combine Matthew 6 and Luke 12 because they are teaching basically the same thing. They're both the Sermon on the Mount. So when you look in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, you have the Sermon on the Mount. And when you look in Luke chapter 12, you have the Sermon on the Mount as well. Now, in this passage, our Lord was speaking to his twelve, but other disciples as well. For instance, the Bible tells you in Matthew chapter 6—well, let's see, he goes on to say this: "And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him." And then, of course, in Luke chapter 12 and verse 1, it says like this: "In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." So the truth is, our Lord was there.
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Matthew 5 verse 1 is where that is. And then Luke chapter 12 and verse 1 as well. So I want you to look, if you would, in Matthew chapter 6, Matthew chapter 6. And I want you to look at the context. And let's begin reading there with verse 30. And then we'll look in Luke 12 and verse 28. Look at Matthew 6 and verse 30. He says, "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
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Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
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Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Now, if you will look in your Bibles very quickly to Luke chapter 12, and just look at verse 28, Luke 12 verse 28, just so you can see the context. Again, he says, "If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
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And then he goes on saying, "And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after"—that is the Gentiles—"and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you." Now, I want you to note that in both of these passages, when he's talking to these people about having a little faith, a little faith is concerned with your own life and with your own necessities. Both of them. He's saying, don't be going around saying, "What are we going to eat?
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Where is it coming from? How are we going to get it? How will we pay for it? What are we going to wear? Where will we get our clothes? Where will we get the money to pay for our clothes or the ability to make our own clothes? What is it? From whence will it come? Will it come in time?" I mean, our Lord answers all of these questions by pointing to the grass of the field. And he says, "Don't be concerned.
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And then he points at the lilies later on and said, "Consider the lilies." He said, "Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." No. He said, "I am going to take care of you. I know that you have these needs. I know that." And then he went on to say this, here's what you must do. Don't be concerned about these everyday necessities. But rather, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you." Here's the point that he's making.
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I want you to listen carefully. He is saying he is to be first. And our needs are to be second. A little faith puts oneself first and God second. Everyone knows the Lord's Prayer, sometimes called the disciples' prayer, the model prayer. But it goes like this: "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
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And what's the next one? Give us this day our daily bread." In other words, God's glory and God's honor and God's kingdom comes first. Our needs, our necessities come second.
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Now, a little faith seemingly does not go beyond ourselves. We're just tied up with our stuff. We're concerned with ourselves and the necessities of our life, more so than we're concerned with God's honor, God's glory, and God's kingdom. So let me show you another one. Look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 8, Matthew 8 and verse 23.
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Now, here we have the twelve apostles again. Look at this. "And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!" Wow. Wow. Isn't that amazing? In Matthew 6 and Luke 12, little faith was concerned with the necessities of life. In this passage, a little faith is concerned with safety and the preservation of our lives. Now, the scripture tells us that our times are in his hands, that he holds our souls in life. Fear and fretting displays a lack of trust and a lack of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Our Lord does not need to be physically present to protect us and preserve us. In this instance, he was asleep in another part of the ship. The ship, it seemingly was about to be swamped. And they ran to him and said, "Lord, carest thou not that we perish?" And he accused them rightly of having a very little faith.
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Now, let me point something out. Our Lord is not telling us to be stupid. He is not telling us to tempt the Lord. I believe in doing everything I can to keep myself safe. If we have a thunderstorm and lightning is hitting everywhere, I'm not going to stand out in the rain and just tempt the Lord to hit me. No, I may be in my house trying to stay dry and trying to stay away from the lightning.
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But I understand that my times are in his hands. And he is the one who can protect me. The same thing with a hurricane. Same thing with a tornado. There's no reason to get bent out of shape. Yes, you must do what you need to do to be safe, which is our responsibility. But at the same time, it is God who must absolutely protect us. So we need to understand this one little principle.
