My Faith Can Move Mountains

Introduction

Just a few moments. We do have many, many who are visiting with us today, not only from locally, but also from really across the country. And we’re so glad that you’re here with us today as we have come together to worship our great God, to serve him, to honor him, to give praise to his name. And now I’ll go to a portion of his word. We’ve not been doing a theme for this month. We, for many of the months, the first part of this year, we were engaged in various themes throughout the month. But we did not do one this month. But our aim is to have one next month. And the name of that theme is Marriage Matters. And we’ll be talking about how marriage matters to God.

We’ll also be talking about how marriage matters to us, of course. And I hope you’ll be able to join us for those lessons. Invite your friends. Let them know. Certainly marriage is something that’s important to all of us and important to those whom we know. And this may be a way even of you being able to share the gospel with those whom you come into contact with and to invite them to come and to hear the word of God. But of course, we’ll be saying more about that even next week as we begin the new month. Last week, our brother Harkrider spoke to us about faith. And contrasting real faith with unbelief, and how real faith isn’t necessarily what the world thinks of as real faith.

And I want to expand on that a little bit today, not necessarily the points that he was making, but talk a little bit more about faith and simply how important faith is. And I want to use as our text this morning, Matthew the 17th chapter and verse 20. A passage that’s known to many of us where it says there that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible to you. That’s a wonderful verse. And that’s a verse that’s very reassuring to us, a verse of promise. That if we’ll really have faith in God, then the impossible is possible. But of course, that’s also a verse that is perverted by many in the world today.

It is a verse that is said to mean things which God never said it meant. And we hope to look at that a little bit further this morning. But before we get to verse 20, we need to go back and see what is actually happening here in Matthew the 17th chapter. Pictured for you is Mount Hermon, there in the northern portion of Palestine. Very northern portion, actually. The Jordan River has its source there, coming off of Mount Hermon. And it’s in this region where in the 16th chapter, Jesus had been teaching in Caesarea Philippi. And it’s there in the region of Caesarea Philippi that Jesus asked that question of his apostles, who do men say that I am? And of course, they said, Well, some say you are Elijah, some say John the Baptist or one of the prophets, and he says, Well, who do you say that I am?

1. A Tale of Two Mountains

And of course, it was Peter who confessed you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Well, chapter 17 begins with Jesus going up onto this high mountain. The mountain is not stated which mountain it is, but Mount Hermon is within the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi, and so it is likely that it was this mountain that Jesus ascended with Peter, James, and John. And it’s there, of course, that we begin our story. Well, chapter 17 is really about. It’s a tale of two mountains. Of course, first of all, there’s the mountain of transfiguration, which is the first part of Matthew chapter 17. We’re not going to take the time to go and read all this, but you are familiar with the account. That there Jesus is transfigured.

He is changed in their very presence. And to radiant glory. The text will talk about how his garments become so white, so white, whiter than any launderer could make them. His face shines. He is glorious in their presence. But then they also see Moses and Elijah. Of course, we’re not told how it is that they recognize that it’s Moses and Elijah. Most likely it is Jesus speaking to them, and they hear that Jesus is speaking to them. And Jesus is speaking to Moses and Elijah. And of course, for Peter, James, and John, this is significant. Moses being the lawgiver, Elijah being the greatest of the prophets. We in our minds may think of prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah. And certainly they left for us material, volumes of material, wondrous prophets that they are, but in the mind of the Jew, it was Elijah, the great prophet of God, Elijah, who isn’t even ascended into heaven in that chariot of fire.

And so here is Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah. And of course, it is Peter that in his perplexity, and again, let’s not be hard on Peter here, which of us in that situation would not say something akin to it. Let us build three tents, tabernacles. Let us build three tabernacles, one for you, Jesus, one for Elijah, and one for Moses. And it’s there, of course, that God’s own voice, the Father’s voice from heaven says, This is my beloved son. Hear ye him. Here is the reaffirmation. Here is the confirmation of the very statement that Peter had made back in the 16th chapter, when Peter confessed that you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, now God is confirming that very confession that Peter had made by saying, This is my beloved son.

