The message title for today is “Talking To Mountains”….
Matthew 17:14 And when they had come to the multitude, there came a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, v15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic (afflicted with epilepsy or insanity), with painful and destructive episodes, often he falls into the fire, and into the water. v16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.
v17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, (Those who turn away from the purpose of God) how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him to me. v18 And Jesus rebuked the devil and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. v19 Then came the disciples said to Jesus privately, why couldn’t we cast him out? v20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief, for surely I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you (means you) shall say unto this mountain, Remove from here to a far place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. v21 However this kind of results will only be achieved by prayer and fasting”.
Jesus compared the situation which this father faced with his tormented son, as a mountain, that needed moving.
Mountains are a symbol of the hardships and difficulties of life, they rise and tower high over our heads and represent the insurmountable problems that we often face. We can’t be like the old Jewish man kibitzing at the Wailing wall, when someone asked him how many years he had been doing this. He said, he had been coming every day since 1967. The question was then asked, “How do you feel about all that praying here at the wall”? The old man said, “It’s like talking to a wall”... Mountains are about problems to be solved, obstacles to be overcome, crosses to be lifted high in triumph, burdens to be borne successfully, troubles to be triumphed over, and difficulties to be dispatched and resolved. Sickness can be a mountain. Troubles are mountains. Hardships are mountains. Family crises are mountains. Death is a mountain. All of our lives are like a mountain range stretching out before us. But Jesus reminds us in our scripture today that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to each of these mountains, "Move from here, to way over there," and it will have to obey you. This tells me that Faith never has to stand alone, it always has the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as it’s partners. And there are forces far greater than the seed, but that tiny seed sets in motion, violent energy which produces amazing results.
Matthew 11:12 “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." —An intercessor releases a violent force against the kingdoms of darkness. A tither releases a violent force against the destroyer.... Those who witness to others about salvation’s plan, release violence against Satan’s kingdom and all these are taking it by force.....There is a domino effect that begins to happen to topple the mountains one by one. It is not your mountain that determines the outcome, but it is the seed which you sow, which puts a demand upon your mountain,that has your destiny and your desired outcome attached to it. The seed puts a demand upon the earth to bring forth and produce. By faith we must change ourinner outlook before we can change our outer reality…. That change comes when we are honest with our inner areas of rebellion and disobedience, then we can find alignment which will bring us into harmony with our destiny. Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 1, says, "Faith is the inner substance of things hoped for, which contains the outer evidence of things not seen." And, frankly, that makes all the difference. It's not always what's on the outside looking in, that matters, but what's on the inside looking out that really makes the difference. When Hannibal’s African army was crossing the Alps and struggling to march into Italy. It was an amazing and unbelievable accomplishment, Infact, it was one of the greatest acts of military strategy and courage in human history. In the account given of this event, it is said that when Hannibal got to the Alpine mountain range, his army began to rebel. The soldiers saw these mountains rising up into the clouds, like a giant colossus before them. They saw this incredible barrier and were so intimidated, they were paralyzed with fear. They were ready to quit, turn around, and go home. But we’re told that with defeat staring him in the face, Hannibal rallied his troops by positioning himself between them and the mountains, then, pointing toward the Alps, he declared, "Forward march, we don’t see the mountains, we see beyond the mountains to the prize which awaits us!" And with those words the army of Hannibal went forward, against incredible odds, across the mountains and on to victory. Your obstacles may look like Hannibal’s mountains….but sometimes you’ve got to get right up to it and just declare, "Forward march”… We don’t see the mountains, because there’s someone standing between you and the mountains. He’s the God of the mountains and His name is Jesus. All I can see is the prize that He has promised if we will be faithful! “Forward march”, I don't see that problem, I see Jesus standing in front of it, saying because I have overcome, you shall overcome also….. “Forward march”, I don't see that obstacle, I see Jesus raising up a standard of victory …..“Forward march”, I don't see that hardship, I see Jesus, my greater reality saying “come unto me all that are weary and I will give you rest…..“Forward march”, I don't see that cancer, I see Jesus, taking the stripes on his back for my healing, for by His stripes I am healed!.... “Forward march”, when Jesus stands in front of the mountain, the mountain shrinks in size compared to his greatness, and His power!" The reality and substance of your Faith can change your outlook.. And if your outlook has been changed, it doesn’t matter what mountain Satan has placed on the horizon. In Colossians 3:1 the Apostle Paul, is facing his own eminent death and says “If you are now risen with Christ, then seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. v2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. v3 For you are dead to the flesh (the carnal appetites and desires), and your life is hidden with Christ in God” Unbelief and doubt are matters of the heart. Paul is telling us that if we have our hearts full of trust and devotion to God, there will be no place for doubt and unbelief to get into our heart, or our affections, and Faith will keep transforming our outlook and our outcome as a result…… That’s why Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 “Where your treasure is, there will your heart (your desires and affections) be also. v22 For the light of the body is the eye, if therefore your eye be single (focused and centered), your whole body shall be full of the light (of truth)”. Faith can move mountains, because faithtransforms your outlook on life so that it’s about what’s inside your spirit, not what lies outside, on your horizon. “Faith can move mountains because faith will always find a way where there Is no way”. Faith enlarges your view, and finds another way which couldn’t be seen before. Faith enlarges the possibilities of your life. Faith expands your options because faith brings God directly to bear on any situation. The SOURCE OF OUR FAITH is stronger and more eternal than any mountain in our life” Fear and doubts focus on your limits, what you don’t have, what you can’t do, and is based on your failures and short comings of the past, while faith grabs hold of the possibilities, potential and promises that lie ahead in your future.