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That is, we are immortal until God is through with us. Nothing's going to happen to us. God has not only appointed the day of our birth, he's also appointed the day of our death. And so far as little faith is concerned, what we eat, what we drink, and how we can stay safe. Now, I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 14 and look, if you would please, at verse 31. You know the story. Our Lord was walking on the water, and his disciples, his twelve, supposed it to be a ghost. And our Lord said, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." And then Peter said, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." And of course, Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water. So look, if you would, let's begin reading with verse 29. Peter asked for permission to come. Verse 29: "And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
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But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Hmm. I want you to note this very carefully. The living faith, although it may be a saving faith, is also a doubting faith. So here's what Peter did. He actually walked on water until he saw the wind boisterous and the waves.
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Well, surely he had seen those things before, because they were in a storm and he had been through storms before. But the point is this: he ceased focusing upon the Lord Jesus Christ and focused on the circumstances and the situation. A little faith sidelines Jesus Christ, puts him over here while we look intently at the circumstances and at the situation. I want you to know that Peter was indeed saved, that is for sure. But our Lord said, "Wherefore didst thou doubt, O thou of little faith?" So, interestingly, a lot of these passages deal with the little faith applied directly to the twelve apostles, whom we hold up as giants in the faith. Wow. Well, look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 16, because here's the last occurrence of a little faith. And I want to take the time to read the first 12 verses. And then we're going to go to another passage that will hopefully tie things together for you. Now watch this. Matthew chapter 16 and verse 1: "The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is
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evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.
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And he left them, and departed. And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
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Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." Now, it's interesting.
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Our Lord, again, said to them, "O ye of little faith." Wow.
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Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Mark, chapter 8. I want you to see this because here's the same scenario. Mark chapter 8. And we're not going to read the entire section again because it's the same story. But skip down, if you would please, to verse 16, we'll start there. "And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not?
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and do ye not remember? When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?" Wow. What Mark and Matthew do is tell us and give us the reason for their smallness of faith. That is, number one, they did not remember. Number two, they reasoned unscripturally or unbiblically. Which meant, therefore, they did not understand, they did not comprehend the real spiritual impact and the truth that our Lord was giving,
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and consequently, they were making the wrong application. You cannot make a right application of Scripture unless you understand the Scripture. And you're not going to understand the Scripture unless you remember the Scripture. Wow! Think about this. According to these two passages, our Lord, number one, expects us to remember. The Bible says, "Take heed lest thou forget." He expects us to remember. He expects us to study. He expects us to understand. He expects us to comprehend. And He expects us to make a proper application.
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And if we do not, we will continue to be those who have a little or small faith. So, when you notice this, the small faith is always associated with oneself. Our necessities, our food, our raiment, our safety, our preservation. We think humanistically in the sense that the apostles said, "It is because we brought no bread." Our Lord said, "No, I'm not talking about physical bread. That's no problem to me." He said, "You need to understand, you need to reason biblically." Now, I want you to turn to Luke chapter 7. Luke chapter 7, because here is the passage concerning a great faith. Luke chapter 7, and I want to begin reading with verse 1 and read through verse 10. Luke 7, verse 1.
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"Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:
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for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue." Evidently, he was quite well off. "Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick." Wow.
