In an age of pretty unchecked consumerism and technological advancement, there is one thing that permeates our society from top to bottom, and that is the concept of upgrading. Whether it be your phone, your car, your home, your appliances, your wardrobe, your watch, office chair, your laptop or any of a host of other belongings, western society is agreed: you can’t stay in last year’s model. You have to update to stay relevant.
One of the best examples of this is the iPhone by Apple, which I know many of you have. We used to have them as well. The iPhone was hailed as one of the most innovative technologies of the 21st century and is what you would call the first real smartphone. As of February of this year, according to tech site IGN, over 2.3 billion iPhones have been sold worldwide. Apple releases a new iPhone every year as a matter of course, and in some years they have released more than one in a single year. All told, in the 17 years since the first iPhone was released, there have been 24 so-called “generations” of the iPhone. Many people view owning an iPhone as a status symbol and make it a financial priority to get the latest one every year, scheduling time to wait in long lines at Apple stores or preorder the next model online. While early on Apple’s various versions of the iPhone had dramatic changes from year to year, becoming noticeably bigger, faster, more durable or reliable, or packed with new features, it is clear that after 17 years, the updates to iPhone have been harder and harder to identify for those that don’t compare specification sheets. As such, it’s even harder to sell these newer generations to the those who aren’t hardcore Apple fans.
Take the iPhone 15, which released in 2023 and featured as its main selling point its titanium frame, which was supposed to make it more durable and visually appealing. Of course, it was obvious to most that people would buy cases for their iPhone 15s, and that this would negate the point of all of that entirely. Indeed, apart from the frame, the biggest changes of the 15 over the 14 were a better camera lens, an action button to replace the mute switch, and the change to a universal power cable instead of an Apple-only one. Not sure those three features were worth the $800 price tag that came with the base model. If you wanted some additional and equally squint-until-you-notice-a-difference features, you could shell out $900, for a “Plus” version, $1000 for a “Pro” version, or even $1,200 for a “Pro Max,” whatever that means. That’s right, for the low low price of a mortgage payment, you could get a phone that is identical to the one you have, with a few minor improvements you couldn’t identify without going to a tech website that compares specifications like “processor overclock speed.” What would we do if our phones didn’t have a high overclock speed, after all?
And we saw this with other things besides phones. What about trucks? Do we all remember when the “Multiflex” tailgates came out? I’m of course talking about the tailgates that had a mini tailgate in them. You could use that to step up into your truck bed more conveniently. It was a neat little quality of life feature, and many people sold their trucks and went out to buy new trucks that were in most other ways the same truck, just to have that one feature.
Where am I going with this? This isn’t just some kind of Ted talk. There is a message here, and no, it isn’t what you might be thinking. I’m not up here getting ready to talk about how we should “stay by the stuff” because the world wants us to change and update our ways to stay relevant. That does sound like a good message and maybe I’ll do one someday, but I’m actually taking a different tack. Strangely enough, I’m actually advocating for upgrading, but not our Bible, not our beliefs, not our “tactics” or programs. I’m advocating for upgrading your belief.
We’re going to look at a couple of stories from your Bible, familiar ones, but as with all stories in Scripture, it is impossible to mine them completely and exhaust the lessons to be learned. I’ve been reading the Bible through, front to back, since I was a little boy listening to my dad read it faithfully every day, and I never cease to hear things even to this day that spark my interest, get me thinking, or help me with something going on in my life. Of the two stories we’ll look at, one is from the Old Testament, and one from the New Testament, which gives me an opportunity to point out once more how both sides of your Bible, though separated by thousands of years, agree marvelously with one another, which is something two authors in our current age writing on the exact same subject in even the exact same way probably can’t seem to agree about. Let’s take the Old Testament story first. This story is found in Genesis 22, but we’re going to go back to Genesis 12 to set this up.
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
Genesis 12:1-4
Now, we all know the story. Abram was a man of Ur of the Chaldees, ironically making him and his family Chaldeans, the same location and people group that is still in the area thousands of years later when the nation of Israel is taken into captivity. Abram’s story is so significant because at the time there was no Bible, but more importantly there were no Jews, no law of Moses, no Septuagint, no prophets, no scrolls. This was the period after the Great Flood, when mankind had repopulated the earth, and furthermore after the Tower of Babel, when God introduced languages and therefore created different nations. Some generations after Babel, Abram was just a man living in the city of Ur in Chaldea, located in modern-day Iraq. As stated, there were no known written Words of God, only what was passed down from Noah to his children and their families. People had a notion of God, and some may even have preserved the oral traditions of Noah’s descendants, but with the rise of nations, there was also a growing corruption of an understanding of God. This is the reason why in the Old Testament there is often an understanding of God outside of the Hebrew nation, such as with Melchizedek, who was from the city of Salem, a place where apparently there was knowledge of the one true God, or with the much-later Balaam, who while being a pagan also communicated with and shared prophecies from the one true God with the Moabite king Balak, who also knew of and respected the one true God. This concept of a general knowledge of Jehovah among the pagan nations is notable too in the story of Moses later on, when the Pharaoh of Egypt tells Moses and Aaron that he does not know, recognize, or respect the Hebrew God.
