“MOUNTAIN-MOVING FAITH”
MARK 11:22-24
So JESUS answered and said to them, “HAVE FAITH IN GOD”. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this MOUNTAIN, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things HE SAYS will be done, he will have whatever HE SAYS. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Romans 10:17
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the WORD!
Jeremiah 15:16 – Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
Acts 14:22 – (Paul & Barnabas)… exhorting them to continue in the FAITH, and that we must though much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
James 5:10-11 – Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.11 Behold, we count them happy which endure…
Luke 22:32 – (Jesus to Peter) …I have prayed for you, that your FAITH fail not.
Romans 10:8-10 – “The WORD is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the WORD OF FAITH which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Philemon 6 – That the communication of YOUR FAITH may become effectual (divinely energized; become active & working; empower you) by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 3:6-17 – All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
A QUOTE
“No matter what has happened to you in the past or what is going on in your life right now, it has no power to keep you from having an amazingly good future if you will WALK BY FAITH IN GOD.. God loves you! He wants you to live with victory over sin so you can possess His promises for your life today!” Joyce Meyer
SCRIPTURE SONG
Faith in God can move a mighty mountain!
Faith in God can calm the troubled sea!
Faith can make the desert like a fountain!
Faith will bring the victory!
MOVING MOUNTAINS
Most likely Jesus was primarily referring to seeing massive obstacles, demonic powers, and major difficulties removed. Giants can be overcome through faith!
However, I did read of a literal mountain moving recently, as follows…
GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS OF FAITH!
A church congregation built a new facility on some donated land. 10 days before the new church was to open & be dedicated, the local building inspector told them that their parking lot size was inadequate.
They found out that until the church doubled the size of the parking lot, they would not be able to use their new facility. The church had totally used up the land already, except for the mountain in the backyard, against which it had been built. In order to build more parking spaces, they would have to remove the mountain out of their back yard.
Undaunted, the pastor courageously announced the next Sunday morning that he would meet that evening with all members who had “mountain moving faith and believed in the power of God.” They would hold a prayer session asking God to remove the mountain from the back yard and to somehow provide enough money to have it paved and painted before the scheduled opening dedication service the following week. At the appointed time, 24 of the congregation’s 300 members assembled for prayer. They prayed for nearly three hours. At ten o’clock the pastor said the final “Amen”. “We’ll open next Sunday as scheduled,” he assured everyone. “God has never let us down before, and I believe He will be faithful this time too.”
The next morning as he was working in his study there came a loud knock at his door. When he called “come in”, a rough looking construction foreman appeared, removing his hard hat as he entered. “Excuse me, Reverend. I’m from Acme Construction Company over in the next county. We’re… building a huge new shopping mall over there and we need some fill dirt. Would you be willing to sell us a chunk of that mountain behind the church? We’ll pay you for the dirt we remove and pave all the exposed area free of charge, if we can have it right away. We can’t do anything else until we get the dirt in and allow it to settle properly.”
The church was dedicated the next Sunday as originally planned and reportedly there were far more members attending with “MOUNTAIN MOVING FAITH” on opening Sunday than there had been the previous week!
BELIEVING PRAYER & OVERCOMING FAITH
THE FIG TREE – Mark 11:12-14; 20-21
Seeing the miracle with the fig tree withering and dying happened before Jesus exhortation to have “faith in God”...
Observation of the display of miraculous power Jesus stimulates “faith in God”.
Here is the SUMMARY of what happened with the fig tree:
12 – Jesus was hungry for some fruit. 13 – It was not the season for figs. He found none. 14 – Jesus cursed the fig tree – “let no man eat fruit from you ever again”. 20– Next day – the fig tree was dried up from the roots. 21 – Peter said, “the fig tree that you cursed is withered away”.
“FAITH IS THE CURRENCY OF HEAVEN”
FAITH unlocks heavens resources!
James 2:5 …has not God chosen the poor of this world RICH IN FAITH…
HAVE FAITH IN GOD!