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Now, there's much to say on this passage, but allow me to give what I'm going to call some noticeable observations. If you will remember now, all of these passages that dealt with the little faith dealt with one's self and the necessities of life. Here is a Roman soldier who is concerned about one of his slaves, and yes, the word servant literally means slave. It's an unusual fact in and of itself. When you begin to think of the Roman soldiers, they were warriors, they were fighters, they killed relentlessly, and a centurion would be someone who would have at least a hundred soldiers under him. And the very fact that this man was a soldier and concerned about his slave is unique in and of itself.
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So let me just point this out. The soldier was high up, the slave was low down. So here's a good question. Are you concerned about those that are beneath you? Are those that you consider beneath you? Are you concerned about others who are not quite up to par according to your vision? Are you concerned about others who do not have your abilities, your opportunities? Are you concerned about others who criticize you and condemn you?
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Evidently, there was a loving relationship between this Roman centurion and his slave. Clearly, he was probably a very humble man and probably a very moral man as well. So first of all, you've got to understand, listen carefully, that a great faith is concerned about others. It's not just concerned about oneself. He was concerned about someone who is exceedingly beneath him militarily, politically, economically, and every way that you can imagine. The man was a slave. Here's the second observation. A great faith is also a humble faith. This man, this Roman centurion, was obviously, clearly, and truly a humble man.
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He did not even think himself worthy to go to the Lord Jesus Christ. Others went, and they said to Jesus Christ that he's worthy. "This man loveth our nation, and this man has built us a synagogue." But when Jesus started approaching, he sent more friends and said, "Lord, I am not worthy for you to even enter under my roof." I want you to understand that real humility stems from the realization that we are poor and wicked sinners and that God does not owe us anything but justice. And anything that we get from God is grace and mercy. Everything that we are, everything that we have, everything we ever will be, everything that we ever will have is only based upon God's absolute mercy and grace.
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And when you realize you do not deserve any of it—may I point something out? And you may apply it to your life as well. I am thankful for life. I am thankful that God has allowed me to live to be as old as I am. But I do not deserve to live. Neither do you. Because the wages of sin happen to be death. And yes, we are going to die. But look, if you would, at how long God has been gracious and merciful to us. And the soul that is truly humble understands that he deserves nothing and therefore he could be thankful for anything and everything.
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And so this Roman centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy." Here's the third observation. The man with the great faith recognized divine sovereignty and divine authority. He said, "Lord, you don't even need to come under my roof. You don't even need to come to this house. I am a man set under authority"—that is, I take orders. I have to take orders. There are others over me.
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But he said, "I also have men under me. I say to one, Go, and he goeth; to another, Come, and he cometh; to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. And Lord, all you have to do is just speak the word. You don't have to be present. Just speak the word." A great faith not only recognizes God's sovereignty, it recognizes God's sovereign authority. Have you ever considered God's authority?
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I told someone in Bible study on Thursday night, you know, you've heard that old expression, "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it." No, God said it, and that settles it, whether you believe it or not. Because God is the sole and complete and total authority. He is God. He is sovereign. He has all authority. So a great faith, then, is one who is concerned about others. A great faith happens to be one that is exceedingly humble. And a great faith happens to be one that recognizes God's sovereign authority. In other words, it's a faith that is more concerned with God and his kingdom than ourselves. A great faith is one that can truly, honestly pray and say, "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." I want your will. I want your kingdom. I want your honor. I want your glory.
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And Lord, while I'm wanting that, if it please you, give me this day my daily bread and forgive me of my trespasses. God goes first and man goes second. God is to be honored and man is to be humbled. So let me make a couple of applications and I want to ask you this. Since there are degrees in faith—there's a little faith, there's a great faith, we know for our Lord said so, so there has to be some in between—how do we increase our faith? How do we increase our faith? Well, the first answer should be obvious, because the apostle said, "Lord, increase our faith." We must pray to the Lord that the Lord will give us a greater faith, that he would indeed increase it, because faith is his gift. He alone can give a divine faith. The second way is by a serious and honest study of his word. The Bible says in Romans 10 and verse 17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." So it's not just that we also read the word of God.