So we see that Abram is a man who was raised in an ancient city where there was knowledge of God, but there was also growing religious paganism and corruption of that knowledge. Note that in Genesis 12 when God calls Abram out of Ur, there is no mention that Abram is surprised to hear from God or questioning of who God is, reinforcing the idea that at this point knowledge of God was still widespread. Having received this message from the Lord, perhaps through a dream or a prophet, we just don’t know, Abram leaves Ur on faith, choosing to believe the Word of God. This is Abram’s first act of faith, and it was a significant act, for he left everything that he had known behind, and followed God’s instructions not knowing what he would find in Canaan or how he would deal with it. Abram began with faith. But it didn’t end there.
In Genesis 17, God visits Abram through angels, or perhaps a Theophany (an Old Testament appearance of Christ), and here is where we see that God is seeking to actively upgrade Abraham’s faith. He believed God enough to leave his home and family and go into the land of Canaan, but now God was saying, in effect, “It’s time to progress. It’s time to advance. You’ve stayed at this place in your walk with Me long enough.” And so God visits Abram and tells him that not only will he have a son, but that through this son he will have many, many descendants. God even, in this story, upgrades Abram’s name to Abraham, subtly letting him know that the time has come for him to advance spiritually. Abraham, while seemingly stalwart in his faith in God to leave Ur for Canaan, now finds himself tested to an uncomfortable level. Now he has to believe that God will give a 99-year-old man and a 90-year-old woman a baby. It may have been hard for Abraham to believe that God would take care of him in a new land, but now God was asking more of him, much more. Now he was asking Abraham and Sarah to believe that God would do something physically impossible. And we know that Abraham and Sarah initially struggle with this test.
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Genesis 17:17-18
And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
We know that Ishmael was Abraham’s firstborn son, but he was not Sarah’s son. He was an attempt by Abraham and Sarah to cause God’s promise to Abraham to come to pass on their own. Now, we can be hard on Abraham here, and not without just cause, but I won’t be. I’m actually going to give him a pass on this in my message today. Should he have believed God? Yes. Did Ishmael ultimately end up causing a tremendous amount of trouble not just for Abraham’s children, but even in the modern era? Yes. But Abraham was a human being, and his faith was being tested and upgraded by God. Honestly, if I had been Abraham, and God had promised I would have children, and I was getting older and older, I would probably start to think, “Maybe God wants me to get involved and do something to make this happen. After all, God knows Sarah cannot conceive and even if she could we’re getting older and older with every year. Maybe He just hasn’t told me, but in reality He wants me to step up and do this.” This seems a reasonable thought, and even in my own life when I’ve been waiting on God, I have occasionally thought, “Maybe God does expect me to act here, and do something.” So I personally will forgive Abraham for this failure.
But God pushes Abraham to believe that yes, He can even do impossible things. He can allow a 90-year-old woman to conceive a child, carry him, deliver him, nurse him, and raise him. And when Isaac came on the scene, I believe that Abraham’s faith had indeed been upgraded to a new level. He had a deeper faith in God, an enhanced trust in the One who had been there for him through his trek from Ur to where he was now. But God was not done with Abraham even after this. There was a third level of belief that God wanted him to reach, and we read about that level in Genesis 22.