Doubt, fear, and all the enemy’s lies and intimidation, belong in only one place.... UNDER YOUR FEET! Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings good tidings, that publishes peace; that brings forth a good report, that publishes salvation; that declares in my Holy Hill, Thy God reigns! In the constant principles of Math, when you have an equation and you change one variable in the equation, you change the outcome of the equation. An equation is a mathematical statement that has two expressions separated by an equal sign. The expression on the left side of the equal sign has the same value as the expression on the right side. One or both of the expressions may contain variables. Solving an equation means finding the value of the variables on each side by manipulating the expressions. (let’s simplify this) Theexample we have here is (x = 4+8) …to solve this equation we would add 4 and 8 and find that x = 12, but if the equation were changed so that (x=8+8) the value or outcome becomes 16… So, when God is factored into your life’s equation, the outcome is required to changeWhen (x=God). Everything changes, it has no other option. We all want God's grace to operate through our trials. We want God's grace to move through united prayer, through laying on of hands, through a Rehma word from God, or through a prophesy or teaching….but it’s wonderful to know that God's grace will move through any means necessary to bring about the end that God would have for us. Grace will find a way, where there is no way, a way we never deserve or qualify for! Faith enlarges your vantage point and creates new unseen, never thought of possibilities. A problem is only a problem as long as there is no solution. If there is even a hint of a possibility of a solution, then you don't have the same problem any longer…. The equation has changed. Now you have options. In the midst of famine, A cloud the size of a man’s hand changed the equation and the outcome for Elijah and Israel….The jawbone of a wild donkey, changed the equation and the outcome for Samson, when facing overwhelming odds…. A mere walking stick, changed the equation, and changed the history of a nation, as Moses picked up the rod, and plagues came, the Red sea opened, water flowed from a rock and the promised land was reached and occupied….. A small stone, changed the equation as David placed it in his sling, and brought down the giant and victory came instead of defeat….. If you've got God in your life, sure you'll have problems, but with God in your life there are always other possibilities. It changes the equation! With God, all things are possible....Here’s the equation.... (x= with God all things are possible, which means on the other side of the equation, if the unknown is with man, then, with man all things are possible..... Before creation, there was nothing.. but God changed the equation with words of faith…and authored a new possibility and Creation came into physical reality…. Jesus died on the cross, and His disciples thought all was lost, but God created a new possibility and presented another option instead of death and raised Him who is our first fruits, to new life and we are raise up with Him…..Faith can move mountains because faith enlarges the possibilities and probabilities of life. Faith can move mountains because faith connects us to the God of the Mountains! Our God is a mountain shaking, mountain moving God. We used to sing a song that says… He’s God in the middle of the ocean, He’s God in the middle of the sea, He’s the God of all creation and He’s the God for me, I know God and He don’t ever change, I know God and He always will be God…He’s God way up in heaven, He’s God way down in hell, He’s the God who speaks to the mountains, He’s the God who makes me well, I know God and He don’t ever change, I know God and He always will be God!! God does some of His best work when you’re surrounded by mountains. The devil is like an old barking dog trying to stop your parade….He’s barking out to you, that it’s over, (Woof) that you’re dead in the water, (Woof) your dreams and hopes are never going to happen, (Woof) just give up and die and get out of my way…(Woof) You’re never going to see those children saved, their hearts are too hard, it’s just a pipe dream…(Woof) You’re never going to get out of debt, that’s for other people to enjoy, but not you. (Woof) And when you look at your present circumstances and what you’re seeing and feeling, it can be tempting to agree..... But somebody needs to make up their mind that they are going to hold on to the promise and hold on to the prophecy, hold on to the dream and the vision and keep moving forward, because Jesus has positioned Himself between you and your mountain and He has changed the equation and made it possible for you to have a different outcome! What we don’t realize in these times is that we are building a place in our obedience and perseverance, for God’s blessings to come flooding in to offer new options and new possibilities! We are expanding our capacity to receive a greater glory, a greater power, a greater anointing a greater blessing than we have ever had in our lives. Be not weary in well doing for in due season you shall reap if you faint not. This is the due season of Divine fulfillment… and your obedience has blasted open the barriers and opened up the way. John 14:2 says, “ I go before you to prepare a