“Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done” (Matthew 21:21).
What a statement, right? If you don’t have doubt, you can move mountains. This is talking about our faith and how much faith we really have. Jesus was telling His disciples that if they had the faith of a mustard seed, they could do anything. I want to take an angle on this verse and see about our faith and talk about where we stand.
What mountains are in your life that need moving? What faith do you have to overcome the world and the wiles of Satan intruding in your life?
I think we all have mountains to move in our lives. You know, things that we need to overcome with faith, sure faith, but haven’t. Can we do this? Yes, you and I can with faith the size of a mustard seed. The question is, do we have it in us? I think, yes.
We can’t forget though God’s will for us supersedes our desires at times and situations that don’t manifest themselves to our wants. Yet we can still have faith to move our mountains.
I’ll open up here and let you inside of my mind for a moment as an example of a mountain in my life that needs moving. I need to be more humble. I’m not saying I’m a stuck up snob who thinks I am better than you. No, indeed I’m not. It isn’t a pride thing either. I don’t pride myself on much in my life other than good things like being a good husband, family man, and being a Christian. I’m talking about being more humble with Christ.
I have this thing, I can’t explain it very well, but it is a lack of humbleness before Christ. I mean, I’m humble, but I need to be more humble. This is one of my mountains I need to move with faith. To be honest, I never really thought about it until I began writing this after someone was talking about being humbled by God for his or her pride in them for doing so much for God. It got me thinking about my humbleness and a great lack of it that I’m missing in my walk with Christ. I need to move this mountain.
Maybe it’s my stubbornness or maybe it is a stronghold that Satan still has on me, but I’m not completely humble before Christ like I think I should be. There is something holding me back with this and I can’t put my finger on it.
I like to do things my way and that gets me in trouble a lot. I think if I were more humble in Christ I wouldn’t get myself tied up in knots with parts of my life. I promise I’ll pray for guidance and strength to get over this mountain in my life.
Luke 11:9 says: “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
Well, Luke says it and I’m going to believe it and have faith that I will be more humble. With faith, there should be no doubt. When you pray for it, expect that it’s already done. I’m pretty sure God will grant this one to me. It’s not like I’m asking to win the lottery or something. I think on the spiritual side, we get our prayers answered more than if we pray for material things. My mountain will be moved.
Sin, though, is all of our mountains to move to overcome the world. Temptation is one thing we all face but in 1 Corinthians 10:13, we are told that “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
If temptations and sin are your mountains, think of this verse in 1 Corinthians. God will not allow a temptation that you can’t overcome, but will even create an escape from it if you need one. What does this mean? It means sin really has no power over us, if we don’t let it have power over us, etc, for some, it is a mountain to overcome. I’m not talking about the unsaved but the saved.
One mountain of sin that people have a problem overcoming is pornography, as an example. In previous articles I’ve written I’ve received numerous responses from people that have a problem with pornography, which is lust, and if married, pretty much adultery. For some this sin is an addiction as strong as drugs. They can’t stop, they can’t remove themselves from it and no matter how much they try, and they always go back to it. This is a great mountain for these people to overcome.
For each one of these people, there is an escape. The escape is repentance, prayer, and Christ. In addition, if you have the faith the size of a mustard seed, you can overcome this addiction. God won’t allow something worldly keep you trapped in sin. That is not His nature. He can give people like this the strength to overcome. One cannot do it on his or her own, but need Christ to help. This example is not only for the addiction of pornography, but also for all mountains in our lives. There is always a way out, with faith and hope in Christ that he can help move mountains in life.
“ He said, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27).
Moving the mountains in your life is not something you can do on your own. You need help to do this. Not from your wife, not from your friend, not from your family, but from God. Whatever mountain you have, you have an Advocate who is here to help you: God.
The God of the universe, who loves each one of us individually, is standing ready to help you move your mountain. All you need to do is honestly pray and really want it. If it not heartfelt nor a true want, your mountain will not move.
Let’s get to sin. I’m not going to address the unsaved, for this is not for them, but for those who are saved. Sin is our biggest mountain. Sin stems from the world and we are stuck in it until it is time to say goodbye to this awful place of immorality and hate. Satan can have this world, I want Jesus.
“This I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16)
When we walk with Jesus, we also have the Holy Spirit with us to guide us to stay on the right path to move our own mountains in our lives. Remember those cartoons where on one shoulder was the devil whispering in one ear while an angel whispered in the other? Well, isn’t it so true how that is in our spiritual warfare between Satan and us? Satan is telling us to give into the temptation, but the Holy Spirit is telling you not to do it.
You sit there and weigh the pros and cons. Satan’s argument will seem fun and harmless to get you to commit to that temptation. The Holy Spirit on the other shoulder is telling you that the temptation is wrong and will create a separation between you and God; a decision between good and bad that you have to choose. Remember that whatever you choose, it’s your decision and only your decision. As proof of this, James 4:17 says:
“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
If you are walking and listening to the Holy Spirit, then you will not be swayed by the temptation that will lead to committing sin and you overcome the mountain of sin. If your walk is weak with the Holy Spirit, then you will have a harder time trying to decide which voice to listen to on your shoulders.
How does one become weak with the Holy Spirit. I gather that it’s from a lack of commitment to Christ; a lukewarm commitment to Him. God wants you to be hot, not lukewarm. He wants you to have fire in your belly for Him. Having this strong commitment to God will help you with overcoming your mountains.
The world and Satan want you to keep those mountains in your life and create more of them too. If they can convince you that you can’t move them, they will have their grip on you. This fallen society mocks you and looks down at your faith when you say with God you can overcome. They laugh and tell you that you are crazy or are a Bible thump’n nut. I’m guilty of being a Bible thumping nut.
The world will try to convince you that your faith is not the way to solve problems. They will tell you that secular avenues are available to you to solve your issues, to overcome your mountains. Any mention of relying on God will get you rolling eyes and smirks. For weak Christians, this can be enough to make them stumble and fall. They may reconsider what they are thinking and turn to the world to solve their problems instead of God. This is a mistake.
John 14:26 says: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
When you have mountains to move in your life, the Holy Spirit will guide you to make the right choices to do so. With the faith of a mustard seed and the Holy Spirit to help you, there should be no mountain too big in your life that you can’t overcome and move.
Oh, there will be challenges from Satan and the world, but stand fast in your faith and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and you can overcome.
The world and Satan are powerful forces my friends, but remember Christ overcame the world and if He did this for us, we can do it too. Nothing is too hard to not overcome. No mountain is too big for us to move in our lives. God is our strength in everything and in Christ alone, we can have hope for He is our strength.
Don’t be embarrassed of your faith that God can move mountains. Don’t be ashamed of your beliefs. Be strong in them and with strong faith and prayer and supplications, your mountains can be moved.
We all walk a fine line in life with the temptations of the world and our faith. The world will create mountains for you, there is no doubt about that. Just because we are Christians doesn’t mean we are free from troubles because of the mountains built in front of us by Satan. Don’t try to climb over the mountains but throw them into the sea. With faith, you can do it, I know you can.