Ye Of Little Faith (Matthew 8:23-27)

Introduction

Sometimes I just go ahead and throw the title out there. It’s rare, but sometimes I do it. And so this morning’s, well, we advertise it after all. If you look in the bulletin that Mary is doing now, or look on the website of the Facebook page, and some of you I know do that regularly. You noted that I’m going to be talking about ye of little faith. And that, of course, is a King James rendering. Jesus said these words, at least the English renderings of the Greek words, said ye of little faith on three different occasions during his ministry. Now one of them is repeated in Luke. Ye of little faith. And so I just chose this title for a couple of reasons. One, to throw a bone to our King James Version, officiionado, which has to do officianado is a nice new word, that has to do with knowledge of a subject and certainly passion and enthusiasm for a subject.

And so if we talk about the King James, we think about Terry in our group. So I’m throwing you a little bone here, sister, with the phrase, ye of little faith. And one of the occasions where Jesus said those words to his disciples is one of my favorite stories during Jesus’ ministry. I like the mark account, but to keep it all in Matthew, I’m going to go with the Matthew narrative here in Matthew 8 and verse 23. And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. I like that. Doing what disciples do. And behold, there arose a great storm in the sea. So that the boat was covered with the waves, but he himself was asleep. And they came to him and awoke him, saying, Save us, Lord.

We are perishing. And he said to them, this is the Creator’s voice, why are you timid? Ye of little faith. You men of little faith. Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea. And it became perfectly calm. And the men marveled, saying, What kind of man is this? That even the winds and the sea obey him. What an extraordinary story. Well, there is another occasion in Matthew where these words are uttered in relation to the penchant that men have to trust in earthly things and to be carried away by anxiety. And in this lengthy context in the Sermon on the Mount, where he is admonishing us not to be anxious for the things that God will provide his people, he says, if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow, is thrown into the furnace, will he not much more do so for you?

O ye of little faith. And the other occasion when he uttered these words, again specifically to his disciples, as he did in Matthew 8, was when he was warning about the influence of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and warns of their leaven in verse 6 of Matthew 16. And they, as a result of his use of the word leaven, began to discuss the fact among themselves that they had brought no bread.

Why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? And he goes on to say, especially in light of the fact that we just fed 5,000 from a few loaves, and look at the baskets that were left over that you took up after the event, or how about the feeding of the 4,000, two occasions, the large basket you took up after that? How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread, but beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees? And something that all three of these occasions have in common is that Jesus was expecting more of his audience in terms of their trust and confidence in God and their spiritual perception of things. Especially in the occasion in Matthew chapter 8.

Jesus is calm and asleep in the boat in the midst of a storm. He knows his purpose is not yet complete because he is completely aware of the purposes of God. He is not concerned that they are about to perish in the storm. The disciples should have seen enough by now to know that Jesus has extraordinary power, and such fears should not have gripped them. So he says to them, ye of little faith. I want to do something with this phrase this morning. Because as I think about our need, as I like to do when I prepare sermons, what could benefit the audience? What could benefit everybody in the audience? I want to talk to you this morning about the very real challenges to modern faith.

1. Insufficient Faith and Tangible Evidence

You know, we talk about, here are problems that Christians have. They don’t have enough zeal for the Lord. We might talk about that, and they’re indifferent and they lack commitment. We can talk about the problems of 21st century believers in that regard. But I think almost all of our problems can be reduced to one simple problem of faith. Insufficient faith. And we can talk about a lot of other passages that one in which Jesus says there’s no faith. Faith is a fluctuating thing. I mean, faith is stronger at some times than it is others, and sometimes we allow our faith to become very weak, and not what it should be. But we must understand that there’s some challenges to faith. And I think there’s a lot of people today that express the notion that I can have more faith, more trust in God and spiritual things in the spirit realm if there was just some tangible evidence, something that would unequivocally declare God is there, that He really does exist, that I really am His child, and that we really are His people, if there was just some demonstrative thing that God could do, that He could stamp.

