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Colin Smith: I am absolutely persuaded to the core of my being that the greatest need of the Christian church today is a fresh outpouring, a filling of faith and of hope and of love.

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I'm Steve Hiller, glad you're with us today. And Colin, out of all the things that the church needs today, why do you think it's that fresh filling of faith, hope, and love?

Colin Smith: Well, faith because there is so much discouragement around us, hope because so many people feel a sense of despair, and love because we're absolutely surrounded by conflict. And of course, faith, hope, and love, we're told in the Bible, are the three things that will remain.

Thank God for that. The things that are around us will pass away, but faith, hope, and love will remain forever. And the calling of the church is to be different from the world in which we live. And I think faith, hope, and love and growing in these three are at the very heart of what makes us different and distinct from the world around us.

Steve Hiller: Well, let's begin today's message as we look at little faith. Here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: Well, please open your Bible at Matthew and chapter 6. The Bible says that when everything else passes away, there are three things that will remain: faith, hope, and love remain forever.

Faith, hope, and love are our distinct calling from God, and I am absolutely persuaded to the core of my being that the greatest need of the Christian church today is a fresh outpouring, a filling of faith and of hope and of love. Why do we need to grow in faith? What does that look like? And how is that possible? Luke records that the disciples on one occasion said to Jesus, "Lord, increase our faith." "Lord, increase our faith." That's our prayer for this series.

These men, the disciples, had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They were followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, but they came to a point in their lives where they knew that they had to grow in their faith. And you'll know what this is like in your life, as I know what it's like in mine. Perhaps you've been a believer for some time, perhaps for many, many years, but then suddenly some crisis erupts in your life. And though you've been a believer for a long time, you suddenly find yourself saying, "Well, now I'm really going to have to trust God. Lord, increase my faith."

Well, that is the prayer for our series, and we are starting today at a place where each and every one of us can begin. Jesus spoke on five occasions about little faith. The first of those is in our reading from Matthew and chapter 6. If you have your Bible open, you will see it in verse 30 where he says to the disciples, "Oh, you of little faith."

Now, our Lord used this phrase "little faith" almost as if it was a name. It's almost as if he's using this as a name by which he refers to his disciples. And you might feel that little faith could be your middle name. Little faith, that's me. I have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but I often feel that my faith is small. Now, all of us have times in our lives when we feel that our faith is small, but no believer should ever be content with little faith. Our faith needs to grow.

And today, as we begin this new series, I want us to see why. We're going to look at five occasions where Jesus spoke about little faith. And we're going to see from these five occasions five reasons for growing in faith. Now, the first time then that Jesus refers to little faith is in the passage that was read for us in Matthew and chapter 6. And from this, we learn that little faith is ineffective against anxiety. That's a first reason that we want to grow in faith because little faith is ineffective against anxiety.

Look back up to verse 25, if you would, and see that Jesus is speaking here about anxiety. "Do not be anxious," he says, "about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on." Now, you read these words of Jesus, and it's very clear these are the things we're anxious about all the time.

Do we have enough to cover our costs? Have we saved enough for the future? Will we be able to make ends meet, or have we actually bitten off more than we can chew? These are the unavoidable questions of life. And their natural tendency is to produce anxiety. But here Jesus says, "Do not be anxious." You read that, you say, "Well, how can we do that?" Well, Jesus tells us why we must not give way to anxiety. Notice he tells us first, verse 26, there's no need for anxiety.

"Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Look, your heavenly Father cares for the birds, Jesus says. Do you not think that your heavenly Father will care for you as well? There is no need for you to be anxious.

And then he follows it up in verse 27 by saying there is no point in being anxious. Verse 27, "Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to the span of his life?" You see what Jesus is saying? Worry doesn't change a thing. It can't make your health better. It can't extend your life by a single day or a single hour. Worry is in its nature completely and utterly unproductive.

So if there's no need for anxiety and there's no point in anxiety, why do we worry? Well, Jesus tells us, "Oh, you of little faith," verse 30. We worry because our faith is small. Now, remember that Jesus is talking here to believers. He doesn't say to these first hearers of these words that they have no faith. No, he says they have little faith.

And what Jesus is saying here is that little faith is ineffective against anxiety. Yes, you believe, but you're anxious so much of the time. It is possible to be a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and yet still be overwhelmed with anxiety. And none of us wants to be there, and that's the first reason why we all want to grow in faith.

The more we grow in faith, the more we will prevail over anxiety. Grow in your faith and you will worry less. Grow in your faith and you will have greater peace, you'll have greater freedom, and you'll have greater joy.