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Genesis 22:1-2
God had proven to Abraham that he could do the impossible. He had proven His goodness and faithfulness to Abraham, and He had promised that Abraham would have children specifically through Isaac. And yet, in chapter 22 we see God telling Abraham to go up into a mountain and to kill his miraculous child in God’s name. Essentially, God was saying, “Give Isaac back to me. I gave him to you, and I want him back.” And notice that Abraham, unlike before with Ishmael and Sarah’s age and barrenness back in chapter 17, does not doubt. He had learned his lesson from chapter 17, and now believed God, and proved it for all of us to read about. You can see that Abraham is ready for this “upgrade” to his faith, because when Isaac questions him about the animal for the sacrifice, he makes this famous statement:
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Genesis 22:8
Total trust in God. He has upgraded his faith by this point, perhaps to maximum level. After all, this test of God was not only recorded in this place, but is referenced in others for its sheer magnitude. James mentions his act of faith in his talk about works in James 2, referencing that Abraham was called God’s friend because of his faith was so strong that it produced a notable, significant act on his part (a “work,” if you will), and that through this work he reached a level few have ever enjoyed. And not just James, but in Hebrews the writer lists not one or two, but all three of these levels of faith for Abraham, so that we might see the progression for ourselves.
By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
Hebrews 11:8-11
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
Hebrews 11:17-19
Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
God had seen that Abraham had faith in Him, but He wanted Abraham to go further, to trust more, to be utterly confident in his God. And it was this act of upgrading his faith to the third level that gains him a reputation that is not given to anyone else. Look at the passage in James that talks of Abraham’s “work.”
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
James 2:20-23
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
Now, I’ve started work on a study in the book of James that I may one day share with you, so I’m not going to thoroughly break down the second half of James 2, though it is a wonderful passage of Scripture and should not at all frighten the Christian. And Abraham is proof of that. Look at how Abraham was able to please God, and earn this unique title, one that is capitalized in your Bible. He was able to reach this point in his faith by proving it with his deeds. And this makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? Abraham believed God, but God wanted more than words to that effect, He wanted a demonstration of that belief, which is what we’ll see later in our New Testament passage. Christians struggle with James, and there are many enemies of Christ who will use James as a way to undermine faith or preach works as a way to salvation, but do we not understand what James is saying on a basic level? If I neglect and abuse my kids and yet assure them of my love for them, will they believe me? If I tell my wife I’m hers and care about her more than anything, then spend 90% of my time making myself happy, will she believe me? If I don’t show my love for my wife, her faith in my love will die. I have to provide her with evidence to back that faith up. Similarly, I can stand here and say, “I believe in God, absolutely, no question,” yet behave as if He does not exist. And if so, would it not be true to say with James that my faith is dead as a doornail? And what good is such a faith? As James says, “What doth it profit?” Real faith is “justified,” or proved, by good works. It doesn’t need them to be real, because salvation is by faith alone, but without those works, our faith is utterly unprofitable.
Abraham earned the lofty title, Friend of God, not because he had great faith, but because he demonstrated his faith in dramatic ways. He didn’t just say, “I believe God will take care of us in Canaan,” he went to Canaan. He, and Sarah as well, while initially doubting God’s ability to give them a son, believed enough to stop trying to make it happen and trust in God. Abraham, not just believing that God would keep His word concerning Isaac, was willing to kill him if God asked Him to, no matter how much it went against what He knew about God or His promises. His faith was demonstrated because he trusted God was able even to raise Isaac from the dead, if that was what it took for God to keep His word. God was able to fix whatever went wrong, because He is faithful and cannot lie.
I’m going to tell you right now that as much as I want to be a friend of God, as much as I love God and want to please Him with my life… my faith is simply not there yet. I have trouble trusting God with my kids, with my wife, with my money. I sometimes doubt, I wonder, not if God can do amazing things, but if He will. And this is in spite of Him already proving to me personally through the past 39 years that He has done such things in my life. I could tell story after story of how when the chips were down and I had to trust God and had nothing left in my hands, God never failed. Like Peter, I believe wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but there are times when I do get focused on the waves, or on what the other disciples are doing, or am simply filled with fear, and by my actions deny Him. And Peter is another great example of faith being upgraded, but we don’t have time for him right now. We’ll call him an honorable mention, a man who also had his faith upgraded, in smaller increments perhaps than Abraham, but notable nonetheless.
But I would like to leave Abraham for now and look at a New Testament example. For this we will look at Luke 10.
Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Luke 10:38-42
Mary and Martha are two of the rare named female characters in the Gospels. They are distinctive in many ways and the stories that are told of them have deep significance. Indeed, though the Bible describes their brother, Lazarus, as someone whom Jesus loved, very little is actually said of Lazarus. More, in fact, is said of his sisters. And Jesus has several interactions with these two women that are specifically done to upgrade their own faith.
