Matthew 17:14-21 | Mountain Moving Faith | Matthew Dodd

I am so excited to study the Word of God with you tonight can I get a witness on that one you guys excited - amen we're gonna be in Matthew chapter 17 this evening we're gonna look at verses 14 through 21 so if you have your Bible please turn with me there - Matthew chapter 17 the title of my message this evening is mountain-moving faith mountain-moving faith let's pray father we thank you for this privilege to be in your word right now and Lord as we come we come with hearts that are expectant hearts Lord that just desire more of you Lord we come with also teachable hearts and humble hearts Lord if there's anything in us that needs to be fine-tuned or we want all all that you have for us because we want to be stronger in you that no matter what comes our way no matter what mountains obstacles before us we will not be shaken because our lives are built on the rock of Jesus Christ so we pray that you and reign over this time we've also pray that you'd bind the enemy and his schemes and father God that we would leave this place strong and that what has been shared what we have studied all that we have committed our lives to would not be snatched away by any scheme of the enemy we pray this in the mighty name of Jesus and all of God's people said amen and amen hey have you ever had a mountaintop experience with the Lord that was so refreshing that you honestly felt like nothing would ever bring you back down to earth anyone ever have all those moments where you're just just caught up and you're just so touched by the presence of God you're thinking there's just nothing nothing that will ever ever bring me back down to earth right out of curiosity though was your mountaintop experience immediately followed by the crushing impact act of being cast down to the earth because of spiritual warfare have you ever noticed that before there is that mountaintop and then there can be that spiritual warfare immediately afterwards I I remember a time when number of years ago I was pastoring down in Dallas we had a men's retreat and absolutely an amazing time God was just moving so mightily in the hearts of the men at our church in Dallas we came back and I was dropping some men off and dropping some other things off at different locations and all of a sudden I get a phone call and I'll never forget where I was at and what was going on I get the news that my dad had just had a heart attack and was in the hospital mountaintop experience slammed right back down to reality now why do I bring this up because life is filled with peaks and valleys you know spiritually speaking there can be these Mount Everest revivals which are often followed by Death Valley battles you see that in the Bible Moses on Mount Sinai for forty days in the presence of God he's given the Ten Commandments he comes down from the mountain and what's going on the nation of Israel is worshiping a golden calf how about this Kadesh Barnea Moses sends in twelve spies into the Promised Land and they come back and say oh this land really is flowing with milk and honey but ten spies even though they see the fruitfulness of the land they come back with a bad report and the whole lot of Israel begins to grumble against Moses and they want to put him to death mountain top followed by warfare or Elijah before the priests of Baal all that day destroys all of them and shows Israel once and for all that God truly is God worship Him what happens after that mountaintop experience woman by the name of Jezebel says you know what I'm gonna take you out Elijah now those weren't her exact words that's a matthew dodd paraphrase but you get the idea and what happens elijah this mighty prophet of god he tucked tails and runs away what happened mountaintop spiritual warfare this is the scheme of the enemy you see john chapter 10 verse 10 tells us Satan seeks to steal kill and destroy so what's critical for us to understand what's going on so that we're not caught off guard when we're hit by those death valley battles and tonight we're going to discover from matthew 17 verses 14 through 21 the keys to having a faith that is alive that is growing and one that moves mountains when there is a spiritual battle let's read this in verse 14 when 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 his very ill for he often falls into the fire and often into the water I brought him to your disciples and they could not cure him and jesus answered and said you unbelieving and perverted generation how long shall I be with you how long shall I put up with you bring him here to me and Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him and the boy was cured at once then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said why couldn't we drive it out and he said to them because of the littleness of your faith for truly I say to you if you have the 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 it be import possible to you but this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting now at this point in Matthew's Gospel Jesus was approximately six months away from going to Jerusalem where he would suffer many things at the hands of the elders and the chief priests and scribes and there he would be killed but he'd be raised up on the third day we're told in Matthew 16 verse 21 now in light of this Jesus begins the preparation process with his disciples he begins to prepare them for the news and what life is going to be