And of course, when it comes to hear ye him, well, he is greater than Moses, who gave the law. He is greater than Elijah who stands for the prophets. This is my son. This is the one whom you must listen to. And that is the mountain of transfiguration. But as they leave that mountain, now I’m skipping to verse 14. They come now to a different mountain, if you will. They come down to the bottom of the mountain, and we begin reading in verse 14 of Matthew chapter 17. Then it says that they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before him and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son. For he is a lunatic and is very ill, for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.

This is one of those cases where within the gospels we need to take into account all that is said in the gospel accounts. Mark’s account fills in the details a little bit more, where in Mark the ninth chapter in verses 17 and 18, he says that whenever this demon, the spirit possesses my son, it slams him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. This is a terrible situation. This is a young man who is afflicted terribly by this demon, and here is a father who is concerned for him. And so he says to Jesus, I brought him, verse 16, to your disciples. And they could not cure him. Well, why did he bring his son to the disciples in the first place?

Well, if we’re to go back to the 10th chapter, and I invite you to go ahead and just flip back a couple of pages to the 10th chapter of Matthew. And just note this commission and this power that Jesus gave to the disciples. Jesus summoned his twelve disciples, Matthew chapter 10 and verse 1, and he gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Mark’s account talks about how when they come back to Jesus and they related to Jesus exactly how they did these very things, how they healed the sick, how they cast out demons. No doubt the knowledge that not only Jesus had this power, but that he had given this power to his disciples had come to this man’s ears.

And so while no doubt he would have preferred to have brought his son directly to Jesus, he knows that his disciples are there. And so he brings his son to the disciples, thinking that they must be able to do this. They must be able to cast out this demon that afflicts my son. But they could not.

Help my unbelief. The same kind of terminology Jesus would use in rebuking the Pharisees. When they would come to him and asking for a sign, he rebukes them as this perverted generation. But in Matthew’s account, we’re to understand that Jesus is not simply speaking to the crowd. He’s not simply speaking to this man’s father. He’s speaking to his very own disciples and saying, How long shall I be with you? And so he rebukes the demon, verse 18, and it comes out. Verse 19 is where we see the disciples come back into the picture. The disciples came to Jesus privately and said, Why could we not drive it out? And it’s there that he says in verse 20, because of the littleness of your faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible to you.

But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. So here we are faced with the two mountains of the passage. We have Jesus glorified on the mountain of transfiguration, the very voice of the Father saying, This is my beloved Son. But then Jesus comes down off of the mountain to the scene of unbelief. A scene where even his ambassadors, because of the littleness of their faith, could not drive out this demon. Here was the mountain that they themselves could not move.

2. Because of the Littleness of Your Faith

Jesus said, It is because of the littleness of your faith that you cannot drive out this demon. But then he asked his disciples, or tells his disciples rather, if you would only have the faith the size of a mustard seed.

He’s saying it’s because of how small your faith is. But if you would have faith the size of a mustard seed, let me ask you, is a mustard seed not small? We understand from the parable of the sower in Matthew the 13th chapter that the mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds. And so think about what Jesus is saying here. It’s because of your little faith that you couldn’t drive this demon out. But if you would have just this tiny mustard seed kind of faith, then you could drive it out. So what’s Jesus’ point? Well, we know from the parable of the mustard seed, the mustard seed doesn’t say small, does it? It may start off tiny, but of course, as Jesus would say in that parable, it becomes even a tree.

And the birds of the field can nest therein. What was the problem with the disciples? It’s their littleness of faith. And I understand if you’re reading from the King James Version, it will say unbelief. But the literal rendering there is little faith. Not that they had no faith. Peter’s confession back in the 16th chapter demonstrates some faith, but it’s a little faith. And here’s why that’s significant. You go back throughout the Gospel of Matthew, and Jesus is constantly chiding his disciples because they have littleness of faith. Going back to the eighth chapter, going back to the eighth chapter in verse 26, as Jesus and the disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee and they’re in the boat, and Jesus is asleep, and here comes this great storm, and they come and they wake up Jesus and they say, Master, do you not care that we are perishable?