So how can we grow in faith? That's always the practical question, isn't it? Well, there are many, many answers to that question: how can we grow in faith? We're going to pick up on five of them today. And God willing, in the weeks that lie ahead, we're going to see many more answers to the question: how can I grow in faith? I hope you're going to embrace each and every one of them. Notice what our Lord says to little faith here, verse 33: "Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you."

You see the point? Faith grows as we seek God's kingdom. Give yourself to serving the Lord and you will grow in faith. Hold back and your faith will remain little, but give yourself to seek his kingdom, give yourself to serve the Lord, and you will grow in faith.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, in a message called Little Faith, part of our series Grow in Faith. And if you ever miss a broadcast in our series, you can always come and listen online. Our website is openthebible.org. There you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free.

You can also listen through the Open the Bible app. That's free; you'll find it at your App Store. And that's a great way to listen to Pastor Colin's teaching on demand. But whether you listen on the radio, online, or through the Open the Bible app, it's all made possible because of your generosity. So thank you for giving to and supporting this ministry.

And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to send you Pastor Colin's brand new book. It's based on this series called Grow in Faith. I think many of us can relate to that. We have a genuine faith in Jesus, but for one reason or another, it's grown a little cold or a little stale, and we want to mature and to grow that faith more.

We'd love to send you a copy of this book, Grow in Faith, as our way of saying thank you for your financial support this month. You can find out more or give online when you come to our website, that's openthebible.org. Or call 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365. Or again, our website is openthebible.org. Well, if you joined us a little later, we are in Matthew chapter 6. We're looking at verses 25 to 33 today as we continue the message Grow in Faith. Here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: Now, the second time that Jesus refers to little faith is in Matthew and chapter 8. And here we come to the story of where the disciples were shaken to the core by a sudden storm. And from this story, we learn that little faith underestimates the ability of Jesus. Notice Jesus said to them, "Why are you afraid, oh you of little faith?" And then he rose and he rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Now, if you look up a few verses in Matthew and chapter 8 to verse 18, you will see that the disciples got into the boat at the express command of the Lord Jesus Christ. He commanded them, he gave orders, Matthew says, that they go over to the other side of the lake. And it seems that the water was calm when the disciples set out in obedience to the command of Jesus. What could be more pleasant than an evening boat trip with the Lord Jesus Christ?

But you know the story. Suddenly, unexpectedly, everything changed. Verse 24, "And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea so that the boat was being swamped by the waves." And Matthew tells us that Jesus was asleep.

So you see, here you are in a crisis, and the first question you have is: what in the world is Jesus doing? And the truth is, he doesn't appear to be doing anything. He doesn't seem even to be engaged. So the disciples go and they waken the Savior. "Save us, Lord," they say, "we are perishing." See, that's what faith does. Faith's first instinct in times of trouble is to turn to the Lord and to ask for help. And Matthew records that Jesus said to them, "Why are you afraid, oh you of little faith?"

Now, what I want you to notice here is that little faith is obedient to Jesus. The disciples obeyed the command of Jesus. They got in the boat when he told them to cross to the other side of the lake. Little faith obeys the Lord Jesus. And little faith prays to the Lord Jesus. The disciples called on Jesus, they asked him for help. "Save us, we are perishing."

So little faith obeys and little faith prays, and yet little faith still lives in fear because little faith underestimates the ability of Jesus. Do you see? It is possible to be an obedient, praying believer and still to underestimate what Jesus Christ is able to do. That's what little faith does. And none of us wants to underestimate the ability of Jesus.

Now, notice where the story ends because here's where we pick up another lesson on how to grow in faith. Verse 26, Matthew records, then he, that is Jesus, rose, he got up from sleeping in the boat, and he rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm. And the men marveled saying, "What sort of man is this that even winds and sea obey him?"

Faith grows as we get to know Jesus. Walk with him, learn of him, look to him, and your faith will grow. You know, Paul says that he is able to do far more abundantly above all that we ask and even above all that we think.

Little faith believes enough to ask Jesus for help. Little faith thinks that God can help, that is why he or she asks. But God is able to do far abundantly more than little faith asks or thinks. He's able to do far more than any of us here today even thinks. Walk with him and you will find out what he can do.

Now, the third time that Jesus refers to little faith is in Matthew and chapter 14. And you might like to turn over to that with me now. This is the story of when Jesus came to his disciples walking on the water. And from this story, we learn that little faith is easily distracted. Notice Matthew 14 and verse 31, immediately Jesus reached out his hand and took hold of him, that is Peter, saying to him, "Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Now, again, this is a story that some of us know well. The disciples were in the boat at night, and Jesus had gone up to a mountain on his own in order to pray. But late in the night, Jesus came to the disciples walking on the water. At first, the disciples thought that they were seeing a ghost, but Jesus said, "Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid." And Peter said, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." And Jesus said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and he walked on the water to Jesus.

