MOUNTAIN MOVING FAITH?

MARK 11:22-24: “Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God.  (23)  Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.  (24)  Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for—believe that you have received it and it will be yours.” CSB

OBSERVATION: Do I have mountain-moving faith? This section in the Gospel of Mark has left me wrestling within myself more than it has inspired me or given me comfort. I do not consider myself a mighty man of faith. I have experienced the gift of faith working in my life. However, in my everyday life when I read passages like this – I struggle.

As a new believer, I cut my teeth on every “Faith” book I could get my hands on. I wanted to be a mighty man of faith. I wanted to pray and believe that what I asked for I would receive. I tried to “speak” things into existence by faith. I prayed, proclaimed, and even yelled at the mountain. When it did not move I concluded that my faith was inadequate. When it continued to stay in the same place I allowed the enemy to convince me that I was a failure.

So, whenever I read this passage I would read it very quickly so I would not have to deal with my failure. That did not work. Each time I read it all I could see were the unmoved mountains in my rearview mirror. The whole story started to not make sense. Why would Jesus curse a fig tree that was not even in season for bearing fruit? Why would he use this as an example of mountain-moving faith?

So many have taken this section of Scripture and run with it for their personal benefit. Books have been written on how we can write our own ticket with God. The formula is – pray, believe that you have received it, proclaim that you have received it, and you will have whatever you say. This formula has been applied to getting a better job, the house of your dreams, healing, the ministry that you desire, financial blessings, and whatever else you want to tag onto it.

Is this really what Jesus was trying to teach the disciples?

Taking the whole counsel of God’s Word in light of these verses we have to establish some facts that are not found in this account. First, Jesus only did what the Father told Him to do, He only said what the Father told Him to say (John 5:30, John 12:49). So, Jesus did not randomly curse the fig tree because He was ticked off that it had no fruit. Jesus cursed the fig tree as an example of Israel’s barrenness and its coming judgment. This was confirmed when He went and cleansed the Temple.

The disciples did not understand what Jesus was trying to teach them. Some, no doubt, were wondering how they could get the same power to do these things. Jesus replies to their inquiry – “Have Faith in God!” Jesus then used hyperbole to show the possibility and power of faith – an unmovable mountain. Who among them had ever moved a mountain? Even Jesus, in all His recorded miracles in the Gospels never spoke and commanded a mountain to move.

So, what did Jesus mean? Faith in God speaks of a heart that is fully surrendered to God. It trusts in nothing and no one else. A heart that is anchored in faith is a heart that is being transformed. The desires of the heart of faith reflect only the desires of God. The words that proceed out of the heart of faith are only the words of God. Jesus was not giving the disciples a formula. Jesus was calling them to repentance and the possibility of a heart fully surrendered to the Father.

How can I be so sure that this is the context of Jesus’ teaching and example? All I have to do is keep reading. It is wonderful how so many questions we have about the Bible are solved if we simply keep reading.

Mark 11:25  “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.”CSB

Jesus confronts the disciples with the greatest mountain they will ever face in their lives. That is the mountain of unforgiveness! Let’s be honest, it is easier to pray and confess for a better car than it is to forgive someone who has deeply offended and wounded my soul. I can yell at an inanimate mountain until I am blue in the face but I find myself avoiding the sin that is in my own heart. If the goal of faith is to hear God’s voice, to speak God’s words, then the greatest need I have is a heart that is cleansed and open to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit!

It all starts with forgiveness. First, it starts with the gift of forgiveness extended to me from God the Father through the completed sacrifice of Jesus Christ my Lord. Then, it continues with the transformation work of the Holy Spirit in my life and my willingness to bring my sin to the altar and to cleanse my heart of any unforgiveness I may be harboring. This will require me to face this mountain, lay it on the altar, and begin to speak words of forgiveness and blessing over the one who has hurt or offended me.

Matthew 5:43-45: “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.  (44)  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  (45)  so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” CSB

When I move from praying for forgiveness to speaking God’s forgiveness and blessings over the lives of those who have hurt me – I am experiencing true mountain-moving faith. I don’t have the capacity to forgive others. I don’t have the capacity to love others. I don’t have the capacity for mercy and grace. I love, I show mercy, I give grace, I forgive – only because He has done so first to me.

1 John 4:19-21: “We love because he first loved us.  (20)  If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.  (21)  And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.” CSB

There was an old song from the 60’s that went like this…

Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amendsWorked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friendsSo, oh, Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

The call to mountain-moving faith has nothing to do with me. It has everything to do with God and His will. We pray – “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” To fulfill God’s will I must hear God’s voice and then obey God’s command. I must walk in a spirit of repentance and forgive others as I have been forgiven. My interests, my desires, and my pursuits become His. When this happens then my prayers are aligned with His heart and I truly can have whatever He says through me!

Psalms 139:23-24: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.  (24)  See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.” CSB

Help me to have – “Faith in God!”

In Jesus’ Name!