Believe that God hears & answers your prayers!
With faith — mountains, or impossible situations will be removed or changed. But where does this faith originate? Is it our faith, faith in God’s word, faith given by God – or a combination of all 3?
THE FAITH OF GOD!
Though there are many facets of faith – today’s emphasis is primarily on the “faith of God”.
When we have God’s faith, we can push aside doubts and fears, and trust him.
According to Dr. Charles S. Price, twentieth-century healing evangelist and author of The Real Faith for Healing, Mark 11:22 can be translated – “HAVE FAITH OF GOD.”
MOUNTAIN MOVING FAITH (Cont)
The gift of faith is really an impartation of the FAITH OF GOD. It is MOUNTAIN MOVING FAITH—it comes from God. God is the source of MOUNTAIN MOVING FAITH!
Mark 11:22 “And Jesus answering saith to them, `HAVE FAITH OF GOD;” Young’s Literal Translation (YLT),
Mark 11:22 – “Jesus replied, “Let the FAITH OF GOD be in you!” The Passion Translation (TPT)
Many believe God is all-powerful and that He is able to do anything. They have “faith in God.” But to have the “FAITH OF GOD,” is to have the essence of MOUNTAIN MOVING FAITH.
We need to have God’s perspective and God’s faith when believing for MOUNTAINS TO BE MOVED.
The Spirit gives great faith, or the gift of faith, which is the FAITH OF GOD. To see impossible situations change, we need to ask God for great faith!
Genuine, heart-felt faith produces a knowing, and a conviction that what we are believing for is done.
Faith is an imparted grace from Christ to our HEARTS. It’s not just an intellectual understanding. It is a revelation to the HEART by the grace of God.
Real faith is rooted in the FAITH OF GOD!
WHAT IS FAITH?
Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things NOT seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].” AMP
Faith “holds” in hope the promise like holding a title deed—, it is your confirmation that the promise is yours before the full natural manifestation.
Faith believes God’s promises to make unseen realities available on earth. Faith is forward leaning, it hears, sees, speaks, endures and receives what is promised before the manifestation.
The ability to appropriate the benefits of His promises are tied to one’s ability to believe and act in faith upon those promises.
Faith is simply trusting God—He honors faith and it pleases Him.
MOVING MOUNTAINS
What does “MOUNTAIN” refer to? A literal mountain?
No doubt it refers to something of massive magnitude He is talking about faith that is powerful to see miraculous things done…
It is possibly referring to any difficulty, hinderance, or impossible problem that we face. Faith activates God’s miracle working power in the midst of otherwise impossible situations.
It is something that needs a miracle!
OVERCOMING GIANTS
Caleb & Joshua
Caleb & Joshua were full of faith. The other spies came back with a discouraging report that caused the peoples hearts to be filled with unbelief. Caleb & Joshua were able to go into the promised land and OVERCOME GIANTS because of their faith!
Numbers 13:30 – Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
DAVID & GOLIATH
David & Goliath •I Samuel 17:4,24, 45-47, 50 – …a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span… And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. Then David said to the Philistine, “…I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied… So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him.
GIANT SEASON
A very respected pastor in the U.S. – Pastor Tim Sheets received what he considered a strong prophetic impression in a dream recently… “This is giant killing season!”
We need to see spiritual giants fall! Overcoming giants takes FAITH!
There are a lot of spiritual giants that need to fall, such as: fear; unbelief; doubt; deception & lies; anger; hate; bitterness; witchcraft; immorality; and every demonic stronghold!
A BOY IS HEALED
Matthew 17:14-21 – …a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have FAITH as a mustard seed, you will say to this MOUNTAIN ‘Move from here to there,’ and IT WILL MOVE; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
If we have God’s faith, just a tiny mustard seed of it in our hearts – MOUNTAINS ARE REMOVED! The principle is to look to Jesus and wait on God for the gift of faith for your situation.
Matthew Henry Study Bible (commentary on the above passage):
FAITH is compliance with God, unbelief is opposition and contradiction to God.