place (kho'-rah…an expansive territory that you may occupy), that where I am, there, you may be also. If it were not so, I would have already told you”. In the same place where the enemy said “it’s over”, God says “the famine is leaving”. In the same place where the enemy said “I’m going to destroy you”, God says “you are more than conqueror”. In the same place the enemy says “I’m going to destroy your ministry”, God says “the anointing breaks the yoke of bondage”. In the same place the enemy says “I’m going to destroy your marriage and your family”, God says in “Acts 11:14 “Your household shall be saved” . The enemy says “I’m going to destroy your health and your finances”, God says Isaiah 59:19 “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him”.. In that same place where the devil said “you’re going to dry up and die”, God says, Psalms 118:17 “You shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD”.. John 10:10 “The thief comes, only to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, but I have come that you might have life, and that, more abundantly”. In that very same place, you’re getting ready to tap into a fresh anointing and a brand-new supply of the glory and the power of God. You could have quit, you could have given up on your dreams and your hopes, but something entered into you, and something began to stir inside of you, something that was a shout in your spirit, that your season was changing, something that shouted, that it’s going to get better, something within, shouted that, “weeping may endure for the night but joy comes in the morning”. You’re going to rise up with a new boldness and a new faith and determination and a new anointing and you’re going to go into the enemy’s camp and you’re going to take back everything he stole from you during the drought, the hard place, the mountain experience. The prophet said, “I hear the sound of an abundance of rain”…it hadn’t appeared yet, but the equation had changed and he began to respond to that new sound!” The smell of miracles is in the air. The sound of revival is in the air. The fragrance of a new anointing is in the air. It’s on its way and You can’t see it now, but it’s already been released from heaven. What has already been done, assures us of what will be done. There is a breakthrough and God is trying to tell you (its closer than you think). You’re on the edge of your miracle; the drought is breaking right now, the season is changing (that financial strangle hold is breaking). You’re getting your joy back, you’re getting your fire back, you’re getting your vision back, you’re getting your passion back, you’re getting your health back, your family back, your finances in order, and a fresh jump start to your career. And when you look back, it just took one more shout, one more thank you Jesus, one more Hallelujah, one more dance, one more march around the walls, one more push, before something began to happen. Your praise has broken through the heavenlies. Your praise is creating an open heaven atmosphere for the power and the glory of God. So, start praising God: like you already have it. Start praising him like the mountain of debt has already moved far away. Start praising him like the marriage is already restored. Start praising him like the sickness is already healed. Start praising him like those children are already saved, filled with the Holy Ghost and working in the church. Start praising him like those doors of opportunity have already swung open. Our praise, our hope, our joy and our confession, change the equation and make possible a brand new outcome! Your mountain has come to overwhelm you, but all it’s going to do is elevate you!.... It was in the mountain environment, that Moses met God in the burning bush and it was on a mountain that he received the 10 commandments, written by the finger of God. It was in a mountain setting that Elijah faced the prophets of Baal and God’s Glory was revealed by fire, which settled the dispute of who the true God really was. It was in a mountain setting that Isaac was offered by Abraham and the glory of God’s saving grace spared him from sacrifice by providing a ram caught in the thicket. Jesus was transfigured on a mountain top, and crucified on a mountain called Calvary, where God’s heart of mercy allowed a better sacrifice than the blood of bulls and goats, and the glory of His redemption plan was offered to all men who believe…… We serve.. El Shadi...(The Almighty God) The God of the Mountains! Matthew 17:1 And after six days (of teaching the disciples who he was, and what was ahead) Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, up into an high mountain alone, v2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light…… God didn’t bring you to your mountain to disfigure you, but to transfigure you… you’re not here to retreat, but to defeat your enemy….You haven’t come to this mountain to be brought down but to be elevated to new levels of hope, joy, peace, power anointing and provision. He can make mountains, and move mountains, He can shake mountains and break mountains, He knows when to take us up and when to humble us, when to inspire us and when to take us by another way. And our faith connects us to our God and allows us to stand transfigured before our mountains. When that happens, our lives become connected to something greater than the mountains and those mountains have to move.
