Speak to Your Mountain

I have read the Bible many times and it seems every time I read it, its like a new book. This is proof that it is alive and active.  Sometimes we can read something for years, hear preaching on it and incorporate it into our belief system only later to discover it may not be as true as we thought.  For example, I was taught growing up that if I wanted to pray for someone's sickness or problem they are facing or even my own, I should pray and ask God to heal or intervene or change the circumstances.  While this is not against the teachings of Scripture, there is also another principle that Jesus introduced.  It goes against much of what we believe and/or practice, but If it is in red letters, then it must be true since Jesus only said and did what He heard His Father say and do.  In Mark 11 we see the following story: 

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.... When evening came, they went out of the city. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!" "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:12-14, 19-24)

Jesus tells his disciples that if ANYONE speaks tot heir mountain, AND you have FAITH and do not doubt, it WILL be thrown into the sea.  Notice it says anyone.  It doesn't say "If Pastors" or "If those who have known and follow me for X number of years,"  it says everyone which means ALL OF US. 

When we look at this passage, we might say to ourselves "Yeah, that was Jesus and He was speaking to his disciples.  It never happened any other time.  This was a one time case."  But if we examine scripture carefully, we see not only Jesus but others speaking to a situation and not just praying for God to intervene.  I want to be clear that I am not saying that asking God to intervene is wrong or that we shouldn't do it, but I am saying that that is not the only way.  Now I will show you other examples found through out scriptures that show this was not a one time event.

After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon's home, where he found Simon's mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. "Please heal her," everyone begged.  Standing at her bedside, he spoke to the fever, rebuking it, and immediately her temperature returned to normal. She got up at once and prepared a meal for them. (Luke 4:38-39)

This is Peter and his mother-in-law.  Jesus SPOKE tot he fever and it left. It didn't leave slowly, but left immediately.  And not only did it leave, she was in perfect health immediately.

 

But soon a fierce storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they woke him up, shouting, "Teacher, don't you even care that we are going to drown?" When he woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the water, "Quiet down!" Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. And he asked them, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still not have faith in me?" And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, "Who is this man, that even the wind and waves obey him?" (Mark 4:37-41)

Again this is a case of Jesus speaking to something, this time the wind and the waves.  What's interesting is that not only did the wind stop, but the waves became calm water.  If you are out on a boat in a storm and the wind stops, the waves usually take a bit of time to stop.  But here Mark records that not only did the wind immediately stop, but the Sea of Galilee became immediately calm, not even a ripple.  They obeyed the command.

"Roll the stone aside," Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man's sister, said, "Lord, by now the smell will be terrible because he has been dead for four days."   Jesus responded, "Didn't I tell you that you will see God's glory if you believe?"  So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, thank you for hearing me.   You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so they will believe you sent me." Then Jesus shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" And Lazarus came out, bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him go!" (John 11:39-44)

This story is of Jesus' close friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.  He got word that Lazarus was dead but refused to go to him as soon as he got word.  When he did chose to go Jesus knew Lazarus was already dead.  By the time they got to Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for 4 days.  In Jewish thinking, it was only possible for someone to be resurrected in the first 3 days because the persons spirit would stay nearby before leaving.  Here it is the 4th day and so all hope was gone according to Jewish traditions.  We see Jesus praying to his Father, but it is not a prayer for God to raise Lazarus, instead it is a prayer of thanks that God hears him.  Then Jesus speaks to Lazarus and in effect the death that has taken him, and commands life to come back into him by telling him to come out of the tomb.  Much tot he surprise of those around, he did.

Now you may be thinking that these examples are all about Jesus.  Besides, he was the son of God.  There is good news, there are other examples that are not Jesus.  While there are quite a few, I will give you 2 other examples.

Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o'clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.    Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, "Look at us!" The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting a gift. But Peter said, "I don't have any money for you. But I'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!" Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man's feet and anklebones were healed and strengthened. (Acts 3:1-7)

Here is Peter and John going to the temple, taking the same route they took when they were with Jesus.  I would venture a guess that Jesus walked by this man a few times.  But today was different.  He asked Peter and John for money.  Then they stopped and looked at him and told him to look at them,  At that moment the man's faith and expectation was raised.  He expected 'alms for the poor' but often we read stories where people expected one thing from God and instead He gave them more than they expected.  The man wasn't expecting to ever be able to walk, this was his mountain.  We see Peter and John speaking to the man, and instead of looking up to God and asking God to work in the life of this man, they spoke right to the man and his illness. They spoke to his mountain.  They told the man, in Jesus name. to get up and walk, and he did.  It wasn't a slow thing.  His mountain was immediately gone.

