Spiritual Perception: Are You A Mountain Remover or Climber?

Foundation Text: Mark 11:23 (King James Version)

²³For 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.

While at breakfast, I began to hear the words to a popular traditional hymn in my head. The words probably familiar to you simply say, “Lord, don’t move the mountain, but give me the strength to climb it. Please don’t move that stumbling block, but lead me Lord around it.”

Prolifically acclaimed, this song which has captured the hearts of many sends many different ideals. Firstly, it identifies our human incapability to climb the mountain (life’s challenges) without God. Secondly, it acknowledges the fact that if God does not lead us, we cannot get around it. However, the most challenging part of this lyric is the simple fact that we ask the Lord NOT to move it. Why? The problem is not the mountain, it’s our spiritual perception about the mountain.

A mountain is generally massive and usually steep-sided, raised portion of the Earth's surface. Mountains can occur as single peaks or as part of a long chain. They can form through volcanic activity, by erosion, or by uplift of the continental crust when two tectonic plates collide.

Now let’s compare mountains to the problems or better said, the challenges of life. Like the mountain, our problems can form through a type of volcanic activity. With volcanic activity, there will usually be some signs of erupting (to emerge violently from restraint or limits, explode). Additionally, there will be some signs of unrest (a troubled or rebellious state of discontent) This is the same humanist activity which creates our own personal mountains.

Jesus faced a personal mountain which later resulted in the words spoken in our foundation text. To understand why He said what He said, let's look at Mark 11:11-14, where it reads:

¹¹And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. ¹²And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: ¹³And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. ¹⁴And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

Jesus was hungry. The tree deceived him. He identified the deception and cursed it from the root. It was done. It was finished. He did not say, Lord please put some fruit on the tree so when we come back tomorrow there will be something on it. He didn’t even ask for the Lord to direct Him to another tree. We have no further record of him addressing that particular issue again. It was over. He instructs them in Mark 11:22 to "Have faith in God." For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Our mountains may come in form of having no food to eat, no employment, a lack of housing, transportation, limited or no finances in times like these or any other distractions sent by the enemy to kill, steal, destroy and erode away our faith in God. But we must remember, we are not powerless…we are POWERFUL! The keys to the kingdom have been given to us as heirs of the kingdom through the blood of Jesus. The key is to rest in the soveriegnty of God, believing within our hearts that God is able to do now and forever exceedingly and abundantly above all that we may ask or think.

Matthew 16:19 - ¹⁹ And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

John 10:10 - ¹⁰ The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Ephesians 3:20-21 - ²⁰ Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, ²¹ Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

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