Speak to your Mountain

A few weeks ago I watched a movie called Everest which starred Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin and Jake Ghyllenhall. The movie was based upon a true story about the lives of several mountain climbers who successfully climbed to the top of Mt. Everest. However, as these climbers were attempted to get back down the mountain, they missed their 2:00 PM cutoff point and were caught in a hurricane blizzard storm. Most of the climbers were without oxygen, they were severely weak, and trying to make it down the mountain in sub below freezing temperatures. As a result of the storm eight people died on the mountain and their deaths were the most in the history of people climbing Mount Everest.

The people who climbed Everest were wealthy climbers who depended upon experience guides who had successfully climb the mountain themselves several times. These guides helped to prepare their paying clients to climb Mount Everest in stages so that their bodies could adjust to the brutal grind and the altitude of the mountain. Mount Everest had four different base camps were the climbers took breaks to get additional oxygen bottles and rest themselves so that they could survive the long dangerous climb. The movie also highlighted that there were people who had climbed Everest before successfully but felt they needed to conquer the mountain multiple times in their life. One Japanese woman had made it to the top Everest six times and made it a seven time in accomplishing her goal. However, after she had summited the mountain a seven time, she would be one of the eight people who died with her body still on the mountain. All of the people who have died on Mount Everest all serve as a haunting reminder to those attempting to climb Everest that its nickname is called Death Mountain.

As I pondered the story that the movie had told for those two hours, the Holy Spirit reminded me of three important points as believers we must not lose sight of. The first important point that the movie Everest teaches us is that the Lord never called us to climb our mountains of circumstances. The second point that the Holy Spirit impressed upon my heart is that before we can speak to the outward mountains that is before us, we first must speak to the mountains that is within us. Finally, the final point that the Spirit of God spoke to me about is that we are not to climb down our mountain but stand on the promise of God that the mountains will be removed and cast into the sea.

And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith (Mark 11:22-23).

 Stop Climbing the Mountain

Inside of every man is a desire to want to subdue and conquer something that he feels is a challenge to him. Most men will push themselves to their limits to experience a feeling of accomplishing things that other men may be afraid to do. I believe the reason why man is wired with this mindset is because when the Lord first made us, He made us with the authority to subdue and have dominion in the Earth. However, when the Lord gave man this authority to subdue, it was not for the purpose for man to use that ability where it could put him or others at risk. The word of God tells us that the purpose why the Lord gave man the ability to conquer and subdue was so that he could have dominion over living creatures in the waters, in the air and the creatures that moved upon the earth (Genesis 1:26-28). As the result of the fall of man, man has allowed his personal quest of greatness to become perverted that he seeks to conquer and make a name for himself. A man wants to be able to subdue people who are different from him, places he had never journeyed before and things he does not understand in this world. However, the Lord did make you and me to climb our mountains, His word tells us in Mark 11:23 that we are to speak to our mountains by faith and the authority of His word.

When a person seeks to climb the mountain of circumstances in their life, they are choosing not to trust God but to trust in their own abilities. The person may believe that there is a God in the world but what they do not have is a relationship with God. Our Heavenly Father never called us to have a religion but what He called you and me to was having a relationship with Him. When a man seeks to climb his own mountains for power, money and sex, he will not only put himself at risk but he will put those who are closes to him at risk. The mountains that are before you my brother are not there so that you can prove to yourself or others how great you are as a person. However, the mountains of crisis that has your worried all throughout the night is nothing more but an opportunity for you to witness the greatness of God in your life.

The Mountain that is within you

Before a person can speak with authority to their mountain to be moved in their life, a man must first be able to speak to the mountain that is within him. Sometimes the reason why men do not see their mountains move right away in their life is because there is an internal mountain in them. Some of these internal mountains could be a mountain of fear, doubt or the mountain of not understanding what manhood is in their life. A young man transitioning from adolescence into adulthood would asked questions like at what age do I become a man? He might also asked what do I have to accomplish which would validate I have arrived in becoming a man? If the man is in an older season of his life, he might be dealing with questions like how do I handle this midlife crisis, falling out of love with my wife and not wanting to walk away from my family.

I believe the word of God confirms this point for us in Mark 11:12-21, when it said that the next day when Jesus was traveling from Bethany He was hungry. As Jesus came toward the fig tree, He saw that the fig tree had leaves on it but no figs were on it. He came to the tree expecting that He could find something to eat  which would satisfy the hunger that He had. However, when He saw that there was no figs on the tree, Jesus spoke to the tree and said “No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it”.

I believe the principle that we are to take from those passage of scriptures is that when we speak the word of God, we must first speak to the mountain that is within us. In Mark 11:21 the word of God tells us that “And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away” As we submit ourselves to the authority of God to transform us from the inside, our walk should bear a life of being Christ like on the outside. The world needs to see a consistent witness in our walk in Christ, a witness that would cause them to want to have the same life-changing experience. We need to speak the word of God to the mountain of regret because we understand that death and life is in the power of our tongue (Proverbs 18:21). As Peter saw how the fig tree had dried up by the roots and had withered away, the word of God can cause our mountains on the inside us to be dealt with at the root and be removed for good.

The Mountain will be removed

When a mountain climber has reached the top of Mount Everest, his or her accomplishment of reaching the top is referred to a person who has reached the summit. The person who arrives at the top of Everest will extend their arms in the air as a sign to the world that they have overcome the mountain. Another person who has reached the top of Everest may plant their country flag for others to know that someone from that country has been on Everest. Though the thrill can be very satisfying for those who have summited on Everest, they still must get down from the mountain before dying on the way down.

The Lord does not only want us to climb our mountains but He certainly does not want us climbing down the mountains of our crisis. In Mark 11:23, Jesus told His disciples that when they “speak to the mountain it will be removed cast into the sea”. When something is casted into the sea, it is placed there with the intention that it will never rise again. We must not doubt in our hearts but have faith in God because faith and doubt both cannot share a place in a man heart. The mountains in your life today my brother will be removed because God has said so in His word and it shall not return until Him as being void (Isaiah 55:11). If you are a father who is confronted with a mountain of doubt will your family being saved, your mountain will be removed because God has promised to save your household. If you are a husband who wife has been diagnose with cancer and does not have long to live, you must not believe the report of the doctor but you must believe the report of the Lord (Isaias 53:1).