The first time we see these ladies in Scripture is in Luke 10, where it says that Martha had faith. Where does it say that? Well, it says that she received Jesus into her house. This is an act of faith, because she was apparently the eldest (it says it was her house, and that she had a sister). This was an act of faith because Jesus, as we know was not always received. Furthermore, we see that Mary also had faith, because she sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to His words, believing them. Martha had faith to allow Jesus into her home, but even in this first meeting, Jesus upgrade’s Martha’s faith. Sometimes, I know, ladies have issues with this passage because most ladies know how much work it is to clean and cook, and to read this story and hear Jesus say that Mary’s lack of help was approved of God can be a big pill to swallow. But it isn’t really that difficult. The housework was always there, and we know from experience that Jesus was able Himself to provide food for whoever was there. Martha was missing out because her faith was quite enough to just let Christ handle the little things while she absorbed what would not always be with her, His Words, in person. Most of us now would kill (figuratively speaking) for a chance to sit with Jesus and hear His Word directly from His mouth. But Martha was a good housekeeper and host before she was a faithful disciple, and even in this first interaction, Martha has her faith upgraded by Christ, teaching her that even those things we know are good things should not come between us and God.
Next time we see these two ladies in Scripture is in John 11. In John 11, we learn that Lazarus, Mary and Marth’s brother, is sick. Mary and Martha, knowing full well that Jesus has been healing those who were sick, send word to Him, likely thinking that Jesus will come immediately, for it says in verse 5 that Jesus loved all three of the siblings. No doubt, the sisters, and the disciples as well, are surprised when Jesus does not go to Lazarus and does not speak of his sickness until after he has already passed. This test of faith hits Marth and Mary equally, and when they finally hear that Jesus is coming, Martha is straight out of the door to meet him.
Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
John 11:20-27
Praise God, here we see demonstrated that yes, Martha’s faith had actually increased. Distraught, and disappointed that Jesus allowed her brother to die, notice what she does not do. 1) She does not blame Jesus for his death, even though Jesus could have prevented it. 2) She does not become angry with Jesus. 3) She does not lose her faith. Like Job, she expresses the sorrow that aches in her heart for her brother. “If thou hadst been here,” she exclaims, “my brother had not died.” She knew that Jesus could have saved her brother, but then she says, essentially, but forget about that, you can do whatever you want because you are God. Notice that the idea of bringing Lazarus back to life is Martha’s idea. She does not state it outright, but what she says is evidence enough. And yet, though she thinks it is possible, she does not believe it yet. But wait, if she believes that Christ can raise Lazarus, how can she also not believe it?
It’s actually pretty simple. My kids know when we go to Aldi that I can buy them a treat. They believe that I can, and they hope that I can, but they do not necessarily believe that I will. And this is one of the biggest challenges to faith in God and one of the biggest obstacles to all of us being able to advance to higher ground, to upgrade our faith. We read all of these stories in the Bible and we hear how all of these people had faith and God came through for them, but we think, in spite of what we know, “Not for me, though.” When we talk about having faith in God, we don’t have a problem with the first part. We believe that God can heal people, and but not our people. We believe that God can miraculously provide finances, but not our finances. We believe that God can do things but not for us, because we don’t want to be disappointed if He says “no,” or even worse, begin to doubt, as some do. Martha knew that Jesus could raise the dead, but she didn’t want to hope that Jesus would do something like that for her, because what if He didn’t?
But Jesus doesn’t let her stay where she is in her faith. He asks her to believe. He even states it clearly for her, “Your brother will rise again.” It’s everything she wants to hear, everything she’s hoped for since she heard he was coming, but notice that even now, she doesn’t believe it. She has already gone to that place in her mind: “What if that’s not what He means? What if He’s talking metaphorically? Maybe, He is referring to the end of time?” Even after he has told her that her brother will be raised, she “gives Him an out,” as they say. He pushes her more though, unwilling to let her settle back in. He tells her that He Himself, Jesus, is life. He is resurrection. And then He tells her that even a dead man will live if He wills it, and even a dying man will never die if He wills it. And then he asks her the question… the million dollar question… “Believest thou this?”
What is going on here in terms of our discussion? Well, this is where the little box pops up on your phone screen or your computer and says, “Do you want to upgrade your faith now, Martha?” And there’s a button that says, “Yes” and there’s a button that says, “Later.” But there’s also that red “X” in the corner of the box, and when you hover over it with your finger, it says, “Don’t ask me again.” That’s where Martha was, and that’s where we are. God is testing our faith, wanting to increase it, but all He does is give us the option, provide us with the opportunity. We still have to press the button. We still have to commit to this process. And so many times we’re Martha! We want to believe, but we live in a world that’s full of disappointments and physicality and we just want to believe what we see right now. We have trouble taking the plunge and placing our trust in a God we can’t see with things that are so important to our lives. How can I trust God completely with my finances? How can I trust God completely with my children’s future and safety? How can I trust God with my job and my house and my car? Let me ask you this: how can you not? Well, you might say, those things are of critical importance, and I can’t just take my hands off the wheel and leave them to chance! After all, people go bankrupt! Children are killed in accidents! People lose their jobs, homes, and cars!
