FAITH THAT MOVES MOUNTAINS (Mark 10:20-26)

A message presented  and delivered by Segun Adeleke at Faith Baptist Church on November 1st 2006.

Life is full of mountains i.e difficulties.  These mountains are in various sizes and are also unique to each individual. 
Christians are not exempted from life’s difficulties.  That you are a Christian automatically enlists you in the school of trouble cf. Psa. 34:19

The LORD has however been so good to us Christians.  He has provided the way out of every trouble we could ever find ourselves.  All we need to do is to prayerfully lean on Him whenever there is a mountain confronting us, and He will show us the way out 1 Cor. 10:13.  Amen.

A major way of dealing with life’s mountain is by exercising the God-kind of faith as seen in Mark 10:20-26.  This God-kind of faith has it dimensions viz

1.      It is a faith anchored on the truth- vs. 22-23 cf. Jn.          17:17; Jn. 8:32.

• Faith that moves mountain is anchored on the truth: not on facts, not on tradition, not on experience etc.
• Your faith must be anchored on the truth of God’s word before you can get results
• So, locate God’s word and act on it and it shall work for you.
• This is a great challenge, that any Christian that will overcome his mountain must be a friend of the truth (God’s word) cf. Josh. 1:8; Col. 3:16; 2 Tim. 2:25.
  
• Mountains only bow before the TRUTH
  
• Not before complaints, grumblings etc

          Q.  So, how much of truth do you know?
          Q.  When last did you encounter the truth of God’s           word?

2.       It is a speaking faith vs. 23 cf. Ezek. 37:7-10
          To speak     =     “to talk to somebody about                                     something”
                            =     “to speak the same thing”

• The faith that moves mountain is a speaking faith
• The LORD Jesus Christ exemplified this in vs. 4 of our text.
• Jesus spoke to the fig tree and by the following day, the fig tree had withered from the root – vs. 20-21
• You must learn to speak to your mountains!
• You must learn to speak positively to your life!
• Stop all negative confessions about your self, family, Church, nation!
• “Don’t bad-mouth Nigeria”
• You shape your life, future etc by your words
• Words are seeds.
• For every word that you say you must surely reap it.
• There is power in the spoken words
• There is power in your mouth – Pro. 6:2; 10:11,14; 12:14; 13:2,3; 18:4,7,20,21; Psa. 81:10; Rom. 10:6-10; Acts 16:25ff
• There is power in your mouth! Mind what you say – Num. 14:1ff; Mal. 3:16; 2 Kings 7:1-3
• A major reason why most of our prayers have not received answers is because we are double-mouthed.
• We will pray for something and then scatter the prayers with our confession
• You back your confessions with your prayers
• You back your prayers with your confession.
• The word of blessing is in your mouth! Say it out
• Speak a blessing to your life, to your family, your spouse, your children, your job etc.
• What have you been saying to yourself?
• From today, stop every negative confession
• Make positive confession about all that concerns you.
• David is a good example of this, most of the Psalms were David’s positive confession about God and His situation cf. Psa. 2:5-8; 16:7-11; 23:1-6; 27: 1-6,13; 35:27-28; 71:20-21; Psa. 121; 119:19; 1 Kings 17:41-47.
• How about the Shunamite? Cf. 2 Kings 4: 17-26.
• How about Job? cf. Job 19:25-27; 23:8-12
• How about Paul? cf. Acts 27:22-25; 2 Tim. 1:12
• Start saying good things about yourself

Note:   Your confessions must be anchored on the scripture and your understanding of God.  Otherwise they will always return to you void.

3.       It is a praying  faith – vs. 24

• Prayer is a relationship with God
• It is a communion between God and His redeemed child.
• Prayer is not shouting, acrobatic display, noise etc
• Prayer is a relationship
• Prayer brings power
• The devil fears the weakest of God’s saints on his knees
• John Knox prayed and Scotland shook
• Jesus Christ taught us to pray by words and example
• He said you will faint when you don’t pray – Luke 18:1
• A prayerless Christian is not just powerless, but very useless and dangerous
• Don’t be prayerless
• Pray for the Spirit of prayer
• You can pray
• Start praying, start living.

4.        It is a forgiving faith – vs. 25 cf. Job 42:10

• Unforgiveness is a major hindrance to prayers being answered
• Until you forgive, God will not forgive you
• Until you forgive, God will not answer your prayers
• Until you forgive, your mountains will remain unmovable
• Forgive whoever has hurt you and you’ll see God restoring your fortunes
• FORGIVE and your mountains shall become a plain.