In this article, I want to expose to us something that is going to challenge us. I simply want to crave your indulgence to take your time to read this piece because it has blessed me and I believe it would also bless you. The title is: YOUR FAITH, YOUR TESTIMONY. And I want us to open our Bibles to the book of Luke 17, while we read verse 5 and 6, and from there, we'll go to the book of Matthew. The Bible says: “And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” 6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” This is important for us to start with.
The apostles have seen a need, they believe there is a gap in their lives. Jesus could do so much. But they felt they couldn't do as much. And then they realized within themselves as if the Holy Spirit has opened their eyes, that they couldn't do anything without faith. And so, they said: Lord, increase our faith. If you can do that, that's all we want you to do for us just increase our faith. If our faith can be increased by you, then we can do so much. You know, our consideration is YOUR FAITH, YOUR TESTIMONY. Your testimony could be broken into different groups, your testimony could be what you have done the report of it. Do we understand?
For example, it is like someone or you yourself reporting your own works, your performances, it could be a testimony, your testimony could be what you have seeing, what you've heard, what you've handled of the word of life. You know, it's one thing to read the Bible. We learnt some weeks ago that faith by hearing, hearing and hearing by the word of God. So, when faith comes like that, that's one thing. It is another thing for you to see. Another thing for you to hear it, another thing for you to handleit. And so, when you are talking about the things that you have seen, you have heard, you have handled from the word of life; it could be your own testimony.
So, testimony is important and it could be in different phases. However, that testimony of yours is limited or is to the degree of your faith. Now it looks as if the apostles caught something and it triggered a question in them; a desire, Lord, increase our faith. If you can increase our faith, we will do more works, we will do good works like you. And Jesus made a statement. Jesus said to them, “if you have faith…” Now, that looks like Jesus telling them even a small faith will do so much, right? But there's another thing that we could look at. Jesus said, if you have faith; as if you could have faith, you may not have faith. Do we see that?
If you have faith, He did not say when you have faith. Of course, we can begin to say sometimes they could be used interchangeably. But this context it says if you have faith, which means they might not have faith. Of course, they were like Jesus increase our faith. And Jesus says if you have faith and so, it is possible for a person not to have faith, it's possible for a person to have faith. And Jesus now said, “if you have faith as a mustard seed…”, a mustard seed is very tiny. I'm trying to look at an example that we're familiar with. I have seen mustard seed before; one or two times. The closest to a mustard seed I think is yeast. I can really figure it out right now which is smaller, whether it is yeast or a mustard seed, but both are very small.
Now Jesus said: “if you have faith as mustard seed…” Now see the statement that began with that, it says: “you can say you…” You can say but you may also choose not to say. That put responsibility on you, the responsibility of saying something. If you choose not to say, even though you have faith as small as mustard seed, the faith is in you but the words have not been spoken by you, there will be no testimony by you. Because if you look at the prayer that we began with, in the beginning, we were trusting God to do something, and Jesus said, if you have faith, you can say.
Another word for you can say is: you can do. Because the same faith that you require to speak is the same faith that you require to do things. And the Bible says you can say; you can do. So, if the word of God says to you that you can do, you cannot tell yourself that you cannot do. So, what do you simply require? You simply need faith to be able to do even if it is as small as mustard seed, you can do. So, if the disciples, because the disciples will need to look at Jesus in the eye and say, Jesus, we don't have faith and Jesus will be the judge of whether they have faith or they did not.
So, assuming they had faith, assuming their faith was as small as mustard seed, it means they had what they needed to do and to speak, yet, they did not do anything, they did not say anything. And they were saying Jesus increase our faith. Because we want to say we want to do. So, lest they think their faith needed to be as big as anything or as tall as anything before they could start saying or they could start speaking or doing; Jesus said even if it is so small, you can start speaking at that level. So, you're trusting God for great things in your life, in the life of your family members, in the life of your parents. You're trusting God for great things in your community. You're trusting God for great things in your generation. The question is: how big or how small is young faith?
With that faith, the Lord Jesus is saying to you, you can say. One of the things that really alarmed me, beginning with verse five is: the apostles. One would have thought the apostles had everything figured out. Now if we say apostle John now, it is expected that you know what you are doing. But imagine an apostle still not knowing that with the faith that he or she has, he or she could say and do at that level. So, what you have not seen, what you have not experienced, is not impossible, it is simply because you have not spoken until now, you have not said anything, you have not done anything.
You know, there is a Scripture that says up till now you have not asked for anything. He says: Ask until your joy is full. Let's say we put it in another context, up till now, you have not done anything. Of course, he does not indict you. He doesn't condemn you, He now says, do something until you are fulfilled. Do something until you have a testimony to show, do something until your life is turned around, your situation is turned around, you can do something. I can do something. Because many times when we look at ourselves and look at our environment, we normally tell ourselves, we cannot do it, these person's can do it. But Jesus is saying to you and I, you can do it. You require faith, but you would not tell God; I don't have even a mustard seed faith.