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And we study the word of God. We must also hear the word of God expounded, explained, and applied. That means if you really want to increase your faith, you have to be faithful to the preaching and the exposition of the Word of God. I tell people I do not know everything. One thing Dr. Bob Jones Sr. used to say, and I certainly agree with it, he would say, "You can borrow brains, but you can't borrow character."
#65 | 52:43 to 53:16 | cleaned
In other words, I may not understand a certain mechanical issue, but Steve does. And so I would ask Steve, "What about this?" He could explain it to me. If I had the character to carry it through, I could do it. If I didn't have the character, all of this explanation would be falling on deaf ears. You follow that? Here's what I tell people. I do not know everything.
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I will be the first to admit that. I do not know everything about the Bible. And I don't know anyone that does know everything about the Bible. But I've preached it for 59 years. And I know something about the Bible. And I probably know more than you. If I don't know more than you about the Bible, you should be teaching me. You follow me? So what I'm trying to say is this.
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God does not call everybody to be a mechanic. God does not call everybody to be a doctor. God does not call everybody to be a preacher. I can borrow brains, but I cannot borrow character. And I learned a long time ago, you cannot beat a man in his own game. That's all there is to it. And when you understand that God does indeed call men and ordain them to preach his word, there are going to be things that you're going to be learning from the preaching of the word of God that you're not going to learn from your private study. Because surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. I'm just simply saying you need to hear the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. There's a third way that we increase our faith. It's not just that we pray to the Lord. We should pray to the Lord. We should study, we should listen, we should understand, not forget, and apply. But the third way is we are to use the faith that God has given us.
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Everybody knows what going to the gym is all about. You're going there to exercise your muscles, to strengthen your muscles, to build them up. Well, the Bible tells us that we're to build ourselves up in the most holy faith. How do you build yourself up in the most holy faith? By exercising the faith that you have, that God has given you. The Apostle Paul said in Acts 24 and verse 16, "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men." And then he said in 1 Timothy 4 and verse 7, "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness." The word exercise is the Greek word gumnazo, from which we get our words gymnastic and gymnasium. Literally what he said is, "Gymnasticize yourself unto godliness." Work at it. Exercise at it and in it. That's why he said in Proverbs chapter 3 beginning with verse 5, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones." Trust in
#69 | 55:52 to 57:24 | cleaned
the LORD with all thine heart; lean not unto thine own understanding. Learn, exercise to lean toward the Word of God, not to your own understanding. Exercise. Ask the Lord to help you to believe, and whatever you need to believe, and how you need to believe. It is all him. We can go from a little faith to a great faith. And I'll tell you something. I could be wrong. I could be dead wrong. But I believe before this year is over, we're going to need all the faith that we can get. I really do. It may be faith to suffer. It may be faith to prepare. It may be faith to fight through. But I'm just simply saying we need to be praying, "Lord, increase our faith." We need to be studying. We need to be listening. We need to be exercising and strengthening what we have. What did our Lord tell the churches? "Strengthen what thou hast."
#70 | 57:24 to 58:38 | cleaned
That's what we must do. I want to say this. Alice and I passed a church building this morning. And they had a sign out front. I just shuddered when I read it. It said, I'm quoting verbatim, "I did my best, God did the rest." That is blasphemous. You know what that sign just said? I started it, God finished it. Had I not started, God could not have done a thing. No. No. We must say everything we are, everything we have is of God. Everything we are and everything we have, God gave us.
#71 | 58:39 to 59:39 | cleaned
And we're to exercise it and use it for his honor and for his glory. He receives the honor and glory, not us. Let's see. I think it's Psalm 115 that begins, "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory." And let's give God the glory. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask you for your grace, your mercy, your goodness and kindness. We thank you for the truth that you've given us and enable us, Lord, to cry unto thee. Lord, increase our faith. Give us a great faith that we may be concerned, not just with ourselves, but with others, that we may be more humble, that we may also, Father, honor Thee and put Thee first and recognize Thy divine sovereignty and authority. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
#72 | 59:40 to 1:00:47 | cleaned
So,
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T17:36:15Z

