In Mark 11:23(NLT), our precious and powerful Lord and Savior said, “I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.” This is an amazing scripture. It conveys the authority and dominion that Heavenly Father has given us through Christ. Many of us are so overjoyed by the sheer magnitude of what he’s presenting, that we run the risk of skipping over powerful keys that Jesus has revealed in this one verse. I’d like us to dissect it, so that we gobble up all its yumminess and savor every bite. It’s packed with deliciousness, but we’ll concentrate on uncovering three very important things that help to build this move-a-mountain kind of faith that our Master points to in Mark 11:23. We’ll begin with understanding the power of your words.
The King James Version of this verse states, “For verily I say unto you…” It’s a usage akin to ‘Amen’, used sometimes at the beginning of a discussion to emphasize the surety of the truth that is spoken. Jesus understood that what he was about to say was an enormous chunk of truth. People were not accustomed to hearing such things, and to prepare the hearers to soak it in, he began his statement with ‘get ready folks, big truth is coming next!’ This large chunk of meat should be infinitely more palatable for us because we’ve had a few thousand years to prepare to walk in it.
Romans 10:8(NKJV) tells us, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” The word ‘near’ in this verse connotes proximity. God’s Word should always be close to us because it should be in our mouths and in our hearts. He tells us to feed our minds and hearts a steady diet of His nutritious Word, and this is a non-negotiable. The world is bombarding us with corrosive information constantly; there’s a steady stream of it. Whether we realize it or not, this stuff impacts our faith. Many of us only allow ourselves to hear the Word for a few hours on one day a week, and by the time the day is over, in some cases it is cancelled out by the gossip, negative suggestions, and worldly chatter from other sources. Instead of letting the Word come near us and stick around, we’re pushing it away by the information we allow in the gateways to our hearts.
It is imperative that we guard what we allow into our hearts and minds, and many of us don’t do this. Social media is a blessing in many ways, but also a detriment in many others. It consumes too much of our time, floods our consciousness with unbelief and negativity, and takes us further away from a God-Kind of faith. When we’re negatively influenced, we start to believe in reverse. In other words, we move more in the direction of fear than faith. Then, when trouble hits, and we need to pull from a reservoir that is packed with right believing towards God’s promises, our reservoir is not where it needs to be.
In the Old Testament Book of Genesis, chapter 1, there are 8 verses that begin with “And God said…” He Willed creation from His thoughts. This is where creation began, in the mind of God. He established a precedent and allowed us access to it so that we can emulate His example. We are partners with God and ambassadors for Christ on earth, and we’ve been given the great and honorable privilege to introduce the Kingdom of God here so that His Will goes forth. God’s thoughts are pure and true. When He spoke them, the authority of His truth in the form of His Word went forth to establish His Will. Through the faith of Jesus Christ, He gave us this same creative ability!
In John 5:19-20 (NLT), Jesus Christ said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished.” If Jesus Christ can do nothing by himself, then surely, we must know we cannot either. Jesus Christ is our example. He did ONLY what he saw the Father doing. And we should do ONLY what we know from God’s Word about what the SON does.
Because we hear and digest so much of the wrong things, our words come from a place that isn’t anchored in a God-Kind of faith. Those words have power, and they create in reverse. They create exactly the thing that we DON’T want. We are not weaklings. Through Christ, God has made us spiritual powerhouses, and it is totally up to us to utilize the power we’ve received in a way that derives results for God’s Kingdom.
Jesus Christ said “the TRUTH is that you can SAY to this mountain.” You can speak to something as enormous as a mountain—you can speak to a condition, circumstance, or problem as seemingly unmovable as a mountain—and command it to be removed. It WILL obey. BUT you must really BELIEVE it will happen! And if we have allowed the world’s messages to fill up our hearts, we’re no longer believing the authority of God’s Word, for faith comes by hearing, perceiving, and digesting the Word of God.
Our responsibility as God’s children is to consistently, persistently, doggedly, tenaciously, relentlessly, call faith to come. We can never cease with this practice. Faith only has to be the size of a mustard seed to do big things, but it MUST be continuously called. Just as God’s Word continues to speak and hold every detail of our lives and the world together, our words must do the same. And this can only happen if we speak only what God says.
You don’t have the time or the luxury to allow the world to gobble up your resources. We MUST NEVER allow doubt to undermine our faith, because when this happens, we can speak to that mountain until the cows come home, and it won’t budge. It is only when our hearts are pure towards God, and we are relentless in thinking, behaving, and speaking like Christ that our words are seasoned with a God-Kind of faith. This is when we can speak with His authority and move mountains. ■
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Three Things that Build Your Faith, Part1 –Understanding the Power of Your Words” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2018. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.