Last week I squished in why we should always find scripture concerning what we’re praying about. Then we finally moved on to spending time with the Holy Spirit. I hope you had time to do that this past week. Spending time with the Holy Spirit is always very enjoyable.
Quick review: what do you do when the will of God is unknown? Do I take this job or that job? Do I move my family to a new state? Should I buy a house and have a mortgage? These answers aren’t in the Bible. I once had a friend tell me, “I’ll buy the house and it if works out it was God, if it doesn’t it wasn’t God.” I responded, “Yeah, but if it’s not you’ll have a bad house.” He never thought of that! To protect ourselves from a bad house in life; we spend time with the Holy Spirit. When you invite Him into your prayer life, and sit there quietly in reverence to His presence, that’s when you’ll experience the leading and guiding you seek. You probably won’t hear a Charlton Heston Moses voice from Heaven, “Thus saith the Lord, buy that new car!” Often times you’ll feel a calm peace when that’s the direction you should go, and when it’s the wrong direction you’ll feel like there’s an unsettling feeling IN YOUR SPIRIT not your emotions. That’s the guiding. The more you spend time focusing on His guiding, the stronger and louder it will become in your life.
The best advice I can give you is to practice being led by the spirit when life is good. Don’t wait until an emergency arises to develop listening skills. How well can someone expect to hear when they’re asking the Lord if they should go through with a surgery, when fear is trying to grip them. I’ve been through too many emergencies in life, and I always say, “Pray while the day is good!” When a bad situation arises, it will try to pull your attention away from the Word and the Holy Spirit. That’s when we need to dig our feet in and say, “I won’t let this bad situation move me.” The more real the Holy Spirit becomes to you, the easier it will be to soar above any situation in life. Some people never develop this skill at all, and then say that God doesn’t speak based on their experience in life.
Mark 5:21-43 NKJV
35While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”
Jesus is telling Jairus, don’t consider the bad news. He wanted Jairus to look at Him where there is no fear, love, healing, and answers. We need to practice putting our focus on the Lord. Our listening skill needs to be practiced regularly just like a football player must practice regularly! When game day comes and they run out on the field, everyone will know if they showed up to practice or not. Doesn’t matter how good that player was in the past season, past season practice won’t help the player in this season! Not practicing can turn the best of us into a weeping pile on the floor. When a bad situation arises, the first thing I say is, “I’ve been praying!” What am I saying? The Lord saw this coming. The Lord’s got this. There is already an answer waiting for me!
Let’s move on to this week before we run off to focusing on Jesus.
The Holy Spirit tapped on my heart to revisit faith and talk about how to take your faith to the mountain moving level, believing that the impossible is possible.
Hebrews 11:1-2 NKJV
1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
Evidence of things not seen. Then we have to ask ourselves, when will you believe your prayer is answered? After you have it? While you’re in the middle of getting it? Before you get it? Most heathens can believe during and after. The before is what sets our faith apart.
Mark 11, I recommend reading this whole fig tree passage again and again asking the Holy Spirit to give you a deeper understanding of faith concerning Jesus’ teaching.
23For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
PLEASE DO NOT RUN SCREAMING that I am going to do name it and claim it. No! No!! No!!! No!!!! I have spent countless hours with this scripture. The Lord has given me some revelation knowledge of what Jesus is teaching here. Hold on! It’s good, I promise!
Let’s talk about name it and claim it, blab it and grab it. I do believe some people have gotten off track and made this teaching weird to the point others want to shut down immediately and run screaming. Let’s hose this teaching down with other scripture and see what’s left. Hehe
Romans 10:17 NKJV
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
We talked about this in-depth last week. However much hearing we’re doing will determine how much faith we have, unless you’re for some strange reason just outright refusing to believe. The second part of this scripture, hearing by the word of God, in context is referring to the gospel.
What is this mountain moving faith?
