I want to talk to you about speaking to your mountains. There are some obstacles in life that God will give you His authority and command you to use that authority to remove a mountain in your life.

In the Bible God uses mountains to represent those things in life that are too big for us to handle alone. As you follow the Lord, you will come up against some mountains in your life but some of those mountains God will remove.

Zechariah was to give a message to Zerubbabel regarding the building of God’s temple. In Zechariah 4:6 we read, The angel told me to give Zerubbabel this message from the Lord: “You will succeed, not by military might or by your own strength, but by my spirit. 7 Obstacles as great as mountains will disappear before you (GNT). Many of your obstacles appear to be as great as mountains. They seem immovable. What can I do against such a huge problem? They seem permanent. I will have to deal with this for the rest of my life?

Is it possible, that God might want to remove that mountain? Is it possible, that God would have you to speak to that mountain in His authority and that mountain begins to disappear before you? That’s what I want us to consider today.

Let’s begin with Mark 11:12-25 to get the context.

The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. 14 Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it. 15 When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. 17 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” 18 When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching. 19 That evening Jesus and the disciples left the city. 20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!” 22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” (NLT)

It seems odd that Jesus would respond to Peter’s comment about the fig tree with a lesson on faith in God and speaking to mountains. This makes sense when you see what Matthew added to the story in Matthew 21:20 which says, “The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, ‘How did the fig tree wither so quickly?’” (NLT). The disciples were actually asking, “Jesus, how did you do that and can we do that?” Jesus answers their question by giving them five essentials to mountain moving faith. We looked at one them last week. Let’s review and then look at essential number two.

Mountain moving faith is God-driven

Number one, mountain moving faith is God-driven. Jesus said in verse 22, “Have faith in God.” What does it mean to have faith in God?

  • You having faith in God means you believe God’s agenda is best. Having faith in God is trusting God’s word, God’s agenda, God’s plan, God’s will, and God’s purpose. Some mountains God wants moved and some He does not. Some mountains he wants to you walk through, walk over, or walk around. There are some things you can only learn about God and yourself in the valley between mountains. The question is, “Does God want this mountain removed?”
  • You having faith in God means you believe God can remove this mountain. You are convinced that God has the power, ability, and authority to move mountains. You believe He is all-power, sovereign, and supreme. You believe there is nothing God cannot do.
  • You having faith in God means that you have heard God’s word on removing this particular mountain. This is not about you wanting the mountain removed, it’s about God wanting the mountain moved. Has God told you He wants this mountain removed? If so, believing God’s word is an act of faith in Him.
  • You having faith in God means you will speak in God’s authority to remove that mountain. Now that you believe God can do it and God has told you that particular mountain is to be removed, you can now address it in the authority of God. This takes to the second essential to mountain moving faith.

Mountain moving faith speaks

Number two, mountain moving faith speaks. Your faith in God is going to cause you to pray something, do something, or say something. Faith without works is dead. An inactive faith is a dead faith. Jesus says in verse 23, I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. Let’s unpack this.

Jesus says, I tell you the truth. From time to time, Jesus will begin a lesson with this phrase. Some translations word it as “truly I say to you” (NASB). This is the Lord’s way of introducing something of great significance, something that He wants you to pay close attention to. It’s like Jesus is saying, “What I’m about to tell you is going to be hard for you to understand, difficult for you to accept, and tough for you to believe; but trust Me, I am telling you the truth.”  It’s like Jesus is saying, “This is going to sound to good to be true, but trust me on this. I am telling you the truth.”

Then Jesus says, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. A few thoughts.

  • Mountain moving faith speaks what God has told you to say. The act of moving your mountain is generated by God. Remember, this lesson about faith and prayer is in the context of having faith in God. The act of moving this mountain is directly connected to God’s word, God’s plan, God’s agenda, and God’s will. God has decided He wants your mountain to be removed and He has made it clear to you that He wants this mountain removed. You want the mountain removed and God has made it clear to you that He also wants it removed. This is not just you wanting it removed.
  • Mountain moving faith speaks to the mountain. I want you to notice that Jesus clearly said to His disciples you can SAY to this mountain. Sometimes God wants you to ask Him to remove a mountain, sometimes God wants you to pick up a shovel and remove the mountain, sometimes God wants you to get others involved in removing a mountain and sometimes God wants you to speak to the mountain to remove it.

