Faith: The Focus of Your Face

In our Sunday service last week, Cory Hunton taught on repentance from dead works and faith in God. He shared his testimony and we had Ross Barry share his recent testimony about demonstrating faith through remaining thankful. A core principle underlying faith is focus. Dead works focus on our circumstances and our ability to accomplish. Faith focuses on Jesus Christ and His heavenly perspective and on what He has already done.

Do you know that even our vacations can be dead works and not provide heavenly rest? Why is that? Many times on vacations, we still aren’t focused on Jesus. If we are pursuing rest in our own strength, even vacations become dead works. Often, I feel more invigorated and energized after a fast than I do after planned vacations. That sounds crazy, but faith is focus.

Hebrews 4:9-11 says that there is “a Sabbath REST for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s REST has also RESTED FROM HIS WORKS as God did from his. Let us therefore STRIVE to ENTER that REST, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” Strive means to be eagerly diligent. It has the connotation of moving forward and advancing with quickness. Let us advance quickly into rest. Verse 16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” We quickly advance to enter rest from our works through faith in Jesus Christ. Not by our works but by faith we confidently approach the throne of grace without any hesitation. At His throne we receive mercy and find grace. By faith we rest in His mercy and grace.

Today we’re going to look at the difference between “little faith” and “a little faith”.

The Greek word “oligopistos” means lacking confidence, disinclined or indisposed to believe, showing unbelief.

Oligopistos is used 6 times in the New Testament, five times in Matthew and once in Luke; and in each case Jesus is speaking to His disciples, saying, “You of little faith.” As you will see, each occurrence is an invitation to know Jesus in order to develop trust-based intimacy with Him. Jesus acknowledges the disciples’ lack of truly knowing Him, and He challenges them to another level of intimacy.

When Jesus points out the disciples’ “little faith”, He’s not judging their quantity of faith; He’s challenging the focus of their attention and trust. According to Romans 12:3, through Jesus Christ we’ve each been given “the measure of faith”. Jesus is not telling His disciples that they need a greater measure than He gave them. In fact we don’t increase our faith by an amount, we strengthen what we have. It’s like your body. You must exercise and strengthen what you’ve been given. When it comes to faith, the initial measure you’ve been given is massively powerful, enough to move mountains, but it’s activated and strengthened by focus.

Oligopistos is the predisposition to unbelief rooted in our preoccupation with what we sense in the world and our circumstances.

Let’s look at the examples in the book of Matthew. As we read through each example, ask yourself, “What are the disciples focused on?” And then ask yourself, “How does Jesus correct this focus?”

Access Provision

Matthew 6:30-34 ESV — “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith [oligopistos]? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

The issue is daily anxiety about life’s necessities. Economic insecurity tempts the hearers to doubt divine care. Their predisposition to unbelief is rooted in a preoccupation with the lack of provision. What is Jesus focused on? The Kingdom of our Heavenly Father, who is Jehovah Jireh. He teaches us to pray to Father, “Give me my daily bread.” There’s no plea or request, simply expectant faith in our Father Provider. There’s no longer fear of lack when we truly know our Father’s identity and desire. He is Provider and His desire is to provide, so quit worrying about all of that and focus on Him. The book of Luke repeats this story, and in the Passion Translation Luke 12:24 says, “Be carefree in the care of God!”

Now this is where people say, “Yeah but…” “Yeah but” reveals oligopistos. What’s your “yeah but”? If Jesus says something, what He says is immutable truth. Jesus says Father knows our daily needs and He will handle them. If our circumstances say something different, who or what are we going to believe? Get your focus off the things that are calling your Father a liar, and get all of your attention and thankfulness back on His Kingdom and His righteousness. Instead of looking at oligopistos as “little faith”, we can consider it as faith in little things. Instead of having a little faith in our big God, we put big faith in the little gods of our circumstances and conditions.

Overcome Storms

Matthew 8:24-27 ESV — And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith [oligopistos]?” Then he rose and 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?”

The disciples had no idea who was in the boat with them. Mark’s version of this story (Mark 4:35-41) begins with Jesus saying, “Let’s go across to the other side.” Jesus was sleeping because He had already declared that their destination was the other side of the sea. His word is immutable truth. He had no fear or concern about the present circumstances because He was confident in reaching the destination. He said, “We’re going to the other side,” so He was 100% confident they were going to get to the other side, and even a storm couldn’t stop them.

The disciples’ predisposition to unbelief is rooted in a preoccupation with the lack of security in the midst of their circumstances. They didn’t recognize who they had in the boat with them because their focus was on the storm. One of the names of God is Elohim Shomri, God My Protector, and of course the name of Jesus means “Yahweh Saves”. They did not recognize Jesus as the Son of God; therefore, they did not recognize the authority in His every word. Psalm 119:89-91 says, “Forever, O Lord, Your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants.” Notice those last five words: all things are your servants. The disciples asked each other, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” Jesus is the Lord. Jesus is Elohim Shomri and Yahweh Saves. Focus on Jesus!

Walk on Water

Matthew 14:28-33 ESV — And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith [oligopistos], why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Just as in the previous example, Peter’s predisposition to unbelief is rooted in a preoccupation with the lack of security in the midst of his circumstances. In this story, fear interrupts a momentary triumph of trust. This is similar to the previous story. Peter is doing great when his eyes are locked on Jesus, but then he starts looking around and loses his confidence. He has a little faith as he’s focused on Jesus, but then when he loses focus he has “little faith”. His trust shifts from Jesus to the wind. Again, instead of a little faith in Jesus, he has big faith in a little wind.