The mountain moving faith, over the top faith, is when you start saying what you believe will come to pass. WHY?? Because faith comes by hearing. Jesus is teaching, say it so your own words can produce strong faith. This way you won’t be moved by the mountain, but your mountain will be moved by you. There is nothing weird about this at all. Ask yourself this, why does a coach give his team a pep talk before the game? Faith comes by hearing.
I’m not suggesting you stand out in your driveway and say, “A lambo will appear. A lambo will appear.” NO! I’d be the first to tell you that you ain’t getting it. “I want a trip to Hawaii. I want a trip to Hawaii. I want a trip to Hawaii.” Don’t, because you won’t get it. What if you want a lambo or a trip to Hawaii?
First question is, if you want the Lord to give it to you, are you putting a lambo’s worth of tithes and offerings into ministries? Are you taking care of God’s House so that He CAN bless you this way? I know a woman that put her entire paycheck into the church offering. Her husband had a good job, and they tithed off his check and gave offerings too. If they received a free trip to Hawaii, cool! If they received a free car, awesome! Right? If you’re not a giver at all, I wouldn’t suggest you even believe God for $10. Why? Because your prayer will fail, and you’ll say the scriptures don’t work. Secondly, do you qualify for that trip to Hawaii according to scripture?
Psalm 37:4-5 NKJV
4Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
Is that trip a selfish request for gain? Do you really love the Lord and take delight in Him and His Word? Did you already commit your way to Him, or were you going to do that for the free trip? You know the slimy guy who dates the rich girl because he wants her to buy him things? Yeah, I want to discourage this behavior, because you can grieve the Holy Spirit. You can hurt His feelings, it’s in Ephesians 4:30.
Let me put it this way… The blab it and grab it teaching doesn’t always encompass multiple scriptures, which causes failure and doctrine fighting at the expense of Jesus’ precious teaching. Let’s bring these scriptures into perspective. I use mountain moving faith all the time. After I pray, and believe for let’s say an unexpected $10,000 bill you can’t pay, because that’s happened to me:
Believe: The Lord is sending me money for a bill that I can’t pay!
Say: Thank you, Father, that you are El Shaddai, the God of more than enough.
Say: Thank you, Father, that I don’t have to scrape the bottom of the barrel and starve, because you provided my needs!
Say: Thank you, Father, that You said in Romans 8:28 that You work all things out
Say: Thank you, Father, you said in Philippians 4:19 that You shall supply all my needs according to Your riches in glory
Say: Thank you, Father, I am the head and not the tail. I’m on the top and not the bottom (Deuteronomy 28:13)
Say: Thank you, Father, that you told me not to worry in Your Word, because you’re busy working this out.
The Lord did provide the money and paid that bill for me! Praise God! So… You get the idea? It’s not about chanting into your life free hair extensions, or a ticket to the super bowl! It’s releasing God’s Word out of your own mouth, for your own ear to hear, so that you create a strong mountain moving faith within your own spirit. Why speak it out loud? When you voice words, your mind stops thinking. When your head says, “This is it. I’m going down this time.” Stop in the middle and say out loud, “The Word says, I’m not going under, I’m going over.” The negative faith poisoning thought has to stop, because your mind can’t carry on with opposing thoughts while you’re speaking. That’s your big homework this week. When a thought against the Word rises up, speak out loud and pay attention how it has to stop. If you keep after your thought life with mountain moving faith, things will change. The Word works.
It’s a beautiful and strong faith teaching that fanaticism has hijacked.
Our words are power containers! Christians should be taking the use of their words very seriously. Let’s see what scripture has to say…
Genesis 1:3: Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
Matthew 12:36: But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
Matthew 12:36: For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
Our words are important, and powerful. One very interesting story about the power of words. I encourage you to read the story of Balaam in Numbers 22. Balaam, a man involved in contacting demons, was hired by Balak to curse Israel so he could defeat their army. The Lord warns Balaam, the soothsayer, about going to Balak, but he goes anyway. The part that everyone knows, his donkey sees the angel that is standing in the road about to kill Balaam, so she tries to save Balaam from death. Balaam can’t see the angel and so he beats the donkey. The angel causes the donkey to speak. After the angel warns Balaam, he still goes to see Balak. Instead of cursing Israel, only blessings come out of his mouth. Balaam tells Balak he cannot say anything else except what the Lord gave him to say. Later in the book of Joshua, the Lord says this about Balaam, Joshua 24:10 NKJV
But I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand.
