Young People's Group

“O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH”

by Pastor Mitch
March 25, 2007

The Problem Of Having “Little Faith”

The great faith of the centurion (in the text of Matthew 8) was nothing less than exemplary. The commendation of the Lord Jesus of his faith depicts how truly outstanding it was. There was none in Israel who had such great faith. Even the disciples did not have this kind of faith. You would think that the disciples would learn from this incident and seek to exercise greater faith. On the contrary, they did not. Instead, they struggled with the problem of having little faith. When they were on the Sea of Galilee on a boat, a great tempest came and they became fearful. They thought they were perishing. The Lord calmed the sea and then rebuked the disciples.

“But He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?'” 
Matthew 8:26

The phrase “little faith” means to have puny faith. Instead of having great faith in the Lord, they had only a very small amount of faith. One of the reasons why we have little faith could be because of “fear”. Fear is a crippling feeling that stops us from exercising faith in the Lord Jesus. The disciples did not have faith that Jesus would save them from the storm. They were more focused on themselves and the problem at hand. Another reason why we have little faith could be the problem of “doubts”. Peter was rebuked by the Lord Jesus for this. As he was walking on the water towards Jesus, he doubted the Lord and became fearful. The Lord rebuked him for his little faith (Matthew 14:30). Young people, we must deal with our erratic feelings of fear and doubts. If not, we would always be haunted by them.

The Challenge To Go Beyond Little Faith

1. Focusing On The Great Power Of The Lord Jesus

“So the men marveled, saying, ‘Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?'” 
Matthew 8:27

We can move from little faith to greater faith when the Lord Jesus looms large in our lives. The disciples did not focus on the greatness of the Lord’s power. Our challenge is to be able to see how truly powerful and unlimited His power is. Our focus should not on ourselves but the Lord and His matchless power.

2. Exercising Faith In Recognizing The Divine Sonship Of Jesus

“Truly, You are the Son of God.”
Matthew 14:33

We must be able to exercise faith by recognizing the Lord Jesus for who He really is. Those in the boat recognized Jesus as none other than the Son of God. They sought to worship Him. If the Lord Jesus can still the storm and walk on water, our eyes of faith must see Him as the divine Son of God. Let’s choose to exercise greater faith in Him.

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