Faith, Little Faith, Great Faith

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver explores the biblical distinctions between faith, little faith, and great faith, emphasizing that all saving faith is a gift from God. Using scriptural examples, he shows that little faith is self-focused, concerned with personal needs and safety, while great faith is humble, others-focused, and recognizes God's sovereignty. He concludes with practical ways to increase faith: prayer, study of Scripture, and exercising the faith God has given.

Introduction: Faith as God's Gift

Faith is a divine gift, distinct from humanistic or natural faith. Saving faith is given by God and is necessary to please Him.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 6:30

"Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?"

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:8-9

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."

Degrees of Faith

Scripture speaks of little faith and great faith, indicating degrees. The apostles' request to increase their faith shows faith can grow.

So in Luke chapter 17 and verse 5, the apostles said this:

Scripture Reading — Luke 17:5

"And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith."

The Power of Small Faith

Even faith as small as a mustard seed can accomplish great things. The disciples' inability to cast out a demon was due to weak faith, not absence of faith.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 17:19-20

"Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?"

Now, we're talking about a demon they were attempting to cast out, and they could not. Look at verse 20:

Scripture Reading — Matthew 17:19-20

"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

Faith Illustrated: Touching the Machine

An illustration of cancer patients touching a healing machine shows that the degree of touch does not matter; what matters is touching. Similarly, saving faith simply needs to receive Christ.

Little Faith in Scripture

Little faith is mentioned more often than great faith, often in relation to the twelve apostles. It is characterized by concern for personal necessities, safety, and doubt.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 8:26

Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm."

Characteristics of Little Faith

Little faith focuses on self: food, clothing, safety. It puts personal needs before God's kingdom and fails to remember and apply God's past works.

Now, here we have the twelve apostles again. Look at this.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 8:23-27

"And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!"

Great Faith: The Centurion's Example

The Roman centurion demonstrated great faith by being concerned for his servant, showing humility, and recognizing Jesus' divine authority to heal with just a word.

How to Increase Faith

Faith is increased by praying for it, studying and hearing God's Word, and exercising the faith we have through trust and obedience.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 3:5-8

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones."

Trust in

Conclusion: Give God the Glory

All we are and have is from God. We must exercise faith for His glory, not our own, and pray for increased faith.

Faith, Little Faith, Great Faith

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	5CKnPDmTybE
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations: Praying Against the Wicked
Genre	Sermon
Date	2024-04-27
Dictation Name
Book	Book 137: Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations - Volume 2 — Chapter 37
Source Timed Segments	73

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: Faith as God's Gift: Faith is a divine gift, distinct from humanistic or natural faith. Saving faith is given by God and is necessary to please Him.
Degrees of Faith: Scripture speaks of little faith and great faith, indicating degrees. The apostles' request to increase their faith shows faith can grow.
The Power of Small Faith: Even faith as small as a mustard seed can accomplish great things. The disciples' inability to cast out a demon was due to weak faith, not absence of faith.
Faith Illustrated: Touching the Machine: An illustration of cancer patients touching a healing machine shows that the degree of touch does not matter; what matters is touching. Similarly, saving faith simply needs to receive Christ.
Little Faith in Scripture: Little faith is mentioned more often than great faith, often in relation to the twelve apostles. It is characterized by concern for personal necessities, safety, and doubt.
Characteristics of Little Faith: Little faith focuses on self: food, clothing, safety. It puts personal needs before God's kingdom and fails to remember and apply God's past works.
Great Faith: The Centurion's Example: The Roman centurion demonstrated great faith by being concerned for his servant, showing humility, and recognizing Jesus' divine authority to heal with just a word.
How to Increase Faith: Faith is increased by praying for it, studying and hearing God's Word, and exercising the faith we have through trust and obedience.
Conclusion: Give God the Glory: All we are and have is from God. We must exercise faith for His glory, not our own, and pray for increased faith.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Saving faith is a gift, not human effort

True faith is given by God and is not something we can produce ourselves.

Faith is indeed the gift of God. You may not have faith apart from God's gift.

Even small faith is powerful

Faith as small as a mustard seed can accomplish the impossible when it is genuine.

If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Little faith focuses on self

Little faith is characterized by anxiety over personal needs and safety, putting self before God.

A little faith puts oneself first and God second... a little faith is concerned with your own life and with your own necessities.

Little faith fails to remember God's works

The disciples' little faith stemmed from forgetting Jesus' miracles and reasoning humanly.

They did not remember... they reasoned unscripturally or unbiblically... they did not understand.

Great faith is others-centered and humble

The centurion's faith was great because he cared for his servant, acknowledged his unworthiness, and trusted Jesus' word.

Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof... but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.

Faith must be exercised to grow

Like physical exercise, faith is strengthened by using it in trust and obedience.

Exercise thyself rather unto godliness... Gymnasticize yourself unto godliness. Work at it.