And why does Jesus say, Oh, you of little faith. And of course, he with a word calms the sea. Then again, in the 14th chapter. This is another occasion on the Sea of Galilee. And Jesus in the night watches is walking on the sea. And the disciples see him and they are scared. But then when they recognize this Jesus, and Peter asks that he may come out to Jesus, and he begins to walk on the water. But then he begins to see the waves coming around him, and he begins to sink. And what is it that Jesus says to him, O you of little faith. Even going back to the 16th chapter on this occasion, where after Jesus had fed five thousand people with just a few loaves and a few small fish, he has fed four thousand people with just a few loaves and a few small fish.

And now he is remembering reminding his disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and it just so happens that the disciples had not brought bread, and they’re wondering among themselves, oh, this is because we didn’t bring any bread. As if Jesus could not have provided.

What is Jesus saying to his disciples here? And when Jesus rebukes them, it says it is because of the littleness of your faith. That is contrasted to the mustard seed, because the mustard seed will grow and bloom. Their faith had been stagnant. Did they have faith? Yes, they had faith. They had little faith, and that faith wasn’t growing as it should have.

And that is why. They could not drive out that demon. I have no doubt when they saw that young man, they were terrified. The congregation here knows about my oldest sibling, my brother, who passed away almost, wow, 12 years. It’s been 12 years now. My brother was born with cerebral palsy, never spoke a word in his life, never took a step, couldn’t control his motions. And I’ve wondered if I went to faith healing service, and if I brought my brother, what kind of panic would set in? Of course, they wouldn’t have seen us. You know, that’s not something you can just wave your hand over or say a word, and that’s going to be healed. And I wonder if maybe even the disciples had that kind of an idea as this young man is brought to them, and no doubt the demon has taken hold of him, and he’s throwing himself down, and they’re thinking, well, we’ve done some things before, but we’ve never done something quite like this.

3. Their Faith Would Grow: Mountain Moved

I don’t think I can do it. And yet it was the very Son of God whom they confessed as the Christ who said, I give you this power, go and do it. Their faith had not grown. They have little faith. Now, before we move from the disciples, let us to their credit say, their faith would become even as that mustard seed. It took seeing the resurrected Jesus from the grave, but their faith would grow and it would bloom. It would be just as that mustard seed, and the mountains would in fact be moved. Literal mountains, not that we’ve ever read of, but here are the mountains that we know were removed because of faith by the apostles. Here are the apostles who go from being unable to heal this man’s son.

But then when we read in the book of Acts, in Acts the fifth chapter, there’s not a person they could not heal. Going over to the book of Acts and Acts chapter 5, of course, this all being after Jesus has appeared to them, having raised risen from the dead, now he’s ascended into heaven, seated at the right hand of God. And this picture of the early church, we read in Acts chapter 5 and beginning in verse 12, that the hands of the apostles, many signs and wonders were taking place among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico, but none of the rest dared to associate with them. However, the people held them in high esteem, and all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women were constantly being added to their number, to such an extent that even they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on any of them.

Think of that. Going from being unable to heal this man to now because of their faith and how it has grown in Jesus, that even the rumor that, oh, Peter’s shadow can heal, let’s all go to Jerusalem. Mountain moved. We go from Peter, who on the night of Jesus’ trial denies Jesus three times to the picture of Peter in the fourth chapter. When Peter and John are before the Sanhedrin, that very council that all the apostles have been hiding in a locked room, according to John chapter 20 and verse 19, afraid of what the Jews might come and do to them. That same Peter we read in Acts chapter 4, when they come and they say, No longer preach in this man’s name, Peter says to that counsel, by the name of Jesus Christ and Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name, this man, this lame man that they had healed earlier in the chapter, stands here before you in good health.