Exactly. The best reason to trust God with those things is that our involvement might seem like the defining factor, but in reality how much do you rely on God already? How sturdy do you think your life is because of your direct involvement? How exactly are you going to prevent your finances from failing, if the banks crash and lose all your money? How exactly are you going to keep your kids safe all the time, wherever they are? How are you going to keep yourself from losing your job, when sometimes bosses just fire people, and homes sometimes just get repossessed, and sometimes cars just break down? We need to let go of the illusion of control. Because the reality is, our lives are extremely fragile. You are one moment away from a heart attack, or a death in the family, or the loss of your home, or the tanking of your wealth and all of your dreams, and you don’t realize that God is actually holding all of it together already.
That’s where Martha was. She wanted to believe because something had occurred that was completely out of her control, and she knew that Jesus could do anything. “But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee,” says Martha. But Jesus knows this knowledge is not enough. He presses her to expand her faith. “Believest thou this?” He says. And He says it to us, too. Every time we read the Bible for ourselves, or the pastor gets up and preaches right to you and says you need to have faith, there is the Holy Spirit right there with you, whispering, “Believest thou this?”
We hear this sentiment too in Mark 9. Unlike with Peter, we’ll take a detour there, because it’s a quick but potent trip. We’ll come back to Martha and Mary momentarily. In Mark 9 there is a man identified only as “one of the multitude,” and I like that, because that man is unnamed. He’s identified as one of countless others, just a man who needs Jesus, in host of people who need him. How often do we feel the same way? We just feel insignificant, just one of the multitude. And yet Jesus does not turn away, does not ignore even one.
And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
Mark 9:17-22
This man has come to Jesus because he has discovered that his control over his life really is just an illusion. He has tried everything humanly possible to save his son from the control of this evil spirit. The fragility of his life has been brought clearly before him. He can’t help his son, for he has no power of this evil spirit. He can’t cure his son, can’t cast the devil out, no medicine or doctor can help. He even comes, he says, to Jesus’ own disciples, and they could do nothing to help this poor man.
And what is Jesus’ response? He exclaims, as he has to the disciples more than once, “Why do you have no faith?” These are strong words, but remember that these people have been following Jesus, and seeing His miracles, and still they don’t believe. Personally, I think the brunt of His frustration (if you can call it that) is with His disciples, not with the man himself, but that is just my impression of these verses. Partly I believe this to be the case because when the father begs him to have compassion upon them, and help his son, Jesus replies to him much gentler.
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Mark 9:23-24
This is one of my favorite stories and one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture, because it resonates with our inability as humans to truly let go. We let go with one hand, but we won’t let go with the other. Or we let go with both hands, but we still have a finger hanging on, or we’ll be hanging with a single fingernail, or our teeth even, but in some form or fashion we’re still holding on. Unwilling to take the plunge, a piece of our flesh holds us back, whispering in our ear doubts and fears, much like there were in Martha’s mind. At this point, this father has come before Jesus in a state of utter hopelessness. He has done everything and failed. He cannot help himself and neither can anyone else. This is his last chance, his “hail Mary,” if you’ll excuse the expression. He doesn’t even dare to hope at this point, but he has to try. How much misery do we experience in our own lives because we try everything we can do first? How much less misery could we live through if we acted, yes, but went to God first? When a problem comes up in your life, just reach out to God, before you start formulating a plan, before you make a phone call, before you make that decision or even get advice from anyone else, just sit down and commune with Him. I know I don’t do it, but I need to, and so do you.
And of course Jesus easily heals the man’s son, and the man believes. Jesus also raised Martha’s brother, and she believed. Jesus showed Thomas His hands and side, and he believed. But these people suffered first. These Christians we’re talking about, they had faith, but not enough to spare them from heartache and pain. And we don’t all have the same faith, but we should all be increasing in faith.
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Romans 12:3
In Luke 17:5-6, the disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith, and He responds by telling them that if they had faith as small as a mustard seed, they could do great things. Why does Jesus use the imagery of a mustard seed? In Mark 4, we see that Jesus uses the same imagery to describe the Kingdom of God itself, and we see why He uses it in these situations: because a mustard seed starts small, but grows big.