Scripture References

Matthew 6:30: Jesus addresses worry about clothing, calling the disciples 'O ye of little faith.'
Ephesians 2:8-9: Salvation by grace through faith is a gift of God, not of works.
Hebrews 11:6: Without faith it is impossible to please God; one must believe He exists and rewards seekers.
Luke 17:5: The apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith after being taught about forgiveness.
Matthew 17:19-20: Jesus explains the disciples' failure to cast out a demon was due to unbelief; faith like a mustard seed can move mountains.
Hebrews 11:32-38: Examples of what was accomplished and endured through faith.
Matthew 9:18-22: The woman with the issue of blood is healed by touching Jesus' garment; He says her faith made her whole.
Matthew 8:26: Jesus calms the storm and asks the disciples why they are fearful, calling them 'O ye of little faith.'
Matthew 14:31: Jesus catches sinking Peter and says, 'O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?'
Matthew 16:8: Jesus perceives the disciples' reasoning about bread and calls them 'O ye of little faith.'
Luke 12:28: Similar to Matthew 6, Jesus tells the disciples not to worry about clothing, calling them 'O ye of little faith.'
Matthew 6:31-34: Jesus instructs not to worry about food and clothing but to seek first God's kingdom.
Luke 12:28-31: Parallel passage on not worrying, seeking the kingdom instead.
Matthew 8:23-27: Jesus calms the storm; the disciples marvel at His authority.
Matthew 14:29-31: Peter walks on water, becomes afraid, and begins to sink; Jesus calls him 'of little faith.'
Matthew 16:1-12: Jesus warns of the leaven of the Pharisees; disciples misunderstand, and He calls them 'of little faith.'
Mark 8:16-21: Parallel account of the disciples' failure to understand, highlighting their hardened hearts and lack of remembrance.
Luke 7:1-10: The centurion's great faith: he believes Jesus can heal his servant with a word, and Jesus marvels.
Romans 10:17: Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Proverbs 3:5-8: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Historical References

Matthew Poole (commentator): Quoted on Matthew 17:20, explaining that the disciples' failure was due to weak faith, not absence of faith.
John Gill (commentator): Quoted on Matthew 17:20, explaining that moving mountains refers to doing difficult things through faith.
Dr. Bob Jones Sr.: Quoted: 'You can borrow brains, but you can't borrow character.'

Important Quotes

Faith is indeed the gift of God. You may not have faith apart from God's gift. There is a vast difference between a humanistic faith and a saving faith.

Establishes the foundational premise that saving faith is divine, not human.

If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Shows the power of even small faith.

A little faith puts oneself first and God second.

Defines the core problem of little faith.

I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Jesus' commendation of the centurion's faith as great.

A great faith is concerned about others. It's not just concerned about oneself.

Highlights the outward focus of great faith.

Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Key means of increasing faith.

Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory.

Concluding call to give God all glory.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What is the difference between humanistic faith and saving faith, and how can we discern which we have?

[Context]

Weaver distinguishes between natural belief and divine faith.

[Question]

Why do you think the apostles, who walked with Jesus, were often rebuked for little faith?

[Context]

Three of five 'little faith' mentions are directed at the twelve.

[Question]

In what areas of your life are you most tempted to have little faith (provision, safety, doubt)?

[Context]

Little faith is associated with worry over food, clothing, and safety.

[Question]

How does forgetting God's past faithfulness contribute to little faith, and what can we do to remember?

[Context]

The disciples forgot the feeding miracles, leading to misunderstanding.

[Question]

What practical steps can you take to shift your focus from self to others and God's kingdom?

[Context]

Great faith is concerned with others and God's honor.

[Question]

How does humility relate to great faith, and why is it essential?

[Context]

The centurion's humility was key to his great faith.

[Question]

What does it mean to 'exercise' faith, and what might that look like in daily life?

[Context]

Weaver uses the gym analogy for building faith.

[Question]

How can we balance taking practical precautions with trusting God for safety?

[Context]

Weaver says we should do what we can but ultimately trust God.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T08:44:50Z