And then Peter says in verse 19, whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge. We cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and what we have heard. Let me tell you, mountain moved. Peter going from on that night, denying the Lord to now with his life on the line, boldly proclaiming, I must preach and teach Jesus. John going from one, James and John being the two brothers who came to Jesus on an occasion and asked that each of them be able to sit at his right and left hand when he comes in his kingdom. John in this picture of pride, this picture of selfish ambition, longing for things for himself, will become known to us as the apostle of love.

And the apostle who says to us things like 1 John 3 and verse 11, that this is the message which you have heard, that we should love one another. We know love by this. That he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Let me tell you, mountain moved. The mountain of pride and ambition that was in John’s life is gone. To now professing love for all and a sacrificial love at that. Paul, whom we know before his account with Jesus in Acts the night chapter. And as Paul would describe himself in writing to the Philippians as a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee, one who would have no regard for Gentiles. Or even referred to his fellow Jews for that matter, who differed in their interpretation of the law.

The same Paul who would say, I have made myself all things to all men, whether Jew or Gentile. Let me tell you, we know from our society, is there a harder mountain to move than racism? Probably not. And yet you see within Paul’s life, because of his faith that grew in Christ Jesus, he can go from being a Hebrew of the Hebrews to one of all people. Mountain moved. We go from these apostles who were so afraid, hiding in that locked room. To the very men who the Jews would say of in the city of Thessalonica in Acts chapter 17 and verse 6, that these men have upset the world. Mountain moves. Because they would develop faith. The faith that Jesus said, like a mustard seed, that if they’d have that kind of faith, they would say to this mountain, be moved, and it would be moved.

4. Some Mountains God Doesn’t Want Moved

Let’s make some application to us this morning before we close our hour. The fact is, Jesus is saying this to his apostles, and I believe he’s saying it to us as well, that yes, your faith can in fact move mountains. But let’s talk about some prerequisites. Let’s talk about what faith will really mean when we say, yes, faith can move mountains. Let’s first of all recognize that there are some mountains that God doesn’t necessarily want moved. And if we have a hard time understanding, let’s just go again to the Apostle Paul. If we’re told in the world that if you just have enough faith and you’ll say enough prayers and you’ll do enough good deeds and you’ll give enough money, then yes, any sickness that you have can be removed.

Yet it’s the Apostle Paul who goes to the Lord three times in prayer saying, Lord, please remove this thorn in the flesh. And the Lord’s response was, My grace is sufficient. We go back to our lesson from the 9 o’clock hour. And those Jews in Psalm 44 are wondering why in the Lord’s name are we dying. And yet ultimately coming back to this conviction and praying to God that he would deliver them because of his loving kindness. Paul’s saying in Romans chapter 8, and speaking of all these principalities and powers and all these things that are arrayed against us, and yet ultimately we are confident and convinced that they will not separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. There are obstacles and trials in our life that are there.

And it may be that even though we think they need to be moved, and we pray and we have faith that yes, God could.

5. Real Faith Rooted in Christ Jesus

Let’s talk about real faith that’s rooted in Christ Jesus. The apostles have been sent out by the Son of God to heal and to cast out demons. They should have been able to do it knowing they are sent out by the very Son of God.

Our faith has to be rooted in Him, and that means much more than mental assent that He is a Son of God. That means that we go out and we live in our lives the principles that He told us. Here is what you should do. Why should I do that? How can I know that’s going to work? How can I know that this is actually what God wants of me? Because we have faith. And that our faith is in him, and he is the one who died for our sins. He is the one who rose from the dead. He is the one who’s now seated at the right hand of God. Let’s make sure the faith we’re talking about is in this Jesus. Not the fluffy, not the Jesus they give you on TV.

Not the one who just says, Oh, good job, everybody. This is the Jesus who’s now seated at the right hand of God and over all things. And he’s the one who’s commissioned us to go out and to live according to his will. And of course, taking the point of Jesus’ words here. My faith can move mountains if my faith is like that mustard seed. And that mustard seed will grow.