So, Jesus said, you can speak to a mulberry tree, “be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea and it would obey you.” Why? You have spoken by faith. Why? You have done what you need to do by faith. So, if I see God mighty in my own behalf, it is not because I have to heads, it is because I have even a mustard seed faith and I've chosen to use it. It's one thing to have something, it is another thing to use what you have. You can have great faith but I have small faith, if I speak by my small faith and you are quiet with your big faith, I will see God, and you may not see God. Bible says without faith, it is impossible to please God. Without faith, it is impossible to work for God. Without faith, it is impossible to function as a vessel of God. There is little your life can become in the hands of God when you lack faith.
So, if God does not succeed with you, it is not because God is a failure. It is because you lack faith. Now let me speak about this, you lack faith that I just said. It might not be directly true that you lack faith. It might be that you lack faith in the faith that you have. I don't know if we will remember or we will think about that. It looks like you require faith for you to have faith in the faith that you have. If the Holy Spirit whispers to our hearts now that there is a fire burning on our heads, what will be the first thing that you will do? You can never see it. Fire is burning on your head from the Lord, you can’t see it. It's spiritual. So, when you're trying to look for the fire, it is because you want to see it in the flesh. You simply lack faith. Your disposition should simply be: LORD, thank you for the fire.
You cannot see it, yet, you are thanking God for it. So, there is no prayer that you pray that God has not answered. It is either God says to wait, or He says no, or He says yes. So, has He not answered you? Because sometimes we make it look as if we are talking to another father. If you are talking to your father, your father will not keep your prayers unanswered for days, for months. Imagine Deborah coming to me and saying Daddy, I want this and I'm quiet about her request for several days. Will everything will be fine? Something is wrong.
I'm like, ah, Deborah, I cannot give you your request now. You will have to wait. Many times, Deborah have requested certain things from me and I am like… don’t worry, just get to the age of eighteen. And she would be like… when am I going to get to eighteen? There are many things that she wants now that are simply tied to years. Do you understand? So, if God is telling you wait till twelve or wait till thirteen; you cannot say your prayers has not been answered except you lack faith. Of course, human parents can disappoint you. After waiting on them till the years they promised, they may come up with other excuses as to why they may not be able to fulfill that promise, and they may even postpone it again till your wedding day. But God is not a man that He should lie.
So, when God says I will give it to you so and so time you have to believe in Him, you have to trust Him. So, you can understand that even when you say I don't have faith, it might be that I am also doubting what I have. And Jesus says if you have faith as a mustard seed, that's to actually make us understand that we have faith. Our problem is no lack of faith. Our problem is our refusal to speak by faith, or to do things by faith. How many things that we do daily that are engineered by our own faith? You know, let me just give this Nigerian example.
A man of God said he has Plan B, and that Nigerians should start having plan B. And some people have been criticizing that statement. There was a word somebody used, I saw a TVC report, a lady on TV saying it was a like a lack of “something” that will make a man to do like that. I can't remember the actual word now. But this is the point: What is the place of faith in the place of Plan B? Plan B is great. Plan B is contemporary. But the question is: what has the LORD said to you? If God has told you to have plan B, then Plan B will be faith. Otherwise, your plan B is a demonstration of your lack of faith. Your faith begins from what God has said. Do you doubt that word or do you trust the word? Heaven and earth will pass away but a jolt of God's word we never go not fulfilled.
The Word of God the Bible says is established. From eternity past to eternity to come, the Word of God is established. So, when God says it, that settles it. So, the best thing to do is to go in search for the word of God. Haven gotten the Word of God, then you have a basis for your faith. You cannot therefore say I don't have faith. Haven gotten that faith, there is something to say with it, there is something to do with it. If nothing happens around you, it is because you have not acted on that faith. If nothing happens around you, it is because you have not spoken by that faith.
Now let's go to the book of Matthew. Because it looks as if I have dwelt so much on this mountain. Matthew 8. I would like us to read from verse 1-12 thereabout. The Bible says: “When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, you can make me clean.” As if he gave Jesus the authority of his life. Because the word “you can” is a word for capacity and it also conveys authority. That is why when Jesus said: you can say. Now let's look at it. Imagine I am in the house of Mr. Obayomi and then there is a plate or a presentation before my chair; and it has two containers. And then as I'm seated and there is presentation, and then the woman of the house walks away, and then comes back and say sir, you can eat. What does that mean? Sir, you can eat and drink. Perhaps she now says you can merry, what does it mean?