Tony, you are my child. Don’t question that. Could ask for a clap of thunder at this very moment, but it looks not like a cloud in the sky hardly today. So but God could do it if he was wanting to. Pause just briefly. There was no thunder. But if I just had some special confirmation of God’s presence. Well, a lot of you are thinking already, well, what is the definition of faith? It’s the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 1. And Jared didn’t know this, but I was going to make the point that he made at the Lord’s Supper table. I’m going to make it too, about the fact that we do have eyewitnesses, credible eyewitnesses, who did see.

And that’s where our faith is supposed to come from. We beheld his glory. I love that in 2 Peter chapter 1. We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. We heard the voice from heaven. This is my beloved son. And Peter talks about that in 2 Peter chapter 1. Setting himself before us as an eyewitness as one who can give eyesight confirmation to the reality of these things. Now you can do something with that. And here are your options. You can believe that happened, the transfiguration to which he refers. Now you can believe that, or you can say, Peter is not a real character.

He is a fabrication of someone’s very inventive mind.

And how much I get to study this, even just in the study of Romans, this is not the product of men, folks. This is the product of God. And so you can either say Peter isn’t real or Peter isn’t credible.

You can either believe it or say, he’s not real, he’s not credible. And oh, by the way, throw John in the same boat. Got to get that in, if you will. Because he said we were eyewitnesses. I would throw James in, but he died rather quickly in the book of Acts. But John is still around. He further is an eyewitness of his majesty and further testifies things that we have handled with our hands, things we have seen with our eyes in 1 John chapter 1. And so we believe because they are credible witnesses, and we believe them. But so many look around and say, well, like the mockers of 2 Peter chapter 3. Well, he says he’s going to return, but where is he? Where’s the promise of his coming?

Everything continues just as it has from the beginning of creation. But this one fact escapes their notice, Peter says.

A day with the Lord is a thousand years. A thousand years is one day. The problem is we want to put God on some kind of timetable that we invent. And this is his timetable. And there’s a reason why it hasn’t happened yet, even though he has promised us that he will. And he is not slack concerning his promise. I’ve never seen the end of the world, have you? Well, that’s sort of nonsensical, isn’t it? We wouldn’t be here. But it’s coming. Peter promises it, and we’re closer than we’ve ever been to that day, whether it happens in our lifetime or not. And we have Peter and the apostles’ affirmation that it will indeed occur. We don’t need neon lights in the sky that say, Yes, Tony, you are a Christian.

2. The Appeal of the Visible and Ridicule

We don’t need those signs. I think another problem that our faith experiences is that the visible is so very appealing and alluring and distracting. That what happens to our faith is we become so honed in on the material things of this world that faith gets set aside. And the fact that faith is so often belittled by others. It is, people look at what we’re doing here today, what a waste of time. Singing songs to a creator they can’t even see or a savior that they’ve never laid eyes on. And I don’t mean to put another stumbling block in your way, just simply saying it that way. I’m just saying that’s what people look at this. What a colossal, huge waste of time this is. And so you get belittled for the smallness of intellect that you have because you have trust and confidence in God.

But let me tell you something about the naturalist. The one who doesn’t believe in the supernatural, who belittles the miracles that are recorded in this book, supernatural events, and discounts the spirit realm and says, Oh, that really doesn’t exist. The only thing that exists is what I see. Let me tell you, that fellow has a faith too. He has a blind faith, in fact. I’m not the one with the blind faith. I’m listening to credible eyewitness testimony. He has a blind faith because he believes that everything is the result of natural processes. You talk about an incredible faith. That all of the glory of our universe and its order and design was the result of some kind of cosmic explosion years ago. And wait a minute, where did the matter come from that started all of that in the first place?

Was he there? Did the naturalist did he see it? Is he relying on someone’s testimony who was there? No, nobody was there. Because we all evolved over millions and millions of years, a process we can’t begin to really know about. He has a faith, all right. And I’ll tell you what else about the naturalist. He has no idea he cannot have of his sense of purpose. Or even a consistent standard of morality. What’s good, and who gets to decide that? You see the problem the naturalist and his faith has? Oh, and there’s this. What about immortality? What happens when life’s over? And guess what? This life in which you trust so very greatly, it ain’t gonna last very long. Look at me. Look at those of us who are aging.

