“It Would Obey You” (Luke 17:5-21)

And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." 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. (vs5-6)

Faith enables us to do impossible things that we can't do (vs5-10). Jesus 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”. Faith enables us to be holy, loving, and pure.  It brings God's power, for He works by faith, so faith is vital to spiritual life.  It is increased by use, so that as we believe, it grows. He says, “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do”.  It is by practicing God's word that we get emboldened in it, preaching what we know by experience.  As you walk by faith, more is given, so that obedience produces increase in spiritual power.  Love begets love, even as faith gets more from God. 

Secondly, Jesus is loved by unworthy outcasts (vs11-19).  We read, “And one of [the lepers], when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan”. The faith of God's elect is rooted in the fact that we deserve the curse, and we cannot alleviate it in any way!  Thus, we glorify God in word and deed, when He saves us.  We live for Him who saved, because we know He did it and not we ourselves.

Finally, God's rule is inward (vs20-21).  We read, “Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, 'The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you”. He controls the heart, orders the mind, and He's worshiped inwardly with outward results.  Men see the impact, but not the King.  They see the fruit, but the root is inside of us; it is unseen faith in the invisible God, whom we look to for help.  God's kingdom is not of this world, because our King rules us invisibly by His word , pointing us to a kingdom to come.