It simple means I'm at liberty, I have authority, she cannot come back again and criticize me or condemn me from eating. My refusal to eat can bring condemnation but not my eating. Because she has said: you can eat she has legalized it, she has authorized me. She has empowered me. Now God forbids, she says you can eat, then her husband says: you cannot eat please What do I do? The authority has been withdrawn and countered automatically. Now if I go ahead to eat now, I am already on a collision course with what is called shame already. Do you understand? If in life you will not be ridiculed, you will not be put to shame, you will not be embarrassed, you must act on the “you can” that comes from God.
Whatever you do in that word is authorized. If you do anything against that word, it is a sign of disloyalty, disobedience, your distrust in God. So, as you show you don't trust God, you're also showing you don't or you cannot obey God. Even though that statement looks like an advice, you can say, it's a command and you should say. To a mature person, you know, it's not an advice. If God says you can heal the sick, it means you are authorized to heal. If you choose not to heal, it could be disobedience because you don’t trust. When God said to Adam, out of all the trees in this garden, you may freely eat, that “you may freely eat” is also like you can freely eat.
You know, when God is saying “you may”, it can be like, “you can”, it depends on how you hear it. But of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. This sounds like: you cannot eat. In the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. That means you can die. Have we stopped dying since then? So, when God said of all the trees, is it possible for Adam to choose not to eat, when God says to Him “He may freely eat?” The word of God to somebody that is matured is not an advice. It comes as a commandment. Now, since then I have been eating, I have not stop eating since then that God said you may freely eat. Do we see it? But when God says you cannot eat, you may not eat, you should not eat; if you eat, you will enjoy the consequences because it is your disobedience, your disloyalty, your distrust.
Look at Adam and Eve, look at what happened when they fell, you will know that they didn’t have faith in God or what they believed, they did not use and so, they fell because of their lack of faith. So, don’t just say “I am at liberty to be useful to God with my life, I can choose to be useful, I can choose not to be useful.” You cannot choose. You know, I was hearing a message and my spirit was meditating on it. I think I was hearing it from the church around my house, or somewhere. Somebody said: man is the only creation of God that has choice. It is well. I believe angels too can choose, but it depends on how we choose to interprets it. Now what I was now meditating on is this: that statement is to the degree of your maturity.
Jesus said, my Father, oh, I wish you can take this cup away from me. Is that no choice? He said nevertheless, not as I will but your will be done. Does He show that He had a choice? See when you mature as a son, you will know you don't really have choice. It is the will of the Father that you will do and you must do. The same thing goes with this matter of faith. If you have faith, you must do something with it. If you have faith, you will speak with it. There was a time apostle Paul was speaking to the ministry gifts. He says those who prophesy, they should prophesy to the the proportion of their faith. Those who teach, teach to the proportion of their faith, those who give, give to the proportion of your faith, meaning that whatever we do in the church, or outside the church in the world must be engineered by our faith. And so, when we don't do anything, we are simply showing we lack faith.
Let us continue with the Scripture. It said in verse 2: “Lord, if You are willing, you can make me clean. 3 Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” It is like God saying to Gboyega Adedeji Gboyega Adedeji if you are willing, be useful for me. Lord, I am willing. So, you see how the behaviour that is expected of us in the kingdom. A man said, Lord Jesus, if you are willing, you can make me clean. And Jesus, the model of the man that we must be, He said “I am willing.” Jesus said not as I will, oh Lord, but your will be done. There is something in the kingdom about yielding to the will of God. I am willing!
Left to me maybe I may say what concerns me about your sickness, but I am willing and willing. The reason why I say that is simple. So much great works is expected of us, so much great words that must come from our mouths, they will not come until we are willing. And we have this attitude of engaging our faith in the service of others, in the service of God. For David, after he has served his generation, by the will of God fell asleep. How did he serve his generation? By faith! David believed that standing in front of Goliath was by faith. But the question is: why did David stand in the front of Goliath? How come David, a seventeen-year-old boy could stand before Goliath and others were running? David had faith.
He said, I am standing before you in the name of God, the one whom you have defied. So, he believed the Lord for his safety, personal safety. He believed the LORD will use him to deliver the people, he had faith and he used it. Do we see the example now? So, it's not because you are the greatest guy, you are the most fantastic guy that you come out to help Nigeria or to help your family. It is because you just believed and you put your faith to work. So, you want to see miracles, you have to put your faith to work. If you don't see miracles, it is not because God is weak. You have not put your faith to work. Jesus said I'm willing be cleansed and immediately his leprosy was cleansed; be noting the words, ‘immediately’.