like after he departs now we're told in Matthew 16 verse 22 that Peter didn't approve of that message he didn't like the warning from Jesus so he actually had the gall the audacity to rebuke Jesus he said in verse 22 of the same chapter god forbid it Lord this shall never happen to you now how did Jesus respond we know that he did not even entertain Peters words for a moment literally the words are on Peters mouth and Jesus turns his back to Peter and he says get behind me Satan you are a stumbling block for me you do not have your mind set on gods interests but on man's verse 23 and then Jesus with his back to Peter calls the disciples to himself and he begins to tell them what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ that if anyone wishes to come after him they must deny themselves take up their cross and follow him then we're told in verse 28 of Matthew 16 that Jesus concluded his comments with the promise he said truly I say to you there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom and according to verse 1 of chapter 17 Peter James and John well they didn't have to wait long for this to be fulfilled six days later Jesus takes them on up to Mount Hermon which was nearby and there Jesus was transfigured before them his face shone like the Sun and his garments became white as light were also told that Moses and Elijah also appeared with Jesus and they were discussing the work that Jesus would accomplish through his death in Jerusalem according to Luke 931 now as they're coming down from the mountain Jesus then commanded the three saying tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead now imagine what it must have been like for Peter James and John to see the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ imagine what they must have felt the glory of our Savior unveiled literally a sneak preview of what is to come when the King of glory comes to establish his glorious Kingdom oh the joy that must have filled their hearts and then they come down into the valley and what do they see trouble ahead quickly that joy was dampened to put it nicely by the problem in the valley below they literally went from the glory of heaven to the attacks from hell and there's something there for us to learn you see if we are going to have a mountain-moving faith then we must let Jesus be the Lord of our valleys after those mountaintop experiences when we come back down into the valley not only must Jesus be the lord of the mountaintop he must be Lord of our valleys too now Satan waste time in bringing Peter James and John back to earth because we're told the next day in Luke 937 this took place they were met with spiritual warfare now Mark's Gospel states that the nine apostles who were left behind were surrounded by a large crowd and that some scribes were actually arguing with them so Jesus comes up to them and says what are you discussing with them and then suddenly a desperate father ran to Jesus fell on his knees before him it says lord have mercy on my son for he is a lunatic and is very ill and he often falls into the fire and often into the water now Mark and Luke give us additional insight into the boy's condition for the demon made the boy mute he would foam at the mouth grind his teeth scream convulse and even maul himself literally it's a life or death situation for this boy now the nine apostles they tried to cast out the demon but to their embarrassment couldn't so what happens some scribes who are opponents of Jesus seized upon the opportunity to accuse mock to ridicule because of their failure to cast out the demon of this man's son his only son who had been stricken with demonic possession from childhood what went wrong why did the enemy win this battle I think we need to see here that if we're going to have a mountain-moving faith then we need to build our lives on Christ's promises let me explain Jesus reply was a strong rebuke you unbelieving and perverted generation how long shall I be with you how long shall I put up with you bring him here to me in verse 17 here Jesus identified the reason for the defeat the nine had failed because of their lack of faith now remember Jesus had given the twelve back in Matthew chapter 10 verse one authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness they had this authority they've already experienced and witnessed God's deliverance through them and yet defeat here now the word translated perverted actually means turned in the wrong direction and I find this interesting there's application for us here you see unbelief will cause a person to get off the path that God intended for them the path of faith unbelief will bring about many wrong turns in life can I get a witness on that one and those always lead to dead ends every single one Jesus rebuked them front their unbelief because they had failed to remember jesus promises his commission his calling on their lives his authority and his victory they needed to build their lives on Jesus words when we build our lives on Jesus words let me tell you something it doesn't matter what storm is out there you will not be shaken because the authority of Jesus Christ his calling his promise his victory is yours and you can rest on that you can be strong in that that's why Jesus said in Matthew seven verses 24 and 25 therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and look at this not just hears them but acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and slammed against that