Matthew 17:20

O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to bear with you?

It seems here that he is addressing both the people and the disciples. Jesus seems here exasperated that he finds the disciples not doing what he had called them to do and empowered them to do. When the disciples ask why they couldn't cast the demon out, Jesus says, because of their little faith. Jesus then says, if you have faith like a grain of a mustard seed, you could cast the demon out. And this is tiny. He is saying, in effect, that their faith is smaller than a tiny mustard seed. The faith that they have is smaller than a tiny mustard seed. Jesus is saying that even a mustard grain size true and zealous faith can accomplish even the greatest of tasks. Where Jesus gives the command, in this case, to cast out a demon, he gives the very power to do so. Think with me of the tiny size of a mustard seed and the immense size of a mountain that is to be moved. A true and zealous faith so small it can barely be seen and a trial so large that it is all you can see. I don't think that it matters the size of the mountain size trial that we face, but it matters more of the faith that we have in our great God. And truly, if the disciples had this faith and relied on this faith, then they could have done exactly what God had called them to do. Point number two, excuse me, point number two. Why did the disciples fail? The nine disciples who were confronted with the demon-possessed boy were faced with a crisis of faith. We know from the text that they were sure that they could cast the demon out, but they failed. They tried, but they failed. Jesus tells them that they could not cast the demon out because of their little faith. It seems here that Jesus is chiding them for their lack of faith. And there's a sternness here in our Savior's voice. And I'm sure it had to have been hard for the disciples to hear. Like a child being corrected for not being obedient and doing what a parent has said to do, so the disciples had to have felt. But it also seems that Jesus' words are spurring them on to have a greater faith. Like a good parent who wants only the best from and for his children, so Jesus is speaking to his disciples, wanting the best for them and from them. We know from scripture that by experiencing trials, faith is tested, is proven, and is able to grow. James chapter one, verses two through four says this.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Instead of hindering the disciples' faith here, the trial of not casting out the demon should have led them to draw nearer to God in faith. This is evidenced by Christ saying that in the face of this mountain that they are facing, they will move by faith. Even the largest seemingly immovable trials are movable by a genuine and active faith. Point number three, what did the disciples lack? We see by Jesus' words that they lacked faith empowered by prayer. What must the disciples have thought here? I know I would be wanting to know, well, how can I grow my faith? How can I enlarge my faith? You may see in your ESV Bibles, the verse markers go from verse 20 to 22. And there is a note in our ESV Bibles for verse 21 that says this,

but this kind of demon never comes out except by prayer and by fasting.

This verse may not be found in all the manuscripts here in Matthew, but Mark in chapter nine, verses 29, records Jesus' words,

and he said to them, this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.

It seems that the spur that is being given here by Jesus is a spur to his disciples to make use of the means of grace that he has given to strengthen their faith, namely to make use of prayer. And we see prayer as the means that he prescribes in particular. And is there any wonder at this? Prayer is a humbling activity where we take a posture of humility before God acknowledging his power and asking for his will to be done. If the disciples would make use of the master's gifts, then they must make use of the means which he has given them to access those gifts. They didn't need to be creative here, but they needed to be faithful. It is faith, even a small but sincere faith, accompanied by prayer, that can move mountains. We go on to three points of application here that we can apply to ourselves from this text. First application point, a true faith is active. If we trust in the Lord and obey, not passively or by being inactive, then we can trust that God will use our labor for his glory. When God calls us to himself, there isn't a call to be inactive or passive or lazy. God calls us to make use of the very things that he has given us and those for his glory. We can have an active faith by making use of the means of grace that God has given us. Bible reading, prayer, baptism, and the Lord's Supper. God's calling on our lives can be exercised by his means. Application point number two. A true faith will grow. Faith must be cultivated so that it grows and does even greater exploits for God. Recently I've been tasked with reseeding the front lawn of the church. And a lot of this has been done by trial and error. But I've noticed the grass seed is not going to grow unless it is cared for and nurtured. I've put up a barrier so that people can't walk through the grass. I've watered it. I've put fertilizer on it. I've talked to it. I've done anything. But I know that without those things, that grass will wither and it will die. There's no doubt in my mind that that is what will happen. How much more so is it with our faith? Once it is planted, it needs care or else it too will wither and die. Like the grass seed in the front yard, we must nourish our faith with daily prayer, with daily Bible reading. with fellowship with the saints, with encouraging one another, spurring one another on to further godliness. But I believe there's a warning here for us too. When by God's grace our faith grows, we may have a tendency to boast, and we shouldn't. It's counterintuitive here that we should think that we have a sincere faith and yet boast of it. Ben shared a great quote with me whenever we were talking about this particular passage. He said,

bragging about how large our faith is is like bragging about how humble we are.

Gifts given to us from God, though strong and powerful, should never be bragged about as though we were the ones responsible for them. They're given to us by gifts for the good of his people. A growing faith is humble and clinging to the Lord, waiting on His timing and His power. 1 John chapter 5 verses 14 through 15 says this,

and this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.

It should be well noted that our faith is not faith in faith itself. It isn't enough to just say, I have this great faith. It is not our faith that saves us. It is the object of our faith that saves us. We cannot boast because our faith is a gift from God. And our faith is not blind but focused on Christ, who is the source and the object of our faith. And application point number three. A true faith is dependent. As evidenced by our constant need of God through prayer in his word, it should remind us that our faith is dependent on what God has given. I found Matthew Henry's commentary here on the Bible very helpful. He says this,

an act of faith can remove mountains, not of itself, but in the virtue of a divine power engaged by a divine promise.

And when we are active in our faith, reading, listening, fellowshipping, partaking of the ordinances together and praying, we receive divine blessing. And lastly, a word quickly for those who may not have faith in Christ here tonight. Why haven't you placed your faith and your trust in Christ for salvation? If you're here and you don't know him, you can be sure that you're not here by accident. He's called you here. So what is stopping you from placing your faith in him tonight? And why would you wait? Why would you delay if he is inviting you to himself? Know that Jesus can move the mountain of sin that separates you from him. Also know that as a Christian, by faith, through prayer, He will be with you in every trial. That once you place your faith and your trust in Him, it is no longer you going at it alone. It is your Savior leading the way, making a way for you. And that no trial, no matter how big, will ever be one that cannot be moved by faith through fervent and persistent prayer. Will you pray with me? Our God and our Father, we thank you for your word. We pray that what was said here tonight, Lord, would be uplifting for the saints and would be edifying for all of us. And Lord, we thank you for an opportunity to make use of the means of grace together. And I pray that we would leave here as changed people for your glory, Lord. Amen.