Mountain Moving Faith

A faith-filled Heart

Theme:

Text: Matthew 21:18-22

Matthew 21:18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again." Immediately the fig tree withered away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?" 21 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

Introduction

Have you ever wondered what Jesus meant when he spoke these Words? Could it be that we as Christians could “move mountains”?

According to the Bible, believers can be confident that their prayers will be answered. And Jesus many times let us know that it was faith and belief that is the key to answered prayer.

“Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."” (Mark 9:23)

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9)

“"If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:14)

“"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7)

Our prayers are more than wishes, hopes or feeble aspirations-but only if we pray with believing, faith filled hearts. That is the kind of prayer that moves mountains.

Jesus, of course, was not in the excavation business. He had little interest in relocating piles of rocks in the ocean’s depths. He was using the term mountain figuratively. Whatever mountain stands in you path, whatever obstacle blocks your way, whatever difficulty immobilizes you, the prayer of faith can remove it.

Now that sounds good, but how can we learn to pray with a faith-filled heart? How can we develop the confidence that removes roadblocks?

It would be easy for me to stand here and give you a list of guidelines to follow to build your faith. Yet I don’t think reading lists are the best way to build our confidence in God.

The truth is our confidence is built in God not by how much we learn about our circumstances but by how much we learn about God. Many times in our lives we just need to get back into the Word and dwell upon the great miracles that God performed and just believe.

Read the account of the Red Sea and realize God parted the Red Sea. Read the many healings of Christ and believe. Belief is more than an emotion or a feeling but believing is an action.

James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

One man said that faith is: Forward Action Inspired Through Him

Forward is the direction of faith

Action is the proof of our faith

Inspired is the motivation of faith

Through is the power of faith. Through God not our self.

Him is the object of our faith

But anyway let me give you two principles, from two familiar stories in the Bible that help us to have mountain moving faith. I don’t know what your mountain, road block, obstacle is or what immobilizes you but Jesus said that if we “have faith, and doubt not . . . you shall say unto this mountain, Be removed, and be cast into the sea;” and “it shall be done”.

I. Principle # 1: Mountain moving faith comes from looking at God, not looking at the mountain.

We find this principle applied in Matthew 14:22-36. You know the story. For days Jesus had been healing the sick. The crowds began to swell. The estimation was 5,000 men. Including women and children this number could rise to over 15,000.

Jesus had compassion on them and he fed them. Everyone of them from five loaves of bread and two fishes. Yes it is true he did this. It may be beyond what we have seen but it happened.

Anyway Jesus needed some solitude time alone with God. He knew that without prayer and a relationship with the Father he could not continue. Exhausted he went into the mountain to pray. He sent his disciples on ahead. He would meet up with them later.

In the forth watch, after Jesus had prayed close to 7 hours, the disciples were on the lake and a great storm arose. The boat was tossed. It took great pain to keep it from over turning. There was fear in the heart of the disciples. Many of them have seen these storms before. They have seen the destruction. They have seen the death.