"For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” - Matt 17:20
The mustard seed is so tiny, yet Jesus illustrated faith with it. This means that faith has nothing to do with quantity. Faith has to do with standing firm and endurance.
With a mustard seed of faith, Jesus said that we will say to the mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move, AND nothing will be impossible for us.
There seems to be a progression. The mountain moves; AND nothing will be impossible for us. For us to see the impossible done, we must first see what seems to be impossible done. If we can see the mountain moved, our faith has grown to see the impossible.
Every miracle you see empowers you to overcome a bigger problem. I used to be a body builder many years ago. When I overcame 60 kg of bench press (my weight was 50-ish), I could take on 70kg, then 80kg and so on.
Jesus said that you will say to the mountain and it will move. But He didn't say WHEN it will move. How fast we expect it to move depends on the mustard seed of faith that we have sown in.
Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. When it is sown, it will grow to become like a tree (Luke 13:19). He illustrated this by cursing the fig tree before teaching the faith principle (Mark 11:22-23).
Once you have sown the mustard seed of faith, it will GROW and it will WORK, whether instantly or progressively. How fast you want it to work depends on whether your seed has become a tree.
Once you have sown the seed, you endure/persevere to the end. This is the only way for it to grow and work.
But the one who endures to the end will be saved (sozo-ed). - Matt 24:13 (emphasis added)
...knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result... - James 1:3-4
The word 'endurance' in James 1:3 and 'endures' in Matt 24:13 come from the same root word 'hupomenó', which means to abide and remain steadfast.
It is similiar to Ephesians 6:13 when you have done all, 'to stand'. In the Greek, it means 'one who does not hesitate, does not waver; of one who vanquishes his adversaries and holds the ground.'
You are not enduring because God is testing you. You are enduring because the enemy is the one attacking you. Each time when you let faith endure, you defeat the enemy.
For you to see the result of faith, you sow the mustard seed and endure/persevere it to the end. By remaining steadfast, you are letting the seed GROW into the tree. 'Nothing will be impossible for you' becomes your reality.
The problem comes when you doubt (aka double-minded). You cannot mix faith with unbelief. It is like sowing the seed and digging it up from the ground again. In this case, it will NEVER grow. It will NEVER produce result.
Alot of believers know how to sow the mustard seed of faith. But it is enduring to the end that they can't. You will have to align your words, your thoughts and your actions to who and what Christ is, regardless of your situation. This is where you become perfect (mature) and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:4).
The faith that endures to the end is the mustard seed that grows to become a tree. The faith that endures to the end is the one that gets sozo-ed (saved, healed, delivered, protected, preserved, made whole, kept safe and sound).
