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Faith

Sermon: Mover of Mountains [or Tell it to the Mountain – Part 2]

This is the follow-up sermon to “Tell it to the Mountain” which we discussed in Part 10 of this series.

Most of the first sermon dealt with proving from scripture that Mark 11:22, “Have Faith in God” is talking about having the same faith God has.  In, “Mover of Mountains” we deal more in manifesting this kind of faith.  Here is how I begin that sermon:

My purpose today will be to encourage all of you to BELIEVE that God can and will move that mountain---that insurmountable obstacle each time you encounter it.

God, through Christ WILL move that mountain!!!

First, let us do a quick review of the Action Steps I gave you in the last sermon.

The Actions Steps are all based from the 4 scriptures Jesus utters after saying, “Have Faith in God.”

Mark 11:23-26

23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

The Actions Steps are:

Say it --- Believe it --- Cast out all doubt --- Forgive
 

1] Say it—with the strongest faith, conviction, boldness.

2] Believe it
3] Cast out all doubt—displace it with the mind of God.
4] Forgive – Be at peace with everyone.  Avoid strife.

I then say:

The more you meditate about the Faith of God, the more you will Believe it.  The more you Believe it, the more mountains will be moved.

Now there are two kinds of mountains we encounter in life.

1) Those we can move by direct action.
2) The insurmountable obstacle

The first is summed up in a Chinese proverb that says, “The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”

We are going to focus today on the second kind of mountain…  the insurmountable obstacle…those things where no normal physical action is indicated.  There is no pebble carrying when the mountain we face is one solid piece of granite.

So, with a special focus on Meditation, we will go from Meditation-to-Belief-to-Action and move that mountain.  However, this “Action” is not one of physical effort but rather invoking our Faith—our belief—and witnessing God, Almighty moving the mountain for us.  He, in essence, creates a pathway straight through the mountain.  The mountain is replaced by a clear path that HE CREATES.

Later in the sermon I quote Psalm 50:23:

Psalms 50:23
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

…and then say:

The words of Christ, as well as the person of Christ, may abide in the believer. It is the teaching of Christ that gives rise to the proper kind of praying. When the word of Christ dwells richly within, one may safely ask what he will, and it shall be done. The teaching is similar to that in John 14:13-14.   Verse 8. Discipleship is a growing, dynamic thing. The more fruit we bear, the more truly are we fulfilling the pattern of disciples, those who learn of Christ in order to be like him. God is glorified thereby. He is vindicated and rewarded for his investment in the vineyard.

As we grow in Christ and develop the mind of God, we rightly know what to ask for.  We also learn to know whether the mountain in front of us is a pebble mountain removed with God’s power by our hands or a granite mountain that we leave to Him completely to remove.

As the commentary on verse 8 says, Discipleship is a growing, dynamic thing.  The more fruit we bear, the more glory for God.  The more we use this higher level of faith, the more God is glorified…the more we believe and the more we rid ourselves of any kind of doubt. ~end quote~

Later, I say:

So how are our insurmountable obstacles moved?  They are moved by our absolute invoking of this God level faith we are developing in our lives and in our hearts.  We do it knowing that it is God in us doing the work—moving the mountain and that He gets all the glory.  We do it by having this highest level of belief and casting out all doubt.

I then give the account of the faithful centurion [Luke 7] who had a servant who was so sick, he was ready to die.  His faith in Jesus to heal was so great that he says to Jesus, “say in a word, and my servant shall be healed [Luke 7:7].  Verse 9 says that He marveled at the centurion’s faith and stated that He had not seen this level of faith in all Israel.  I then say:

Three things strike me by this account:

1) The centurion was up against an insurmountable obstacle.  He had a servant he cared very much about and who was very sick.  Clearly, they had done all that could be done.  Still, “he—the servant, was ready to die.”

2) The centurion invoked Godly faith that contained absolutely no doubt.  He saw the victory before it ever took place.

3) Jesus marveled.

Why was Jesus marveling?  The centurion could only have this level of faith by direct intervention of God.  It was Jesus who healed the servant.  All the chief elements of this healing were of God and not man, so why did Jesus marvel?

Jesus marveled because of the centurion’s choice to allow that level of glory to pass through his body in the form of doubtless faith.  Jesus marveled because His Father was being glorified in heaven.

This is how mountains are moved.  We glorify God by allowing Him to be the Mover of Mountains through us.

The End Time

Sermon: Shock [or “Prepare for the Shock].

I begin this sermon by saying:

All events and all news stories between now and the Great Tribulation come down to one single verse found in Matthew 24.

Matthew 24:22  
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

God is going to allow events to go to a point where most all of mankind will know they are about to expire.

I then mention another sermon I gave, Final Checklist.”  In it, I discuss coping with shock, meaning the shocking end time events we will surely witness and even become involved in.

I way, “The way you cope with the coming shock is to know that it is coming, prepare yourself for it happening and invoke faith. It is Matthew 24:6 where Jesus says to you, ‘See that you be not troubled.’ ”

Later, I bring up Action Steps and begin by saying:

Action Steps
One can find all kinds of practical information on how to cope with shock and disaster.  What struck me about most of them is that they were designed by the world for the world.