Verse 4: “And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them. “Can you see an example? As a testimony to them, an evidence? YOUR FAITH, YOUR TESTIMONY? The man said to Jesus: I know it's about your willingness. It's not about your ability. I know you're able, only be willing for the sake of my life and destiny Lord. If you are willing, please, you can make me clean. And Jesus said, I am willing. So, he demonstrated faith, he spoke by faith. He didn't keep it to himself and said, I had been talking to different people about my problem. Nobody has helped me, let me keep quiet. I don't think Jesus can do it. He may do. He may not do I’m not sure, let me just keep it to myself. He demonstrated faith and Bible says, Jesus told him to go and do something to show, he says, as a testimony to them. So, your faith, Your what? Your testimony.
Verse 5-8:
Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” 7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!
You know we have said that if you have faith, what do you do with it? We said you can say something. This is a demonstration of faith. A man that knows that there is nothing under heaven that is not subjected to God, and if only Jesus the Son of God could say, they will be. And let's continue.
“And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.”
His faith, his testimony. If your faith is instant, you will see instant results. If your faith is gradual, you will see gradual results. What you see is the results of what you believe. He says, go your way and as you have believed, so let it be done to you. Let it be done. So, what is done to you is not a matter of chance. The experiences of your life have not been given to chances they've been giving to your faith. If you have not been seeing things is because you have not believed things. When you open the Bible from Genesis to Revelations, how many of those things that you see that you believe? If you only believe God said this, and it will happen, and out of the whole Bible you believe five things; you will see five things. If you believed hundred things, you will see hundred.
We were taught lately and there has been so much emphasis on “all Scriptures is given by the inspiration of God and it is profitable, helpful, useful, for doctrine, for correction, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, that the woman of God may become perfect, that the man of God may become perfect. All Scriptures, what do you do with all Scriptures? Do you believe some Scriptures or do you believe all Scriptures? Now if you break the word scripture into two, you are going to have: script-ure. Alright, for those of us that can imagine things, just put dash(-) after script and the ure forming something like script-ure.
Now, the word script is something that is written and it is what guides performance. I understand that so well because I am a drama minister. So, I understand scripts. No performer, no actor has the authority to invent outside the script except you are improvising, which is a way of saving yourself out of any error. For example, when you're acting with somebody else on the stage, and the person forget what he or she is supposed to say, or do, you can improvise with your own to cover up. But let's say nobody's making any mistake, you must follow the script to the letter. And so, there is a script, there is a performance of it.
So, the Bible says blessed is she that believes for there shall be a performance of the things that have been said to her by her LORD. So, when we are talking about believing, we're asking you to believe the scripts. All scripts are profitable for doctrine, for performance, for instructional performance, for doctrinal performance, for reproof performance, for global performance, for anything, that you and I who are acting the scripts may be perfect, totally perfect, totally furnished, for every good works. So, you now ask: a script has been down to me, there are aspect of the script that are not about you. But when you find your name, what do you do? And Bible says Jesus found a place that was written concerning Him: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. When he finished reading it, Bible says all eyes were on Him.
Jesus said: I have come in the volume of the books; it is written of me. I delight to do your will. I delight to perform this script. I will not be doubting on my stage. When I come out to speak in life, to do things in life; I will speak by my faith, what is my faith, my confidence and assurance in the scripts, knowing fully well that the writer is true, the writer is faithful. If the writer says there will be rain, if the writer says there will be wind, I believe. There is no good actor that comes on stage doubting the writer. If you doubt the write, refuse to act.
If you come on stage, you must believe the writer and you must follow the leading of the director. There is the writer there is this script and there is the director. You require the Scriptures to be written by God by the inspiration of the director Himself, the Holy Spirit. So, believing God, believing in the script, believing in the director of the script of your life, you must perform and you will perform to the degree of your faith. Some actors don't believe in the scripts. You must fall in line. Put down your ego, put down your past, this is a new script. It defines the things you will speak the things you will do. If the director says you shall fall down and die on stage. Don't say you will be jumping up and down be dancing. You will be acting out of it; you will be disloyal and you will be working in distrust. What will happen? The director will send you out of the stage.
I've acted in some places where directors will throw slippers and shoes on actors on stage screaming: get out of my stage. There was a time in university a lady my drama unit. Haven been spoken to by the director from the back, she waled out of the stage crying. The stages of life are not going to be funny every time. And it is not about your will, it is about what the script writer and the director wills. So, if you can believe what they will, you will have a good testimony. Your life has been scripted; you must believe that scripts. The Holy Spirit is not going to leave you to figure out how you should understand the script, He will come to help you. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. All those other stages require your Holy Spirit. Of course, you need the Holy Spirit to even hear where and then, haven heard, you need the Holy Spirit to coordinate the other hearings. Haven received the grace to understand the word by faith by the Holy Spirit, you must therefore speak, speak. You must speak by your faith. If you must see the will of God for your life.
I believe we have been so blessed by God; God bless us in Jesus’ name.
