Matthew 8:5-13
Great faith is faith that takes God at His Word and will not let go until God meets the need. Great faith rises over every form of discouragement but lays hold of the slightest encouragement and turns it into a “fulfilled promise”.
The two times mentioned in the Bible that Jesus Christ used the phrase “great faith” were when He was dealing with Gentiles and not Jews – Matthew 8:10 | Matthew 15:28. The lesson teaches that with faith in His Word, no one is excluded from a breakthrough. In our leading passage, the centurion took hold of Jesus’ willingness to visit his home and turned it into an instant breakthrough. In Greek, this right or critical moment is referred to as Kairos (God’s appointed time to act). It takes the Spirit of the Lord to easily spot or discern this moment, but many do stumble across it. For the two scenarios mentioned above, the blessings or breakthrough is because of faith in the Lord and declaration of faith by the potential beneficiary. This makes the difference between those who win or lose.
In 1 Kings 18:44, Elijah laid hold of the slightest encouragement and turned it into a “fulfilled promise”. Faith in God’s word and power creates the atmosphere for miracles, and our declaration brings about the manifestation of the promise. In Genesis 1:3 – God spoke light into existence. God had faith that His Word would perform, and He makes it clear in Isaiah 55:11. When faith is in the heart of a believer, they are able to turn it to a declaration – which then results in a performance of God’s word.
As a child of God and knowing that the best of God is not behind us but ahead of us, the onus is on us to develop faith in God’s word and build confidence through prayer for bold declaration.
Faith and confidence in God’s word comes by:
- Continuous Study of God’s Word – Romans 10:17 | Hebrews 11:6
- Personal and Corporate Prayer – Mark 1:35 | Matthew 26:36-37 | Hebrews 10:25
Living a fulfilled life must be deliberate and intentional for every child of God. With our God, nothing shall be impossible.
Discussion:
- Faith is a principal ingredient in receiving from the Lord, how does one maintain faith in the face of fierce opposition? Psalm 46:10-11 | Hebrews 6:11-12 | Joshua 1:8 | Acts 4:23-26.
Discuss the scriptures above and give testimonies how God has delivered the promise into your hand. - Read Luke 18:8 – What do you think Jesus is saying here?
- When faith seems to fail and is not producing, what is the best way to maintain sanity? – Habakkuk 3:17-19 | Job 13:15 | Philippians 4:4.
- How are believers to deal with “No” from God? 2 Corinthians 12:8-11 | Romans 5:3-5.
– On another note, is there anything like a “No” from God? – Discuss. - The centurion understands authority and order, what other quality do you think the man also demonstrated? – Matthew 8:8.
Prayer.