Notice that Peter doesn’t sink immediately like a cannonball. The sinking is a process of shifting focus, from all on Jesus, to beginning to notice the wind, to giving all of his attention to wind and yelling, “Help me, Jesus!” Jesus is kind and merciful with us, and even though the issue is our insecurity in the midst of our circumstances, He kindly reaches into our lives and pulls us up as we call out to Him. Are you sinking in the concerns of this world? Call out to Jesus and put your focus back on Him!

The good thing is that after this situation, the disciples begin to realize who Jesus is. Unfortunately knowing who Jesus is and having faith in Him are two different things. You can know Jesus is the Son of God but still give your focus to other things. In the case of the disciples, they acknowledge that Jesus truly is the Son of God, but He will still have to point out their oligopistos two more times.

Hear & Understand the Lord

Matthew 16:5-12 ESV — When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith [oligopistos], why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Oligopistos creates spiritual dullness that inhibits attentiveness to Jesus’ teaching and understanding of His word. You won’t hear and understand what Jesus is presently speaking to you if you’re not intently focused on Him. Their predisposition to unbelief is rooted in a preoccupation with the lack of provision, once again. Jesus is trying to teach them something profound and relevant, yet they can’t receive His words because they’re still thinking about their perceived lack. Their focus on lack also feeds condemnation, accusation, and blame among them.

Cast Out Demons

Matthew 17:14-21 ESV — And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith [oligopistos]. 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. But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting.”

Faithless and twisted generation… Ouch. What does Jesus think of churches that operate in oligopistos? Jesus sees big storms as little things. He sees big needs as little things. He sees big demons as little things. What’s your big thing? Is cancer big? Is your budget or debt big? Is what’s happening in our nation big? Is your challenge at work big? When we say “yeah but”, we’re saying something in our circumstances is too big. Let’s start making our “yeah but”s into flags for faith opportunities. Jesus is far above everything, and all things are under Him. If we’re going to continue putting our faith in the little gods of what we sense in the natural, we may as well be honest and change the name of the church to “Faithless & Twisted Generation Church”. Should we change all of our websites, logos, and branding because our problems are just too big?

Faith is directly connected to focus. In Matthew 17, what do you think the disciples were focused on? Oligopistos is focused on circumstances, and in this case they were focused on the demonic manifestation, and this emphasized their lack of confidence. When the demon manifested, they recoiled in fear and thought, “Whoa… We must not have enough authority for this specific case. This demon is too big for us.” Their predisposition to unbelief is rooted in a preoccupation with the lack of authority. Again, this comes from insecurity which is the fruit of oligopistos.

Oligopistos is obviously not a little faith because Jesus says a tiny amount of faith moves mountains. It’s actually a kind of unfaith or antifaith. When matter and antimatter particles meet, they annihilate each other. They cannot coexist. In a similar way, antifaith and faith violently conflict because of their opposing focal points. It’s impossible to simultaneously walk in opposite directions. God designed your eyes to look in the same direction. You’re not an iguana. The direction of your eyes will determine the direction of your face. Where/what/who you face is the focal point of your faith.

James 1:6-8 ESV — But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Mark 11:22-24 ESV — And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Romans 4:20-21 ESV — No unbelief made him [Abraham] waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Oligopistos is antifaith. Antifaith is unbelief and doubt. Antifaith cannot:

• access provision
• overcome the storm
• walk on water
• hear and understand the Lord
• cast out demons

What is the antidote? Going back to Matthew 17, in verse 21 Jesus says, “But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting.” This kind of what? What was the context of this statement? What was the subject? Jesus began this chunk of conversation with, “Because of your little faith [oligopistos].” What was the problem? It wasn’t the size of the demon but this kind of faith in lack.

I heard Andrew Womack talk about three kinds of unbelief:

• Ignorance – This must be filled with truth.
• False Teaching – This must be removed and replaced with truth.
• Prioritizing Your Natural Senses – This last kind is the oligopistos kind of unbelief that Jesus addresses five times with His disciples.

Jesus said, “But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting.” This kind of antifaith is only removed from our operating system by prayer and fasting. Why? Because faith is focus. Prayer and fasting removes all of the distractions that feed our antifaith. In this intentional and determined realignment of our focus on Jesus Christ, prayer and fasting starves antifaith and feeds faith. We don’t need to pray for more faith. We need to focus completely on the One in whom we have faith. Romans 4:21 says that Abraham grew strong in faith as He glorified God and focused on His rightness, His truthfulness and faithfulness. Colossians 2:7 says we must continually live in Him and be both rooted and built up in Him. We must be saturated by the Lord so that our faith in the truth will be strengthened and we will overflow with thanksgiving.

A prayerful life is a rightly focused life, and through prayer we are sensitized to God. We become more sensitive to Him than everything going on around us in the natural. This focus makes our measure of faith stronger.

ANTIFAITH is the predisposition to UNBELIEF rooted in our preoccupation with what we sense in the world and our circumstances.

FAITH is the predisposition to BELIEF rooted in our preoccupation with the Word of God, and this is strengthened by thankfully glorifying God all the time and in every circumstance.

What is your focus on? WHO is your focus on? Right now, we’re going to repent from giving our attention to anything and everything besides Jesus Christ. We’re going to cast off all of the little gods we’ve given so much attention, energy, and concern to; and we are coming into alignment under His headship. Today, He is going to correct our vision. And we are going to proclaim that He alone is the object of our affection and our faith. Help us, Jesus!

Seeking His face!
Matt

Matt Neese
Wellspring.Live

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