And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
Mark 4:30-32
We each start somewhere in our faith. It starts when we get saved, and for many it starts small, like a mustard seed, and it grows from there, if we will allow God to upgrade it through the trials and tests that He brings into our lives. And when that little window pops up and says, “Do you want to update your faith?” You have to swallow hard and tap that “yes” button, and trust Him through what He’s about to do. Abraham did, and God called Abraham his friend. The father in the multitude did, though he didn’t think he had much faith at all, and Jesus saved his son. His measure of faith was small, but he asked Jesus to grow it, and Jesus did just that.
And Jesus does the same for Martha. She wanted to believe that her brother could rise then and there at Jesus command, but her measure of faith wasn’t there yet. But she didn’t click the “don’t show this again” button. She put it off, electing to stay where she was, and continue to hope. But again, Jesus shows her that she has to believe. She has to reach that next level. But how hard it is for her! After going to the grave and weeping, and hearing much the same words from Mary as from Martha, Jesus tells them to open up the grave. And Martha, bless her, she still shows that she is not yet ready to increase her faith, and Jesus gently guides her there.
Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
John 11:39-40
Take note, Martha is watching what she wants Jesus to do unfold before her eyes, and still struggles with her faith. Is Jesus really going to raise my brother, she thinks? Or will I be disappointed again? It’s as if her faith is inside a container inside her, and Jesus is growing her faith and forcing that container to burst violently. Interestingly, Jesus is never recorded actually telling her the words He says He told her. Perhaps John simply didn’t choose to include that conversation, but perhaps this is Jesus making plain what He had tried to teach her earlier. He told her directly that Lazarus would rise, and He told her that He Himself was the resurrection and the life. He told her that though a man were dead, through Him that man would live again. But now he pushes her further, and says, “Didn’t I tell you, Martha? Why don’t you believe yet?”
Martha believed, as she saw her brother unwrapped like some kind of mummy. And he was whole and undecayed. She believed, I assure you. But her upgrade, like Abraham and Sarah’s second upgrade, came with seeing. We don’t need to be like Martha, or those who saw the miracle. We can believe, not just when we see the miracle, not even just because we believe that God can do the miracle. But we can believe God even when He doesn’t raise the dead for us. We can say, I believe that God will heal this loved one, and when that loved one passes, we can say with full confidence, “God new best.” That is the highest level of faith. There is no upgrade beyond that. Abraham reached that point in the end, when he was willing to kill his own son, believing that God could do whatever he wanted, even raise Isaac up or prevent the knife from killing him. His faith was impervious to his fear of disappointment. That is why he is called the Friend of God. We hear it quoted often:
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
This is the highest point of faith, the last upgrade. To believe that God can do the most improbable things. To pray for them with full confidence that He can and will do them, and then when we doesn’t, instead of doubting Him, saying, “You knew best, God.” And I’m not going to take questions. I’m not going to stand here and tell you why God allowing your child to pass away was somehow for the best, or how losing your job was somehow for the best, because I don’t know. I’m not God. But I believe what He has said. All things in your life, if you’re saved and living for Him, are going to work toward upgrading your faith to the last point, and bringing glory to Him through your life. I do believe that while we as sinful people will never be fully sanctified until we receive our resurrected bodies, we can have faith that will grow from that tiny mustard seed, and be continually upgraded. What does fully upgraded faith look like? Well, it looks like Abraham, a man willing to even do something unthinkable because his trust in God was so absolute. It looks like a Roman centurion, believing that Jesus did not have to be physically present in order to do miracles in his life (and He is not physically present in our lives… do we believe He can still do miracles in our lives?). That maxed-out faith looks like a woman, believing that just touching Jesus’ clothes could heal her and change her whole life.
What is your measure of faith? Of course, faith has to begin somewhere, and that point is salvation. We must first trust Him enough to save us ultimately from the presence of sin through regeneration of our dead, sinful hearts. If you don’t have that beginning of faith, none of the rest of this will matter much. But for those of us who have accepted the gift of salvation, who have received our mustard seed of faith… how far are you going to upgrade it? How big will you let that tree grow? Will it be little mound of earth, as it begins, or will it be a bush, or will it be a mighty tree, that gives use to so many other creatures? I trust that when the time comes for your faith, or mine, to be upgraded, that we won’t hesitate. We’ll press that “upgrade” button with all our hearts, and move a little further into God’s will in the process.
Word Weld 
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