3. What Just a Little Faith Can Do

You’re putting all your eggs in this basket. The naturalist doesn’t have the answers. We have the logical faith. So there’s some challenges to faith, especially in light of the absence of tangible evidence, perhaps, that God says, Yes, you are my child, and the ridicule and opposition, the appeal of the visible. But I want to talk about, as I twist now the title, to what just a little faith can do. And that’s where I want to say, even if you possess just a small faith that needs to become something much larger, as the disciples did at that point in Jesus’ ministry. I want to talk to you now about what just a little faith can do. And the reason why I want to talk to you about that is because I believe we have a tendency to discount the faith that we have.

How great is your faith? Well, it’s not as great as Tony’s because he’s the preacher. He’s not as great as the elders because they’re the elders. I think your faith is greater than you think it is. I don’t want you to be over-inflated in your view of yourself. We are what we are by the grace and mercy of God, but I think your faith is greater than you see.

But I think he might instead address an audience like this and say, your little faith can do great things and become a greater faith. Like the faith he saw among Gentiles, where he expected less. And he said, I’ve not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel. But I want you to look at what your growing trust could accomplish. Let me talk about your faith at the moment you became a Christian. That was an evidence of great faith when you were baptized into Christ, and you said, I believe that heaven will rejoice over this event and wash my sins away. Baptism is not a physical action, it is a great step of faith. And beyond our baptism, I look at your tenacious, dogged pursuit of holiness.

As you trust strive to live differently than the world, the world cusses like sailors. As you use the old expression. And you’re trying to control your tongue, and you refrain from using profanity when it just rolls off everyone else’s tongues, right? At school. And you’re saying, no, I don’t want to live like that. That’s not the way the living Lord wants me to live. And so I’m going to be different. I’m not going to drink like a fish. I’m not going to intoxicate myself. I’m going to control what I do, what I say, how I say it. I’m going to give thought to the person that Christ calls me to be. I got to tell you that has faith written all over it.

And as you strive to do that day after day in your life, howbeit with some missteps along the way, I suggest to you that’s a tremendous reflection of faith in your life. And don’t discount it. And then as we sing these songs, we saw thee not. But we believe. As we sang through those verses, an expression of our confidence in those things. I know my Redeemer lives. I know I know. Eternal life he gives.

I often think about this when we’re singing together. The things we’re saying. We’re saying so profound things to a God we cannot see. And about hopes that we have not seen. You know, I think if we could all just transport for about 30 seconds, we could move this assembly right up into heaven for about 30 seconds. Oh, that’s what I needed to see. Boy, wouldn’t that be great. Just to lay on eyes on heaven for 30 seconds. But we have every assurance of what that experience is going to be and how it’s going to fill us, and how we’re going to be enraptured for all eternity in the presence of God. And then there’s prayer, as we’ll conclude talking about that in a moment, where, again, we’re making appeals to a God that we have not seen.

And then as we just continue in these things, day after day and week after week, and month after month, and year after year, through hardship and trial and tribulation. And folks, that is really the point. As he talks about little faith and what it can do in Luke chapter 17. I want you to look there, and we’ll conclude with these thoughts this morning from Luke 17 about a small faith. He says, If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and be planted in the sea. And it would obey you. And he says this on the heels of some difficult instruction that he’s just giving them about stumbling blocks and how to treat a brother. And the disciples said, Lord, we need more faith.

Like the fellow of the young boy says, Who’s who was sick, demon-possessed, and he said, if you can do anything. And Jesus said, If I can do anything. And the man said, Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. And that’s where we sometimes are. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. If you just have a little bit of faith, you can say to a mountain, he says in another place, be cast in the sea, and it’ll be done. Not just a mulberry tree, though that would be pretty impressive. I look at one of the oak trees in my front yard, and I notice one of the roots already appearing from the ground. I hate that. But these oak trees that are now they’ve grown over the last eight years that I’ve lived here, and they’re much taller than they were, but they’re not as big as they’re going to be.

4. Faith Aligned with the Purposes of God

But even in their present size, can you imagine? Saying, Lord, cast that tree out of my yard and plant it in the sea. Down to Galveston. He said, Jess, just faith the size of a mustard seed. And then he goes on to talk about perhaps, as you see this in relation to the statement of verse 6, that maybe if we appreciated our relationship to God and our slave status and how privileged we are to be employed in his service, perhaps this mustard seed faith could grow and accomplish great things. So I want to talk to you for just a second in conclusion about faith, confidence. What can our faith do? And the importance of our faith being aligned with the purposes of God. I think we get discouraged when we make requests that don’t seem to be answered the way that we would like them to be answered.

