Faith That Can Move Mountains

 

It has been said that the Dutch must have the most faith because there isn’t a mountain to be found in the entire country.  Well, in fact they are so confident, they say God created the world and they created Holland. They pretty much built land on water…forget about walking on it, they live on it lol. 

Jesus in His ministry was always challenging his followers to expect more, to believe for more, to trust Him for more and He reminded us all that it doesn’t take much!   He used the illustration of the mustard seed to make his point.

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”  Matthew 17:20

I know right now it sometimes feels like we are up against this mountain called Covid and all its menacing variants.  We continue to wait patiently for the curve of cases here in Ontario to finally move downward. The constant tracking of case counts can be exhausting to watch for all of us. I know it’s been an incredible strain on relationships, families and work situations. 

I believe that God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit are calling us right now to pray for more faith.  He is the God of the breakthrough!  It’s always right to ask for more, be hungry for change.  They that hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled!

We also need to really take the opportunities we are given right now to put our faith in action. We need to put in uncomfortable situations to force us to really depend on Him and we are right smack in the middle of it right now.

Something that really stood out to me in Jesus’ ministry was that 1/3 of it was all about deliverance.  Many stories that were recorded in the Gospels referred to Jesus’ dealing with spirits.  It was these very spirits that were tormenting people.  I believe now more than ever that the spiritual battle with anxiety and fear is like it’s never been before.  In Matthew 17, Jesus was dealing with a specific situation related to demon possession in a young boy. 

We need to really believe our prayers when dealing with the enemy.  Jesus is teaching us on the mustard seed so that we realize this isn’t an unsurmountable task.  We will take this hill, this mountain of fear and anxiety in our current situation and throw it in the deepest sea. 

WE NEED TO BELIEVE OUR PRAYERS! 

Prayer is more than just words.  Jesus was simply saying, “keep praying, don’t give up!”  

Some challenges are not so simple.  They are spiritual battles where we are actually the ones tested.  Battles reveal what we have revelation for.  Steve Long  in “The Faith Zone”

We need the Father to teach us as we press in and believe Him for the change we are longing to see.   I am longing for God to show up powerfully and He is masterful at healing, restoration, deliverance.  Let’s learn to trust Him for more!

I remember the day so vividly when I hit a wall of a mountain in ministry!  It was the fall of 2013.  I had just spent three weeks in Lesotho, Africa.  I was on the missions trip of a lifetime. It was a dream to go to this continent and it was full of amazing experiences. I had the opportunity to worship dance in conga-like fashion in a revival tent meeting.  I spoke on living water and saw people come to faith In Jesus.  I had seen healing take place. I slept on a concrete floor with youth at a camp and ate 'papa and beans' with them.  I saw a graduation celebration of a young woman, Purlacio, the first child from a Bracelet of Hope foster home to graduate.  She shouted out,"I Was Born to Fight The Darkness!" It was such a moving time, not to mention the African sunsets, mountaintop experiences literally and going on a safari!

 I was on cloud 9.

Sharon and I arrived home on Thanksgiving Monday with so much to be thankful for.  It was a short week in terms of preparation for Sunday's message as I was back in the church I was pastoring.   I knew the message was going to be all about my experiences  in Africa. Sunday came and I had other members of the team share about their experience and time escaped us. I shared a video and knew I had no time to preach so I shared, "I'll get to my message next week." 

There was no next week.

Monday came and I sat down with the pastor's to review our vision for the church and next steps. We had a lot to catch up on and it was a positive meeting. I noticed I received an email from the chairman of the board requesting a meeting with him along with another member. Then there was a second email and a phone message to speak with the chairman of the board. I remember joking with the pastors that I would see them that night unless I got fired… I actually joked with them about that. Well, that afternoon I came home and I thought about the meeting and in my spirit I knew I was going to be released.  I arrived at the church at 6:30pm and saw the two board members waiting for me. We made our way up the stairs to my office and there we sat. A file folder was placed on the coffee table. The chairman shared briefly with me that the leadership had made the decision to release me. He shared that I did not have the skill set for what they needed for the church at this time. He shared that they needed more executive leadership and it just wasn't working out. He then said I watched you in Africa and I saw you create something out of nothing.   He went on to say,"I see a pioneering spirit in you". The meeting followed on with the presentation of my severance package and I was to be done and keys handed in by Friday.

This was my wall, this was my mountain.

When I shared this with Sharon she then proceeded to tell me about a prayer gathering where a lady had a vision of us in pioneer clothes in a wagon waving goodbye to the pastors of the church we were in.  It had happened a month before and she forgot to mention it to me  lol….  However, in that moment, right there, I knew we had the confirmation in my spirit that we were beginning a new chapter in our lives in Ministry that would lead us to starting Church at the Manor.  We certainly didn’t know that at the time.

Today, as I write this, Sharon and I are on the very cusp of another new chapter.  Plans are literally in the works and as the old worship song goes…”no turning back”!  I'm excited for what is ahead of us, not knowing what to expect but ready to continue the adventure of following the Lord as he leads us.

Stay tuned for more details coming soon!