Now, here we learn something else about faith. Faith takes bold initiatives at the command of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we look at this story, Peter getting out into the boat, our first thought is most likely, well, Peter must have had great faith to do that. I mean, I'm not sure I would have done it. Would I have got out of the boat? Peter must have had great faith to get out of the boat. And yet what Jesus says to him here is, "Oh you of little faith."

Spurgeon suggests that Peter's faith was little from the beginning because little faith is always looking for a sign. Listen to what he says, and I quote, "Little faith is far too eager for signs." Spurgeon says, "I do not think Peter's faith suddenly became little, it was always little and the sight of the wind made its littleness apparent."

He continues, "Strong faith is content without signs. It believes God's bare word and asks for no confirming miracle." Now, it's clear from this story then that little faith, that's the name by which Jesus addresses Peter here, little faith can achieve great things.

But it's also clear from this story that little faith gets easily distracted. Here's Peter taking what looks like this bold initiative of faith, he's responding to the invitation of Jesus to come. But Matthew tells us that when he walked on the water, he saw the wind, verse 30, and he was afraid. So picture this: his eyes are on Jesus as he walks towards the Master. But you see, the thing with little faith is it's easily distracted. And when he saw the wind, oh well, then he was afraid and he began to sink.

Now, this is one of the marks of little faith. It looks to Jesus and then it looks away to something else. Now, we are asking the practical question throughout this series: how can my faith grow? Well, again, from this story, we've got another very obvious answer, and it's this: that faith grows as we worship.

And that's where the story ends here, verse 32: when they got into the boat, the wind ceased, and those in the boat worshiped him saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." Worship is the gaze of the soul upon the Lord Jesus Christ and your faith will grow as you worship.

Steve Hiller: What a great truth to have to pause on right there. You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called Little Faith. And we have begun to look at reasons for growing in faith. We've seen three so far, two coming on our next broadcast. And we've been looking at strategies to grow in faith. And again, we've seen three of those strategies, including what we were just looking at: faith grows as we worship. Next time, we'll dive into two more strategies, so I hope you'll join us.

Well, our message is part of a larger series called Grow in Faith. And if you ever miss a broadcast in the series, you can always come and listen online. Our website is openthebible.org. There you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. You can also listen through the Open the Bible app. That's free; you'll find it at your App Store. And that's a great way to stay connected with Pastor Colin's teaching and listen on demand whenever it fits your schedule.

One other way to listen is to get a copy of this series on CD. Ask about Grow in Faith when you call us at 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365. Or again, our website is openthebible.org.

Open the Bible depends on your generosity to bring you Pastor Colin's teaching, and we're grateful for your support. As you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to say thank you by sending you a copy of Pastor Colin's new 30-day devotional book called Grow in Faith. And Colin, what is one thing that you want people to take away from this book?

Colin Smith: Well, this is a book for ordinary Christians. You talk about growing in faith, someone might think, well, you know, I'm no giant of the faith, so that's probably not for me. Well, you know, Jesus spoke on five occasions about people with little faith. "Oh, you of little faith."

And that's where we start in this book Grow in Faith. If you feel that your faith is small, this is exactly for you. It's a place from which you can begin to grow. And you know, there are two wonderful things about little faith. One is that little faith is saving faith if it is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the other is that little faith, because faith is a living thing, is faith that really can grow. And I think that this book will help people to grow in faith. That's our hope and our prayer as we've been working on it and preparing it, and I hope that it's going to be a real blessing to you.

Steve Hiller: Well, we'd love to send you a copy of this new book from Pastor Colin. Again, it's called Grow in Faith, and it's our thank you for your financial support this month. You can give when you call 1-877-OPEN-365 or online at openthebible.org. Again, our phone number is 1-877-673-6365, and the website is openthebible.org.

For Pastor Colin Smith, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening, and I hope you'll join us next time. This program is a listener-supported production of Open the Bible.

Colin Smith: At Open the Bible, we're grateful for like-minded organizations committed to sharing the gospel around the world. And to that end, I'd like to commend the work of Global Fingerprints. You know, in the book of James, God calls us to help orphans in their distress. That's a clear command, but it's not always clear how we should obey it.

And this is where Global Fingerprints comes in. Through Global Fingerprints, you can sponsor a vulnerable child to help meet their physical needs and ensure they hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to commend Global Fingerprints to you. They're focused on equipping the local church to care for children, and where there is no church, they help to plant one. If you'd like to help a vulnerable child, you can find more information on Global Fingerprints at our website openthebible.org/gf. That's openthebible.org/gf.