And we need to learn this lesson about faith and about trusting in God, even when the answers are not what we would want. James says, we can ask with the wrong motives, and thus we do not have to spend it on our pleasures. You know, it’s about what we want rather than about what God wants. And even in the midst of our suffering, if any among you, he says, suffers, let him pray. If he’s cheerful, let him sing. And if you’re sick, call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. That’s what we’re looking for right there. And the Lord will raise him up.

And if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. So we’re talking about physical healing, and then he moves towards spiritual healing, and he says, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you might be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. And then the example of Lijah in regard to rain and the spiritual purposes that were involved in that incident. Look to your old testament. And then he concludes by converting the sinner from the air of his way, covering a multitude of sins, emphasizing, this text emphasizes spiritual aims and hopes. Now, here’s what I want to tell you about James 5. Can God heal the physically sick? Absolutely, he can. And he might respond in answer to prayer when he might not have responded otherwise.

I think James chapter 5 is teaching that.

Yes, I’m going to heal them of their physical sickness. And I think sometimes people get really discouraged. And I’ll just use this as an illustration of, you know, I can’t believe God allowed my beloved grandparent to die. Now, I know you love them, and I know you’re going to miss them. And I know they meant a lot to you in your life, but my experience is that grandparents die. All grandparents ultimately die. I have no living grandparents. And so, as sad as you are, ultimately, the prayer for your beloved grandfather is not going to save him from death. We are not promised the escape from untimely death from these passages. Yes, God can heal. Does he need modern medicine to do that? I don’t believe so.

If it’s within his purposes. But notice how this context quickly moves from the one who is physically sick and suffering to spiritual aims and hopes. Because ultimately, physical sickness is going to lead to death, and that’s going to be the plight of all of us unless the Lord returns. There’s no circumventing that. Ultimately, we’re all going to die, and that’s not God’s fault. That’s sin’s fault. And ultimately, I think the text moves us to spiritual ideas such as forgiveness of sins and spiritual well being, because ultimately that’s what this is all about. Immortality, ultimately in the presence of God. And so let’s not get discouraged because physical circumstances don’t turn out exactly like we would have hoped. Because ultimately that’ll be true of every man. But our God is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.

And that’s true, whether my thorn in the flesh is removed or it is not. Don’t ever question what God has the ability to do. I can’t imagine a circumstance of needing to toss that mulberry tree into the sea. Or a mountain for that matter. And I don’t have an example of the disciples ever doing that. Wouldn’t that be cool? If the disciples at some point, one of the apostles said, God, we need to move this mountain and off it went into the sea. They never needed to do that, as far as I know. But what Jesus is saying is if God needs that done, he can do it. If that somehow aligns with his purposes, he can make that happen. So we don’t know. That’s the problem.

And that’s sometimes when our faith takes a meeting. But we don’t know what God’s purposes are. Why? Why some great people among us, and people that we love very deeply and all the implications of their passing in our lives and in the life of the local church. I think so often of the death of one of my teachers at Florida College, Phil Roberts. Or Marty Pickup, men who died much before we would have expected. And what they, in my mind, had yet to give to the Lord’s people. But we can say the same thing about James in Acts chapter 12, who was also present at the Transfiguration to be a witness of that great event, but he dies very early on in the history of Acts.

Conclusion

So in our not knowing, we struggle. But remember, where are our hopes ultimately? It’s not in perfect circumstances here and shouldn’t be. But the ultimate perfect circumstances that await the faithful people of God. So don’t discount your faith. Here’s a new word for you, burgeoning. I like that. May our faith grow and blossom and flourish, be unwavering in our very real belief that Jesus is indeed our King and our Savior. And he who believes in him will not be disappointed. To him be the glory of the church, Ephesians 3 21, both now and forever. And you cannot spend your life in a more appropriate, fulfilling way than in the service of the great King. And we sing a song to encourage that response if you need to come to him today for cleansing and that hope.

Let’s stand and sing.