Let’s look Luke 17:6. It says “…you would say to this Mulberry tree be uprooted and be planted in the sea and it would obey you.”

You as a faithful person can command a tree, giving it orders, and it would obey you! While at work for Amazon Prime and trying to understand this verse I thought, “Has God truly given man rule over all the earth such that it is here to serve us? Let us look at Gen 1:26 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

He created man to rule over this earth and have dominion over it. Let me continue telling you the illustration. I was at work and I was thinking about Genesis 1:26. That day I was going to be walking outside all day and my boss told me that it was going to rain and so I was concerned. I was concerned about my shoes getting wet because my shoes are very porous, having little holes in them. About one-third of the way through my day, at 1:00 p.m., it began to rain not heavy but light and as it began to rain I began thinking “Oh, no my shoes are going to be wet I’m going to have soggy feet all day”.

So, I prayed to the Father. I said “Father please don’t let my socks in my shoes get wet, don’t let it rain on me such that my socks and my shoes get wet.” Well, I was being obedient because in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Also, note 1 John 5:13–15 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence which we have before 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 which we have asked from Him.”

So, I know that He has given me reign and rule over the creation, and so I asked Him not to let that happen to my shoes by faith and the authority He has given me. Guess what happened, it stopped raining within about five to ten minutes after my prayer and it didn’t rain for the rest of my workday. However, when I got home from work it rained, hard.

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The goal is to teach you how to increase your faith. Do you have faith like a mustard seed? That is the question. The struggle that you are going to have in this is that when you look at the scriptures you are going to see them just like you would see your face in the mirror. You are going to think about it but then you are going to turn away and forget what you read.
You are going to read this lesson understand what it means to increase your faith and see who you are in terms of your faith. Then you are going to forget if you don’t put this into action. James talks about this very thing, which is you must be a doer of the word and not a hearer only just deceiving yourself (James 1:22). But that’s not where I want to stay, let’s talk about increasing your faith.

The apostles said to Lord Jesus “…increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). Jesus said, “…if you have faith like a mustard seed…”. Let’s pause for a second, “…faith like a mustard seed…”, often what is talked about is the size but let’s look at the faithfulness of the seed.

Let’s go all the way back to the beginning of time to Genesis 1:11-12 “Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.”

You may know when the seed is planted in the ground it grows fruit, it grows into whatever God designed. But even more notice the very first three words, “then God said”. It was by His very speaking that the earth produced the vegetation that had the seeds and all that you see happening with the plants. He gave His orders to the earth, and it obeyed His voice. Now, how many of you have faith like that, such that when Jesus speaks, you obey?

When the seed is in the earth it grows roots, then sprouts a leaf, then grows into a baby tree, then into a mature tree until it bears fruit. Then others eat the fruit, spit out the seed and it can be used to start the process all over again. That seed is obedient and faithful to the will of God.

Do we take the same seed of faith that Jesus had in the Father, implant it in the soils of our hearts, and produce the fruit of obedience? The obedience that follows the instructions of the living God.

If your faith is obedient to how He wants you to be your faith in Him you can glorify Him. You can’t fake it, He knows whether or not you are speaking in faith, He knows your thoughts and motives.

In Hebrews Joshua is seen as a man of Faith (Hebrews 11:30) and in Joshua 6. In Joshua chapter 6 the Lord told Joshua to walk around the city of Jericho once for six days and seven times on the 7th day then the walls would came down. Also, remember Moses was given instructions in Exodus 14:16 to stretch out his hand and lift up his staff over the sea so that it would divide it and the Israelites walked on dry land. And we know, if you have read that account, Moses did exactly that and the sea was separated, and the Israelites walked on dry land. He did what he was told to do, he obeyed.

This is where some of you are going to struggle to increase your faith because you’re going to have doubts that you didn’t realize you had. You may look at the scriptures and wonder if that is possible for you to do. You’re going to look at passages like Luke 12:29-31 “And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. “For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek, but your Father knows that you need these things. “But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”

And you’re going to think can I really do that and how do I seek the kingdom when you have no money, no food, and there seems to be no one to help? Now, you may find yourself wrapped up and tangled up and tied up in worry having issues trusting in the living God. Asking yourself, will He provide your food, drink and clothing? That is when you are getting close, don’t give up because you need Him. Brethren, He sees that but He will press you to increase your faith, be obedient.

You may ask will God really do that for me today? That was only in Jesus’ time that he fulfilled His promises, right? He makes many promises such as these and He is faithful.

Do you wanna increase your faith? It’s not about just doing stuff, it’s about doing the stuff that He has told you to do and thinking about it the way He has told you to think about it.

Luke 17: 7-10 reads “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’? “But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you may eat and drink’? “He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”

Jesus talks about having a slave who does what he has been commanded and what he’s been told to do. Well, the disciples, whether they know it or not, are his slaves and if they want their faith to increase then they just must do what they’re told to do and think what they’re told to think. Then they will have the mind that they’re told to have and they will have an increase in their faith.

Notice in Luke 17:11-19 what happens when the lepers call out to Jesus the master for mercy. He gives them a command, they obey that command and along the way, following that path of obedience, they are healed. It’s not in walking back the other way, it’s not in doing something other than what they were told but it’s by doing what he told them to do that they are healed. The faith is emphasized when Jesus says “…your faith has made you well.”

If you want an increase in your faith you have to learn to walk in obedience in your mind and by your actions, doing what you are designed to do. You were made in the image of God, you were made to follow in His footsteps. But your struggle is going to be that you will not listen or trust that God’s word is true.

How much sense does it make that you can just go and show yourself to the priest and you will have your sickness removed? It doesn’t make any sense, none at all according to the medical doctors and according to common knowledge, and according to what just man can do, it makes no sense.
However, it was because they trusted in the name of Jesus and they had faith that they were made well. So, what is your issue why won’t you go and show yourself to the high priest that is Jesus Christ?

Today, why won’t you go to Him and show yourselves, reveal yourselves being honest and true. We have to speak to Him and say “Lord, I cannot do this. I am weak Lord, and I need your help.” He expects you to come to Him so that you can be made mature in your faith, but you must believe that He is living and a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. You must have faith in Him. Faith is a substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11:1). He who comes to him must believe that he is a rewarder of those who dilligently seek him Heb. 11:6. If you are struggling with knowing he exist check out these books it helped me eliminate doubt to know Jesus as a the living risen Savior.

Lastly, you must have faith for Him to change you. Do you want to increase your faith? Then you must obey Him, in word and deed do all in the name of the Lord, and He will increase your faith.