That happens by purpose. That only happens by purpose. You will not stumble into a stronger faith. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. We think of passages like Romans 10 and verse 17, so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. That is a purpose statement. You need to hear the word of God because it’s there that you’re going to understand those principles, like in Hebrews 10 and verse 23, that we’re told to let’s hold fast the assurance of our hope, for he who promised his faithful. When we read in Hebrews 11 and verse 6 that the one who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. How do I know that?

6. Some Mountains That Can Move

Because it’s right there. It’s in the very history book of God Himself that He gave to us. That’s what tells me that God is faithful. That’s what tells me that God does reward those who seek him. I need to be paying attention to that. And growing in that. And my faith will grow. Much more could be said about that. But let’s talk about some mountains that can move. The mountain of fear that we have can’t move. Anyone else troubled this week? Anybody else troubled because it seems like we are in a society which increasingly disrespects Almighty God? Sure. Anybody else troubled when we think of the world’s circumstances and how men seem to be growing worse and worse and more evil and more evil? Sure. I’d ask you to go back and read again what the Apostle Paul wrote at the end of Romans chapter 8.

I am convinced that neither principalities, height, nor depth, or powers, nor things present, nor things to come, can remove us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. We don’t have to be afraid all the time. Are we concerned? No doubt. Do we wonder and fear for future generations? Sure we do, but we still serve this God. We do not have to act like the rest of the world. We do not have to cower in fear. We do not have to bemoan our fate. We serve this God. The mountain of fear can be moved. The mountain of discontent. We live in a world in a society where we are not happy with the things in which we have.

And then saying to the poor, do not be worried about what you’re going to eat or what you’re going to be clothed with. Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness. And all these will be added unto you. Contentment. You can conquer that mountain. If you’ll really think, what is it that God is offering us? Is he offering us more things in this life? He may bless us with that. I can’t tell you. Some of us have been very blessed. But that’s not what he’s offering you. He’s offering you justification by the blood of His Son, sanctification, and ultimately glorification with Him for eternity. The mountain of discontent that plagues our society can be moved out of your life if you’ll just have that kind of faith.

The mountain of strife. The mountain of strife which we experience in our lives, which we experience with others, that can be moved too. If we’ll just enact the principles which we should be doing by faith that Paul speaks about in Philippians chapter 2, that if we like Jesus will humble ourselves, Jesus is another very form of God, and yet he came down and lived as a man. If we’ll humble ourselves and seek each other’s good well-being. And that mountain, it can be moved. And finally, the mountain of death. And we’ll talk about death in two senses. Death as a result of sin. For the wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life. When Jesus says in Mark 16 and 16, he who believes and is baptized shall be saved, that is faith acting.

And that mountain that was in each and every one of our lives, sin, which we could not get rid of on our own. Jesus is saying, if you’ll have enough faith, if you’ll respond to me, if you’ll follow me, mountain moved. And then, of course, the final mountain being death. The mountain that Paul speaks about in 1 Corinthians 15. And we’ll not take time to read all of it. We’ll read beginning in verse 50 of what Paul says there about this glorious resurrection of Christ and our resurrection. He says in verse 50 of 1 Corinthians 15. Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.

Conclusion

In a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. Skipping down to verse 54. Then will come about the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin. And the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Mountain moved. We extend an invitation to you this morning. That those mountains in your life can in fact be moved through faith in Christ Jesus. Will you have that kind of faith that Jesus speaks about? Faith like a mustard seed.

It may be small right now, but will you allow it to grow as you learn and hear more of him? As your experiences with him and God grow every day, will it grow your faith? And that those mountains out of your life, including even the last mountain, death, the grave, will ultimately be removed so that we can be with him for all eternity. Would you respond to him in faith this morning? Would you repent of your wrongs, your sins? Would you be baptized in the name of Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins? And the mountain of sin will be gone in your life. Can we aid you in some way? Why don’t you come as we stand and as we sing? Number three point