Mountain Movers, Rise Up!

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” – Mark 11:22-25 NIV

You are a mountain mover! If you didn’t know this before today, then it’s important that you take hold to this truth! You possess the power to move mountains – the power to speak to the mountains in your life and tell them to move. The key to harnessing this power is faith without doubt. If you can believe it, you can receive it and it shall be yours. Join us this week in prayer as we quicken and release your hidden potential to move mountains.

The first thing I want you to know this week is this: It’s Your Mountain. Right now, there’s a mountain in your life that has been giving you issues for a long time and it’s time for it to be moved. Perhaps you’ve hoped that it would go away on its own or someone would come and move it for you, but because it hasn’t you’ve just learned to live with it. Today is the day of accountability ­– the day you take ownership of what’s in front of you and declare that it moves out of your life!

When reading books or listening to sermons that depict the greatest feats of the Bible, it can become rather intimidating to look at the accomplishments of those who’ve gone before us. When looking at the miracles of Moses, the strength of Samson, the warrior in David, and the wisdom of Solomon, it’s easy to wonder “How can I compare to them?” Or perhaps it’s not those so far back that you look at, maybe it’s your mother, father, grandparents, a mentor or leader that you look at and wonder how could I ever compete with that? If you identify with this, I want you to know that you’re not alone.

This is comparison mentality is one that has trapped many people over time – deflated the faith of those who were destined to be great. The truth is comparison is not the key. In fact, comparison is a killer of destiny. The accomplishments of others were never meant to discourage you but to inspire you. Jesus addressed this with the disciples when they saw what happened to the fig tree – how it withered away just from His words. But here’s Jesus’s response: “Have faith in God.” The key is faith in God, not comparison to others. With anyone that accomplished anything meaningful in this world, they did not do so in their own might but only by God’s power.

First Jesus said, “Have faith in God,” then He goes on to say “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” This is an empowering statement, one that can even feel overwhelming. But before you begin to celebrate, I want you to look at a key part of this text, He says: “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain…” The fact is, with faith, anyone can. The disciples were amazed by Jesus’s power, yet Jesus let them know that the power was in their faith – that anyone could accomplish the same and even greater.

Perhaps you’ve been confined by the limiting beliefs of your mind, playing it safe all your life and never pursuing greatness because you thought it wasn’t for people like you. Today, I want you to know that anyone can. Not only this but as Minister Chanell said on Sunday, you now have permission to be great. God gave you this permission through your faith. Victory is built into your design, therefore live like you are victorious. Greatness isn’t just for a few; when it comes to moving mountains, anyone can.

The power of the Mountain Mover is not in their physical ability but in their faith – the decision to fully believe what they say will happen. One could easily think that the effectiveness of faith is based on size, however this is not true. Faith in fact can be small in stature, but in order to be effective, it must be sure. We see an example of this in Matthew 17:20 where Jesus says, “Truly I tell you if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Jesus made it a point to use a mustard seed as His example because it's so small in size, but in spite of its size, the farmer does not doubt it’s potential, therefore he sows it knowing that it will bring a harvest. In the same way, we too must have a faith that is so sure, it can be sown to produce a harvest at the right time.

Now that we understand that faith is not about size but about being sure, I want you to know this truth: in faith, there’s no doubt allowed. Doubt is not allowed in the presence of faith. Like a plane delayed in flight due to inclement weather, where there’s doubt, faith is grounded and unable to take off in flight. Prayer is essential but is rendered ineffective when we bring doubt into our prayer closet. Therefore, it’s time to make the decision to believe God. In order to accomplish this, I want to give you four questions to ask yourself:

1. Is God able? – Ephesians 3:20-21
2. Is God effective? – Isaiah 55:9-11
3. Can I trust Him? – Jeremiah 17:7-8
4. Do I trust Him? – Mark 9:23-25

If your answer is completely yes to each of these questions, you should have no problem asking and receiving by faith. But if, for any reason, you answered no for any of these questions, I want you to ask yourself “Why?” A no is a sign of a lack of faith or underdeveloped faith. In today’s devotional online you will find a scripture for each question that provides support where there’s a deficiency in faith.    

This month we’ve lifted up many declarations to help facilitate the process of renewing our minds. Overcoming the idea and culture of failure so that we can walk in our true identity as victors. We’ve prophesied over our minds and lives, speaking God’s word over our situations and we’ve seen much change. In light of all of this, here’s what I want you to know: declarations are great, prophesying is powerful, but prayer is essential — it matters.

While reflecting on the fate of the fig tree, Jesus says this: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24 NIV). While Jesus is very clear here, only a portion of what He said was made popular in the minds of man: “Believe it! Receive it! It’s yours!” Now, we can certainly throw an organ behind that phrase and turn the church upside down, but if that’s all we have, we’ve missed the power and principle of the text. Here’s where we find the key component of the text: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer... in prayer... in PRAYER...” (emphasis mine). The power to move mountains, the ability to access the limitless resources of Heaven happens in prayer.

In prayer we find a wealth of treasures, three of which we will highlight today:

1. We know Him.
2. Our doubts are displaced.
3. Our faith is strengthened.

Yesterday we talked about how No Doubt is Allowed when moving mountains. This doubt exists because of a lack of trust and this trust can only be built in a consistent authentic relationship with God, built on prayer. Prayer is not to be ignored or overlooked, prayer is essential – it matters. 

In this conversation over the fig tree, Jesus teaches His disciples a valuable lesson about the power of faith-filled prayer. He shows them the power that resides inside of them if they would become focused in their faith, firm in their belief. This sureness of faith would give them the power to speak to mountains and receive whatever is asked in prayer. Now, because Jesus is such a great teacher, He doesn’t stop there. He tells them how to access the power of prayer, but He also reveals to them the enemy of prayer: unforgiveness.

Jesus says to them “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” At first glance, it almost seems that Jesus is cutting across the field or raining on their parade, but for too many we want the riches of the kingdom but refuse to extend the grace of the kingdom. God forgave us our sins by grace through Jesus Christ – meaning we did not pay the cost our sins deserved, yet we were given access to eternal life by faith. This forgiveness grants us access to the Father as sons and daughters but the moment we choose to not forgive someone, He is unable to forgive us. Don’t allow unforgiveness to be the stumbling block that keeps you from moving mountains.

Did you know that Thryve Church prays together 365 days a year? Join us Monday-Friday at 6:30am & Saturdays at 8am for "Prayer at the Altar" by dialing 339- 207-7471 and then join us Sundays at 11am for Worship Service! Learn more here!