house and yet it did not fall for it had been founded on the rock there's something about when we build our lives on Jesus Christ his becomes our strength because we're not just resting on him were grounded in him all that he is he is to us he is the anchor to our souls we do not need to be shaken by the wind or the storms we can stand firm and be anchored because our Savior is the rock of our faith amen amen now I want to clarify something though because there's a lot of confusion when it comes to faith you see it's absolutely essential that we have the right object of our faith what do I mean by that pastor rich a while back shared a story how he was watching this preacher talk about when Jesus walked on water and Peter asked could he walk on the water with him and what pastor rich pointed out was this pastors interpretation of Jesus rebuked of Peter when Peter began to sink and when Peter began to sink the pastor said he was rebuked by Jesus for not having enough faith in himself coming in faith in yourself is that really true or if you just had enough faith in yourself that will get you through try that one on for size how well will it work right you know let me tell you something faith is not believing in or relying on oneself nor is faith having a positive attitude though a positive attitude is better than a negative one nor is it rooted in the power of positive thinking in fact I've done research into this a lot of the power of positive thinking has its roots in the occult you need to be careful there you see none of these approaches have anything to do with a biblical Christ centered faith proverbs 3:5 and 6 says trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight it's simple the object of our faith must be the Lord next we see that mountain-moving faith believes that all things are possible with Jesus in Mark's Gospel the focus begins to shift to the interaction between Jesus and the boy's dad as the boy was literally being brought to Jesus the demon saw the Lord and immediately threw him down and he's rolling around and foaming at the mouth now I bring this up because we're here again we see one of the schemes of the enemy for he tries one last throw down in the Greek this is a wrestling term it's interesting to note Satan knows his days are numbered and that he's powerless against the king of glory but you know what that doesn't stop him from trying to get in one last parting punch dig insult or accusation and in desperation the father cries out and it says again but if you can do anything take pity on us and help us and Jesus said if you can all things are possible to him who believes let me tell you something there's one thing that's certain apart from Jesus Christ we will not have any spiritual victory amen but through Jesus Christ our victory is guaranteed James 4:7 says submit therefore to God resist the devil and he will flee from you if we ground ourselves in Christ bring ourselves under his authority submit ourselves to him Lord here's this mountain I'm in this valley here's this mountain we're gonna submit to you Lord guess what happens there we find the strength to say no to the lies of the enemy and when those lies are called out for what they are because we're standing on the truth guess who runs not us were grounded on the rock of Jesus Christ the enemy flees the victory is guaranteed but the enemy doesn't want you to realize that he wants you to fight on his terms he wants you to think there's no hope that everything's against you like this poor boy's father immediately he cries out to Jesus and says I think some of the most transparent words some of the most honest words he says I do believe help my unbelief mark 924 I think that's something many of us can relate to right he's overwhelmed he's worn down it's been a constant battle he's trying to keep his son alive he had faith but he wanted more and he's asking for help but how does one get more faith again we need to remember that faith isn't a thing unto itself nor do we have faith in faith itself true biblical faith christ-centered faith is a choice to trust the one who is faithful but not just trust this next word is absolutely essential faith biblical christ-centered faith is a choice to rest in who jesus is and all that we have in Jesus Hudson Taylor famous missionary to China many many years struggled like many of us have how can I be stronger in my faith I I read the Word of God and I see all these promises but it doesn't look like it's my reality and he actually began to despair I see the promises but I don't see it in my own life he thought actually maybe this is something I have to wait for later Ronn and then he received a letter from a friend and this friend began to talk about faith the kind of faith that knows who Jesus is and rests in who he is knowing that all Jesus is he will be to us we can simply abide in him rest in him and not be anxious for anything that so transformed his life he wrote a letter to his sister I have portions of it here that I'd like to read to you oh my dear sister it is a wonderful thing to be really one with a risen and exalted Savior to be a member of Christ I love this next question can Christ be rich and I be poor can your right hand be rich and your left be poor the sweetest part if one may speak of one part being sweeter than another is the rest with full identification with Christ that it brings I am no longer anxious about anything his resources are mine for he is mine and