When I considered this scripture after spending time with the Lord about mountain moving faith, I was a bit taken back. According to this scripture, Balaam’s words would have had a serious negative impact on Israel that they needed delivered. Wow! Take a moment to let that sink in your heart. There is power in our words! James’s teachings agree with this, he talks about people cursing men, that are made in the image of God, with our tongue. If words weren’t such important power containers, none of these things would matter, and they would not be in scripture.
Back to our scripture, in Mark 11:23, …believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
I always like to use the world as an example. Sometimes when the world does it, it seems normal. But when we see it in scripture, doctrine rises up and screams NOOOO!!!
Navy Seals, the elite of the elites, the special forces of the US Navy. I don’t have the space here to paste in studies, thanks to my longwinded nature. Statistically, they recover from injuries faster, heal better, react better, have less stress, retain large amounts of information, and seem to possess superhuman abilities just to name a few qualities. What’s that all about? If you have ever meet one, it doesn’t take long to see they have Biblical principles in operation in their life. They’re taught that they are winners, and made to say it often.
Navy Seal Sayings
It pays to be a winner.
I persevere and thrive in adversity.
In the absence of orders I will take charge, lead my team, and accomplish the mission.
Uncompromising integrity is my standard.
I am never out of the fight.
All in, all the time.
It’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate.
Discipline equals freedom.
Instead of letting the situation dictate our decisions, we must dictate the situation.
“We learned that leadership requires belief in the mission and unyielding perseverance to achieve victory, particularly when doubters question whether victory is even possible.”
― Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win
WOW! They are more positive, filled with overcoming belief, and know there is power in their words than most Christians I know. These positive statements from Navy Seals humble me and stir up my faith in Christ that I need to step it up too. What should we as Christians learn from Jesus’ teaching and Navy Seals? Believing mixed with using our words is a powerful explosive force. Amen!
Whatever a person has been festering or cultivating in their spirit will be released in their words.
Murphy’s Law
“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
Sometimes it’s extended to,
“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time.”
I know many people, Christian included, who live by this “law.” In turn, they keep seeing life work this way, keep believing, and keep saying. It’s a constant cycle. I was one of these people who believed Murphy’s Law and quoted it often, until I learned the words Jesus taught. I repented, because I learned the real law:
Mark 11:23: …believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
You might be reading this thinking, “No, this is too out there.” We don’t have to understand it, we were just told to believe it. Words throughout the Bible carry weight, power and meaning. Let’s consider three more FUTURISTIC situations before we end for this week.
Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…
Revelation 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Revelation 19:15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations.
In Revelations 16, the unclean spirits are coming out of the mouth, because they were sent with words. We see Jesus sending forth a sharp sword from His mouth, it’s power in His words too.
Words are powerful! Words are important! Jesus taught us that we can use our words to bring our faith up to mountain moving levels to accomplish things that seem impossible to believe. Don’t let other people’s fanaticism cause you to sweep Jesus’ teaching by the wayside.
Say these Christian-Navy Seal sayings out loud, not quietly, to yourself. I challenge you to see if you can tell a difference!
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I get excited talking about faith, and I did my best to keep it short. My goal with every post is to bring you closer to the Lord. The more real He becomes to you, the more He can show up in your life. Holy Spirit please give us all a deeper revelation of how powerful our words can be, and also how we are supposed to be using them. Thank you for your written Word, we honor your Word, and give it first place in our life. In Jesus name, amen.
Christi
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