Message: Today as I read Mark 11 I came across
the story of Jesus telling his disciples to go into town and they would find a
colt tied up. They were to untie it and if anyone were to ask them about it
they were to say “the Lord has need of it and will return it”. Knowing that the
gospels contain most of the same stories told by different people I decided to
go back into Matthew where that same story is told. It wasn’t too long ago that
we read it there. In Matthew 21 it says that this happened in order to fulfill
the prophecy that described Jesus riding on a donkey. As I re-read this I
realized that not only was the story told to fulfill prophecy, but it was done
repeatedly throughout the gospels. This established multiple witnesses. After
reading all of that I came across the story where Jesus cursed the fig tree and
then after they walked past it told them they could move mountains if they were
to speak it with faith and have no doubt OR unforgiveness toward anyone.
Command: speak to the mountains we need
removed.
Promise: God is faithful to move the mountains
we speak to if we speak it in faith.
Warning: We can’t have any unforgiveness in
our hearts when we speak to the mountains.
Application: I have read this passage about moving
mountains more times than I even know but deep down carried a sense of skepticism
and believed that this is only for certain situations. I found myself pushing
side things I want God to do in my life and somehow disqualifying them. Before
I read this passage today I had prayed a very specific prayer about a situation
in my life. I honestly poured out my heart and talked with God about my
skepticism and my confusion on how to pray for it. I asked him to show me what
was right. Then shortly after I read the story about the colt and internalized the
fact that Jesus made sure this prophecy was confirmed more than once to
establish the validity of the prophecy and to erase any doubt of it’s truth. By
the time I got to the mountain moving story I knew that was God speaking to me
about my situation. This was the answer to the prayer I prayed earlier. Where I
was afraid to speak out such a bold statement and demand that this mountain be
removed, I felt the confirmation in both stories allowed this truth to give me
boldness. I prayed again and asked God to show me any unforgiveness in my life.
I prayed for the people involved (including myself) and then I spoke to that
mountain. I didn’t yell at it. I simply spoke it and I know that the authority comes
from Jesus and he has allowed me to speak in his name. Like the fig tree that
Jesus cursed, I will also see the destruction of this mountain.