he is with me and dwells in me if you want to have a mountain-moving faith then take the restrictions off Jesus and let him be all that he is in your life let the reality of that be the anchor to your soul that no matter what comes your way you know God's got your back your God is for you amen and there's nothing too difficult for him all things are possible for Jesus the Apostle Paul wrote some powerful spiritual truths which are very similar Ephesians 1:3 look at this blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every not some not a few every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ here's the deal we have every single blessing in the heavenly places in Christ and that can be your reality if you'll simply accept it and receive it it's not too good to be true it is true embrace it God wants to be to you all that he is a great and awesome God then he goes on to say in Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me what is he talking about Christ his power is more than sufficient it doesn't matter how big the giant is doesn't matter how big the mountain is doesn't matter how deep the valley is odd is sufficient all things are possible through Jesus Christ the question is will you let Jesus be the lord of your valleys so that he can move your mountains you know here's the bottom line we need to rest in the truth tonight if you want to leave here and no longer have your life feel like it's a roller coaster with these big swings up and down but you want to have your life anchored then you need to know that our God is a mountain mover our God can move your mountains after Jesus rebuked the demon the boy was immediately delivered verse 18 so the disciples they came up to Jesus privately and asked why couldn't we drive it out and Jesus answer here has become famous because it's filled with insight into faith you see if God is your mountain mover I want to capture what he says this way if God is your mountain mover don't shrink back in unbelief this is what's going on with the disciples here that Jesus is pointing out he said the reason you were not able to cast out the demon was due to the littleness of your faith the littleness what's going on the disciples saw the power that the demon had over the boy and they were overwhelmed so they focused on the severity of the problem and not on the infinite power of the Lord again I take you back to Matthew 10 Jesus had already commissioned them and gave them authority over the demons to cast them out but they had forgotten they had forgotten the words of their Savior the authority of their Savior and the victory their Savior guaranteed ironically they had only been left alone for a short time while Jesus was on the mountain and already they're in a bad place why because their faith while Jesus was away had shrunk they're going backwards not moving forwards and you know what when we focus on the overwhelming odds or the mountain-sized obstacles our faith will shrink - due to unbelief but God doesn't want that for us you see our God can defeat the worst of odds amen Romans chapter 8 31 if God is for us who is against us odds are in our favor in fact the verdict the end is guaranteed and by the way our God can bring down any mountain Psalm 97 verse 5 the mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord now how little was their faith smaller than a mustard seed for truly Jesus said I say to you if you have the 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 for you verse 20 now a mustard seed that's so small but I want you to capture what Jesus is saying here that mustard seed is small but it's alive and if it's alive it can grow in that good news what's he saying about the Apostles they're dead right now mustard seed it might be small and you might be feeling like you know what mustard seed small I'm probably measuring up about that right there it's okay it's alive and it has potential to grow and God will take you where you are at and he wants to breathe life into you and strengthen you Isaiah 42 verse 3 a bruised Reed he will not break and a dimly burning wick he will not extinguish here's the key don't shrink back trust Jesus the church in Jerusalem they were beginning to shrink back they had been persecuted so much that the Jewish Christians were thinking about leaving Christianity and going back to Judaism the writer of Hebrews wants to capture this he wants to get a hold of their hearts he wants them not to shrink back but to continue to grow and so he writes in Hebrews 10 verses 38 and 39 but my righteous one shall live by faith and if he shrinks back my soul has no pleasure in him now listen to what he says here here's where he's coaching them he's exhorting them but we are not of those who shrink back to destruction but of those who have faith to the persevering of the soul that's who we are amen we're not going to shrink back you know what I love you I'm not gonna let you shrink back and I know what you love me you won't let me shrink back we're a community of faith we're gonna go through this together right no matter how big the obstacles are we're gonna keep our eyes on Jesus Christ he is the lord of the valleys he's the Lord of the mountaintops he's the Lord of all amen now many people have misunderstood the remainder of Jesus words in verse 20 what's the issue well you see people twisted Christ's words because they want control and they want power for their own personal and selfish ends and James warns about that in