“Can This Mountain Be Moved?”

Luke 17:5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

Luke 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

Today let’s talk about self doubt, unbelief. 

Do we have enough belief  to activate the Lord’s power on our behalf? 

The Lord says in Luke 17:6 that we could tell a sycamore tree to move and it would if we had faith the size of a mustard seed. 

A mustard seed is very small. He mentions  a mustard seed of faith in Matthew 27:14-20👇🏽

 He Heals a Boy with a Demon

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Mat 17:14  And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

Mat 17:15  Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

Mat 17:16  And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

Mat 17:17  Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

Mat 17:18  And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

Matthew 17:19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

🌟Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 

Mat 17:21  Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. 

He tells them that this kind of demon comes out by prayer and fasting. 

However Jesus still points out that there is unbelief with the disciples.

Unbeliefs, will result in unanswered prayers.

We need to pray about the unbelief and learn to trust that when we pray, that the lord will answer. The bottom line, it comes down to belief. We shouldn’t focus on only those in ministerial positions, such as ministers and pastors as being the only ones the Lord uses, he could be calling you for his purpose.

None of us will walk through life with a pastor or minister attached to your hip,  we will need know how to respond, spiritually in life to situations we encounters and experience. Prayer and fasting comes in, they are mighty weapons in our arsenal.

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How are you going to fast and pray for change in your life or situation if there is unbelief in your heart? Believing is the key and that is where we start. Although the disciples were taught by Jesus. They still felt with unbelief, st least in this instance of casting out demons.

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Stumbling blocks in our lives are unbelief, the way we live our lives, and not having a prayer life.

If we are struggling in these areas, it is time to have prayer with the Lord and ask for his hand to guide us.

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If you are living a life that is in opposition to his word, your actions and will need to come into agreement with his word. Unbelief is an issue, it would be a good time to develop a prayer life and ask the Lord for his help in this area.

If you have no prayer life, how will you get answers or help with the issues in your life?

Prayers are not answered by power in us, we aren answering the prayer. Our faith in God, our belief in him to do all things will activate his power, but it is his power, he is God not us.

Fasting is also effective.  Sacrifices of our temple (body) can bring our communication up close and personal with the Lord.

Be responsible with your health; if you take medicine and have to eat with it. Do it. If you are diabetic, do not stop eating. There are a number of ways to fast and draw closer to the Lord.

You could fast a day or 4 hour of watching tv, for example. Some like the Daniel fast which is eating vegetables and drinking water.

Daniel requested this because he was in captivity and did not want to defile his body with the rich foods and wine that the king served to all of the men he had set aside to serve him. 

Daniel and his friends were in this group and we will see how the Lord blessed them with special gifts to be of service to the king.

Daniel 1:6-16 NLT

[6] Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. 

7] The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego. 

8] But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. 

9] Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. [10] But he responded, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded." 

11] Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 

12] "Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water," Daniel said. 

13] "At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king's food. Then make your decision in light of what you see." 

14] The attendant agreed to Daniel's suggestion and tested them for ten days. 

15] At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. 

16] So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.

Daniel 1:17 NLT

[17] God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.

When you read the book of Daniel you will see how God used him and his friends for his purpose against a pagan King. Make it a habit to stay prayed up and choose a time to incorporate fasting with prayer. 

Matthew 14:30  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

Matthew 14:31  And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Peter saw Jesus walking on water and asked if he could come out of the boat. Jesus told him to come. And he too was standing on the waters surface. Then the extreme blowing of the wind scared him and he began to sink til Jesus took his hand. He asked Peter, why did he doubt?

Act 19:11  And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:

Act 19:12  So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

Paul was also faithful to the Lord. You will see as you read stories in both the Old and New Testament how God blessed those who put forth the effort live a holy life. In Acts, he blessed Paul with unusual miracles to heal and deliver those in need. 

The Lord will honor a sincere prayer.

He has stated himself in scripture that if we have faith of a mustard seed, the mountain will move. So we need to check the level of belief in ourselves. Because if the faith is there, the mountain will move.

My Closing prayer:

Mark 9:23

23  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

Mark 9:24

24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Lord, unbelief is a stumbling block in our lives that separates us from your power.

I pray we strive to live a holy life in obedience to your word.

Luke 1:37

37  For with God nothing shall be impossible.

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I pray for the unbelief in us to be removed in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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