In Acts 16, we find another story.  This time it is Paul.

One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a demon-possessed slave girl. She was a fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters. She followed along behind us shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved." This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and spoke to the demon within her. "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her," he said. And instantly it left her. (Acts 16:16-18)

When we read this story, we may think that what the girl was doing was a good thing.  She was telling people Paul and his people where from God and how to be saved.  But the way the story was written, she was more of an annoyance and distraction than anything.  She was the person in a crowd we don't like that is constantly talking and distracting us from our purpose for being there.  Paul finally had enough and spoke to the demon and the demon left.  He didn't ask God to take care of it, he spoke to it himself in the name of Jesus. 

But these last two stories where apostles.  They had an inside track to Jesus and were able to use that tot heir advantage and the advantage of others.  But who where they BEFORE they where apostles?  They were average everyday people that we would have never heard of if they had not followed Jesus.  But if you  notice, there is similarities in all of these stories as well.  Jesus spoke with His authority to those mountains and Peter and Paul spoke in Jesus name to their mountains.  How can they do this?  The Bible tells us we are Ambassadors of the Kingdom of God and an ambassador is

an authorized representative or messenger according to Webster's Dictionary.  So if we are an ambassador, we speak as if we are the person we are representing and our words are taken as such.  Peter and Paul spoke in Jesus name and Philippians 2:9-10 says:

Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth

Jesus name is above every other name, not just Peter, John, Paul, or Scott, or Mary, or Melissa, but every name.  The wind had a name, the waves had a name, Death has a name, lameness has a name, demons have a name, cancer has a name, everything has a name, and Jesus name is above and has authority over all of those things that have a name.  The verse in Philippians tells us that they all must bow to His name.  That means if we are an Ambassador of Jesus Christ, and we have faith, and we ask with right motives, then what we speak to must bow the knee and obey.  But these are just examples form scripture.  How can we do this today?  It can and it does.  I recently read a story written by Andrew Womack in his book "A Better Way to Pray" that illustrates what I am talking about.  I will summarize the story:  Andrew was staying a friends house while ministering in a particular city and she asked him one day if he would pray for her friend that was in major pain and he agreed.  She said "Good, she is on her way here now." When she arrived she could barely walk due to the pain and had a special device that was full of magnets that was supposed to help with the pain but did not.  After speaking tot he lady about her situation and confirming she had at least a small amount of faith, Andrew began praying by thanking God for all He had done to bring us healing and that He gave us the power to speak to our mountains.  Then he turned to the woman and said, "In the name of Jesus, pain be gone from this woman NOW!"  The woman was shocked and amazed because the pain did immediately leave.  But then she stated she still had some burning in her back and wondered why.  Andrew told her it was because he only spoke to the pain, not the burning.  He then spoke to the burning the same way he did to the pain, and the burning instantly left her.  She was overjoyed and after a conversation together, the woman stated the burning was returning.  Andrew told her that she could do what he did and speak to the burning.  She sat up straight and said "In the name of Jesus, Burning ..."  and she stopped and looked at Andrew with out finishing the command and told him the burning had once again left.  She then went back to her own church and created quite a stir and never again was burdened with pain and burning.

We have seen that Jesus, Peter, and Paul all spoke to mountains in Jesus name and saw them gone.  Then Andrew Womack, a minister who is still alive today, did the same thing. (By the way, that is just one instance from Andrew's writings).  And not only that, the woman, who's name is never mentioned did the same thing.  All of these are part of who Jesus referred to as  "if anyone says to this mountain and does not doubt."  Sometimes we may find that when we do this nothing happens.  Sometimes it takes more than one time.  Jesus himself had to pray over a man more than once to see the mountain removed.  Jesus also tells us to ask and keep on asking, to seek and keep on seeking, to knock and keep on knocking. 

Often we have a small amount of doubt when we pray and do not fully expect things to change, but Jesus promised that if we speak to the mountain as an ambassador, in Jesus Name, and we don't doubt but believe that God will do what he said, and ask with the correct motive and not out of selfishness and out of wanting people to praise you, then you too can speak to your mountain whatever it may be, we can expect an answer and expect our situation to bow before the name of Jesus. 


So in conclusion, "Have faith in God," Jesus answered.   "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him."  (Mark 11:22-23).