Jesus rebuked the devil, as one having authority, who could back with force His Word of command. Note, Christ’s victories over Satan are obtained by the power of His Word…
Nothing shall be impossible to you… they distrusted the power they had received, and so failed.
Note, An active faith can remove mountains, not of itself, but in the virtue of A DIVINE POWER engaged by A DIVINE PROMISE, both which faith fastens upon.•
“This kind of FAITH (which removes mountains) does not proceed, is not obtained, from God… but by earnest prayer.” Fasting and prayer are proper means for the bringing down of Satan’s power against us, and the fetching in (receiving) of divine power to our assistance.
Mark 9:23
(Jesus told the man with the tormented son) – “If you can believe, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE to him who believes.”
MOUNTAINS MELT (MOUNTAIN MOVING FAITH Cont)
Psalm 97:5 – The MOUNTAINS melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
Micah 1:3-4 – For behold, the Lord is coming out of His place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.The MOUNTAINS will melt under Him, and the valleys will split like wax before the fire…
HEART-BELIEF is real faith. An assurance in the heart, regardless of what we see. When God’s faith is released in your heart, an assurance of answered prayer is discovered.
Jesus gives the Word – and it empowers us to act in faith. Let’s get a rhema word from Jesus.
Luke 1:38 – Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your WORD.”
A QUOTE
“I don’t want to play with marbles when God told me to MOVE MOUNTAINS!” Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke
PETER WALKING ON THE WATER
Matthew 14:27-32 Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of LITTLE FAITH, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
Note– Peter had faith to walk on the water like Jesus, but when he got his eyes off of Jesus, that was when he needed to be rescued and Jesus said that point he had “little faith”.
JESUS IS OUR SOURCE OF FAITH
Faith to MOVE MOUNTAINS begins and ends with Jesus.
GOD’S FAITH is based on a focus upon Christ. If we take our eyes off JESUS, we lose sight of the primary goal & source of our faith. He is the reason we have FAITH to do what we do. •Jesus is the author and perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:2)
When I want more faith, I must seek him! “Lord I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark9:24) In other words, Jesus, I need more faith!
If we want faith to move mountains, let’s learn to hear, believe, and act upon what Jesus reveals. The faith of God comes from Him — JESUS!
To attempt to have prayer answered or promises granted apart from Jesus is impossible—He is the originator of your faith. We desperately need to have God’s imparted faith.
A QUOTE
“Sometimes FAITH is little more than a simple clinging to Christ in a sense of utter dependence…always cling to what you know…cling to Jesus, for that is FAITH.” Charles Spurgeon
MIRACULOUS CATCH OF FISH
Luke 5:4-6 He (Jesus) said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless AT YOUR WORD I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking…
SCRIPTURE SONG
Faith mighty faith the promise sees and looks to God alone –
Laughs at impossibilities and cries “it shall be done!” And cries “it shall,
it shall be done!” And cries “it shall, it shall be done!”
Laughs at impossibilities and cries “it shall be done!”
VICTORY OVER THE DEVIL & OBSTACLES
James 4:7 – Therefore submit to God. Resist the VICTORY OVER THE DEVIL
devil and he will flee from you.
I John 4:4 – Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!
Revelation 12:11 – And THEY OVERCAME HIM (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
I JOHN 3:8 (b) – For this purpose was the Son of God manifest, to DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL!
EPHESIANS 3:20
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the POWER that works in us”
CONCLUSION & APPLICATION
Let’s have a steadfast & enduring faith. Let’s maintain the faith of God, and grow in faith.
Let’s increase in knowledge, wisdom, and faith that is based on God’s Word.
Let’s seek to to continually be filled with the HOLY SPIRIT! It’s not just by our might or our own power, but the Spirit of God that get’s the job done.
Zechariah 4:6 – This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. 7 Who are you, O great MOUNTAIN? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain…
Let’s exercise our faith that we have been given by God, & see MOUNTAINS MOVE, & GIANTS FALL for the glory of God!