The key to firstfruit coping is Almighty God, through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit that is in us.

The action steps must be primarily based in and coming out of the spiritual.  Your foundation of tranquility must be a spiritual foundation.

And now the verses I gave you in that sermon, “Final Checklist” for the point, “Prepare for the shock.”

Then, after several verses, I give a list of Action Steps:

1] Stay close to God.
2] Be immersed in the Word of God. Notice I said “be” not “get”.
3] Study the two lists above.

Note: What you are doing here is making a study of disaster.  Get text, audio and video on the major disasters of the past.  See editorials, news stories and instructional text that speak to possible future events such as natural disasters, terrorist acts, EMP, Nuclear or Biological attacks, martial law and/or invasions.  Acclimate yourself to economic breakdown, food and water shortages and persecution.  “What would you do?”  “How would you proceed?”

4] Pray
5] Invoke faith constantly in the protection and providence of God.
6] Eliminate fear, despair, worry or panic reflex.
7] Be a good steward now and in the face of potential disaster.
8] Constantly build and add to your foundation of tranquility. 

Trial and Tribulations

Sermon: The Package

I begin the sermon this way:

As you read your Bibles, what is one of the hardest things about being a firstfruit? Well, if you do a bit of, “line upon line and precept upon precept [Isaiah 28:10, 13], you will find that virtually every true Christian is going to encounter fiery trials, infirmities, reproaches, persecutions, necessities, distresses, tribulations and temptations.  Notice:

Fiery trials: intense encounters or struggles; bursts of anger, grief, or lust

1 Peter 4:12  
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.

Infirmities: physical limitations and illnesses
Reproaches: ridicule and rejection because of your faith or holiness
Persecutions: harassment and oppression due to religious convictions
Necessities: wear and care of daily responsibilities
Distresses: disappointments and deep hurts

After reading scriptures confirming the trials and tribulation we all go through, I say:

I have a procedure for you for handling every one of these situations.  Listen carefully, as I obtained this procedure from the Word of God.

Three-Step Procedure for dealing with trials
1] take the event in all its physical, mental, emotional and spiritual elements, put them into a box and wrap it up in plain brown paper.  Tie up the bundle in string.
2] never attempt to look upon those elements again.
3] place this package at the throne of God.

The purpose of my sermon today is to encourage all of us to wrap up our trials and tribulations in plain brown paper.

Give the package to God.

I give the benefits of the brown paper packages:

The Benefits of Brown Paper Packages
1] you take ownership of the trial.
2] you contain the trial in the limited space of the box.
3] the brown paper wrapping puts the trials out of sight and ultimately the mind.
4] the string secures the box and the paper.
5] you have something tangible to put before God.  Giving it to God is an absolute action step.
6] you can now claim specific promises of God regarding all trials.
7] you have opportunity to add to your spiritual character by the power of God, the Holy Spirit.

In one part of the sermon I quote two scriptures and make some comments about dealing with the trials and tribulations of life.

1 Corinthians 10:13  
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

God is giving us much here:
1] God is faithful.  He is always there to guide us and take away the problem.
2] He promises us that we will not suffer more than we are able.
3] He promises that we will be able to bear it.
4] He promises us a way of escape from the temptation.  That is, He focuses our eyes elsewhere.

In Acts 14 we read that we must go through much tribulation before we enter the Kingdom and eternal life.  Notice how He does this in Romans 5

Romans 5:3  
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience.

1. God has us focus on the glory of the Godhead and not the tribulation.
2. He works it so that the tribulation becomes a tool to develop spiritual character in us and once again forcing us to view something other than the tribulation itself.  God provides the plain brown paper. 

Start looking up
I have a concern that when firstfruits enter trial and tribulation they sometimes put their focus on the problem and not God.  If we are focused on the problem, just when are we going to put that problem into a box and cover it with string and plain brown paper?

Giving the package to God is pure indication that we are looking on God much more than the trial.  It means that we are not putting total focus on the details of the trial.

Put your focus on the Will of God  [Ephesians 1:11…counsel of his own will]
When you go to God in prayer, especially when the topic is your trials and tribulations, you are free to ask Him anything you wish.  Be as specific as you wish.  Having said this, all things are done according to God’s will.

Later I read 2 Timothy 1:8 which speaks to our relying on and being a partaker of the power of God.  I then say:

Note:  We never rely on our own strength, thoughts or inclinations in our tribulations.  We look to God and His power.  Notice that phrase again in this commentary, “look for divine strength.”  If one is looking for divine strength, he or she is not putting all their focus on the problem.

Toward the end of the sermon, I read Job 31:1 where Job states that he made a covenant with his eyes that he would not look upon temptation.  I then say:

Note: The principle here is to look upon nothing that would lead to sin or that would detract us from God or bring us sorrow.  Make a covenant with your eyes and cover the package in plain brown paper.

Trials and tribulations do not bring peace.  By wrapping them up and giving them to God, we are edified and can therefore edify others.

I end the sermon with these words:

So go now and get in a good supply of plain brown paper and wrap those packages before you give them to God.

Give those packages to God