James 4 2 & 3 you lust and you do not have so you commit murder you are envious and you cannot obtain so you fight and quarrel you do not have because you do not ask you ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives so that you may spend it on your pleasures we must remember that is only those who are under Christ's Authority who are given authority Matthew 28 verses 18 and 20 Jesus said before he ascended into heaven all Authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I commanded you and lo I am with you always even to the end of the age who has the authority our Savior and here's the deal if it's God's will you will have what you ask for 4 first John 5:14 says this is the confidence which we have before him that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us but if it's not his will that move mountain is not going to move and you know what that's a good thing because the best place to be is in the center of God's will and to know that before anything comes into our lives it passes through our father's hands and His grace is sufficient for us now in order for us to press into all of this we need to realize the spiritual warfare that's going on and we need to be prepared and how are we prepared by putting on the full armor of God Jesus said in verse 21 this kind has not come out except by prayer and fasting now I find this interesting that Jesus did not pray here when he cast out the demon so he wasn't referring to an immediate entering into a time of prayer and fasting rather Jesus was referring to I believe a life of prayer and fasting where a person has in preparation the ability to be ready for any battle that comes their way it's a life of prayer it's a life of seeking the Lord that we are ready in season and out of season because we're drawing near to the Lord now Jesus taught that prayer and fasting is not something that we do to be noticed by others it is a time where we draw near to God so that we may come away from the world and be strengthened by his grace spiritual warfare and prayer and fasting is a way for us to draw near to the Lord to be strengthened in him to daily put on the full armor of God the belt of truth the helmet of our salvation our feet ready with the gospel of peace the breastplate of righteousness the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit we're putting on Christ daily we're prepared for any battle that comes our way knowing the enemy's looking to steal kill and destroy that's why Paul wrote in Ephesians 6 verses 10 and 12 and verse 18 finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil for our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the powers against the world Force's of this darkness against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places verse 18 with all prayer and petition at all times pray in the spirit with this in view beyond the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints what mountain are you facing tonight are you in the valley right now there's a mountain in front of you that mountain is an opportunity it's an opportunity for faith you see it can either be a stepping stone or a stumbling stone it can either make you stronger or make you weaker better or bitter tonight will you trust the Lord to move your mountains he's our mountain mover David knew that and that's why he wrote in Psalm 121 verses 1 & 2 I will lift my eyes to the mountains from where shall my help come my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth let's pray father we thank you so much for this privilege to be in your word tonight and Lord we come before you and we're asking that you would move those mountains your will be done that you'd be the Lord in our valleys as well as those mountaintop experiences Lord we choose to bring those mountains to you tonight those obstacles whether it be a relationship whether it be our finances our health our employment whatever it might be we bring it all to you Lord because we know that with Jesus all things are possible but Lord we're asking tonight we're tired of striving we're tired of trying to muster up our own strength by pulling up ourselves by our own bootstraps I just want to rest in you Lord and I'm praying father God even right now as we bring those burdens to you father that we would just begin to experience your peace the father even now we commit in our hearts to not grab those burdens and take them back but to leave them at the foot of the cross church of you here tonight and you're saying Lord I want you to be my mountain mover whether you're facing a mountain now or you know there's one in the future would you just raise your hands then Lord you're my mountain mover I'm gonna trust you what I'm gonna rest in you you're all I need or we thank you for the victory that is ours the victory that's guaranteed through the death burial and resurrection of Jesus we give you all the praise we thank you for being our mountain mover in Jesus name God's people said amen can we give thanks to our

Channel: Calvary Chapel Worship Center - Hillsboro, Oregon

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Keywords: The Bible, God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Holy, Pastor Rich Jones, Pastor Matthew Dodd, Calvary Chapel, Faith, Grace, Revival, Truth, Prayer, Salvation, Calvary Chapel Hillsboro, Exodus, Matthew, Mountain Moving Faith

Id: 3-KhxNgB1HA

Length: 38min 26sec (2306 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 24 2019