The next time you face an impossible “mountain”, tell it that the God of the Mountains says to “MOVE!” AND if YOU AGREE….. (SHOUT….”MOVE” )
Tell your loneliness that the God of all Comfort says “Get out of my way!” Tell your frustrations, God will have the final say, so, “Move on down the road”! Tell your turmoil that the God of Peace says, ‘Leave me now!” Tell your poor health that the God of Healing says, “I’ve had enough of you!” Tell your mountain, “Mountain, I command you to move, because the one who is my creator, has given me authority over you”. You are expanding your capacity to receive a greater glory, a greater power, a greater anointing a greater blessing than you have ever had in your life. You’re putting on some spiritual muscle, getting a backbone of steel, lifting the mighty sword of the Spirit, and getting some diamond spikes on your shoes, so you can run up a mountain….! Let us rise up with a new boldness and a new faith and determination. As we move into the rest if the year ahead….There’s the scent of miracles in the air. The sound of revival is in the air. The fragrance of a new anointing is in the air. It’s the season for invading the enemy’s camp and taking back what he stole from you. It’s time for restoration. We are called to occupy until He comes! Isaiah 43:18 Remember not the former things, neither consider the things of old. v19 For behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Hallelujah, to El Shadi….. The God Of The Mountains!
There is a mountain mover inside of you right now!!
I was facing a spiritual mountain this past week, and I began to press in to God’s promises, I began to order my thoughts and proclamations to line up with God’s word and I was getting it on, folks. I was storming heaven, when the Holy Spirit said, “It’s already in You”.... Holy Spirit reminded me, that greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world.
He reminded me of Philippians 2:13 “For it is God which worketh (energeo) in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure”. This word in the Greek this means “to take what is within you and manifest it outside of you”....
Then He took me to John 1-1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (skip to) v14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld the glory, of the one and only Son of God...” Think about it, the divine energy took the word which was deposited in a 13 year old virgin, brought it forth and manifested the Savior, creator, redeemer to the world.
The very Messiah which she, and those before her had prayed for hundreds of years was deposited in her and manifested to the world.... Just as God deposited His creative word in Mary, He has deposited his word in each of us, so that He can manifest His will and plan to our world. There is something you’ve been praying and believing for that is already in you. It is stirring and growing so that it can reach the point where it can be manifested.
God has planted buildings in me by His word, and they became manifest, He put a radio station in me and it was manifest, He put cars in me when I had no transportation, and they were manifest, there were Homes, and finances, which I had no way of acquiring.
When I was pastoring in Maryland, God put a Christian School in me and the church had no money to even think of doing that. Two people stepped forward and cashed out their retirement account, to get me started with 40,000 dollars. Then people began to invest in the vision, till we had 600,000 dollars to make it happen. When it was built it was worth over amillion and a half.
When Elijah fled from Jezebel and was by the brook, God put some things inside of him. Remember that he found a widow woman, with only a little meal and a little oil, and he came to her in a terrible famine, and asked her a key question...
What do you have in the house”?
God is speaking to someone, that what you’ve been praying for and believing for is already in the house.....what’s on the inside is waiting to be manifested on the outside... Say it with me, “Victory is where I live”...
Say it again... “Victory is where I live”.... Victory is more than receiving an answer to prayer.... Victory is a lifestyle....Victory is where I live!!! Lord raise it up and manifest it, raise it up and manifest it..... Raise up what is on the inside and display it on the outside.....
Prayer for today…… Father, in the Name of Jesus, thank you for opening supernatural doors in our lives today. Thank you for a double portion of your Spirit as we take back everything that the devil has stolen: Emotional Health, Physical Health, Finances, Relationships, Children, Jobs, Homes and Marriages. We cancel every plot, plan and scheme the enemy has devised against us in the MATCHLESS NAME OF JESUS. We declare that NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST US WILL PROSPER. I speak LIFE into every dead situation. And, I thank you that nothing is over until YOU say it's over! We speak prophetically into lives and situations. Our households are blessed, our health is blessed, our marriages are blessed, our finances are blessed, and our businesses are blessed. Father we declare that our jobs are blessed, our children are blessed, our grandchildren are blessed, Our parents are blessed, our siblings are blessed, our ministries are blessed and, our decisions are blessed. Marriage partners are on the way, mortgages are paid and debts canceled, and our lives are blessed because we love, honor, serve and exalt the Blesser. Where there is pain, give Your peace and mercy. Where there is self doubting, release a renewed confidence in Your Divine ability. Where there is weariness or exhaustion, I ask You to give understanding, patience and strength as we submit to You. Where there is spiritual stagnation, I ask for renewal and greater intimacy with You. Where there is fear, reveal Your love, and release inspired, bold, fearless courage. Where there is any issue that is blocking the way, reveal it, and break its hold.
Father in the Name of Jesus, I proclaim that this is a season of intense physical, emotional, mental, and Spiritual favor from the Lord. A place of joy and laughter, a place of strength and refreshing, a place of Your glorious presence invading every aspect of our lives. Thank you for the fresh scent of miracles in the air, for the sound of revival, and the fragrance of a powerful new anointing. To God be all the Glory, for great things He has done, is now doing, and will continue faithfully to do. In Jesus mighty name, Amen