This is where Jesus is talking about the authority of God given to God’s people to speak and command something to happen. Some believers abuse this and they name and claim everything. They command this and that to happen all over the place. Some believers ignore this completely and don’t know what to do with it and never use this aspect of God’s authority in their life.

  • Let’s go back to Jesus withering the fig tree. Jesus did not ask the Heavenly Father to wither the fig tree. In verse 14, Jesus spoke to the fig tree and said, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” Jesus knowing the will of the Father, spoke to the fig tree and the fig tree obeyed. That’s authority.
  • On another occasion, Jesus was in a boat crossing the lake. A storm suddenly arose out of nowhere. Jesus was sleeping. The frantic disciples wake Him up. Jesus gets up and Mark tells us that Jesus “rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Silence! Be still!’ Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39-40, NLT). Jesus knowing the will of the Heavenly Father, spoke to the storm and the storm obeyed.
  • When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, He got out of the boat and a man possessed by an evil spirit approached and Jesus spoke to the evil spirit, “Come out of the man, you evil spirit” (Mark 5:8, NLT). The evil spirit comes out of the man. Jesus knowing the will of the Heavenly Father, spoke to the evil spirit and the evil spirit obeyed.

These acts by Jesus demonstrated who He was. He was God in the flesh. He was the son of God. He was God incarnate. At the same time, Jesus was demonstrating this principle of spoken authority that God gives His people over certain obstacles in their lives.

What I’m saying is, there are going to be times in your life where God gives you a command to say something to an obstacle or mountain and you are to say it and command it in His authority and when you do that the mountain will be removed. God is not going to remove it for you, but He is going to give you His authority to remove it and its up to you to speak to the mountain. It is a faith filled declaration. This is where you speak to your mountain and tell it to leave.

Here is what’s happening with some of you. You are bothered and nervous by what I just said. It makes you uncomfortable. When your faith is stretched it becomes uncomfortable. I remember when I was a new believer I didn’t want to pray out loud, that made me nervous. I didn’t want to share my testimony, that scared me. I didn’t want to raise my hand in worship, that was weird and strange. For some of us, that is what’s happening right now with the idea of speaking to our mountains.

You need to see this as another form of prayer. The Bible talks about different kinds of prayer: the prayer of lament, praise, thanksgiving, intercession and supplication. This is a prayer of declaration. You have heard from God and now you are speaking on God’s behalf and in God’s authority.

Let me be clear here, I’m not the one bothering you with this. Jesus is bothering you. He is the one who is bothering you because its new and its different. For some of you, who were raised in church or been around some Christians, you are turned off by this because it was abused.

  • Mountain moving faith speaks to a specific mountain. Notice carefully what Jesus said, You can say to THIS mountain. This is not some formula that you can use against every mountain, every obstacles, every barrier or every challenge in your life. Jesus said you can say to THIS God will choose which mountain or mountains He wants you to remove by His command and His authority. This is not any mountain you want removed, it’s this mountain.

Your faith in God is to be an active faith. Faith in God will always cause you to pray something, do something or say something. Sometimes it will to the miraculous.

Before we move on, I must give you a caution. In 1 Corinthians 13:2, Paul says, “If I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing” (NLT). Moving mountains by faith in God is not the Christian’s supreme goal or accomplishment. God is more impressed with you loving others rather than you moving mountains. It’s better to do both, and we need followers of Jesus to show us what mountain moving faith looks like when its combined with loving others. For some, the mountain that needs to be removed is the hatred, prejudice, jealousy, and envy toward others.

Conclusion

Are there any obstacles in your life that God would have you removed? Is it a sin, a habit, a barrier that is keeping you from experiencing all that God has for you? Could it be that God would have you speak to that mountain to remove it?

Discussion Questions

  1. What is your initial reaction to speaking to your mountain in God’s authority?
  2. How do you know when God has told you that your mountain is to be removed?
  3. What examples in the Bible can you give where someone spoke to something in God’s authority and it happened?
  4. Why would God want one mountain to be removed, but not another?
  5. Why is loving others better than having faith to move mountains?
  6. Any concerns, struggles, or questions about speaking to your mountains?